HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, COMPLETE

by JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 

Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, Etc. 

1555-1623

CONTENTS: The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1584 History of the United Netherlands, 1584-1609 Life and Death of John of Barneveld, 1609-1623

 A Memoir of John Lothrop Motley by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1555-1566

A History

JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. Corresponding Member of the Instituteof France, Etc. 1855

[Etext Editor's Note: JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, born in Dorchester, Mass. 1814, died 1877. Other works: Morton's Hopes and Merry Mount, novels. Motley was the United States Minister to Austria, 1861-67, and the UnitedStates Minister to England, 1869-70. Mark Twain mentions his respect forJohn Motley. Oliver Wendell Holmes said in 'An Oration delivered beforethe City Authorities of Boston' on the 4th of July, 1863: "'It cannot bedenied, '--says another observer, placed on one of our nationalwatch-towers in a foreign capital, --'it cannot be denied that thetendency of European public opinion, as delivered from high places, ismore and more unfriendly to our cause; but the people, ' he adds, 'everywhere sympathize with us, for they know that our cause is that offree institutions, --that our struggle is that of the people against anoligarchy. ' These are the words of the Minister to Austria, whosegenerous sympathies with popular liberty no homage paid to his genius bythe class whose admiring welcome is most seductive to scholars has everspoiled; our fellow-citizen, the historian of a great Republic whichinfused a portion of its life into our own, --John Lothrop Motley. " (Seethe biography of Motley, by Holmes) Ed. ]

PREFACE

The rise of the Dutch Republic must ever be regarded as one of theleading events of modern times. Without the birth of this greatcommonwealth, the various historical phenomena of: the sixteenth andfollowing centuries must have either not existed; or have presentedthemselves under essential modifications. --Itself an organized protestagainst ecclesiastical tyranny and universal empire, the Republic guardedwith sagacity, at many critical periods in the world's history; thatbalance of power which, among civilized states; ought always to beidentical with the scales of divine justice. The splendid empire ofCharles the Fifth was erected upon the grave of liberty. It is aconsolation to those who have hope in humanity to watch, under the reignof his successor, the gradual but triumphant resurrection of the spiritover which the sepulchre had so long been sealed. From the handbreadth ofterritory called the province of Holland rises a power which wages eightyyears' warfare with the most potent empire upon earth, and which, duringthe progress of the struggle, becoming itself a mighty state, and bindingabout its own slender form a zone of the richest possessions of earth, from pole to tropic, finally dictates its decrees to the empire ofCharles. 

So much is each individual state but a member of one great internationalcommonwealth, and so close is the relationship between the whole humanfamily, that it is impossible for a nation, even while struggling foritself, not to acquire something for all mankind. The maintenance of theright by the little provinces of Holland and Zealand in the sixteenth, byHolland and England united in the seventeenth, and by the United Statesof America in the eighteenth centuries, forms but a single chapter in thegreat volume of human fate; for the so-called revolutions of Holland, England, and America, are all links of one chain. 

To the Dutch Republic, even more than to Florence at an earlier day, isthe world indebted for practical instruction in that great science ofpolitical equilibrium which must always become more and more important asthe various states of the civilized world are pressed more closelytogether, and as the struggle for pre-eminence becomes more feverish andfatal. Courage and skill in political and military combinations enabledWilliam the Silent to overcome the most powerful and unscrupulous monarchof his age. The same hereditary audacity and fertility of genius placedthe destiny of Europe in the hands of William's great-grandson, andenabled him to mould into an impregnable barrier the various elements ofopposition to the overshadowing monarchy of Louis XIV. As the schemes ofthe Inquisition and the unparalleled tyranny of Philip, in one century, led to the establishment of the Republic of the United Provinces, so, inthe next, the revocation of the Nantes Edict and the invasion of Hollandare avenged by the elevation of the Dutch stadholder upon the throne ofthe stipendiary Stuarts. 

To all who speak the English language; the history of the great agonythrough which the Republic of Holland was ushered into life must havepeculiar interest, for it is a portion of the records of the Anglo-Saxonrace--essentially the same, whether in Friesland, England, orMassachusetts. 

A great naval and commercial commonwealth, occupying a small portion ofEurope but conquering a wide empire by the private enterprise of tradingcompanies, girdling the world with its innumerable dependencies in Asia, America, Africa, Australia--exercising sovereignty in Brazil, Guiana, theWest Indies, New York, at the Cape of Good Hope, in Hindostan, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, New Holland--having first laid together, as it were, manyof the Cyclopean blocks, out of which the British realm, at a late:period, has been constructed--must always be looked upon with interest byEnglishmen, as in a great measure the precursor in their own scheme ofempire. 

For America the spectacle is one of still deeper import. The DutchRepublic originated in the opposition of the rational elements of humannature to sacerdotal dogmatism and persecution--in the courageousresistance of historical and chartered liberty to foreign despotism. Neither that liberty nor ours was born of the cloud-embraces of a falseDivinity with, a Humanity of impossible beauty, nor was the infant careerof either arrested in blood and tears by the madness of its worshippers. "To maintain, " not to overthrow, was the device of the Washington of thesixteenth century, as it was the aim of our own hero and his greatcontemporaries. 

The great Western Republic, therefore--in whose Anglo-Saxon veins flowsmuch of that ancient and kindred blood received from the nation onceruling a noble portion of its territory, and tracking its own politicalexistence to the same parent spring of temperate human liberty--must lookwith affectionate interest upon the trials of the elder commonwealth. These volumes recite the achievement of Dutch independence, for itsrecognition was delayed till the acknowledgment was superfluous andridiculous. The existence of the Republic is properly to be dated fromthe Union of Utrecht in 1581, while the final separation of territoryinto independent and obedient provinces, into the Commonwealth of theUnited States and the Belgian provinces of Spain, was in reality effectedby William the Silent, with whose death three years subsequently, theheroic period of the history may be said to terminate. At this pointthese volumes close. Another series, with less attention to minutedetails, and carrying the story through a longer range of years, willpaint the progress of the Republic in its palmy days, and narrate theestablishment of, its external system of dependencies and its interiorcombinations for self-government and European counterpoise. The lessonsof history and the fate of free states can never be sufficiently ponderedby those upon whom so large and heavy a responsibility for themaintenance of rational human freedom rests. 

I have only to add that this work is the result of conscientiousresearch, and of an earnest desire to arrive at the truth. I havefaithfully studied all the important contemporary chroniclers and laterhistorians--Dutch, Flemish, French, Italian, Spanish, or German. Catholicand Protestant, Monarchist and Republican, have been consulted with thesame sincerity. The works of Bor (whose enormous but indispensable foliosform a complete magazine of contemporary state-papers, letters, andpamphlets, blended together in mass, and connected by a chain of artlessbut earnest narrative), of Meteren, De Thou, Burgundius, Heuterus;Tassis, Viglius, Hoofd, Haraeus, Van der Haer, Grotius-of Van der Vynckt, Wagenaer, Van Wyn, De Jonghe, Kluit, Van Kampen, Dewez, Kappelle, Bakhuyzen, Groen van Prinsterer--of Ranke and Raumer, have been asfamiliar to me as those of Mendoza, Carnero, Cabrera, Herrera, Ulloa, Bentivoglio, Peres, Strada. The manuscript relations of those Argus-eyedVenetian envoys who surprised so many courts and cabinets in their mostunguarded moments, and daguerreotyped their character and policy for theinstruction of the crafty Republic, and whose reports remain such aninestimable source for the secret history of the sixteenth century, havebeen carefully examined--especially the narratives of the caustic andaccomplished Badovaro, of Suriano, and Michele. It is unnecessary to addthat all the publications of M. Gachard--particularly the invaluablecorrespondence of Philip II. And of William the Silent, as well as the"Archives et Correspondence" of the Orange Nassau family, edited by thelearned and distinguished Groen van Prinsterer, have been my constantguides through the tortuous labyrinth of Spanish and Netherland politics. The large and most interesting series of pamphlets known as "The DuncanCollection, " in the Royal Library at the Hague, has also afforded a greatvariety of details by which I have endeavoured to give color and interestto the narrative. Besides these, and many other printed works, I havealso had the advantage of perusing many manuscript histories, among whichmay be particularly mentioned the works of Pontua Payen, of Renom deFrance, and of Pasquier de la Barre; while the vast collection ofunpublished documents in the Royal Archives of the Hague, of Brussels, and of Dresden, has furnished me with much new matter of greatimportance. I venture to hope that many years of labour, a portion ofthem in the archives of those countries whose history forms the object ofmy study, will not have been entirely in vain; and that the lovers ofhuman progress, the believers in the capacity of nations forself-government and self-improvement, and the admirers of disinterestedhuman genius and virtue, may find encouragement for their views in thedetailed history of an heroic people in its most eventful period, and inthe life and death of the great man whose name and fame are identicalwith those of his country. 

No apology is offered for this somewhat personal statement. When anunknown writer asks the attention of the public upon an important theme, he is not only authorized, but required, to show, that by industry andearnestness he has entitled himself to a hearing. The author too keenlyfeels that he has no further claims than these, and he therefore mostdiffidently asks for his work the indulgence of his readers. 

I would take this opportunity of expressing my gratitude to Dr. Klemm, Hofrath and Chief Librarian at Dresden, and to Mr. Von Weber, Ministerial-rath and Head of the Royal Archives of Saxony, for thecourtesy and kindness extended to me so uniformly during the course of myresearches in that city. I would also speak a word of sincere thanks toMr. Campbell, Assistant Librarian at the Hague, for his numerous acts offriendship during the absence of, his chief, M. Holtrop. To that mostdistinguished critic and historian, M. Bakhuyzen van den Brinck, ChiefArchivist of the Netherlands, I am under deep obligations for advice, instruction, and constant kindness, during my residence at the Hague; andI would also signify my sense of the courtesy of Mr. Charter-Master deSchwane, and of the accuracy with which copies of MSS. In the archiveswere prepared for me by his care. Finally, I would allude in thestrongest language of gratitude and respect to M. Gachard, Archivist-General of Belgium, for his unwearied courtesy and manifoldacts of kindness to me during my studies in the Royal Archives ofBrussels. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. 

Part 1. 

I. 

The north-western corner of the vast plain which extends from the Germanocean to the Ural mountains, is occupied by the countries called theNetherlands. This small triangle, enclosed between France, Germany, andthe sea, is divided by the modern kingdoms of Belgium and Holland intotwo nearly equal portions. Our earliest information concerning thisterritory is derived from the Romans. The wars waged by that nation withthe northern barbarians have rescued the damp island of Batavia, with itsneighboring morasses, from the obscurity in which they might haveremained for ages, before any thing concerning land or people would havebeen made known by the native inhabitants. Julius Caesar has saved from, oblivion the heroic savages who fought against his legions in defence oftheir dismal homes with ferocious but unfortunate patriotism; and thegreat poet of England, learning from the conqueror's Commentaries thename of the boldest tribe, has kept the Nervii, after almost twentycenturies, still fresh and familiar in our ears. 

Tacitus, too, has described with singular minuteness the struggle betweenthe people of these regions and the power of Rome, overwhelming, althoughtottering to its fall; and has moreover, devoted several chapters of hiswork upon Germany to a description of the most remarkable Teutonic tribesof the Netherlands. 

Geographically and ethnographically, the Low Countries belong both toGaul and to Germany. It is even doubtful to which of the two the Batavianisland, which is the core of the whole country, was reckoned by theRomans. It is, however, most probable that all the land, with theexception of Friesland, was considered a part of Gaul. 

Three great rivers--the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheld--had depositedtheir slime for ages among the dunes and sand banks heaved up by theocean around their mouths. A delta was thus formed, habitable at last forman. It was by nature a wide morass, in which oozy islands and savageforests were interspersed among lagoons and shallows; a district lyingpartly below the level of the ocean at its higher tides, subject toconstant overflow from the rivers, and to frequent and terribleinundations by the sea. 

The Rhine, leaving at last the regions where its storied lapse, throughso many ages, has been consecrated alike by nature and art-by poetry andeventful truth--flows reluctantly through the basalt portal of theSeven Mountains into the open fields which extend to the German sea. After entering this vast meadow, the stream divides itself into twobranches, becoming thus the two-horned Rhine of Virgil, and holds inthese two arms the island of Batavia. 

The Meuse, taking its rise in the Vosges, pours itself through theArdennes wood, pierces the rocky ridges upon the southeastern frontier ofthe Low Countries, receives the Sambre in the midst of that picturesqueanthracite basin where now stands the city of Namur, and then movestoward the north, through nearly the whole length of the country, till itmingles its waters with the Rhine. 

The Scheld, almost exclusively a Belgian river, after leaving itsfountains in Picardy, flows through the present provinces of Flanders andHainault. In Caesar's time it was suffocated before reaching the sea inquicksands and thickets, which long afforded protection to the savageinhabitants against the Roman arms; and which the slow process of natureand the untiring industry of man have since converted into thearchipelago of Zealand and South Holland. These islands were unknown tothe Romans. 

Such were the rivers, which, with their numerous tributaries, coursedthrough the spongy land. Their frequent overflow, when forced back upontheir currents by the stormy sea, rendered the country almostuninhabitable. Here, within a half-submerged territory, a race ofwretched ichthyophagi dwelt upon terpen, or mounds, which they hadraised, like beavers, above the almost fluid soil. Here, at a later day, the same race chained the tyrant Ocean and his mighty streams intosubserviency, forcing them to fertilize, to render commodious, to coverwith a beneficent network of veins and arteries, and to bind by wateryhighways with the furthest ends of the world, a country disinherited bynature of its rights. A region, outcast of ocean and earth, wrested atlast from both domains their richest treasures. A race, engaged forgenerations in stubborn conflict with the angry elements, wasunconsciously educating itself for its great struggle with the still moresavage despotism of man. 

The whole territory of the Netherlands was girt with forests. Anextensive belt of woodland skirted the sea-coast; reaching beyond themouths of the Rhine. Along the outer edge of this carrier, the dunes castup by the sea were prevented by the close tangle of thickets fromdrifting further inward; and thus formed a breastwork which time and artwere to strengthen. The, groves of Haarlem and the Hague are relics ofthis ancient forest. The Badahuenna wood, horrid with Druidic sacrifices, extended along the eastern line of the vanished lake of Flevo. The vastHercynian forest, nine days' journey in breadth, closed in the country onthe German side, stretching from the banks of the Rhine to the remoteregions of the Dacians, in such vague immensity (says the conqueror ofthe whole country) that no German, after traveling sixty days, had everreached, or even heard of; its commencement. On the south, the famousgroves of Ardennes, haunted by faun and satyr, embowered the country, andseparated it from Celtic Gaul. 

Thus inundated by mighty rivers, quaking beneath the level of the ocean, belted about by hirsute forests, this low land, nether land, hollow land, or Holland, seemed hardly deserving the arms of the all-accomplishedRoman. Yet foreign tyranny, from the earliest ages, has coveted thismeagre territory as lustfully as it has sought to wrest from their nativepossessors those lands with the fatal gift of beauty for their dower;while the genius of liberty has inspired as noble a resistance tooppression here as it ever aroused in Grecian or Italian breasts. 

II. 

It can never be satisfactorily ascertained who were the aboriginalinhabitants. The record does not reach beyond Caesar's epoch, and hefound the territory on the left of the Rhine mainly tenanted by tribes ofthe Celtic family. That large division of the Indo-European group whichhad already overspread many portions of Asia Minor, Greece, Germany, theBritish Islands, France, and Spain, had been long settled in Belgic Gaul, and constituted the bulk of its population. Checked in its westwardmovement by the Atlantic, its current began to flow backwards towards itsfountains, so that the Gallic portion of the Netherland population wasderived from the original race in its earlier wanderings and from thelater and refluent tide coming out of Celtic Gaul. The modern appellationof the Walloons points to the affinity of their ancestors with theGallic, Welsh, and Gaelic family. The Belgae were in many respects asuperior race to most of their blood-allies. They were, according toCaesar's testimony, the bravest of all the Celts. This may be in partattributed to the presence of several German tribes, who, at this periodhad already forced their way across the Rhine, mingled their qualitieswith the Belgic material, and lent an additional mettle to the Celticblood. The heart of the country was thus inhabited by a Gallic race, butthe frontiers had been taken possession of by Teutonic tribes. 

When the Cimbri and their associates, about a century before our era, made their memorable onslaught upon Rome, the early inhabitants of theRhine island of Batavia, who were probably Celts, joined in theexpedition. A recent and tremendous inundation had swept away theirmiserable homes, and even the trees of the forests, and had thus renderedthem still more dissatisfied with their gloomy abodes. The island wasdeserted of its population. At about the same period a civil dissensionamong the Chatti--a powerful German race within the Hercynianforest--resulted in the expatriation of a portion of the people. Theexiles sought a new home in the empty Rhine island, called it "Bet-auw, "or "good-meadow, " and were themselves called, thenceforward, Batavi, orBatavians. 

These Batavians, according to Tacitus, were the bravest of all theGermans. The Chatti, of whom they formed a portion, were a pre-eminentlywarlike race. "Others go to battle, " says the historian, "these go towar. " Their bodies were more hardy, their minds more vigorous, than thoseof other tribes. Their young men cut neither hair nor beard till they hadslain an enemy. On the field of battle, in the midst of carnage andplunder, they, for the first time, bared their faces. The cowardly andsluggish, only, remained unshorn. They wore an iron ring, too, or shackleupon their necks until they had performed the same achievement, a symbolwhich they then threw away, as the emblem of sloth. The Batavians wereever spoken of by the Romans with entire respect. They conquered theBelgians, they forced the free Frisians to pay tribute, but they calledthe Batavians their friends. The tax-gatherer never invaded their island. Honorable alliance united them with the Romans. It was, however, thealliance of the giant and the dwarf. The Roman gained glory and empire, the Batavian gained nothing but the hardest blows. The Batavian cavalrybecame famous throughout the Republic and the Empire. They were thefavorite troops of Caesar, and with reason, for it was their valor whichturned the tide of battle at Pharsalia. From the death of Julius down tothe times of Vespasian, the Batavian legion was the imperial body guard, the Batavian island the basis of operations in the Roman wars with Gaul, Germany, and Britain. 

Beyond the Batavians, upon the north, dwelt the great Frisian family, occupying the regions between the Rhine and Ems, The Zuyder Zee and theDollart, both caused by the terrific inundations of the thirteenthcentury and not existing at this period, did not then interposeboundaries between kindred tribes. All formed a homogeneous nation ofpure German origin. 

Thus, the population of the country was partly Celtic, partly German. Ofthese two elements, dissimilar in their tendencies and always difficultto blend, the Netherland people has ever been compounded. A certainfatality of history has perpetually helped to separate still more widelythese constituents, instead of detecting and stimulating the electiveaffinities which existed. Religion, too, upon all great historicaloccasions, has acted as the most powerful of dissolvents. Otherwise, hadso many valuable and contrasted characteristics been early fused into awhole, it would be difficult to show a race more richly endowed by Naturefor dominion and progress than the Belgo-Germanic people. 

Physically the two races resembled each other. Both were of vast stature. The gigantic Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies. TheGerman excited astonishment by his huge body and muscular limbs. Bothwere fair, with fierce blue eyes, but the Celt had yellow hair floatingover his shoulders, and the German long locks of fiery red, which he evendyed with woad to heighten the favorite color, and wore twisted into awar-knot upon the top of his head. Here the German's love of fineryceased. A simple tunic fastened at his throat with a thorn, while hisother garments defined and gave full play to his limbs, completed hiscostume. The Gaul, on the contrary, was so fond of dress that the Romansdivided his race respectively into long-haired, breeched, and gownedGaul; (Gallia comata, braccata, togata). He was fond of brilliant andparti-colored clothes, a taste which survives in the Highlander'scostume. He covered his neck and arms with golden chains. The simple andferocious German wore no decoration save his iron ring, from which hisfirst homicide relieved him. The Gaul was irascible, furious in hiswrath, but less formidable in a sustained conflict with a powerful foe. "All the Gauls are of very high stature, " says a soldier who fought underJulian. (Amm. Marcel. Xv. 12. 1). "They are white, golden-haired, terrible in the fierceness of their eyes, greedy of quarrels, braggingand insolent. A band of strangers could not resist one of them in abrawl, assisted by his strong blue-eyed wife, especially when she begins, gnashing her teeth, her neck swollen, brandishing her vast and snowyarms, and kicking with her heels at the same time, to deliver herfisticuffs, like bolts from the twisted strings of a catapult. The voicesof many are threatening and formidable. They are quick to anger, butquickly appeased. All are clean in their persons; nor among them is everseen any man or woman, as elsewhere, squalid in ragged garments. At allages they are apt for military service. The old man goes forth to thefight with equal strength of breast, with limbs as hardened by cold andassiduous labor, and as contemptuous of all dangers, as the young. Notone of them, as in Italy is often the case, was ever known to cut off histhumbs to avoid the service of Mars. "

The polity of each race differed widely from that of the other. Thegovernment of both may be said to have been republican, but the Gallictribes were aristocracies, in which the influence of clanship was apredominant feature; while the German system, although nominally regal, was in reality democratic. In Gaul were two orders, the nobility and thepriesthood, while the people, says Caesar, were all slaves. The knightsor nobles were all trained to arms. Each went forth to battle, followedby his dependents, while a chief of all the clans was appointed to takecommand during the war. The prince or chief governor was electedannually, but only by the nobles. The people had no rights at all, andwere glad to assign themselves as slaves to any noble who was strongenough to protect them. In peace the Druids exercised the main functionsof government. They decided all controversies, civil and criminal. Torebel against their decrees was punished by exclusion from thesacrifices--a most terrible excommunication, through which the criminalwas cut off from all intercourse with his fellow-creatures. 

With the Germans, the sovereignty resided in the great assembly of thepeople. There were slaves, indeed, but in small number, consisting eitherof prisoners of war or of those unfortunates who had gambled away theirliberty in games of chance. Their chieftains, although called by theRomans princes and kings, were, in reality, generals, chosen by universalsuffrage. Elected in the great assembly to preside in war, they wereraised on the shoulders of martial freemen, amid wild battle cries andthe clash of spear and shield. The army consisted entirely of volunteers, and the soldier was for life infamous who deserted the field while hischief remained alive. The same great assembly elected the villagemagistrates and decided upon all important matters both of peace and war. At the full of the moon it was usually convoked. The nobles and thepopular delegates arrived at irregular intervals, for it was aninconvenience arising from their liberty, that two or three days wereoften lost in waiting for the delinquents. All state affairs were in thehands of this fierce democracy. The elected chieftains had ratherauthority to persuade than power to command. 

The Gauls were an agricultural people. They were not without many arts oflife. They had extensive flocks and herds; and they even exported saltedprovisions as far as Rome. The truculent German, Ger-mane, Heer-mann, War-man, considered carnage the only useful occupation, and despisedagriculture as enervating and ignoble. It was base, in his opinion, togain by sweat what was more easily acquired by blood. The land wasdivided annually by the magistrates, certain farms being assigned tocertain families, who were forced to leave them at the expiration of theyear. They cultivated as a common property the lands allotted by themagistrates, but it was easier to summon them to the battle-field than tothe plough. Thus they were more fitted for the roaming and conqueringlife which Providence was to assign to them for ages, than if they hadbecome more prone to root themselves in the soil. The Gauls built townsand villages. The German built his solitary hut where inclinationprompted. Close neighborhood was not to his taste. 

In their system of religion the two races were most widely contrasted. The Gauls were a priest-ridden race. Their Druids were a dominant caste, presiding even over civil affairs, while in religious matters theirauthority was despotic. What were the principles of their wild Theologywill never be thoroughly ascertained, but we know too much of itssanguinary rites. The imagination shudders to penetrate those shaggyforests, ringing with the death-shrieks of ten thousand human victims, and with the hideous hymns chanted by smoke-and-blood-stained priests tothe savage gods whom they served. 

The German, in his simplicity, had raised himself to a purer belief thanthat of the sensuous Roman or the superstitious Gaul. He believed in asingle, supreme, almighty God, All-Vater or All-father. This Divinity wastoo sublime to be incarnated or imaged, too infinite to be enclosed intemples built with hands. Such is the Roman's testimony to the loftyconception of the German. Certain forests were consecrated to the unseenGod whom the eye of reverent faith could alone behold. Thither, at statedtimes, the people repaired to worship. They entered the sacred grove withfeet bound together, in token of submission. Those who fell wereforbidden to rise, but dragged themselves backwards on the ground. Theirrules were few and simple. They had no caste of priests, nor were they, when first known to the Romans, accustomed to offer sacrifice. It must beconfessed that in a later age, a single victim, a criminal or a prisoner, was occasionally immolated. The purity of their religion was soon stainedby their Celtic neighborhood. In the course of the Roman dominion itbecame contaminated, and at last profoundly depraved. The fantasticintermixture of Roman mythology with the gloomy but modified superstitionof Romanized Celts was not favorable to the simple character of Germantheology. The entire extirpation, thus brought about, of any conceivablesystem of religion, prepared the way for a true revelation. Within thatlittle river territory, amid those obscure morasses of the Rhine andScheld, three great forms of religion--the sanguinary superstition of theDruid, the sensuous polytheism of the Roman, the elevated but dimlygroping creed of the German, stood for centuries, face to face, until, having mutually debased and destroyed each other, they all faded away inthe pure light of Christianity. 

Thus contrasted were Gaul and German in religious and political systems. The difference was no less remarkable in their social characteristics. The Gaul was singularly unchaste. The marriage state was almost unknown. Many tribes lived in most revolting and incestuous concubinage; brethren, parents, and children, having wives in common. The German was loyal asthe Celt was dissolute. Alone among barbarians, he contented himself witha single wife, save that a few dignitaries, from motives of policy, werepermitted a larger number. On the marriage day the German offeredpresents to his bride--not the bracelets and golden necklaces with whichthe Gaul adorned his fair-haired concubine, but oxen and a bridled horse, a sword, a shield, and a spear-symbols that thenceforward she was toshare his labors and to become a portion of himself. 

They differed, too, in the honors paid to the dead. The funerals of theGauls were pompous. Both burned the corpse, but the Celt cast into theflames the favorite animals, and even the most cherished slaves anddependents of the master. Vast monuments of stone or piles of earth wereraised above the ashes of the dead. Scattered relics of the Celtic ageare yet visible throughout Europe, in these huge but unsightly memorials. 

The German was not ambitious at the grave. He threw neither garments norodors upon the funeral pyre, but the arms and the war-horse of thedeparted were burned and buried with him. 

The turf was his only sepulchre, the memory of his valor his onlymonument. Even tears were forbidden to the men. "It was esteemedhonorable, " says the historian, "for women to lament, for men toremember. "

The parallel need be pursued no further. Thus much it was necessary torecall to the historical student concerning the prominent characteristicsby which the two great races of the land were distinguished:characteristics which Time has rather hardened than effaced. In thecontrast and the separation lies the key to much of their history. HadProvidence permitted a fusion of the two races, it is, possible, fromtheir position, and from the geographical and historical link which theywould have afforded to the dominant tribes of Europe, that a world-empiremight have been the result, different in many respects from any which hasever arisen. Speculations upon what might have been are idle. It is well, however; to ponder the many misfortunes resulting from a mutualrepulsion, which, under other circumstances and in other spheres, hasbeen exchanged for mutual attraction and support. 

It is now necessary to sketch rapidly the political transformationsundergone by the country, from the early period down to the middle of thesixteenth century; the epoch when the long agony commenced, out of whichthe Batavian republic was born. 

III. 

The earliest chapter in the history of the Netherlands was written bytheir conqueror. Celtic Gaul is already in the power of Rome; the Belgictribes, alarmed at the approaching danger, arm against the universal, tyrant. Inflammable, quick to strike, but too fickle to prevail againstso powerful a foe, they hastily form a league of almost every clan. Atthe first blow of Caesar's sword, the frail confederacy falls asunderlike a rope of sand. The tribes scatter in all directions. 

Nearly all are soon defeated, and sue for mercy. The Nervii, true to theGerman blood in their, veins, swear to die rather than surrender. They, at least, are worthy of their cause. Caesar advances against them at thehead of eight legions. Drawn up on the banks of the Sambre, they awaitthe Roman's approach. In three days' march Caesar comes up with them, pitches his camp upon a steep hill sloping down to the river, and sendssome cavalry across. Hardly have the Roman horsemen crossed the stream, than the Nervii rush from the wooded hill-top, overthrow horse and rider, plunge in one great mass into the current, and, directly afterwards, areseen charging up the hill into the midst of the enemy's force. "At thesame moment, " says the conqueror, "they seemed in the wood, in the river, and within our lines. " There is a panic among the Romans, but it isbrief. Eight veteran Roman legions, with the world's victor at theirhead, are too much for the brave but undisciplined Nervii. Snatching ashield from a soldier, and otherwise unarmed, Caesar throws himself intothe hottest of the fight. The battle rages foot to foot and hand to handbut the hero's skill, with the cool valor of his troops, provesinvincible as ever. The Nervii, true to their vow, die, but not a mansurrenders. They fought upon that day till the ground was heaped withtheir dead, while, as the foremost fell thick and fast, their comrades, says the Roman, sprang upon their piled-up bodies, and hurled theirjavelins at the enemy as from a hill. They fought like men to whom lifewithout liberty was a curse. They were not defeated, but exterminated. Ofmany thousand fighting men went home but five hundred. Upon reaching theplace of refuge where they had bestowed their women and children, Caesarfound, after the battle, that there were but three of their senators leftalive. So perished the Nervii. Caesar commanded his legions to treat withrespect the little remnant of the tribe which had just fallen to swellthe empty echo of his glory, and then, with hardly a breathing pause, heproceeded to annihilate the Aduatici, the Menapii, and the Morini. 

Gaul being thus pacified, as, with sublime irony, he expresses himselfconcerning a country some of whose tribes had been annihilated, some soldas slaves, and others hunted to their lairs like beasts of prey, theconqueror departed for Italy. Legations for peace from many German racesto Rome were the consequence of these great achievements. Among othersthe Batavians formed an alliance with the masters of the world. Theirposition was always an honorable one. They were justly proud of paying notribute, but it was, perhaps, because they had nothing to pay. They hadfew cattle, they could give no hides and horns like the Frisians, andthey were therefore allowed to furnish only their blood. From this timeforth their cavalry, which was the best of Germany, became renowned inthe Roman army upon every battle-field of Europe. 

It is melancholy, at a later moment, to find the brave Bataviansdistinguished in the memorable expedition of Germanicus to crush theliberties of their German kindred. They are forever associated with thesublime but misty image of the great Hermann, the hero, educated in Rome, and aware of the colossal power of the empire, who yet, by his genius, valor, and political adroitness, preserved for Germany her nationality, her purer religion, and perhaps even that noble language which herlate-flowering literature has rendered so illustrious--but they areassociated as enemies, not as friends. 

Galba, succeeding to the purple upon the suicide of Nero, dismissed theBatavian life-guards to whom he owed his elevation. He is murdered, Othoand Vitellius contend for the succession, while all eyes are turned uponthe eight Batavian regiments. In their hands the scales of empire seem torest. They declare for Vitellius, and the civil war begins. Otho isdefeated; Vitellius acknowledged by Senate and people. Fearing, like hispredecessors, the imperious turbulence of the Batavian legions, he, too, sends them into Germany. It was the signal for a long and extensiverevolt, which had well nigh overturned the Roman power in Gaul and LowerGermany. 

IV. 

Claudius Civilis was a Batavian of noble race, who had served twenty-fiveyears in the Roman armies. His Teutonic name has perished, for, like mostsavages who become denizens of a civilized state, he had assumed anappellation in the tongue of his superiors. He was a soldier of fortune, and had fought wherever the Roman eagles flew. After a quarter of acentury's service he was sent in chains to Rome, and his brotherexecuted, both falsely charged with conspiracy. Such were the triumphsadjudged to Batavian auxiliaries. He escaped with life, and was disposedto consecrate what remained of it to a nobler cause. Civilis was nobarbarian. Like the German hero Arminius, he had received a Romaneducation, and had learned the degraded condition of Rome. He knew theinfamous vices of her rulers; he retained an unconquerable love forliberty and for his own race. Desire to avenge his own wrongs was mingledwith loftier motives in his breast. He knew that the sceptre was in thegift of the Batavian soldiery. Galba had been murdered, Otho haddestroyed himself, and Vitellius, whose weekly gluttony cost the empiremore gold than would have fed the whole Batavian population and convertedtheir whole island-morass into fertile pastures, was contending for thepurple with Vespasian, once an obscure adventurer like Civilis himself, and even his friend and companion in arms. It seemed a time to strike ablow for freedom. 

By his courage, eloquence, and talent for political combinations, Civiliseffected a general confederation of all the Netherland tribes, bothCeltic and German. For a brief moment there was a united people, aBatavian commonwealth. He found another source of strength in Germansuperstition. On the banks of the Lippe, near its confluence with theRhine, dwelt the Virgin Velleda, a Bructerian weird woman, who exercisedvast influence over the warriors of her nation. Dwelling alone in a loftytower, shrouded in a wild forest, she was revered as an oracle. Heranswers to the demands of her worshippers concerning future events weredelivered only to a chosen few. To Civilis, who had formed a closefriendship with her, she promised success, and the downfall of the Romanworld. Inspired by her prophecies, many tribes of Germany sent largesubsidies to the Batavian chief. 

The details of the revolt have been carefully preserved by Tacitus, andform one of his grandest and most elaborate pictures. The spectacle of abrave nation, inspired by the soul of one great man and rising against anoverwhelming despotism, will always speak to the heart, from generationto generation. The battles, the sieges, the defeats, the indomitablespirit of Civilis, still flaming most brightly when the clouds weredarkest around him, have been described by the great historian in hismost powerful manner. The high-born Roman has thought the noblebarbarian's portrait a subject worthy his genius. 

The struggle was an unsuccessful one. After many victories and manyoverthrows, Civilis was left alone. The Gallic tribes fell off, and suedfor peace. Vespasian, victorious over Vitellius, proved too powerful forhis old comrade. Even the Batavians became weary of the hopeless contest, while fortune, after much capricious hovering, settled at last upon theRoman side. The imperial commander Cerialis seized the moment when thecause of the Batavian hero was most desperate to send emissaries amonghis tribe, and even to tamper with the mysterious woman whose prophecieshad so inflamed his imagination. These intrigues had their effect. Thefidelity of the people was sapped; the prophetess fell away from herworshipper, and foretold ruin to his cause. The Batavians murmured thattheir destruction was inevitable, that one nation could not arrest theslavery which was destined for the whole world. How large a part of thehuman race were the Batavians? What were they in a contest with the wholeRoman empire? Moreover, they were not oppressed with tribute. They wereonly expected to furnish men and valor to their proud allies. It was thenext thing to liberty. If they were to have rulers, it was better toserve a Roman emperor than a German witch. 

Thus murmured the people. Had Civilis been successful, he would have beendeified; but his misfortunes, at last, made him odious in spite of hisheroism. But the Batavian was not a man to be crushed, nor had he livedso long in the Roman service to be outmatched in politics by thebarbarous Germans. He was not to be sacrificed as a peace-offering torevengeful Rome. Watching from beyond the Rhine the progress of defectionand the decay of national enthusiasm, he determined to be beforehand withthose who were now his enemies. He accepted the offer of negotiation fromCerialis. The Roman general was eager to grant a full pardon, and tore-enlist so brave a soldier in the service of the empire. 

A colloquy was agreed upon. The bridge across the Nabalia was brokenasunder in the middle, and Cerialis and Civilis met upon the severedsides. The placid stream by which Roman enterprise had connected thewaters of the Rhine with the lake of Flevo, flowed between the imperialcommander and the rebel chieftain. 

 ***********************************************

Here the story abruptly terminates. The remainder of the Roman'snarrative is lost, and upon that broken bridge the form of the Batavianhero disappears forever. His name fades from history: not a syllable isknown of his subsequent career; every thing is buried in the profoundoblivion which now steals over the scene where he was the most imposingactor. 

The soul of Civilis had proved insufficient to animate a whole people;yet it was rather owing to position than to any personal inferiority, that his name did not become as illustrious as that of Hermann. TheGerman patriot was neither braver nor wiser than the Batavian, but he hadthe infinite forests of his fatherland to protect him. Every legion whichplunged into those unfathomable depths was forced to retreatdisastrously, or to perish miserably. Civilis was hemmed in by the ocean;his country, long the basis of Roman military operations, was accessibleby river and canal, The patriotic spirit which he had for a momentraised, had abandoned him; his allies had deserted him; he stood aloneand at bay, encompassed by the hunters, with death or surrender as hisonly alternative. Under such circumstances, Hermann could not have shownmore courage or conduct, nor have terminated the impossible struggle withgreater dignity or adroitness. 

The contest of Civilis with Rome contains a remarkable foreshadowing ofthe future conflict with Spain, through which the Batavian republic, fifteen centuries later, was to be founded. The characters, the events, the amphibious battles, desperate sieges, slippery alliances, the traitsof generosity, audacity and cruelty, the generous confidence, the brokenfaith seem so closely to repeat themselves, that History appears topresent the self-same drama played over and over again, with but a changeof actors and of costume. There is more than a fanciful resemblancebetween Civilis and William the Silent, two heroes of ancient Germanstock, who had learned the arts of war and peace in the service of aforeign and haughty world-empire. Determination, concentration ofpurpose, constancy in calamity, elasticity almost preternatural, self-denial, consummate craft in political combinations, personalfortitude, and passionate patriotism, were the heroic elements in both. The ambition of each was subordinate to the cause which he served. Bothrefused the crown, although each, perhaps, contemplated, in the sequel, aBatavian realm of which he would have been the inevitable chief. Bothoffered the throne to a Gallic prince, for Classicus was but theprototype of Anjou, as Brinno of Brederode, and neither was destined, inthis world, to see his sacrifices crowned with success. 

The characteristics of the two great races of the land portrayedthemselves in the Roman and the Spanish struggle with much the samecolors. The Southrons, inflammable, petulant, audacious, were the firstto assault and to defy the imperial power in both revolts, while theinhabitants of the northern provinces, slower to be aroused, but of moreenduring wrath, were less ardent at the commencement, but; alone, steadfast at the close of the contest. In both wars the southern Celtsfell away from the league, their courageous but corrupt chieftains havingbeen purchased with imperial gold to bring about the abject submission oftheir followers; while the German Netherlands, although eventuallysubjugated by Rome, after a desperate struggle, were successful in thegreat conflict with Spain, and trampled out of existence every vestige ofher authority. The Batavian republic took its rank among the leadingpowers of the earth; the Belgic provinces remained Roman, Spanish, Austrian property. 

V. 

Obscure but important movements in the regions of eternal twilight, revolutions, of which history has been silent, in the mysterious depthsof Asia, outpourings of human rivets along the sides of the Altaimountains, convulsions up-heaving r mote realms and unknown dynasties, shock after shock throb bing throughout the barbarian world and dyingupon the edge of civilization, vast throes which shake the earth asprecursory pangs to the birth of a new empire--as dying symptoms of theproud but effete realm which called itself the world; scattered hordes ofsanguinary, grotesque savages pushed from their own homes, and hoveringwith vague purposes upon the Roman frontier, constantly repelled andperpetually reappearing in ever-increasing swarms, guided thither by afierce instinct, or by mysterious laws--such are the well known phenomenawhich preceded the fall of western Rome. Stately, externally powerful, although undermined and putrescent at the core, the death-stricken empirestill dashed back the assaults of its barbarous enemies. 

During the long struggle intervening between the age of Vespasian andthat of Odoacer, during all the preliminary ethnographical revolutionswhich preceded the great people's wandering, the Netherlands remainedsubject provinces. Their country was upon the high road which led theGoths to Rome. Those low and barren tracts were the outlying marches ofthe empire. Upon that desolate beach broke the first surf from the risingocean of German freedom which was soon to overwhelm Rome. Yet, althoughthe ancient landmarks were soon well nigh obliterated, the Netherlandsstill remained faithful to the Empire, Batavian blood was still pouredout for its defence. 

By the middle of the fourth century, the Franks and Allemanians, alle-mannez, all-men, a mass of united Germans are defeated by theEmperor Julian at Strasburg, the Batavian cavalry, as upon many othergreat occasions, saving the day for despotism. This achievement, one ofthe last in which the name appears upon historic record, was therefore astriumphant for the valor as it was humiliating to the true fame of thenation. Their individuality soon afterwards disappears, the race havingbeen partly exhausted in the Roman service, partly merged in the Frankand Frisian tribes who occupy the domains of their forefathers. 

For a century longer, Rome still retains its outward form, but theswarming nations are now in full career. The Netherlands are successivelyor simultaneously trampled by Franks, Vandals, Alani, Suevi, Saxons, Frisians, and even Sclavonians, as the great march of Germany touniversal empire, which her prophets and bards had foretold, wentmajestically forward. The fountains of the frozen North were opened, thewaters prevailed, but the ark of Christianity floated upon the flood. Asthe deluge assuaged, the earth had returned to chaos, the last paganempire had been washed out of existence, but the dimly, groping, faltering, ignorant infancy of Christian Europe had begun. 

After the wanderings had subsided, the Netherlands are found with muchthe same ethnological character as before. The Frank dominion hassucceeded the Roman, the German stock preponderates over the Celtic, butthe national ingredients, although in somewhat altered proportions, remain essentially the same. The old Belgae, having become Romanized intongue and customs, accept the new Empire of the Franks. That people, however, pushed from their hold of the Rhine by thickly thronging hordesof Gepidi, Quadi, Sarmati, Heruli, Saxons, Burgundians, move towards theSouth and West. As the Empire falls before Odoacer, they occupy CelticGaul with the Belgian portion of the Netherlands; while the Frisians, into which ancient German tribe the old Batavian element has melted, notto be extinguished, but to live a renovated existence, the "freeFrisians;" whose name is synonymous with liberty, nearest blood relationsof the Anglo-Saxon race, now occupy the northern portion, including thewhole future European territory of the Dutch republic. 

The history of the Franks becomes, therefore, the history of theNetherlands. The Frisians struggle, for several centuries, against theirdominion, until eventually subjugated by Charlemagne. They even encroachupon the Franks in Belgic Gaul, who are determined not to yield theirpossessions. Moreover, the pious Merovingian faineans desire to plantChristianity among the still pagan Frisians. Dagobert, son of the secondClotaire, advances against them as far as the Weser, takes possession ofUtrecht, founds there the first Christian church in Friesland, andestablishes a nominal dominion over the whole country. 

Yet the feeble Merovingians would have been powerless against ruggedFriesland, had not their dynasty already merged in that puissant familyof Brabant, which long wielded their power before it assumed their crown. It was Pepin of Heristal, grandson of the Netherlander, Pepin of Landen, who conquered the Frisian Radbod (A. D. 692), and forced him to exchangehis royal for the ducal title. 

It was Pepin's bastard, Charles the Hammer, whose tremendous blowscompleted his father's work. The new mayor of the palace soon drove theFrisian chief into submission, and even into Christianity. A bishop'sindiscretion, however, neutralized the apostolic blows of the mayor. Thepagan Radbod had already immersed one of his royal legs in the baptismalfont, when a thought struck him. "Where are my dead forefathers atpresent?" he said, turning suddenly upon Bishop Wolfran. "In Hell, withall other unbelievers, " was the imprudent answer. "Mighty well, " repliedRadbod, removing his leg, "then will I rather feast with my ancestors inthe halls of Woden, than dwell with your little starveling hand ofChristians in Heaven. " Entreaties and threats were unavailing. TheFrisian declined positively a rite which was to cause an eternalseparation from his buried kindred, and he died as he had lived, aheathen. His son, Poppa, succeeding to the nominal sovereignty, did notactively oppose the introduction of Christianity among his people, buthimself refused to be converted. Rebelling against the Frank dominion, hewas totally routed by Charles Martell in a great battle (A. D. 750) andperished with a vast number of Frisians. The Christian dispensation, thusenforced, was now accepted by these northern pagans. The commencement oftheir conversion had been mainly the work of their brethren from Britain. The monk Wilfred was followed in a few years by the Anglo-SaxonWillibrod. It was he who destroyed the images of Woden in Walcheren, abolished his worship, and founded churches in North Holland. CharlesMartell rewarded him with extensive domains about Utrecht, together withmany slaves and other chattels. Soon afterwards he was consecrated Bishopof all the Frisians. Thus rose the famous episcopate of Utrecht. AnotherAnglo-Saxon, Winfred, or Bonifacius, had been equally active among hisFrisian cousins. His crozier had gone hand in hand with the battle-axe. Bonifacius followed close upon the track of his orthodox coadjutorCharles. By the middle of the eighth century, some hundred thousandFrisians had been slaughtered, and as many more converted. The hammerwhich smote the Saracens at Tours was at last successful in beating theNetherlanders into Christianity. The labors of Bonifacius through Upperand Lower Germany were immense; but he, too, received great materialrewards. He was created Archbishop of Mayence, and, upon the death ofWillibrod, Bishop of Utrecht. Faithful to his mission, however, he met, heroically, a martyr's death at the hands of the refractory pagans atDokkum. Thus was Christianity established in the Netherlands. 

Under Charlemagne, the Frisians often rebelled, making common cause withthe Saxons. In 785, A. D. , they were, however, completely subjugated, andnever rose again until the epoch of their entire separation from theFrank empire. Charlemagne left them their name of free Frisians, and theproperty in their own land. The feudal system never took root in theirsoil. "The Frisians, " says their statute book; "shall be free, as long asthe wind blows out of the clouds and the world stands. " They agreed, however, to obey the chiefs whom the Frank monarch should appoint togovern them, according to their own laws. Those laws were collected, andare still extant. The vernacular version of their Asega book containstheir ancient customs, together with the Frank additions. The generalstatutes of Charlemagne were, of course, in vigor also; but that greatlegislator knew too well the importance attached by all mankind to localcustoms, to allow his imperial capitulara to interfere, unnecessarily, with the Frisian laws. 

VI. 

Thus again the Netherlands, for the first time since the fall of Rome, were united under one crown imperial. They had already been once united, in their slavery to Rome. Eight centuries pass away, and they are againunited, in subjection to Charlemagne. Their union was but in forming asingle link in the chain of a new realm. The reign of Charlemagne had atlast accomplished the promise of the sorceress Velleda and othersoothsayers. A German race had re-established the empire of the world. The Netherlands, like-the other provinces of the great monarch'sdominion, were governed by crown-appointed functionaries, military andjudicial. In the northeastern, or Frisian portion, however; the grants ofland were never in the form of revocable benefices or feuds. With thisimportant exception, the whole country shared the fate, and enjoyed thegeneral organization of the Empire. 

But Charlemagne came an age too soon. The chaos which had brooded overEurope since the dissolution of the Roman world, was still too absolute. It was not to be fashioned into permanent forms, even by his bold andconstructive genius. A soil, exhausted by the long culture of Paganempires, was to lie fallow for a still longer period. The discordantelements out of which the Emperor had compounded his realm, did notcoalesce during his life-time. They were only held together by thevigorous grasp of the hand which had combined them. When the greatstatesman died, his Empire necessarily fell to pieces. Society had needof farther disintegration before it could begin to reconstruct itselflocally. A new civilization was not to be improvised by a single mind. When did one man ever civilize a people? In the eighth and ninthcenturies there was not even a people to be civilized. The constructionof Charles was, of necessity, temporary. His Empire was supported byartificial columns, resting upon the earth, which fell prostrate almostas soon as the hand of their architect was cold. His institutions had notstruck down into the soil. There were no extensive and vigorous roots tonourish, from below, a flourishing Empire through time and tempest. 

Moreover, the Carlovingian race had been exhausted by producing a race ofheroes like the Pepins and the Charleses. The family became, soon, ascontemptible as the ox-drawn, long-haired "do-nothings" whom it hadexpelled; but it is not our task to describe the fortunes of theEmperor's ignoble descendants. The realm was divided, sub-divided, attimes partially reunited, like a family farm, among monarchs incompetentalike to hold, to delegate, or--to resign the inheritance of the greatwarrior and lawgiver. The meek, bald, fat, stammering, simple Charles, orLouis, who successively sat upon his throne--princes, whose only historicindividuality consists in these insipid appellations--had not the senseto comprehend, far less to develop, the plans of their ancestor. 

Charles the Simple was the last Carlovingian who governed Lotharingia, inwhich were comprised most of the Netherlands and Friesland. The Germanmonarch, Henry the Fowler, at that period called King of the East Franks, as Charles of the West Franks, acquired Lotharingia by the treaty ofBonn, Charles reserving the sovereignty over the kingdom during hislifetime. In 925, A. D. , however, the Simpleton having been imprisoned anddeposed by his own subjects, the Fowler was recognized King, ofLotharingia. Thus the Netherlands passed out of France into Germany, remaining, still, provinces of a loose, disjointed Empire. 

This is the epoch in which the various dukedoms, earldoms, and otherpetty sovereignties of the Netherlands became hereditary. It was in theyear 922 that Charles the Simple presented to Count Dirk the territory ofHolland, by letters patent. This narrow hook of land, destined, in futureages, to be the cradle of a considerable empire, stretching through bothhemispheres, was, thenceforth, the inheritance of Dirk's descendants. Historically, therefore, he is Dirk I. , Count of Holland. 

Of this small sovereign and his successors, the most powerful foe forcenturies was ever the Bishop of Utrecht, the origin of whose greatnesshas been already indicated. Of the other Netherland provinces, now orbefore become hereditary, the first in rank was Lotharingia, once thekingdom of Lothaire, now the dukedom of Lorraine. In 965 it was dividedinto Upper and Lower Lorraine, of which the lower duchy alone belonged tothe Netherlands. Two centuries later, the Counts of Louvain, thenoccupying most of Brabant, obtained a permanent hold of Lower Lorraine, and began to call themselves Dukes of Brabant. The same principle oflocal independence and isolation which created these dukes, establishedthe hereditary power of the counts and barons who formerly exercisedjurisdiction under them and others. Thus arose sovereign Counts of Namur, Hainault, Limburg, Zutphen, Dukes of Luxemburg and Gueldres, Barons ofMechlin, Marquesses of Antwerp, and others; all petty autocrats. The mostimportant of all, after the house of Lorraine, were the Earls ofFlanders; for the bold foresters of Charles the Great had soon wrestedthe sovereignty of their little territory from his feeble descendants aseasily as Baldwin, with the iron arm, had deprived the bald Charles ofhis daughter. Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overyssel, Groningen, Drentheand Friesland (all seven being portions of Friesland in a general sense), were crowded together upon a little desolate corner of Europe; an obscurefragment of Charlemagne's broken empire. They were afterwards toconstitute the United States of the Netherlands, one of the most powerfulrepublics of history. Meantime, for century after century, the Counts ofHolland and the Bishops of Utrecht were to exercise divided sway over theterritory. 

Thus the whole country was broken into many shreds and patches ofsovereignty. The separate history of such half-organized morsels istedious and petty. Trifling dynasties, where a family or two were everything, the people nothing, leave little worth recording. Even the mostdevout of genealogists might shudder to chronicle the long succession ofso many illustrious obscure. 

A glance, however, at the general features of the governmental system nowestablished in the Netherlands, at this important epoch in the world'shistory, will show the transformations which the country, in common withother portions of the western world, had undergone. 

In the tenth century the old Batavian and later Roman forms have fadedaway. An entirely new polity has succeeded. No great popular assemblyasserts its sovereignty, as in the ancient German epoch; no generals andtemporary kings are chosen by the nation. The elective power had beenlost under the Romans, who, after conquest, had conferred theadministrative authority over their subject provinces upon officialsappointed by the metropolis. The Franks pursued the same course. InCharlemagne's time, the revolution is complete. Popular assemblies andpopular election entirely vanish. Military, civil, and judicialofficers-dukes, earls, margraves, and others--are all king's creatures, 'knegton des konings, pueri regis', and so remain, till they abjure thecreative power, and set up their own. The principle of Charlemagne, thathis officers should govern according to local custom, helps them toachieve their own independence, while it preserves all that is left ofnational liberty and law. 

The counts, assisted by inferior judges, hold diets from time totime--thrice, perhaps, annually. They also summon assemblies in case ofwar. Thither are called the great vassals, who, in turn, call theirlesser vassals; each armed with "a shield, a spear, a bow, twelve arrows, and a cuirass. " Such assemblies, convoked in the name of a distantsovereign, whose face his subjects had never seen, whose language theycould hardly understand, were very different from those tumultuousmass-meetings, where boisterous freemen, armed with the weapons theyloved the best, and arriving sooner or later, according to theirpleasure, had been accustomed to elect their generals and magistrates andto raise them upon their shields. The people are now governed, theirrulers appointed by an invisible hand. Edicts, issued by a power, as itwere, supernatural, demand implicit obedience. The people, acquiescing intheir own annihilation, abdicate not only their political but theirpersonal rights. On the other hand, the great source of power diffusesless and less of light and warmth. Losing its attractive and controllinginfluence, it becomes gradually eclipsed, while its satellites fly fromtheir prescribed bounds and chaos and darkness return. The sceptre, stretched over realms so wide, requires stronger hands than those ofdegenerate Carlovingians. It breaks asunder. Functionaries becomesovereigns, with hereditary, not delegated, right to own the people, totax their roads and rivers, to take tithings of their blood and sweat, toharass them in all the relations of life. There is no longer a metropolisto protect them from official oppression. Power, the more sub-divided, becomes the more tyrannical. The sword is the only symbol of law, thecross is a weapon of offence, the bishop is a consecrated pirate, everypetty baron a burglar, while the people, alternately the prey of duke, prelate, and seignor, shorn and butchered like sheep, esteem it happinessto sell themselves into slavery, or to huddle beneath the castle walls ofsome little potentate, for the sake of his wolfish protection. Here theybuild hovels, which they surround from time to time with palisades andmuddy entrenchments; and here, in these squalid abodes of ignorance andmisery, the genius of Liberty, conducted by the spirit of Commerce, descends at last to awaken mankind from its sloth and cowardly stupor. Alonger night was to intervene; however, before the dawn of day. 

The crown-appointed functionaries had been, of course, financialofficers. They collected the revenue of the sovereign, one third of whichslipped through their fingers into their own coffers. Becoming sovereignsthemselves, they retain these funds for their private emolument. Fourprincipal sources yielded this revenue: royal domains, tolls and imposts, direct levies and a pleasantry called voluntary contributions orbenevolences. In addition to these supplies were also the proceeds offines. Taxation upon sin was, in those rude ages, a considerable branchof the revenue. The old Frisian laws consisted almost entirely of adiscriminating tariff upon crimes. Nearly all the misdeeds which man isprone to commit, were punished by a money-bote only. Murder, larceny, arson, rape--all offences against the person were commuted for a definiteprice. There were a few exceptions, such as parricide, which was followedby loss of inheritance; sacrilege and the murder of a master by a slave, which were punished with death. It is a natural inference that, as theroyal treasury was enriched by these imposts, the sovereign would hardlyattempt to check the annual harvest of iniquity by which his revenue wasincreased. Still, although the moral sense is shocked by a system whichmakes the ruler's interest identical with the wickedness of his people, and holds out a comparative immunity in evil-doing for the rich, it wasbetter that crime should be punished by money rather than not be punishedat all. A severe tax, which the noble reluctantly paid and which thepenniless culprit commuted by personal slavery, was sufficiently unjustas well as absurd, yet it served to mitigate the horrors with whichtumult, rapine, and murder enveloped those early days. Gradually, as thelight of reason broke upon the dark ages, the most noxious features ofthe system were removed, while the general sentiment of reverence for lawremained. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 A country disinherited by nature of its rights A pleasantry called voluntary contributions or benevolences Annual harvest of iniquity by which his revenue was increased Batavian legion was the imperial body guard Beating the Netherlanders into Christianity Bishop is a consecrated pirate Brethren, parents, and children, having wives in common For women to lament, for men to remember Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies Great science of political equilibrium Holland, England, and America, are all links of one chain Long succession of so many illustrious obscure Others go to battle, says the historian, these go to war Revocable benefices or feuds Taxation upon sin The Gaul was singularly unchaste

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 2. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 1855

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. , Part 2. 

VII. 

Five centuries of isolation succeed. In the Netherlands, as throughoutEurope, a thousand obscure and slender rills are slowly preparing thegreat stream of universal culture. Five dismal centuries of feudalism:during which period there is little talk of human right, little obedienceto divine reason. Rights there are none, only forces; and, in brief, three great forces, gradually arising, developing themselves, acting uponeach other, and upon the general movement of society. 

The sword--the first, for a time the only force: the force of iron. The"land's master, " having acquired the property in the territory and in thepeople who feed thereon, distributes to his subalterns, often but a shadebeneath him in power, portions of his estate, getting the use of theirfaithful swords in return. Vavasours subdivide again to vassals, exchanging land and cattle, human or otherwise, against fealty, and sothe iron chain of a military hierarchy, forged of mutually interdependentlinks, is stretched over each little province. Impregnable castles, heremore numerous than in any other part of Christendom, dot the levelsurface of the country. Mail-clad knights, with their followers, encamppermanently upon the soil. The fortunate fable of divine right isinvented to sanction the system; superstition and ignorance give currencyto the delusion. Thus the grace of God, having conferred the property ina vast portion of Europe upon a certain idiot in France, makes himcompetent to sell large fragments of his estate, and to give a divine, and, therefore, most satisfactory title along with them. A greatconvenience to a man, who had neither power, wit, nor will to keep theproperty in his own hands. So the Dirks of Holland get a deed fromCharles the Simple, and, although the grace of God does not prevent theroyal grantor himself from dying a miserable, discrowned captive, theconveyance to Dirk is none the less hallowed by almighty fiat. So theRoberts and Guys, the Johns and Baldwins, become sovereigns in Hainault, Brabant, Flanders and other little districts, affecting supernaturalsanction for the authority which their good swords have won and are everready to maintain. Thus organized, the force of iron asserts and exertsitself. Duke, count, seignor and vassal, knight and squire, master andman swarm and struggle amain. A wild, chaotic, sanguinary scene. Here, bishop and baron contend, centuries long, murdering human creatures byten thousands for an acre or two of swampy pasture; there, doughtyfamilies, hugging old musty quarrels to their heart, buffet each otherfrom generation to generation; thus they go on, raging and wrestlingamong themselves, with all the world, shrieking insane war-cries which nohuman soul ever understood--red caps and black, white hoods and grey, Hooks and Kabbeljaws, dealing destruction, building castles and burningthem, tilting at tourneys, stealing bullocks, roasting Jews, robbing thehighways, crusading--now upon Syrian sands against Paynim dogs, now inFrisian quagmires against Albigenses, Stedingers, and otherheretics--plunging about in blood and fire, repenting, at idle times, andpaying their passage through, purgatory with large slices of ill-gottengains placed in the ever-extended dead-hand of the Church; acting, on thewhole, according to their kind, and so getting themselves civilized orexterminated, it matters little which. Thus they play their part, thoseenergetic men-at-arms; and thus one great force, the force of iron, spinsand expands itself, century after century, helping on, as it whirls, thegreat progress of society towards its goal, wherever that may be. 

Another force--the force clerical--the power of clerks, arises; the mightof educated mind measuring itself against brute violence; a forceembodied, as often before, as priestcraft--the strength of priests: craftmeaning, simply, strength, in our old mother-tongue. This great force, too, develops itself variously, being sometimes beneficent, sometimesmalignant. Priesthood works out its task, age after age: now smoothingpenitent death-beds, consecrating graves! feeding the hungry, clothingthe naked, incarnating the Christian precepts, in an, age of rapine andhomicide, doing a thousand deeds of love and charity among the obscureand forsaken--deeds of which there shall never be human chronicle, but aleaf or two, perhaps, in the recording angel's book; hiving precioushoney from the few flowers of gentle, art which bloom upon a howlingwilderness; holding up the light of science over a stormy sea; treasuringin convents and crypts the few fossils of antique learning which becomevisible, as the extinct Megatherium of an elder world reappears after thegothic deluge; and now, careering in helm and hauberk with the otherruffians, bandying blows in the thickest of the fight, blasting withbell, book, and candle its trembling enemies, while sovereigns, at thehead of armies, grovel in the dust and offer abject submission for thekiss of peace; exercising the same conjury over ignorant baron andcowardly hind, making the fiction of apostolic authority to bind andloose, as prolific in acres as the other divine right to have and hold;thus the force of cultivated intellect, wielded by a chosen few andsanctioned by supernatural authority, becomes as potent as the sword. 

A third force, developing itself more slowly, becomes even more potentthan the rest: the power of gold. Even iron yields to the more ductilemetal. The importance of municipalities, enriched by trade, begins to befelt. Commerce, the mother of Netherland freedom, and, eventually, itsdestroyer--even as in all human history the vivifying becomes afterwardsthe dissolving principle--commerce changes insensibly and miraculouslythe aspect of society. Clusters of hovels become towered cities; thegreen and gilded Hanse of commercial republicanism coils itself aroundthe decaying trunk of feudal despotism. Cities leagued with citiesthroughout and beyond Christendom-empire within empire-bind themselvescloser and closer in the electric chain of human sympathy and growstronger and stronger by mutual support. Fishermen and river raftsmenbecome ocean adventurers and merchant princes. Commerce plucks uphalf-drowned Holland by the locks and pours gold into her lap. Goldwrests power from iron. Needy Flemish weavers become mightymanufacturers. Armies of workmen, fifty thousand strong, tramp throughthe swarming streets. Silk-makers, clothiers, brewers become the gossipsof kings, lend their royal gossips vast sums and burn the royal notes ofhand in fires of cinnamon wood. Wealth brings strength, strengthconfidence. Learning to handle cross-bow and dagger, the burghers fearless the baronial sword, finding that their own will cut as well, seeingthat great armies--flowers of chivalry--can ride away before them fastenough at battles of spurs and other encounters. Sudden riches begetinsolence, tumults, civic broils. Internecine quarrels, horrible tumultsstain the streets with blood, but education lifts the citizens more andmore out of the original slough. They learn to tremble as little atpriestcraft as at swordcraft, having acquired something of each. Gold inthe end, unsanctioned by right divine, weighs up the other forces, supernatural as they are. And so, struggling along their appointed path, making cloth, making money, making treaties with great kingdoms, makingwar by land and sea, ringing great bells, waving great banners, they, too--these insolent, boisterous burghers--accomplish their work. Thus, the mighty power of the purse develops itself and municipal libertybecomes a substantial fact. A fact, not a principle; for the old theoremof sovereignty remains undisputed as ever. Neither the nation, in mass, nor the citizens, in class, lay claim to human rights. All upperattributes--legislative, judicial, administrative--remain in theland-master's breast alone. It is an absurdity, therefore, to argue withGrotius concerning the unknown antiquity of the Batavian republic. Therepublic never existed at all till the sixteenth century, and was onlyborn after long years of agony. The democratic instincts of the ancientGerman savages were to survive in the breasts of their cultivateddescendants, but an organized, civilized, republican polity had neverexisted. The cities, as they grew in strength, never claimed the right tomake the laws or to share in the government. As a matter of fact, theydid make the laws, and shared, beside, in most important functions ofsovereignty, in the treaty-making power, especially. Sometimes bybargains; sometimes by blood, by gold, threats, promises, or good hardblows they extorted their charters. Their codes, statutes, joyfulentrances, and other constitutions were dictated by the burghers andsworn to by the monarch. They were concessions from above; privilegesprivate laws; fragments indeed of a larger liberty, but vastly, betterthan the slavery for which they had been substituted; solid facts insteadof empty abstractions, which, in those practical and violent days, wouldhave yielded little nutriment; but they still rather sought to reconcilethemselves, by a rough, clumsy fiction, with the hierarchy which they hadinvaded, than to overturn the system. Thus the cities, not regardingthemselves as representatives or aggregations of the people, becamefabulous personages, bodies without souls, corporations which hadacquired vitality and strength enough to assert their existence. Aspersons, therefore--gigantic individualities--they wheeled into thefeudal ranks and assumed feudal powers and responsibilities. The city ofDort; of Middelburg, of Ghent, of Louvain, was a living being, doingfealty, claiming service, bowing to its lord, struggling with its equals, trampling upon its slaves. 

Thus, in these obscure provinces, as throughout Europe, in a thousandremote and isolated corners, civilization builds itself up, syntheticallyand slowly; yet at last, a whole is likely to get itself constructed. Thus, impelled by great and conflicting forces, now obliquely, nowbackward, now upward, yet, upon the whole, onward, the new Society movesalong its predestined orbit, gathering consistency and strength as itgoes. Society, civilization, perhaps, but hardly humanity. The people hashardly begun to extricate itself from the clods in which it lies buried. There are only nobles, priests, and, latterly, cities. In the northernNetherlands, the degraded condition of the mass continued longest. Evenin Friesland, liberty, the dearest blessing of the ancient Frisians, hadbeen forfeited in a variety of ways. Slavery was both voluntary andcompulsory. Paupers sold themselves that they might escape starvation. The timid sold themselves that they might escape violence. Thesevoluntary sales, which were frequent, wore usually made to cloisters andecclesiastical establishments, for the condition of Church-slaves waspreferable to that of other serfs. Persons worsted in judicial duels, shipwrecked sailors, vagrants, strangers, criminals unable to pay themoney-bote imposed upon them, were all deprived of freedom; but theprolific source of slavery was war. Prisoners were almost universallyreduced to servitude. A free woman who intermarried with a slavecondemned herself and offspring to perpetual bondage. Among the RipuarianFranks, a free woman thus disgracing herself, was girt with a sword and adistaff. Choosing the one, she was to strike her husband dead; choosingthe other, she adopted the symbol of slavery, and became a chattel forlife. 

The ferocious inroads of the Normans scared many weak and timid personsinto servitude. They fled, by throngs, to church and monastery, and werehappy, by enslaving themselves, to escape the more terrible bondage ofthe sea-kings. During the brief dominion of the Norman Godfrey, everyfree Frisian was forced to wear a halter around his neck. The lot of aChurch-slave was freedom in comparison. To kill him was punishable by aheavy fine. He could give testimony in court, could inherit, could make awill, could even plead before the law, if law could be found. The numberof slaves throughout the Netherlands was very large; the number belongingto the bishopric of Utrecht, enormous. 

The condition of those belonging to laymen was much more painful. TheLyf-eigene, or absolute slaves, were the most wretched. They were merebrutes. They had none of the natural attributes of humanity, their lifeand death were in the master's hands, they had no claim to a fraction oftheir own labor or its fruits, they had no marriage, except undercondition of the infamous 'jus primoe noctis'. The villagers, orvilleins, were the second class and less forlorn. They could commute thelabor due to their owner by a fixed sum of money, after annual payment ofwhich, the villein worked for himself. His master, therefore, was not hisabsolute proprietor. The chattel had a beneficial interest in a portionof his own flesh and blood. 

The crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs. He whobecame a soldier of the cross was free upon his return, and many wereadventurous enough to purchase liberty at so honorable a price. Manyothers were sold or mortgaged by the crusading knights, desirous ofconverting their property into gold, before embarking upon theirenterprise. The purchasers or mortgagees were in general churches andconvents, so that the slaves, thus alienated, obtained at least apreferable servitude. The place of the absent serfs was supplied by freelabor, so that agricultural and mechanical occupations, now devolvingupon a more elevated class, became less degrading, and, in process oftime, opened an ever-widening sphere for the industry and progress offreemen. Thus a people began to exist. It was, however; a miserablepeople, with personal, but no civil rights whatever. Their condition, although better than servitude, was almost desperate. They were taxedbeyond their ability, while priest and noble were exempt. They had novoice in the apportionment of the money thus contributed. There was noredress against the lawless violence to which they were perpetuallyexposed. In the manorial courts, the criminal sat in judgment upon hisvictim. The functions of highwayman and magistrate were combined in oneindividual. 

By degrees, the class of freemen, artisans, traders, and the like, becoming the more numerous, built stronger and better houses outside thecastle gates of the "land's master" or the burghs of the more powerfulnobles. The superiors, anxious to increase their own importance, favoredthe progress of the little boroughs. The population, thus collected, began to divide themselves into guilds. These were soon afterwardserected by the community into bodies corporate; the establishment of thecommunity, of course, preceding, the incorporation of the guilds. Thosecommunities were created by charters or Keuren, granted by the sovereign. Unless the earliest concessions of this nature have perished, the towncharters of Holland or Zeland are nearly a century later than those ofFlanders, France, and England. 

The oldest Keur, or act of municipal incorporation, in the provincesafterwards constituting the republic, was that granted by Count Williamthe First of Holland and Countess Joanna of Flanders, as jointproprietors of Walcheren, to the town of Middelburg. It will be seen thatits main purport is to promise, as a special privilege to this community, law, in place of the arbitrary violence by which mankind, in general, were governed by their betters. 

"The inhabitants, " ran the Charter, "are taken into protection by bothcounts. Upon fighting, maiming, wounding, striking, scolding; uponpeace-breaking, upon resistance to peace-makers and to the judgment ofSchepens; upon contemning the Ban, upon selling spoiled wine, and uponother misdeeds fines are imposed for behoof of the Count, the city, andsometimes of the Schepens....... To all Middelburgers one kind of law isguaranteed. Every man must go to law before the Schepens. If any onebeing summoned and present in Walcheren does not appear, or refusessubmission to sentence, he shall be banished with confiscation ofproperty. Schout or Schepen denying justice to a complainant, shall, until reparation, hold no tribunal again....... A burgher having a disputewith an outsider (buiten mann) must summon him before the Schepens. Anappeal lies from the Schepens to the Count. No one can testify but ahouseholder. All alienation of real estate must take place before theSchepens. If an outsider has a complaint against a burgher, the Schepensand Schout must arrange it. If either party refuses submission to them, they must ring the town bell and summon an assembly of all the burghersto compel him. Any one ringing the town bell, except by general consent, and any one not appearing when it tolls, are liable to a fine. NoMiddelburger can be arrested or held in durance within Flanders orHolland, except for crime. "

This document was signed, sealed, and sworn to by the two sovereigns inthe year 1217. It was the model upon which many other communities, cradles of great cities, in Holland and Zeland, were afterwards created. 

These charters are certainly not very extensive, even for the privilegedmunicipalities which obtained them, when viewed from an abstractstand-point. They constituted, however, a very great advance from thestand-point at which humanity actually found itself. They created, notfor all inhabitants, but for great numbers of them, the right, not togovern them selves but to be governed by law: They furnished a localadministration of justice. They provided against arbitrary imprisonment. They set up tribunals, where men of burgher class were to sit injudgment. They held up a shield against arbitrary violence from above andsedition from within. They encouraged peace-makers, punishedpeace-breakers. They guarded the fundamental principle, 'ut suatanerent', to the verge of absurdity; forbidding a freeman, without afreehold, from testifying--a capacity not denied even to a country slave. Certainly all this was better than fist-law and courts manorial. For thecommencement of the thirteenth century, it was progress. 

The Schout and Schepens, or chief magistrate and aldermen, wereoriginally appointed by the sovereign. In process of time, the electionof these municipal authorities was conceded to the communities. Thisinestimable privilege, however, after having been exercised during acertain period by the whole body of citizens, was eventually monopolizedby the municipal government itself, acting in common with the deans ofthe various guilds. 

Thus organized and inspired with the breath of civic life, thecommunities of Flanders and Holland began to move rapidly forward. Moreand more they assumed the appearance of prosperous little republics. Forthis prosperity they were indebted to commerce, particularly with Englandand the Baltic nations, and to manufactures, especially of wool. 

The trade between England and the Netherlands had existed for ages, andwas still extending itself, to the great advantage of both countries. Adispute, however, between the merchants of Holland and England, towardsthe year 1215, caused a privateering warfare, and a ten years' suspensionof intercourse. A reconciliation afterwards led to the establishment ofthe English wool staple, at Dort. A subsequent quarrel deprived Hollandof this great advantage. King Edward refused to assist Count Florence ina war with the Flemings, and transferred the staple from Dort to Brugesand Mechlin. 

The trade of the Netherlands with the Mediterranean and the East wasmainly through this favored city of Bruges, which, already in thethirteenth century, had risen to the first rank in the commercial world. It was the resting-place for the Lombards and other Italians, the greatentrepot for their merchandise. It now became, in addition, the greatmarketplace for English wool, and the woollen fabrics of all theNetherlands, as well as for the drugs and spices of the East. It had, however, by no means reached its apogee, but was to culminate withVenice, and to sink with her decline. When the overland Indian trade felloff with the discovery of the Cape passage, both cities withered. Grassgrew in the fair and pleasant streets of Bruges, and sea-weed clusteredabout the marble halls of Venice. At this epoch, however, both were in astate of rapid and insolent prosperity. 

The cities, thus advancing in wealth and importance, were no longersatisfied with being governed according to law, and began to participate, not only in their own, but in the general government. Under Guy ofFlanders, the towns appeared regularly, as well as the nobles, in theassembly of the provincial estates. (1386-1389, A. D. ) In the course ofthe following century, the six chief cities, or capitals, of Holland(Dort, Harlem, Delft, Leyden, Goads, and Amsterdam) acquired the right ofsending their deputies regularly to the estates of the provinces. Thesetowns, therefore, with the nobles, constituted the parliamentary power ofthe nation. They also acquired letters patent from the count, allowingthem to choose their burgomasters and a limited number of councillors orsenators (Vroedschappen). 

Thus the liberties of Holland and Flanders waxed, daily, stronger. Agreat physical convulsion in the course of the thirteenth century came toadd its influence to the slower process of political revolution. Hithertothere had been but one Friesland, including Holland, and nearly all theterritory of the future republic. A slender stream alone separated thetwo great districts. The low lands along the Vlie, often threatened, atlast sank in the waves. The German Ocean rolled in upon the inland Lakeof Flevo. The stormy Zuyder Zee began its existence by engulfingthousands of Frisian villages, with all their population, and byspreading a chasm between kindred peoples. The political, as well as thegeographical, continuity of the land was obliterated by this tremendousdeluge. The Hollanders were cut off from their relatives in the east byas dangerous a sea as that which divided them from their Anglo-Saxonbrethren in Britain. The deputies to the general assemblies at Aurichcould no longer undertake a journey grown so perilous. West Frieslandbecame absorbed in Holland. East Friesland remained a federation of rudebut self-governed maritime provinces, until the brief and bloody dominionof the Saxon dukes led to the establishment of Charles the Fifth'sauthority. Whatever the nominal sovereignty over them, this mostrepublican tribe of Netherlanders, or of Europeans, had never acceptedfeudalism. There was an annual congress of the whole confederacy. Each ofthe seven little states, on the other hand, regulated its own internalaffairs. Each state was subdivided into districts, each district governedby a Griet-mann (greatman, selectman) and assistants. Above all thesedistrict officers was a Podesta, a magistrate identical, in name andfunctions, with the chief officer of the Italian republics. There wassometimes but one Podesta; sometimes one for each province. He was chosenby the people, took oath of fidelity to the separate estates, or, ifPodesta-general, to the federal diet, and was generally elected for alimited term, although sometimes for life. He was assisted by a board ofeighteen or twenty councillors. The deputies to the general congress werechosen by popular suffrage in Easter-week. The clergy were not recognizedas a political estate. 

Thus, in those lands which a niggard nature had apparently condemned toperpetual poverty and obscurity, the principle of reasonable humanfreedom, without which there is no national prosperity or glory worthcontending for, was taking deepest and strongest root. Already in thethirteenth and fourteenth centuries Friesland was a republic, except inname; Holland, Flanders, Brabant, had acquired a large share ofself-government. The powerful commonwealth, at a later period to beevolved out of the great combat between centralized tyranny and thespirit of civil and religious liberty, was already foreshadowed. Theelements, of which that important republic was to be compounded, weregerminating for centuries. Love of freedom, readiness to strike and bleedat any moment in her cause, manly resistance to despotism, howeverovershadowing, were the leading characteristics of the race in allregions or periods, whether among Frisian swamps, Dutch dykes, the gentlehills and dales of England, or the pathless forests of America. Doubtless, the history of human liberty in Holland and Flanders, as everywhere else upon earth where there has been such a history, unrolls manyscenes of turbulence and bloodshed; although these features have beenexaggerated by prejudiced historians. Still, if there were luxury andinsolence, sedition and uproar, at any rate there was life. Those violentlittle commonwealths had blood in their veins. They were compact ofproud, self-helping, muscular vigor. The most sanguinary tumults whichthey ever enacted in the face of day, were better than the order andsilence born of the midnight darkness of despotism. That very unrulinesswas educating the people for their future work. Those merchants, manufacturers, country squires, and hard-fighting barons, all pent up ina narrow corner of the earth, quarrelling with each other and with allthe world for centuries, were keeping alive a national pugnacity ofcharacter, for which there was to be a heavy demand in the sixteenthcentury, and without which the fatherland had perhaps succumbed in themost unequal conflict ever waged by man against oppression. 

To sketch the special history of even the leading Netherland provinces, during the five centuries which we have thus rapidly sought tocharacterize, is foreign to our purpose. By holding the clue of Holland'shistory, the general maze of dynastic transformations throughout thecountry may, however, be swiftly threaded. From the time of the firstDirk to the close of the thirteenth century there were nearly fourhundred years of unbroken male descent, a long line of Dirks andFlorences. This iron-handed, hot-headed, adventurous race, placed assovereign upon its little sandy hook, making ferocious exertions to swellinto larger consequence, conquering a mile or two of morass or barrenfurze, after harder blows and bloodier encounters than might haveestablished an empire under more favorable circumstances, at last diesout. The courtship falls to the house of Avennes, Counts of Hainault. Holland, together with Zeland, which it had annexed, is thus joined tothe province of Hainault. At the end of another half century the Hainaultline expires. William the Fourth died childless in 1355. His death is thesignal for the outbreak of an almost interminable series of civilcommotions. Those two great, parties, known by the uncouth names of Hookand Kabbeljaw, come into existence, dividing noble against noble, cityagainst city, father against son, for some hundred and fifty years, without foundation upon any abstract or intelligible principle. It may beobserved, however, that, in the sequel, and as a general rule, theKabbeljaw, or cod-fish party, represented the city or municipal faction, while the Hooks (fish-hooks), that were to catch and control them, werethe nobles; iron and audacity against brute number and weight. 

Duke William of Bavaria, sister's son--of William the Fourth, getshimself established in 1354. He is succeeded by his brother Albert;Albert by his son William. William, who had married Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Philip the Bold, dies in 1417. The goodly heritage of thesethree Netherland provinces descends to his daughter Jacqueline, a damselof seventeen. Little need to trace the career of the fair and ill-starredJacqueline. Few chapters of historical romance have drawn more frequenttears. The favorite heroine of ballad and drama, to Netherlanders she isendued with the palpable form and perpetual existence of the Iphigenias, Mary Stuarts, Joans of Arc, or other consecrated individualities. Exhausted and broken-hearted, after thirteen years of conflict with herown kinsmen, consoled for the cowardice and brutality of three husbandsby the gentle and knightly spirit of the fourth, dispossessed of herfather's broad domains, degraded from the rank of sovereign to be ladyforester of her own provinces by her cousin, the bad Duke of Burgundy, Philip surnamed "the Good, " she dies at last, and the good cousin takesundisputed dominion of the land. (1437. )

The five centuries of isolation are at end. The many obscure streams ofNetherland history are merged in one broad current. Burgundy has absorbedall the provinces which, once more, are forced to recognize a singlemaster. A century and a few years more succeed, during which this houseand its heirs are undisputed sovereigns of the soil. 

Philip the Good had already acquired the principal Netherlands, beforedispossessing Jacqueline. He had inherited, beside the two Burgundies, the counties of Flanders and Artois. He had purchased the county ofNamur, and had usurped the duchy of Brabant, to which the duchy ofLimburg, the marquisate of Antwerp, and the barony of Mechlin, hadalready been annexed. By his assumption of Jacqueline's dominions, he wasnow lord of Holland, Zeland, and Hainault, and titular master ofFriesland. He acquired Luxemburg a few years later. 

Lord of so many opulent cities and fruitful provinces, he felt himselfequal to the kings of Europe. Upon his marriage with Isabella ofPortugal, he founded, at Bruges, the celebrated order of the GoldenFleece. What could be more practical or more devout than the conception?Did not the Lamb of God, suspended at each knightly breast, symbolize atonce the woollen fabrics to which so much of Flemish wealth andBurgundian power was owing, and the gentle humility of Christ, which wasever to characterize the order? Twenty-five was the limited number, including Philip himself, as grand master. The chevaliers were emperors, kings, princes, and the most illustrious nobles of Christendom; while aleading provision, at the outset, forbade the brethren, crowned headsexcepted, to accept or retain the companionship of any other order. 

The accession of so potent and ambitious a prince as the good Philipboded evil to the cause of freedom in the Netherlands. The spirit ofliberty seemed to have been typified in the fair form of the benignantand unhappy Jacqueline, and to be buried in her grave. The usurper, whohad crushed her out of existence, now strode forward to trample upon allthe laws and privileges of the provinces which had formed her heritage. 

At his advent, the municipal power had already reached an advanced stageof development. The burgher class controlled the government, not only ofthe cities, but often of the provinces, through its influence in theestates. Industry and wealth had produced their natural results. Thesupreme authority of the sovereign and the power of the nobles werebalanced by the municipal principle which had even begun to preponderateover both. All three exercised a constant and salutary check upon eachother. Commerce had converted slaves into freemen, freemen into burghers, and the burghers were acquiring daily, a larger practical hold upon thegovernment. The town councils were becoming almost omnipotent. Althoughwith an oligarchical tendency, which at a later period was to be morefully developed, they were now composed of large numbers of individuals, who had raised themselves, by industry and intelligence, out of thepopular masses. There was an unquestionably republican tone to theinstitutions. Power, actually, if not nominally, was in the hands of manywho had achieved the greatness to which they had not been born. 

The assemblies of the estates were rather diplomatic than representative. They consisted, generally, of the nobles and of the deputations from thecities. In Holland, the clergy had neither influence nor seats in theparliamentary body. Measures were proposed by the stadholder, whorepresented the sovereign. A request, for example, of pecuniary, accommodation, was made by that functionary or by the count himself inperson. The nobles then voted upon the demand, generally as one body, butsometimes by heads. The measure was then laid before the burghers. Ifthey had been specially commissioned to act upon the matter; they voted, each city as a city, not each deputy, individually. If they had receivedno instructions, they took back the proposition to lay before thecouncils of their respective cities, in order to return a decision at anadjourned session, or at a subsequent diet. It will be seen, therefore, that the principle of national, popular representation was butimperfectly developed. The municipal deputies acted only underinstructions. Each city was a little independent state, suspicious notonly of the sovereign and nobles, but of its sister cities. This mutualjealousy hastened the general humiliation now impending. The centre ofthe system waging daily more powerful, it more easily unsphered thesefeebler and mutually repulsive bodies. 

Philip's first step, upon assuming the government, was to issue adeclaration, through the council of Holland, that the privileges andconstitutions, which he had sworn to as Ruward, or guardian, during theperiod in which Jacqueline had still retained a nominal sovereignty, wereto be considered null and void, unless afterwards confirmed by him ascount. At a single blow he thus severed the whole knot of pledges, oathsand other political complications, by which he had entangled himselfduring his cautious advance to power. He was now untrammelled again. Asthe conscience of the smooth usurper was, thenceforth, the measure ofprovincial liberty, his subjects soon found it meted to them moresparingly than they wished. From this point, then, through the Burgundianperiod, and until the rise of the republic, the liberty of theNetherlands, notwithstanding several brilliant but brief laminations, occurring at irregular intervals, seemed to remain in almost perpetualeclipse. 

The material prosperity of the country had, however, vastly increased. The fisheries of Holland had become of enormous importance. The inventionof the humble Beukelzoon of Biervliet, had expanded into a mine ofwealth. The fisheries, too, were most useful as a nursery of seamen, andwere already indicating Holland's future naval supremacy. The fishermenwere the militia of the ocean, their prowess attested in the war with theHanseatic cities, which the provinces of Holland and Zeland, in Philip'sname, but by their own unassisted exertions, carried on triumphantly atthis epoch. Then came into existence that race of cool and daringmariners, who, in after times, were to make the Dutch name illustriousthroughout the world, the men, whose fierce descendants, the "beggars ofthe sea, " were to make the Spanish empire tremble, the men, whose latersuccessors swept the seas with brooms at the mast-head, and whoseocean-battles with their equally fearless English brethren often lastedfour uninterrupted days and nights. 

The main strength of Holland was derived from the ocean, from whosedestructive grasp she had wrested herself, but in whose friendly embraceshe remained. She was already placing securely the foundations ofcommercial wealth and civil liberty upon those shifting quicksands whichthe Roman doubted whether to call land or water. Her submerged deformity, as she floated, mermaid-like, upon the waves was to be forgotten in hermaterial splendor. Enriched with the spoils of every clime, crowned withthe divine jewels of science and art, she was, one day, to sing a sirensong of freedom, luxury, and power. 

As with Holland, so with Flanders, Brabant, and the other leadingprovinces. Industry and wealth, agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, were constantly augmenting. The natural sources of power were full tooverflowing, while the hand of despotism was deliberately sealing thefountain. 

For the house of Burgundy was rapidly culminating and as rapidlycurtailing the political privileges of the Netherlands. The contest was, at first, favorable to the cause of arbitrary power; but little seedswere silently germinating, which, in the progress of their giganticdevelopment, were, one day, to undermine the foundations of Tyranny andto overshadow the world. The early progress of the religious reformationin the Netherlands will be outlined in a separate chapter. Another greatprinciple was likewise at work at this period. At the very epoch when thegreatness of Burgundy was most swiftly ripening, another weapon wassecretly forging, more potent in the great struggle for freedom than anywhich the wit or hand of man has ever devised or wielded. When Philip theGood, in the full blaze of his power, and flushed with the triumphs ofterritorial aggrandizement, was instituting at Bruges the order of theGolden Fleece, "to the glory of God, of the blessed Virgin, and of theholy Andrew, patron saint of the Burgundian family, " and enrolling thenames of the kings and princes who were to be honored with its symbols, at that very moment, an obscure citizen of Harlem, one Lorenz Coster, orLawrence the Sexton, succeeded in printing a little grammar, by means ofmovable types. The invention of printing was accomplished, but it was notushered in with such a blaze of glory as heralded the contemporaneouserection of the Golden Fleece. The humble setter of types did not deememperors and princes alone worthy his companionship. His invention sentno thrill of admiration throughout Christendom; and yet, what was thegood Philip of Burgundy, with his Knights of the Golden Fleece, and alltheir effulgent trumpery, in the eye of humanity and civilization, compared with the poor sexton and his wooden types?

 [The question of the time and place to which the invention of printing should be referred, has been often discussed. It is not probable that it will ever be settled to the entire satisfaction of Holland and Germany. The Dutch claim that movable types were first used at Harlem, fixing the time variously between the years 1423 and 1440. The first and very faulty editions of Lorenz are religiously preserved at Harlem. ]

Philip died in February, 1467. The details of his life and career do notbelong to our purpose. The practical tendency of his government was torepress the spirit of liberty, while especial privileges, extensive innature, but limited in time, were frequently granted to corporations. Philip, in one day, conferred thirty charters upon as many differentbodies of citizens. These were, however, grants of monopoly notconcessions of rights. He also fixed the number of city councils orVroedschappen in many Netherland cities, giving them permission topresent a double list of candidates for burgomasters and judges, fromwhich he himself made the appointments. He was certainly neither a goodnor great prince, but he possessed much administrative ability. Hismilitary talents were considerable, and he was successful in his wars. Hewas an adroit dissembler, a practical politician. He had the sense tocomprehend that the power of a prince, however absolute, must depend uponthe prosperity of his subjects. He taxed severely the wealth, but heprotected the commerce and the manufactures of Holland and Flanders. Heencouraged art, science, and literature. The brothers, John and HubertVan Eyck, were attracted by his generosity to Bruges, where they paintedmany pictures. John was even a member of the duke's council. The art ofoil-painting was carried to great perfection by Hubert's scholar, John ofBruges. An incredible number of painters, of greater or less merit, flourished at this epoch in the Netherlands, heralds of that greatschool, which, at a subsequent period, was to astonish the world withbrilliant colors; profound science, startling effects, and vigorousreproductions of Nature. Authors, too, like Olivier de la Marche andPhilippe de Comines, who, in the words of the latter, "wrote, not for theamusement of brutes, and people of low degree, but for princes and otherpersons of quality, " these and other writers, with aims as lofty, flourished at the court of Burgundy, and were rewarded by the Duke withprincely generosity. Philip remodelled and befriended the university ofLouvain. He founded at Brussels the Burgundian library, which becamecelebrated throughout Europe. He levied largely, spent profusely, but wasyet so thrifty a housekeeper, as to leave four hundred thousand crowns ofgold, a vast amount in those days, besides three million marks' worth ofplate and furniture, to be wasted like water in the insane career of hisson. 

The exploits of that son require but few words of illustration. Hardly achapter of European history or romance is more familiar to the world thanthe one which records the meteoric course of Charles the Bold. Thepropriety of his title was never doubtful. No prince was ever bolder, butit is certain that no quality could be less desirable, at that particularmoment in the history of his house. It was not the quality to confirm ausurping family in its ill-gotten possessions. Renewed aggressions uponthe rights of others justified retaliation and invited attack. Justice, prudence, firmness, wisdom of internal administration were desirable inthe son of Philip and the rival of Louis. These attributes the gladiatorlacked entirely. His career might have been a brilliant one in the olddays of chivalry. His image might have appeared as imposing as theromantic forms of Baldwin Bras de Fer or Godfrey of Bouillon, had he notbeen misplaced in history. Nevertheless, he imagined himself governed bya profound policy. He had one dominant idea, to make Burgundy a kingdom. From the moment when, with almost the first standing army known tohistory, and with coffers well filled by his cautious father's economy, he threw himself into the lists against the crafty Louis, down to the daywhen he was found dead, naked, deserted, and with his face frozen into apool of blood and water, he faithfully pursued this thought. His ducalcap was to be exchanged for a kingly crown, while all the provinces whichlay beneath the Mediterranean and the North Sea, and between France andGermany, were to be united under his sceptre. The Netherlands, with theirwealth, had been already appropriated, and their freedom crushed. Anotherland of liberty remained; physically, the reverse of Holland, but stampedwith the same courageous nationality, the same ardent love of humanrights. Switzerland was to be conquered. Her eternal battlements of iceand granite were to constitute the great bulwark of his realm. The worldknows well the result of the struggle between the lord of so many duchiesand earldoms, and the Alpine mountaineers. With all his boldness, Charleswas but an indifferent soldier. His only merit was physical courage. Heimagined himself a consummate commander, and, in conversation with hisjester, was fond of comparing himself to Hannibal. "We are getting wellHannibalized to-day, my lord, " said the bitter fool, as they rode offtogether from the disastrous defeat of Gransen. Well "Hannibalized" hewas, too, at Gransen, at Murten, and at Nancy. He followed in the trackof his prototype only to the base of the mountains. 

As a conqueror, he was signally unsuccessful; as a politician, he couldout-wit none but himself; it was only as a tyrant within his own ground, that he could sustain the character which he chose to enact. He lost thecrown, which he might have secured, because he thought the emperor's sonunworthy the heiress of Burgundy; and yet, after his father's death, hermarriage with that very Maximilian alone secured the possession of herpaternal inheritance. Unsuccessful in schemes of conquest, and inpolitical intrigue, as an oppressor of the Netherlands, he nearly carriedout his plans. Those provinces he regarded merely as a bank to draw upon. His immediate intercourse with the country was confined to the extortionof vast requests. These were granted with ever-increasing reluctance, bythe estates. The new taxes and excises, which the sanguinary extravaganceof the duke rendered necessary, could seldom be collected in the variouscities without tumults, sedition, and bloodshed. Few princes were ever agreater curse to the people whom they were allowed to hold as property. He nearly succeeded in establishing a centralized despotism upon theruins of the provincial institutions. His sudden death alone deferred thecatastrophe. His removal of the supreme court of Holland from the Hagueto Mechlin, and his maintenance of a standing army, were the two greatmeasures by which he prostrated the Netherlands. The tribunal had beenremodelled by his father; the expanded authority which Philip had givento a bench of judges dependent upon himself, was an infraction of therights of Holland. The court, however, still held its sessions in thecountry; and the sacred privilege--de non evocando--the right of everyHollander to be tried in his own land, was, at least, retained. Charlesthrew off the mask; he proclaimed that this council--composed of hiscreatures, holding office at his pleasure--should have supremejurisdiction over all the charters of the provinces; that it was tofollow his person, and derive all authority from his will. The usual seatof the court he transferred to Mechlin. It will be seen, in the sequel, that the attempt, under Philip the Second, to enforce its supremeauthority was a collateral cause of the great revolution of theNetherlands. 

Charles, like his father, administered the country by stadholders. Fromthe condition of flourishing self-ruled little republics, which they had, for a moment, almost attained, they became departments of anill-assorted, ill-conditioned, ill-governed realm, which was neithercommonwealth nor empire, neither kingdom nor duchy; and which had nohomogeneousness of population, no affection between ruler and people, small sympathies of lineage or of language. 

His triumphs were but few, his fall ignominious. His father's treasurewas squandered, the curse of a standing army fixed upon his people, thetrade and manufactures of the country paralyzed by his extortions, and heaccomplished nothing. He lost his life in the forty-fourth year of hisage (1477), leaving all the provinces, duchies, and lordships, whichformed the miscellaneous realm of Burgundy, to his only child, the LadyMary. Thus already the countries which Philip had wrested from the feeblehand of Jacqueline, had fallen to another female. Philip's owngranddaughter, as young, fair, and unprotected as Jacqueline, was nowsole mistress of those broad domains. 

VIII. 

A crisis, both for Burgundy and the Netherlands, succeeds. Within theprovinces there is an elastic rebound, as soon as the pressure is removedfrom them by the tyrant's death. A sudden spasm of liberty gives thewhole people gigantic strength. In an instant they recover all, and morethan all, the rights which they had lost. The cities of Holland, Flanders, and other provinces call a convention at Ghent. Laying asidetheir musty feuds, men of all parties-Hooks and Kabbeljaws, patriciansand people, move forward in phalanx to recover their nationalconstitutions. On the other hand, Louis the Eleventh seizes Burgundy, claiming the territory for his crown, the heiress for his son. Thesituation is critical for the Lady Mary. As usual in such cases, appealsare made to the faithful commons. A prodigality of oaths and pledges isshowered upon the people, that their loyalty may be refreshed and growgreen. The congress meets at Ghent. The Lady Mary professes much, but shewill keep her vow. The deputies are called upon to rally the countryaround the duchess, and to resist the fraud and force of Louis. Thecongress is willing to maintain the cause of its young mistress. Themembers declare, at the same time, very roundly, "that the provinces havebeen much impoverished and oppressed by the enormous taxation imposedupon them by the ruinous wars waged by Duke Charles from the beginning tothe end of his life. " They rather require "to be relieved thanadditionally encumbered. " They add that, "for many years past, there hasbeen a constant violation of the provincial and municipal charters, andthat they should be happy to see them restored. "

The result of the deliberations is the formal grant by Duchess Mary ofthe "Groot Privilegie, " or Great Privilege, the Magna Charta of Holland. Although this instrument was afterwards violated, and indeed abolished, it became the foundation of the republic. It was a recapitulation andrecognition of ancient rights, not an acquisition of new privileges. Itwas a restoration, not a revolution. Its principal points deserveattention from those interested in the political progress of mankind. 

"The duchess shall not marry without consent of the estates of herprovinces. All offices in her gift shall be conferred on natives only. Noman shall fill two offices. No office shall be farmed. The 'Great Counciland Supreme Court of Holland' is re-established. Causes shall be broughtbefore it on appeal from the ordinary courts. It shall have no originaljurisdiction of matters within the cognizance of the provincial andmunicipal tribunals. The estates and cities are guaranteed in their rightnot to be summoned to justice beyond the limits of their territory. Thecities, in common with all the provinces of the Netherlands, may holddiets as often ten and at such places as they choose. No new taxes shallbe imposed but by consent of the provincial estates. Neither the duchessnor her descendants shall begin either an offensive or defensive warwithout consent of the estates. In case a war be illegally undertaken, the estates are not bound to contribute to its maintenance. In all publicand legal documents, the Netherland language shall be employed. Thecommands of the duchess shall be invalid, if conflicting with theprivileges of a city. 

"The seat of the Supreme Council is transferred from Mechlin to theHague. No money shall be coined, nor its value raised or lowered, but byconsent of the estates. Cities are not to be compelled to contribute torequests which they have not voted. The sovereign shall come in personbefore the estates, to make his request for supplies. "

Here was good work. The land was rescued at a blow from the helplesscondition to which it had been reduced. This summary annihilation of allthe despotic arrangements of Charles was enough to raise him from histomb. The law, the sword, the purse, were all taken from the hand of thesovereign and placed within the control of parliament. Such sweepingreforms, if maintained, would restore health to the body politic. Theygave, moreover, an earnest of what was one day to arrive. Certainly, forthe fifteenth century, the "Great Privilege" was a reasonably liberalconstitution. Where else upon earth, at that day, was there half so muchliberty as was thus guaranteed? The congress of the Netherlands, according to their Magna Charta, had power to levy all taxes, to regulatecommerce and manufactures, to declare war, to coin money, to raise armiesand navies. The executive was required to ask for money in person, couldappoint only natives to office, recognized the right of disobedience inhis subjects, if his commands should conflict with law, and acknowledgedhimself bound by decisions of courts of justice. The cities appointedtheir own magistrates, held diets at their own pleasure, made their localby-laws and saw to their execution. Original cognizance of legal mattersbelonged to the municipal courts, appellate jurisdiction to the supremetribunal, in which the judges were appointed by the sovereign. Theliberty of the citizen against arbitrary imprisonment was amply providedfor. The 'jus de non evocando', the habeas corpus of Holland, wasre-established. 

Truly, here was a fundamental law which largely, roundly, and reasonablyrecognized the existence of a people with hearts, heads, and hands oftheir own. It was a vast step in advance of natural servitude, the dogmaof the dark ages. It was a noble and temperate vindication of naturalliberty, the doctrine of more enlightened days. To no people in the worldmore than to the stout burghers of Flanders and Holland belongs the honorof having battled audaciously and perennially in behalf of human rights. 

Similar privileges to the great charter of Holland are granted to manyother provinces; especially to Flanders, ever ready to stand forward infierce vindication of freedom. For a season all is peace and joy; but theduchess is young, weak, and a woman. There is no lack of intriguingpoliticians, reactionary councillors. There is a cunning old king in thedistance, lying in wait; seeking what he can devour. A mission goes fromthe estates to France. The well-known tragedy of Imbrecourt and Hugonetoccurs. Envoys from the states, they dare to accept secret instructionsfrom the duchess to enter into private negotiations with the Frenchmonarch, against their colleagues--against the great charter--againsttheir country. Sly Louis betrays them, thinking that policy the moreexpedient. They are seized in Ghent, rapidly tried, and as rapidlybeheaded by the enraged burghers. All the entreaties of the Lady Mary, who, dressed in mourning garments, with dishevelled hair, unloosedgirdle, and streaming eyes; appears at the town-house and afterwards inthe market place, humbly to intercede for her servants, are fruitlessThere is no help for the juggling diplomatists. The punishment was sharp. Was it more severe and sudden than that which betrayed monarchs usuallyinflict? Would the Flemings, at that critical moment, have deserved theirfreedom had they not taken swift and signal vengeance for this firstinfraction of their newly recognized rights? Had it not been weakness tospare the traitors who had thus stained the childhood of the national joyat liberty regained?

IX. 

Another step, and a wide one, into the great stream of European history. The Lady Mary espouses the Archduke Maximilian. The Netherlands are aboutto become Habsburg property. The Ghenters reject the pretensions of thedauphin, and select for husband of their duchess the very man whom herfather had so stupidly rejected. It had been a wiser choice for Charlesthe Bold than for the Netherlanders. The marriage takes place on the 18thof August, 1477. Mary of Burgundy passes from the guardianship of Ghentburghers into that of the emperor's son. The crafty husband allieshimself with the city party, feeling where the strength lies. He knowsthat the voracious Kabbeljaws have at last swallowed the Hooks, and runaway with them. Promising himself future rights of reconsideration, he isliberal in promises to the municipal party. In the mean time he isgovernor and guardian of his wife and her provinces. His children are toinherit the Netherlands and all that therein is. What can be moreconsistent than laws of descent, regulated by right divine? At thebeginning of the century, good Philip dispossesses Jacqueline, becausefemales can not inherit. At its close, his granddaughter succeeds to theproperty, and transmits it to her children. Pope and emperor maintainboth positions with equal logic. The policy and promptness of Maximilianare as effective as the force and fraud of Philip. The Lady Mary fallsfrom her horse and dies. Her son, Philip, four years of age, isrecognized as successor. Thus the house of Burgundy is followed by thatof Austria, the fifth and last family which governed Holland, previouslyto the erection of the republic. Maximilian is recognized by theprovinces as governor and guardian, during the minority of his children. Flanders alone refuses. The burghers, ever prompt in action, takepersonal possession of the child Philip, and carry on the government inhis name. A commission of citizens and nobles thus maintain theirauthority against Maximilian for several years. In 1488, the archduke, now King of the Romans, with a small force of cavalry, attempts to takethe city of Bruges, but the result is a mortifying one to the Roman king. The citizens of Bruges take him. Maximilian, with several councillors, iskept a prisoner in a house on the market-place. The magistrates are allchanged, the affairs of government conducted in the name of the youngPhilip alone. Meantime, the estates of the other Netherlands assemble atGhent; anxious, unfortunately, not for the national liberty, but for thatof the Roman king. Already Holland, torn again by civil feuds, andblinded by the artifices of Maximilian, has deserted, for a season, thegreat cause to which Flanders has remained so true. At last, a treaty ismade between the archduke and the Flemings. Maximilian is to be regent ofthe other provinces; Philip, under guardianship of a council, is togovern Flanders. Moreover, a congress of all the provinces is to besummoned annually, to provide for the general welfare. Maximilian signsand swears to the treaty on the 16th May, 1488. He swears, also, todismiss all foreign troops within four days. Giving hostages for hisfidelity, he is set at liberty. What are oaths and hostages whenprerogative, and the people are contending? Emperor Frederic sends to hisson an army under the Duke of Saxony. The oaths are broken, the hostagesleft to their fate. The struggle lasts a year, but, at the end of it, theFlemings are subdued. What could a single province effect, when itssister states, even liberty-loving Holland, had basely abandoned thecommon cause? A new treaty is made, (Oct. 1489). Maximilian obtainsuncontrolled guardianship of his son, absolute dominion over Flanders andthe other provinces. The insolent burghers are severely punished forremembering that they had been freemen. The magistrates of Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres, in black garments, ungirdled, bare-headed, and kneeling, arecompelled to implore the despot's forgiveness, and to pay three hundredthousand crowns of gold as its price. After this, for a brief season, order reigns in Flanders. 

The course of Maximilian had been stealthy, but decided. Allying himselfwith the city party, he had crushed the nobles. The power thus obtained, he then turned against the burghers. Step by step he had trampled out theliberties which his wife and himself had sworn to protect. He had spurnedthe authority of the "Great Privilege, " and all other charters. Burgomasters and other citizens had been beheaded in great numbers forappealing to their statutes against the edicts of the regent, for votingin favor of a general congress according to the unquestionable law. Hehad proclaimed that all landed estates should, in lack of heirs male, escheat to his own exchequer. He had debased the coin of the country, andthereby authorized unlimited swindling on the part of all his agents, from stadholders down to the meanest official. If such oppression andknavery did not justify the resistance of the Flemings to theguardianship of Maximilian, it would be difficult to find any reasonablecourse in political affairs save abject submission to authority. 

In 1493, Maximilian succeeds to the imperial throne, at the death of hisfather. In the following year his son, Philip the Fair, now seventeenyears of age, receives the homage of the different states of theNetherlands. He swears to maintain only the privileges granted by Philipand Charles of Burgundy, or their ancestors, proclaiming null and voidall those which might have been acquired since the death of Charles. Holland, Zeland, and the other provinces accept him upon theseconditions, thus ignominiously, and without a struggle, relinquishing theGreat Privilege, and all similar charters. 

Friesland is, for a brief season, politically separated from the rest ofthe country. Harassed and exhausted by centuries of warfare, foreign, anddomestic, the free Frisians, at the suggestion or command of EmperorMaximilian, elect the Duke of Saxony as their Podesta. The sovereignprince, naturally proving a chief magistrate far from democratic, getshimself acknowledged, or submitted to, soon afterwards, as legitimatesovereign of Friesland. Seventeen years afterward Saxony sells thesovereignty to the Austrian house for 350, 000 crowns. This littlecountry, whose statutes proclaimed her to be "free as the wind, as longas it blew, " whose institutions Charlemagne had honored and leftunmolested, who had freed herself with ready poniard from Norman tyranny, who never bowed her neck to feudal chieftain, nor to the papal yoke, nowdriven to madness and suicide by the dissensions of her wild children, forfeits at last her independent existence. All the provinces are thusunited in a common servitude, and regret, too late, their supineness at amoment when their liberties might yet have been vindicated. Their ancientand cherished charters, which their bold ancestors had earned with thesweat of their brows and the blood of their hearts, are at the mercy ofan autocrat, and liable to be superseded by his edicts. 

In 1496, the momentous marriage of Philip the Fair with Joanna, daughterof Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile and Aragon, is solemnized. Of thisunion, in the first year of the century, is born the second Charlemagne, who is to unite Spain and the Netherlands, together with so many vast anddistant realms, under a single sceptre. Six years afterwards (Sept. 25, 1506), Philip dies at Burgos. A handsome profligate, devoted to hispleasures, and leaving the cares of state to his ministers, Philip, "croit-conseil, " is the bridge over which the house of Habsburg passes toalmost universal monarchy, but, in himself, is nothing. 

X. 

Two prudent marriages, made by Austrian archdukes within twenty years, have altered the face of the earth. The stream, which we have beentracing from its source, empties itself at last into the ocean of aworld-empire. Count Dirk the First, lord of a half-submerged corner ofEurope, is succeeded by Count Charles the Second of Holland, better knownas Charles the Fifth, King of Spain, Sicily, and Jerusalem, Duke ofMilan, Emperor of Germany, Dominator in Asia and Africa, autocrat of halfthe world. The leading events of his brilliant reign are familiar toevery child. The Netherlands now share the fate of so large a group ofnations, a fate, to these provinces, most miserable. The weddings ofAustria Felix were not so prolific of happiness to her subjects as toherself. It can never seem just or reasonable that the destiny of manymillions of human beings should depend upon the marriage-settlements ofone man with one woman, and a permanent, prosperous empire can never bereared upon so frail a foundation. The leading thought of the firstCharlemagne was a noble and a useful one, nor did his imperial schemeseem chimerical, even although time, wiser than monarchs or lawgivers, was to prove it impracticable. To weld into one great whole the varioustribes of Franks, Frisians, Saxons, Lombards, Burgundians, and others, still in their turbulent youth, and still composing one great Teutonicfamily; to enforce the mutual adhesion of naturally coherent masses, allof one lineage, one language, one history, and which were only beginningto exhibit their tendencies to insulation, to acquiesce in a variety oflocal laws and customs, while an iron will was to concentrate a vast, buthomogeneous, people into a single nation; to raise up from the grave ofcorrupt and buried Rome a fresh, vigorous, German, Christian empire; thiswas a reasonable and manly thought. Far different the conception of thesecond Charlemagne. To force into discordant union, tribes which, forseven centuries, had developed themselves into hostile nations, separatedby geography and history, customs and laws, to combine many millionsunder one sceptre, not because of natural identity, but for the sake ofcomposing one splendid family property, to establish unity byannihilating local institutions, to supersede popular and liberalcharters by the edicts of a central despotism, to do battle with thewhole spirit of an age, to regard the souls as well as the bodies of vastmultitudes as the personal property of one individual, to strive for theperpetuation in a single house of many crowns, which accident hadblended, and to imagine the consecration of the whole system by placingthe pope's triple diadem forever upon the imperial head of theHabsburgs;--all this was not the effort of a great, constructive genius, but the selfish scheme of an autocrat. 

The union of no two countries could be less likely to prove advantageousor agreeable than that of the Netherlands and Spain. They were widelyseparated geographically, while in history, manners, and politics, theywere utterly opposed to each other. Spain, which had but just assumed theform of a single state by the combination of all its kingdoms, with itshaughty nobles descended from petty kings, and arrogating almostsovereign power within their domains, with its fierce enthusiasm for theCatholic religion, which, in the course of long warfare with theSaracens, had become the absorbing characteristic of a whole nation, withits sparse population scattered over a wide and stern country, with amilitary spirit which led nearly all classes to prefer poverty to thewealth attendant upon degrading pursuits of trade;--Spain, with hergloomy, martial, and exaggerated character, was the absolute contrast ofthe Netherlands. 

These provinces had been rarely combined into a whole, but there wasnatural affinity in their character, history, and position. There waslife, movement, bustling activity every where. An energetic populationswarmed in all the flourishing cities which dotted the surface of acontracted and highly cultivated country. Their ships were the carriersfor the world;--their merchants, if invaded in their rights, engaged invigorous warfare with their own funds and their own frigates; theirfabrics were prized over the whole earth; their burghers possessed thewealth of princes, lived with royal luxury, and exercised vast politicalinfluence; their love of liberty was their predominant passion. Theirreligious ardor had not been fully awakened; but the events of the nextgeneration were to prove that in no respect more than in the religioussentiment, were the two races opposed to each other. It was as certainthat the Netherlanders would be fierce reformers as that the Spaniardswould be uncompromising persecutors. Unhallowed was the union betweennations thus utterly contrasted. 

Philip the Fair and Ferdinand had detested and quarrelled with each otherfrom the beginning. The Spaniards and Flemings participated in the mutualantipathy, and hated each other cordially at first sight. Theunscrupulous avarice of the Netherland nobles in Spain, their graspingand venal ambition, enraged and disgusted the haughty Spaniards. Thisinternational malignity furnishes one of the keys to a properunderstanding of the great revolt in the next reign. 

The provinces, now all united again under an emperor, were treated, opulent and powerful as they were, as obscure dependencies. The regencyover them was entrusted by Charles to his near relatives, who governed inthe interest of his house, not of the country. His course towards themupon the religious question will be hereafter indicated. The politicalcharacter of his administration was typified, and, as it were, dramatized, on the occasion of the memorable insurrection at Ghent. Forthis reason, a few interior details concerning that remarkable event, seem requisite. 

XI. 

Ghent was, in all respects, one of the most important cities in Europe. Erasmus, who, as a Hollander and a courtier, was not likely to be partialto the turbulent Flemings, asserted that there was no town in allChristendom to be compared to it for size, power, political constitution, or the culture of its inhabitants. It was, said one of its inhabitants atthe epoch of the insurrection, rather a country than a city. The activityand wealth of its burghers were proverbial. The bells were rung daily, and the drawbridges over the many arms of the river intersecting thestreets were raised, in order that all business might be suspended, whilethe armies of workmen were going to or returning from their labors. Asearly as the fourteenth century, the age of the Arteveldes, Froissartestimated the number of fighting men whom Ghent could bring into thefield at eighty thousand. The city, by its jurisdiction over many largebut subordinate towns, disposed of more than its own immediatepopulation, which has been reckoned as high as two hundred thousand. 

Placed in the midst of well cultivated plains, Ghent was surrounded bystrong walls, the external circuit of which measured nine miles. Itsstreets and squares were spacious and elegant, its churches and otherpublic buildings numerous and splendid. The sumptuous church of SaintJohn or Saint Bavon, where Charles the Fifth had been baptized, theancient castle whither Baldwin Bras de Fer had brought the daughter ofCharles the Bald, the city hall with its graceful Moorish front, thewell-known belfry, where for three centuries had perched the dragon sentby the Emperor Baldwin of Flanders from Constantinople, and where swungthe famous Roland, whose iron tongue had called the citizens, generationafter generation, to arms, whether to win battles over foreign kings atthe head of their chivalry, or to plunge their swords in each others'breasts, were all conspicuous in the city and celebrated in the land. Especially the great bell was the object of the burghers' affection, and, generally, of the sovereign's hatred; while to all it seemed, as it were, a living historical personage, endowed with the human powers and passionswhich it had so long directed and inflamed. 

The constitution of the city was very free. It was a little republic inall but name. Its population was divided into fifty-two guilds ofmanufacturers and into thirty-two tribes of weavers; each fraternityelecting annually or biennally its own deans and subordinate officers. The senate, which exercised functions legislative, judicial, andadministrative, subject of course to the grand council of Mechlin and tothe sovereign authority, consisted of twenty-six members. These wereappointed partly from the upper class, or the men who lived upon theirmeans, partly from the manufacturers in general, and partly from theweavers. They were chosen by a college of eight electors, who wereappointed by the sovereign on nomination by the citizens. The whole city, in its collective capacity, constituted one of the four estates (Membra)of the province of Flanders. It is obvious that so much liberty of formand of fact, added to the stormy character by which its citizens weredistinguished, would be most offensive in the eyes of Charles, and thatthe delinquencies of the little commonwealth would be represented in themost glaring colors by all those quiet souls, who preferred thetranquillity of despotism to the turbulence of freedom. The city claimed, moreover, the general provisions of the "Great Privilege" of the LadyMary, the Magna Charta, which, according to the monarchical party, hadbeen legally abrogated by Maximilian. The liberties of the town had alsobeen nominally curtailed by the "calf-skin" (Kalf Vel). By thiscelebrated document, Charles the Fifth, then fifteen years of age, hadbeen made to threaten with condign punishment all persons who shouldmaintain that he had sworn at his inauguration to observe any privilegesor charters claimed by the Ghenters before the peace of Cadsand. 

The immediate cause of the discontent, the attempt to force from Flandersa subsidy of four hundred thousand caroli, as the third part of thetwelve hundred thousand granted by the states of the Netherlands, and theresistance of Ghent in opposition to the other three members of theprovince, will, of course, be judged differently, according as thesympathies are stronger with popular rights or with prerogative. Thecitizens claimed that the subsidy could only be granted by the unanimousconsent of the four estates of the province. Among other proofs of thistheir unquestionable right, they appealed to a muniment, which had neverexisted, save in the imagination of the credulous populace. At a certainremote epoch, one of the Counts of Flanders, it was contended, hadgambled away his countship to the Earl of Holland, but had beenextricated from his dilemma by the generosity of Ghent. The burghers ofthe town had paid the debts and redeemed the sovereignty of their lord, and had thereby gained, in return, a charter, called the Bargain ofFlanders (Koop van Flandern). Among the privileges granted by thisdocument, was an express stipulation that no subsidy should ever begranted by the province without the consent of Ghent. This charter wouldhave been conclusive in the present emergency, had it not labored underthe disadvantage of never having existed. It was supposed by many thatthe magistrates, some of whom were favorable to government, had hiddenthe document. Lieven Pyl, an ex-senator, was supposed to be privy to itsconcealment. He was also, with more justice, charged with an act of greatbaseness and effrontery. Reputed by the citizens to carry to the QueenRegent their positive refusal to grant the subsidy, he had, on thecontrary, given an answer, in their name, in the affirmative. For thesedelinquencies, the imaginary and the real, he was inhumanly tortured andafterwards beheaded. "I know, my children, " said he upon the scaffold, "that you will be grieved when you have seen my blood flow, and that youwill regret me when it is too late. " It does not appear, however, thatthere was any especial reason to regret him, however sanguinary thepunishment which had requited his broken faith. 

The mischief being thus afoot, the tongue of Roland, and theeasily-excited spirits of the citizens, soon did the rest. Ghent brokeforth into open insurrection. They had been willing to enlist and paytroops under their own banners, but they had felt outraged at theenormous contribution demanded of them for a foreign war, undertaken inthe family interests of their distant master. They could not find the"Bargain of Flanders, " but they got possession of the odious "calf skin, "which was solemnly cut in two by the dean of the weavers. It was thentorn in shreds by the angry citizens, many of whom paraded the streetswith pieces of the hated document stuck in their caps, like plumes. Fromthese demonstrations they proceeded to intrigues with Francis the First. He rejected them, and gave notice of their overtures to Charles, who nowresolved to quell the insurrection, at once. Francis wrote, begging thatthe Emperor would honor him by coming through France; "wishing to assureyou, " said he, "my lord and good brother, by this letter, written andsigned by my hand, upon my honor, and on the faith of a prince, and ofthe best brother you have, that in passing through my kingdom everypossible honor and hospitality will be offered you, even as they could beto myself. " Certainly, the French king, after such profuse and voluntarypledges, to confirm which he, moreover, offered his two sons and othergreat individuals as hostages, could not, without utterly disgracinghimself, have taken any unhandsome advantage of the Emperor's presence inhis dominions. The reflections often made concerning the high-mindedchivalry of Francis, and the subtle knowledge of human nature displayedby Charles upon the occasion, seem, therefore, entirely superfluous. TheEmperor came to Paris. "Here, " says a citizen of Ghent, at the time, whohas left a minute account of the transaction upon record, but whosesympathies were ludicrously with the despot and against his owntownspeople, "here the Emperor was received as if the God of Paradise haddescended. " On the 9th of February, 1540, he left Brussels; on the 14thhe came to Ghent. His entrance into the city lasted more than six hours. Four thousand lancers, one thousand archers, five thousand halberdmen andmusqueteers composed his bodyguard, all armed to the teeth and ready forcombat. The Emperor rode in their midst, surrounded by "cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and other great ecclesiastical lords, " so that theterrors of the Church were combined with the panoply of war to affrightthe souls of the turbulent burghers. A brilliant train of "dukes, princes, earls, barons, grand masters, and seignors, together with mostof the Knights of the Fleece, " were, according to the testimony of thesame eyewitness, in attendance upon his Majesty. This unworthy son ofGhent was in ecstasies with the magnificence displayed upon the occasion. There was such a number of "grand lords, members of sovereign houses, bishops, and other ecclesiastical dignitaries going about the streets, that, " as the poor soul protested with delight, "there was nobody else tobe met with. " Especially the fine clothes of these distinguished guestsexcited his warmest admiration. It was wonderful to behold, he said, "thenobility and great richness of the princes and seignors, displayed aswell in their beautiful furs, martins and sables, as in the great chainsof fine gold which they wore twisted round their necks, and the pearlsand precious stones in their bonnets and otherwise, which they displayedin great abundance. It was a very triumphant thing to see them so richlydressed and accoutred. "

An idea may be formed of the size and wealth of the city at this period, from the fact that it received and accommodated sixty thousand strangers, with their fifteen thousand horses, upon the occasion of the Emperor'svisit. Charles allowed a month of awful suspense to intervene between hisarrival and his vengeance. Despair and hope alternated during theinterval. On the 17th of March, the spell was broken by the execution ofnineteen persons, who were beheaded as ringleaders. On the 29th of April, he pronounced sentence upon the city. The hall where it was rendered wasopen to all comers, and graced by the presence of the Emperor, the QueenRegent, and the great functionaries of Court, Church, and State. Thedecree, now matured, was read at length. It annulled all the charters, privileges, and laws of Ghent. It confiscated all its public property, rents, revenues, houses, artillery, munitions of war, and in generalevery thing which the corporation, or the traders, each and all, possessed in common. In particular, the great bell--Roland was condemnedand sentenced to immediate removal. It was decreed that the four hundredthousand florins, which had caused the revolt, should forthwith be paid, together with an additional fine by Ghent of one hundred and fiftythousand, besides six thousand a year, forever after. In place of theirancient and beloved constitution, thus annihilated at a blow, waspromulgated a new form of municipal government of the simplest kind, according to which all officers were in future to be appointed by himselfand the guilds, to be reduced to half their number; shorn of allpolitical power, and deprived entirely of self-government. It was, moreover, decreed, that the senators, their pensionaries, clerks andsecretaries, thirty notable burghers, to be named by the Emperor, withthe great dean and second dean of the weavers, all dressed in blackrobes, without their chains, and bareheaded, should appear upon anappointed day, in company with fifty persons from the guilds, and fiftyothers, to be arbitrarily named, in their shirts, with halters upon theirnecks. This large number of deputies, as representatives of the city, were then to fall upon their knees before the Emperor, say in a loud andintelligible voice, by the mouth of one of their clerks, that they wereextremely sorry for the disloyalty, disobedience, infraction of laws, commotions, rebellion, and high treason, of which they had been guilty, promise that they would never do the like again, and humbly implore him, for the sake of the Passion of Jesus Christ, to grant them mercy andforgiveness. 

The third day of May was appointed for the execution of the sentence. Charles, who was fond of imposing exhibitions and prided himself uponarranging them with skill, was determined that this occasion should belong remembered by all burghers throughout his dominions who might bedisposed to insist strongly upon their municipal rights. The streets werealive with troops: cavalry and infantry in great numbers keeping strictguard at every point throughout the whole extent of the city; for it wasknown that the hatred produced by the sentence was most deadly, and thatnothing but an array of invincible force could keep those hostilesentiments in check. The senators in their black mourning robes, theother deputies in linen shirts, bareheaded, with halters on their necks, proceeded, at the appointed hour, from the senate house to the imperialresidence. High on his throne, with the Queen Regent at his side, surrounded by princes, prelates and nobles, guarded by his archers andhalberdiers, his crown on his head and his sceptre in his hand, theEmperor, exalted, sat. The senators and burghers, in their robes cfhumiliation, knelt in the dust at his feet. The prescribed words ofcontrition and of supplication for mercy were then read by thepensionary, all the deputies remaining upon their knees, and many of themcrying bitterly with rage and shame. "What principally distressed them, "said the honest citizen, whose admiration for the brilliant accoutrementof the princes and prelates has been recorded, "was to have the halter ontheir necks, which they found hard to bear, and, if they had not beencompelled, they would rather have died than submit to it. "

As soon as the words had been all spoken by the pensionary, the Emperor, whose cue was now to appear struggling with mingled emotions ofreasonable wrath and of natural benignity, performed his part with muchdramatic effect. "He held himself coyly for a little time, " says theeye-witness, "without saying a word; deporting himself as though he wereconsidering whether or not he would grant the pardon for which theculprits had prayed. " Then the Queen Regent enacted her share in theshow. Turning to his Majesty "with all reverence, honor and humility, shebegged that he would concede forgiveness, in honor of his nativity, whichhad occurred in that city. "

Upon this the Emperor "made a fine show of benignity, " and replied "verysweetly" that in consequence of his "fraternal love for her, by reason ofhis being a gentle and virtuous prince, who preferred mercy to the rigorof justice, and in view of their repentance, he would accord his pardonto the citizens. "

The Netherlands, after this issue to the struggle of Ghent, were reduced, practically, to a very degraded condition. The form of localself-government remained, but its spirit, when invoked, only arose to bederided. The supreme court of Mechlin, as in the days of Charles theBold, was again placed in despotic authority above the ancient charters. Was it probable that the lethargy of provinces, which had reached so higha point of freedom only to be deprived of it at last, could endureforever? Was it to be hoped that the stern spirit of religiousenthusiasm, allying itself with the--keen instinct of civil liberty, would endue the provinces with strength to throw off the Spanish yoke?

XII. 

It is impossible to comprehend the character of the great Netherlandrevolt in the sixteenth century without taking a rapid retrospectivesurvey of the religious phenomena exhibited in the provinces. Theintroduction of Christianity has been already indicated. From theearliest times, neither prince, people, nor even prelates were verydutiful to the pope. As the papal authority made progress, strongresistance was often made to its decrees. The bishops of Utrecht weredependent for their wealth and territory upon the good will of theEmperor. They were the determined opponents of Hildebrand, warm adherentsof the Hohenstaufers-Ghibelline rather than Guelph. Heresy was a plant ofearly growth in the Netherlands. As early as the beginning of the 12thcentury, the notorious Tanchelyn preached at Antwerp, attacking theauthority of the pope and of all other ecclesiastics; scoffing at theceremonies and sacraments of the Church. Unless his character and careerhave been grossly misrepresented, he was the most infamous of the manyimpostors who have so often disgraced the cause of religious reformation. By more than four centuries, he anticipated the licentiousness andgreediness manifested by a series of false prophets, and was the first toturn both the stupidity of a populace and the viciousness of a priesthoodto his own advancement; an ambition which afterwards reached its mostsignal expression in the celebrated John of Leyden. 

The impudence of Tanchelyn and the superstition of his followers seemalike incredible. All Antwerp was his harem. He levied, likewise, vastsums upon his converts, and whenever he appeared in public, his appareland pomp were befitting an emperor. Three thousand armed satellitesescorted his steps and put to death all who resisted his commands. Sogroveling became the superstition of his followers that they drank of thewater in which, he had washed, and treasured it as a divine elixir. Advancing still further in his experiments upon human credulity, heannounced his approaching marriage with the Virgin Mary, bade all hisdisciples to the wedding, and exhibited himself before an immense crowdin company with an image of his holy bride. He then ordered the people toprovide for the expenses of the nuptials and the dowry of his wife, placing a coffer upon each side of the image, to receive thecontributions of either sex. Which is the most wonderful manifestation inthe history of this personage--the audacity of the impostor, or thebestiality of his victims? His career was so successful in theNetherlands that he had the effrontery to proceed to Rome, promulgatingwhat he called his doctrines as he went. He seems to have beenassassinated by a priest in an obscure brawl, about the year 1115. 

By the middle of the 12th century, other and purer heresiarchs hadarisen. Many Netherlanders became converts to the doctrines of Waldo. From that period until the appearance of Luther, a succession ofsects--Waldenses, Albigenses, Perfectists, Lollards, Poplicans, Arnaldists, Bohemian Brothers--waged perpetual but unequal warfare withthe power and depravity of the Church, fertilizing with their blood thefuture field of the Reformation. Nowhere was the persecution of hereticsmore relentless than in the Netherlands. Suspected persons were subjectedto various torturing but ridiculous ordeals. After such trial, death byfire was the usual but, perhaps, not the most severe form of execution. In Flanders, monastic ingenuity had invented another most painfulpunishment for Waldenses and similar malefactors. A criminal whose guilthad been established by the hot iron, hot ploughshare, boiling kettle, orother logical proof, was stripped and bound to the stake:--he was thenflayed, from the neck to the navel, while swarms of bees were let looseto fasten upon his bleeding flesh and torture him to a death of exquisiteagony. 

Nevertheless heresy increased in the face of oppression The Scriptures, translated by Waldo into French, were rendered into Netherland rhyme, andthe converts to the Vaudois doctrine increased in numbers and boldness. At the same time the power and luxury of the clergy was waxing daily. Thebishops of Utrecht, no longer the defenders of the people againstarbitrary power, conducted themselves like little popes. Yielding indignity neither to king nor kaiser, they exacted homage from the mostpowerful princes of the Netherlands. The clerical order became the mostprivileged of all. The accused priest refused to acknowledge the temporaltribunals. The protection of ecclesiastical edifices was extended overall criminals and fugitives from justice--a beneficent result in thosesanguinary ages, even if its roots were sacerdotal pride. To establish anaccusation against a bishop, seventy-two witnesses were necessary;against a deacon, twenty-seven; against an inferior dignitary, seven;while two were sufficient to convict a layman. The power to read andwrite helped the clergy to much wealth. Privileges and charters frompetty princes, gifts and devises from private persons, were documentswhich few, save ecclesiastics, could draw or dispute. Not content, moreover, with their territories and their tithings, the churchmenperpetually devised new burthens upon the peasantry. Ploughs, sickles, horses, oxen, all implements of husbandry, were taxed for the benefit ofthose who toiled not, but who gathered into barns. In the course of thetwelfth century, many religious houses, richly endowed with lands andother property, were founded in the Netherlands. Was hand or voice raisedagainst clerical encroachment--the priests held ever in readiness adeadly weapon of defence: a blasting anathema was thundered against theirantagonist, and smote him into submission. The disciples of Him whoordered his followers to bless their persecutors, and to love theirenemies, invented such Christian formulas as these:--"In the name of theFather, the Son, the Holy Ghost, the blessed Virgin Mary, John theBaptist, Peter and Paul, and all other Saints in Heaven, do we curse andcut off from our Communion him who has thus rebelled against us. May thecurse strike him in his house, barn, bed, field, path, city, castle. Mayhe be cursed in battle, accursed in praying, in speaking, in silence, ineating, in drinking, in sleeping. May he be accursed in his taste, hearing, smell, and all his senses. May the curse blast his eyes, head, and his body, from his crown to the soles of his feet. I conjure you, Devil, and all your imps, that you take no rest till you have brought himto eternal shame; till he is destroyed by drowning or hanging, till he istorn to pieces by wild beasts, or consumed by fire. Let his childrenbecome orphans, his wife a widow. I command you, Devil, and all yourimps, that even as I now blow out these torches, you do immediatelyextinguish the light from his eyes. So be it--so be it. Amen. Amen. " Sospeaking, the curser was wont to blow out two waxen torches which he heldin his hands, and, with this practical illustration, the anathema wascomplete. 

Such insane ravings, even in the mouth of some impotent beldame, wereenough to excite a shudder, but in that dreary epoch, these curses fromthe lips of clergymen were deemed sufficient to draw down celestiallightning upon the head, not of the blasphemer, but of his victim. Men, who trembled neither at sword nor fire, cowered like slaves before suchhorrid imprecations, uttered by tongues gifted, as it seemed, withsuperhuman power. Their fellow-men shrank from the wretches thus blasted, and refused communication with them as unclean and abhorred. 

By the end of the thirteenth century, however, the clerical power wasalready beginning to decline. It was not the corruption of the Church, but its enormous wealth which engendered the hatred, with which it was bymany regarded. Temporal princes and haughty barons began to dispute theright of ecclesiastics to enjoy vast estates, while refusing the burthenof taxation, and unable to draw a sword for the common defence. At thisperiod, the Counts of Flanders, of Holland, and other Netherlandsovereigns, issued decrees, forbidding clerical institutions fromacquiring property, by devise, gift, purchase, or any other mode. Thedownfall of the rapacious and licentious knights-templar in the provincesand throughout Europe, was another severe blow administered at the sametime. The attacks upon Church abuses redoubled in boldness, as itsauthority declined. Towards the end of the fourteenth century, thedoctrines of Wicklif had made great progress in the land. Early in thefifteenth, the executions of Huss and Jerome of Prague, produce theBohemian rebellion. The Pope proclaims a crusade against the Hussites. Knights and prelates, esquires and citizens, enlist in the sacred cause, throughout Holland and its sister provinces; but many Netherlanders, whohad felt the might of Ziska's arm, come back, feeling more sympathy withthe heresy which they had attacked, than with the Church for which theyhad battled. 

Meantime, the restrictions imposed by Netherland sovereigns upon clericalrights to hold or acquire property, become more stern and more general. On the other hand, with the invention of printing, the cause ofReformation takes a colossal stride in advance. A Bible, which, before, had cost five hundred crowns, now costs but five. The people acquire thepower of reading God's Word, or of hearing it read, for themselves. Thelight of truth dispels the clouds of superstition, as by a newrevelation. The Pope and his monks are found to bear, very often, butfaint resemblance to Jesus and his apostles. Moreover, the instinct ofself-interest sharpens the eye of the public. Many greedy priests, oflower rank, had turned shop-keepers in the Netherlands, and were growingrich by selling their wares, exempt from taxation, at a lower rate thanlay hucksters could afford. The benefit of clergy, thus taking the breadfrom the mouths of many, excites jealousy; the more so, as, besides theirmiscellaneous business, the reverend traders have a most lucrative branchof commerce from which other merchants are excluded. The sale ofabsolutions was the source of large fortunes to the priests. The enormousimpudence of this traffic almost exceeds belief. Throughout theNetherlands, the price current of the wares thus offered for sale, waspublished in every town and village. God's pardon for crimes alreadycommitted, or about to be committed, was advertised according to agraduated tariff. Thus, poisoning, for example, was absolved for elevenducats, six livres tournois. Absolution for incest was afforded atthirty-six livres, three ducats. Perjury came to seven livres and threecarlines. Pardon for murder, if not by poison, was cheaper. Even aparricide could buy forgiveness at God's tribunal at one ducat; fourlivres, eight carlines. Henry de Montfort, in the year 1448, purchasedabsolution for that crime at that price. Was it strange that a century orso of this kind of work should produce a Luther? Was it unnatural thatplain people, who loved the ancient Church, should rather desire to seeher purged of such blasphemous abuses, than to hear of St. Peter's domerising a little nearer to the clouds on these proceeds of commuted crime?

At the same time, while ecclesiastical abuses are thus augmenting, ecclesiastical power is diminishing in the Netherlands. The Church is nolonger able to protect itself against the secular aim. The halcyon daysof ban, book and candle, are gone. In 1459, Duke Philip of Burgundyprohibits the churches from affording protection to fugitives. Charlesthe Bold, in whose eyes nothing is sacred save war and the means ofmaking it, lays a heavy impost upon all clerical property. Upon beingresisted, he enforces collection with the armed hand. The sword and thepen, strength and intellect, no longer the exclusive servants orinstruments of priestcraft, are both in open revolt. Charles the Boldstorms one fortress, Doctor Grandfort, of Groningen, batters another. This learned Frisian, called "the light of the world, " friend andcompatriot of the great Rudolph Agricola, preaches throughout theprovinces, uttering bold denunciations of ecclesiastical error. He evendisputes the infallibility of the Pope, denies the utility of prayers forthe dead, and inveighs against the whole doctrine of purgatory andabsolution. 

With the beginning of the 16th century, the great Reformation wasactually alive. The name of Erasmus of Rotterdam was already celebrated;the man, who, according to Grotius, "so well showed the road to areasonable reformation. " But if Erasmus showed the road, he certainly didnot travel far upon it himself. Perpetual type of the quietist, themoderate man, he censured the errors of the Church with discriminationand gentleness, as if Borgianism had not been too long rampant at Rome, as if men's minds throughout Christendom were not too deeply stirred tobe satisfied with mild rebukes against sin, especially when the mildrebuker was in receipt of livings and salaries from the sinner. Insteadof rebukes, the age wanted reforms. The Sage of Rotterdam was a keenobserver, a shrewd satirist, but a moderate moralist. He loved ease, goodcompany, the soft repose of princely palaces, better than a life ofmartyrdom and a death at the stake. He was not of the stuff of whichmartyrs are made, as he handsomely confessed on more than one occasion. "Let others affect martyrdom, " he said, "for myself I am unworthy of thehonor;" and, at another time, "I am not of a mind, " he observed "toventure my life for the truth's sake; all men have not strength to endurethe martyr's death. For myself, if it came to the point, I should do nobetter than Simon Peter. " Moderate in all things, he would have liked, hesaid, to live without eating and drinking, although he never found itconvenient to do so, and he rejoiced when advancing age diminished histendency to other carnal pleasures in which he had moderately indulged. Although awake to the abuses of the Church, he thought Luther going toofast and too far. He began by applauding ended by censuring the monk ofWittemberg. The Reformation might have been delayed for centuries hadErasmus and other moderate men been the only reformers. He will long behonored for his elegant, Latinity. In the republic of letters, hisefforts to infuse a pure taste, a sound criticism, a love for thebeautiful and the classic, in place of the owlish pedantry which had solong flapped and hooted through mediveval cloisters, will always be heldin grateful reverence. In the history of the religious Reformation, hisname seems hardly to deserve the commendations of Grotius. 

As the schism yawns, more and more ominously, throughout Christendom, theEmperor naturally trembles. Anxious to save the state, but being noantique Roman, he wishes to close the gulf, but with more convenience tohimself: He conceives the highly original plan of combining Church andEmpire under one crown. This is Maximilian's scheme for Churchreformation. An hereditary papacy, a perpetual pope-emperor, theCharlemagne and Hildebrand systems united and simplified--thus the worldmay yet be saved. "Nothing more honorable, nobler, better, could happento us, " writes Maximilian to Paul Lichtenstein (16th Sept. 1511), "thanto re-annex the said popedom--which properly belongs to us--to ourEmpire. Cardinal Adrian approves our reasons and encourages us toproceed, being of opinion that we should not have much trouble with thecardinals. It is much to be feared that the Pope may die of his presentsickness. He has lost his appetite, and fills himself with so much drinkthat his health is destroyed. As such matters can not be arranged withoutmoney, we have promised the cardinals, whom we expect to bring over, 300, 000 ducats, [Recall that the fine for redemption and pardon for thesin of murder was at that time one ducat. D. W. ] which we shall raise fromthe Fuggers, and make payable in Rome upon the appointed day. "

These business-like arrangements he communicates, two days afterwards, ina secret letter to his daughter Margaret, and already exults at hisfuture eminence, both in this world and the next. "We are sendingMonsieur de Gurce, " he says; "to make an agreement with the Pope, that wemay be taken as coadjutor, in order that, upon his death, we may be sureof the papacy, and, afterwards, of becoming a saint. After my decease, therefore, you will be constrained to adore me, of which I shall be veryproud. I am beginning to work upon the cardinals, in which affair two orthree hundred thousand ducats will be of great service. " The letter wassigned, "From the hand of your good father, Maximilian, future Pope. "

These intrigues are not destined, however, to be successful. Pope Juliuslives two years longer; Leo the Tenth succeeds; and, as Medici are notmuch prone to Church reformation some other scheme, and perhaps someother reformer, may be wanted. Meantime, the traffic in bulls ofabsolution becomes more horrible than ever. Money must be raised tosupply the magnificent extravagance of Rome. Accordingly, Christians, throughout Europe, are offered by papal authority, guarantees offorgiveness for every imaginable sin, "even for the rape of God's mother, if that were possible, " together with a promise of life eternal inParadise, all upon payment of the price affixed to each crime. TheNetherlands, like other countries, are districted and farmed for thecollection of this papal revenue. Much of the money thus raised, remainsin the hands of the vile collectors. Sincere Catholics, who love andhonor the ancient religion, shrink with horror at the spectacle offeredon every side. Criminals buying Paradise for money, monks spending themoney thus paid in gaming houses, taverns, and brothels; this seems, tothose who have studied their Testaments, a different scheme of salvationfrom the one promulgated by Christ. There has evidently been a departurefrom the system of earlier apostles. Innocent conservative souls are muchperplexed; but, at last, all these infamies arouse a giant to do battlewith the giant wrong. Martin Luther enters the lists, all alone, armedonly with a quiver filled with ninety-five propositions, and a bow whichcan send them all over Christendom with incredible swiftness. Within afew weeks the ninety-five propositions have flown through Germany, theNetherlands, Spain, and are found in Jerusalem. 

At the beginning, Erasmus encourages the bold friar. So long as the axeis not laid at the foot of the tree, which bears the poisonous but goldenfruit, the moderate man applauds the blows. "Luther's cause is consideredodious, " writes Erasmus to the Elector of Saxony, "because he has, at thesame time, attacked the bellies of the monks and the bulls of the Pope. "He complains that the zealous man had been attacked with roiling, but notwith arguments. He foresees that the work will have a bloody andturbulent result, but imputes the principal blame to the clergy. "Thepriests talk, " said he, "of absolution in such terms, that laymen can notstomach it. Luther has been for nothing more censured than for makinglittle of Thomas Aquinas; for wishing to diminish the absolution traffic;for having a low opinion of mendicant orders, and for respectingscholastic opinions less than the gospels. All this is consideredintolerable heresy. "

Erasmus, however, was offending both parties. A swarm of monks werealready buzzing about him for the bold language of his Commentaries andDialogues. He was called Erasmus for his errors--Arasmus because he wouldplough up sacred things--Erasinus because he had written himself anass--Behemoth, Antichrist, and many other names of similar import. Lutherwas said to have bought the deadly seed in his barn. The egg had beenlaid by Erasmus, hatched by Luther. On the other hand, he was reviled fornot taking side manfully with the reformer. The moderate man receivedmuch denunciation from zealots on either side. He soon clears himself, however, from all suspicions of Lutheranism. He is appalled at the fierceconflict which rages far and wide. He becomes querulous as the mightybesom sweeps away sacred dust and consecrated cobwebs. "Men should notattempt every thing at once, " he writes, "but rather step by step. Thatwhich men can not improve they must look at through the fingers. If thegodlessness of mankind requires such fierce physicians as Luther, if mancan not be healed with soothing ointments and cooling drinks, let us hopethat God will comfort, as repentant, those whom he has punished asrebellious. If the dove of Christ--not the owl of Minerva--would only flyto us, some measure might be put to the madness of mankind. "

Meantime the man, whose talk is not of doves and owls, the fiercephysician, who deals not with ointments and cooling draughts, stridespast the crowd of gentle quacks to smite the foul disease. Devils, thicker than tiles on house-tops, scare him not from his work. Bans andbulls, excommunications and decrees, are rained upon his head. Thepaternal Emperor sends down dire edicts, thicker than hail upon theearth. The Holy Father blasts and raves from Rome. Louvain doctorsdenounce, Louvain hangmen burn, the bitter, blasphemous books. Theimmoderate man stands firm in the storm, demanding argument instead ofillogical thunder; shows the hangmen and the people too, outside theElster gate at Wittenberg, that papal bulls will blaze as merrily asheretic scrolls. What need of allusion to events which changed theworld--which every child has learned--to the war of Titans, uprooting ofhoary trees and rock-ribbed hills, to the Worms diet, Peasant wars, thePatmos of Eisenach, and huge wrestlings with the Devil?

Imperial edicts are soon employed to suppress the Reformation in theNetherlands by force. The provinces, unfortunately; are the privateproperty of Charles, his paternal inheritance; and most paternally, according to his view of the matter, does he deal with them. Germany cannot be treated thus summarily, not being his heritage. "As it appears, "says the edict of 1521, "that the aforesaid Martin is not a man, but adevil under the form of a man, and clothed in the dress of a priest, thebetter to bring the human race to hell and damnation, therefore all hisdisciples and converts are to be punished with death and forfeiture ofall their goods. " This was succinct and intelligible. The bloody edict, issued at Worms, without even a pretence of sanction by the estates, wascarried into immediate effect. The papal inquisition was introduced intothe provinces to assist its operations. The bloody work, for which thereign of Charles is mainly distinguished in the Netherlands, now began. In 1523, July 1st, two Augustine monks were burned at Brussels, the firstvictims to Lutheranism in the provinces. Erasmus observed, with a sigh, that "two had been burned at Brussels, and that the city now beganstrenuously to favor Lutheranism. "

Pope Adrian the Sixth, the Netherland boat-maker's son and the Emperor'sancient tutor, was sufficiently alive to the sins of churchmen. Thehumble scholar of Utrecht was, at least, no Borgia. At the diet ofNuremberg, summoned to put down Luther, the honest Pope declared roundly, through the Bishop of Fabriane, that "these disorders had sprung from theSins of men, more especially from the sins of priests and prelates. Evenin the holy chair, " said he, "many horrible crimes have been committed. Many abuses have grown up in the ecclesiastical state. The contagiousdisease, spreading from the head to the members--from the Pope to lesserprelates--has spread far and wide, so that scarcely any one is to befound who does right, and who is free from infection. Nevertheless, theevils have become so ancient and manifold, that it will be necessary togo step by step. "

In those passionate days, the ardent reformers were as much outraged bythis pregnant confession as the ecclesiastics. It would indeed be a slowprocess, they thought, to move step by step in the Reformation, ifbetween each step, a whole century was to intervene. In vain did thegentle pontiff call upon Erasmus to assuage the stormy sea with hissmooth rhetoric. The Sage of Rotterdam was old and sickly; his day wasover. Adrian's head; too; languishes beneath the triple crown but twentymonths. He dies 13th Sept. , 1523, having arrived at the conviction, according to his epitaph, that the greatest misfortune of his life was tohave reigned. 

Another edict, published in the Netherlands, forbids all privateassemblies for devotion; all reading of the scriptures; all discussionswithin one's own doors concerning faith, the sacraments, the papalauthority, or other religious matter, under penalty of death. The edictswere no dead letter. The fires were kept constantly supplied with humanfuel by monks, who knew the art of burning reformers better than that ofarguing with them. The scaffold was the most conclusive of syllogisms, and used upon all occasions. Still the people remained unconvinced. Thousands of burned heretics had not made a single convert. 

A fresh edict renewed and sharpened the punishment for reading thescriptures in private or public. At the same time, the violent personalaltercation between Luther and Erasmus, upon predestination, togetherwith the bitter dispute between Luther and Zwingli concerning the realpresence, did more to impede the progress of the Reformation than ban oredict, sword or fire. The spirit of humanity hung her head, finding thatthe bold reformer had only a new dogma in place of the old ones, seeingthat dissenters, in their turn, were sometimes as ready as papists, withage, fagot, and excommunication. In 1526, Felix Mants, the anabaptist, isdrowned at Zurich, in obedience to Zwingli's pithy formula--'Qui iterummergit mergatur'. Thus the anabaptists, upon their first appearance, wereexposed to the fires of the Church and the water of the Zwinglians. 

There is no doubt that the anabaptist delusion was so ridiculous and soloathsome, as to palliate or at least render intelligible the wrath withwhich they were regarded by all parties. The turbulence of the sect wasalarming to constituted authorities, its bestiality disgraceful to thecause of religious reformation. The leaders were among the most depravedof human creatures, as much distinguished for licentiousness, blasphemyand cruelty as their followers for grovelling superstition. The evilspirit, driven out of Luther, seemed, in orthodox eyes, to have takenpossession of a herd of swine. The Germans, Muncer and Hoffmann, had beensucceeded, as chief prophets, by a Dutch baker, named Matthiszoon, ofHarlem; who announced himself as Enoch. Chief of this man's disciples wasthe notorious John Boccold, of Leyden. Under the government of thisprophet, the anabaptists mastered the city of Munster. Here theyconfiscated property, plundered churches, violated females, murdered menwho refused to join the gang, and, in briefs practised all the enormitieswhich humanity alone can conceive or perpetrate. The prophet proclaimedhimself King of Sion, and sent out apostles to preach his doctrines inGermany and the Netherlands. Polygamy being a leading article of thesystem, he exemplified the principle by marrying fourteen wives. Ofthese, the beautiful widow of Matthiszoon was chief, was called the Queenof Sion, and wore a golden crown. The prophet made many fruitless effortsto seize Amsterdam and Leyden. The armed invasion of the anabaptists wasrepelled, but their contagious madness spread. The plague broke forth inAmsterdam. On a cold winter's night, (February, 1535), seven men and fivewomen, inspired by the Holy Ghost, threw off their clothes and rushednaked and raving through the streets, shrieking "Wo, wo, wo! the wrath ofGod, the wrath of God!" When arrested, they obstinately refused to put onclothing. "We are, " they observed, "the naked truth. " In a day or two, these furious lunatics, who certainly deserved a madhouse rather than thescaffold, were all executed. The numbers of the sect increased with themartyrdom to which they were exposed, and the disorder spread to everypart of the Netherlands. Many were put to death in lingering torments, but no perceptible effect was produced by the chastisement. Meantime thegreat chief of the sect, the prophet John, was defeated by the forces ofthe Bishop of Munster, who recovered his city and caused the "King ofZion" to be pinched to death with red-hot tongs. 

Unfortunately the severity of government was not wreaked alone upon theprophet and his mischievous crew. Thousands and ten-thousands ofvirtuous, well-disposed men and women, who had as little sympathy withanabaptistical as with Roman depravity; were butchered in cold blood, under the sanguinary rule of Charles, in the Netherlands. In 1533, QueenDowager Mary of Hungary, sister of the Emperor, Regent of the provinces, the "Christian widow" admired by Erasmus, wrote to her brother that "inher opinion all heretics, whether repentant or not, should be prosecutedwith such severity as that error might be, at once, extinguished, carebeing only taken that the provinces were not entirely depopulated. " Withthis humane limitation, the "Christian Widow" cheerfully set herself tosuperintend as foul and wholesale a system of murder as was everorganized. In 1535, an imperial edict was issued at Brussels, condemningall heretics to death; repentant males to be executed with the sword, repentant females to be buried alive, the obstinate, of both sexes, to beburned. This and similar edicts were the law of the land for twentyyears, and rigidly enforced. Imperial and papal persecution continued itsdaily deadly work with such diligence as to make it doubtful whether thelimits set by the Regent Mary might not be overstepped. In the midst ofthe carnage, the Emperor sent for his son Philip, that he might receivethe fealty of the Netherlands as their future lord and master. Contemporaneously, a new edict was published at Brussels (29th April, 1549), confirming and reenacting all previous decrees in their mostsevere provisions. Thus stood religious matters in the Netherlands at theepoch of the imperial abdication. 

XIII. 

The civil institutions of the country had assumed their last provincialform, in the Burgundo-Austrian epoch. As already stated, their tendency, at a later period a vicious one, was to substitute fictitious personagesfor men. A chain of corporations was wound about the liberty of theNetherlands; yet that liberty had been originally sustained by the systemin which it, one day, might be strangled. The spirit of localself-government, always the life-blood of liberty, was often excessive inits manifestations. The centrifugal force had been too much developed, and, combining with the mutual jealousy of corporations, had often madethe nation weak against a common foe. Instead of popular rights therewere state rights, for the large cities, with extensive districts andvillages under their government, were rather petty states thanmunicipalities. Although the supreme legislative and executive functionsbelonged to the sovereign, yet each city made its by-laws, and possessed, beside, a body of statutes and regulations, made from time to time by itsown authority and confirmed by the prince. Thus a large portion, atleast, of the nation shared practically in the legislative functions, which, technically, it did not claim; nor had the requirements of societymade constant legislation so necessary, as that to exclude the peoplefrom the work was to enslave the country. There was popular power enoughto effect much good, but it was widely scattered, and, at the same time, confined in artificial forms. The guilds were vassals of the towns, thetowns, vassals of the feudal lord. The guild voted in the "broad council"of the city as one person; the city voted in the estates as one person. The people of the United Netherlands was the personage yet to beinvented, It was a privilege, not a right, to exercise a handiwork, or toparticipate in the action of government. Yet the mass of privileges wasso large, the shareholders so numerous, that practically the towns wererepublics. The government was in the hands of a large number of thepeople. Industry and intelligence led to wealth and power. This was greatprogress from the general servitude of the 11th and 12th centuries, animmense barrier against arbitrary rule. Loftier ideas of human rights, larger conceptions of commerce, have taught mankind, in later days, thedifference between liberties and liberty, between guilds and freecompetition. At the same time it was the principle of mercantileassociation, in the middle ages, which protected the infant steps ofhuman freedom and human industry against violence and wrong. Moreover, atthis period, the tree of municipal life was still green and vigorous. Thehealthful flow of sap from the humblest roots to the most verdurousbranches indicated the internal soundness of the core, and provided forthe constant development of exterior strength. The road to politicalinfluence was open to all, not by right of birth, but through honorableexertion of heads and hands. 

The chief city of the Netherlands, the commercial capital of the world, was Antwerp. In the North and East of Europe, the Hanseatic league hadwithered with the revolution in commerce. At the South, the splendidmarble channels, through which the overland India trade had beenconducted from the Mediterranean by a few stately cities, were now dry, the great aqueducts ruinous and deserted. Verona, Venice, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Bruges, were sinking, but Antwerp, with its deep and convenientriver, stretched its arm to the ocean and caught the golden prize, as itfell from its sister cities' grasp. The city was so ancient that itsgenealogists, with ridiculous gravity, ascended to a period two centuriesbefore the Trojan war, and discovered a giant, rejoicing in the classicname of Antigonus, established on the Scheld. This patriarch exacted onehalf the merchandise of all navigators who passed his castle, and wasaccustomed to amputate and cast into the river the right hands of thosewho infringed this simple tariff. Thus Hand-werpen, hand-throwing, becameAntwerp, and hence, two hands, in the escutcheon of the city, were everheld up in heraldic attestation of the truth. The giant was, in his turn, thrown into the Scheld by a hero, named Brabo, from whose exploitsBrabant derived its name; "de quo Brabonica tellus. " But for theseantiquarian researches, a simpler derivation of the name would seem an t'werf, "on the wharf. " It had now become the principal entrepot andexchange of Europe. The Huggers, Velsens, Ostetts, of Germany, theGualterotti and Bonvisi of Italy, and many other great mercantile houseswere there established. No city, except Paris, surpassed it inpopulation, none approached it in commercial splendor. Its government wasvery free. The sovereign, as Marquis of Antwerp, was solemnly sworn togovern according to the ancient charters and laws. The stadholder, as hisrepresentative, shared his authority with the four estates of the city. The Senate of eighteen members was appointed by the stadholder out of aquadruple number nominated by the Senate itself and by the fourth body, called the Borgery. Half the board was thus renewed annually. Itexercised executive and appellate judicial functions, appointed twoburgomasters, and two pensionaries or legal councillors, and alsoselected the lesser magistrates and officials of the city. The board ofancients or ex-senators, held their seats ex officio. The twenty-sixward-masters, appointed, two from each ward, by the Senate on nominationby the wards, formed the third estate. Their especial business was toenrol the militia and to attend to its mustering and training. The deansof the guilds, fifty-four in number, two from each guild, selected by theSenate, from a triple list of candidates presented by the guilds, composed the fourth estate. This influential body was always assembled inthe broad-council of the city. Their duty was likewise to conduct theexamination of candidates claiming admittance to any guild and offeringspecimens of art or handiwork, to superintend the general affairs of theguilds and to regulate disputes. 

There were also two important functionaries, representing the king incriminal and civil matters. The Vicarius capitalis, Scultetus, Schout, Sheriff, or Margrave, took precedence of all magistrates. His businesswas to superintend criminal arrests, trials, and executions. The Vicariuscivilis was called the Amman, and his office corresponded with that ofthe Podesta in the Frisian and Italian republics. His duties were nearlysimilar, in civil, to those of his colleague, in criminal matters. 

These four branches, with their functionaries and dependents, composedthe commonwealth of Antwerp. Assembled together in council, theyconstituted the great and general court. No tax could be imposed by thesovereign, except with consent of the four branches, all votingseparately. 

The personal and domiciliary rights of the citizen were scrupulouslyguarded. The Schout could only make arrests with the Burgomaster'swarrant, and was obliged to bring the accused, within three days, beforethe judges, whose courts were open to the public. 

The condition of the population was prosperous. There were but few poor, and those did not seek but were sought by the almoners: The schools wereexcellent and cheap. It was difficult to find a child of sufficient agewho could not read, write, and speak, at least, two languages. The sonsof the wealthier citizens completed their education at Louvain, Douay, Paris, or Padua. 

The city itself was one of the most beautiful in Europe. Placed upon aplain along the banks of the Scheld, shaped like a bent bow with theriver for its string, it enclosed within it walls some of the mostsplendid edifices in Christendom. The world-renowned church of NotreDame, the stately Exchange where five thousand merchants dailycongregated, prototype of all similar establishments throughout theworld, the capacious mole and port where twenty-five hundred vessels wereoften seen at once, and where five hundred made their daily entrance ordeparture, were all establishments which it would have been difficult torival in any other part of the world. 

From what has already been said of the municipal institutions of thecountry, it may be inferred that the powers of the Estates-general werelimited. The members of that congress were not representatives chosen bythe people, but merely a few ambassadors from individual provinces. Thisindividuality was not always composed of the same ingredients. Thus, Holland consisted of two members, or branches--the nobles and the sixchief cities; Flanders of four branches--the cities, namely, of Ghent, Bruges, Ypres, and the "freedom of Bruges;" Brabant of Louvain, Brussels, Bois le Due, and Antwerp, four great cities, without representation ofnobility or clergy; Zeland, of one clerical person, the abbot ofMiddelburg, one noble, the Marquis of Veer and Vliessingen, and six chiefcities; Utrecht, of three branches--the nobility, the clergy, and fivecities. These, and other provinces, constituted in similar manner, weresupposed to be actually present at the diet when assembled. The chiefbusiness of the states-general was financial; the sovereign, or hisstadholder, only obtaining supplies by making a request in person, whileany single city, as branch of a province, had a right to refuse thegrant. 

Education had felt the onward movement of the country and the times. Thewhole system was, however, pervaded by the monastic spirit, which hadoriginally preserved all learning from annihilation, but which now keptit wrapped in the ancient cerecloths, and stiffening in the stonysarcophagus of a bygone age. The university of Louvain was the chiefliterary institution in the provinces. It had been established in 1423 byDuke John IV. Of Brabant. Its government consisted of a President andSenate, forming a close corporation, which had received from the founderall his own authority, and the right to supply their own vacancies. Thefive faculties of law, canon law, medicine, theology, and the arts, werecultivated at the institution. There was, besides, a high school forunder graduates, divided into four classes. The place reeked withpedantry, and the character of the university naturally diffused itselfthrough other scholastic establishments. Nevertheless, it had done andwas doing much to preserve the love for profound learning, while therapidly advancing spirit of commerce was attended by an ever increasingtrain of humanizing arts. 

The standard of culture in those flourishing cities was elevated, compared with that observed in many parts of Europe. The children of thewealthier classes enjoyed great facilities for education in all the greatcapitals. The classics, music, and the modern languages, particularly theFrench, were universally cultivated. Nor was intellectual cultivationconfined to the higher orders. On the contrary, it was diffused to aremarkable degree among the hard-working artisans and handicraftsmen ofthe great cities. 

For the principle of association had not confined itself exclusively topolitics and trade. Besides the numerous guilds by which citizenship wasacquired in the various cities, were many other societies for mutualimprovement, support, or recreation. The great secret, architectural ormasonic brotherhood of Germany, that league to which the artistic andpatient completion of the magnificent works of Gothic architecture in themiddle ages is mainly to be attributed, had its branches in netherGermany, and explains the presence of so many splendid and elaboratelyfinished churches in the provinces. There were also military sodalitiesof musketeers, cross-bowmen, archers, swordsmen in every town. Once ayear these clubs kept holiday, choosing a king, who was selected for hisprowess and skill in the use of various weapons. These festivals, alwaysheld with great solemnity and rejoicing, were accompanied bye manyexhibitions of archery and swordsmanship. The people were not likely, therefore, voluntarily to abandon that privilege and duty of freemen, theright to bear arms, and the power to handle them. 

Another and most important collection of brotherhoods were the so-calledguilds of Rhetoric, which existed, in greater or less number, in all theprincipal cities. These were associations of mechanics, for the purposeof amusing their leisure with poetical effusions, dramatic and musicalexhibitions, theatrical processions, and other harmless and not inelegantrecreations. Such chambers of rhetoric came originally in the fifteenthcentury from France. The fact that in their very title they confoundedrhetoric with poetry and the drama indicates the meagre attainments ofthese early "Rederykers. " In the outset of their career they gavetheatrical exhibitions. "King Herod and his Deeds" was enacted in thecathedral at Utrecht in 1418. The associations spread with great celeritythroughout the Netherlands, and, as they were all connected with eachother, and in habits of periodical intercourse, these humble links ofliterature were of great value in drawing the people of the provincesinto closer union. They became, likewise, important political engines. Asearly as the time of Philip the Good, their songs and lampoons became sooffensive to the arbitrary notions of the Burgundian government, as tocause the societies to be prohibited. It was, however, out of thesovereign's power permanently to suppress institutions, which alreadypartook of the character of the modern periodical press combined withfunctions resembling the show and licence of the Athenian drama. Viewedfrom the stand-point of literary criticism their productions were notvery commendable in taste, conception, or execution. To torture the Musesto madness, to wire-draw poetry through inextricable coils of difficultrhymes and impossible measures; to hammer one golden grain of wit into asheet of infinite platitude, with frightful ingenuity to constructponderous anagrams and preternatural acrostics, to dazzle the vulgar eyewith tawdry costumes, and to tickle the vulgar ear with virulentpersonalities, were tendencies which perhaps smacked of the hammer, theyard-stick and the pincers, and gave sufficient proof, had proof beennecessary, that literature is not one of the mechanical arts, and thatpoetry can not be manufactured to a profit by joint stock companies. Yet, if the style of these lucubrations was often depraved, the artisansrarely received a better example from the literary institutions abovethem. It was not for guilds of mechanics to give the tone to literature, nor were their efforts in more execrable taste than the emanations fromthe pedants of Louvain. The "Rhetoricians" are not responsible for allthe bad taste of their generation. The gravest historians of theNetherlands often relieved their elephantine labors by the most asininegambols, and it was not to be expected that these bustling weavers andcutlers should excel their literary superiors in taste or elegance. 

Philip the Fair enrolled himself as a member in one of these societies. It may easily be inferred, therefore, that they had already become bodiesof recognized importance. The rhetorical chambers existed in the mostobscure villages. The number of yards of Flemish poetry annuallymanufactured and consumed throughout the provinces almost exceed belief. The societies had regular constitutions. Their presiding officers werecalled kings, princes, captains, archdeacons, or rejoiced in similarhigh-sounding names. Each chamber had its treasurer, its buffoon, and itsstandard-bearer for public processions. Each had its peculiar title orblazon, as the Lily, the Marigold, or the Violet, with an appropriatemotto. By the year 1493, the associations had become so important, thatPhilip the Fair summoned them all to a general assembly at Mechlin. Herethey were organized, and formally incorporated under the generalsupervision of an upper or mother-society of Rhetoric, consisting offifteen members, and called by the title of "Jesus with the balsamflower. "

The sovereigns were always anxious to conciliate these influential guildsby becoming members of them in person. Like the players, the Rhetoricianswere the brief abstract and chronicle of the time, and neither prince norprivate person desired their ill report. It had, indeed, been Philip'sintention to convert them into engines for the arbitrary purposes of hishouse, but fortunately the publicly organized societies were not the onlychambers. On the contrary, the unchartered guilds were the moat numerousand influential. They exercised a vast influence upon the progress of thereligious reformation, and the subsequent revolt of the Netherlands. Theyridiculed, with their farces and their satires, the vices of the clergy. They dramatized tyranny for public execration. It was also notsurprising, that among the leaders of the wild anabaptists who disgracedthe great revolution in church and state by their hideous antics, shouldbe found many who, like David of Delft, John of Leyden, and others, hadbeen members of rhetorical chambers. The genius for mummery andtheatrical exhibitions, transplanted from its sphere, and exerting itselffor purposes of fraud and licentiousness, was as baleful in its effectsas it was healthy in its original manifestations. Such exhibitions werebut the excrescences of a system which had borne good fruit. Theseliterary guilds befitted and denoted a people which was alive, a peoplewhich had neither sunk to sleep in the lap of material prosperity, norabased itself in the sty of ignorance and political servitude. The spiritof liberty pervaded these rude but not illiterate assemblies, and herfair proportions were distinctly visible, even through the somewhatgrotesque garb which she thus assumed. 

The great leading recreations which these chambers afforded to themselvesand the public, were the periodic jubilees which they celebrated invarious capital cities. All the guilds of rhetoric throughout theNetherlands were then invited to partake and to compete in magnificentprocessions, brilliant costumes, living pictures, charades, and otheranimated, glittering groups, and in trials of dramatic and poetic skill, all arranged under the superintendence of the particular associationwhich, in the preceding year, had borne away the prize. Such jubileeswere called "Land jewels. "

From the amusements of a people may be gathered much that is necessaryfor a proper estimation of its character. No unfavorable opinion can beformed as to the culture of a nation, whose weavers, smiths, gardeners, and traders, found the favorite amusement of their holidays in composingand enacting tragedies or farces, reciting their own verses, or inpersonifying moral and esthetic sentiments by ingeniously-arrangedgroups, or gorgeous habiliments. The cramoisy velvets and yellow satindoublets of the court, the gold-brocaded mantles of priests and princesare often but vulgar drapery of little historic worth. Such costumesthrown around the swart figures of hard-working artisans, for literaryand artistic purposes, have a real significance, and are worthy of acloser examination. Were not these amusements of the Netherlanders aselevated and humanizing as the contemporary bull-fights and autos-da-feof Spain? What place in history does the gloomy bigot merit who, for thelove of Christ, converted all these gay cities into shambles, and changedthe glittering processions of their Land jewels into fettered marches tothe scaffold?

Thus fifteen ages have passed away, and in the place of a horde ofsavages, living among swamps and thickets, swarm three millions ofpeople, the most industrious, the most prosperous, perhaps the mostintelligent under the sun. Their cattle, grazing on the bottom of thesea, are the finest in Europe, their agricultural products of moreexchangeable value than if nature had made their land to overflow withwine and oil. Their navigators are the boldest, their mercantile marinethe most powerful, their merchants the most enterprising in the world. Holland and Flanders, peopled by one race, vie with each other in thepursuits of civilization. The Flemish skill in the mechanical and in thefine arts is unrivalled. Belgian musicians delight and instruct othernations, Belgian pencils have, for a century, caused the canvas to glowwith colors and combinations never seen before. Flemish fabrics areexported to all parts of Europe, to the East and West Indies, to Africa. The splendid tapestries, silks, linens, as well as the more homely anduseful manufactures of the Netherlands, are prized throughout the world. Most ingenious, as they had already been described by the keen-eyedCaesar, in imitating the arts of other nations, the skillful artificersof the country at Louvain, Ghent, and other places, reproduce the shawlsand silks of India with admirable accuracy. 

Their national industry was untiring; their prosperity unexampled; theirlove of liberty indomitable; their pugnacity proverbial. Peaceful intheir pursuits, phlegmatic by temperament, the Netherlands were yet themost belligerent and excitable population of Europe. Two centuries ofcivil war had but thinned the ranks of each generation without quenchingthe hot spirit of the nation. 

The women were distinguished by beauty of form and vigor of constitution. Accustomed from childhood to converse freely with all classes and sexesin the daily walks of life, and to travel on foot or horseback from onetown to another, without escort and without fear, they had acquiredmanners more frank and independent than those of women in other lands, while their morals were pure and their decorum undoubted. The prominentpart to be sustained by the women of Holland in many dramas of therevolution would thus fitly devolve upon a class, enabled by nature andeducation to conduct themselves with courage. 

Within the little circle which encloses the seventeen provinces are 208walled cities, many of them among the most stately in Christendom, 150chartered towns, 6, 300 villages, with their watch-towers and steeples, besides numerous other more insignificant hamlets; the whole guarded by abelt of sixty fortresses of surpassing strength. 

XIV. 

Thus in this rapid sketch of the course and development of the Netherlandnation during sixteen centuries, we have seen it ever marked by oneprevailing characteristic, one master passion--the love of liberty, theinstinct of self-government. Largely compounded of the bravest Teutonicelements, Batavian and Frisian, the race ever battles to the death withtyranny, organizes extensive revolts in the age of Vespasian, maintains apartial independence even against the sagacious dominion of Charlemagne, refuses in Friesland to accept the papal yoke or feudal chain, and, throughout the dark ages, struggles resolutely towards the light, wresting from a series of petty sovereigns a gradual and practicalrecognition of the claims of humanity. With the advent of the Burgundianfamily, the power of the commons has reached so high a point, that it isable to measure itself, undaunted, with the spirit of arbitrary rule, ofwhich that engrossing and tyrannical house is the embodiment. For morethan a century the struggle for freedom, for civic life, goes on; Philipthe Good, Charles the Bold, Mary's husband Maximilian, Charles V. , inturn, assailing or undermining the bulwarks raised, age after age, against the despotic principle. The combat is ever renewed. Liberty, often crushed, rises again and again from her native earth with redoubledenergy. At last, in the 16th century, a new and more powerful spirit, thegenius of religious freedom, comes to participate in the great conflict. Arbitrary power, incarnated in the second Charlemagne, assails the newcombination with unscrupulous, unforgiving fierceness. Venerable civicmagistrates; haltered, grovel in sackcloth and ashes; innocent, religiousreformers burn in holocausts. By the middle of the century, the battlerages more fiercely than ever. In the little Netherland territory, Humanity, bleeding but not killed, still stands at bay and defies thehunters. The two great powers have been gathering strength for centuries. They are soon to be matched in a longer and more determined combat thanthe world had ever seen. The emperor is about to leave the stage. Theprovinces, so passionate for nationality, for municipal freedom, forreligious reformation, are to become the property of an utter stranger; aprince foreign to their blood, their tongue, their religion, their wholehabits of life and thought. 

Such was the political, religious, and social condition of a nation whowere now to witness a new and momentous spectacle. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Absolution for incest was afforded at thirty-six livres Achieved the greatness to which they had not been born Advancing age diminished his tendency to other carnal pleasures All his disciples and converts are to be punished with death All reading of the scriptures (forbidden) Altercation between Luther and Erasmus, upon predestination An hereditary papacy, a perpetual pope-emperor Announced his approaching marriage with the Virgin Mary As ready as papists, with age, fagot, and excommunication Attacking the authority of the pope Bold reformer had only a new dogma in place of the old ones Charles the Fifth autocrat of half the world Condemning all heretics to death Craft meaning, simply, strength Criminal whose guilt had been established by the hot iron Criminals buying Paradise for money Crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs Democratic instincts of the ancient German savages Denies the utility of prayers for the dead Difference between liberties and liberty Dispute between Luther and Zwingli concerning the real presence Divine right Drank of the water in which, he had washed Enormous wealth (of the Church) which engendered the hatred Erasmus encourages the bold friar Erasmus of Rotterdam Even for the rape of God's mother, if that were possible Executions of Huss and Jerome of Prague Fable of divine right is invented to sanction the system Felix Mants, the anabaptist, is drowned at Zurich Few, even prelates were very dutiful to the pope Fiction of apostolic authority to bind and loose Fishermen and river raftsmen become ocean adventurers For myself I am unworthy of the honor (of martyrdom) Forbids all private assemblies for devotion Force clerical--the power of clerks Great Privilege, the Magna Charta of Holland Guarantees of forgiveness for every imaginable sin Halcyon days of ban, book and candle Heresy was a plant of early growth in the Netherlands In Holland, the clergy had neither influence nor seats Invented such Christian formulas as these (a curse) July 1st, two Augustine monks were burned at Brussels King of Zion to be pinched to death with red-hot tongs Labored under the disadvantage of never having existed Learn to tremble as little at priestcraft as at swordcraft Many greedy priests, of lower rank, had turned shop-keepers No one can testify but a householder Not of the stuff of which martyrs are made (Erasmus) Nowhere was the persecution of heretics more relentless Obstinate, of both sexes, to be burned One golden grain of wit into a sheet of infinite platitude Pardon for crimes already committed, or about to be committed Pardon for murder, if not by poison, was cheaper Paying their passage through, purgatory Poisoning, for example, was absolved for eleven ducats Pope and emperor maintain both positions with equal logic Power to read and write helped the clergy to much wealth Readiness to strike and bleed at any moment in her cause Repentant females to be buried alive Repentant males to be executed with the sword Sale of absolutions was the source of large fortunes to the priests Same conjury over ignorant baron and cowardly hind Scoffing at the ceremonies and sacraments of the Church Sharpened the punishment for reading the scriptures in private Slavery was both voluntary and compulsory Soldier of the cross was free upon his return St. Peter's dome rising a little nearer to the clouds Tanchelyn The bad Duke of Burgundy, Philip surnamed "the Good, " The egg had been laid by Erasmus, hatched by Luther The vivifying becomes afterwards the dissolving principle Thousands of burned heretics had not made a single convert Thus Hand-werpen, hand-throwing, became Antwerp To prefer poverty to the wealth attendant upon trade Tranquillity of despotism to the turbulence of freedom Villagers, or villeins

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 3. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 1855PHILIP THE SECOND IN THE NETHERLANDS1555 [CHAPTER I. ]

 Abdication of Charles resolved upon--Brussels in the sixteenth century--Hall of the palace described--Portraits of prominent individuals present at the ceremony--Formalities of the abdication-- Universal emotion--Remarks upon the character and career of Charles --His retirement at Juste. 

On the twenty-fifth day of October, 1555, the estates of the Netherlandswere assembled in the great hall of the palace at Brussels. They had beensummoned to be the witnesses and the guarantees of the abdication whichCharles V. Had long before resolved upon, and which he was that day toexecute. The emperor, like many potentates before and since, was fond ofgreat political spectacles. He knew their influence upon the masses ofmankind. Although plain, even to shabbiness, in his own costume, andusually attired in black, no one ever understood better than he how toarrange such exhibitions in a striking and artistic style. We have seenthe theatrical and imposing manner in which he quelled the insurrectionat Ghent, and nearly crushed the life forever out of that vigorous andturbulent little commonwealth. The closing scene of his long andenergetic reign he had now arranged with profound study, and with anaccurate knowledge of the manner in which the requisite effects were tobe produced. The termination of his own career, the opening of hisbeloved Philip's, were to be dramatized in a manner worthy the augustcharacter of the actors, and the importance of the great stage where theyplayed their parts. The eyes of the whole world were directed upon thatday towards Brussels; for an imperial abdication was an event which hadnot, in the sixteenth century, been staled by custom. 

The gay capital of Brabant--of that province which rejoiced in theliberal constitution known by the cheerful title of the "joyfulentrance, " was worthy to be the scene of the imposing show. Brussels hadbeen a city for more than five centuries, and, at that day, numberedabout one hundred thousand inhabitants. Its walls, six miles incircumference, were already two hundred years old. Unlike most Netherlandcities, lying usually upon extensive plains, it was built along the sidesof an abrupt promontory. A wide expanse of living verdure, cultivatedgardens, shady groves, fertile cornfields, flowed round it like a sea. The foot of the town was washed by the little river Senne, while theirregular but picturesque streets rose up the steep sides of the hilllike the semicircles and stairways of an amphitheatre. Nearly in theheart of the place rose the audacious and exquisitely embroidered towerof the townhouse, three hundred and sixty-six feet in height, a miracleof needlework in stone, rivalling in its intricate carving the cobwebtracery of that lace which has for centuries been synonymous with thecity, and rearing itself above a facade of profusely decorated andbrocaded architecture. The crest of the elevation was crowned by thetowers of the old ducal palace of Brabant, with its extensive andthickly-wooded park on the left, and by the stately mansions of Orange, Egmont, Aremberg, Culemburg, and other Flemish grandees, on the right.. The great forest of Soignies, dotted with monasteries and convents, swarming with every variety of game, whither the citizens made theirsummer pilgrimages, and where the nobles chased the wild boar and thestag, extended to within a quarter of a mile of the city walls. Thepopulation, as thrifty, as intelligent, as prosperous as that of any cityin Europe, was divided into fifty-two guilds of artisans, among which themost important were the armorers, whose suits of mail would turn amusket-ball; the gardeners, upon whose gentler creations incredible sumswere annually lavished; and the tapestry-workers, whose gorgeous fabricswere the wonder of the world. Seven principal churches, of which the moststriking was that of St. Gudule, with its twin towers, its charmingfacade, and its magnificently painted windows, adorned the upper part ofthe city. The number seven was a magic number in Brussels, and wassupposed at that epoch, during which astronomy was in its infancy andastrology in its prime, to denote the seven planets which governed allthings terrestrial by their aspects and influences. Seven noble families, springing from seven ancient castles, supplied the stock from which theseven senators were selected who composed the upper council of the city. There were seven great squares, seven city gates, and upon the occasionof the present ceremony, it was observed by the lovers of wonderfulcoincidences, that seven crowned heads would be congregated under asingle roof in the liberty-loving city. 

The palace where the states-general were upon this occasion convened, hadbeen the residence of the Dukes of Brabant since the days of John theSecond, who had built it about the year 1300. It was a spacious andconvenient building, but not distinguished for the beauty of itsarchitecture. In front was a large open square, enclosed by an ironrailing; in the rear an extensive and beautiful park, filled with foresttrees, and containing gardens and labyrinths, fish-ponds and gamepreserves, fountains and promenades, race-courses and archery grounds. The main entrance to this edifice opened upon a spacious hall, connectedwith a beautiful and symmetrical chapel. The hall was celebrated for itssize, harmonious proportions, and the richness of its decorations. It wasthe place where the chapters of the famous order of the Golden Fleecewere held. Its walls were hung with a magnificent tapestry of Arran, representing the life and achievements of Gideon, the Midianite, andgiving particular prominence to the miracle of the "fleece of wool, "vouchsafed to that renowned champion, the great patron of the Knights ofthe Fleece. On the present occasion there were various additionalembellishments of flowers and votive garlands. At the western end aspacious platform or stage, with six or seven steps, had beenconstructed, below which was a range of benches for the deputies of theseventeen provinces. Upon the stage itself there were rows of seats, covered with tapestry, upon the right hand and upon the left. These wererespectively to accommodate the knights of the order and the guests ofhigh distinction. In the rear of these were other benches, for themembers of the three great councils. In the centre of the stage was asplendid canopy, decorated with the arms of Burgundy, beneath which wereplaced three gilded arm-chairs. 

All the seats upon the platform were vacant, but the benches below, assigned to the deputies of the provinces, were already filled. Numerousrepresentatives from all the states but two--Gelderland andOveryssel--had already taken their places. Grave magistrates, in chainand gown, and executive officers in the splendid civic uniforms for whichthe Netherlands were celebrated, already filled every seat within theapace allotted. The remainder of the hall was crowded with the morefavored portion of the multitude which had been fortunate enough toprocure admission to the exhibition. The archers and hallebardiers of thebody-guard kept watch at all the doors. The theatre was filled--theaudience was eager with expectation--the actors were yet to arrive. Asthe clock struck three, the hero of the scene appeared. Caesar, as he wasalways designated in the classic language of the day, entered, leaning onthe shoulder of William of Orange. They came from the chapel, and wereimmediately followed by Philip the Second and Queen Mary of Hungary. TheArchduke Maximilian the Duke of Savoy, and other great personages cameafterwards, accompanied by a glittering throng of warriors, councillors, governors, and Knights of the Fleece. 

Many individuals of existing or future historic celebrity in theNetherlands, whose names are so familiar to the student of the epoch, seemed to have been grouped, as if by premeditated design, upon thisimposing platform, where the curtain was to fall forever upon themightiest emperor since Charlemagne, and where the opening scene of thelong and tremendous tragedy of Philip's reign was to be simultaneouslyenacted. There was the Bishop of Arras, soon to be known throughoutChristendom by the more celebrated title of Cardinal Granvelle, theserene and smiling priest whose subtle influence over the destinies of somany individuals then present, and over the fortunes of the whole land, was to be so extensive and so deadly. There was that flower of Flemishchivalry, the, lineal descendant of ancient Frisian kings, alreadydistinguished for his bravery in many fields, but not having yet wonthose two remarkable victories which were soon to make the name of Egmontlike the sound of a trumpet throughout the whole country. Tall, magnificent in costume, with dark flowing hair, soft brown eye, smoothcheek, a slight moustache, and features of almost feminine delicacy; suchwas the gallant and ill-fated Lamoral Egmont. The Count of Horn; too, with bold, sullen face, and fan-shaped beard-a brave, honest, discontented, quarrelsome, unpopular man; those other twins in doom--theMarquis Berghen and the Lord of Montigny; the Baron Berlaymont, brave, intensely loyal, insatiably greedy for office and wages, but who, atleast, never served but one party; the Duke of Arschot, who was to serveall, essay to rule all, and to betray all--a splendid seignor, magnificent in cramoisy velvet, but a poor creature, who traced hispedigree from Adam, according to the family monumental inscriptions atLouvain, but who was better known as grand-nephew of the emperor's famoustutor, Chiebres; the bold, debauched Brederode, with handsome, recklessface and turbulent demeanor; the infamous Noircarmes, whose name was tobe covered with eternal execration, for aping towards his own compatriotsand kindred as much of Alva's atrocities and avarice, as he was permittedto exercise; the distinguished soldiers Meghen and Aremberg--these, withmany others whose deeds of arms were to become celebrated throughoutEurope, were all conspicuous in the brilliant crowd. There, too, was thatlearned Frisian, President Viglius, crafty, plausible, adroit, eloquent--a small, brisk man, with long yellow hair, glittering greeneyes, round, tumid, rosy cheeks, and flowing beard. Foremost among theSpanish grandees, and close to Philip, stood the famous favorite, RuyGomez, or as he was familiarly called "Re y Gomez" (King and Gomez), aman of meridional aspect, with coal-black hair and beard, gleaming eyes, a face pallid with intense application, and slender but handsome figure;while in immediate attendance upon the emperor, was the immortal Princeof Orange. 

Such were a few only of the most prominent in that gay throng, whosefortunes, in part, it will be our humble duty to narrate; how many ofthem passing through all this glitter to a dark and mysteriousdoom!--some to perish on public scaffolds, some by midnightassassination; others, more fortunate, to fall on the battle-field--nearly all, sooner or later, to be laid in bloody graves!

All the company present had risen to their feet as the emperor entered. By his command, all immediately afterwards resumed their places. Thebenches at either end of the platform were accordingly filled with theroyal and princely personages invited, with the Fleece Knights, wearingthe insignia of their order, with the members of the three greatcouncils, and with the governors. The Emperor, the King, and the Queen ofHungary, were left conspicuous in the centre of the scene. As the wholeobject of the ceremony was to present an impressive exhibition, it isworth our while to examine minutely the appearance of the two principalcharacters. 

Charles the Fifth was then fifty-five years and eight months old; but hewas already decrepit with premature old age. He was of about the middleheight, and had been athletic and well-proportioned. Broad in theshoulders, deep in the chest, thin in the flank, very muscular in thearms and legs, he had been able to match himself with all competitors inthe tourney and the ring, and to vanquish the bull with his own hand inthe favorite national amusement of Spain. He had been able in the fieldto do the duty of captain and soldier, to endure fatigue and exposure, and every privation except fasting. These personal advantages were nowdeparted. Crippled in hands, knees and legs, he supported himself withdifficulty upon a crutch, with the aid of, an attendant's shoulder. Inface he had always been extremely ugly, and time had certainly notimproved his physiognomy. His hair, once of a light color, was now whitewith age, close-clipped and bristling; his beard was grey, coarse, andshaggy. His forehead was spacious and commanding; the eye was dark blue, with an expression both majestic and benignant. His nose was aquiline butcrooked. The lower part of his face was famous for its deformity. Theunder lip, a Burgundian inheritance, as faithfully transmitted as theduchy and county, was heavy and hanging; the lower jaw protruding so farbeyond the upper, that it was impossible for him to bring together thefew fragments of teeth which still remained, or to speak a whole sentencein an intelligible voice. Eating and talking, occupations to which he wasalways much addicted, were becoming daily more arduous, in consequence ofthis original defect, which now seemed hardly human, but rather anoriginal deformity. 

So much for the father. The son, Philip the Second, was a small, meagreman, much below the middle height, with thin legs, a narrow chest, andthe shrinking, timid air of an habitual invalid. He seemed so little, upon his first visit to his aunts, the Queens Eleanor and Mary, accustomed to look upon proper men in Flanders and Germany, that he wasfain to win their favor by making certain attempts in the tournament, inwhich his success was sufficiently problematical. "His body, " says hisprofessed panegyrist, "was but a human cage, in which, however brief andnarrow, dwelt a soul to whose flight the immeasurable expanse of heavenwas too contracted. " [Cabrera] The same wholesale admirer adds, that "hisaspect was so reverend, that rustics who met him alone in a wood, withoutknowing him, bowed down with instinctive veneration. " In face, he was theliving image of his father, having the same broad forehead, and blue eye, with the same aquiline, but better proportioned, nose. In the lower partof the countenance, the remarkable Burgundian deformity was likewisereproduced. He had the same heavy, hanging lip, with a vast mouth, andmonstrously protruding lower jaw. His complexion was fair, his hair lightand thin, his beard yellow, short, and pointed. He had the aspect of aFleming, but the loftiness of a Spaniard. His demeanor in public wasstill, silent, almost sepulchral. He looked habitually on the ground whenhe conversed, was chary of speech, embarrassed, and even suffering inmanner. This was ascribed partly to a natural haughtiness which he hadoccasionally endeavored to overcome, and partly to habitual pains in thestomach, occasioned by his inordinate fondness for pastry. [Bodavaro]

Such was the personal appearance of the man who was about to receive intohis single hand the destinies of half the world; whose single will was, for the future, to shape the fortunes of every individual then present, of many millions more in Europe, America, and at the ends of the earth, and of countless millions yet unborn. 

The three royal personages being seated upon chairs placed triangularlyunder the canopy, such of the audience as had seats provided for them, now took their places, and the proceedings commenced. Philibert deBruxelles, a member of the privy council of the Netherlands, arose at theemperor's command, and made a long oration. He spoke of the emperor'swarm affection for the provinces, as the land of his birth; of his deepregret that his broken health and failing powers, both of body and mind, compelled him to resign his sovereignty, and to seek relief for hisshattered frame in a more genial climate. Caesar's gout was then depictedin energetic language, which must have cost him a twinge as he sat thereand listened to the councillor's eloquence. "'Tis a most truculentexecutioner, " said Philibert: "it invades the whole body, from the crownof the head to the soles of the feet, leaving nothing untouched. Itcontracts the nerves with intolerable anguish, it enters the bones, itfreezes the marrow, it converts the lubricating fluids of the joints intochalk, it pauses not until, having exhausted and debilitated the wholebody, it has rendered all its necessary instruments useless, andconquered the mind by immense torture. " [Godelaevus]

 [The historian was present at the ceremony, and gives a very full report of the speeches, all of which he heard. His imagination may have assisted his memory in the task. The other reporters of the councillor's harangue have reduced this pathological flight of rhetoric to a very small compass. ]

Engaged in mortal struggle with such an enemy, Caesar felt himselfobliged, as the councillor proceeded to inform his audience, to changethe scene of the contest from the humid air of Flanders to the warmeratmosphere of Spain. He rejoiced, however, that his son was both vigorousand experienced, and that his recent marriage with the Queen of Englandhad furnished the provinces with a most valuable alliance. He then againreferred to the emperor's boundless love for his subjects, and concludedwith a tremendous, but superfluous, exhortation to Philip on thenecessity of maintaining the Catholic religion in its purity. After thislong harangue, which has been fully reported by several historians whowere present at the ceremony, the councillor proceeded to read the deedof cession, by which Philip, already sovereign of Sicily, Naples, Milan, and titular King of England, France, and Jerusalem, now received all theduchies, marquisates, earldoms, baronies, cities, towns, and castles ofthe Burgundian property, including, of course, the seventeen Netherlands. 

As De Bruxelles finished, there was a buzz of admiration throughout theassembly, mingled with murmurs of regret, that in the present greatdanger upon the frontiers from the belligerent King of France and hiswarlike and restless nation, the provinces should be left without theirancient and puissant defender. The emperor then rose to his feet. Leaningon his crutch, he beckoned from his seat the personage upon whose arm hehad leaned as he entered the hall. A tall, handsome youth of twenty-twocame forward--a man whose name from that time forward, and as long ashistory shall endure, has been, and will be, more familiar than any otherin the mouths of Netherlanders. At that day he had rather a southern thana German or Flemish appearance. He had a Spanish cast of features, dark, well chiselled, and symmetrical. His head was small and well placed uponhis shoulders. His hair was dark brown, as were also his moustache andpeaked beard. His forehead was lofty, spacious, and already prematurelyengraved with the anxious lines of thought. His eyes were full, brown, well opened, and expressive of profound reflection. He was dressed in themagnificent apparel for which the Netherlanders were celebrated above allother nations, and which the ceremony rendered necessary. His presencebeing considered indispensable at this great ceremony, he had beensummoned but recently from the camp on the frontier, where, notwithstanding his youth, the emperor had appointed him to command hisarmy in chief against such antagonists as Admiral Coligny and the Due deNevers. 

Thus supported upon his crutch and upon the shoulder of William ofOrange, the Emperor proceeded to address the states, by the aid of aclosely-written brief which he held in his hand. He reviewed rapidly theprogress of events from his seventeenth year up to that day. He spoke ofhis nine expeditions into Germany, six to Spain, seven to Italy, four toFrance, ten to the Netherlands, two to England, as many to Africa, and ofhis eleven voyages by sea. He sketched his various wars, victories, andtreaties of peace, assuring his hearers that the welfare of his subjectsand the security of the Roman Catholic religion had ever been the leadingobjects of his life. As long as God had granted him health, he continued, only enemies could have regretted that Charles was living and reigning, but now that his strength was but vanity, and life fast ebbing away, hislove for dominion, his affection for his subjects, and his regard fortheir interests, required his departure. Instead of a decrepit man withone foot in the grave, he presented them with a sovereign in the prime oflife and the vigor of health. Turning toward Philip, he observed, thatfor a dying father to bequeath so magnificent an empire to his son was adeed worthy of gratitude, but that when the father thus descended to thegrave before his time, and by an anticipated and living burial sought toprovide for the welfare of his realms and the grandeur of his son, thebenefit thus conferred was surely far greater. He added, that the debtwould be paid to him and with usury, should Philip conduct himself in hisadministration of the province with a wise and affectionate regard totheir true interests. Posterity would applaud his abdication, should hisson Prove worthy of his bounty; and that could only be by living in thefear of God, and by maintaining law, justice, and the Catholic religionin all their purity, as the true foundation of the realm. In conclusion, he entreated the estates, and through them the nation, to renderobedience to their new prince, to maintain concord and to preserveinviolate the Catholic faith; begging them, at the same time, to pardonhim all errors or offences which he might have committed towards themduring his reign, and assuring them that he should unceasingly remembertheir obedience and affection in his every prayer to that Being to whomthe remainder of his life was to be dedicated. 

Such brave words as these, so many vigorous asseverations of attemptedperformance of duty, such fervent hopes expressed of a benignadministration in behalf of the son, could not but affect thesensibilities of the audience, already excited and softened by theimpressive character of the whole display. Sobs were heard throughoutevery portion of the hall, and tears poured profusely from every eye. TheFleece Knights on the platform and the burghers in the background wereall melted with the same emotion. As for the Emperor himself, he sankalmost fainting upon his chair as he concluded his address. An ashypaleness overspread his countenance, and he wept like a child. Even theicy Philip was almost softened, as he rose to perform his part in theceremony. Dropping upon his knees before his father's feet, he reverentlykissed his hand. Charles placed his hands solemnly upon his son's head, made the sign of the cross, and blessed him in the name of the HolyTrinity. Then raising him in his arms he tenderly embraced him. Saying, as he did so, to the great potentates around him, that he felt a sincerecompassion for the son on whose shoulders so heavy a weight had justdevolved, and which only a life-long labor would enable him to support. Philip now uttered a few words expressive of his duty to his father andhis affection for his people. Turning to the orders, he signified hisregret that he was unable to address them either in the French or Flemishlanguage, and was therefore obliged to ask their attention to the Bishopof Arras, who would act as his interpreter. Antony Perrenot accordinglyarose, and in smooth, fluent, and well-turned commonplaces, expressed atgreat length the gratitude of Philip towards his father, with his firmdetermination to walk in the path of duty, and to obey his father'scounsels and example in the future administration of the provinces. Thislong address of the prelate was responded to at equal length by JacobMaas, member of the Council of Brabant, a man of great learning, eloquence and prolixity, who had been selected to reply on behalf of thestates-general, and who now, in the name of these; bodies, accepted theabdication in an elegant and complimentary harangue. Queen Mary ofHungary, the "Christian widow" of Erasmus, and Regent of the Netherlandsduring the past twenty-five years, then rose to resign her office, makinga brief address expressive of her affection for the people, her regretsat leaving them, and her hopes that all errors which she might havecommitted during her long administration would be forgiven her. Again theredundant Maas responded, asserting in terms of fresh compliment andelegance the uniform satisfaction of the provinces with her conductduring her whole career. 

The orations and replies having now been brought to a close, the ceremonywas terminated. The Emperor, leaning on the shoulders of the Prince ofOrange and of the Count de Buren, slowly left the hall, followed byPhilip, the Queen of Hungary, and the whole court; all in the same orderin which they had entered, and by the same passage into the chapel. 

It is obvious that the drama had been completely successful. It had beena scene where heroic self-sacrifice, touching confidence, ingenuous loveof duty, patriotism, and paternal affection upon one side; filialreverence, with a solemn regard for public duty and the highest interestsof the people on the other, were supposed to be the predominantsentiments. The happiness of the Netherlands was apparently the onlyobject contemplated in the great transaction. All had played well theirparts in the past, all hoped the best in the times which were to follow. The abdicating Emperor was looked upon as a hero and a prophet. The stagewas drowned in tears. There is not the least doubt as to the genuine anduniversal emotion which was excited throughout the assembly. "Caesar'soration, " says Secretary Godelaevus, who was present at the ceremony, "deeply moved the nobility and gentry, many of whom burst into tears;even the illustrious Knights of the Fleece were melted. " The historian, Pontus Heuterus, who, then twenty years of age, was likewise among theaudience, attests that "most of the assembly were dissolved in tears;uttering the while such sonorous sobs that they compelled his CaesareanMajesty and the Queen to cry with them. My own face, " he adds, "wascertainly quite wet. " The English envoy, Sir John Mason, describing in adespatch to his government the scene which he had just witnessed, paintsthe same picture. "The Emperor, " he said, "begged the forgiveness of hissubjects if he had ever unwittingly omitted the performance of any of hisduties towards them. And here, " continues the envoy, "he broke into aweeping, whereunto, besides the dolefulness of the matter, I think, hewas moche provoked by seeing the whole company to do the lyke before;there beyng in myne opinion not one man in the whole assemblie, strangeror another, that dewring the time of a good piece of his oration pourednot out as abundantly teares, some more, some lesse. And yet he prayedthem to beare with his imperfections, proceeding of his sickly age, andof the mentioning of so tender a matter as the departing from such a sortof dere and loving subjects. "

And yet what was the Emperor Charles to the inhabitants of theNetherlands that they should weep for him? His conduct towards themduring his whole career had been one of unmitigated oppression. What tothem were all these forty voyages by sea and land, these journeyings backand forth from Friesland to Tunis, from Madrid to Vienna. What was it tothem that the imperial shuttle was thus industriously flying to and fro?The fabric wrought was but the daily growing grandeur and splendor of hisimperial house; the looms were kept moving at the expense of theirhardly-earned treasure, and the woof was often dyed red in the blood ofhis bravest subjects. The interests of the Netherlands had never beeneven a secondary consideration with their master. He had fulfilled noduty towards them, he had committed the gravest crimes against them. Hehad regarded them merely as a treasury upon which to draw; while the sumswhich he extorted were spent upon ceaseless and senseless wars, whichwere of no more interest to them than if they had been waged in anotherplanet. Of five millions of gold annually, which he derived from all hisrealms, two millions came from these industrious and opulent provinces, while but a half million came from Spain and another half from theIndies. The mines of wealth which had been opened by the hand of industryin that slender territory of ancient morass and thicket, contributed fourtimes as much income to the imperial exchequer as all the boasted wealthof Mexico and Peru. Yet the artisans, the farmers and the merchants, bywhom these riches were produced, were consulted about as much in theexpenditure of the imposts upon their industry as were the savages ofAmerica as to the distribution of the mineral treasures of their soil. The rivalry of the houses of Habsburg and Valois, this was the absorbingtheme, during the greater part of the reign which had just been sodramatically terminated. To gain the empire over Francis, to leave to DonPhilip a richer heritage than the Dauphin could expect, were the greatmotives of the unparalleled energy displayed by Charles during the longerand the more successful portion of his career. To crush the Reformationthroughout his dominions, was his occupation afterward, till he abandonedthe field in despair. It was certainly not desirable for theNetherlanders that they should be thus controlled by a man who forcedthem to contribute so largely to the success of schemes, some of whichwere at best indifferent, and others entirely odious to them. They paid1, 200, 000 crowns a year regularly; they paid in five years anextraordinary subsidy of eight millions of ducats, and the States wereroundly rebuked by the courtly representatives of their despot, if theypresumed to inquire into the objects of the appropriations, or to expressan interest in their judicious administration. Yet it maybe supposed tohave been a matter of indifference to them whether Francis or Charles hadwon the day at Pavia, and it certainly was not a cause of triumph to thedaily increasing thousands of religious reformers in Holland and Flandersthat their brethren had been crushed by the Emperor at Muhlberg. But itwas not alone that he drained their treasure, and hampered theirindustry. He was in constant conflict with their ancient anddearly-bought political liberties. Like his ancestor Charles the Bold, hewas desirous of constructing a kingdom out of the provinces. He wasdisposed to place all their separate and individual charters on aprocrustean bed, and shape them all into uniformity simply by reducingthe whole to a nullity. The difficulties in the way, the stout oppositionoffered by burghers, whose fathers had gained these charters with theirblood, and his want of leisure during the vast labors which devolved uponhim as the autocrat of so large a portion of the world, caused him todefer indefinitely the execution of his plan. He found time only to crushsome of the foremost of the liberal institutions of the provinces, indetail. He found the city of Tournay a happy, thriving, self-governedlittle republic in all its local affairs; he destroyed its liberties, without a tolerable pretext, and reduced it to the condition of a Spanishor Italian provincial town. 

His memorable chastisement of Ghent for having dared to assert itsancient rights of self-taxation, is sufficiently known to the world, andhas been already narrated at length. Many other instances might beadduced, if it were not a superfluous task, to prove that Charles was notonly a political despot, but most arbitrary and cruel in the exercise ofhis despotism. 

But if his sins against the Netherlands had been only those of financialand political oppression, it would be at least conceivable, althoughcertainly not commendable, that the inhabitants should have regretted hisdeparture. But there are far darker crimes for which he stands arraignedat the bar of history, and it is indeed strange that the man who hadcommitted them should have been permitted to speak his farewell amidblended plaudits and tears. His hand planted the inquisition in theNetherlands. Before his day it is idle to say that the diabolicalinstitution ever had a place there. The isolated cases in whichinquisitors had exercised functions proved the absence and not thepresence of the system, and will be discussed in a later chapter. Charlesintroduced and organized a papal inquisition, side by side with thoseterrible "placards" of his invention, which constituted a maskedinquisition even more cruel than that of Spain. The execution of thesystem was never permitted to languish. The number of Netherlanders whowere burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive, in obedience to hisedicts, and for the offences of reading the Scriptures, of lookingaskance at a graven image, or of ridiculing the actual presence of thebody and blood of Christ in a wafer, have been placed as high as onehundred thousand by distinguished authorities, and have never been put ata lower mark than fifty thousand. The Venetian envoy Navigero placed thenumber of victims in the provinces of Holland and Friesland alone atthirty thousand, and this in 1546, ten years before the abdication, andfive before the promulgation of the hideous edict of 1550!

The edicts and the inquisition were the gift of Charles to theNetherlands, in return for their wasted treasure and their constantobedience. For this, his name deserves to be handed down to eternalinfamy, not only throughout the Netherlands, but in every land where asingle heart beats for political or religious freedom. To eradicate theseinstitutions after they had been watered and watched by the care of hissuccessor, was the work of an eighty years' war, in the course of whichmillions of lives were sacrificed. Yet the abdicating Emperor hadsummoned his faithful estates around him, and stood up before them in hisimperial robes for the last time, to tell them of the affectionate regardwhich he had always borne them, and to mingle his tears with theirs. 

Could a single phantom have risen from one of the many thousand graveswhere human beings had been thrust alive by his decree, perhaps theremight have been an answer to the question propounded by the Emperor amidall that piteous weeping. Perhaps it might have told the man who askedhis hearers to be forgiven if he had ever unwittingly offended them, thatthere was a world where it was deemed an offence to torture, strangle, burn, and drown one's innocent fellow-creatures. The usual but triflingexcuse for such enormities can not be pleaded for the Emperor. Charleswas no fanatic. The man whose armies sacked Rome, who laid hissacrilegious hands on Christ's vicegerent, and kept the infallible headof the Church a prisoner to serve his own political ends, was then nobigot. He believed in nothing; save that when the course of his imperialwill was impeded, and the interests of his imperial house in jeopardy, pontiffs were to succumb as well as anabaptists. It was the politicalheresy which lurked in the restiveness of the religious reformers underdogma, tradition, and supernatural sanction to temporal power, which hewas disposed to combat to the death. He was too shrewd a politician notto recognize the connection between aspirations for religious and forpolitical freedom. His hand was ever ready to crush both heresies in one. Had he been a true son of the Church, a faithful champion of herinfallibility, he would not have submitted to the peace of Passau, solong as he could bring a soldier to the field. Yet he acquiesced in theReformation for Germany, while the fires for burning the reformers wereever blazing in the Netherlands, where it was death even to allude to theexistence of the peace of Passau. Nor did he acquiesce only fromcompulsion, for long before his memorable defeat by Maurice, he hadpermitted the German troops, with whose services he could not dispense, regularly to attend Protestant worship performed by their own Protestantchaplains. Lutheran preachers marched from city to city of theNetherlands under the imperial banner, while the subjects of thosepatrimonial provinces were daily suffering on the scaffold for theirnonconformity. The influence of this garrison-preaching upon the progressof the Reformation in the Netherlands is well known. Charles hatedLutherans, but he required soldiers, and he thus helped by his own policyto disseminate what had he been the fanatic which he perhaps became inretirement, he would have sacrificed his life to crush. It is quite truethat the growing Calvinism of the provinces was more dangerous bothreligiously and politically, than the Protestantism of the Germanprinces, which had not yet been formally pronounced heresy, but it isthus the more evident that it was political rather than religiousheterodoxy which the despot wished to suppress. 

No man, however, could have been more observant of religious rites. Heheard mass daily. He listened to a sermon every Sunday and holiday. Heconfessed and received the sacrament four times a year. He was sometimesto be seen in his tent at midnight, on his knees before a crucifix witheyes and hands uplifted. He ate no meat in Lent, and used extraordinarydiligence to discover and to punish any man, whether courtier orplebeian, who failed to fast during the whole forty days. He was too gooda politician not to know the value of broad phylacteries and longprayers. He was too nice an observer of human nature not to know howeasily mint and cummin could still outweigh the "weightier matters oflaw, judgment, mercy and faith;" as if the founder of the religion whichhe professed, and to maintain which he had established the inquisitionand the edicts, had never cried woe upon the Pharisees. Yet there is nodoubt that the Emperor was at times almost popular in the Netherlands, and that he was never as odious as his successor. There were some deepreasons for this, and some superficial ones; among others, a singularlyfortunate manner. He spoke German, Spanish, Italian, French, and Flemish, and could assume the characteristics of each country as easily as hecould use its language. He could be stately with Spaniards, familiar withFlemings witty with Italians. He could strike down a bull in the ringlike a matador at Madrid, or win the prize in the tourney like a knightof old; he could ride at the ring with the Flemish nobles, hit thepopinjay with his crossbow among Antwerp artisans, or drink beer andexchange rude jests with the boors of Brabant. For virtues such as these, his grave crimes against God and man, against religion and chartered andsolemnly-sworn rights have been palliated, as if oppression became moretolerable because the oppressor was an accomplished linguist and a goodmarksman. 

But the great reason for his popularity no doubt lay in his militarygenius. Charles was inferior to no general of his age. "When he was borninto the world, " said Alva, "he was born a soldier, " and the Emperorconfirmed the statement and reciprocated the compliment, when he declaredthat "the three first captains of the age were himself first, and thenthe Duke of Alva and Constable Montmorency. " It is quite true that allhis officers were not of the same opinion, and many were too apt tocomplain that his constant presence in the field did more harm than good, and "that his Majesty would do much better to stay at home. " There is, however, no doubt that he was both a good soldier and a good general. Hewas constitutionally fearless, and he possessed great energy andendurance. He was ever the first to arm when a battle was to be fought, and the last to take off his harness. He commanded in person and inchief, even when surrounded by veterans and crippled by the gout. He wascalm in great reverses. It was said that he was never known to changecolor except upon two occasions: after the fatal destruction of his fleetat Algiers, and in the memorable flight from Innspruck. He was of aphlegmatic, stoical temperament, until shattered by age and disease; aman without a sentiment and without a tear. It was said by Spaniards thathe was never seen to weep, even at the death of his nearest relatives andfriends, except on the solitary occasion of the departure of Don FerranteGonzaga from court. Such a temperament was invaluable in the stormycareer to which he had devoted his life. He was essentially a man ofaction, a military chieftain. "Pray only for my health and my life, " hewas accustomed to say to the young officers who came to him from everypart of his dominions to serve under his banners, "for so, long as I havethese I will never leave you idle; at least in France. I love peace nobetter than the rest of you. I was born and bred to arms, and must ofnecessity keep on my harness till I can bear it no longer. " The restlessenergy and the magnificent tranquillity of his character made him a heroamong princes, an idol with his officers, a popular favorite every where. The promptness with which, at much personal hazard, he descended like athunderbolt in the midst of the Ghent insurrection; the juvenile ardorwith which the almost bedridden man arose from his sick-bed to smite theProtestants at Muhlberg; the grim stoicism with which he saw sixtythousand of his own soldiers perish in the wintry siege of Metz; allensured him a large measure of that applause which ever follows militarydistinction, especially when the man who achieves it happens to wear acrown. He combined the personal prowess of a knight of old with the moremodern accomplishments of a scientific tactician. He could charge theenemy in person like the most brilliant cavalry officer, and hethoroughly understood the arrangements of a campaign, the marshalling andvictualling of troops, and the whole art of setting and maintaining anarmy in the field. 

Yet, though brave and warlike as the most chivalrous of his ancestors, Gothic, Burgundian, or Suabian, he was entirely without chivalry. Fanaticism for the faith, protection for the oppressed, fidelity tofriend and foe, knightly loyalty to a cause deemed sacred, the sacrificeof personal interests to great ideas, generosity of hand and heart; allthose qualities which unite with courage and constancy to make up theideal chevalier, Charles not only lacked but despised. He trampled on theweak antagonist, whether burgher or petty potentate. He was false aswater. He inveigled his foes who trusted to imperial promises, by artsunworthy an emperor or a gentleman. He led about the unfortunate JohnFrederic of Saxony, in his own language, "like a bear in a chain, " readyto be slipped upon Maurice should "the boy" prove ungrateful. He connivedat the famous forgery of the prelate of Arras, to which the LandgravePhilip owed his long imprisonment; a villany worse than many for whichhumbler rogues have suffered by thousands upon the gallows. Thecontemporary world knew well the history of his frauds, on scale bothcolossal and minute, and called him familiarly "Charles qui triche. "

The absolute master of realms on which the sun perpetually shone, he wasnot only greedy for additional dominion, but he was avaricious in smallmatters, and hated to part with a hundred dollars. To the soldier whobrought him the sword and gauntlets of Francis the First, he gave ahundred crowns, when ten thousand would have been less than the customarypresent; so that the man left his presence full of desperation. The threesoldiers who swam the Elbe, with their swords in their mouths; to bringhim the boats with which he passed to the victory of Muhlberg, receivedfrom his imperial bounty a doublet, a pair of stockings, and four crownsapiece. His courtiers and ministers complained bitterly of his habitualniggardliness, and were fain to eke out their slender salaries byaccepting bribes from every hand rich enough to bestow them. In truthCharles was more than any thing else a politician, notwithstanding hissignal abilities as a soldier. If to have founded institutions whichcould last, be the test of statesmanship, he was even a statesman; formany of his institutions have resisted the pressure of three centuries. But those of Charlemagne fell as soon as his hand was cold, while theworks of many ordinary legislators have attained to a perpetuity deniedto the statutes of Solon or Lycurgus. Durability is not the test of meritin human institutions. Tried by the only touchstone applicable togovernments, their capacity to insure the highest welfare of thegoverned, we shall not find his polity deserving of much admiration. Itis not merely that he was a despot by birth and inclination, nor that henaturally substituted as far as was practicable, the despotic for therepublican element, wherever his hand can be traced. There may bepossible good in despotisms as there is often much tyranny in democracy. Tried however according to the standard by which all governments may bemeasured, those laws of truth and divine justice which all Christiannations recognize, and which are perpetual, whether recognized or not, weshall find little to venerate in the life work of the Emperor. Theinterests of his family, the security of his dynasty, these were his endand aim. The happiness or the progress of his people never furnished eventhe indirect motives of his conduct, and the result was a baffled policyand a crippled and bankrupt empire at last. 

He knew men, especially he knew their weaknesses, and he knew how to turnthem to account. He knew how much they would bear, and that littlegrievances would sometimes inflame more than vast and deliberateinjustice. Therefore he employed natives mainly in the subordinateoffices of his various states, and he repeatedly warned his successorthat the haughtiness of Spaniards and the incompatibility of theircharacter with the Flemish, would be productive of great difficulties anddangers. It was his opinion that men might be tyrannized moreintelligently by their own kindred, and in this perhaps he was right. Hewas indefatigable in the discharge of business, and if it were possiblethat half a world could be administered as if it were the privateproperty of an individual, the task would have been perhaps as wellaccomplished by Charles as by any man. He had not the absurdity ofsupposing it possible for him to attend to the details of everyindividual affair in every one of his realms; and he therefore intrustedthe stewardship of all specialities to his various ministers and agents. It was his business to know men and to deal with affairs on a largescale, and in this he certainly was superior to his successor. Hiscorrespondence was mainly in the hands of Granvelle the elder, whoanalyzed letters received, and frequently wrote all but the signatures ofthe answers. The same minister usually possessed the imperial ear, andfarmed it out for his own benefit. In all this there was of course roomfor vast deception, but the Emperor was quite aware of what was going on, and took a philosophic view of the matter as an inevitable part of hissystem. Granvelle grew enormously rich under his eye by trading on theimperial favor and sparing his majesty much trouble. Charles saw it all, ridiculed his peculations, but called him his "bed of down. " Hisknowledge of human nature was however derived from a contemplation mainlyof its weaknesses, and was therefore one-sided. He was often deceived, and made many a fatal blunder, shrewd politician though he was. Heinvolved himself often in enterprises which could not be honorable orprofitable, and which inflicted damage on his greatest interests. Heoften offended men who might have been useful friends, and convertedallies into enemies. "His Majesty, " said a keen observer who knew himwell, "has not in his career shown the prudence which was necessary tohim. He has often offended those whose love he might have conciliated, converted friends into enemies, and let those perish who were his mostfaithful partisans. " Thus it must be acknowledged that even his boastedknowledge of human nature and his power of dealing with men was rathersuperficial and empirical than the real gift of genius. 

His personal habits during the greater part of his life were those of anindefatigable soldier. He could remain in the saddle day and night, andendure every hardship but hunger. He was addicted to vulgar andmiscellaneous incontinence. He was an enormous eater. He breakfasted atfive, on a fowl seethed in milk and dressed with sugar and spices. Afterthis he went to sleep again. He dined at twelve, partaking always oftwenty dishes. He supped twice; at first, soon after vespers, and thesecond time at midnight or one o'clock, which meal was, perhaps, the mostsolid of the four. After meat he ate a great quantity of pastry andsweetmeats, and he irrigated every repast by vast draughts of beer andwine. His stomach, originally a wonderful one, succumbed after fortyyears of such labors. His taste, but not his appetite began to fail, andhe complained to his majordomo, that all his food was insipid. The replyis, perhaps, among the most celebrated of facetia. The cook could donothing more unless he served his Majesty a pasty of watches. Theallusion to the Emperor's passion for horology was received with greatapplause. Charles "laughed longer than he was ever known to laugh before, and all the courtiers (of course) laughed as long as his Majesty. "[Badovaro] The success of so sorry a jest would lead one to suppose thatthe fooling was less admirable at the imperial court than some of therecorded quips of Tribaulet would lead us to suppose. 

The transfer of the other crowns and dignitaries to Philip, wasaccomplished a month afterwards, in a quiet manner. Spain, Sicily, theBalearic Islands, America, and other portions of the globe, were madeover without more display than an ordinary 'donatio inter vivos'. TheEmpire occasioned some difficulty. It had been already signified toFerdinand, that his brother was to resign the imperial crown in hisfavor, and the symbols of sovereignty were accordingly transmitted to himby the hands of William of Orange. A deputation, moreover, of which thatnobleman, Vice-Chancellor Seld, and Dr. Wolfgang Haller were the chiefs, was despatched to signify to the electors of the Empire the step whichhad been thus resolved upon. A delay of more than two years, however, intervened, occasioned partly by the deaths of three electors, partly bythe war which so soon broke out in Europe, before the matter was formallyacted upon. In February, 1553, however, the electors, having beenassembled in Frankfort, received the abdication of Charles, and proceededto the election of Ferdinand. That Emperor was crowned in March, andimmediately despatched a legation to the Pope to apprize him of the fact. Nothing was less expected than any opposition on the part of the pontiff. The querulous dotard, however, who then sat in St. Peter's chair, hatedCharles and all his race. He accordingly denied the validity of the wholetransaction, without sanction previously obtained from the Pope, to whomall crowns belonged. Ferdinand, after listening, through his envoys, tomuch ridiculous dogmatism on the part of the Pope, at last withdrew fromthe discussion, with a formal protest, and was first recognized byCaraffa's successor, Pius IV. 

Charles had not deferred his retirement till the end of these disputes. He occupied a private house in Brussels, near the gate of Louvain, untilAugust of the year 1556. On the 27th of that month, he addressed a letterfrom Ghent to John of Osnabruck, president of the Chamber of Spiers, stating his abdication in favor of Ferdinand, and requesting that in theinterim the same obedience might be rendered to Ferdinand, as could havebeen yielded to himself. Ten days later; he addressed a letter to theestates of the Empire, stating the same fact; and on the 17th September, 1556, he set sail from Zeland for Spain. These delays and difficultiesoccasioned some misconceptions. Many persons who did not admire anabdication, which others, on the contrary, esteemed as an act ofunexampled magnanimity, stoutly denied that it was the intention ofCharles to renounce the Empire. The Venetian envoy informed hisgovernment that Ferdinand was only to be lieutenant for Charles, understrict limitations, and that the Emperor was to resume the government sosoon as his health would allow. The Bishop of Arras and Don Juan deManrique had both assured him, he said, that Charles would not, on anyaccount, definitely abdicate. Manrique even asserted that it was a merefarce to believe in any such intention. The Emperor ought to remain toprotect his son, by the resources of the Empire, against France, theTurks, and the heretics. His very shadow was terrible to the Lutherans, and his form might be expected to rise again in stern reality from itstemporary grave. Time has shown the falsity of all these imaginings, butviews thus maintained by those in the best condition to know the truth, prove how difficult it was for men to believe in a transaction which wasthen so extraordinary, and how little consonant it was in their eyes withtrue propriety. It was necessary to ascend to the times of Diocletian, tofind an example of a similar abdication of empire, on so deliberate andextensive a scale, and the great English historian of the Roman Empirehas compared the two acts with each other. But there seems a vastdifference between the cases. Both emperors were distinguished soldiers;both were merciless persecutors of defenceless Christians; both exchangedunbounded empire for absolute seclusion. But Diocletian was born in thelowest abyss of human degradation--the slave and the son of a slave. Forsuch a man, after having reached the highest pinnacle of human greatness, voluntarily to descend from power, seems an act of far greatermagnanimity than the retreat of Charles. Born in the purple, havingexercised unlimited authority from his boyhood, and having worn from hiscradle so many crowns and coronets, the German Emperor might well besupposed to have learned to estimate them at their proper value. Contemporary minds were busy, however, to discover the hidden motiveswhich could have influenced him, and the world, even yet, has hardlyceased to wonder. Yet it would have been more wonderful, considering theEmperor's character, had he remained. The end had not crowned the work;it not unreasonably discrowned the workman. The earlier, and indeed thegreater part of his career had been one unbroken procession of triumphs. The cherished dream of his grandfather, and of his own youth, to add thePope's triple crown to the rest of the hereditary possessions of hisfamily, he had indeed been obliged to resign. He had too much practicalFlemish sense to indulge long in chimeras, but he had achieved the Empireover formidable rivals, and he had successively not only conquered, butcaptured almost every potentate who had arrayed himself in arms againsthim. Clement and Francis, the Dukes and Landgraves of, Clever, Hesse, Saxony, and Brunswick, he had bound to his chariot wheels; forcing manyto eat the bread of humiliation and captivity, during long and wearyyears. But the concluding portion of his reign had reversed all itsprevious glories. His whole career had been a failure. He had beendefeated, after all, in most of his projects. He had humbled Francis, butHenry had most signally avenged his father. He had trampled upon Philipof Hesse and Frederic of Saxony, but it had been reserved for one of thatGerman race, which he characterized as "dreamy, drunken, and incapable ofintrigue, " to outwit the man who had outwitted all the world, and todrive before him, in ignominious flight, the conqueror of the nations. The German lad who had learned both war and dissimulation in the courtand camp of him who was so profound a master of both arts, was destinedto eclipse his teacher on the most august theatre of Christendom. Absorbed at Innspruck with the deliberations of the Trent Council, Charles had not heeded the distant mutterings of the tempest which wasgathering around him. While he was preparing to crush, forever, theProtestant Church, with the arms which a bench of bishops were forging, lo! the rapid and desperate Maurice, with long red beard streaming like ameteor in the wind, dashing through the mountain passes, at the head ofhis lancers--arguments more convincing than all the dogmas of Granvelle!Disguised as an old woman, the Emperor had attempted on the 6th April, toescape in a peasant's wagon, from Innspruck into Flanders. Saved for thetime by the mediation of Ferdinand, he had, a few weeks later, after histroops had been defeated by Maurice, at Fussen, again fled at midnight ofthe 22nd May, almost unattended, sick in body and soul, in the midst ofthunder, lightning, and rain, along the difficult Alpine passes fromInnspruck into Carinthia. His pupil had permitted his escape, onlybecause in his own language, "for such a bird he had no convenient cage. "The imprisoned princes now owed their liberation, not to the Emperor'sclemency, but to his panic. The peace of Passau, in the following August, crushed the whole fabric of the Emperor's toil, and laid-the foundationof the Protestant Church. He had smitten the Protestants at Muhlberg forthe last time. On the other hand, the man who had dealt with Rome, as ifthe Pope, not he, had been the vassal, was compelled to witness, beforehe departed, the insolence of a pontiff who took a special pride ininsulting and humbling his house, and trampling upon the pride ofCharles, Philip and Ferdinand. In France too, the disastrous siege ofMetz had taught him that in the imperial zodiac the fatal sign of Cancerhad been reached. The figure of a crab, with the words "plus citra, "instead of his proud motto of "plus ultra, " scrawled on the walls wherehe had resided during that dismal epoch, avenged more deeply, perhaps, than the jester thought, the previous misfortunes of France. The GrandTurk, too, Solyman the Magnificent, possessed most of Hungary, and heldat that moment a fleet ready to sail against Naples, in co-operation withthe Pope and France. Thus the Infidel, the Protestant, and the HolyChurch were all combined together to crush him. Towards all the greatpowers of the earth, he stood not in the attitude of a conqueror, but ofa disappointed, baffled, defeated potentate. Moreover, he had been foiledlong before in his earnest attempts to secure the imperial throne forPhilip. Ferdinand and Maximilian had both stoutly resisted his argumentsand his blandishments. The father had represented the slender patrimonyof their branch of the family, compared with the enormous heritage ofPhilip; who, being after all, but a man, and endowed with finite powers, might sink under so great a pressure of empire as his father wished toprovide for him. Maximilian, also, assured his uncle that he had as goodan appetite for the crown as Philip, and could digest the dignity quiteas easily. The son, too, for whom the Emperor was thus solicitous, hadalready, before the abdication, repaid his affection with ingratitude. Hehad turned out all his father's old officials in Milan, and had refusedto visit him at Brussels, till assured as to the amount of ceremonialrespect which the new-made king was to receive at the hands of hisfather. 

Had the Emperor continued to live and reign, he would have found himselflikewise engaged in mortal combat with that great religious movement inthe Netherlands, which he would not have been able many years longer tosuppress, and which he left as a legacy of blood and fire to hissuccessor. Born in the same year with his century, Charles was adecrepit, exhausted man at fifty-five, while that glorious age, in whichhumanity was to burst forever the cerements in which it had so long beenburied, was but awakening to a consciousness of its strength. 

Disappointed in his schemes, broken in his fortunes, with incomeanticipated, estates mortgaged, all his affairs in confusion; failing inmental powers, and with a constitution hopelessly shattered; it was timefor him to retire. He showed his keenness in recognizing the fact thatneither his power nor his glory would be increased, should he lagsuperfluous on the stage where mortification instead of applause waslikely to be his portion. His frame was indeed but a wreck. Forty yearsof unexampled gluttony had done their work. He was a victim to gout, asthma, dyspepsia, gravel. He was crippled in the neck, arms, knees, andhands. He was troubled with chronic cutaneous eruptions. His appetiteremained, while his stomach, unable longer to perform the task stillimposed upon it, occasioned him constant suffering. Physiologists, whoknow how important a part this organ plays in the affairs of life, willperhaps see in this physical condition of the Emperor A sufficientexplanation, if explanation were required, of his descent from thethrone. Moreover, it is well known that the resolution to abdicate beforehis death had been long a settled scheme with him. It had been formallyagreed between himself and the Empress that they should separate at theapproach of old age, and pass the remainder of their lives in a conventand a monastery. He had, when comparatively a young man, been struck bythe reply made to him by an aged officer, whose reasons he had asked for, earnestly soliciting permission to retire from the imperial service. Itwas, said the veteran, that he might put a little space of religiouscontemplation between the active portion of his life and the grave. 

A similar determination, deferred from time to time, Charles had nowcarried into execution. While he still lingered in Brussels, after hisabdication, a comet appeared, to warn him to the fulfilment of hispurpose. From first to last, comets and other heavenly bodies were muchconnected with his evolutions and arrangements. There was no mistakingthe motives with which this luminary had presented itself. The Emperorknew very well, says a contemporary German chronicler, that it portendedpestilence and war, together with the approaching death of mightyprinces. "My fates call out, " he cried, and forthwith applied himself tohasten the preparations for his departure. 

The romantic picture of his philosophical retirement at Juste, paintedoriginally by Sandoval and Siguenza, reproduced by the fascinating pencilof Strada, and imitated in frequent succession by authors of every ageand country, is unfortunately but a sketch of fancy. The investigationsof modern writers have entirely thrown down the scaffolding on which theairy fabric, so delightful to poets and moralists, reposed. The departingEmperor stands no longer in a transparency robed in shining garments. Histransfiguration is at an end. Every action, almost every moment of hisretirement, accurately chronicled by those who shared his solitude, havebeen placed before our eyes, in the most felicitous manner, by able andbrilliant writers. The Emperor, shorn of the philosophical robe in whichhe had been conventionally arrayed for three centuries, shivers now inthe cold air of reality. 

So far from his having immersed himself in profound and piouscontemplation, below the current of the world's events, his thoughts, onthe contrary, never were for a moment diverted from the political surfaceof the times. He read nothing but despatches; he wrote or dictatedinterminable ones in reply, as dull and prolix as any which ever camefrom his pen. He manifested a succession of emotions at the course ofcontemporary affairs, as intense and as varied, as if the world stillrested in his palm. He was, in truth, essentially a man of action. He hadneither the taste nor talents which make a man great in retirement. Not alofty thought, not a generous sentiment, not a profound or acutesuggestion in his retreat has been recorded from his lips. The epigramswhich had been invented for him by fabulists have been all taken away, and nothing has been substituted, save a few dull jests exchanged withstupid friars. So far from having entertained and even expressed thatsentiment of religious toleration for which he was said to have beencondemned as a heretic by the inquisition, and for which Philip wasridiculously reported to have ordered his father's body to be burned, andhis ashes scattered to the winds, he became in retreat the bigoteffectually, which during his reign he had only been conventionally. Bitter regrets that he should have kept his word to Luther, as if he hadnot broken faith enough to reflect upon in his retirement; sternself-reproach for omitting to put to death, while he had him in hispower, the man who had caused all the mischief of the age; fierceinstructions thundered from his retreat to the inquisitors to hasten theexecution of all heretics, including particularly his ancient friends, preachers and almoners, Cazalla and Constantine de Fuente; furiousexhortations to Philip--as if Philip needed a prompter in such awork--that he should set himself to "cutting out the root of heresy withrigor and rude chastisement;"--such explosions of savage bigotry asthese, alternating with exhibitions of revolting gluttony, with surfeitsof sardine omelettes, Estramadura sausages, eel pies, pickled partridges, fat capons, quince syrups, iced beer, and flagons of Rhenish, relieved bycopious draughts of senna and rhubarb, to which his horror-strickendoctor doomed him as he ate--compose a spectacle less attractive to theimagination than the ancient portrait of the cloistered Charles. Unfortunately it is the one which was painted from life. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive (100, 000) Despot by birth and inclination (Charles V. ) Endure every hardship but hunger Gallant and ill-fated Lamoral Egmont He knew men, especially he knew their weaknesses His imagination may have assisted his memory in the task Little grievances would sometimes inflame more than vast Often much tyranny in democracy Planted the inquisition in the Netherlands

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 4. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 1855PHILIP THE SECOND IN THE NETHERLANDS1555-1558 [CHAPTER II. ]

 Sketch of Philip the Second--Characteristics of Mary Tudor--Portrait of Philip--His council--Rivalry of Rup Gomez and Alva--Character of Rup Gomez--Queen Mary of Hungary--Sketch of Philibert of Savoy-- Truce of Vaucelles--Secret treaty between the Pope and Henry II. -- Rejoicings in the Netherlands on account of the Peace--Purposes of Philip--Re-enactment of the edict of 1560--The King's dissimulation --"Request" to the provinces--Infraction of the truce in Italy-- Character of Pope Paul IV. --Intrigues of Cardinal Caraffa--War against Spain resolved upon by France--Campaign in Italy--Amicable siege of Rome--Pence with the pontiff--Hostilities on the Flemish border--Coligny foiled at Douay--Sacks Lens--Philip in England-- Queen Mary engages in the war--Philip's army assembled at Givet-- Portrait of Count Egmont--The French army under Coligny and Montmorency--Siege of St. Quentin--Attempts of the constable to relieve the city--Battle of St. Quentin--Hesitation and timidity of Philip--City of St. Quentin taken and sacked--Continued indecision of Philip--His army disbanded--Campaign of the Duke of Guise-- Capture of Calais--Interview between Cardinal de Lorraine and the Bishop of Arran--Secret combinations for a league between France and Spain against heresy--Languid movements of Guise--Foray of De Thermes on the Flemish frontier--Battle of Gravelines--Popularity of Egmont--Enmity of Alva. 

Philip the Second had received the investiture of Milan and the crown ofNaples, previously to his marriage with Mary Tudor. The imperial crown hehad been obliged, much against his will, to forego. The archduchy ofAustria, with the hereditary German dependencies of his father's family, had been transferred by the Emperor to his brother Ferdinand, on theoccasion of the marriage of that prince with Anna, only sister of KingLouis of Hungary. Ten years afterwards, Ferdinand (King of Hungary andBohemia since the death of Louis, slain in 1526 at the battle of Mohacz)was elected King of the Romans, and steadily refused all the entreatiesafterwards made to him in behalf of Philip, to resign his crown and hissuccession to the Empire, in favor of his nephew. With these diminutions, Philip had now received all the dominions of his father. He was King ofall the Spanish kingdoms and of both the Sicilies. He was titular King ofEngland, France, and Jerusalem. He was "Absolute Dominator" in Asia, Africa, and America; he was Duke of Milan and of both Burgundies, andHereditary Sovereign of the seventeen Netherlands. 

Thus the provinces had received a new master. A man of foreign birth andbreeding, not speaking a word of their language, nor of any languagewhich the mass of the inhabitants understood, was now placed in supremeauthority over them, because he represented, through the females, the"good" Philip of Burgundy, who a century before had possessed himself byinheritance, purchase, force, or fraud, of the sovereignty in most ofthose provinces. It is necessary to say an introductory word or twoconcerning the previous history of the man to whose hands the destiny ofso many millions was now entrusted. 

He was born in May, 1527, and was now therefore twenty-eight years ofage. At the age of sixteen he had been united to his cousin, Maria ofPortugal, daughter of John III. And of the Emperor's sister, DonnaCatalina. In the following year (1544) he became father of the celebratedand ill-starred Don Carlos, and a widower. The princess owed her death, it was said, to her own imprudence and to the negligence or bigotry ofher attendants. The Duchess of Alva, and other ladies who had charge ofher during her confinement, deserted her chamber in order to obtainabsolution by witnessing an auto-da-fe of heretics. During their absence, the princess partook voraciously of a melon, and forfeited her life inconsequence. 

In 1548, Don Philip had made his first appearance in the Netherlands. Hecame thither to receive homage in the various provinces as their futuresovereign, and to exchange oaths of mutual fidelity with them all. AndrewDoria, with a fleet of fifty ships, had brought him to Genoa, whence hehad passed to Milan, where he was received with great rejoicing. At Trenthe was met by Duke Maurice of Saxony, who warmly begged his intercessionwith the Emperor in behalf of the imprisoned Landgrave of Hesse. Thisboon Philip was graciously pleased to promise, --and to keep the pledge assacredly as most of the vows plighted by him during this memorable year. The Duke of Aerschot met him in Germany with a regiment of cavalry andescorted him to Brussels. A summer was spent in great festivities, thecities of the Nether lands vieing with each other in magnificentcelebrations of the ceremonies, by which Philip successively sworeallegiance to the various constitutions and charters of the provinces, and received their oaths of future fealty in return. His oath to supportall the constitutions and privileges was without reservation, while hisfather and grandfather had only sworn to maintain the charters granted orconfirmed by Philip and Charles of Burgundy. Suspicion was disarmed bythese indiscriminate concessions, which had been resolved upon by theunscrupulous Charles to conciliate the good will of the people. In viewof the pretensions which might be preferred by the Brederode family inHolland, and by other descendants of ancient sovereign races in otherprovinces, the Emperor, wishing to ensure the succession to his sistersin case of the deaths of himself, Philip, and Don Carlos without issue, was unsparing in those promises which he knew to be binding only upon theweak. Although the house of Burgundy had usurped many of the provinces onthe express pretext that females could not inherit, the rule had beenalready violated, and he determined to spare no pains to conciliate theestates, in order that they might be content with a new violation, shouldthe contingency occur. Philip's oaths were therefore without reserve, andthe light-hearted Flemings, Brabantines, and Walloons received him withopen arms. In Valenciennes the festivities which attended his entrancewere on a most gorgeous scale, but the "joyous entrance" arranged for himat Antwerp was of unparalleled magnificence. A cavalcade of themagistrates and notable burghers, "all attired in cramoisy velvet, "attended by lackies in splendid liveries and followed by four thousandcitizen soldiers in full uniform, went forth from the gates to receivehim. Twenty-eight triumphal arches, which alone, according to the thriftychronicler, had cost 26, 800 Carolus guldens, were erected in thedifferent streets and squares, and every possible demonstration ofaffectionate welcome was lavished upon the Prince and the Emperor. Therich and prosperous city, unconscious of the doom which awaited it in thefuture, seemed to have covered itself with garlands to honor the approachof its master. Yet icy was the deportment with which Philip receivedthese demonstrations of affection, and haughty the glance with which helooked down upon these exhibitions of civic hilarity, as from the heightof a grim and inaccessible tower. The impression made upon theNetherlanders was any thing but favorable, and when he had fullyexperienced the futility of the projects on the Empire which it was sodifficult both for his father and himself to resign, he returned to themore congenial soil of Spain. In 1554 he had again issued from thepeninsula to marry the Queen of England, a privilege which his father hadgraciously resigned to him. He was united to Mary Tudor at Winchester, onthe 25th July of that year, and if congeniality of tastes could have madea marriage happy, that union should have been thrice blessed. To maintainthe supremacy of the Church seemed to both the main object of existence, to execute unbelievers the most sacred duty imposed by the Deity uponanointed princes, to convert their kingdoms into a hell the surest meansof winning Heaven for themselves. It was not strange that the conjunctionof two such wonders of superstition in one sphere should have seemedportentous in the eyes of the English nation. Philip's mock efforts infavor of certain condemned reformers, and his pretended intercessions infavor of the Princess Elizabeth, failed entirely of their object. Theparliament refused to confer upon him more than a nominal authority inEngland. His children, should they be born, might be sovereigns; he wasbut husband of the Queen; of a woman who could not atone by her abjectbut peevish fondness for himself, and by her congenial blood-thirstinesstowards her subjects, for her eleven years seniority, her deficiency inattractions, and her incapacity to make him the father of a line ofEnglish monarchs. It almost excites compassion even for Mary Tudor, whenher passionate efforts to inspire him with affection are contrasted withhis impassiveness. Tyrant, bigot, murderess though she was, she was stillwoman, and she lavished upon her husband all that was not ferocious inher nature. Forbidding prayers to be said for the soul of her father, hating her sister and her people, burning bishops, bathing herself in theblood of heretics, to Philip she was all submissiveness and femininedevotion. It was a most singular contrast, Mary, the Queen of England andMary the wife of Philip. Small, lean and sickly, painfully near-sighted, yet with an eye of fierceness and fire; her face wrinkled by the hands ofcare and evil passions still more than by Time, with a big man's voice, whose harshness made those in the next room tremble; yet feminine in hertastes, skilful with her needle, fond of embroidery work, striking thelute with a touch remarkable for its science and feeling, speaking manylanguages, including Latin, with fluency and grace; most feminine, too, in her constitutional sufferings, hysterical of habit, shedding floods oftears daily at Philip's coldness, undisguised infidelity, and frequentabsences from England--she almost awakens compassion and causes amomentary oblivion of her identity. 

Her subjects, already half maddened by religious persecution, wereexasperated still further by the pecuniary burthens which she imposedupon them to supply the King's exigencies, and she unhesitatinglyconfronted their frenzy, in the hope of winning a smile from him. When atlast her chronic maladies had assumed the memorable form which causedPhilip and Mary to unite in a letter to Cardinal Pole, announcing not theexpected but the actual birth of a prince, but judiciously leaving thedate in blank, the momentary satisfaction and delusion of the Queen wasunbounded. The false intelligence was transmitted every where. Great werethe joy and the festivities in the Netherlands, where people were soeasily made to rejoice and keep holiday for any thing. "The Regent, beingin Antwerp, " wrote Sir Thomas Gresham to the lords of council, "did causethe great bell to rings to give all men to understand that the news wastrewe. The Queene's highness here merchants caused all our Inglishe shipsto shoote off with such joy and triumph, as by men's arts and polliceycoulde be devised--and the Regent sent our Inglishe maroners one hundredcrownes to drynke. " If bell-ringing and cannon-firing could have givenEngland a Spanish sovereign, the devoutly-wished consummation would havebeen reached. When the futility of the royal hopes could no longer beconcealed, Philip left the country, never to return till his war withFrance made him require troops, subsidies, and a declaration ofhostilities from England. 

The personal appearance of the new sovereign has already been described. His manner was far from conciliatory, and in this respect he was theabsolute reverse of his father. Upon his first journey out of Spain, in1548, into his various dominions, he had made a most painful impressionevery where. "He was disagreeable, " says Envoy Suriano, "to the Italians, detestable to the Flemings, odious to the Germans. "

The remonstrances of the Emperor, and of Queen Mary of Hungary, at theimpropriety of his manners, had produced, however, some effect, so thaton his wedding journey to England, he manifested much "gentleness andhumanity, mingled with royal gravity. " Upon this occasion, says anotherVenetian, accredited to him, "he had divested himself of that Spanishhaughtiness, which, when he first came from Spain, had rendered him soodious. " The famous ambassador, Badovaro confirms the impression. "Uponhis first journey, " he says, "he was esteemed proud, and too greedy forthe imperial succession; but now 'tis the common opinion that hishumanity and modesty are all which could be desired. " These humanequalities, however, it must be observed, were exhibited only in thepresence of ambassadors and grandees, the only representatives of"humanity" with whom he came publicly and avowedly in contact. 

He was thought deficient in manly energy. He was an infirmvaletudinarian, and was considered as sluggish in character, as deficientin martial enterprise, as timid of temperament as he was fragile andsickly of frame. It is true, that on account of the disappointment whichhe occasioned by his contrast to his warlike father, he mingled in sometournaments in Brussels, where he was matched against Count Mansfeld, oneof the most distinguished chieftains of the age, and where, says hisprofessed panegyrist, "he broke his lances very mach to the satisfactionof his father and aunts. "

That learned and eloquent author, Estelle Calvete, even filled thegreater part of a volume, in which he described the journey of thePrince, with a minute description of these feasts and jousts, but we mayreasonably conclude that to the loyal imagination of his eulogist Philipis indebted for most of these knightly trophies. It was the universalopinion of unprejudiced cotemporaries, that he was without a spark ofenterprise. He was even censured for a culpable want of ambition, and forbeing inferior to his father in this respect, as if the love ofencroaching on his neighbor's dominions, and a disposition to foreign. Commotions and war would have constituted additional virtues, had hehappened to possess them. Those who were most disposed to think favorablyof him, remembered that there was a time when even Charles the Fifth wasthought weak and indolent, and were willing to ascribe Philip's pacificdisposition to his habitual cholic and side-ache, and to his father'sinordinate care for him in youth. They even looked forward to the timewhen he should blaze forth to the world as a conqueror and a hero. These, however, were views entertained by but few; the general and the correctopinion, as it proved, being, that Philip hated war, would nevercertainly acquire any personal distinction in the field, and when engagedin hostilities would be apt to gather his laurels at the hands of hisgenerals, rather than with his own sword. He was believed to be thereverse of the Emperor. Charles sought great enterprises, Philip wouldavoid them. The Emperor never recoiled before threats; the son wasreserved, cautious, suspicious of all men, and capable of sacrificing arealm from hesitation and timidity. The father had a genius for action, the son a predilection for repose. Charles took "all men's opinions, butreserved his judgment, " and acted on it, when matured, with irresistibleenergy; Philip was led by others, was vacillating in forming decisions, and irresolute in executing them when formed. 

Philip, then, was not considered, in that warlike age, as likely to shineas a warrior. His mental capacity, in general, was likewise not veryhighly esteemed. His talents were, in truth, very much below mediocrity. His mind was incredibly small. A petty passion for contemptible detailscharacterized him from his youth, and, as long as he lived, he couldneither learn to generalize, nor understand that one man, howeverdiligent, could not be minutely acquainted with all the public andprivate affairs of fifty millions of other men. He was a glutton of work. He was born to write despatches, and to scrawl comments upon those whichhe received. 

 [The character of these apostilles, always confused, wordy and awkward, was sometimes very ludicrous; nor did it improve after his thirty or forty years' daily practice in making them. Thus, when he received a letter from France in 1589, narrating the assassination of Henry III. , and stating that "the manner in which he had been killed was that a Jacobin monk had given him a pistol-shot in the head" (la facon qua l'on dit qu'il a ette tue, sa ette par un Jacobin qui luy a donna d'un cou de pistolle dans la tayte), he scrawled the following luminous comment upon the margin. Underlining the word "pistolle, " he observed, "this is perhaps some kind of knife; and as for 'tayte, ' it can be nothing else but head, which is not tayte, but tete, or teyte, as you very well know" (quiza de alguna manera de cuchillo, etc. , etc. )--Gachard. Rapport a M. Le Minist. De l'Interieur, prefixed to corresp. Philippe II. Vol. I. Xlix. Note 1. It is obvious that a person who made such wonderful commentaries as this, and was hard at work eight or nine hours a day for forty years, would leave a prodigious quantity of unpublished matter at his death. ]

He often remained at the council-board four or five hours at a time, andhe lived in his cabinet. He gave audiences to ambassadors and deputiesvery willingly, listening attentively to all that was said to him, andanswering in monosyllables. He spoke no tongue but Spanish; and wassufficiently sparing of that, but he was indefatigable with his pen. Hehated to converse, but he could write a letter eighteen pages long, whenhis correspondent was in the next room, and when the subject was, perhaps, one which a man of talent could have settled with six words ofhis tongue. The world, in his opinion, was to move upon protocols andapostilles. Events had no right to be born throughout his dominions, without a preparatory course of his obstetrical pedantry. He could neverlearn that the earth would not rest on its axis, while he wrote aprogramme of the way it was to turn. He was slow in deciding, slower incommunicating his decisions. He was prolix with his pen, not fromaffluence, but from paucity of ideas. He took refuge in a cloud of words, sometimes to conceal his meaning, oftener to conceal the absence of anymeaning, thus mystifying not only others but himself. To one greatpurpose, formed early, he adhered inflexibly. This, however, was ratheran instinct than an opinion; born with him, not created by him. The ideaseemed to express itself through him, and to master him, rather than toform one of a stock of sentiments which a free agent might be expected topossess. Although at certain times, even this master-feeling could yieldto the pressure of a predominant self-interest-thus showing that even inPhilip bigotry was not absolute--yet he appeared on the whole theembodiment of Spanish chivalry and Spanish religious enthusiasm, in itslate and corrupted form. He was entirely a Spaniard. The Burgundian andAustrian elements of his blood seemed to have evaporated, and his veinswere filled alone with the ancient ardor, which in heroic centuries hadanimated the Gothic champions of Spain. The fierce enthusiasm for theCross, which in the long internal warfare against the Crescent, had beenthe romantic and distinguishing feature of the national character, haddegenerated into bigotry. That which had been a nation's glory now madethe monarch's shame. The Christian heretic was to be regarded with a moreintense hatred than even Moor or Jew had excited in the most Christianages, and Philip was to be the latest and most perfect incarnation of allthis traditional enthusiasm, this perpetual hate. Thus he was likely tobe single-hearted in his life. It was believed that his ambition would beless to extend his dominions than to vindicate his title of the mostCatholic king. There could be little doubt entertained that he would be, at least, dutiful to his father in this respect, and that the edictswould be enforced to the letter. 

He was by birth, education, and character, a Spaniard, and that soexclusively, that the circumstance would alone have made him unfit togovern a country so totally different in habits and national sentimentsfrom his native land. He was more a foreigner in Brussels, even, than inEngland. The gay, babbling, energetic, noisy life of Flanders and Brabantwas detestable to him. The loquacity of the Netherlanders was a continualreproach upon his taciturnity. His education had imbued him, too, withthe antiquated international hatred of Spaniard and Fleming, which hadbeen strengthening in the metropolis, while the more rapid current oflife had rather tended to obliterate the sentiment in the provinces. 

The flippancy and profligacy of Philip the Handsome, the extortion andinsolence of his Flemish courtiers, had not been forgotten in Spain, norhad Philip the Second forgiven his grandfather for having been aforeigner. And now his mad old grandmother, Joanna, who had for yearsbeen chasing cats in the lonely tower where she had been so longimprisoned, had just died; and her funeral, celebrated with great pomp byboth her sons, by Charles at Brussels and Ferdinand at Augsburg, seemedto revive a history which had begun to fade, and to recall the image ofCastilian sovereignty which had been so long obscured in the blaze ofimperial grandeur. 

His education had been but meagre. In an age when all kings and noblemenpossessed many languages, he spoke not a word of any tongue butSpanish, --although he had a slender knowledge of French and Italian, which he afterwards learned to read with comparative facility. He hadstudied a little history and geography, and he had a taste for sculpture, painting, and architecture. Certainly if he had not possessed a feelingfor art, he would have been a monster. To have been born in the earlierpart of the sixteenth century, to have been a king, to have had Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands as a birthright, and not to have been inspiredwith a spark of that fire which glowed so intensely in those favoredlands and in that golden age, had indeed been difficult. 

The King's personal habits were regular. His delicate health made itnecessary for him to attend to his diet, although he was apt to exceed insweetmeats and pastry. He slept much, and took little exercisehabitually, but he had recently been urged by the physicians to try theeffect of the chase as a corrective to his sedentary habits. He was moststrict in religious observances, as regular at mass, sermons, and vespersas a monk; much more, it was thought by many good Catholics, than wasbecoming to his rank and age. Besides several friars who preachedregularly for his instruction, he had daily discussions with others onabstruse theological points. He consulted his confessor most minutely asto all the actions of life, inquiring anxiously whether this proceedingor that were likely to burthen his conscience. He was grossly licentious. It was his chief amusement to issue forth at night disguised, that hemight indulge in vulgar and miscellaneous incontinence in the commonhaunts of vice. This was his solace at Brussels in the midst of thegravest affairs of state. He was not illiberal, but, on the contrary, itwas thought that he would have been even generous, had he not beenstraitened for money at the outset of his career. During a cold winter, he distributed alms to the poor of Brussels with an open hand. He wasfond of jests in private, and would laugh immoderately, when with a fewintimate associates, at buffooneries, which he checked in public by theicy gravity of his deportment. He dressed usually in the Spanish fashion, with close doublet, trunk hose, and short cloak, although at times heindulged in the more airy fashions of France and Burgundy, wearingbuttons on his coats and feathers in his hat. He was not thought at thattime to be cruel by nature, but was usually spoken of, in theconventional language appropriated to monarchs, as a prince "clement, benign, and debonnaire. " Time was to show the justice of his claims tosuch honorable epithets. 

The court was organized during his residence at Brussels on theBurgundian, not the Spanish model, but of the one hundred and fiftypersons who composed it, nine tenths of the whole were Spaniards; theother fifteen or sixteen being of various nations, Flemings, Burgundians, Italians, English, and Germans. Thus it is obvious how soon hedisregarded his father's precept and practice in this respect, and beganto lay the foundation of that renewed hatred to Spaniards which was soonto become so intense, exuberant, and fatal throughout every class ofNetherlanders. He esteemed no nation but the Spanish, with Spaniards heconsorted, with Spaniards he counselled, through Spaniards he governed. 

His council consisted of five or six Spanish grandees, the famous RuyGomez, then Count of Melito, afterwards Prince of Eboli; the Duke ofAlva, the Count de Feria, the Duke of Franca Villa, Don Antonio Toledo, and Don Juan Manrique de Lara. The "two columns, " said Suriano, "whichsustain this great machine, are Ruy Gomez and Alva, and from theircouncils depends the government of half the world. " The two were everbitterly opposed to each other. Incessant were their bickerings, intensetheir mutual hate, desperate and difficult the situation of any man, whether foreigner or native, who had to transact business with thegovernment. If he had secured the favor of Gomez, he had already earnedthe enmity of Alva. Was he protected by the Duke, he was sure to be castinto outer darkness by the favorite. --Alva represented the war party, RuyGomez the pacific polity more congenial to the heart of Philip. TheBishop of Arras, who in the opinion of the envoys was worth them all forhis capacity and his experience, was then entirely in the background, rarely entering the council except when summoned to give advice inaffairs of extraordinary delicacy or gravity. He was, however, toreappear most signally in course of the events already preparing. TheDuke of Alva, also to play so tremendous a part in the yet unborn historyof the Netherlands, was not beloved by Philip. He was eclipsed at thisperiod by the superior influence of the favorite, and his sword, moreover, became necessary in the Italian campaign which was impending. It is remarkable that it was a common opinion even at that day that theduke was naturally hesitating and timid. One would have thought that hisprevious victories might have earned for him the reputation for courageand skill which he most unquestionably deserved. The future was todevelop those other characteristics which were to make his name theterror and wonder of the world. 

The favorite, Ruy Gomez da Silva, Count de Melito, was the man upon whoseshoulders the great burthen of the state reposed. He was of a familywhich was originally Portuguese. He had been brought up with the King, although some eight years his senior, and their friendship dated fromearliest youth. It was said that Ruy Gomez, when a boy, had beencondemned to death for having struck Philip, who had come between him andanother page with whom he was quarrelling. The Prince threw himselfpassionately at his father's feet, and implored forgiveness in behalf ofthe culprit with such energy that the Emperor was graciously pleased tospare the life of the future prime minister. The incident was said tohave laid the foundation of the remarkable affection which was supposedto exist between the two, to an extent never witnessed before betweenking and subject. Ruy Gomez was famous for his tact and complacency, andomitted no opportunity of cementing the friendship thus auspiciouslycommenced. He was said to have particularly charmed his master, upon oneoccasion, by hypocritically throwing up his cards at a game of hazardplayed for a large stake, and permitting him to win the game with a farinferior hand. The King learning afterwards the true state of the case, was charmed by the grace and self-denial manifested by the youngnobleman. The complacency which the favorite subsequently exhibited inregard to the connexion which existed so long and so publicly between hiswife, the celebrated Princess Eboli, and Philip, placed his power upon animpregnable basis, and secured it till his death. 

At the present moment he occupied the three posts of valet, statecouncillor, and finance minister. He dressed and undressed his master, read or talked him to sleep, called him in the morning, admitted thosewho were to have private audiences, and superintended all thearrangements of the household. The rest of the day was devoted to theenormous correspondence and affairs of administration which devolved uponhim as first minister of state and treasury. He was very ignorant. He hadno experience or acquirement in the arts either of war or peace, and hisearly education had been limited. Like his master, he spoke no tongue butSpanish, and he had no literature. He had prepossessing manners, a fluenttongue, a winning and benevolent disposition. His natural capacity foraffairs was considerable, and his tact was so perfect that he couldconverse face to face with statesmen; doctors, and generals uponcampaigns, theology, or jurisprudence, without betraying any remarkabledeficiency. He was very industrious, endeavoring to make up by hard studyfor his lack of general knowledge, and to sustain with credit the burthenof his daily functions. At the same time, by the King's desire, heappeared constantly at the frequent banquets, masquerades, tourneys andfestivities, for which Brussels at that epoch was remarkable. It was nowonder that his cheek was pale, and that he seemed dying of overwork. Hedischarged his duties cheerfully, however, for in the service of Philiphe knew no rest. "After God, " said Badovaro, "he knows no object save thefelicity of his master. " He was already, as a matter of course, veryrich, having been endowed by Philip with property to the amount oftwenty-six thousand dollars yearly, [at values of 1855] and the tide ofhis fortunes was still at the flood. 

Such were the two men, the master and the favorite, to whose hands thedestinies of the Netherlands were now entrusted. 

The Queen of Hungary had resigned the office of Regent of theNetherlands, as has been seen, on the occasion of the Emperor'sabdication. She was a woman of masculine character, a great huntressbefore the Lord, a celebrated horsewoman, a worthy descendant of the LadyMary of Burgundy. Notwithstanding all the fine phrases exchanged betweenherself and the eloquent Maas, at the great ceremony of the 25th ofOctober, she was, in reality, much detested in the provinces, and sherepaid their aversion with abhorrence. "I could not live among thesepeople, " she wrote to the Emperor, but a few weeks before the abdication, "even as a private person, for it would be impossible for me to do myduty towards God and my prince. As to governing them, I take God towitness that the task is so abhorrent to me, that I would rather earn mydaily bread by labor than attempt it. " She added, that a woman of fiftyyears of age, who had served during twenty-five of them, had a right torepose, and that she was moreover "too old to recommence and learn her A, B, C. " The Emperor, who had always respected her for the fidelity withwhich she had carried out his designs, knew that it was hopeless tooppose her retreat. As for Philip, he hated his aunt, and she hatedhim--although, both at the epoch of the abdication and subsequently, hewas desirous that she should administer the government. 

The new Regent was to be the Duke of Savoy. This wandering andadventurous potentate had attached himself to Philip's fortunes, and hadbeen received by the King with as much favor as he had ever enjoyed atthe hands of the Emperor. Emanuel Philibert of Savoy, then abouttwenty-six or seven years of age, was the son of the late unfortunateduke, by Donna Beatrice of Portugal, sister of the Empress. He was thenephew of Charles, and first cousin to Philip. The partiality of theEmperor for his mother was well known, but the fidelity with which thefamily had followed the imperial cause had been productive of nothing butdisaster to the duke. He had been ruined in fortune, stripped of all hisdignities and possessions. His son's only inheritance was his sword. Theyoung Prince of Piedmont, as he was commonly called in his youth; soughtthe camp of the Emperor, and was received with distinguished favor. Herose rapidly in the military service. Acting always upon his favoritemotto, "Spoliatis arma supersunt, " he had determined, if possible, tocarve his way to glory, to wealth, and even to his hereditary estates, byhis sword alone. War was not only his passion, but his trade. Every oneof his campaigns was a speculation, and he had long derived asatisfactory income by purchasing distinguished prisoners of war at a lowprice from the soldiers who had captured them, and were ignorant of theirrank, and by ransoming them afterwards at an immense advance. This sortof traffic in men was frequent in that age, and was considered perfectlyhonorable. Marshal Strozzi, Count Mansfeld, and other professionalsoldiers, derived their main income from the system. They were naturallyinclined, therefore, to look impatiently upon a state of peace as anunnatural condition of affairs which cut off all the profits of theirparticular branch of industry, and condemned them both to idleness andpoverty. The Duke of Savoy had become one of the most experienced andsuccessful commanders of the age, and an especial favorite with theEmperor. He had served with Alva in the campaigns against the Protestantsof Germany, and in other important fields. War being his element, heconsidered peace as undesirable, although he could recognize itsexistence. A truce he held, however, to be a senseless parodox, unworthyof the slightest regard. An armistice, such as was concluded on theFebruary following the abdication, was, in his opinion, only to be turnedto account by dealing insidious and unsuspected blows at the enemy, someportion of whose population might repose confidence in the plighted faithof monarchs and plenipotentiaries. He had a show of reason for hispolitical and military morality, for he only chose to execute the evilwhich had been practised upon himself. His father had been beggared, hismother had died of spite and despair, he had himself been reduced fromthe rank of a sovereign to that of a mercenary soldier, by spoliationsmade in time of truce. He was reputed a man of very decided abilities, and was distinguished for headlong bravery. His rashness and personaldaring were thought the only drawbacks to his high character as acommander. He had many accomplishments. He spoke Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian with equal fluency, was celebrated for his attachment to thefine arts, and wrote much and with great elegance. Such had beenPhilibert of Savoy, the pauper nephew of the powerful Emperor, theadventurous and vagrant cousin of the lofty Philip, a prince without apeople, a duke without a dukedom; with no hope but in warfare, with norevenue but rapine; the image, in person, of a bold and manly soldier, small, but graceful and athletic, martial in bearing, "wearing his swordunder his arm like a corporal, " because an internal malady made a beltinconvenient, and ready to turn to swift account every chance which a newseries of campaigns might open to him. With his new salary as governor, his pensions, and the remains of his possessions in Nice and Piedmont, hehad now the splendid annual income of one hundred thousand crowns, andwas sure to spend it all. 

It had been the desire of Charles to smooth the commencement of Philip'spath. He had for this purpose made a vigorous effort to undo, as it were, the whole work of his reign, to suspend the operation of his wholepolitical system. The Emperor and conqueror, who had been warring all hislifetime, had attempted, as the last act of his reign, to improvise apeace. But it was not so easy to arrange a pacification of Europe asdramatically as he desired, in order that he might gather his robes abouthim, and allow the curtain to fall upon his eventful history in a grandhush of decorum and quiet. During the autumn and winter of 1555, hostilities had been virtually suspended, and languid negotiationsensued. For several months armies confronted each other without engaging, and diplomatists fenced among themselves without any palpable result. Atlast the peace commissioners, who had been assembled at Vaucelles sincethe beginning of the year 1556, signed a treaty of truce rather than ofpeace, upon the 5th of February. It was to be an armistice of five years, both by land and sea, for France, Spain, Flanders, and Italy, throughoutall the dominions of the French and Spanish monarchs. The Pope wasexpressly included in the truce, which was signed on the part of Franceby Admiral Coligny and Sebastian l'Aubespine; on that of Spain, by Countde Lalain, Philibert de Bruxelles, Simon Renard, and Jean BaptisteSciceio, a jurisconsult of Cremona. During the precious month ofDecember, however, the Pope had concluded with the French monarch atreaty, by which this solemn armistice was rendered an egregious farce. While Henry's plenipotentiaries had been plighting their faith to thoseof Philip, it had been arranged that France should sustain, by subsidiesand armies, the scheme upon which Paul was bent, to drive the Spaniardsentirely out of the Italian peninsula. The king was to aid the pontiff, and, in return, was to carve thrones for his own younger children out ofthe confiscated realms of Philip. When was France ever slow to sweep uponItaly with such a hope? How could the ever-glowing rivalry of Valois andHabsburg fail to burst into a general conflagration, while the venerablevicegerent of Christ stood thus beside them with his fan in his hand?

For a brief breathing space, however, the news of the pacificationoccasioned much joy in the provinces. They rejoiced even in a temporarycessation of that long series of campaigns from which they couldcertainly derive no advantage, and in which their part was to furnishmoney, soldiers, and battlefields, without prospect of benefit from anyvictory, however brilliant, or any treaty, however elaborate. Manufacturing, agricultural and commercial provinces, filled to the fullwith industrial life, could not but be injured by being converted intoperpetual camps. All was joy in the Netherlands, while at Antwerp, thegreat commercial metropolis of the provinces and of Europe, the rapturewas unbounded. Oxen were roasted whole in the public squares; thestreets, soon to be empurpled with the best blood of her citizens, ranred with wine; a hundred triumphal arches adorned the pathway of Philipas he came thither; and a profusion of flowers, although it was February, were strewn before his feet. Such was his greeting in the light-heartedcity, but the countenance was more than usually sullen with which thesovereign received these demonstrations of pleasure. It was thought bymany that Philip had been really disappointed in the conclusion of thearmistice, that he was inspired with a spark of that martial ambition forwhich his panegyrists gave him credit, and that knowing full well theimprobability of a long suspension of hostilities, he was even eager forthe chance of conquest which their resumption would afford him. Thesecret treaty of the Pope was of course not so secret but that the hollowintention of the contracting parties to the truce of Vaucelles werethoroughly suspected; intentions which certainly went far to justify themaxims and the practice of the new governor-general of the Netherlandsupon the subject of armistices. 

Philip, understanding his position, was revolving renewed militaryprojects while his subjects were ringing merry bells and lightingbonfires in the Netherlands. These schemes, which were to be carried outin the immediate future, caused, however, a temporary delay in the greatpurpose to which he was to devote his life. 

The Emperor had always desired to regard the Netherlands as a whole, andhe hated the antiquated charters and obstinate privileges whichinterfered with his ideas of symmetry. Two great machines, the court ofMechlin and the inquisition, would effectually simplify and assimilateall these irregular and heterogeneous rights. The civil tribunal was toannihilate all diversities in their laws by a general cassation of theirconstitutions, and the ecclesiastical court was to burn out alldifferences in their religious faith. Between two such millstones it wasthought that the Netherlands might be crushed into uniformity. Philipsucceeded to these traditions. The father had never sufficient leisure tocarry out all his schemes, but it seemed probable that the son would be aworthy successor, at least in all which concerned the religious part ofhis system. One of the earliest measures of his reign was to re-enact thedread edict of 1550. This he did by the express advice of the Bishop ofArras who represented to him the expediency of making use of thepopularity of his father's name, to sustain the horrible system resolvedupon. As Charles was the author of the edict, it could be always arguedthat nothing new was introduced; that burning, hanging, and drowning forreligious differences constituted a part of the national institutions;that they had received the sanction of the wise Emperor, and had beensustained by the sagacity of past generations. Nothing could have beenmore subtle, as the event proved, than this advice. Innumerable were theappeals made in subsequent years, upon this subject, to the patriotismand the conservative sentiments of the Netherlanders. Repeatedly theywere summoned to maintain the inquisition, on the ground that it had beensubmitted to by their ancestors, and that no change had been made byPhilip, who desired only to maintain church and crown in the authoritywhich they had enjoyed in the days of his father of very laudable memory. 

Nevertheless, the King's military plans seemed to interfere for themoment with this cherished object. He seemed to swerve, at starting, frompursuing the goal which he was only to abandon with life. The edict of1550 was re-enacted and confirmed, and all office-holders were commandedfaithfully to enforce it upon pain of immediate dismissal. Nevertheless, it was not vigorously carried into effect any where. It was openlyresisted in Holland, its proclamation was flatly refused in Antwerp, andrepudiated throughout Brabant. It was strange that such disobedienceshould be tolerated, but the King wanted money. He was willing to refrainfor a season from exasperating the provinces by fresh religiouspersecution at the moment when he was endeavoring to extort every pennywhich it was possible to wring from their purses. 

The joy, therefore, with which the pacification had been hailed by thepeople was far from an agreeable spectacle to the King. The provinceswould expect that the forces which had been maintained at their expenseduring the war would be disbanded, whereas he had no intention ofdisbanding them. As the truce was sure to be temporary, he had nodisposition to diminish his available resources for a war which might berenewed at any moment. To maintain the existing military establishment inthe Netherlands, a large sum of money was required, for the pay was verymuch in arrear. The king had made a statement to the provincial estatesupon this subject, but the matter was kept secret during the negotiationswith France. The way had thus been paved for the "Request" or "Bede, "which he now made to the estates assembled at Brussels, in the spring of1556. It was to consist of a tax of one per cent. (the hundredth penny)upon all real estate, and of two per cent. Upon all merchandise; to becollected in three payments. The request, in so far as the imposition ofthe proposed tax was concerned, was refused by Flanders, Brabant, Holland, and all the other important provinces, but as usual, a moderate, even a generous, commutation in money was offered by the estates. Thiswas finally accepted by Philip, after he had become convinced that atthis moment, when he was contemplating a war with France, it would beextremely impolitic to insist upon the tax. The publication of the trucein Italy had been long delayed, and the first infractions which itsuffered were committed in that country. The arts of politicians; theschemes of individual ambition, united with the short-lived militaryardor of Philip to place the monarch in an eminently false position, thatof hostility to the Pope. As was unavoidable, the secret treaty ofDecember acted as an immediate dissolvent to the truce of February. 

Great was the indignation of Paul Caraffa, when that truce was firstcommunicated to him by the Cardinal de Tournon, on the part of the FrenchGovernment. Notwithstanding the protestations of France that the secretleague was still binding, the pontiff complained that he was likely to beabandoned to his own resources, and to be left single-handed to contendwith the vast power of Spain. 

Pope Paul IV. , of the house of Caraffa, was, in position, the well-knowncounterpart of the Emperor Charles. At the very moment when the conquerorand autocrat was exchanging crown for cowl, and the proudest throne ofthe universe for a cell, this aged monk, as weary of scientific andreligious seclusion as Charles of pomp and power, had abdicated hisscholastic pre-eminence, and exchanged his rosary for the keys and sword. A pontifical Faustus, he had become disgusted with the results of a lifeof study and abnegation, and immediately upon his election appeared to beglowing with mundane passions, and inspired by the fiercest ambition of awarrior. He had rushed from the cloister as eagerly as Charles had soughtit. He panted for the tempests of the great external world as earnestlyas the conqueror who had so long ridden upon the whirlwind of humanaffairs sighed for a haven of repose. None of his predecessors had beenmore despotic, more belligerent, more disposed to elevate and strengthenthe temporal power of Rome. In the inquisition he saw the grand machineby which this purpose could be accomplished, and yet found himself for aperiod the antagonist of Philip. The single circumstance would have beensufficient, had other proofs been wanting, to make manifest that the partwhich he had chosen to play was above his genius. Had his capacity beenat all commensurate with his ambition, he might have deeply influencedthe fate of the world; but fortunately no wizard's charm came to the aidof Paul Caraffa, and the triple-crowned monk sat upon the pontificalthrone, a fierce, peevish, querulous, and quarrelsome dotard; the preyand the tool of his vigorous enemies and his intriguing relations. Hishatred of Spain and Spaniards was unbounded. He raved at them as"heretics, schismatics, accursed of God, the spawn of Jews and Moors, thevery dregs of the earth. " To play upon such insane passions was notdifficult, and a skilful artist stood ever ready to strike the chordsthus vibrating with age and fury. The master spirit and principalmischief-maker of the papal court was the well-known Cardinal Caraffa, once a wild and dissolute soldier, nephew to the Pope. He inflamed theanger of the pontiff by his representations, that the rival house ofColonna, sustained by the Duke of Alva, now viceroy of Naples, and by thewhole Spanish power, thus relieved from the fear of French hostilities, would be free to wreak its vengeance upon their family. It was determinedthat the court of France should be held by the secret league. Moreover, the Pope had been expressly included in the treaty of Vaucelles, althoughthe troops of Spain had already assumed a hostile attitude in the southof Italy. The Cardinal was for immediately proceeding to Paris, there toexcite the sympathy of the French monarch for the situation of himselfand his uncle. An immediate rupture between France and Spain, are-kindling of the war flames from one end of Europe to the other, werenecessary to save the credit and the interests of the Caraffas. Cardinalde Tournon, not desirous of so sudden a termination to the pacificrelations between his, country and Spain, succeeded in detaining him alittle longer in Rome. --He remained, but not in idleness. The restlessintriguer had already formed close relations with the most importantpersonage in France, Diana of Poitiers. --This venerable courtesan, to theenjoyment of whose charms Henry had succeeded, with the other regalpossessions, on the death of his father, was won by the flatteries of thewily Caraffa, and by the assiduities of the Guise family. The best andmost sagacious statesmen, the Constable, and the Admiral, were in favorof peace, for they knew the condition of the kingdom. The Duke of Guiseand the Cardinal Lorraine were for a rupture, for they hoped to increasetheir family influence by war. Coligny had signed the treaty ofVaucelles, and wished to maintain it, but the influence of the Catholicparty was in the ascendant. The result was to embroil the Catholic Kingagainst the Pope and against themselves. The queen was as favorablyinclined as the mistress to listen to Caraffa, for Catherine de Mediciwas desirous that her cousin, Marshal Strozzi, should have honorable andprofitable employment in some fresh Italian campaigns. 

In the mean time an accident favored the designs of the papal court. Anopen quarrel with Spain resulted from an insignificant circumstance. TheSpanish ambassador at Rome was in the habit of leaving the city veryoften, at an early hour in the morning, upon shooting excursions, and hadlong enjoyed the privilege of ordering the gates to be opened for him athis pleasure. By accident or design, he was refused permission upon oneoccasion to pass through the gate as usual. Unwilling to lose his day'ssport, and enraged at what he considered an indignity, his excellency, bythe aid of his attendants, attacked and beat the guard, mastered them, made his way out of the city, and pursued his morning's amusement. ThePope was furious, Caraffa artfully inflamed his anger. The envoy wasrefused an audience, which he desired, for the sake of offeringexplanations, and the train being thus laid, it was thought that theright moment had arrived for applying the firebrand. The Cardinal went toParis post haste. In his audience of the King, he represented that hisHoliness had placed implicit reliance upon his secret treaty with hismajesty, that the recently concluded truce with Spain left the pontiff atthe mercy of the Spaniard, that the Duke of Alva had already drawn thesword, that the Pope had long since done himself the pleasure and thehonor of appointing the French monarch protector of the papal chair ingeneral, and of the Caraffa family in particular, and that the moment hadarrived for claiming the benefit of that protection. He assured him, moreover, as by full papal authority, that in respecting the recent trucewith Spain, his majesty would violate both human and divine law. Reasonand justice required him to defend the pontiff, now that the Spaniardswere about to profit by the interval of truce to take measures for hisdetriment. Moreover, as the Pope was included in the truce of Vaucelles, he could not be abandoned without a violation of that treaty itself. --Thearts and arguments of the Cardinal proved successful; the war wasresolved upon in favor of the Pope. The Cardinal, by virtue of powersreceived and brought with him from his holiness, absolved the King fromall obligation to keep his faith with Spain. He also gave him adispensation from the duty of prefacing hostilities by a declaration ofwar. Strozzi was sent at once into Italy, with some hastily collectedtroops, while the Duke of Guise waited to organize a regular army. 

The mischief being thus fairly afoot, and war let loose again uponEurope, the Cardinal made a public entry into Paris, as legate of thePope. The populace crowded about his mule, as he rode at the head of astately procession through the streets. All were anxious to receive abenediction from the holy man who had come so far to represent thesuccessor of St. Peter, and to enlist the efforts of all true believersin his cause. He appeared to answer the entreaties of the superstitiousrabble with fervent blessings, while the friends who were nearest himwere aware that nothing but gibes and sarcasms were falling from hislips. "Let us fool these poor creatures to their heart's content, sincethey will be fools, " he muttered; smiling the while upon thembenignantly, as became his holy office. Such were the materials of thisnew combination; such was the fuel with which this new blaze was lightedand maintained. Thus were the great powers of the earth--Spain, France, England, and the Papacy embroiled, and the nations embattled against eachother for several years. The preceding pages show how much nationalinterests, or principles; were concerned in the struggle thus commenced, in which thousands were to shed their life-blood, and millions to bereduced from peace and comfort to suffer all the misery which famine andrapine can inflict. It would no doubt have increased the hilarity ofCaraffa, as he made his triumphant entry into Paris, could the idea havebeen suggested to his mind that the sentiments, or the welfare of thepeople throughout the great states now involved in his meshes, could haveany possible bearing upon the question of peace or wax. The world wasgoverned by other influences. The wiles of a cardinal--the arts of aconcubine--the snipe-shooting of an ambassador--the speculations of asoldier of fortune--the ill temper of a monk--the mutual venom of Italianhouses--above all, the perpetual rivalry of the two great historicalfamilies who owned the greater part of Europe between them as theirprivate property--such were the wheels on which rolled the destiny ofChristendom. Compared to these, what were great moral and politicalideas, the plans of statesmen, the hopes of nations? Time was soon toshow. Meanwhile, government continued to be administered exclusively forthe benefit of the governors. Meanwhile, a petty war for paltry motiveswas to precede the great spectacle which was to prove to Europe thatprinciples and peoples still existed, and that a phlegmatic nation ofmerchants and manufacturers could defy the powers of the universe, andrisk all their blood and treasure, generation after generation, in asacred cause. 

It does not belong to our purpose to narrate the details of the campaignin Italy; neither is this war of politics and chicane of any greatinterest at the present day. To the military minds of their age, thescientific duel which now took place upon a large scale, between two suchcelebrated captains as the Dukes of Guise and Alva, was no doubt esteemedthe most important of spectacles; but the progress of mankind in the artof slaughter has stripped so antiquated an exhibition of most of itsinterest, even in a technical point of view. Not much satisfaction couldbe derived from watching an old-fashioned game of war, in which theparties sat down before each other so tranquilly, and picked up pieceafter piece, castle after castle, city after city, with such scientificdeliberation as to make it evident that, in the opinion of thecommanders, war was the only serious business to be done in the world;that it was not to be done in a hurry, nor contrary to rule, and thatwhen a general had a good job upon his hands he ought to know hisprofession much too thoroughly, to hasten through it before he saw hisway clear to another. From the point of time, at the close of the year1556, when that well-trained but not very successful soldier, Strozzi, crossed the Alps, down to the autumn of the following year, when the Dukeof Alva made his peace with the Pope, there was hardly a pitched battle, and scarcely an event of striking interest. Alva, as usual, brought hisdilatory policy to bear upon his adversary with great effect. He had nointention, he observed to a friend, to stake the whole kingdom of Naplesagainst a brocaded coat of the Duke of Guise. Moreover, he had been sentto the war, as Ruy Gomez informed the Venetian ambassador, "with a bridlein his mouth. " Philip, sorely troubled in his mind at finding himself inso strange a position as this hostile attitude to the Church, hadearnestly interrogated all the doctors and theologians with whom hehabitually took counsel, whether this war with the Pope would not work aforfeiture of his title of the Most Catholic King. The Bishop of Arrasand the favorite both disapproved of the war, and encouraged, with alltheir influence, the pacific inclinations of the monarch. The doctorswere, to be sure, of opinion that Philip, having acted in Italy only inself-defence, and for the protection of his states, ought not to beanxious as to his continued right to the title on which he valued himselfso highly. Nevertheless, such ponderings and misgivings could not buthave the effect of hampering the actions of Alva. That general chafedinwardly at what he considered his own contemptible position. At the sametime, he enraged the Duke of Guise still more deeply by the forcedcalmness of his proceedings. Fortresses were reduced, towns taken, oneafter another, with the most provoking deliberation, while his distractedadversary in vain strove to defy, or to delude him, into trying thechances of a stricken field. The battle of Saint Quentin, the narrativeof which belongs to our subject, and will soon occupy our attention, atlast decided the Italian operations. Egmont's brilliant triumph inPicardy rendered a victory in Italy superfluous, and placed in Alva'shand the power of commanding the issue of his own campaign. The Duke ofGuise was recalled to defend the French frontier, which the bravery ofthe Flemish hero had imperilled, and the Pope was left to make the bestpeace which he could. All was now prosperous and smiling, and thecampaign closed with a highly original and entertaining exhibition. Thepontiff's puerile ambition, sustained by the intrigues of his nephew, hadinvolved the French monarch in a war which was contrary to his interestsand inclination. Paul now found his ally too sorely beset to afford himthat protection upon which he had relied, when he commenced, in hisdotage, his career as a warrior. He was, therefore, only desirous ofdeserting his friend, and of relieving himself from his uncomfortablepredicament, by making a treaty with his catholic majesty upon the bestterms which he could obtain. The King of France, who had gone to war onlyfor the sake of his holiness, was to be left to fight his own battles, while the Pope was to make his peace with all the world. The result was adesirable one for Philip. Alva was accordingly instructed to afford theholy father a decorous and appropriate opportunity for carrying out hiswishes. The victorious general was apprized that his master desired nofruit from his commanding attitude in Italy and the victory of SaintQuentin, save a full pardon from the Pope for maintaining even adefensive war against him. An amicable siege of Rome was accordinglycommenced, in the course of which an assault or "camiciata" on the holycity, was arranged for the night of the 26th August, 1557. The pontiffagreed to be taken by surprise--while Alva, through what was to appearonly a superabundance of his habitual discretion, was to draw off histroops at the very moment when the victorious assault was to be made. Theimminent danger to the holy city and to his own sacred person thusfurnishing the pontiff with an excuse for abandoning his own cause, aswell as that of his ally the Duke of Alva was allowed, in the name of hismaster and himself; to make submission to the Church and his peace withRome. The Spanish general, with secret indignation and disgust, wascompelled to humor the vanity of a peevish but imperious old man. Negotiations were commenced, and so skilfully had the Duke played hisgame during the spring and summer, that when he was admitted to kiss thePope's toe, he was able to bring a hundred Italian towns in his hand, asa peace-offering to his holiness. These he now restored, with apparenthumility and inward curses, upon the condition that the fortificationsshould be razed, and the French alliance absolutely renounced. Thus didthe fanaticism of Philip reverse the relative position of himself and hisantagonist. Thus was the vanquished pontiff allowed almost to dictateterms to the victorious general. The king who could thus humble himselfto a dotard, while he made himself the scourge of his subjects, deservedthat the bull of excommunication which had been prepared should have beenfulminated. He, at least, was capable of feeling the scathing effects ofsuch anathemas. 

The Duke of Guise, having been dismissed with the pontiff's assurancethat he had done little for the interests of his sovereign, less for theprotection of the Church, and least of all for his own reputation, setforth with all speed for Civita Vecchia, to do what he could upon theFlemish frontier to atone for his inglorious campaign in Italy. Thetreaty between the Pope and the Duke of Alva was signed on the 14thSeptember (1557), and the Spanish general retired for the winter toMilan. Cardinal Caraffa was removed from the French court to that ofMadrid, there to spin new schemes for the embroilment of nations and theadvancement of his own family. Very little glory was gained by any of thecombatants in this campaign. Spain, France, nor Paul IV. , not one of themcame out of the Italian contest in better condition than that in whichthey entered upon it. In fact all were losers. France had made aninglorious retreat, the Pope a ludicrous capitulation, and the onlyvictorious party, the King of Spain, had, during the summer, conceded toCosmo de Medici the sovereignty of Sienna. Had Venice shown morecordiality towards Philip, and more disposition to sustain his policy, itis probable that the Republic would have secured the prize which thusfell to the share of Cosmo. That astute and unprincipled potentate, whocould throw his net so well in troubled water, had successfully duped allparties, Spain, France, and Rome. The man who had not only notparticipated in the contest, but who had kept all parties and all warfareaway from his borders, was the only individual in Italy who gainedterritorial advantage from the war. 

To avoid interrupting the continuity of the narrative, the Spanishcampaign has been briefly sketched until the autumn of 1557, at whichperiod the treaty between the Pope and Philip was concluded. It is nownecessary to go back to the close of the preceding year. 

Simultaneously with the descent of the French troops upon Italy, hostilities had broken out upon the Flemish border. The pains of theEmperor in covering the smouldering embers of national animosities soprecipitately, and with a view rather to scenic effect than to adeliberate and well-considered result, were thus set at nought, andwithin a year from the day of his abdication, hostilities were reopenedfrom the Tiber to the German Ocean. The blame of first violating thetruce of Vaucelles was laid by each party upon the other with equaljustice, for there can be but little doubt that the reproach justlybelonged to both. Both had been equally faithless in their professions ofamity. Both were equally responsible for the scenes of war, plunder, andmisery, which again were desolating the fairest regions of Christendom. 

At the time when the French court had resolved to concede to the wishesof the Caraffa family, Admiral Coligny, who had been appointed governorof Picardy, had received orders to make a foray upon the frontier ofFlanders. Before the formal annunciation of hostilities, it was thoughtdesirable to reap all the advantage possible from the perfidy which hadbeen resolved upon. 

It happened that a certain banker of Lucca, an ancient gambler anddebauchee, whom evil courses had reduced from affluence to penury, hadtaken up his abode upon a hill overlooking the city of Douay. Here he hadbuilt himself a hermit's cell. Clad in sackcloth, with a rosary at hiswaist, he was accustomed to beg his bread from door to door. His garb wasall, however, which he possessed of sanctity, and he had passed his timein contemplating the weak points in the defences of the city with muchmore minuteness than those in his own heart. Upon the breaking out ofhostilities in Italy, the instincts of his old profession had suggestedto him that a good speculation might be made in Flanders, by turning toaccount as a spy the observations which he had made in his character of ahermit. He sought an interview with Coligny, and laid his propositionsbefore him. The noble Admiral hesitated, for his sentiments were moreelevated than those of many of his contemporaries. He had, moreover, himself negotiated and signed the truce with Spain, and he shrank fromviolating it with his own hand, before a declaration of war. Still he wasaware that a French army was on its way to attack the Spaniards in Italy;he was under instructions to take the earliest advantage which hisposition upon the frontier might offer him; he knew that both theory andpractice authorized a general, in that age, to break his fast, even intime of truce, if a tempting morsel should present itself; and, aboveall, he thoroughly understood the character of his nearest antagonist, the new governor of the Netherlands, Philibert of Savoy, whom he knew tobe the most unscrupulous chieftain in Europe. These considerationsdecided him to take advantage of the hermit-banker's communication. 

A day was accordingly fixed, at which, under the guidance of thisnewly-acquired ally, a surprise should be attempted by the French forces, and the unsuspecting city of Douay given over to the pillage of a brutalsoldiery. The time appointed was the night of Epiphany, upon occasion ofwhich festival, it was thought that the inhabitants, overcome with sleepand wassail, might be easily overpowered. (6th January, 1557. ) The plotwas a good plot, but the Admiral of France was destined to be foiled byan old woman. This person, apparently the only creature awake in thetown, perceived the danger, ran shrieking through the streets, alarmedthe citizens while it was yet time, and thus prevented the attack. Coligny, disappointed in his plan, recompensed his soldiers by a suddenonslaught upon Lens in Arthois, which he sacked and then levelled withthe ground. Such was the wretched condition of frontier cities, standing, even in time of peace, with the ground undermined beneath them, andexisting every moment, as it were, upon the brink of explosion. 

Hostilities having been thus fairly commenced, the French government wasin some embarrassment. The Duke of Guise, with the most available forcesof the kingdom, having crossed the Alps, it became necessary forthwith tocollect another army. The place of rendezvous appointed was Pierrepoint, where an army of eighteen thousand infantry and five thousand horse wereassembled early in the spring. In the mean time, Philip finding the warfairly afoot, had crossed to England for the purpose (exactly incontravention of all his marriage stipulations) of cajoling his wife andbrowbeating her ministers into a participation in his war with France. This was easily accomplished. The English nation found themselvesaccordingly engaged in a contest with which they had no concern, which, as the event proved, was very much against their interests, and in whichthe moving cause for their entanglement was the devotion of a weak, bad, ferocious woman, for a husband who hated her. A herald sent from Englandarrived in France, disguised, and was presented to King Henry at Rheims. Here, dropping on one knee, he recited a list of complaints against hismajesty, on behalf of the English Queen, all of them fabricated orexaggerated for the occasion, and none of them furnishing even a decorouspretext for the war which was now formally declared in consequence. TheFrench monarch expressed his regret and surprise that the firm andamicable relations secured by treaty between the two countries shouldthus, without sufficient cause, be violated. In accepting the wager ofwarfare thus forced upon him, he bade the herald, Norris, inform hismistress that her messenger was treated with courtesy only because herepresented a lady, and that, had he come from a king, the language withwhich he would have been greeted would have befitted the perfidymanifested on the occasion. God would punish this shameless violation offaith, and this wanton interruption to the friendship of two greatnations. With this the herald was dismissed from the royal presence, buttreated with great distinction, conducted to the hotel of the Englishambassador, and presented, on the part of the French sovereign with achain of gold. 

Philip had despatched Ruy Gomez to Spain for the purpose of providingways and means, while he was himself occupied with the same task inEngland. He stayed there three months. During this time, he "did more, "says a Spanish contemporary, "than any one could have believed possiblewith that proud and indomitable nation. He caused them to declare waragainst France with fire and sword, by sea and land. " Hostilities havingbeen thus chivalrously and formally established, the Queen sent an armyof eight thousand men, cavalry, infantry, and pioneers, who, "all clad inblue uniform, " commanded by Lords Pembroke and Clinton, with the threesons of the Earl of Northumberland, and officered by many other scions ofEngland's aristocracy, disembarked at Calais, and shortly afterwardsjoined the camp before Saint Quentin. 

Philip meantime had left England, and with more bustle and activity thanwas usual with him, had given directions for organizing at once aconsiderable army. It was composed mainly of troops belonging to theNetherlands, with the addition of some German auxiliaries. Thirty-fivethousand foot and twelve thousand horse had, by the middle of July, advanced through the province of Namur, and were assembled at Givet underthe Duke of Savoy, who, as Governor-General of the Netherlands, held thechief command. All the most eminent grandees of the provinces, Orange, Aerschot, Berlaymont, Meghen, Brederode, were present with the troops, but the life and soul of the army, upon this memorable occasion, was theCount of Egmont. 

Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere, was now in the thirty-sixthyear of his age, in the very noon of that brilliant life which wasdestined to be so soon and so fatally overshadowed. Not one of the darkclouds, which were in the future to accumulate around him, had yet rolledabove his horizon. Young, noble, wealthy, handsome, valiant, he saw nothreatening phantom in the future, and caught eagerly at the goldenopportunity, which the present placed within his grasp, of winning freshlaurels on a wider and more fruitful field than any in which he hadhitherto been a reaper. The campaign about to take place was likely to bean imposing, if not an important one, and could not fail to be attractiveto a noble of so ardent and showy a character as Egmont. If there were nolofty principles or extensive interests to be contended for, as therecertainly were not, there was yet much that was stately and exciting tothe imagination in the warfare which had been so deliberately andpompously arranged. The contending armies, although of moderate size, were composed of picked troops, and were commanded by the flower ofEurope's chivalry. Kings, princes, and the most illustrious paladins ofChristendom, were arming for the great tournament, to which they had beensummoned by herald and trumpet; and the Batavian hero, without a crown oreven a country, but with as lofty a lineage as many anointed sovereignscould boast, was ambitious to distinguish himself in the proud array. 

Upon the north-western edge of the narrow peninsula of North Holland, washed by the stormy waters of the German Ocean, were the ancient castle, town, and lordship, whence Egmont derived his family name, and the titleby which he was most familiarly known. He was supposed to trace hisdescent, through a line of chivalrous champions and crusaders, up to thepagan kings of the most ancient of existing Teutonic races. The eighthcentury names of the Frisian Radbold and Adgild among his ancestors werethought to denote the antiquity of a house whose lustre had beenincreased in later times by the splendor of its alliances. His father, united to Francoise de Luxemburg, Princess of Gavere, had acquired bythis marriage, and transmitted to his posterity, many of the proudesttitles and richest estates of Flanders. Of the three children whosurvived him, the only daughter was afterwards united to the Count ofVaudemont, and became mother of Louise de Vaudemont, queen of the Frenchmonarch, Henry the Third. 

Of his two sons, Charles, the elder, had died young and unmarried, leaving all the estates and titles of the family to his brother. Lamoral, born in 1522, was in early youth a page of the Emperor. When old enoughto bear arms he demanded and obtained permission to follow the career ofhis adventurous sovereign. He served his apprenticeship as a soldier inthe stormy expedition to Barbary, where, in his nineteenth year, hecommanded a troop of light horse, and distinguished himself under theEmperor's eye for his courage and devotion, doing the duty not only of agallant commander but of a hardy soldier. Returning, unscathed by thewar, flood, or tempest of that memorable enterprise, he reached hiscountry by the way of Corsica, Genoa, and Lorraine, and was three yearsafterwards united (in the year 1545) to Sabina of Bavaria, sister ofFrederick, Elector Palatine. The nuptials had taken place at Spiers, andfew royal weddings could have been more brilliant. The Emperor, hisbrother Ferdinand King of the Romans, with the Archduke Maximilian, allthe imperial electors, and a concourse of the principal nobles of theempire, were present on the occasion been at the Emperor's side duringthe unlucky siege of Metz; in 1554 he had been sent at the head of asplendid embassy to England, to solicit for Philip the hand of MaryTudor, and had witnessed the marriage in Winchester Cathedral, the sameyear. Although one branch of his house had, in past times, arrived at thesovereignty of Gueldres, and another had acquired the great estates andtitles of Buren, which had recently passed, by intermarriage with theheiress, into the possession of the Prince of Orange, yet the Prince ofGavere, Count of Egmont, was the chief of a race which yielded to none ofthe great Batavian or Flemish families in antiquity, wealth, or power. Personally, he was distinguished for his bravery, and although he was notyet the idol of the camp, which he was destined to become, nor had yetcommanded in chief on any important occasion, he was accounted one of thefive principal generals in the Spanish service. Eager for generaladmiration, he was at the same time haughty and presumptuous, attemptingto combine the characters of an arrogant magnate and a popular chieftain. Terrible and sudden in his wrath, he was yet of inordinate vanity, andwas easily led by those who understood his weakness. With a limitededucation, and a slender capacity for all affairs except those relatingto the camp, he was destined to be as vacillating and incompetent as astatesman, as he was prompt and fortunately audacious in the field. Asplendid soldier, his evil stars had destined him to tread, as apolitician, a dark and dangerous path, in which not even genius, caution, and integrity could ensure success, but in which rashness alternatingwith hesitation, and credulity with violence, could not fail to bringruin. Such was Count Egmont, as he took his place at the-head of theking's cavalry in the summer of 1557. 

The early operations of the Duke of Savoy were at first intended todeceive the enemy. The army, after advancing as far into Picardy as thetown of Vervins, which they burned and pillaged, made a demonstrationwith their whole force upon the city of Guise. This, however, was but afeint, by which attention was directed and forces drawn off from SaintQuentin, which was to be the real point of attack In the mean time, theConstable of France, Montmorency, arrived upon the 28th July (1557), totake command of the French troops. He was accompanied by the Marechal deSaint Andre and by Admiral Coligny. The most illustrious names of France, whether for station or valor, were in the officers' list of this selectarmy. Nevers and Montpensier, Enghien and Conde, Vendome andRochefoucauld, were already there, and now the Constable and the Admiralcame to add the strength of their experience and lofty reputation tosustain the courage of the troops. The French were at Pierrepoint, a postbetween Champagne and Picardy, and in its neighborhood. The Spanish armywas at Vervins, and threatening Guise. It had been the opinion in Francethat the enemy's intention was to invade Champagne, and the Duc deNevers, governor of that province, had made a disposition of his forcessuitable for such a contingency. It was the conviction of Montmorency, however, that Picardy was to be the quarter really attacked, and thatSaint Quentin, which was the most important point at which the enemy'sprogress, by that route, towards Paris could be arrested, was in imminentdanger. The Constable's opinion was soon confirmed by advices received byColigny. The enemy's army, he was informed, after remaining three daysbefore Guise, had withdrawn from that point, and had invested SaintQuentin with their whole force. 

This wealthy and prosperous city stood upon an elevation rising from theriver Somme. It was surrounded by very extensive suburbs, ornamented withorchards and gardens, and including within their limits large tracts of ahighly cultivated soil. Three sides of the place were covered by a lake, thirty yards in width, very deep at some points, in others, ratherresembling a morass, and extending on the Flemish side a half mile beyondthe city. The inhabitants were thriving and industrious; many of themanufacturers and merchants were very rich, for it was a place of muchtraffic and commercial importance. 

Teligny, son-in-law of the Admiral, was in the city with a detachment ofthe Dauphin's regiment; Captain Brueuil was commandant of the town. Bothinformed Coligny of the imminent peril in which they stood. Theyrepresented the urgent necessity of immediate reinforcements both of menand supplies. The city, as the Admiral well knew, was in no condition tostand a siege by such an army, and dire were the consequences which wouldfollow the downfall of so important a place. It was still practicable, they wrote, to introduce succor, but every day diminished the possibilityof affording effectual relief. Coligny was not the man to let the grassgrow under his feet, after such an appeal in behalf of the principalplace in his government. The safety of France was dependent upon that ofSt. Quentin. The bulwark overthrown, Paris was within the next stride ofan adventurous enemy. The Admiral instantly set out, upon the 2d ofAugust, with strong reinforcements. It was too late. The Englishauxiliaries, under Lords Pembroke, Clinton, and Grey, had, in the meantime, effected their junction with the Duke of Savoy, and appeared in thecamp before St. Quentin. The route, by which it had been hoped that themuch needed succor could be introduced, was thus occupied and renderedimpracticable. The Admiral, however, in consequence of the urgent natureof the letters received from Brueuil and Teligny, had outstripped, in hisanxiety, the movements of his troops. He reached the city, almost aloneand unattended. Notwithstanding the remonstrances of his officers, he hadlistened to no voice save the desperate entreaties of the besiegedgarrison, and had flown before his army. He now shut himself up in thecity, determined to effect its deliverance by means of his skill andexperience, or, at least, to share its fate. As the gates closed uponColigny, the road was blocked up for his advancing troops. 

A few days were passed in making ineffectual sorties, ordered by Colignyfor the sake of reconnoitring the country, and of discovering the mostpracticable means of introducing supplies. The Constable, meantime, whohad advanced with his army to La Fore, was not idle. He kept up dailycommunications with the beleagured Admiral, and was determined, ifpossible, to relieve the city. There was, however, a constant successionof disappointments. Moreover, the brave but indiscreet Teligny, whocommanded during a temporary illness of the Admiral, saw fit, againstexpress orders, to make an imprudent sortie. He paid the penalty of hisrashness with his life. He was rescued by the Admiral in person, who, atimminent hazard, brought back the unfortunate officer covered withwounds, into the city, there to die at his father's feet, imploringforgiveness for his disobedience. Meantime the garrison was daily growingweaker. Coligny sent out of the city all useless consumers, quartered allthe women in the cathedral and other churches, where they were locked in, lest their terror and their tears should weaken the courage of thegarrison; and did all in his power to strengthen the defences of thecity, and sustain the resolution of the inhabitants. Affairs were growingdesperate. It seemed plain that the important city must soon fall, andwith it most probably Paris. One of the suburbs was already in the handsof the enemy. At last Coligny discovered a route by which he believed itto be still possible to introduce reinforcements. He communicated theresults of his observations to the Constable. Upon one side of the citythe lake, or morass, was traversed by a few difficult and narrowpathways, mostly under water, and by a running stream which could only bepassed in boats. The Constable, in consequence of this informationreceived from Coligny, set out from La Fere upon the 8th of August, withfour thousand infantry and two thousand horse. Halting his troops at thevillage of Essigny, he advanced in person to the edge of the morass, inorder to reconnoitre the ground and prepare his plans. The result was adetermination to attempt the introduction of men and supplies into thetown by the mode suggested. Leaving his troops drawn up in battle array, he returned to La Fere for the remainder of his army, and to complete hispreparations. Coligny in the mean time was to provide boats for crossingthe stream. Upon the 10th August, which was the festival of St. Laurence, the Constable advanced with four pieces of heavy artillery, fourculverines, and four lighter pieces, and arrived at nine o'clock in themorning near the Faubourg d'Isle, which was already in possession of theSpanish troops. The whole army of the Constable consisted of twelvethousand German, with fifteen companies of French infantry; making in allsome sixteen thousand foot, with five thousand cavalry in addition. TheDuke of Savoy's army lay upon the same side of the town, widely extended, and stretching beyond the river and the morass. Montmorency's project wasto be executed in full view of the enemy. Fourteen companies of Spaniardswere stationed in the faubourg. Two companies had been pushed forward asfar as a water-mill, which lay in the pathway of the advancing Constable. These soldiers stood their ground for a moment, but soon retreated, whilea cannonade was suddenly opened by the French upon the quarters of theDuke of Savoy. The Duke's tent was torn to pieces, and he had barely timeto hurry on his cuirass, and to take refuge with Count Egmont. TheConstable, hastening to turn this temporary advantage to account at once, commenced the transportation of his troops across the morass. Theenterprise was, however, not destined to be fortunate. The number ofboats which had been provided was very inadequate; moreover they werevery small, and each as it left the shore was consequently so crowdedwith soldiers that it was in danger of being swamped. Several wereoverturned, and the men perished. It was found also that the oppositebank was steep and dangerous. Many who had crossed the river were unableto effect a landing, while those who escaped drowning in the water losttheir way in the devious and impracticable paths, or perished miserablyin the treacherous quagmires. Very few effected their entrance into thetown, but among them was Andelot, brother of Coligny, with five hundredfollowers. Meantime, a council of officers was held in Egmont's tent. Opinions were undecided as to the course to be pursued under thecircumstances. Should an engagement be risked, or should the Constable, who had but indifferently accomplished his project and had introduced butan insignificant number of troops into the city, be allowed to withdrawwith the rest of his army? The fiery vehemence of Egmont carried allbefore it. Here was an opportunity to measure arms at advantage with thegreat captain of the age. To relinquish the prize, which the fortune ofwar had now placed within reach of their valor, was a thought not to beentertained. Here was the great Constable Montmorency, attended byprinces of the royal blood, the proudest of the nobility, the very crownand flower of the chivalry of France, and followed by an army of herbravest troops. On a desperate venture he had placed himself within theirgrasp. Should he go thence alive and unmolested? The moral effect ofdestroying such an army would be greater than if it were twice its actualstrength. It would be dealing a blow at the very heart of France, fromwhich she could not recover. Was the opportunity to be resigned without astruggle of laying at the feet of Philip, in this his first campaignsince his accession to his father's realms, a prize worthy of theproudest hour of the Emperor's reign? The eloquence of the impetuousBatavian was irresistible, and it was determined to cut off theConstable's retreat. 

Three miles from the Faubourg d'Isle, to which that general had nowadvanced, was a narrow pass or defile, between steep and closely hanginghills. While advancing through this ravine in the morning, the Constablehad observed that the enemy might have it in their power to intercept hisreturn at that point. He had therefore left the Rhinegrave, with hiscompany of mounted carabineers, to guard the passage. Being ready tocommence his retreat, he now sent forward the Due de Nevers, with fourcompanies of cavalry to strengthen that important position, which hefeared might be inadequately guarded. The act of caution came too late. This was the fatal point which the quick glance of Egmont had at oncedetected. As Nevers reached the spot, two thousand of the enemy's cavalryrode through and occupied the narrow passage. Inflamed by mortificationand despair, Nevers would have at once charged those troops, althoughoutnumbering his own by nearly, four to one. His officers restrained himwith difficulty, recalling to his memory the peremptory orders which hehad received from the Constable to guard the passage, but on no accountto hazard an engagement, until sustained by the body of the army. It wasa case in which rashness would have been the best discretion. Theheadlong charge which the Duke had been about to make, might possiblyhave cleared the path and have extricated the army, provided theConstable had followed up the movement by a rapid advance upon his part. As it was, the passage was soon blocked up by freshly advancing bodies ofSpanish and Flemish cavalry, while Nevers slowly and reluctantly fellback upon the Prince of Conde, who was stationed with the light horse atthe mill where the first skirmish had taken place. They were soon joinedby the Constable, with the main body of the army. The whole French forcenow commenced its retrograde movement. It was, however, but too evidentthat they were enveloped. As they approached the fatal pass through whichlay their only road to La Fire, and which was now in complete possessionof the enemy, the signal of assault was given by Count Egmont. Thatgeneral himself, at the head of two thousand light horse, led the chargeupon the left flank. The other side was assaulted by the Dukes Eric andHenry of Brunswick, each with a thousand heavy dragoons, sustained byCount Horn, at the head of a regiment of mounted gendarmerie. Mansfeld, Lalain, Hoogstraaten; and Vilain, at the same time made a furious attackupon the front. The French cavalry wavered with the shock so vigorouslygiven. The camp followers, sutlers, and pedlers, panic-struck, at oncefled helter-skelter, and in their precipitate retreat, carried confusionand dismay throughout all the ranks of the army. The rout was sudden andtotal. The onset and the victory were simultaneous, Nevers riding througha hollow with some companies of cavalry, in the hope of making a detourand presenting a new front to the enemy, was overwhelmed at once by theretreating French and their furious pursuers. The day was lost, retreathardly possible, yet, by a daring and desperate effort, the Duke, accompanied by a handful of followers, cut his way through the enemy andeffected his escape. The cavalry had been broken at the first onset andnearly destroyed. A portion of the infantry still held firm, andattempted to continue their retreat. Some pieces of artillery, however, now opened upon them, and before they reached Essigny, the whole army wascompletely annihilated. The defeat was absolute. Half the French troopsactually engaged in the enterprise, lost their lives upon the field. Theremainder of the army was captured or utterly disorganized. When Neversreviewed, at Laon, the wreck of the Constable's whole force, he foundsome thirteen hundred French and three hundred German cavalry, with fourcompanies of French infantry remaining out of fifteen, and four thousandGerman foot remaining of twelve thousand. Of twenty-one or two thousandremarkably fine and well-appointed troops, all but six thousand had beenkilled or made prisoners within an hour. The Constable himself, with awound in the groin, was a captive. The Duke of Enghien, after behavingwith brilliant valor, and many times rallying the troops, was shotthrough the body, and brought into the enemy's camp only to expire. TheDue de Montpensier, the Marshal de Saint Andre, the Due de Loggieville, Prince Ludovic of Mantua, the Baron Corton, la Roche du Mayne, theRhinegrave, the Counts de Rochefoucauld, d'Aubigni, de Rochefort, allwere taken. The Due de Nevers, the Prince of Conde, with a few others, escaped; although so absolute was the conviction that such an escape wasimpossible, that it was not believed by the victorious army. When Neverssent a trumpet, after the battle, to the Duke of Savoy, for the purposeof negotiating concerning the prisoners, the trumpeter was pronounced animpostor, and the Duke's letter a forgery; nor was it till after thewhole field had been diligently searched for his dead body withoutsuccess, that Nevers could persuade the conquerors that he was still inexistence. 

Of Philip's army but fifty lost their lives. Lewis of Brederode wassmothered in his armor; and the two counts Spiegelberg and Count Waldeckwere also killed; besides these, no officer of distinction fell. All theFrench standards and all their artillery but two pieces were taken, andplaced before the King, who the next day came into the camp before SaintQuentin. The prisoners of distinction were likewise presented to him inlong procession. Rarely had a monarch of Spain enjoyed a more signaltriumph than this which Philip now owed to the gallantry and promptnessof Count Egmont. 

While the King stood reviewing the spoils of victory, a light horseman ofDon Henrico Manrique's regiment approached, and presented him with asword. "I am the man, may it please your Majesty, " said the trooper, "whotook the Constable; here is his sword; may your Majesty be pleased togive me something to eat in my house. " "I promise it, " replied Philip;upon which the soldier kissed his Majesty's hand and retired. It was thecustom universally recognized in that day, that the king was the king'scaptive, and the general the general's, but that the man, whether soldieror officer, who took the commander-in-chief, was entitled to ten thousandducats. Upon this occasion the Constable was the prisoner of Philip, supposed to command his own army in person. A certain Spanish CaptainValenzuela, however, disputed the soldier's claim to the Constable'ssword. The trooper advanced at once to the Constable, who stood therewith the rest of the illustrious prisoners. "Your excellency is aChristian, " said he; "please to declare upon your conscience and thefaith of a cavalier, whether 't was I that took you prisoner. It need notsurprise your excellency that I am but a soldier, since with soldiers hisMajesty must wage his wars. " "Certainly, " replied the Constable, "youtook me and took my horse, and I gave you my sword. My word, however, Ipledged to Captain Valenzuela. " It appearing, however, that the custom ofSpain did not recognize a pledge given to any one but the actual captor, it was arranged that the soldier should give two thousand of his tenthousand ducats to the captain. Thus the dispute ended. 

Such was the brilliant victory of Saint Quentin, worthy to be placed inthe same list with the world-renowned combats of Creqy and Agincourt. Like those battles, also, it derives its main interest from the personalcharacter of the leader, while it seems to have been hallowed by thetender emotions which sprang from his subsequent fate. The victory wasbut a happy move in a winning game. The players were kings, and thepeople were stakes--not parties. It was a chivalrous display in a warwhich was waged without honorable purpose, and in which no single loftysentiment was involved. The Flemish frontier was, however, saved for thetime from the misery which was now to be inflicted upon the Frenchborder. This was sufficient to cause the victory to be hailed asrapturously by the people as by the troops. From that day forth the nameof the brave Hollander was like the sound of a trumpet to the army. "Egmont and Saint Quentin" rang through every mouth to the furthestextremity of Philip's realms. A deadly blow was struck to the very heartof France. The fruits of all the victories of Francis and Henry withered. The battle, with others which were to follow it, won by the same hand, were soon to compel the signature of the most disastrous treaty which hadever disgraced the history of France. 

The fame and power of the Constable faded--his misfortunes and captivityfell like a blight upon the ancient glory of the house ofMontmorency--his enemies destroyed his influence and hispopularity--while the degradation of the kingdom was simultaneous withthe downfall of his illustrious name. On the other hand, the exultationof Philip was as keen as his cold and stony nature would permit. Themagnificent palace-convent of the Escurial, dedicated to the saint onwhose festival the battle had been fought, and built in the shape of thegridiron, on which that martyr had suffered, was soon afterwards erectedin pious commemoration of the event. Such was the celebration of thevictory. The reward reserved for the victor was to be recorded on a laterpage of history. 

The coldness and caution, not to say the pusillanimity of Philip, prevented him from seizing the golden fruits of his triumph. FerdinandGonzaga wished the blow to be followed up by an immediate march uponParis. --Such was also the feeling of all the distinguished soldiers ofthe age. It was unquestionably the opinion, and would have been the deed, of Charles, had he been on the field of Saint Quentin, crippled as hewas, in the place of his son. He could not conceal his rage andmortification when he found that Paris had not fallen, and is said tohave refused to read the despatches which recorded that the event had notbeen consummated. There was certainly little of the conqueror in Philip'snature; nothing which would have led him to violate the safest principlesof strategy. He was not the man to follow up enthusiastically the blowwhich had been struck; Saint Quentin, still untaken, although defended bybut eight hundred soldiers, could not be left behind him; Nevers wasstill in his front, and although it was notorious that he commanded onlythe wreck of an army, yet a new one might be collected, perhaps, in timeto embarrass the triumphant march to Paris. Out of his superabundantdiscretion, accordingly, Philip refused to advance till Saint Quentinshould be reduced. 

Although nearly driven to despair by the total overthrow of the French inthe recent action, Coligny still held bravely out, being well aware thatevery day by which the siege could be protracted was of advantage to hiscountry. Again he made fresh attempts to introduce men into the city. Afisherman showed him a submerged path, covered several feet deep withwater, through which he succeeded in bringing one hundred and fiftyunarmed and half-drowned soldiers into the place. His garrison consistedbarely of eight hundred men, but the siege was still sustained, mainly byhis courage and sagacity, and by the spirit of his brother Andelot. Thecompany of cavalry, belonging to the Dauphin's regiment, had behavedbadly, and even with cowardice, since the death of their commanderTeligny. The citizens were naturally weary and impatient of the siege. Mining and countermining continued till the 21st August. A steadycannonade was then maintained until the 27th. Upon that day, elevenbreaches having been made in the walls, a simultaneous assault wasordered at four of them. The citizens were stationed upon the walls, the soldiers in the breaches. There was a short but sanguinary contest, the garrison resisting with uncommon bravery. Suddenly an entrance waseffected through a tower which had been thought sufficiently strong, andwhich had been left unguarded. Coligny, rushing to the spot, engaged theenemy almost single-handed. He was soon overpowered, being attended onlyby four men and a page, was made a prisoner by a soldier named FranciscoDiaz, and conducted through one of the subterranean mines into thepresence of the Duke of Savoy, from whom the captor received ten thousandducats in exchange for the Admiral's sword. The fighting still continuedwith great determination in the streets, the brave Andelot resisting tothe last. He was, however, at last overpowered, and taken prisoner. Philip, who had, as usual, arrived in the trenches by noon, armed incomplete harness, with a page carrying his helmet, was met by theintelligence that the city of Saint Quentin was his own. 

To a horrible carnage succeeded a sack and a conflagration still morehorrible. In every house entered during the first day, every human beingwas butchered. The sack lasted all that day and the whole of thefollowing, till the night of the 28th. There was not a soldier who didnot obtain an ample share of plunder, and some individuals succeeded ingetting possession of two, three, and even twelve thousand ducats each. The women were not generally outraged, but they were stripped almostentirely naked, lest they should conceal treasure which belonged to theirconquerors, and they were slashed in the face with knives, partly insport, partly as a punishment for not giving up property which was not intheir possession. The soldiers even cut off the arms of many among thesewretched women, and then turned them loose, maimed and naked, into theblazing streets; for the town, on the 28th, was fired in a hundredplaces, and was now one general conflagration. The streets were alreadystrewn with the corpses of the butchered garrison and citizens; while thesurvivors were now burned in their houses. Human heads, limbs, andtrunks, were mingled among the bricks and rafters of the houses, whichwere falling on every side. The fire lasted day and night, without anattempt being made to extinguish it; while the soldiers dashed likedevils through flame and smoke in search of booty. Bearing lightedtorches, they descended into every subterrranean vault and receptacle, ofwhich there were many in the town, and in every one of which they hopedto discover hidden treasure. The work of killing, plundering, and burninglasted nearly three days and nights. The streets, meanwhile, wereencumbered with heaps of corpses, not a single one of which had beenburied since the capture of the town. The remains of nearly all the ablebodied male population, dismembered, gnawed by dogs or blackened by fire, polluted the midsummer air meantime, the women had been again driven intothe cathedral, where they had housed during the siege, and where they nowcrouched together in trembling expectation of their fate. ' On the 29thAugust, at two o'clock in the afternoon, Philip issued an order thatevery woman, without an exception, should be driven out of the city intothe French territory. Saint Quentin, which seventy years before had beena Flemish town, was to be re-annexed, and not a single man, woman, orchild who could speak the French language was to remain another hour inthe place. The tongues of the men had been effectually silenced. Thewomen, to the number of three thousand five hundred, were now compelledto leave the cathedral and the city. Some were in a starving condition;others had been desperately wounded; all, as they passed through theruinous streets of what had been their home, were compelled to tread uponthe unburied remains of their fathers, husbands, or brethren. To none ofthese miserable creatures remained a living protector--hardly even a deadbody which could be recognized; and thus the ghastly procession of morethan three thousand women, many with gaping wounds in the face, many withtheir arms cut off and festering, of all ranks and ages, some numberingmore than ninety years, bareheaded, with grey hair streaming upon theirshoulders; others with nursing infants in their arms, all escorted by acompany of heavy-armed troopers, left forever their native city. All madethe dismal journey upon foot, save that carts were allowed to transportthe children between the ages of two and six years. The desolation anddepopulation were now complete. "I wandered through the place, gazing atall this, " says a Spanish soldier who was present, and kept a diary ofall which occurred, "and it seemed to me that it was another destructionof Jerusalem. What most struck me was to find not a single denizen of thetown left, who was or who dared to call himself French. How vain andtransitory, thought I, are the things of this world! Six days ago whatriches were in the city, and now remains not one stone upon another. "

The expulsion of the women had been accomplished by the express commandof Philip, who moreover had made no effort to stay the work of carnage, pillage, and conflagration. The pious King had not forgotten, however, his duty to the saints. As soon as the fire had broken out, he had sentto the cathedral, whence he had caused the body of Saint Quentin to beremoved and placed in the royal tent. Here an altar, was arranged, uponone side of which was placed the coffin of that holy personage, and uponthe other the head of the "glorious Saint Gregory" (whoever that gloriousindividual may have been in life), together with many other relicsbrought from the church. Within the sacred enclosure many masses weresaid daily, while all this devil's work was going on without. The saintwho had been buried for centuries was comfortably housed and guarded bythe monarch, while dogs were gnawing the carcases of the freshly-slainmen of Saint Quentin, and troopers were driving into perpetual exile itsdesolate and mutilated women. 

The most distinguished captives upon this occasion were, of course, Coligny and his brother. Andelot was, however, fortunate enough to makehis escape that night under the edge of the tent in which he wasconfined. The Admiral was taken to Antwerp. Here he lay for many weekssick with a fever. Upon his recovery, having no better pastime, he fellto reading the Scriptures. The result was his conversion to Calvinism;and the world shudders yet at the fate in which that conversion involvedhim. 

Saint Quentin being thus reduced, Philip was not more disposed to pushhis fortune. The time was now wasted in the siege of severalcomparatively unimportant places, so that the fruits of Egmont's valorwere not yet allowed to ripen. Early in September Le Catelet was taken. On the 12th of the same month the citadel of Ham yielded, after receivingtwo thousand shots from Philip's artillery, while Nojon, Chanly, and someother places of less importance, were burned to the ground. After allthis smoke and fire upon the frontier, productive of but slenderconsequences, Philip disbanded his army, and retired to Brussels. Hereached that city on the 12th October. The English returned to their owncountry. The campaign of 1557 was closed without a material result, andthe victory of Saint Quentin remained for a season barren. 

In the mean time the French were not idle. The army of the Constable hadbeen destroyed but the Duke de Guise, who had come post-haste from Italyafter hearing the news of Saint Quentin, was very willing to organizeanother. He was burning with impatience both to retrieve his ownreputation, which had suffered some little damage by his recent Italiancampaign, and to profit by the captivity of his fallen rival theConstable. During the time occupied by the languid and dilatoryproceedings of Philip in the autumn, the Duke had accordingly recruitedin France and Germany a considerable army. In January (1558) he was readyto take the field. It had been determined in the French cabinet, however, not to attempt to win back the places which they had lost in Picardy, butto carry the war into the territory of the ally. It was fated thatEngland should bear all the losses, and Philip appropriate all the gainand glory, which resulted from their united exertions. It was the war ofthe Queen's husband, with which the Queen's people had no concern, but inwhich the last trophies of the Black Prince were to be forfeited. On thefirst January, 1558, the Duc de Guise appeared before Calais. The MarshalStrozzi had previously made an expedition, in disguise, to examine theplace. The result of his examination was that the garrison was weak, andthat it relied too much upon the citadel. After a tremendous cannonade, which lasted a week, and was heard in Antwerp, the city was taken byassault. Thus the key to the great Norman portal of France, thetime-honored key which England had worn at her girdle since the eventfulday of Crecy, was at last taken from her. Calais had been originally wonafter a siege which had lasted a twelvemonth, had been held two hundredand ten years, and was now lost in seven days. Seven days more, and tenthousand discharges from thirty-five great guns sufficed for thereduction of Guines. Thus the last vestige of English dominion, the lastsubstantial pretext of the English sovereign to wear the title and thelilies of France, was lost forever. King Henry visited Calais, whichafter two centuries of estrangement had now become a French town again, appointed Paul de Thermes governor of the place, and then returned toParis to celebrate soon afterwards the marriage of the Dauphin with theniece of the Guises, Mary, Queen of Scots. 

These events, together with the brief winter campaign of the Duke, whichhad raised for an instant the drooping head of France, were destinedbefore long to give a new face to affairs, while it secured theascendancy of the Catholic party in the kingdom. Disastrous eclipse hadcome over the house of Montmorency and Coligny, while the star of Guise, brilliant with the conquest of Calais, now culminated to the zenith. 

It was at this period that the memorable interview between the twoecclesiastics, the Bishop of Arras and the Cardinal de Lorraine, tookplace at Peronne. From this central point commenced the weaving of thatwide-spread scheme, in which the fate of millions was to be involved. TheDuchess Christina de Lorraine, cousin of Philip, had accompanied him toSaint Quentin. Permission had been obtained by the Duc de Guise and hisbrother, the Cardinal, to visit her at Peronne. The Duchess wasaccompanied by the Bishop of Arras, and the consequence was a full andsecret negotiation between the two priests. It may be supposed thatPhilip's short-lived military ardor had already exhausted itself. He hadmistaken his vocation, and already recognized the false position in whichhe was placed. He was contending against the monarch in whom he mightfind the surest ally against the arch enemy of both kingdoms, and of theworld. The French monarch held heresy in horror, while, for himself, Philip had already decided upon his life's mission. 

The crafty Bishop was more than a match for the vain and ambitiousCardinal. That prelate was assured that Philip considered the captivityof Coligny and Montmorency a special dispensation of Providence, whilethe tutelar genius of France, notwithstanding the reverses sustained bythat kingdom, was still preserved. The Cardinal and his brother, it wassuggested, now held in their hands the destiny of the kingdom, and ofEurope. The interests of both nations, of religion, and of humanity, madeit imperative upon them to put an end to this unnatural war, in orderthat the two monarchs might unite hand and heart for the extirpation ofheresy. That hydra-headed monster had already extended its coils throughFrance, while its pestilential breath was now wafted into Flanders fromthe German as well as the French border. Philip placed full reliance uponthe wisdom and discretion of the Cardinal. It was necessary that thesenegotiations should for the present remain a profound secret; but in themean time a peace ought to be concluded with as little delay as possible;a result which, it was affirmed, was as heartily desired by Philip as itcould be by Henry. The Bishop was soon aware of the impression which hisartful suggestions had produced. The Cardinal, inspired by the flatterythus freely administered, as well as by the promptings of his ownambition, lent a willing ear to the Bishop's plans. Thus was laid thefoundation of a vast scheme, which time was to complete. A crusade withthe whole strength of the French and Spanish crowns, was resolved uponagainst their own subjects. The Bishop's task was accomplished. TheCardinal returned to France, determined to effect a peace with Spain. Hewas convinced that the glory of his house was to be infinitely enhanced, and its power impregnably established, by a cordial co-operation withPhilip in his dark schemes against religion and humanity. Thenegotiations were kept, however, profoundly secret. A new campaign andfresh humiliations were to precede the acceptance by France of the peacewhich was thus proffered. 

Hostile operations were renewed soon after the interview at Peronne. TheDuke of Guise, who had procured five thousand cavalry and fourteenthousand infantry in Germany, now, at the desire of the King, undertookan enterprise against Thionville, a city of importance and great strengthin Luxemburg, upon the river Moselle. It was defended by Peter deQuarebbe, a gentleman of Louvain, with a garrison of eighteen hundredmen. On the 5th June, thirty-five pieces of artillery commenced the work;the mining and countermining-continuing seventeen days; on the 22nd theassault was made, and the garrison capitulated immediately afterwards. Itwas a siege conducted in a regular and business-like way, but the detailspossess no interest. It was, however, signalized by the death of one ofthe eminent adventurers of the age, Marshal Strozzi. This brave, butalways unlucky soldier was slain by a musket ball while assisting theDuke of Guise--whose arm was, at that instant, resting upon hisshoulder--to point a gun at the fortress. 

After the fall of Thionville, the Due de Guise, for a short time, contemplated the siege of the city of Luxemburg, but contented himselfwith the reduction of the unimportant places of Vireton and Arlon. Herehe loitered seventeen days, making no exertions to follow up the successwhich had attended him at the opening of the campaign. The good fortuneof the French was now neutralized by the same languor which had markedthe movements of Philip after the victory of Saint Quentin. The time, which might have been usefully employed in following up his success, wasnow wasted by the Duke in trivial business, or in absolute torpor. Thismay have been the result of a treacherous understanding with Spain, andthe first fruits of the interview at Peronne. Whatever the cause, however, the immediate consequences were disaster to the French nation, and humiliation to the crown. 

It had been the plan of the French cabinet that Marshal de Thermes, who, upon the capture of Calais, had been appointed governor of the city, should take advantage of his position as soon as possible. Havingassembled an army of some eight thousand foot and fifteen hundred horse, partly Gascons and partly Germans, he was accordingly directed to ravagethe neighboring country, particularly the county of Saint Pol. In themean time, the Due de Guise, having reduced the cities on the southernfrontier, was to move in a northerly direction, make a junction with theMarshal, and thus extend a barrier along the whole frontier of theNetherlands. 

De Therlries set forth from Calais, in the beginning of June, with hisnewly-organized army. Passing by Gravelines and Bourbourg, he arrivedbefore Dunkerk on the 2d of July. The city, which was without a garrison, opened negotiations, during the pendency of which it was taken by assaultand pillaged. The town of Saint Winochsberg shared the same fate. DeThermes, who was a martyr to the gout, was obliged at this pointtemporarily to resign the command to d'Estonteville, a ferocious soldier, who led the predatory army as far as Niewport, burning, killing, ravishing, plundering, as they went. Meantime Philip, who was atBrussels, had directed the Duke of Savoy to oppose the Due de Guise withan army which had been hastily collected and organized at Maubeuge, inthe province of Namur. He now desired, if possible, to attack and cut offthe forces of De Thermes before he should extend the hand to Guise, ormake good his retreat to Calais. 

Flushed with victory over defenceless peasants, laden with the spoils ofsacked and burning towns, the army of De Thermes was already on itshomeward march. It was the moment for a sudden and daring blow. Whose armshould deal it? What general in Philip's army possessed the requisitepromptness, and felicitous audacity; who, but the most brilliant ofcavalry officers, the bold and rapid hero of St. Quentin? Egmont, inobedience to the King's command, threw himself at once into the field. Hehastily collected all the available forces in the neighborhood. These, with drafts from the Duke of Savoy's army, and with detachments underMarshal Bigonicourt from the garrisons of Saint Omer, Bethune, Aire, andBourbourg, soon amounted to ten thousand foot and two thousand horse. Hisnumbers were still further swollen by large bands of peasantry, both menand women, maddened by their recent injuries, and thirsting forvengeance. With these troops the energetic chieftain took up his positiondirectly in the path of the French army. Determined to destroy De Thermeswith all his force, or to sacrifice himself, he posted his army atGravelines, a small town lying near the sea-shore, and about midwaybetween Calais and Dunkerk. The French general was putting the finishingtouch to his expedition by completing the conflagration at Dunkerk, andwas moving homeward, when he became aware of the lion in his path. Although suffering from severe sickness, he mounted his horse andpersonally conducted his army to Gravelines. Here he found his progresscompletely arrested. On that night, which was the 12th July, he held acouncil of officers. It was determined to refuse the combat offered, and, if possible, to escape at low tide along the sands toward Calais. Thenext morning he crossed the river Aa, below Gravelines. Egmont, who wasnot the man, on that occasion at least, to build a golden bridge for aflying enemy, crossed the same stream just above the town, and drew uphis whole force in battle array. De Thermes could no longer avoid theconflict thus resolutely forced upon him. Courage was now his only. Counsellor. Being not materially outnumbered by his adversaries, he had, at least, an even chance of cutting his way through all obstacles, and ofsaving his army and his treasure. The sea was on his right hand, the Aabehind him, the enemy in front. He piled his baggage and wagons so as toform a barricade upon his left, and placed his artillery, consisting offour culverines and three falconeta, in front. Behind these he drew uphis cavalry, supported at each side by the Gascons, and placed his Frenchand German infantry in the rear. 

Egmont, on the other hand, divided his cavalry into five squadrons. Threeof light horse were placed in advance for the first assault--the centrecommanded by himself, the two wings by Count Pontenals and HenricoHenriquez. The black hussars of Lazarus Schwendi and the Flemishgendarmes came next. Behind these was the infantry, divided into threenations, Spanish, German, and Flemish, and respectively commanded byCarvajal, Monchausen, and Bignicourt. Egmont, having characteristicallyselected the post of danger in the very front of battle for himself, could no longer restrain his impatience. "The foe is ours already, " heshouted; "follow me, all who love their fatherland:" With that he setspurs to his horse, and having his own regiment well in hand, dashed uponthe enemy. The Gascons received the charge with coolness, and under coverof a murderous fire from the artillery in front, which mowed down theforemost ranks of their assailants-sustained the whole weight of thefirst onset without flinching. Egmont's horse was shot under him at thecommencement of the action. Mounting another, he again cheered hiscavalry to the attack. The Gascons still maintained an unwavering front, and fought with characteristic ferocity. The courage of despair inflamedthe French, the hope of a brilliant and conclusive victory excited theSpaniards and Flemings. It was a wild, hand to hand conflict--general andsoldier, cavalier and pikeman, lancer and musketeer, mingled together inone dark, confused, and struggling mass, foot to foot, breast to breast, horse to horse-a fierce, tumultuous battle on the sands, worthy thefitful pencil of the national painter, Wouvermans. For a long time it wasdoubtful on which side victory was to incline, but at last ten Englishvessels unexpectedly appeared in the offing, and ranging up soonafterwards as close to the share as was possible, opened their fire uponthe still unbroken lines of the French. The ships were too distant, thedanger of injuring friend as well as foe too imminent, to allow of theirexerting any important influence upon the result. The spirit of the enemywas broken, however, by this attack upon their seaward side, which theyhad thought impregnable. At the same time, too, a detachment of Germancavalry which had been directed by Egmont to make their way under thedowns to the southward, now succeeded in turning their left flank. Egmont, profiting by their confusion, charged them again with redoubledvigor. The fate of the day was decided. The French cavalry wavered, broketheir ranks, and in their flight carried dismay throughout the wholearmy. The rout was total; horse and foot; French, Gascon, and German fledfrom the field together. Fifteen hundred fell in the action, as many morewere driven into the sea, while great numbers were torn to pieces by theexasperated peasants, who now eagerly washed out their recent injuries inthe blood of the dispersed, wandering, and wounded soldiers. The army ofDe Thermes was totally destroyed, and with it, the last hope of Francefor an honorable and equal negotiation. She was now at Philip's feet, sothat this brilliant cavalry action, although it has been surpassed inimportance by many others, in respect to the numbers of the combatantsand the principles involved in the contest, was still, in regard to theextent both of its immediate and its permanent results, one of the mostdecisive and striking which have ever been fought. The French armyengaged was annihilated. Marshal de Thermes, with a wound in the head, Senarpont, Annibault, Villefon, Morvilliers, Chanlis, and many others ofhigh rank were prisoners. The French monarch had not much heart to setabout the organization of another army; a task which he was now compelledto undertake. He was soon obliged to make the best terms which he could, and to consent to a treaty which was one of the most ruinous in thearchives of France. 

The Marshal de Thermes was severely censured for having remained so longat Dunkerk and in its neighborhood. He was condemned still more loudlyfor not having at least effected his escape beyond Gravelines, during thenight which preceded the contest. With regard to the last charge, however, it may well be doubted whether any nocturnal attempt would havebeen likely to escape the vigilance of Egmont. With regard to his delayat Dunkerk, it was asserted that he had been instructed to await in thatplace the junction with the Due de Guise, which had been previouslyarranged. But for the criminal and, then, inexplicable languor whichcharacterized that commander's movements, after the capture ofThionville, the honor of France might still have been saved. 

Whatever might have been the faults of De Thermes or of Guise, therecould be little doubt as to the merit of Egmont. Thus within elevenmonths of the battle of Saint Quentin, had the Dutch hero gained anothervictory so decisive as to settle the fate of the war, and to elevate hissovereign to a position from which he might dictate the terms of atriumphant peace. The opening scenes of Philip's reign were rendered asbrilliant as the proudest days of the Emperor's career, while theprovinces were enraptured with the prospect of early peace. To whom, then, was the sacred debt of national and royal gratitude due but toLamoral of Egmont? His countrymen gladly recognized the claim. He becamethe idol of the army; the familiar hero of ballad and story; the mirrorof chivalry, and the god of popular worship. Throughout the Netherlandshe was hailed as the right hand of the fatherland, the saviour ofFlanders from devastation and outrage, the protector of the nation, thepillar of the throne. 

The victor gained many friends by his victory, and one enemy. Thebitterness of that foe was likely, in the future, to outweigh all theplaudits of his friends. The Duke of Alva had strongly advised againstgiving battle to De Thermes. He depreciated the triumph after it had beengained, by reflections upon the consequences which would have flowed, hada defeat been suffered instead. He even held this language to Egmonthimself after his return to Brussels. The conqueror, flushed with hisglory, was not inclined to digest the criticism, nor what he consideredthe venomous detraction of the Duke. More vain and arrogant than ever, hetreated his powerful Spanish rival with insolence, and answered hisobservations with angry sarcasms, even in the presence of the King. Alvawas not likely to forget the altercation, nor to forgive the triumph. 

There passed, naturally, much bitter censure and retort on both sides atcourt, between the friends and adherents of Egmont and those whosustained the party of his adversary. The battle of Gravelines was foughtover daily, amid increasing violence and recrimination, between Spaniardand Fleming, and the old international hatred flamed more fiercely thanever. Alva continued to censure the foolhardiness which had risked sovaluable an army on a single blow. Egmont's friends replied that it waseasy for foreigners, who had nothing at risk in the country, to look onwhile the fields of the Netherlands were laid waste, and the homes andhearths of an industrious population made desolate, by a brutal andrapacious soldiery. They who dwelt in the Provinces would be evergrateful to their preserver for the result. They had no eyes for thepicture which the Spanish party painted of an imaginary triumph of DeThermos and its effects. However the envious might cavil, now that theblow had been struck, the popular heart remained warm as ever, andrefused to throw down the idol which had so recently been set up. 

1558-1559 [CHAPTER III. ]

 Secret negotiations for peace--Two fresh armies assembled, but inactive--Negotiations at Cercamp--Death of Mary Tudor--Treaty of Cateau Cambresis--Death of Henry II. --Policy of Catharine de Medici --Revelations by Henry II. To the Prince of Orange--Funeral of Charles V. In Brussels--Universal joy in the Netherlands at the restoration of peace--Organization of the government by Philip, and preparations for his departure--Appointment of Margaret of Parma as Regent of the Netherlands--Three councils--The consulta--The stadholders of the different provinces--Dissatisfaction caused by the foreign troops--Assembly of the Estates at Ghent to receive the parting instructions and farewell of the King--Speech of the Bishop of Arras--Request for three millions--Fierce denunciation of heresy on the part of Philip--Strenuous enforcement of the edicts commanded--Reply by the States of Arthois--Unexpected conditions-- Rage of the King--Similar conduct on the part of the other provinces--Remonstrance in the name of States--General against the foreign soldiery--Formal reply on the part of the crown--Departure of the King from the Netherlands--Autos--da--fe in Spain. 

The battle of Gravelines had decided the question. The intrigues of thetwo Cardinals at Peronne having been sustained by Egmont's victory, allparties were ready for a peace. King Henry was weary of the losing gamewhich he had so long been playing, Philip was anxious to relieve himselffrom his false position, and to concentrate his whole mind and thestrength of his kingdom upon his great enemy the Netherland heresy, whilethe Duke of Savoy felt that the time had at last arrived when an adroitdiplomacy might stand him in stead, and place him in the enjoyment ofthose rights which the sword had taken from him, and which his own swordhad done so much towards winning back. The sovereigns were inclined topeace, and as there had never been a national principle or instinct orinterest involved in the dispute, it was very certain that peace would bepopular every where, upon whatever terms it might be concluded. 

Montmorency and the Prince of Orange were respectively empowered to opensecret negotiations. The Constable entered upon the task with alacrity, because he felt that every day of his captivity was alike prejudicial tohis own welfare and the interests of his country. --The Guises, who hadquarrelled with the Duchess de Valentinois (Diane de Poitiers), were notyet powerful enough to resist the influence of the mistress; while, rather to baffle them than from any loftier reasons, that interest wasexerted in behalf of immediate peace. The Cardinal de Lorraine had by nomeans forgotten the eloquent arguments used by the Bishop of Arras; buthis brother, the Due de Guise, may be supposed to have desired somelittle opportunity of redeeming the credit of the kingdom, and to havedelayed the negotiations until his valor could secure a less inglorioustermination to the war. 

A fresh army had, in fact, been collected under his command, and wasalready organized at Pierrepoint. At the same time, Philip had assembleda large force, consisting of thirty thousand foot and fifteen thousandcavalry, with which he had himself taken the field, encamping towards themiddle of August upon the banks of the river Anthies, near the border ofPicardy. King Henry, on the other hand, had already arrived in the campat Pierrepoint, and had reviewed as imposing an army as had ever been atthe disposal of a French monarch. When drawn up in battle array itcovered a league and a half of ground, while three hours were required tomake its circuit on horseback. All this martial display was only foreffect. The two kings, at the head of their great armies, stood lookingat each other while the negotiations for, peace were proceeding. Anunimportant skirmish or two at the out-posts, unattended with loss oflife, were the only military results of these great preparations. Earlyin the autumn, all the troops were disbanded, while the commissioners ofboth crowns met in open congress at the abbey of Cercamp, near Cambray, by the middle of October. The envoys on the part of Philip were thePrince of Orange, the Duke of Alva, the Bishop of Arras, Ruy Gomez deSilva, the president Viglius; on that of the French monarch, theConstable, the Marshal de Saint Andre, the Cardinal de Lorraine, theBishop of Orleans, and Claude l'Aubespine. 

There were also envoys sent by the Queen of England, but as the disputeconcerning Calais was found to hamper the negotiations at Cercamp, theEnglish question was left to be settled by another congress, and was keptentirely separate from the arrangements concluded between France andSpain. 

The death of Queen Mary, on the 17th November, caused a temporarysuspension of the proceedings. After the widower, however, had made afruitless effort to obtain the hand of her successor, and had beenunequivocally repulsed, the commissioners again met in February, 1559, atCateau Cambresis. The English difficulty was now arranged by separatecommissioners, and on the third of April a treaty between France andSpain was concluded. 

By this important convention, both kings bound themselves to maintain theCatholic worship inviolate by all means in their power, and agreed thatan oecumenical council should at once assemble, to compose the religiousdifferences, and to extinguish the increasing heresy in both kingdoms. Furthermore, it was arranged that the conquests made by each countryduring the preceding eight years should be restored. Thus all the gainsof Francis and Henry were annulled by a single word, and the Duke ofSavoy converted, by a dash of the pen, from a landless soldier of fortuneinto a sovereign again. He was to receive back all his estates, and wasmoreover to marry Henry's sister Margaret, with a dowry of three hundredthousand crowns. Philip, on the other hand, now a second time a widower, was to espouse Henry's daughter Isabella, already betrothed to the InfantDon Carlos, and to receive with her a dowry of four hundred thousandcrowns. The restitutions were to be commenced by Henry, and to becompleted within three months. Philip was to restore his conquests in thecourse of a month afterwards. 

Most of the powers of Europe were included by both parties in thistreaty: the Pope, the Emperor, all the Electors, the republics of Venice, Genoa and Switzerland, the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden; the duchies of Ferrara, Savoy and Parma, besides otherinferior principalities. Nearly all Christendom, in short, was embracedin this most amicable compact, as if Philip were determined that, henceforth and forever, Calvinists and Mahometans, Turks and Flemings, should be his only enemies. 

The King of France was to select four hostages from among Philip'ssubjects, to accompany him to Paris as pledges for the execution of allthe terms of the treaty. The royal choice fell upon the Prince of Orange, the Duke of Alva, the Duke of Aerschot, and the Count of Egmont. 

Such was the treaty of Cateau Cambresis. Thus was a termination put to awar between France and Spain, which had been so wantonly undertaken. 

Marshal Monluc wrote that a treaty so disgraceful and disastrous hadnever before been ratified by a French monarch. It would have beendifficult to point to any one more unfortunate upon her previous annals;if any treaty can be called unfortunate, by which justice is done andwrongs repaired, even under coercion. The accumulated plunder of years, which was now disgorged by France, was equal in value to one third ofthat kingdom. One hundred and ninety-eight fortified towns weresurrendered, making, with other places of greater or less importance, atotal estimated by some writers as high as four hundred. The principalgainer was the Duke of Savoy, who, after so many years ofknight-errantry, had regained his duchy, and found himself thebrother-in-law of his ancient enemy. 

The well-known tragedy by which the solemnities of this pacification wereabruptly concluded in Paris, bore with it an impressive moral. Themonarch who, in violation of his plighted word and against the interestsof his nation and the world, had entered precipitately into a causelesswar, now lost his life in fictitious combat at the celebration of peace. On the tenth of July, Henry the Second died of the wound inflicted byMontgomery in the tournament held eleven days before. Of this weak andworthless prince, all that even his flatterers could favorably urge washis great fondness for war, as if a sanguinary propensity, even whenunaccompanied by a spark of military talent, were of itself a virtue. Yet, with his death the kingdom fell even into more pernicious hands, andthe fate of Christendom grew darker than ever. The dynasty of Diane dePoitiers was succeeded by that of Catharine de Medici; the courtesan gaveplace to the dowager; and France during the long and miserable period inwhich she lay bleeding in the grasp of the Italian she-wolf and herlitter of cowardly and sanguinary princes--might even lament the days ofHenry and his Diana. Charles the Ninth, Henry the Third, Francis ofAlencon, last of the Valois race--how large a portion of the fearful debtwhich has not yet been discharged by half a century of revolution andmassacre was of their accumulation. 

The Duchess of Valentinois had quarrelled latterly with the house ofGuise, and was disposed to favor Montmorency. The King, who was but atool in her hands, might possibly have been induced, had he lived, toregard Coligny and his friends with less aversion. This is, however, extremely problematical, for it was Henry the Second who had concludedthat memorable arrangement with his royal brother of Spain, to arrangefor the Huguenot chiefs throughout both realms, a "Sicilian Vespers, "upon the first favorable occasion. His death and the subsequent policy ofthe Queen-Regent deferred the execution of the great scheme till fourteenyears later. Henry had lived long enough, however, after the conclusionof the secret agreement to reveal it to one whose life was to be employedin thwarting this foul conspiracy of monarchs against their subjects. William of Orange, then a hostage for the execution of the treaty ofCateau Cambresis, was the man with whom the King had the unfortunateconception to confer on the subject of the plot. The Prince, who hadalready gained the esteem of Charles the Fifth by his habitualdiscretion, knew how to profit by the intelligence and to bide his time;but his hostility to the policy of the French and Spanish courts wasperhaps dated from that hour. 

Pending the peace negotiations, Philip had been called upon to mourn forhis wife and father. He did not affect grief for the death of Mary Tudor, but he honored the Emperor's departure with stately obsequies atBrussels. The ceremonies lasted two days (the 29th and 30th December, 1558). In the grand and elaborate procession which swept through thestreets upon the first day, the most conspicuous object was a shipfloating apparently upon the waves, and drawn by a band of Tritons whodisported at the bows. The masts, shrouds, and sails of the vessel wereblack, it was covered with heraldic achievements, banners and emblematicmementos of the Emperor's various expeditions, while the flags of Turksand Moors trailed from her sides in the waves below. Three allegoricalpersonages composed the crew. Hope, "all clothyd in brown, with anker inhand, " stood at the prow; Faith, with sacramental chalice and red cross, clad in white garment, with her face nailed "with white tiffany, " sat ona "stool of estate" before the mizen-mast; while Charity "in red, holdingin her hand a burning heart, " was at the helm to navigate the vessel. Hope, Faith, and Love were thought the most appropriate symbols for theman who had invented the edicts, introduced the inquisition, and whoselast words, inscribed by a hand already trembling with death, had adjuredhis son, by his love, allegiance, and hope of salvation, to deal to allheretics the extreme rigor of the law, "without respect of persons andwithout regard to any plea in their favor. "

The rest of the procession, in which marched the Duke of Alva, the Princeof Orange, and other great personages, carrying the sword, the globe, thesceptre, and the "crown imperial, " contained no emblems or imagery worthyof being recorded. The next day the King, dressed in mourning andattended by a solemn train of high officers and nobles, went again to thechurch. A contemporary letter mentions a somewhat singular incident asforming the concluding part of the ceremony. "And the service beingdone, " wrote Sir Richard Clough to Sir Thomas Gresham, "there went anobleman into the herse (so far as I codde understande, it was the Princeof Orange), who, standing before the herse, struck with his hand upon thechest and sayd, 'He is ded. ' Then standing styli awhile, he sayd, 'Heshall remayn ded. ' And 'then resting awhile, he struck again and sayd, 'He is ded, and there is another rysen up in his place greater than everhe was. ' Whereupon the Kynge's hoode was taken off and the Kynge wenthome without his hoode. "

If the mourning for the dead Emperor was but a mummery and a masquerade, there was, however, heartiness and sincerity in the rejoicing which nowburst forth like a sudden illumination throughout the Netherlands, uponthe advent of peace. All was joy in the provinces, but at Antwerp, themetropolis of the land, the enthusiasm was unbounded. Nine days weredevoted to festivities. Bells rang their merriest peals, artillerythundered, beacons blazed, the splendid cathedral spire flamed nightlywith three hundred burning cresaets, the city was strewn with flowers anddecorated with triumphal arches, the Guilds of Rhetoric amazed the worldwith their gorgeous processions, glittering dresses and bombasticversification, the burghers all, from highest to humblest, were feastedand made merry, wine flowed in the streets and oxen were roasted whole, prizes on poles were climbed for, pigs were hunted blindfold, men andwomen raced in sacks, and in short, for nine days long there was oneuniversal and spontaneous demonstration of hilarity in Antwerp andthroughout the provinces. 

But with this merry humor of his subjects, the sovereign had but littlesympathy. There was nothing in his character or purposes which owedaffinity with any mood of this jocund and energetic people. Philip hadnot made peace with all the world that the Netherlanders might climb onpoles or ring bells, or strew flowers in his path for a little holidaytime, and then return to their industrious avocations again. He had madepeace with all the world that he might be free to combat heresy; and thisarch enemy had taken up its strong hold in the provinces. The treaty ofCateau Cambresis left him at liberty to devote himself to that greatenterprise. He had never loved the Netherlands, a residence in theseconstitutional provinces was extremely irksome to him, and he wastherefore anxious to return to Spain. From the depths of his cabinet hefelt that he should be able to direct the enterprise he was resolvedupon, and that his presence in the Netherlands would be superfluous anddisagreeable. 

The early part of the year 1559 was spent by Philip in organizing thegovernment of the provinces and in making the necessary preparations forhis departure. The Duke of Savoy, being restored to his duchy, had, ofcourse, no more leisure to act as Regent of the Netherlands, and it wasnecessary, therefore, to fix upon his successor in this important post, at once. There were several candidates. The Duchess Christina of Lorrainehad received many half promises of the appointment, which she was mostanxious to secure; the Emperor was even said to desire the nomination ofthe Archduke Maximilian, a step which would have certainly argued moremagnanimity upon Philip's part than the world could give him credit for;and besides these regal personages, the high nobles of the land, especially Orange and Egmont, had hopes of obtaining the dignity. ThePrince of Orange, however, was too sagacious to deceive himself long, andbecame satisfied very soon that no Netherlander was likely to be selectedfor Regent. He therefore threw his influence in favor of the DuchessChristina, whose daughter, at the suggestion of the Bishop of Arras, hewas desirous of obtaining in marriage. The King favored for a time, orpretended to favor, both the appointment of Madame de Lorraine and themarriage project of the Prince. Afterwards, however, and in a mannerwhich was accounted both sudden and mysterious, it appeared that theDuchess and Orange had both been deceived, and that the King and Bishophad decided in favor of another candidate, whose claims had not beenconsidered, before, very prominent. This was the Duchess Margaret ofParma, natural daughter of Charles the Fifth. A brief sketch of thisimportant personage, so far as regards her previous career, is reservedfor the following chapter. For the present it is sufficient to state thefact of the nomination. In order to afford a full view of Philip'spolitical arrangements before his final departure from the Netherlands, we defer until the same chapter, an account of the persons who composedthe boards of council organized to assist the new Regent in thegovernment. These bodies themselves were three in number: a state andprivy council and one of finance. They were not new institutions, havingbeen originally established by the Emperor, and were now arranged by hissuccessor upon the same nominal basis upon which they had before existed. The finance council, which had superintendence of all matters relating tothe royal domains and to the annual budgets of the government, waspresided over by Baron Berlaymont. The privy council, of which Vigliuswas president, was composed of ten or twelve learned doctors, and wasespecially 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 superintendall high affairs of government, war, treaties, foreign intercourse, internal and interprovincial affairs. The members of this council werethe Bishop of Arras, Viglius, Berlaymont, the Prince of Orange, CountEgmont, to which number were afterwards added the Seigneur de Glayon, theDuke of Aerschot, and Count Horn. The last-named nobleman, who wasadmiral of the provinces, had, for the, present, been appointed toaccompany the King to Spain, there to be specially entrusted with theadministration of affairs relating to the Netherlands. He was destined, however, to return at the expiration of two years. 

With the object, as it was thought, of curbing the power of the greatnobles, it had been arranged that the three councils should be entirelydistinct from each other, that the members of the state council shouldhave no participation in the affairs of the two other bodies; but, on theother hand, that the finance and privy councillors, as well as theKnights of the Fleece, should have access to the deliberations of thestate council. In the course of events, however, it soon became evidentthat the real power of the government was exclusively in the hands of theconsulta, a committee of three members of the state council, by whosedeliberations the Regent was secretly instructed to be guided on allimportant occasions. The three, Viglius, Berlaymont, and Arras, whocomposed the secret conclave or cabinet, were in reality but one. TheBishop of Arras was in all three, and the three together constituted onlythe Bishop of Arras. 

There was no especial governor or stadholder appointed for the provinceof Brabant, where the Regent was to reside and to exercise executivefunctions in person. The stadholders for the other provinces were, forFlanders and Artois, the Count of Egmont; for Holland, Zeeland, andUtrecht, the Prince of Orange; for Gueldres and Zutfen, the Count ofMeghen; for Friesland, Groningen and Overyssel, Count Aremberg; forHainault, Valenciennes and Cambray, the Marquis of Berghen; for Tournayand Tournaisis, Baron Montigny; for Namur, Baron Berlaymont; forLuxemburg, Count Mansfeld; for Ryssel, Douay and Orchies, the BaronCoureires. All these stadholders were commanders-in-chief of the militaryforces in their respective provinces. With the single exception of CountEgmont, in whose province of Flanders the stadholders were excluded fromthe administration of justice, --all were likewise supreme judges in thecivil and criminal tribunal. The military force of the Netherlands intime of peace was small, for the provinces were jealous of the presenceof soldiery. The only standing army which then legally existed in theNetherlands were the Bandes d'Ordonnance, a body of mountedgendarmerie--amounting in all to three thousand men--which ranked amongthe most accomplished and best disciplined cavalry of Europe. They weredivided into fourteen squadrons, each under the command of a stadholder, or of a distinguished noble. Besides these troops, however, there stillremained in the provinces a foreign force amounting in the aggregate tofour thousand men. These soldiers were the remainder of those largebodies which year after year had been quartered upon the Netherlandsduring the constant warfare to which they had been exposed. Living uponthe substance of the country, paid out of its treasury, and as offensiveby their licentious and ribald habits of life as were the enemies againstwhom they were enrolled, these troops had become an intolerable burthento the people. They were now disposed in different garrisons, nominallyto protect the frontier. As a firm peace, however, had now been concludedbetween Spain and France, and as there was no pretext for compelling theprovinces to accept this protection, the presence of a foreign soldierystrengthened a suspicion that they were to be used in the onslaught whichwas preparing against the religious freedom and the political privilegesof the country. They were to be the nucleus of a larger army, it wasbelieved, by which the land was to be reduced to a state of servilesubjection to Spain. A low, constant, but generally unheeded murmur ofdissatisfaction and distrust upon this subject was already perceptiblethroughout the Netherlands; a warning presage of the coming storm. 

All the provinces were now convoked for the 7th of August (1559), atGhent, there to receive the parting communication and farewell of theKing. Previously to this day, however, Philip appeared in person uponseveral solemn occasions, to impress upon the country the necessity ofattending to the great subject with which his mind was exclusivelyoccupied. He came before the great council of Mechlin, in order toaddress that body with his own lips upon the necessity of supporting theedicts to the letter, and of trampling out every vestige of heresy, wherever it should appear, by the immediate immolation of all heretics, whoever they might be. He likewise caused the estates of Flanders to beprivately assembled, that he might harangue them upon the same greattopic. In the latter part of July he proceeded to Ghent, where a greatconcourse of nobles, citizens, and strangers had already assembled. Here, in the last week of the month, the twenty-third chapter of the GoldenFleece was held with much pomp, and with festivities which lasted threedays. The fourteen vacancies which existed were filled with the names ofvarious distinguished personages. With this last celebration the publichistory of Philip the Good's ostentatious and ambitious order ofknighthood was closed. The subsequent nominations were made 'ex indultuapostolico', and without the assembling of a chapter. 

The estates having duly assembled upon the day prescribed, Philip, attended by Margaret of Parma, the Duke of Savoy, and a stately retinueof ambassadors and grandees, made his appearance before them. After thecustomary ceremonies had been performed, the Bishop of Arras arose anddelivered, in the name of his sovereign, an elaborate address ofinstructions and farewells. In this important harangue, the states wereinformed that the King had convened them in order that they might beinformed of his intention of leaving the Netherlands immediately. Hewould gladly have remained longer in his beloved provinces, had notcircumstances compelled his departure. His father had come hither for thegood of the country in the year 1543, and had never returned to Spain, except to die. 

Upon the King's accession to the sovereignty he had arranged a truce offive years, which had been broken through by the faithlessness of France. He had, therefore, been obliged, notwithstanding his anxiety to return toa country where his presence was so much needed, to remain in theprovinces till he had conducted the new war to a triumphant close. Indoing this he had been solely governed by his intense love for theNetherlands, and by his regard for their interests. All the money whichhe had raised from their coffers had been spent for their protection. Upon this account his Majesty expressed his confidence that the estateswould pay an earnest attention to the "Request" which had been laidbefore them, the more so, as its amount, three millions of gold florins, would all be expended for the good of the provinces. After his return toSpain he hoped to be able to make a remittance. The Duke of Savoy, hecontinued, being obliged, in consequence of the fortunate change in hisaffairs, to resign the government of the Netherlands, and his own son, Don Carlos, not yet being sufficiently advanced in years to succeed tothat important post, his Majesty had selected his sister, the DuchessMargaret of Parma, daughter of the Emperor, as the most proper person forRegent. As she had been born in the Netherlands, and had alwaysentertained a profound affection for the provinces, he felt a firmconfidence that she would prove faithful both to their interests and hisown. As at this moment many countries, and particularly the lands in theimmediate neighborhood, were greatly infested by various "new, reprobate, and damnable sects;" as these sects, proceeding from the foul fiend, father of discord, had not failed to keep those kingdoms in perpetualdissension and misery, to the manifest displeasure of God Almighty; ashis Majesty was desirous to avert such terrible evils from his ownrealms, according to his duty to the Lord God, who would demand reckoningfrom him hereafter for the well-being of the provinces; as all experienceproved that change of religion ever brought desolation and confusion tothe commonweal; as low persons, beggars and vagabonds, under color ofreligion, were accustomed to traverse the land for the purpose of plunderand disturbance; as his Majesty was most desirous of following in thefootsteps of his lord and father; as it would be well remembered what theEmperor had said to him upon the memorable occasion of his abdication;therefore his Majesty had commanded the Regent Margaret of Parma, for thesake of religion and the glory of God, accurately and exactly to cause tobe enforced the edicts and decrees made by his imperial Majesty, andrenewed by his present Majesty, for the extirpation of all sects andheresies. All governors, councillors, and others having authority, werealso instructed to do their utmost to accomplish this great end. 

The great object of the discourse was thus announced in the mostimpressive manner, and with all that conventional rhetoric of which theBishop of Arras was considered a consummate master. Not a word was saidon the subject which was nearest the hearts of the Netherlanders--thewithdrawal of the Spanish troops. 

 [Bentivoglio. Guerra di Fiandra, i. 9 (Opere, Parigi, 1648), gives a different report, which ends with a distinct promise on the part of the King to dismiss the troops as soon as possible: "--in segno di the spetialmente havrebbe quanto prima, a fatti uscire i presidij stranieri dalle fortezze a levata ogn' insolita contributione al paese. " It is almost superfluous to state that the Cardinal is no authority for speeches, except, indeed, for those which were never made. Long orations by generals upon the battle-field, by royal personages in their cabinets, by conspirators in secret conclave, are reported by him with muck minuteness, and none can gainsay the accuracy with which these harangues, which never had any existence, except in the author's imagination, are placed before the reader. Bentivoglio's stately and graceful style, elegant descriptions, and general acquaintance with his subject will always make his works attractive, but the classic and conventional system of inventing long speeches for historical characters has fortunately gone out of fashion. It is very interesting to know what an important personage really did say or write upon remarkable occasions; but it is less instructive to be told what the historian thinks might have been a good speech or epistle for him to utter or indito. ]

Not a hint was held out that a reduction of the taxation, under which theprovinces had so long been groaning, was likely to take place; but, onthe contrary, the King had demanded a new levy of considerable amount. Afew well-turned paragraphs were added on the subject of theadministration of justice--"without which the republic was a dead bodywithout a soul"--in the Bishop's most approved style, and the discourseconcluded with a fervent exhortation to the provinces to trample heresyand heretics out of existence, and with the hope that the Lord God, insuch case, would bestow upon the Netherlands health and happiness. 

After the address had been concluded, the deputies, according to ancientform, requested permission to adjourn, that the representatives of eachprovince might deliberate among themselves on the point of granting orwithholding the Request for the three millions. On the following day theyagain assembled in the presence of the King, for the purpose of returningtheir separate answers to the propositions. 

The address first read was that of the Estates of Artois. The chairman ofthe deputies from that province read a series of resolutions, drawn up, says a contemporary, "with that elegance which characterized all thepublic acts of the Artesians; bearing witness to the vivacity of theirwits. " The deputies spoke of the extreme affection which their provincehad always borne to his Majesty and to the Emperor. They had proved it bythe constancy with which they had endured the calamities of war so long, and they now cheerfully consented to the Request, so far as theircontingent went. They were willing to place at his Majesty's disposal, not only the remains of their property, but even the last drop of theirblood. As the eloquent chairman reached this point in his discourse, Philip, who was standing with his arm resting upon Egmont's shoulder, listening eagerly to the Artesian address, looked upon the deputies ofthe province with a smiling face, expressing by the unwonted benignity ofhis countenance the satisfaction which he received from these loyalexpressions of affection, and this dutiful compliance with his Request. 

The deputy, however, proceeded to an unexpected conclusion, by earnestlyentreating his Majesty, as a compensation for the readiness thus evincedin the royal service, forthwith to order the departure of all foreigntroops then in the Netherlands. Their presence, it was added, was nowrendered completely superfluous by the ratification of the treaty ofpeace so fortunately arranged with all the world. 

At this sudden change in the deputy's language, the King, no longersmiling, threw himself violently upon his chair of state, where heremained, brooding with a gloomy countenance upon the language which hadbeen addressed to him. It was evident, said an eye-witness, that he wasdeeply offended. He changed color frequently, so that all present "couldremark, from the working of his face, how much his mind was agitated. "

The rest of the provinces were even more explicit than the deputies ofArtois. All had voted their contingents to the Request, but all had madethe withdrawal of the troops an express antecedent condition to thepayment of their respective quotas. 

The King did not affect to conceal his rage at these conditions, exclaiming bitterly to Count Egmont and other seignors near the thronethat it was very easy to estimate, by these proceedings, the value of theprotestations made by the provinces of their loyalty and affection. 

Besides, however, the answers thus addressed by the separate states tothe royal address, a formal remonstrance had also been drawn up in thename of the States General, and signed by the Prince of Orange, CountEgmont, and many of the leading patricians of the Netherlands. Thisdocument, which was formally presented to the King before the adjournmentof the assembly, represented the infamous "pillaging, insults, anddisorders" daily exercised by the foreign soldiery; stating that theburthen had become intolerable, and that the inhabitants of Marienburg, and of many other large towns and villages had absolutely abandoned theirhomes rather than remain any longer exposed to such insolence andoppression. 

The king, already enraged, was furious at the presentation of thispetition. He arose from his seat, and rushed impetuously from theassembly, demanding of the members as he went, whether he too, as aSpaniard, was expected immediately to leave the land, and to resign allauthority over it. The Duke of Savoy made use of this last occasion inwhich he appeared in public as Regent, violently to rebuke the estatesfor the indignity thus offered to their sovereign. 

It could not be forgotten, however, by nobles and burghers, who had notyet been crushed by the long course of oppression which was in store forthem, that there had been a day when Philip's ancestors had been morehumble in their deportment in the face of the provincial authorities. Hisgreat-grandfather, Maximilian, kept in durance by the citizens of Bruges;his great-grandmother, Mary of Burgundy, with streaming eyes anddishevelled hair, supplicating in the market-place for the lives of hertreacherous ambassadors, were wont to hold a less imperious language tothe delegates of the states. 

This burst of ill temper on the part of the monarch was, however, succeeded by a different humor. It was still thought advisable todissemble, and to return rather an expostulatory than a peremptory answerto the remonstrance of the States General. Accordingly a paper of asingular tone was, after the delay of a few days, sent into the assembly. In this message it was stated that the King was not desirous of placingstrangers in the government--a fact which was proved by the appointmentof the Duchess Margaret; that the Spanish infantry was necessary toprotect the land from invasion; that the remnant of foreign troops onlyamounted to three or four thousand men, who claimed considerable arrearsof pay, but that the amount due would be forwarded to them immediatelyafter his Majesty's return to Spain. It was suggested that the troopswould serve as an escort for Don Carlos when he should arrive in theNetherlands, although the King would have been glad to carry them toSpain in his fleet, had he known the wishes of the estates in time. Hewould, however, pay for their support himself, although they were to actsolely for the good of the provinces. He observed, moreover, that he hadselected two seignors of the provinces, the Prince of Orange and CountEgmont, to take command of these foreign troops, and he promisedfaithfully that, in the course of three or four months at furthest, theyshould all be withdrawn. 

On the same day in which the estates had assembled at Ghent, Philip hadaddressed an elaborate letter to the grand council of Mechlin, thesupreme court of the provinces, and to the various provincial councilsand tribunals of the whole country. The object of the communication wasto give his final orders on the subject of the edicts, and for theexecution of all heretics in the most universal and summary manner. Hegave stringent and unequivocal instructions that these decrees forburning, strangling, and burying alive, should be fulfilled to theletter. He ordered all judicial officers and magistrates "to be curiousto enquire on all sides as to the execution of the placards, " stating hisintention that "the utmost rigor should be employed without any respectof persons, " and that not only the transgressors should be proceededagainst, but also the judges who should prove remiss in their prosecutionof heretics. He alluded to a false opinion which had gained currency thatthe edicts were only intended against anabaptists. Correcting this error, he stated that they were to be "enforced against all sectaries, withoutany distinction or mercy, who might be spotted merely with the errorsintroduced by Luther. "

The King, notwithstanding the violent scenes in the assembly, took leaveof the estates at another meeting with apparent cordiality. Hisdissatisfaction was sufficiently manifest, but it expressed itselfprincipally against individuals. His displeasure at the course pursued bythe leading nobles, particularly by the Prince of Orange, was already nosecret. 

Philip, soon after the adjournment of the assembly, had completed thepreparations for his departure. At Middelburg he was met by the agreeableintelligence that the Pope had consented to issue a bull for the creationof the new bishoprics which he desired for the Netherlands. --Thisimportant subject will be resumed in another chapter; for the present weaccompany the King to Flushing, whence the fleet was to set sail forSpain. He was escorted thither by the Duchess Regent, the Duke of Savoy, and by many of the most eminent personages of the provinces. Among othersWilliam of Orange was in attendance to witness the final departure of theKing, and to pay him his farewell respects. As Philip was proceeding onboard the ship which was to bear him forever from the Netherlands, hiseyes lighted upon the Prince. His displeasure could no longer berestrained. With angry face he turned upon him, and bitterly reproachedhim for having thwarted all his plans by means of his secret intrigues. William replied with humility that every thing which had taken place hadbeen done through the regular and natural movements of the states. Uponthis the King, boiling with rage, seized the Prince by the wrist, andshaking it violently, exclaimed in Spanish, "No los estados, ma vos, vos, vos!--Not the estates, but you, you, you!" repeating thrice the word vos, which is as disrespectful and uncourteous in Spanish as "toi" in French. 

After this severe and public insult, the Prince of Orange did not go onboard his Majesty's vessel, but contented himself with wishing Philip, from the shore, a fortunate journey. It may be doubted, moreover, whetherhe would not have made a sudden and compulsory voyage to Spain had heventured his person in the ship, and whether, under the circumstances, hewould have been likely to effect as speedy a return. His caution servedhim then as it was destined to do on many future occasions, and Philipleft the Netherlands with this parting explosion of hatred against theman who, as he perhaps instinctively felt, was destined to circumvent hismeasures and resist his tyranny to the last. 

The fleet, which consisted of ninety vessels, so well provisioned that, among other matters, fifteen thousand capons were put on board, accordingto the Antwerp chronicler, set sail upon the 26th August (1559), fromFlushing. The voyage proved tempestuous, so that much of the richtapestry and other merchandise which had been accumulated by Charles andPhilip was lost. Some of the vessels foundered; to save others it wasnecessary to lighten the cargo, and "to enrobe the roaring waters withthe silks, " for which the Netherlands were so famous; so that it was saidthat Philip and his father had impoverished the earth only to enrich theocean. The fleet had been laden with much valuable property, because theKing had determined to fix for the future the wandering capital of hisdominions in Spain. Philip landed in safety, however, at Laredo, on the8th September. His escape from imminent peril confirmed him in the greatpurpose to which he had consecrated his existence. He believed himself tohave been reserved from shipwreck only because a mighty mission had beenconfided to him, and lest his enthusiasm against heresy should languish, his eyes were soon feasted, upon his arrival in his native country, withthe spectacle of an auto-da fe. 

Early in January of this year the King being persuaded that it wasnecessary every where to use additional means to check the alarmingspread of Lutheran opinions, had written to the Pope for authority toincrease, if that were possible, the stringency of the Spanishinquisition. The pontiff, nothing loath, had accordingly issued a bulldirected to the inquisitor general, Valdez, by which he was instructed toconsign to the flames all prisoners whatever, even those who were notaccused of having "relapsed. " Great preparations had been made to striketerror into the hearts of heretics by a series of horrible exhibitions, in the course of which the numerous victims, many of them persons of highrank, distinguished learning, and exemplary lives, who had long beenlanguishing in the dungeons of the holy office, were to be consigned tothe flames. The first auto-da fe had been consummated at Valladolid onthe 21st May (1559), in the absence of the King, of course, but in thepresence of the royal family and the principal notabilities, civil, ecclesiastical, and military. The Princess Regent, seated on her throne, close to the scaffold, had held on high the holy sword. The Archbishop ofSeville, followed by the ministers of the inquisition and by the victims, had arrived in solemn procession at the "cadahalso, " where, after theusual sermon in praise of the holy office and in denunciation of heresy, he had administered the oath to the Intante, who had duly sworn upon thecrucifix to maintain forever the sacred inquisition and the apostolicdecrees. The Archbishop had then cried aloud, "So may God prosper yourHighnesses and your estates;" after which the men and women who formedthe object of the show had been cast into the flames. --[Cabrera]. Itbeing afterwards ascertained that the King himself would soon be enabledto return to Spain, the next festival was reserved as a fittingcelebration for his arrival. Upon the 8th October, accordingly, anotherauto-da fe took place at Valladolid. The King, with his sister and hisson, the high officers of state, the foreign ministers, and all thenobility of the kingdom, were present, together with an immense concourseof soldiery, clergy, and populace. The sermon was preached by the Bishopof Cuenga. When it was finished, Inquisitor General Valdez cried with aloud voice, "Oh God, make speed to help us!" The King then drew hissword. Valdez, advancing to the platform upon which Philip was seated, proceeded to read the protestation: "Your Majesty swears by the cross ofthe sword, whereon your royal hand reposes, that you will give allnecessary favor to the holy office of the inquisition against heretics, apostates, and those who favor them, and will denounce and inform againstall those who, to your royal knowledge, shall act or speak against thefaith. " The King answered aloud, "I swear it, " and signed the paper. Theoath was read to the whole assembly by an officer of the inquisition. Thirteen distinguished victims were then burned before the monarch'seyes, besides one body which a friendly death had snatched from the handsof the holy office, and the effigy of another person who had beencondemned, although not yet tried or even apprehended. Among thesufferers was Carlos de Sessa, a young noble of distinguished characterand abilities, who said to the King as he passed by the throne to thestake, "How can you thus look on and permit me to be burned?" Philip thenmade the memorable reply, carefully recorded by his historiographer andpanegyrist; "I would carry the wood to burn my own son withal, were he aswicked as you. "

In Seville, immediately afterwards, another auto-da fe was held, in whichfifty living heretics were burned, besides the bones of DoctorConstantine Ponce de la Fuente, once the friend, chaplain, and almoner ofPhilip's father. This learned and distinguished ecclesiastic had beenreleased from a dreadful dungeon by a fortunate fever. The holy office, however, not content with punishing his corpse, wreaked also an impotentand ludicrous malice upon his effigy. A stuffed figure, attired in hisrobes and with its arms extended in the attitude which was habitual withhim in prayer, was placed upon the scaffold among the living victims, andthen cast into the flames, that bigotry might enjoy a fantastic triumphover the grave. 

Such were the religious ceremonies with which Philip celebrated hisescape from shipwreck, and his marriage with Isabella of France, immediately afterwards solemnized. These human victims, chained andburning at the stake, were the blazing torches which lighted the monarchto his nuptial couch. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Consign to the flames all prisoners whatever (Papal letter) Courage of despair inflamed the French Decrees for burning, strangling, and burying alive I would carry the wood to burn my own son withal Inventing long speeches for historical characters Let us fool these poor creatures to their heart's content Petty passion for contemptible details Promises which he knew to be binding only upon the weak Rashness alternating with hesitation These human victims, chained and burning at the stake

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 5. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 1855ADMINISTRATION OF THE DUCHESS MARGARET. 1559-1560 [CHAPTER I. ]

 Biographical sketch and portrait of Margaret of Parma--The state council--Berlaymont--Viglius--Sketch of William the Silent--Portrait of Antony Perrenot, afterwards Cardinal Granvelle--General view of the political, social and religious condition of the Netherlands-- Habits of the aristocracy--Emulation in extravagance--Pecuniary embarrassments--Sympathy for the Reformation, steadily increasing among the people, the true cause of the impending revolt--Measures of the government. --Edict of 1550 described--Papal Bulls granted to Philip for increasing the number of Bishops in the Netherlands-- Necessity for retaining the Spanish troops to enforce the policy of persecution. 

Margaret of Parma, newly appointed Regent of the Netherlands, was thenatural daughter of Charles the Fifth, and his eldest born child. Hermother, of a respectable family called Van der Genst, in Oudenarde, hadbeen adopted and brought up by the distinguished house of Hoogstraaten. Peculiar circumstances, not necessary to relate at length, had palliatedthe fault to which Margaret owed her imperial origin, and gave the childalmost a legitimate claim upon its father's protection. The claim washonorably acknowledged. Margaret was in her infancy placed by the Emperorin the charge of his paternal aunt, Margaret of Savoy, then Regent of theprovinces. Upon the death of that princess, the child was entrusted tothe care of the Emperor's sister, Mary, Queen Dowager of Hungary, who hadsucceeded to the government, and who occupied it until the abdication. The huntress-queen communicated her tastes to her youthful niece, andMargaret soon outrivalled her instructress. The ardor with which shepursued the stag, and the courageous horsemanship which she alwaysdisplayed, proved her, too, no degenerate descendant of Mary of Burgundy. Her education for the distinguished position in which she had somewhatsurreptitiously been placed was at least not neglected in thisparticular. When, soon after the memorable sack of Rome, the Pope and theEmperor had been reconciled, and it had been decided that the Medicifamily should be elevated upon the ruins of Florentine liberty, Margaret's hand was conferred in marriage upon the pontiff's nephewAlexander. The wretched profligate who was thus selected to mate with theEmperor's eldest born child and to appropriate the fair demesnes of theTuscan republic was nominally the offspring of Lorenzo de Medici by aMoorish slave, although generally reputed a bastard of the Pope himself. The nuptials were celebrated with great pomp at Naples, where the Emperorrode at the tournament in the guise of a Moorish warrior. At Florencesplendid festivities had also been held, which were troubled with omensbelieved to be highly unfavorable. It hardly needed, however, preternatural appearances in heaven or on earth to proclaim the marriageill-starred which united a child of twelve years with a worn-outdebauchee of twenty-seven. Fortunately for Margaret, the funerealportents proved true. Her husband, within the first year of their weddedlife, fell a victim to his own profligacy, and was assassinated by hiskinsman, Lorenzino de Medici. Cosmo, his successor in the tyranny ofFlorence, was desirous of succeeding to the hand of Margaret, but thepolitic Emperor, thinking that he had already done enough to conciliatethat house, was inclined to bind to his interests the family which nowoccupied the papal throne. Margaret was accordingly a few yearsafterwards united to Ottavio Farnese, nephew of Paul the Third. It wasstill her fate to be unequally matched. Having while still a child beenwedded to a man of more than twice her years, she was now, at the age oftwenty, united to an immature youth of thirteen. She conceived so strongan aversion to her new husband, that it became impossible for them tolive together in peace. Ottavio accordingly went to the wars, and in 1541accompanied the Emperor in his memorable expedition to Barbary. 

Rumors of disaster by battle and tempest reaching Europe before theresults of the expedition were accurately known, reports that the Emperorhad been lost in a storm, and that the young Ottavio had perished withhim, awakened remorse in the bosom of Margaret. It seemed to her that hehad been driven forth by domestic inclemency to fall a victim to theelements. When, however, the truth became known, and it was ascertainedthat her husband, although still living, was lying dangerously ill in thecharge of the Emperor, the repugnance which had been founded upon hisextreme youth changed to passionate fondness. His absence, and hisfaithful military attendance upon her father, caused a revulsion in herfeelings, and awakened her admiration. When Ottavio, now created Duke ofParma and Piacenza, returned to Rome, he was received by his wife withopen arms. Their union was soon blessed with twins, and but for a certainimperiousness of disposition which Margaret had inherited from herfather, and which she was too apt to exercise even upon her husband, themarriage would have been sufficiently fortunate. 

Various considerations pointed her out to Philip as a suitable person forthe office of Regent, although there seemed some mystery about theappointment which demanded explanation. It was thought that her birthwould make her acceptable to the people; but perhaps, the secret reasonwith Philip was, that she alone of all other candidates would be amenableto the control of the churchman in whose hand he intended placing thereal administration of the provinces. Moreover, her husband was verydesirous that the citadel of Piacenza, still garrisoned by Spanishtroops, should be surrendered to him. Philip was disposed to conciliatethe Duke, but unwilling to give up the fortress. He felt that Ottaviowould be flattered by the nomination of his wife to so important anoffice, and be not too much dissatisfied at finding himself relieved fora time from her imperious fondness. Her residence in the Netherlandswould guarantee domestic tranquillity to her husband, and peace in Italyto the King. Margaret would be a hostage for the fidelity of the Duke, who had, moreover, given his eldest son to Philip to be educated in hisservice. 

She was about thirty-seven years of age when she arrived in theNetherlands, with the reputation of possessing high talents, and a proudand energetic character. She was an enthusiastic Catholic, and had sat atthe feet of Loyola, who had been her confessor and spiritual guide. Shefelt a greater horror for heretics than for any other species ofmalefactors, and looked up to her father's bloody edicts as if they hadbeen special revelations from on high. She was most strenuous in herobservance of Roman rites, and was accustomed to wash the feet of twelvevirgins every holy week, and to endow them in marriage afterwards. --Heracquirements, save that of the art of horsemanship, were not remarkable. 

Carefully educated in the Machiavellian and Medicean school of politics, she was versed in that "dissimulation, " to which liberal Anglo-Saxonsgive a shorter name, but which formed the main substance of statesmanshipat the court of Charles and Philip. In other respects her accomplishmentswere but meagre, and she had little acquaintance with any language butItalian. Her personal appearance, which was masculine, but not without acertain grand and imperial fascination, harmonized with the opiniongenerally entertained of her character. The famous moustache upon herupper lips was supposed to indicate authority and virility of purpose, animpression which was confirmed by the circumstance that she was liable tosevere attacks of gout, a disorder usually considered more appropriate tothe sterner sex. 

Such were the previous career and public reputation of the DuchessMargaret. It remains to be unfolded whether her character and endowments, as exemplified in her new position, were to justify the choice of Philip. 

The members of the state council, as already observed, were Berlaymont, Viglius, Arras, Orange, and Egmont. 

The first was, likewise, chief of the finance department. Most of theCatholic writers described him as a noble of loyal and highly honorablecharacter. Those of the Protestant party, on the contrary, uniformlydenounced him as greedy, avaricious, and extremely sanguinary. That hewas a brave and devoted soldier, a bitter papist, and an inflexibleadherent to the royal cause, has never been disputed. The Baron himself, with his four courageous and accomplished sons, were ever in the frontranks to defend the crown against the nation. It must be confessed, however, that fanatical loyalty loses most of the romance with whichgenius and poetry have so often hallowed the sentiment, when the"legitimate" prince for whom the sword is drawn is not only an alien intongue and blood, but filled with undisguised hatred for the land heclaims to rule. 

Viglius van Aytta van Zuichem was a learned Frisian, born, according tosome writers, of "boors' degree, but having no inclination for boorishwork". According to other authorities, which the President himselffavored, he was of noble origin; but, whatever his race, it is certainthat whether gentle or simple, it derived its first and only historicalillustration from his remarkable talents and acquirements. These in earlyyouth were so great as to acquire the commendation of Erasmus. He hadstudied in Louvain, Paris, and Padua, had refused the tutorship Philipwhen that prince was still a child, and had afterwards filled aprofessorship at Ingolstadt. After rejecting several offers of promotionfrom the Emperor, he had at last accepted in 1542 a seat in the councilof Mechlin, of which body he had become president in 1545. He had beenone of the peace commissioners to France in 1558, and was now presidentof the privy council, a member of the state council, and of the inner andsecret committee of that board, called the Consults. Much odium wasattached to his name for his share in the composition of the famous edictof 1550. The rough draught was usually attributed to his pen, but hecomplained bitterly, in letters written at this time, of injustice donehim in this respect, and maintained that he had endeavored, withoutsuccess, to induce the Emperor to mitigate the severity of the edict. Onedoes not feel very strongly inclined to accept his excuses, however, whenhis general opinions on the subject of religion are remembered. He wasmost bigoted in precept and practice. Religious liberty he regarded asthe most detestable and baleful of doctrines; heresy he denounced as themost unpardonable of crimes. 

From no man's mouth flowed more bitter or more elegant commonplaces thanfrom that of the learned president against those blackest of malefactors, the men who claimed within their own walls the right to worship Godaccording to their own consciences. For a common person, not learned inlaw or divinity, to enter into his closet, to shut the door, and to prayto Him who seeth in secret, was, in his opinion, to open wide the gate ofdestruction for all the land, and to bring in the Father of Evil at onceto fly away with the whole population, body and soul. "If every man, "said he to Hopper, "is to believe what he likes in his own house, weshall have hearth gods and tutelar divinities, again, the country willswarm with a thousand errors and sects, and very few there will be, Ifear, who will allow themselves to be enclosed in the sheepfold ofChrist. I have ever considered this opinion, " continued the president, "the most pernicious of all. They who hold it have a contempt for allreligion, and are neither more nor less than atheists. This vague, fireside liberty should be by every possible means extirpated; thereforedid Christ institute shepherds to drive his wandering sheep back into thefold of the true Church; thus only can we guard the lambs against theravening wolves, and prevent their being carried away from the flock ofChrist to the flock of Belial. Liberty of religion, or of conscience, asthey call it, ought never to be tolerated. "

This was the cant with which Viglius was ever ready to feed not only hisfaithful Hopper, but all the world beside. The president was naturallyanxious that the fold of Christ should be entrusted to none but regularshepherds, for he looked forward to taking one of the most lucrativecrooks into his own hand, when he should retire from his secular career. 

It is now necessary to say a few introductory words concerning the manwho, from this time forth, begins to rise upon the history of his countrywith daily increasing grandeur and influence. William of Nassau, Princeof Orange, although still young in years, is already the centralpersonage about whom the events and the characters of the epoch mostnaturally group themselves; destined as he is to become more and morewith each succeeding year the vivifying source of light, strength, andnational life to a whole people. 

The Nassau family first emerges into distinct existence in the middle ofthe eleventh century. It divides itself almost as soon as known into twogreat branches. The elder remained in Germany, ascended the imperialthrone in the thirteenth century in the person of Adolph of Nassau andgave to the country many electors, bishops, and generals. The younger andmore illustrious branch retained the modest property and pettysovereignty of Nassau Dillenbourg, but at the same time transplanteditself to the Netherlands, where it attained at an early period to greatpower and large possessions. The ancestors of William, as Dukes ofGueldres, had begun to exercise sovereignty in the provinces fourcenturies before the advent of the house of Burgundy. That overshadowingfamily afterwards numbered the Netherland Nassaus among its most stanchand powerful adherents. Engelbert the Second was distinguished in theturbulent councils and in the battle-fields of Charles the Bold, and wasafterwards the unwavering supporter of Maximilian, in court and camp. Dying childless, he was succeeded by his brother John, whose two sons, Henry and William, of Nassau, divided the great inheritance after theirfather's death, William succeeded to the German estates, became a convertto Protestantism, and introduced the Reformation into his dominions. Henry, the eldest son, received the family possessions and titles inLuxembourg, Brabant, Flanders and Holland, and distinguished himself asmuch as his uncle Engelbert, in the service of the Burgundo-Austrianhouse. The confidential friend of Charles the Fifth, whose governor hehad been in that Emperor's boyhood, he was ever his most efficient andreliable adherent. It was he whose influence placed the imperial crownupon the head of Charles. In 1515 he espoused Claudia de Chalons, sisterof Prince Philibert of Orange, "in order, " as he wrote to his father, "tobe obedient to his imperial Majesty, to please the King of France, andmore particularly for the sake of his own honor and profit. "

His son Rene de Nassau-Chalons succeeded Philibert. The littleprincipality of Orange, so pleasantly situated between Provence andDauphiny, but in such dangerous proximity to the seat of the "Babyloniancaptivity" of the popes at Avignon, thus passed to the family of Nassau. The title was of high antiquity. Already in the reign of Charlemagne, Guillaume au Court-Nez, or "William with the Short Nose, " had defendedthe little--town of Orange against the assaults of the Saracens. Theinterest and authority acquired in the demesnes thus preserved by hisvalor became extensive, and in process of time hereditary in his race. The principality became an absolute and free sovereignty, and had alreadydescended, in defiance of the Salic law, through the three distinctfamilies of Orange, Baux, and Chalons. 

In 1544, Prince Rene died at the Emperor's feet in the trenches of SaintDizier. Having no legitimate children, he left all his titles and estatesto his cousin-german, William of Nassau, son of his father's brotherWilliam, who thus at the age of eleven years became William the Ninth ofOrange. For this child, whom the future was to summon to such highdestinies and such heroic sacrifices, the past and present seemed to havegathered riches and power together from many sources. He was thedescendant of the Othos, the Engelberts, and the Henries, of theNetherlands, the representative of the Philiberts and the Renes ofFrance; the chief of a house, humbler in resources and position inGermany, but still of high rank, and which had already done good serviceto humanity by being among the first to embrace the great principles ofthe Reformation. 

His father, younger brother of the Emperor's friend Henry, was calledWilliam the Rich. He was, however, only rich in children. Of these he hadfive sons and seven daughters by his wife Juliana of Stolberg. She was aperson of most exemplary character and unaffected piety. She instilledinto the minds of all her children the elements of that devotionalsentiment which was her own striking characteristic, and it was destinedthat the seed sown early should increase to an abundant harvest. Nothingcan be more tender or more touching than the letters which still existfrom her hand, written to her illustrious sons in hours of anxiety oranguish, and to the last, recommending to them with as much earnestsimplicity as if they were still little children at her knee, to relyalways in the midst of the trials and dangers which were to beset theirpaths through life, upon the great hand of God. Among the mothers ofgreat men, Juliana of Stolberg deserves a foremost place, and it is noslight eulogy that she was worthy to have been the mother of William ofOrange and of Lewis, Adolphus, Henry, and John of Nassau. 

At the age of eleven years, William having thus unexpectedly succeeded tosuch great possessions, was sent from his father's roof to be educated inBrussels. No destiny seemed to lie before the young prince but aneducation at the Emperor's court, to be followed by military adventures, embassies, viceroyalties, and a life of luxury and magnificence. At avery early age he came, accordingly, as a page into the Emperor's family. Charles recognized, with his customary quickness, the remarkablecharacter of the boy. At fifteen, William was the intimate, almostconfidential friend of the Emperor, who prided himself, above all othergifts, on his power of reading and of using men. The youth was soconstant an attendant upon his imperial chief that even when interviewswith the highest personages, and upon the gravest affairs, were takingplace, Charles would never suffer him to be considered superfluous orintrusive. There seemed to be no secrets which the Emperor held too highfor the comprehension or discretion of his page. His perceptive andreflective faculties, naturally of remarkable keenness and depth, thusacquired a precocious and extraordinary development. He was brought upbehind the curtain of that great stage where the world's dramas weredaily enacted. The machinery and the masks which produced the granddelusions of history had no deceptions for him. Carefully to observemen's actions, and silently to ponder upon their motives, was thefavorite occupation of the Prince during his apprenticeship at court. Ashe advanced to man's estate, he was selected by the Emperor for thehighest duties. Charles, whose only merit, so far as the provinces wereconcerned, was in having been born in Ghent, and that by an ignobleaccident, was glad to employ this representative of so many greatNetherland houses, in the defence of the land. Before the Prince wastwenty-one he was appointed general-in-chief of the army on the Frenchfrontier, in the absence of the Duke of Savoy. The post was coveted bymany most distinguished soldiers: the Counts of Buren, Bossu, Lalaing, Aremberg, Meghem, and particularly by Count Egmont; yet Charles showedhis extraordinary confidence in the Prince of Orange, by selecting himfor the station, although he had hardly reached maturity, and wasmoreover absent in France. The young Prince acquitted himself of his highcommand in a manner which justified his appointment. 

It was the Prince's shoulder upon which the Emperor leaned at theabdication; the Prince's hand which bore the imperial insignia of thediscrowned monarch to Ferdinand, at Augsburg. With these duties hisrelations with Charles were ended, and those with Philip begun. He waswith the army during the hostilities which were soon after resumed inPicardy; he was the secret negotiator of the preliminary arrangement withFrance, soon afterwards confirmed by the triumphant treaty of April, 1559. He had conducted these initiatory conferences with the ConstableMontmorency and Marshal de Saint Andre with great sagacity, althoughhardly a man in years, and by so doing he had laid Philip under deepobligations. The King was so inexpressibly anxious for peace that hewould have been capable of conducting a treaty upon almost any terms. Heassured the Prince that "the greatest service he could render him in thisworld was to make peace, and that he desired to have it at any price whatever, so eager was he to return to Spain. " To the envoy Suriano, Philiphad held the same language. "Oh, Ambassador, " said he, "I wish peace onany terms, and if the King of France had not sued for it, I would havebegged for it myself. "

With such impatience on the part of the sovereign, it certainlymanifested diplomatic abilities of a high character in the Prince, thatthe treaty negotiated by him amounted to a capitulation by France. He wasone of the hostages selected by Henry for the due execution of thetreaty, and while in France made that remarkable discovery which was tocolor his life. While hunting with the King in the forest of Vincennes, the Prince and Henry found themselves alone together, and separated fromthe rest of the company. The French monarch's mind was full of the greatscheme which had just secretly been formed by Philip and himself, toextirpate Protestantism by a general extirpation of Protestants. Philiphad been most anxious to conclude the public treaty with France, that hemight be the sooner able to negotiate that secret convention by which heand his Most Christian Majesty were solemnly to bind themselves tomassacre all the converts to the new religion in France and theNetherlands. This conspiracy of the two Kings against their subjects wasthe matter nearest the hearts of both. The Duke of Alva, a fellow hostagewith William of Orange, was the plenipotentiary to conduct this moreimportant arrangement. The French monarch, somewhat imprudently imaginingthat the Prince was also a party to the plot, opened the whole subject tohim without reserve. He complained of the constantly increasing numbersof sectaries in his kingdom, and protested that his conscience wouldnever be easy, nor his state secure until his realm should be deliveredof "that accursed vermin. " A civil revolution, under pretext of areligious reformation, was his constant apprehension, particularly sinceso many notable personages in the realm, and even princes of the blood, were already tainted with heresy. Nevertheless, with the favor of heaven, and the assistance of his son and brother Philip, he hoped soon to bemaster of the rebels. The King then proceeded, with cynical minuteness, to lay before his discreet companion the particulars of the royal plot, and the manner in which all heretics, whether high or humble, were to bediscovered and massacred at the most convenient season. For thefurtherance of the scheme in the Netherlands, it was understood that theSpanish regiments would be exceedingly efficient. The Prince, althoughhorror-struck and indignant at the royal revelations, held his peace, andkept his countenance. The King was not aware that, in opening thisdelicate negotiation to Alva's colleague and Philip's plenipotentiary, hehad given a warning of inestimable value to the man who had been born toresist the machinations of Philip and of Alva. William of Orange earnedthe surname of "the Silent, " from the manner in which he received thesecommunications of Henry without revealing to the monarch, by word orlook, the enormous blunder which he had committed. His purpose was fixedfrom that hour. A few days afterwards he obtained permission to visit theNetherlands, where he took measures to excite, with all his influence, the strongest and most general opposition to the continued presence ofthe Spanish troops, of which forces, touch against his will, he had been, in conjunction with Egmont, appointed chief. He already felt, in his ownlanguage, that "an inquisition for the Netherlands had been, resolvedupon more cruel than that of Spain; since it would need but to lookaskance at an image to be cast into the flames. " Although having as yetno spark of religious sympathy for the reformers, he could not, he said, "but feel compassion for so many virtuous men and women thus devoted tomassacre, " and he determined to save them if he could!' At the departureof Philip he had received instructions, both patent and secret, for hisguidance as stadholder of Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht. He was ordered"most expressly to correct and extirpate the sects reprobated by our HolyMother Church; to execute the edicts of his Imperial Majesty, renewed bythe King, with absolute rigor. He was to see that the judges carried outthe edicts, without infraction, alteration, or moderation, since theywere there to enforce, not to make or to discuss the law. " In his secretinstructions he was informed that the execution of the edicts was to bewith all rigor, and without any respect of persons. He was also remindedthat, whereas some persons had imagined the severity of the law "to beonly intended against Anabaptists, on the contrary, the edicts were to beenforced on Lutherans and all other sectaries without distinction. "Moreover, in one of his last interviews with Philip, the King had givenhim the names of several "excellent persons suspected of the newreligion, " and had commanded him to have them put to death. This, however, he not only omitted to do, but on the contrary gave themwarning, so that they might effect their escape, "thinking it morenecessary to obey God than man. "

William of Orange, at the departure of the King for Spain, was in histwenty-seventh year. He was a widower; his first wife, Anne of Egmont, having died in 1558, after seven years of wedlock. This lady, to whom hehad been united when they were both eighteen years of age, was thedaughter of the celebrated general, Count de Buren, and the greatestheiress in the Netherlands. William had thus been faithful to the familytraditions, and had increased his possessions by a wealthy alliance. Hehad two children, Philip and Mary. The marriage had been more amicablethan princely marriages arranged for convenience often prove. The lettersof the Prince to his wife indicate tenderness and contentment. At thesame time he was accused, at a later period, of "having murdered her witha dagger. " The ridiculous tale was not even credited by those whoreported it, but it is worth mentioning, as a proof that no calumny wastoo senseless to be invented concerning the man whose character was fromthat hour forth to be the mark of slander, and whose whole life was to beits signal, although often unavailing, refutation. 

Yet we are not to regard William of Orange, thus on the threshold of hisgreat career, by the light diffused from a somewhat later period. In nohistorical character more remarkably than in his is the law of constantdevelopment and progress illustrated. At twenty-six he is not the "paterpatriae, " the great man struggling upward and onward against a host ofenemies and obstacles almost beyond human strength, and along the darkand dangerous path leading through conflict, privation, and ceaselesslabor to no repose but death. On the contrary, his foot was hardly on thefirst step of that difficult ascent which was to rise before him all hislifetime. He was still among the primrose paths. He was rich, powerful, of sovereign rank. He had only the germs within him of what wasthereafter to expand into moral and intellectual greatness. He had smallsympathy for the religious reformation, of which he was to be one of themost distinguished champions. He was a Catholic, nominally, and inoutward observance. With doctrines he troubled himself but little. He hadgiven orders to enforce conformity to the ancient Church, not withbloodshed, yet with comparative strictness, in his principality ofOrange. Beyond the compliance with rites and forms, thought indispensablein those days to a personage of such high degree, he did not occupyhimself with theology. He was a Catholic, as Egmont and Horn, Berlaymontand Mansfeld, Montigny and even Brederode, were Catholic. It was onlytanners, dyers and apostate priests who were Protestants at that day inthe Netherlands. His determination to protect a multitude of his harmlessinferiors from horrible deaths did not proceed from sympathy with theirreligious sentiments, but merely from a generous and manly detestation ofmurder. He carefully averted his mind from sacred matters. If indeed theseed implanted by his pious parents were really the germ of his futureconversion to Protestantism, it must be confessed that it lay dormant along time. But his mind was in other pursuits. He was disposed for aneasy, joyous, luxurious, princely life. Banquets, masquerades, tournaments, the chase, interspersed with the routine of official duties, civil and military, seemed likely to fill out his life. His hospitality, like his fortune, was almost regal. While the King and the foreign envoyswere still in the Netherlands, his house, the splendid Nassau palace ofBrussels, was ever open. He entertained for the monarch, who was, or whoimagined himself to be, too poor to discharge his own duties in thisrespect, but he entertained at his own expense. This splendid householdwas still continued. Twenty-four noblemen and eighteen pages of gentlebirth officiated regularly in his family. His establishment was on soextensive a scale that upon one day twenty-eight master cooks weredismissed, for the purpose of diminishing the family expenses, and therewas hardly a princely house in Germany which did not send cooks to learntheir business in so magnificent a kitchen. The reputation of his tableremained undiminished for years. We find at a later period, that Philip, in the course of one of the nominal reconciliations which took placeseveral times between the monarch and William of Orange, wrote that, hishead cook being dead, he begged the Prince to "make him a present of hischief cook, Master Herman, who was understood to be very skilful. "

In this hospitable mansion, the feasting continued night and day. Fromearly morning till noon, the breakfast-tables were spread with wines andluxurious viands in constant succession, to all comers and at everymoment. --The dinner and supper were daily banquets for a multitude ofguests. The highest nobles were not those alone who were entertained. Menof lower degree were welcomed with a charming hospitality which made themfeel themselves at their ease. Contemporaries of all parties unite ineulogizing the winning address and gentle manners of the Prince. "Never, "says a most bitter Catholic historian, "did an arrogant or indiscreetword fall from his lips. He, upon no occasion, manifested anger to hisservants, however much they might be in fault, but contented himself withadmonishing them graciously, without menace or insult. He had a gentleand agreeable tongue, with which he could turn all the gentlemen at courtany way he liked. He was beloved and honored by the whole community. " Hismanner was graceful, familiar, caressing, and yet dignified. He had thegood breeding which comes from the heart, refined into an inexpressiblecharm from his constant intercourse, almost from his cradle, with mankindof all ranks. 

It may be supposed that this train of living was attended with expense. Moreover, he had various other establishments in town and country;besides his almost royal residence in Brussels. He was ardently fond ofthe chase, particularly of the knightly sport of falconry. In the countryhe "consoled himself by taking every day a heron in the clouds. " Hisfalconers alone cost him annually fifteen hundred florins, after he hadreduced their expenses to the lowest possible point. He was much in debt, even at this early period and with his princely fortune. "We come of arace, " he wrote carelessly to his brother Louis, "who are somewhat badmanagers in our young days, but when we grow older, we do better, likeour late father: 'sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper et insecula seculorum'. My greatest difficulty, " he adds, "as usual, is onaccount of the falconers. "

His debts already amounted, according to Granvelle's statement, to800, 000 or 900, 000 florins. He had embarrassed himself, not only throughhis splendid extravagance, by which all the world about him were made topartake of his wealth, but by accepting the high offices to which he hadbeen appointed. When general-in-chief on the frontier, his salary wasthree hundred florins monthly; "not enough, " as he said, "to pay theservants in his tent, " his necessary expenses being twenty-five hundredflorins, as appears by a letter to his wife. His embassy to carry thecrown to Ferdinand, and his subsequent residence as a hostage for thetreaty in Paris, were also very onerous, and he received no salary;according to the economical system in this respect pursued by Charles andPhilip. In these two embassies or missions alone, together with theentertainments offered by him to the court and to foreigners, after thepeace at Brussels, the Prince spent, according to his own estimate, 1, 500, 000 florins. He was, however, although deeply, not desperatelyinvolved, and had already taken active measures to regulate and reducehis establishment. His revenues were vast, both in his own right and inthat of his deceased wife. He had large claims upon the royal treasuryfor service and expenditure. He had besides ample sums to receive fromthe ransoms of the prisoners of St. Quentin and Gravelines, having servedin both campaigns. The amount to be received by individuals from thissource may be estimated from the fact that Count Horn, by no means one ofthe most favored in the victorious armies, had received from Leonord'Orleans, Due de Loggieville, a ransom of eighty thousand crowns. Thesum due, if payment were enforced, from the prisoners assigned to Egmont, Orange, and others, must have been very large. Granvelle estimated thewhole amount at two millions; adding, characteristically, "that this kindof speculation was a practice" which our good old fathers, lovers ofvirtue, would not have found laudable. In this the churchman was right, but he might have added that the "lovers of virtue" would have found itas little "laudable" for ecclesiastics to dispose of the sacred officesin their gift, for carpets, tapestry, and annual payments of certainpercentages upon the cure of souls. If the profits respectively gained bymilitary and clerical speculators in that day should be compared, thedisadvantage would hardly be found to lie with those of the long robe. 

Such, then, at the beginning of 1560, was William of Orange; a generous, stately, magnificent, powerful grandee. As a military commander, he hadacquitted himself very creditably of highly important functions at anearly age. Nevertheless it was the opinion of many persons, that he wasof a timid temperament. He was even accused of having manifested anunseemly panic at Philippeville, and of having only been restrained bythe expostulations of his officers, from abandoning both that fortressand Charlemont to Admiral Coligny, who had made his appearance in theneighborhood, merely at the head of a reconnoitring party. If the storywere true, it would be chiefly important as indicating that the Prince ofOrange was one of the many historical characters, originally of anexcitable and even timorous physical organization, whom moral courage anda strong will have afterwards converted into dauntless heroes. Certain itis that he was destined to confront open danger in every form, that hispath was to lead through perpetual ambush, yet that his cheerfulconfidence and tranquil courage were to become not only unquestionablebut proverbial. It may be safely asserted, however, that the story was aninvention to be classed with those fictions which made him the murdererof his first wife, a common conspirator against Philip's crown andperson, and a crafty malefactor in general, without a single virtue. Itmust be remembered that even the terrible Alva, who lived in harnessalmost from the cradle to the grave, was, so late as at this period, censured for timidity, and had been accused in youth of flat cowardice. He despised the insinuation, which for him had no meaning. There is nodoubt too that caution was a predominant characteristic of the Prince. Itwas one of the chief sources of his greatness. At that period, perhaps atany period, he would have been incapable of such brilliant and dashingexploits as had made the name of Egmont so famous. It had even become aproverb, "the counsel of Orange, the execution of Egmont, " yet we shallhave occasion to see how far this physical promptness which had been sofelicitous upon the battle-field was likely to avail the hero of St. Quentin in the great political combat which was approaching. 

As to the talents of the Prince, there was no difference of opinion. Hisenemies never contested the subtlety and breadth of his intellect, hisadroitness and capacity in conducting state affairs, his knowledge ofhuman nature, and the profoundness of his views. In many respects it mustbe confessed that his surname of The Silent, like many similarappellations, was a misnomer. William of Orange was neither "silent" nor"taciturn, " yet these are the epithets which will be forever associatedwith the name of a man who, in private, was the most affable, cheerful, and delightful of companions, and who on a thousand great publicoccasions was to prove himself, both by pen and by speech, the mosteloquent man of his age. His mental accomplishments were considerable: Hehad studied history with attention, and he spoke and wrote with facilityLatin, French, German, Flemish, and Spanish. 

The man, however, in whose hands the administration of the Netherlandswas in reality placed, was Anthony Perrenot, then Bishop of Arras, soonto be known by the more celebrated title of Cardinal Granvelle. He wasthe chief of the Consults, or secret council of three, by whosedeliberations the Duchess Regent was to be governed. His father, NicholasPerrenot, of an obscure family in Burgundy, had been long the favoriteminister and man of business to the Emperor Charles. Anthony, the eldestof thirteen children, was born in 1517. He was early distinguished forhis talents. He studied at Dole, Padua, Paris, and Louvain. At, the ageof twenty he spoke seven languages with perfect facility, while hisacquaintance with civil and ecclesiastical laws was consideredprodigious. At the age of twenty-three he became a canon of LiegeCathedral. The necessary eight quarters of gentility produced upon thatoccasion have accordingly been displayed by his panegyrists in triumphantrefutation of that theory which gave him a blacksmith for hisgrandfather. At the same period, although he had not reached therequisite age, the rich bishopric of Arras had already been prepared forhim by his father's care. Three years afterwards, in 1543, hedistinguished himself by a most learned and brilliant harangue before theCouncil of Trent, by which display he so much charmed the Emperor, thathe created him councillor of state. A few years afterwards he renderedthe unscrupulous Charles still more valuable proofs of devotion anddexterity by the part he played in the memorable imprisonment of theLandgrave of Hesse and the Saxon Dukes. He was thereafter constantlyemployed in embassies and other offices of trust and profit. 

There was no doubt as to his profound and varied learning, nor as to hisnatural quickness and dexterity. He was ready witted, smooth and fluentof tongue, fertile in expedients, courageous, resolute. He thoroughlyunderstood the art of managing men, particularly his superiors. He knewhow to govern under the appearance of obeying. He possessed exquisitetact in appreciating the characters of those far above him in rank andbeneath him in intellect. He could accommodate himself with greatreadiness to the idiosyncrasies of sovereigns. He was a chameleon to thehand which fed him. In his intercourse with the King, he colored himself, as it were, with the King's character. He was not himself, but Philip;not the sullen, hesitating, confused Philip, however, but Philip endowedwith eloquence, readiness, facility. The King ever found himselfanticipated with the most delicate obsequiousness, beheld his strugglingideas change into winged words without ceasing to be his own. No flatterycould be more adroit. The bishop accommodated himself to the King'sepistolary habits. The silver-tongued and ready debater substitutedprotocols for conversation, in deference to a monarch who could notspeak. He corresponded with Philip, with Margaret of Parma, with everyone. He wrote folios to the Duchess when they were in the same palace. Hewould write letters forty pages long to the King, and send off anothercourier on the same day with two or three additional despatches ofidentical date. Such prolixity enchanted the King, whose greediness forbusiness epistles was insatiable. The painstaking monarch toiled, pen inhand, after his wonderful minister in vain. Philip was only fit to be thebishop's clerk; yet he imagined himself to be the directing and governingpower. He scrawled apostilles in the margins to prove that he had readwith attention, and persuaded himself that he suggested when he scarcelyeven comprehended. The bishop gave advice and issued instructions when heseemed to be only receiving them. He was the substance while he affectedto be the shadow. These tactics were comparatively easy and likely to betriumphant, so long as he had only to deal with inferior intellects likethose of Philip and Margaret. When he should be matched against politicalgenius and lofty character combined, it was possible that his resourcesmight not prove so all-sufficient. 

His political principles were sharply defined in reality, but smoothedover by a conventional and decorous benevolence of language, whichdeceived vulgar minds. He was a strict absolutist. His deference toarbitrary power was profound and slavish. God and "the master, " as healways called Philip, he professed to serve with equal humility. "Itseems to me, " said he, in a letter of this epoch, "that I shall never beable to fulfil the obligation of slave which I owe to your majesty, towhom I am bound by so firm a chain;--at any rate, I shall never fail tostruggle for that end with sincerity. "

As a matter of course, he was a firm opponent of the national rights ofthe Netherlands, however artfully he disguised the sharp sword of violentabsolutism under a garland of flourishing phraseology. He had strenuouslywarned Philip against assembling the States-general before his departurefor the sake of asking them for supplies. He earnestly deprecatedallowing the constitutional authorities any control over the expendituresof the government, and averred that this practice under the Regent Maryhad been the cause of endless trouble. It may easily be supposed thatother rights were as little to his taste as the claim to vote thesubsidies, a privilege which was in reality indisputable. Men who stoodforth in defence of the provincial constitutions were, in his opinion, mere demagogues and hypocrites; their only motive being to curry favorwith the populace. Yet these charters were, after all, sufficientlylimited. The natural rights of man were topics which had never beenbroached. Man had only natural wrongs. None ventured to doubt thatsovereignty was heaven-born, anointed of God. The rights of theNetherlands were special, not general; plural, not singular; liberties, not liberty; "privileges, " not maxims. They were practical, nottheoretical; historical, not philosophical. Still, such as they were, they were facts, acquisitions. They had been purchased by the blood andtoil of brave ancestors; they amounted--however open to criticism uponbroad humanitarian grounds, of which few at that day had ever dreamed--toa solid, substantial dyke against the arbitrary power which was everchafing and fretting to destroy its barriers. No men were more subtle ormore diligent in corroding the foundation of these bulwarks than thedisciples of Granvelle. Yet one would have thought it possible totolerate an amount of practical freedom so different from the wild, social speculations which in later days, have made both tyrants andreasonable lovers of our race tremble with apprehension. TheNetherlanders claimed, mainly, the right to vote the money which wasdemanded in such enormous profusion from their painfully-acquired wealth;they were also unwilling to be burned alive if they objected totransubstantiation. Granvelle was most distinctly of an opposite opinionupon both topics. He strenuously deprecated the interference of thestates with the subsidies, and it was by his advice that the remorselessedict of 1550, the Emperor's ordinance of blood and fire, was re-enacted, as the very first measure of Philip's reign. Such were his sentiments asto national and popular rights by representation. For the peopleitself--"that vile and mischievous animal called the people"--as heexpressed it, he entertained a cheerful contempt. 

His aptitude for managing men was very great; his capacity for affairsincontestable; but it must be always understood as the capacity for theaffairs of absolutism. He was a clever, scheming politician, an adroitmanager; it remained to be seen whether he had a claim to the characterof a statesman. His industry was enormous. He could write fifty letters aday with his own hand. He could dictate to half a dozen amanuenses atonce, on as many different subjects, in as many different languages, andsend them all away exhausted. 

He was already rich. His income from his see and other livings wasestimated, in 1557, at ten thousand dollars--[1885 approximation. Thedecimal point more places to the right would in 2000 not be out of line. D. W. ]--; his property in ready money, "furniture, tapestry, and thelike, " at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. When it is consideredthat, as compared with our times, these sums represent a revenue of ahundred thousand, and a capital of two millions and a half in addition, it may be safely asserted that the prelate had at least made a goodbeginning. Besides his regular income, moreover, he had handsome receiptsfrom that simony which was reduced to a system, and which gave him aliberal profit, generally in the shape of an annuity, upon every beneficewhich he conferred. He was, however, by no means satisfied. His appetitewas as boundless as the sea; he was still a shameless mendicant ofpecuniary favors and lucrative offices. Already, in 1552, the Emperor hadroundly rebuked his greediness. "As to what you say of getting no'merced' nor 'ayuda de costa, '" said he, "'tis merced and ayuda de costaquite sufficient, when one has fat benefices, pensions, and salaries, with which a man might manage to support himself. " The bishop, however, was not easily abashed, and he was at the epoch which now occupies us, earnestly and successfully soliciting from Philip the lucrative abbey ofSaint Armand. Not that he would have accepted this preferment, "could theabbey have been annexed to any of the new bishoprics;" on the contrary, he assured the king that "to carry out so holy a work as the erection ofthose new sees, he would willingly have contributed even out of his ownmiserable pittance. "

It not being considered expedient to confiscate the abbey to anyparticular bishop, Philip accordingly presented it to the prelate ofArras, together with a handsome sum of money in the shape of an "ayuda decosta" beside. The thrifty bishop, who foresaw the advent of troubloustimes in the Netherlands, however, took care in the letters by which hesent his thanks, to instruct the King to secure the money upon crownproperty in Arragon, Naples, and Sicily, as matters in the provinces werebeginning to look very precarious. 

Such, at the commencement of the Duchess Margaret's administration, werethe characters and the previous histories of the persons into whose handsthe Netherlands were entrusted. None of them have been prejudged. We havecontented ourselves with stating the facts with regard to all, up to theperiod at which we have arrived. Their characters have been sketched, notaccording to subsequent developments, but as they appeared at the openingof this important epoch. 

The aspect of the country and its inhabitants offered many sharpcontrasts, and revealed many sources of future trouble. 

The aristocracy of the Netherlands was excessively extravagant, dissipated, and already considerably embarrassed in circumstances. It hadbeen the policy of the Emperor and of Philip to confer high offices, civil, military, and diplomatic, upon the leading nobles, by whichenormous expenses were entailed upon them, without any correspondingsalaries. The case of Orange has been already alluded to, and there weremany other nobles less able to afford the expense, who had been indulgedwith these ruinous honors. During the war, there had been, however, manychances of bettering broken fortunes. Victory brought immense prizes tothe leading officers. The ransoms of so many illustrious prisoners as hadgraced the triumphs of Saint Quentin and Gravelines had been extremelyprofitable. These sources of wealth had now been cut off; yet, on thedeparture of the King from the Netherlands, the luxury increased insteadof diminishing, "Instead of one court, " said a contemporary, "you wouldhave said that there were fifty. " Nothing could be more sumptuous thanthe modes of life in Brussels. The household of Orange has been alreadypainted. That of Egmont was almost as magnificent. A rivalry inhospitality and in display began among the highest nobles, and extendedto those less able to maintain themselves in the contest. During the warthere had been the valiant emulation of the battlefield; gentlemen hadvied with each other how best to illustrate an ancient name with deeds ofdesperate valor, to repair the fortunes of a ruined house with the spoilsof war. They now sought to surpass each other in splendid extravagance. It was an eager competition who should build the stateliest palaces, havethe greatest number of noble pages and gentlemen in waiting, the mostgorgeous liveries, the most hospitable tables, the most scientific cooks. There was, also, much depravity as well as extravagance. The morals ofhigh society were loose. Gaming was practised to a frightful extent. Drunkenness was a prevailing characteristic of the higher classes. Eventhe Prince of Orange himself, at this period, although never addicted tohabitual excess, was extremely convivial in his tastes, tolerating scenesand companions, not likely at a later day to find much favor in hissight. "We kept Saint Martin's joyously, " he wrote, at about this period, to his brother, "and in the most jovial company. Brederode was one day insuch a state that I thought he would certainly die, but he has now gotover it. " Count Brederode, soon afterwards to become so conspicuous inthe early scenes of the revolt, was, in truth, most notorious for hisperformances in these banqueting scenes. He appeared to have vowed asuncompromising hostility to cold water as to the inquisition, and alwaysdenounced both with the same fierce and ludicrous vehemence. Theirconstant connection with Germany at that period did not improve thesobriety of the Netherlands' nobles. The aristocracy of that country, asis well known, were most "potent at potting. " "When the German findshimself sober, " said the bitter Badovaro, "he believes himself to beill. " Gladly, since the peace, they had welcomed the opportunitiesafforded for many a deep carouse with their Netherlands cousins. Theapproaching marriage of the Prince of Orange with the Saxon princess--anepisode which will soon engage our attention--gave rise to tremendousorgies. Count Schwartzburg, the Prince's brother-in-law, and one of thenegotiators of the marriage, found many occasions to strengthen the bondsof harmony between the countries by indulgence of these common tastes. "Ihave had many princes and counts at my table, " he wrote to Orange, "wherea good deal more was drunk than eaten. The Rhinegrave's brother fell downdead after drinking too much malvoisie; but we have had him balsamed andsent home to his family. "

These disorders among the higher ranks were in reality so extensive as tojustify the biting remark of the Venetian: "The gentlemen intoxicatethemselves every day, " said he, "and the ladies also; but much less thanthe men. " His remarks as to the morality, in other respects, of bothsexes were equally sweeping, and not more complimentary. 

If these were the characteristics of the most distinguished society, itmay be supposed that they were reproduced with more or less intensitythroughout all the more remote but concentric circles of life, as far asthe seductive splendor of the court could radiate. The lesser noblesemulated the grandees, and vied with each other in splendidestablishments, banquets, masquerades, and equipages. The naturalconsequences of such extravagance followed. Their estates were mortgaged, deeply and more deeply; then, after a few years, sold to the merchants, or rich advocates and other gentlemen of the robe, to whom they had beenpledged. The more closely ruin stared the victims in the face, the moreheedlessly did they plunge into excesses. "Such were the circumstances, "moralizes a Catholic writer, "to which, at an earlier period, the affairsof Catiline, Cethegus, Lentulus, and others of that faction had beenreduced, when they undertook to overthrow the Roman republic. " Many ofthe nobles being thus embarrassed, and some even desperate, in theircondition, it was thought that they were desirous of creatingdisturbances in the commonwealth, that the payment of just debts might beavoided, that their mortgaged lands might be wrested by main force fromthe low-born individuals who had become possessed of them, that, inparticular, the rich abbey lands held by idle priests might beappropriated to the use of impoverished gentlemen who could turn them toso much better account. It is quite probable that interested motives suchas these were not entirely inactive among a comparatively small class ofgentlemen. The religious reformation in every land of Europe derived aportion of its strength from the opportunity it afforded to potentatesand great nobles for helping themselves to Church property. No doubt manyNetherlanders thought that their fortunes might be improved at theexpense of the monks, and for the benefit of religion. Even withoutapostasy from the mother Church, they looked with longing eyes on thewealth of her favored and indolent children. They thought that the Kingwould do well to carve a round number of handsome military commanderiesout of the abbey lands, whose possessors should be bound to militaryservice after the ancient manner of fiefs, so that a splendid cavalry, headed by the gentlemen of the country, should be ever ready to mount andride at the royal pleasure, in place of a horde of lazy epicureans, telling beads and indulging themselves in luxurious vice. 

Such views were entertained; such language often held. Thesecircumstances and sentiments had their influence among the causes whichproduced the great revolt now impending. Care should be taken, however, not to exaggerate that influence. It is a prodigious mistake to referthis great historical event to sources so insufficient as the ambition ofa few great nobles, and the embarrassments of a larger number of needygentlemen. The Netherlands revolt was not an aristocratic, but a popular, although certainly not a democratic movement. It was a great episode--thelongest, the darkest, the bloodiest, the most important episode in thehistory of the religious reformation in Europe. The nobles so conspicuousupon the surface at the outbreak, only drifted before a storm which theyneither caused nor controlled. Even the most powerful and the mostsagacious were tossed to and fro by the surge of great events, which, asthey rolled more and more tumultuously around them, seemed to become bothirresistible and unfathomable. 

For the state of the people was very different from the condition of thearistocracy. The period of martyrdom had lasted long and was to lastloner; but there were symptoms that it might one day be succeeded by amore active stage of popular disease. The tumults of the Netherlands werelong in ripening; when the final outbreak came it would have been morephilosophical to enquire, not why it had occurred, but how it could havebeen so long postponed. During the reign of Charles, the sixteenthcentury had been advancing steadily in strength as the once omnipotentEmperor lapsed into decrepitude. That extraordinary century had notdawned upon the earth only to increase the strength of absolutism andsuperstition. The new world had not been discovered, the ancient worldreconquered, the printing-press perfected, only that the inquisitionmight reign undisturbed over the fairest portions of the earth, andchartered hypocrisy fatten upon its richest lands. It was impossible thatthe most energetic and quick-witted people of Europe should not feelsympathy with the great effort made by Christendom to shake off theincubus which had so long paralyzed her hands and brain. In theNetherlands, where the attachment to Rome had never been intense, wherein the old times, the Bishops of Utrecht had been rather Ghibelline thanGuelph, where all the earlier sects of dissenters--Waldenses, Lollards, Hussites--had found numerous converts and thousands of martyrs, it wasinevitable that there should be a response from the popular heart to thedeeper agitation which now reached to the very core of Christendom. Inthose provinces, so industrious and energetic, the disgust was likely tobe most easily awakened for a system under which so many friars battenedin luxury upon the toils of others, contributing nothing to the taxation, nor to the military defence of the country, exercising no productiveavocation, except their trade in indulgences, and squandering in tavernsand brothels the annual sums derived from their traffic in licences tocommit murder, incest, and every other crime known to humanity. 

The people were numerous, industrious, accustomed for centuries to astate of comparative civil freedom, and to a lively foreign trade, bywhich their minds were saved from the stagnation of bigotry. It wasnatural that they should begin to generalize, and to pass from theconcrete images presented them in the Flemish monasteries to the abstractcharacter of Rome itself. The Flemish, above all their other qualities, were a commercial nation. Commerce was the mother of their freedom, sofar as they had acquired it, in civil matters. It was struggling to givebirth to a larger liberty, to freedom of conscience. The provinces weresituated in the very heart of Europe. The blood of a world-wide trafficwas daily coursing through the thousand arteries of that water-in-woventerritory. There was a mutual exchange between the Netherlands and allthe world; and ideas were as liberally interchanged as goods. Truth wasimported as freely as less precious merchandise. The psalms of Marot wereas current as the drugs of Molucca or the diamonds of Borneo. Theprohibitory measures of a despotic government could not annihilate thisintellectual trade, nor could bigotry devise an effective quarantine toexclude the religious pest which lurked in every bale of merchandise, andwas wafted on every breeze from East and West. 

The edicts of the Emperor had been endured, but not accepted. Thehorrible persecution under which so many thousands had sunk had producedits inevitable result. Fertilized by all this innocent blood, the soil ofthe Netherlands became as a watered garden, in which liberty, civil andreligious, was to flourish perennially. The scaffold had its dailyvictims, but did not make a single convert. The statistics of thesecrimes will perhaps never be accurately adjusted, nor will it beascertained whether the famous estimate of Grotius was an exaggerated oran inadequate calculation. Those who love horrible details may find amplematerial. The chronicles contain the lists of these obscure martyrs; buttheir names, hardly pronounced in their life-time, sound barbarously inour ears, and will never ring through the trumpet of fame. Yet they weremen who dared and suffered as much as men can dare and suffer in thisworld, and for the noblest cause which can inspire humanity. Fanaticsthey certainly were not, if fanaticism consists in show, withoutcorresponding substance. For them all was terrible reality. The Emperorand his edicts were realities, the axe, the stake were realities, and theheroism with which men took each other by the hand and walked into theflames, or with which women sang a song of triumph while the grave-diggerwas shovelling the earth upon their living faces, was a reality also. 

Thus, the people of the Netherlands were already pervaded, throughout thewhole extent of the country, with the expanding spirit of religiousreformation. It was inevitable that sooner or later an explosion was toarrive. They were placed between two great countries, where the newprinciples had already taken root. The Lutheranism of Germany and theCalvinism of France had each its share in producing the Netherlandrevolt, but a mistake is perhaps often made in estimating the relativeproportion of these several influences. The Reformation first entered theprovinces, not through the Augsburg, but the Huguenot gate. The fieryfield-preachers from the south of France first inflamed the excitablehearts of the kindred population of the south-western Netherlands. TheWalloons were the first to rebel against and the first to reconcilethemselves with papal Rome, exactly as their Celtic ancestors, fifteencenturies earlier, had been foremost in the revolt against imperial Rome, and precipitate in their submission to her overshadowing power. TheBatavians, slower to be moved but more steadfast, retained the impulsewhich they received from the same source which was already agitatingtheir "Welsh" compatriots. There were already French preachers atValenciennes and Tournay, to be followed, as we shall have occasion tosee, by many others. Without undervaluing the influence of the GermanChurches, and particularly of the garrison-preaching of the Germanmilitary chaplains in the Netherlands, it may be safely asserted that theearly Reformers of the provinces were mainly Huguenots in their belief:The Dutch Church became, accordingly, not Lutheran, but Calvinistic, andthe founder of the commonwealth hardly ceased to be a nominal Catholicbefore he became an adherent to the same creed. 

In the mean time, it is more natural to regard the great movement, psychologically speaking, as a whole, whether it revealed itself inFrance, Germany, the Netherlands, England, or Scotland. The policy ofgovernments, national character, individual interests, and othercollateral circumstances, modified the result; but the great cause wasthe same; the source of all the movements was elemental, natural, andsingle. The Reformation in Germany had been adjourned for half a centuryby the Augsburg religious peace, just concluded. It was held in suspensein France through the Macchiavellian policy which Catharine de Medici hadjust adopted, and was for several years to prosecute, of balancing oneparty against the other, so as to neutralize all power but her own. Thegreat contest was accordingly transferred to the Netherlands, to befought out for the rest of the century, while the whole of Christendomwere to look anxiously for the result. From the East and from the Westthe clouds rolled away, leaving a comparatively bright and peacefulatmosphere, only that they might concentrate themselves with portentousblackness over the devoted soil of the Netherlands. In Germany, theprinces, not the people, had conquered Rome, and to the princes, not thepeople, were secured the benefits of the victory--the spoils of churches, and the right to worship according to conscience. The people had theright to conform to their ruler's creed, or to depart from his land. Still, as a matter of fact, many of the princes being Reformers, a largemass of the population had acquired the privilege for their owngeneration and that of their children to practise that religion whichthey actually approved. This was a fact, and a more comfortable one thanthe necessity of choosing between what they considered wicked idolatryand the stake--the only election left to their Netherland brethren. InFrance, the accidental splinter from Montgomery's lance had deferred theHuguenot massacre for a dozen years. During the period in which the QueenRegent was resolved to play her fast and loose policy, all thepersuasions of Philip and the arts of Alva were powerless to induce herto carry out the scheme which Henry had revealed to Orange in the forestof Vincennes. When the crime came at last, it was as blundering as it wasbloody; at once premeditated and accidental; the isolated execution of aninterregal conspiracy, existing for half a generation, yet explodingwithout concert; a wholesale massacre, but a piecemeal plot. 

The aristocracy and the masses being thus, from a variety of causes, inthis agitated and dangerous condition, what were the measures of thegovernment?

The edict of 1550 had been re-enacted immediately after Philip'saccession to sovereignty. It is necessary that the reader should be madeacquainted with some of the leading provisions of this famous document, thus laid down above all the constitutions as the organic law of theland. A few plain facts, entirely without rhetorical varnish, will provemore impressive in this case than superfluous declamation. The Americanwill judge whether the wrongs inflicted by Laud and Charles upon hisPuritan ancestors were the severest which a people has had to undergo, and whether the Dutch Republic does not track its source to the samehigh, religious origin as that of our own commonwealth. 

"No one, " said the edict, "shall print, write, copy, keep, conceal, sell, buy or give in churches, streets, or other places, any book or writingmade by Martin Luther, John Ecolampadius, Ulrich Zwinglius, Martin Bucer, John Calvin, or other heretics reprobated by the Holy Church; nor break, or otherwise injure the images of the holy virgin or canonized saints.... Nor in his house hold conventicles, or illegal gatherings, or be presentat any such in which the adherents of the above-mentioned heretics teach, baptize, and form conspiracies against the Holy Church and the generalwelfare..... Moreover, we forbid, " continues the edict, in name of thesovereign, "all lay persons to converse or dispute concerning the HolyScriptures, openly or secretly, especially on any doubtful or difficultmatters, or to read, teach, or expound the Scriptures, unless they haveduly studied theology and been approved by some renowned university..... Or to preach secretly, or openly, or to entertain any of the opinions ofthe above-mentioned heretics..... On pain, should anyone be found to havecontravened any of the points above-mentioned, as perturbators of ourstate and of the general quiet, to be punished in the following manner. "And how were they to be punished? What was the penalty inflicted upon theman or woman who owned a hymn-book, or who hazarded the opinion inprivate, that Luther was not quite wrong in doubting the power of a monkto sell for money the license to commit murder or incest; or upon theparent, not being a Roman Catholic doctor of divinity, who should readChrist's Sermon on the Mount to his children in his own parlor or shop?How were crimes like these to be visited upon the transgressor? Was it byreprimand, fine, imprisonment, banishment, or by branding on theforehead, by the cropping of the ears or the slitting of nostrils, as waspractised upon the Puritan fathers of New England for theirnonconformity? It was by a sharper chastisement than any of thesemethods. The Puritan fathers of the Dutch Republic had to struggleagainst a darker doom. The edict went on to provide--

"That such perturbators of the general quiet are to be executed, to wit:the men with the sword and the women to be buried alive, if they do notpersist in their errors; if they do persist in them, then they are to beexecuted with fire; all their property in both cases being confiscated tothe crown. "

Thus, the clemency of the sovereign permitted the repentant heretic to bebeheaded or buried, alive, instead of being burned. 

The edict further provided against all misprision of heresy by makingthose who failed to betray the suspected liable to the same punishment asif suspected or convicted themselves: "we forbid, " said the decree, "allpersons to lodge, entertain, furnish with food, fire, or clothing, orotherwise to favor any one holden or notoriously suspected of being aheretic; . . . And any one failing to denounce any such we ordain shallbe liable to the above-mentioned punishments. "

The edict went on to provide, "that if any person, being not convicted ofheresy or error, but greatly suspected thereof, and therefore condemnedby the spiritual judge to abjure such heresy, or by the secularmagistrate to make public fine and reparation, shall again becomesuspected or tainted with heresy--although it should not appear thathe has contravened or violated any one of our abovementionedcommands--nevertheless, we do will and ordain that such person shall beconsidered as relapsed, and, as such, be punished with loss of life andproperty, without any hope of moderation or mitigation of theabove-mentioned penalties. "

Furthermore, it was decreed, that "the spiritual judges, desiring toproceed against any one for the crime of heresy, shall request any of oursovereign courts or provincial councils to appoint any one of theircollege, or such other adjunct as the council shall select, to presideover the proceedings to be instituted against the suspected. All who knowof any person tainted with heresy are required to denounce and give themup to all judges, officers of the bishops, or others having authority onthe premises, on pain of being punished according to the pleasure of thejudge. Likewise, all shall be obliged, who know of any place where suchheretics keep themselves, to declare them to the authorities, on pain ofbeing held as accomplices, and punished as such heretics themselves wouldbe if apprehended. "

In order to secure the greatest number of arrests by a direct appeal tothe most ignoble, but not the least powerful principle of human nature, it was ordained "that the informer, in case of conviction, should beentitled to one half the property of the accused, if not more than onehundred pounds Flemish; if more, then ten per cent. Of all such excess. "

Treachery to one's friends was encouraged by the provision, "that if anyman being present at any secret conventicle, shall afterwards comeforward and betray his fellow-members of the congregation, he shallreceive full pardon. "

In order that neither the good people of the Netherlands, nor the judgesand inquisitors should delude themselves with the notion that thesefanatic decrees were only intended to inspire terror, not for practicalexecution, the sovereign continued to ordain--"to the end that the judgesand officers may have no reason, under pretext that the penalties are toogreat and heavy and only devised to terrify delinquents, to punish themless severely than they deserve--that the culprits be really punished bythe penalties above declared; forbidding all judges to alter or moderatethe penalties in any manner forbidding any one, of whatsoever condition, to ask of us, or of any one having authority, to grant pardon, or topresent any petition in favor of such heretics, exiles, or fugitives, onpenalty of being declared forever incapable of civil and military office, and of being, arbitrarily punished besides. "

Such were the leading provisions of this famous edict, originallypromulgated in 1550 as a recapitulation and condensation of all theprevious ordinances of the Emperor upon religious subjects. By its styleand title it was a perpetual edict, and, according to one of its clauses, was to be published forever, once in every six months, in every city andvillage of the Netherlands. It had been promulgated at Augsburg, wherethe Emperor was holding a diet, upon the 25th of September. Its severityhad so appalled the Dowager Queen of Hungary, that she had made a journeyto Augsburg expressly to procure a mitigation of some of its provisions. The principal alteration which she was able to obtain of the Emperor was, however, in the phraseology only. As a concession to popular, prejudice, the words "spiritual judges" were substituted for "inquisitors" whereverthat expression had occurred in the original draft. 

The edict had been re-enacted by the express advice of the Bishop ofArras, immediately on the accession of Philip: The prelate knew the valueof the Emperor's name; he may have thought, also, that it would bedifficult to increase the sharpness of the ordinances. "I advised theKing, " says Granvelle, in a letter written a few years later, "to make nochange in the placards, but to proclaim the text drawn up by the Emperor, republishing the whole as the King's edict, with express insertion of thephrase, 'Carolus, ' etc. I recommended this lest men should calumniate hisMajesty as wishing to introduce novelties in the matter of religion. "

This edict, containing the provisions which have been laid before thereader, was now to be enforced with the utmost rigor; every officialpersonage, from the stadholders down, having received the most stringentinstructions to that effect, under Philip's own hand. This was the firstgift of Philip and of Granvelle to the Netherlands; of the monarch whosaid of himself that he had always, "from the beginning of hisgovernment, followed the path of clemency, according to his naturaldisposition, so well known to all the world;" of the prelate who said ofhimself, "that he had ever combated the opinion that any thing could beaccomplished by terror, death, and violence. "

During the period of the French and Papal war, it has been seen that theexecution of these edicts had been permitted to slacken. It was nowresumed with redoubled fury. Moreover, a new measure had increased thedisaffection and dismay of the people, already sufficiently filled withapprehension. As an additional security for the supremacy of the ancientreligion, it had been thought desirable that the number of bishops shouldbe increased. There were but four sees in the Netherlands, those ofArras, Cambray, Tournay, and Utrecht. That of Utrecht was within thearchiepiscopate of Cologne; the other three were within that of Rheims. It seemed proper that the prelates of the Netherlands should owe noextraprovincial allegiance. It was likewise thought that three millionsof souls required more than four spiritual superintendents. At any rate, whatever might be the interest of the flocks, it was certain that thosebroad and fertile pastures would sustain more than the present number ofshepherds. The wealth of the religious houses in the provinces was verygreat. The abbey of Afflighem alone had a revenue of fifty thousandflorins, and there were many others scarcely inferior in wealth. Butthese institutions were comparatively independent both of King and Pope. Electing their own superiors from time to time, in nowise desirous of anychange by which their ease might be disturbed and their richesendangered, the honest friars were not likely to engage in any veryvigorous crusade against heresy, nor for the sake of introducing orstrengthening Spanish institutions, which they knew to be abominated bythe people, to take the risk, of driving all their disciples into revoltand apostacy. Comforting themselves with an Erasmian philosophy, whichthey thought best suited to the times, they were as little likely as theSage of Rotterdam himself would have been, to make martyrs of themselvesfor the sake of extirpating Calvinism. The abbots and monks were, inpolitical matters, very much under the influence of the great nobles, inwhose company they occupied the benches of the upper house of theStates-general. 

Doctor Francis Sonnius had been sent on a mission to the Pope, for thepurpose of representing the necessity of an increase in the episcopalforce of the Netherlands. Just as the King was taking his departure, thecommissioner arrived, bringing with him the Bull of Paul the Fourth, dated May 18, 1559. This was afterwards confirmed by that of Pius theFourth, in January of the following year. The document stated that "Paulthe Fourth, slave of slaves, wishing to provide for the welfare of theprovinces and the eternal salvation of their inhabitants, had determinedto plant in that fruitful field several new bishoprics. The enemy ofmankind being abroad, " said the Bull, "in so many forms at thatparticular time, and the Netherlands, then under the sway of that belovedson of his holiness, Philip the Catholic, being compassed about withheretic and schismatic nations, it was believed that the eternal welfareof the land was in great danger. At the period of the originalestablishment of Cathedral churches, the provinces had been sparselypeopled; they had now become filled to overflowing, so that the originalecclesiastical arrangement did not suffice. The harvest was plentiful, but the laborers were few. "

In consideration of these and other reasons, three archbishoprics wereaccordingly appointed. That of Mechlin was to be principal, under whichwere constituted six bishoprics, those, namely, of Antwerp, Bois le Due, Rurmond, Ghent, Bruges and Ypres. That of Cambray was second, with thefour subordinate dioceses of Tournay, Arras, Saint Omer and Namur. Thethird archbishopric was that of Utrecht, with the five sees of Haarlem, Middelburg, Leeuwarden, Groningen and Deventer. 

The nomination to these important offices was granted to the King, subject to confirmation by the Pope. Moreover, it was ordained by theBull that "each bishop should appoint nine additional prebendaries, whowere to assist him in the matter of the inquisition throughout hisbishopric, two of whom were themselves to be inquisitors. "

To sustain these two great measures, through which Philip hoped once andforever to extinguish the Netherland heresy, it was considered desirablethat the Spanish troops still remaining in the provinces, should be keptthere indefinitely. 

The force was not large, amounting hardly to four thousand men, but theywere unscrupulous, and admirably disciplined. As the entering wedge, bywhich a military and ecclesiastical despotism was eventually to be forcedinto the very heart of the land, they were invaluable. The moral effectto be hoped from the regular presence of a Spanish standing army during atime of peace in the Netherlands could hardly be exaggerated. Philip wastherefore determined to employ every argument and subterfuge to detainthe troops. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Burned alive if they objected to transubstantiation German finds himself sober--he believes himself ill Govern under the appearance of obeying Informer, in case of conviction, should be entitled to one half Man had only natural wrongs (No natural rights) No calumny was too senseless to be invented Ruinous honors Sovereignty was heaven-born, anointed of God That vile and mischievous animal called the people Understood the art of managing men, particularly his superiors Upon one day twenty-eight master cooks were dismissed William of Nassau, Prince of Orange

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 6. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 18551560-1561 [CHAPTER II. ]

 Agitation in the Netherlands--The ancient charters resorted to as barriers against the measures of government--"Joyous entrance" of Brabant--Constitution of Holland--Growing unpopularity of Antony Perrenot, Archbishop of Mechlin--Opposition to the new bishoprics, by Orange, Egmont, and other influential nobles--Fury of the people at the continued presence of the foreign soldiery--Orange resigns the command of the legion--The troops recalled--Philip's personal attention to the details of persecution--Perrenot becomes Cardinal de Granvelle--All the power of government in his hands--His increasing unpopularity--Animosity and violence of Egmont towards the Cardinal--Relations between Orange and Granvelle--Ancient friendship gradually changing to enmity--Renewal of the magistracy at Antwerp--Quarrel between the Prince and Cardinal--Joint letter of Orange and Egmont to the King--Answer of the King--Indignation of Philip against Count Horn--Secret correspondence between the King and Cardinal--Remonstrances against the new bishoprics--Philip's private financial statements--Penury of the exchequer in Spain and in the provinces--Plan for debasing the coin--Marriage of William the Silent with the Princess of Lorraine circumvented--Negotiations for his matrimonial alliance with Princess Anna of Saxony-- Correspondence between Granvelle and Philip upon the subject-- Opposition of Landgrave Philip and of Philip the Second--Character and conduct of Elector Augustus--Mission of Count Schwartzburg-- Communications of Orange to the King and to Duchess Margaret-- Characteristic letter of Philip--Artful conduct of Granvelle and of the Regent--Visit of Orange to Dresden--Proposed "note" of Elector Augustus--Refusal of the Prince--Protest of the Landgrave against the marriage--Preparations for the wedding at Leipzig--Notarial instrument drawn up on the marriage day--Wedding ceremonies and festivities--Entrance of Granvelle into Mechlin as Archbishop-- Compromise in Brabant between the abbeys and bishops. 

The years 1560 and 1561 were mainly occupied with the agitation anddismay produced by the causes set forth in the preceding chapter. 

Against the arbitrary policy embodied in the edicts, the new bishopricsand the foreign soldiery, the Netherlanders appealed to their ancientconstitutions. These charters were called "handvests" in the vernacularDutch and Flemish, because the sovereign made them fast with his hand. Asalready stated, Philip had made them faster than any of the princes ofhis house had ever done, so far as oath and signature could accomplishthat purpose, both as hereditary prince in 1549, and as monarch in 1555. The reasons for the extensive and unconditional manner in which he sworeto support the provincial charters, have been already indicated. 

Of these constitutions, that of Brabant, known by the title of the'joyeuse entree, blyde inkomst', or blithe entrance, furnished the mostdecisive barrier against the present wholesale tyranny. First andforemost, the "joyous entry" provided "that the prince of the land shouldnot elevate the clerical state higher than of old has been customary andby former princes settled; unless by consent of the other two estates, the nobility and the cities. "

Again; "the prince can prosecute no one of his subjects nor any foreignresident, civilly or criminally, except in the ordinary and open courtsof justice in the province, where the accused may answer and defendhimself with the help of advocates. "

Further; "the prince shall appoint no foreigners to office in Brabant. "

Lastly; "should the prince, by force or otherwise, violate any of theseprivileges, the inhabitants of Brabant, after regular protest entered, are discharged of their oaths of allegiance, and as free, independent andunbound people, may conduct themselves exactly as seems to them best. "

Such were the leading features, so far as they regarded the points now atissue, of that famous constitution which was so highly esteemed in theNetherlands, that mothers came to the province in order to give birth totheir children, who might thus enjoy, as a birthright, the privileges ofBrabant. Yet the charters of the other provinces ought to have been aseffective against the arbitrary course of the government. "No foreigner, "said the constitution of Holland, "is eligible as, councillor, financier, magistrate, or member of a court. Justice can be administered only by theordinary tribunals and magistrates. The ancient laws and customs shallremain inviolable. Should the prince infringe any of these provisions, noone is bound to obey him. "

These provisions, from the Brabant and Holland charters, are only citedas illustrative of the general spirit of the provincial constitutions. Nearly all the provinces possessed privileges equally ample, duly signedand sealed. So far as ink and sealing wax could defend a land againstsword and fire, the Netherlands were impregnable against the edicts andthe renewed episcopal inquisition. Unfortunately, all history shows howfeeble are barriers of paper or lambskin, even when hallowed with amonarch's oath, against the torrent of regal and ecclesiasticalabsolutism. It was on the reception in the provinces of the new andconfirmatory Bull concerning the bishoprics, issued in January, 1560, that the measure became known, and the dissatisfaction manifest. Thediscontent was inevitable and universal. The ecclesiastical establishmentwhich was not to be enlarged or elevated but by consent of the estates, was suddenly expanded into three archiepiscopates and fifteen bishoprics. The administration of justice, which was only allowed in free and localcourts, distinct for each province, was to be placed, so far as regardedthe most important of human interests, in the, hands of bishops and theircreatures, many of them foreigners and most of them monks. The lives andproperty of the whole population were to be at the mercy of these utterlyirresponsible conclaves. All classes were outraged. The nobles wereoffended because ecclesiastics, perhaps foreign ecclesiastics, were to beempowered to sit in the provincial estates and to control theirproceedings in place of easy, indolent, ignorant abbots and friars, whohad generally accepted the influence of the great seignors. The priestswere enraged because the religious houses were thus taken out of theircontrol and confiscated to a bench of bishops, usurping the places ofthose superiors who had formally been elected by and among themselves. The people were alarmed because the monasteries, although not respectednor popular, were at least charitable and without ambition to exerciseecclesiastical cruelty; while, on the other hand, by the new episcopalarrangements, a force of thirty new inquisitors was added to theapparatus for enforcing orthodoxy already established. The odium of themeasure was placed upon the head of that churchman, already appointedArchbishop of Mechlin, and soon to be known as Cardinal Granvelle. Fromthis time forth, this prelate began to be regarded with a dailyincreasing aversion. He was looked upon as the incarnation of all theodious measures which had been devised; as the source of that policy ofabsolutism which revealed itself more and more rapidly after the King'sdeparture from the country. It was for this reason that so much stresswas laid by popular clamor upon the clause prohibiting foreigners fromoffice. Granvelle was a Burgundian; his father had passed most of hisactive life in Spain, while both he and his more distinguished son wereidentified in the general mind with Spanish politics. To this prelate, then, were ascribed the edicts, the new bishoprics, and the continuedpresence of the foreign troops. The people were right as regarded thefirst accusation. They were mistaken as to the other charges. 

The King had not consulted Anthony Perrenot with regard to the creationof the new bishoprics. The measure, which had been successivelycontemplated by Philip "the Good, " by Charles the Bold, and by theEmperor Charles, had now been carried out by Philip the Second, withoutthe knowledge of the new Archbishop of Mechlin. The King had for oncebeen able to deceive the astuteness of the prelate, and had concealedfrom him the intended arrangement, until the arrival of Sonnius with theBulls. Granvelle gave the reasons for this mystery with much simplicity. "His Majesty knew, " he said, "that I should oppose it, as it was morehonorable and lucrative to be one of four than one of eighteen. " In fact, according to his own statement, he lost money by becoming archbishop ofMechlin, and ceasing to be Bishop of Arras. For these reasons hedeclined, more than once, the proffered dignity, and at last onlyaccepted it from fear of giving offence to the King, and after havingsecured compensation for his alleged losses. In the same letter (of 29thMay, 1560) in which he thanked Philip for conferring upon him the richabbey of Saint Armand, which he had solicited, in addition to the"merced" in ready money, concerning the safe investment of which he hadalready sent directions, he observed that he was now willing to acceptthe archbishopric of Mechlin; notwithstanding the odium attached to themeasure, notwithstanding his feeble powers, and notwithstanding that, during the life of the Bishop of Tournay, who was then in rude health, hecould only receive three thousand ducats of the revenue, giving up Arrasand gaining nothing in Mechlin; notwithstanding all this, and a thousandother things besides, he assured his Majesty that, "since the royaldesire was so strong that he should accept, he would consider nothing sodifficult that he would not at least attempt it. " Having made up his mindto take the see and support the new arrangements, he was resolved thathis profits should be as large as possible. We have seen how he hadalready been enabled to indemnify himself. We shall find him soonafterwards importuning the King for the Abbey of Afflighem, the enormousrevenue of which the prelate thought would make another handsome additionto the rewards of his sacrifices. At the same time, he was most anxiousthat the people, and particularly the great nobles, should not ascribethe new establishment to him, as they persisted in doing. "They say thatthe episcopates were devised to gratify my ambition, " he wrote to Philiptwo years later; "whereas your Majesty knows how steadily I refused thesee of Mechlin, and that I only accepted it in order not to live inidleness, doing nothing for God and your Majesty. " He thereforeinstructed Philip, on several occasions, to make it known to thegovernment of the Regent, to the seignors, and to the country generally, that the measure had been arranged without his knowledge; that theMarquis Berghen had known of it first, and that the prelate had, intruth, been kept in the dark on the subject until the arrival of Sonniuswith the Bulls. The King, always docile to his minister, accordinglywrote to the Duchess the statements required, in almost the exactphraseology suggested; taking pains to repeat the declarations on severaloccasions, both by letter and by word of mouth, to many influentialpersons. 

The people, however, persisted in identifying the Bishop with the scheme. They saw that he was the head of the new institutions; that he was toreceive the lion's share of the confiscated abbeys, and that he wasforemost in defending and carrying through the measure, in spite of allopposition. That opposition waxed daily more bitter, till the Cardinal, notwithstanding that he characterised the arrangement to the King as "aholy work, " and warmly assured Secretary Perez that he would contributehis fortune, his blood, and his life, to its success, was yet obliged toexclaim in the bitterness of his spirit, "Would to God that the erectionof these new sees had never been thought of. Amen! Amen!"

Foremost in resistance was the Prince of Orange. Although a Catholic, hehad no relish for the horrible persecution which had been determinedupon. The new bishoprics he characterized afterwards as parts "of onegrand scheme for establishing the cruel inquisition of Spain; the saidbishops to serve as inquisitors, burners of bodies; and tyrants ofconscience: two prebendaries in each see being actually constitutedinquisitors. " For this reason he omitted no remonstrance on the subjectto the Duchess, to Granvelle, and by direct letters to the King. Hisefforts were seconded by Egmont, Berghen, and other influential nobles. Even Berlaymont was at first disposed to side with the opposition, butupon the argument used by the Duchess, that the bishoprics and prebendswould furnish excellent places for his sons and other members of thearistocracy, he began warmly to support the measure. Most of the labor, however, and all the odium, of the business fell upon the Bishop'sshoulders. There was still a large fund of loyalty left in the popularmind, which not even forty years of the Emperor's dominion had consumed, and which Philip was destined to draw upon as prodigally as if thetreasure had been inexhaustible. For these reasons it still seemed mostdecorous to load all the hatred upon the minister's back, and to retainthe consolatory formula, that Philip was a prince, "clement, benign, anddebonair. "

The Bishop, true to his habitual conviction, that words, with the people, are much more important than things, was disposed to have the word"inquisitor" taken out of the text of the new decree. He was anxious atthis juncture to make things pleasant, and he saw no reason why menshould be unnecessarily startled. If the inquisition could be practised, and the heretics burned, he was in favor of its being done comfortably. The word "inquisitor" was unpopular, almost indecent. It was better tosuppress the term and retain the thing. "People are afraid to speak ofthe new bishoprics, " he wrote to Perez, "on account of the clauseproviding that of nine canons one shall be inquisitor. Hence people fearthe Spanish inquisition. "--He, therefore, had written to the King tosuggest instead, that the canons or graduates should be obliged to assistthe Bishop, according as he might command. Those terms would suffice, because, although not expressly stated, it was clear that the Bishop wasan ordinary inquisitor; but it was necessary to expunge words that gaveoffence. 

It was difficult, however, with all the Bishop's eloquence and dexterity, to construct an agreeable inquisition. The people did not like it, in anyshape, and there were indications, not to be mistaken, that one day therewould be a storm which it would be beyond human power to assuage. Atpresent the people directed their indignation only upon a part of themachinery devised for their oppression. The Spanish troops wereconsidered as a portion of the apparatus by which the new bishoprics andthe edicts were to be forced into execution. Moreover, men were, weary ofthe insolence and the pillage which these mercenaries had so longexercised in the land. When the King had been first requested to withdrawthem, we have seen that he had burst into a violent passion. He hadafterward dissembled. Promising, at last, that they should all be sentfrom the country within three or four months after his departure, he haddetermined to use every artifice to detain them in the provinces. He hadsucceeded, by various subterfuges, in keeping them there fourteen months;but it was at last evident that their presence would no longer betolerated. Towards the close of 1560 they were quartered in Walcheren andBrill. The Zelanders, however, had become so exasperated by theirpresence that they resolutely refused to lay a single hand upon thedykes, which, as usual at that season, required great repairs. Ratherthan see their native soil profaned any longer by these hated foreignmercenaries, they would see it sunk forever in the ocean. They swore toperish-men, women, and children together-in the waves, rather than endurelonger the outrages which the soldiery daily inflicted. Such was thetemper of the Zelanders that it was not thought wise to trifle with theirirritation. The Bishop felt that it was no longer practicable to detainthe troops, and that all the pretext devised by Philip and his governmenthad become ineffectual. In a session of the State Council, held on the25th October, 1560, he represented in the strongest terms to the Regentthe necessity for the final departure of the troops. Viglius, who knewthe character of his countrymen, strenuously seconded the proposal. Orange briefly but firmly expressed the same opinion, declining anylonger to serve as commander of the legion, an office which, inconjunction with Egmont, he had accepted provisionally, with the best ofmotives, and on the pledge of Philip that the soldiers should bewithdrawn. The Duchess urged that the order should at least be deferreduntil the arrival of Count Egmont, then in Spain, but the proposition wasunanimously negatived. 

Letters were accordingly written, in the name of the Regent, to the King. It was stated that the measure could no longer be delayed, that theprovinces all agreed in this point, that so long as the foreignersremained not a stiver should be paid into the treasury; that if they hadonce set sail, the necessary amount for their arrears would be furnishedto the government; but that if they should return it was probable thatthey would be resisted by the inhabitants with main force, and that theywould only be allowed to enter the cities through a breach in their wall. It was urged, moreover, that three or four thousand Spaniards would notbe sufficient to coerce all the provinces, and that there was not moneyenough in the royal exchequer to pay the wages of a single company of thetroops. "It cuts me to the heart, " wrote the Bishop to Philip, "to seethe Spanish infantry leave us; but go they must. Would to God that wecould devise any pretext, as your Majesty desires, under which to keepthem here! We have tried all means humanly possible for retaining them, but I see no way to do it without putting the provinces in manifestdanger of sudden revolt. "

Fortunately for the dignity of the government, or for the repose of thecountry, a respectable motive was found for employing the legionelsewhere. The important loss which Spain had recently met with in thecapture of Zerby made a reinforcement necessary in the army engaged inthe Southern service. Thus, the disaster in Barbary at last relieved theNetherlands of the pest which had afflicted them so long. For a briefbreathing space the country was cleared of foreign mercenaries. 

The growing unpopularity of the royal government, still typified, however, in the increasing hatred entertained for the Bishop, was notmaterially diminished by the departure of the Spaniards. The edicts andthe bishoprics were still there, even if the soldiers were gone. Thechurchman worked faithfully to accomplish his master's business. Philip, on his side, was industrious to bring about the consummation of hismeasures. Ever occupied with details, the monarch, from his palace inSpain, sent frequent informations against the humblest individuals in theNetherlands. It is curious to observe the minute reticulations of tyrannywhich he had begun already to spin about a whole, people, while cold, venomous, and patient he watched his victims from the centre of his web. He forwarded particular details to the Duchess and Cardinal concerning avariety of men and women, sending their names, ages, personal appearance, occupations, and residence, together with directions for their immediateimmolation. Even the inquisitors of Seville were set to work to increase, by means of their branches or agencies in the provinces, the royalinformation on this all-important subject. "There are but few of us leftin the world, " he moralized in a letter to the Bishop, "who care forreligion. 'Tis necessary, therefore, for us to take the greater heed forChristianity. We must lose our all, if need be, in order to do our duty;in fine, " added he, with his usual tautology, "it is right that a manshould do his duty. "

Granvelle--as he must now be called, for his elevation to thecardinalship will be immediately alluded to--wrote to assure the Kingthat every pains would be taken to ferret out and execute the individualscomplained of. He bewailed, however, the want of heartiness on the partof the Netherland inquisitors and judges. "I find, " said he, "that alljudicial officers go into the matter of executing the edicts withreluctance, which I believe is caused by their fear of displeasing thepopulace. When they do act they do it but languidly, and when thesematters are not taken in hand with the necessary liveliness, the fruitdesired is not gathered. We do not fail to exhort and to command them todo their work. " He added that Viglius and Berlaymont displayed laudablezeal, but that he could not say as much for the Council of Brabant. Thosecouncillors "were forever prating, " said he, "of the constitutionalrights of their province, and deserved much less commendation. "

The popularity of the churchman, not increased by these desperateexertions to force an inhuman policy upon an unfortunate nation, receivedlikewise no addition from his new elevation in rank. During the latterpart of the year 1560, Margaret of Parma, who still entertained aprofound admiration of the prelate, and had not yet begun to chafe underhis smooth but imperious dominion, had been busy in preparing for him adelightful surprise. Without either his knowledge or that of the King, she had corresponded with the Pope, and succeeded in obtaining, as apersonal favor to herself, the Cardinal's hat for Anthony Perrenot. InFebruary, 1561, Cardinal Borromeo wrote to announce that the coveteddignity had been bestowed. The Duchess hastened, with joyous alacrity, tocommunicate the intelligence to the Bishop, but was extremely hurt tofind that he steadily refused to assume his new dignity, until he hadwritten to the King to announce the appointment, and to ask hispermission to accept the honor. The Duchess, justly wounded at hisrefusal to accept from her hands the favor which she, and she only, hadobtained for him, endeavored in vain to overcome his pertinacity. Sherepresented that although Philip was not aware of the application or theappointment, he was certain to regard it as an agreeable surprise. Sheurged, moreover, that his temporary refusal would be misconstrued atRome, where it would certainly excite ridicule, and very possibly giveoffence in the highest quarter. The Bishop was inexorable. He feared, says his panegyrist, that he might one day be on worse terms than atpresent with the Duchess, and that then she might reproach him with herformer benefits. He feared also that the King might, in consequence ofthe step, not look with satisfaction upon him at some future period, whenhe might stand in need of his favors. He wrote, accordingly, a mostcharacteristic letter to Philip, in which he informed him that he hadbeen honored with the Cardinal's hat. He observed that many persons werealready congratulating him, but that before he made any demonstration ofaccepting or refusing, he waited for his Majesty's orders: upon his willhe wished ever to depend. He also had the coolness, under thecircumstances, to express his conviction that "it was his Majesty who hadsecretly procured this favor from his Holiness. "

The King received the information very graciously, observing in reply, that although he had never made any suggestion of the kind, he had "oftenthought upon the subject. " The royal command was of course at oncetransmitted, that the dignity should be accepted. By special favor, moreover, the Pope dispensed the new Cardinal from the duty of going toRome in person, and despatched his chamberlain, Theophilus Friso, toBrussels, with the red hat and tabbard. 

The prelate, having thus reached the dignity to which he had longaspired, did not grow more humble in his deportment, or less zealous inthe work through which he had already gained so much wealth andpreferment. His conduct with regard to the edicts and bishoprics hadalready brought him into relations which were far from amicable with hiscolleagues in the council. More and more he began to take the control ofaffairs into his own hand. The consulta, or secret committee of the statecouncil, constituted the real government of the country. Here the mostimportant affairs were decided upon without the concurrence of the otherseignors, Orange, Egmont, and Glayon, who, at the same time, were heldresponsible for the action of government. The Cardinal was smooth inmanner, plausible of speech, generally even-tempered, but he wasoverbearing and blandly insolent. Accustomed to control royal personages, under the garb of extreme obsequiousness, he began, in his intercoursewith those of less exalted rank, to omit a portion of the subserviencywhile claiming a still more undisguised authority. To nobles like Egmontand Orange, who looked down upon the son of Nicolas Perrenot and NicolaBonvalot as a person immeasurably beneath themselves in the socialhierarchy, this conduct was sufficiently irritating. The Cardinal, placedas far above Philip, and even Margaret, in mental power as he was beneaththem in worldly station, found it comparatively easy to deal with themamicably. With such a man as Egmont, it was impossible for the churchmanto maintain friendly relations. The Count, who notwithstanding hisromantic appearance, his brilliant exploits, and his interesting destiny, was but a commonplace character, soon conceived a mortal aversion toGranvelle. A rude soldier, entertaining no respect for science orletters, ignorant and overbearing, he was not the man to submit to theairs of superiority which pierced daily more and more decidedly throughthe conventional exterior of the Cardinal. Granvelle, on the other hand, entertained a gentle contempt for Egmont, which manifested itself in allhis private letters to the King, and was sufficiently obvious in hisdeportment. There had also been distinct causes of animosity betweenthem. The governorship of Hesdin having become vacant, Egmont, backed byOrange and other nobles, had demanded it for the Count de Roeulx, agentleman of the Croy family, who, as well as his father, had renderedmany important services to the crown. The appointment was, however, bestowed, through Granvelle's influence, upon the Seigneur d'Helfault, agentleman of mediocre station and character, who was thought to possessno claims whatever to the office. Egmont, moreover, desired the abbey ofTrulle for a poor relation of his own; but the Cardinal, to whom nothingin this way ever came amiss, had already obtained the King's permissionto, appropriate the abbey to himself Egmont was now furious against theprelate, and omitted no opportunity of expressing his aversion, both inhis presence and behind his back. On one occasion, at least, his wrathexploded in something more than words. Exasperated by Granvelle'spolished insolence in reply to his own violent language, he drew hisdagger upon him in the presence of the Regent herself, "and, " says acontemporary, "would certainly have sent the Cardinal into the next worldhad he not been forcibly restrained by the Prince of Orange and otherpersons present, who warmly represented to him that such griefs were tobe settled by deliberate advice, not by choler. " At the same time, whilescenes like these were occurring in the very bosom of the state council, Granvelle, in his confidential letters to secretary Perez, assertedwarmly that all reports of a want of harmony between himself and theother seignors and councillors were false, and that the best relationsexisted among them all. It was not his intention, before it should benecessary, to let the King doubt his ability to govern the counselaccording to the secret commission with which he had been invested. 

His relations with Orange were longer in changing from friendship to openhostility. In the Prince the Cardinal met his match. He found himselfconfronted by an intellect as subtle, an experience as fertile inexpedients, a temper as even, and a disposition sometimes as haughty ashis own. He never affected to undervalue the mind of Orange. "'Tis a manof profound genius, vast ambition--dangerous, acute, politic, " he wroteto the King at a very early period. The original relations betweenhimself and the Prince bad been very amicable. It hardly needed theprelate's great penetration to be aware that the friendship of so exalteda personage as the youthful heir to the principality of Orange, and tothe vast possessions of the Chalons-Nassau house in Burgundy and theNetherlands, would be advantageous to the ambitious son of the BurgundianCouncillor Granvelle. The young man was the favorite of the Emperor fromboyhood; his high rank, and his remarkable talents marked himindisputably for one of the foremost men of the coming reign. Thereforeit was politic in Perrenot to seize every opportunity of making himselfuseful to the Prince. He busied himself with securing, so far as it mightbe necessary to secure, the succession of William to his cousin'sprincipality. It seems somewhat ludicrous for a merit to be made not onlyfor Granvelle but for the Emperor, that the Prince should have beenallowed to take an inheritance which the will of Rene de Nassau mostunequivocally conferred, and which no living creature disputed. Yet, because some of the crown lawyers had propounded the dogma that "the sonOf a heretic ought not to succeed, " it was gravely stated as an immenseact of clemency upon the part of Charles the Fifth that he had notconfiscated the whole of the young Prince's heritage. In returnGranvelle's brother Jerome had obtained the governorship of the youth, upon whose majority he had received an honorable military appointmentfrom his attached pupil. The prelate had afterwards recommended themarriage with the Count de Buren's heiress, and had used his influencewith the Emperor to overcome certain objections entertained by Charles, that the Prince, by this great accession of wealth, might be growing toopowerful. On the other hand, there were always many poor relations anddependents of Granvelle, eager to be benefitted by Orange's patronage, who lived in the Prince's household, or received handsome appointmentsfrom his generosity. Thus, there had been great intimacy, founded uponvarious benefits mutually conferred; for it could hardly be asserted thatthe debt of friendship was wholly upon one side. 

When Orange arrived in Brussels from a journey, he would go to thebishop's before alighting at his own house. When the churchman visitedthe Prince, he entered his bed-chamber without ceremony before he hadrisen; for it was William's custom, through life, to receive intimateacquaintances, and even to attend to important negotiations of state, while still in bed. 

The show of this intimacy had lasted longer than its substance. Granvellewas the most politic of men, and the Prince had not served hisapprenticeship at the court of Charles the Fifth to lay himself bareprematurely to the criticism or the animosity of the Cardinal with therecklessness of Horn and Egmont. An explosion came at last, however, andvery soon after an exceedingly amicable correspondence between the twoupon the subject of an edict of religious amnesty which Orange waspreparing for his principality, and which Granvelle had recommended himnot to make too lenient. A few weeks after this, the Antwerp magistracywas to be renewed. The Prince, as hereditary burgrave of that city, wasentitled to a large share of the appointing power in these politicalarrangements, which at the moment were of great importance. The citizensof Antwerp were in a state of excitement on the subject of the newbishops. They openly, and in the event, successfully resisted theinstallation of the new prelate for whom their city had been constituteda diocese. The Prince was known to be opposed to the measure, and to thewhole system of ecclesiastical persecution. When the nominations for thenew magistracy came before the Regent, she disposed of the whole matterin the secret consulta, without the knowledge, and in a manner opposed tothe views of Orange. He was then furnished with a list of the newmagistrates, and was informed that he had been selected as commissioneralong with Count Aremberg, to see that the appointments were carried intoeffect. The indignation of the Prince was extreme. He had already takenoffence at some insolent expressions upon this topic, which the Cardinalhad permitted himself. He now sent back the commission to the Duchess, adding, it was said, that he was not her lackey, and that she might sendsome one else with her errands. The words were repeated in the statecouncil. There was a violent altercation--Orange vehemently resenting hisappointment merely to carry out decisions in which he claimed an originalvoice. His ancestors, he said, had often changed the whole of the Antwerpmagistracy by their own authority. It was a little too much that thismatter, as well as every other state affair, should be controlled by thesecret committee of which the Cardinal was the chief. Granvelle, on hisside, was also in a rage. He flung from the council-chamber, summoned theChancellor of Brabant, and demanded, amid bitter execrations againstOrange, what common and obscure gentleman there might be, whom he couldappoint to execute the commission thus refused by the Prince and byAremberg. He vowed that in all important matters he would, on futureoccasions, make use of nobles less inflated by pride, and more tractablethan such grand seignors. The chancellor tried in vain to appease thechurchman's wrath, representing that the city of Antwerp would be highlyoffended at the turn things were taking, and offering his services toinduce the withdrawal, on the part of the Prince, of the language whichhad given so much offence. The Cardinal was inexorable and peremptory. "Iwill have nothing to do with the Prince, Master Chancellor, " said he, "and these are matters which concern you not. " Thus the conversationended, and thus began the open state of hostilities between the greatnobles and the Cardinal, which had been brooding so long. 

On the 23rd July, 1561, a few weeks after the scenes lately described, the Count of Egmont and the Prince of Orange addressed a joint letter tothe King. They reminded him in this despatch that, they had originallybeen reluctant to take office in the state council, on account of theirprevious experience of the manner in which business had been conductedduring the administration of the Duke of Savoy. They had feared thatimportant matters of state might be transacted without their concurrence. The King had, however, assured them, when in Zeland, that all affairswould be uniformly treated in full council. If the contrary should everprove the case, he had desired them to give him information to thateffect, that he might instantly apply the remedy. They accordingly nowgave him that information. They were consulted upon small matters:momentous affairs were decided upon in their absence. Still they wouldnot even now have complained had not Cardinal Granvelle declared that allthe members of the state council were to be held responsible for itsmeasures, whether they were present at its decisions or not. Not likingsuch responsibility, they requested the King either to accept theirresignation or to give orders that all affairs should be communicated tothe whole board and deliberated upon by all the councillors. 

In a private letter, written some weeks later (August 15), Egmont beggedsecretary Erasso to assure the King that their joint letter had not beendictated by passion, but by zeal for his service. It was impossible, hesaid, to imagine the insolence of the Cardinal, nor to form an idea ofthe absolute authority which he arrogated. 

In truth, Granvelle, with all his keenness, could not see that Orange, Egmont, Berghen, Montigny and the rest, were no longer pages and youngcaptains of cavalry, while he was the politician and the statesman. Bysix or seven years the senior of Egmont, and by sixteen years of Orange, he did not divest himself of the superciliousness of superior wisdom, notunjust nor so irritating when they had all been boys. In his deportmenttowards them, and in the whole tone of his private correspondence withPhilip, there was revealed, almost in spite of himself, an affectation ofauthority, against which Egmont rebelled and which the Prince was not theman to acknowledge. Philip answered the letter of the two nobles in hisusual procrastinating manner. The Count of Horn, who was about leavingSpain (whither he had accompanied the King) for the Netherlands, would beentrusted with the resolution which he should think proper to take uponthe subject suggested. In the mean time, he assured them that he did notdoubt their zeal in his service. 

As to Count Horn, Granvelle had already prejudiced the King against him. Horn and the Cardinal had never been friends. A brother of the prelatehad been an aspirant for the hand of the Admiral's sister, and had beensomewhat contemptuously rejected. Horn, a bold, vehement, and not verygood-tempered personage, had long kept no terms with Granvelle, and didnot pretend a friendship which he had never felt. Granvelle had justwritten to instruct the King that Horn was opposed bitterly to thatmeasure which was nearest the King's heart--the new bishoprics. He hadbeen using strong language, according to the Cardinal, in opposition tothe scheme, while still in Spain. He therefore advised that his Majesty, concealing, of course, the source of the information, and speaking as itwere out of the royal mind itself, should expostulate with the Admiralupon the subject. Thus prompted, Philip was in no gracious humor when hereceived Count Horn, then about to leave Madrid for the Netherlands, andto take with him the King's promised answer to the communication ofOrange and Egmont. His Majesty had rarely been known to exhibit so muchanger towards any person as he manifested upon that occasion. After a fewwords from the Admiral, in which he expressed his sympathy with the otherNetherland nobles, and his aversion to Granvelle, in general terms, andin reply to Philip's interrogatories, the King fiercely interrupted him:"What! miserable man!" he vociferated, "you all complain of thisCardinal, and always in vague language. Not one of you, in spite of allmy questions, can give me a single reason for your dissatisfaction. " Withthis the royal wrath boiled over in such unequivocal terms that theAdmiral changed color, and was so confused with indignation andastonishment, that he was scarcely able to find his way out of the room. 

This was the commencement of Granvelle's long mortal combat with Egmont, Horn, and Orange. This was the first answer which the seignors were toreceive to their remonstrances against the churchman's arrogance. Philipwas enraged that any opposition should be made to his coercive measures, particularly to the new bishoprics, the "holy work" which the Cardinalwas ready, to "consecrate his fortune and his blood" to advance. Granvelle fed his master's anger by constant communications as to theefforts made by distinguished individuals to delay the execution of thescheme. Assonville had informed him, he wrote, that much complaint hadbeen made on the subject by several gentlemen, at a supper of CountEgmont's. It was said that the King ought to have consulted them all, andthe state councillors especially. The present nominees to the newepiscopates were good enough, but it would be found, they said, that veryimproper personages would be afterwards appointed. The estates ought notto permit the execution of the scheme. In short, continued Granvelle, "there is the same kind of talk which brought about the recall of theSpanish troops. " A few months later, he wrote to inform Philip that apetition against the new bishoprics was about to be drawn up by "the twolords. ". They had two motives; according to the Cardinal, for thisstep--first, to let the King know that he could do nothing without theirpermission; secondly, because in the states' assembly they were then thecocks of the walk. They did not choose, therefore, that in the clericalbranch of the estates any body should be above the abbots, whom theycould frighten into doing whatever they chose. At the end, of the year, Granvelle again wrote to instruct his sovereign how to reply to theletter which was about to be addressed to him by the Prince of Orange andthe Marquis Berghen on the subject of the bishoprics. They would tellhim, he said, that the incorporation of the Brabant abbeys into the newbishoprics was contrary to the constitution of the "joyful entrance. "Philip was, however, to make answer that he had consulted theuniversities, and those learned in the laws, and had satisfied himselfthat it was entirely constitutional. He was therefore advised to send hiscommand that the Prince and Marquis should use all their influence topromote the success of the measure. Thus fortified, the King was enablednot only to deal with the petition of the nobles, but also with thedeputies from the estates of Brabant, who arrived about this time atMadrid. To these envoys, who asked for the appointment of royalcommissioners, with whom they might treat on the subject of thebishoprics, the abbeys, and the "joyful entrance, " the King answeredproudly, "that in matters which concerned the service of God, he was hisown commissioner. " He afterwards, accordingly, recited to them, withgreat accuracy, the lesson which he had privately received from theubiquitous Cardinal. Philip was determined that no remonstrance fromgreat nobles or from private citizens should interfere with the thoroughexecution of the grand scheme on which he was resolved, and of which thenew bishoprics formed an important part. Opposition irritated him moreand more, till his hatred of the opponents became deadly; but it, at thesame time, confirmed him in his purpose. "'Tis no time to temporize, " hewrote to Granvelle; "we must inflict chastisement with full rigor andseverity. These rascals can only be made to do right through fear, andnot always even by that means. "

At the same time, the royal finances did not admit of any very activemeasures, at the moment, to enforce obedience to a policy which wasalready so bitterly opposed. A rough estimate, made in the King's ownhandwriting, of the resources and obligations of his exchequer, a kind ofbalance sheet for the, years 1560 and 1561, drawn up much in the samemanner as that in which a simple individual would make a note of hisincome and expenditure, gave but a dismal picture of his pecuniary, condition. It served to show how intelligent a financier is despotism, and how little available are the resources of a mighty empire whenregarded merely as private property, particularly when the owner chancesto have the vanity of attending to all details himself: "Twenty millionsof ducats, " began the memorandum, "will be required to disengage myrevenues. But of this, " added the King, with whimsical pathos for anaccount-book, "we will not speak at present, as the matter is so entirelyimpossible. " He then proceeded to enter the various items of expensewhich were to be met during the two years; such as so many millions dueto the Fuggers (the Rothschilds of the sixteenth century), so many tomerchants in Flanders, Seville, and other places, so much for PrinceDoria's galleys, so much for three years' pay due to his guards, so muchfor his household expenditure, so much for the, tuition of Don Carlos, and Don Juan d'Austria, so much for salaries of ambassadors andcouncillors--mixing personal and state expenses, petty items and greatloans, in one singular jumble, but arriving at a total demand upon hispurse of ten million nine hundred and ninety thousand ducats. 

To meet this expenditure he painfully enumerated the funds upon which hecould reckon for the two years. His ordinary rents and taxes being alldeeply pledged, he could only calculate from that source upon two hundredthousand ducats. The Indian revenue, so called, was nearly spent; stillit might yield him four hundred and twenty thousand ducats. Thequicksilver mines would produce something, but so little as hardly torequire mentioning. As to the other mines, they were equally unworthy ofnotice, being so very uncertain, and not doing as well as they were wont. The licences accorded by the crown to carry slaves to America were putdown at fifty thousand ducats for the two years. The product of the"crozada" and "cuarta, " or money paid to him in small sums byindividuals, with the permission of his Holiness, for the liberty ofabstaining from the Church fasts, was estimated at five hundred thousandducats. These and a few more meagre items only sufficed to stretch hisincome to a total of one million three hundred and thirty thousand farthe two years, against an expenditure calculated at near eleven millions. "Thus, there are nine millions, less three thousand ducats, deficient, "he concluded ruefully (and making a mistake in his figures in his ownfavor of six hundred and sixty-three thousand besides), "which I may lookfor in the sky, or try to raise by inventions already exhausted. "

Thus, the man who owned all America and half of Europe could only raise amillion ducats a year from his estates. The possessor of all Peru andMexico could reckon on "nothing worth mentioning" from his mines, andderived a precarious income mainly from permissions granted his subjectsto carry on the slave-trade and to eat meat on Fridays. This wascertainly a gloomy condition of affairs for a monarch on the threshold ofa war which was to outlast his own life and that of his children; a warin which the mere army expenses were to be half a million florinsmonthly, in which about seventy per cent. Of the annual disbursements wasto be regularly embezzled or appropriated by the hands through which itpassed, and in which for every four men on paper, enrolled and paid for, only one, according to the average, was brought into the field. 

Granvelle, on the other hand, gave his master but little consolation fromthe aspect of financial affairs in the provinces. He assured him that"the government was often in such embarrassment as not to know where tolook for ten ducats. " He complained bitterly that the states would meddlewith the administration of money matters, and were slow in the grantingof subsidies. The Cardinal felt especially outraged by the interferenceof these bodies with the disbursement of the sums which they voted. Ithas been seen that the states had already compelled the government towithdraw the troops, much to the regret of Granvelle. They continued, however, to be intractable on the subject of supplies. "These are veryvile things, " he wrote to Philip, "this authority which they assume, thisaudacity with which they say whatever they think proper; and theseimpudent conditions which they affix to every proposition for subsidies. "The Cardinal protested that he had in vain attempted to convince them oftheir error, but that they remained perverse. 

It was probably at this time that the plan for debasing the coin, suggested to Philip some time before by a skilful chemist named Malen, and always much approved of both by himself and Ruy Gomez, recurred tohis mind. "Another and an extraordinary source of revenue, althoughperhaps not a very honorable one, " wrote Suriano, "has hitherto been keptsecret; and on account of differences of opinion between the King and hisconfessor, has been discontinued. " This source of revenue, it seemed, wasfound in "a certain powder, of which one ounce mixed with six ounces ofquicksilver would make six ounces of silver. " The composition was said tostand the test of the hammer, but not of the fire. Partly in consequenceof theological scruples and partly on account of opposition from thestates, a project formed by the King to pay his army with this kind ofsilver was reluctantly abandoned. The invention, however, was so veryagreeable to the King, and the inventor had received such liberalrewards, that it was supposed, according to the envoy, that in time ofscarcity his Majesty would make use of such coin without reluctance. 

It is necessary, before concluding this chapter, which relates the eventsof the years 1560 and 1561, to allude to an important affair whichoccupied much attention during the whole of this period. This is thecelebrated marriage of the Prince of Orange with the Princess Anna ofSaxony. By many superficial writers; a moving cause of the greatNetherland revolt was found in the connexion of the great chieftain withthis distinguished Lutheran house. One must have studied the charactersand the times to very little purpose, however, to believe it possiblethat much influence could be exerted on the mind of William of Orange bysuch natures as those of Anna of Saxony, or of her uncle the ElectorAugustus, surnamed "the Pious. "

The Prince had become a widower in 1558, at the age of twenty-five. Granvelle, who was said to have been influential in arranging his firstmarriage, now proposed to him, after the year of mourning had expired, analliance with Mademoiselle Renee, daughter of the Duchess de Lorraine, and granddaughter of Christiern the Third of Denmark, and his wifeIsabella, sister of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. Such a connexion, notonly with the royal house of Spain but with that of France--for, theyoung Duke of Lorraine, brother of the lady, had espoused the daughter ofHenry the considered highly desirable by the Prince. Philip and theDuchess Margaret of Parma both approved, or pretended to approve, thematch. At the same time the Dowager Duchess of Lorraine, mother of theintended bride, was a candidate, and a very urgent one, for the Regencyof the Netherlands. Being a woman of restless ambition, and intriguingcharacter, she naturally saw in a man of William's station and talents amost desirable ally in her present and future schemes. On the other hand, Philip--who had made open protestation of his desire to connect thePrince thus closely with his own blood, and had warmly recommended thematch to the young lady's mother--soon afterwards, while walking one daywith the Prince in the park at Brussels, announced to him that theDuchess of Lorraine had declined his proposals. Such a result astonishedthe Prince, who was on the best of terms with the mother, and had beenurging her appointment to the Regency with all his-influence, havingentirely withdrawn his own claims to that office. No satisfactoryexplanation was ever given of this singular conclusion to a courtship, begun with the apparent consent of all parties. It was hinted that theyoung lady did not fancy the Prince; but, as it was not known that a wordhad ever been exchanged between them, as the Prince, in appearance andreputation, was one of the most brilliant cavaliers of the age, and asthe approval of the bride was not usually a matter of primary consequencein such marriages of state, the mystery seemed to require a furthersolution. The Prince suspected Granvelle and the King, who were believedto have held mature and secret deliberation together, of insincerity. TheBishop was said to have expressed the opinion, that although thefriendship he bore the Prince would induce him to urge the marriage, yethis duty to his master made him think it questionable whether it wereright to advance a personage already placed so high by birth, wealth, andpopularity, still higher by so near an alliance with his Majesty'sfamily. The King, in consequence, secretly instructed the Duchess ofLorraine to decline the proposal, while at the same time he continuedopenly to advocate the connexion. The Prince is said to have discoveredthis double dealing, and to have found in it the only reasonableexplanation of the whole transaction. Moreover, the Duchess of Lorraine, finding herself equally duped, and her own ambitious scheme equallyfoiled by her unscrupulous cousin--who now, to the surprise of every one, appointed Margaret of Parma to be Regent, with the Bishop for her primeminister--had as little reason to be satisfied with the combinations ofroyal and ecclesiastical intrigue as the Prince of Orange himself. Soonafter this unsatisfactory mystification, William turned his attentions toGermany. Anna of Saxony, daughter of the celebrated Elector Maurice, lived at the court of her uncle, the Elector Augustus. A musket-ball, perhaps a traitorous one, in an obscure action with Albert ofBrandenbourg, had closed the adventurous career of her father seven yearsbefore. The young lady, who was thought to have inherited much of hisrestless, stormy character, was sixteen years of age. She was far fromhandsome, was somewhat deformed, and limped. Her marriage-portion wasdeemed, for the times, an ample one; she had seventy thousand rix dollarsin hand, and the reversion of thirty thousand on the death of JohnFrederic the Second, who had married her mother after the death ofMaurice. Her rank was accounted far higher in Germany than that ofWilliam of Nassau, and in this respect, rather than for pecuniaryconsiderations, the marriage seemed a desirable one for him. The man whoheld the great Nassau-Chalons property, together with the heritage ofCount Maximilian de Buren, could hardly have been tempted by 100, 000thalers. His own provision for the children who might spring from theproposed marriage was to be a settlement of seventy thousand florinsannually. The fortune which permitted of such liberality was not one tobe very materially increased by a dowry which might seem enormous to manyof the pauper princes of Germany. "The bride's portion, " says acontemporary, "after all, scarcely paid for the banquets and magnificentfestivals which celebrated the marriage. When the wedding was paid for, there was not a thaler remaining of the whole sum. " Nothing, then, couldbe more puerile than to accuse the Prince of mercenary motives in seekingthis alliance; an accusation, however, which did not fail to be brought. 

There were difficulties on both sides to be arranged before this marriagecould take place. The bride was a Lutheran, the Prince was a Catholic. With regard to the religion of Orange not the slightest doubt existed, nor was any deception attempted. Granvelle himself gave the most entireattestation of the Prince's orthodoxy. "This proposed marriage gives megreat pain, " he wrote to Philip, "but I have never had reason to suspecthis principles. " In another letter he observed that he wished themarriage could be broken off; but that he hoped so much from the virtueof the Prince that nothing could suffice to separate him from the truereligion. On the other side there was as little doubt as to his creed. Old Landgrave Philip of Hesse, grandfather of the young lady, wasbitterly opposed to the match. "'Tis a papist, " said he, "who goes tomass, and eats no meat on fast days. " He had no great objection to hischaracter, but insurmountable ones to his religion. "Old Count William, "said he, "was an evangelical lord to his dying day. This man is apapist!" The marriage, then, was to be a mixed marriage. It is necessary, however, to beware of anachronisms upon the subject. Lutherans were notyet formally denounced as heretics. On the contrary, it was exactly atthis epoch that the Pope was inviting the Protestant princes of Germanyto the Trent Council, where the schism was to be closed, and all theerring lambs to be received again into the bosom of the fold. So far frommanifesting an outward hostility, the papal demeanor was conciliating. The letters of invitation from the Pope to the princes were sent by alegate, each commencing with the exordium, "To my beloved son, " and wereall sent back to his Holiness, contemptuously, with the coarse jest foranswer, "We believe our mothers to have been honest women, and hope thatwe had better fathers. " The great council had not yet given itsdecisions. Marriages were of continual occurrence, especially amongprinces and potentates, between the adherents of Rome and of the newreligion. Even Philip had been most anxious to marry the ProtestantElizabeth, whom, had she been a peasant, he would unquestionably haveburned, if in his power. Throughout Germany, also, especially in highplaces, there was a disposition to cover up the religious controversy; toabstain from disturbing the ashes where devastation still glowed, and wasone day to rekindle itself. It was exceedingly difficult for any man, from the Archduke Maximilian down, to define his creed. A marriage, therefore; between a man and woman of discordant views upon this topicwas not startling, although in general not considered desirable. 

There were, however, especial reasons why this alliance should bedistasteful, both to Philip of Spain upon one side, and to the LandgravePhilip of Hesse on the other. The bride was the daughter of the electorMaurice. In that one name were concentrated nearly all the disasters, disgrace, and disappointment of the Emperor's reign. It was Maurice whohad hunted the Emperor through the Tyrolean mountains; it was Maurice whohad compelled the peace of Passau; it was Maurice who had overthrown theCatholic Church in Germany, it was Maurice who had frustrated Philip'selection as king of the Romans. If William of Orange must seek a wifeamong the pagans, could no other bride be found for him than the daughterof such a man?

Anna's grandfather, on the other hand, Landgrave Philip, was thecelebrated victim to the force and fraud of Charles the Fifth. He saw inthe proposed bridegroom, a youth who had been from childhood, the pettedpage and confidant of the hated Emperor, to whom he owed his longimprisonment. He saw in him too, the intimate friend and ally--for thebrooding quarrels of the state council were not yet patent to theworld--of the still more deeply detested Granvelle; the crafty priestwhose substitution of "einig" for "ewig" had inveigled him into thatterrible captivity. These considerations alone would have made himunfriendly to the Prince, even had he not been a Catholic. 

The Elector Augustus, however, uncle and guardian to the bride, was notonly well-disposed but eager for the marriage, and determined to overcomeall obstacles, including the opposition of the Landgrave, without whoseconsent he was long pledged not to bestow the hand of Anna. For thisthere were more than one reason. Augustus, who, in the words of one ofthe most acute historical critics of our day, was "a Byzantine Emperor ofthe lowest class, re-appearing in electoral hat and mantle, " was not firmin his rights to the dignity he held. He had inherited from his brother, but his brother had dispossessed John Frederic. Maurice, when turningagainst the Emperor, who had placed him in his cousin's seat, had notthought it expedient to restore to the rightful owner the rank which hehimself owed to the violence of Charles. Those claims might berevindicated, and Augustus be degraded in his turn, by a possiblemarriage of the Princess Anna, with some turbulent or intriguing Germanpotentate. Out of the land she was less likely to give trouble. Thealliance, if not particularly desirable on the score of rank, was, inother worldly respects, a most brilliant one for his niece. As for thereligious point, if he could overcome or circumvent the scruples of theLandgrave, he foresaw little difficulty in conquering his own conscience. 

The Prince of Orange, it is evident, was placed in such a position, thatit would be difficult for him to satisfy all parties. He intended thatthe marriage, like all marriages among persons in high places at thatday, should be upon the "uti possidetis" principle, which was thefoundation of the religious peace of Germany. His wife, after marriageand removal to the Netherlands, would "live Catholically;" she would beconsidered as belonging to the same Church with her husband, was to giveno offence to the government, and bring no suspicion upon himself, byviolating any of the religious decencies. Further than this, William, whoat that day was an easy, indifferent Catholic, averse to papalpersecutions, but almost equally averse to long, puritanical prayers andfaces, taking far more pleasure in worldly matters than in ecclesiasticalcontroversies, was not disposed to advance in this thorny path. Having astern bigot to deal with, in Madrid, and another in Cassel, he soonconvinced himself that he was not likely entirely to satisfy either, andthought it wiser simply to satisfy himself. 

Early in 1560, Count Gunther de Schwartzburg, betrothed to the Prince'ssister Catharine, together with Colonel George Von Holl, were despatchedto Germany to open the marriage negotiations. They found the ElectorAugustus already ripe and anxious for the connexion. It was easy for theenvoys to satisfy all his requirements on the religious question. If, asthe Elector afterwards stated to the Landgrave, they really promised thatthe young lady should be allowed to have an evangelical preacher in herown apartments, together with the befitting sacraments, it is verycertain that they travelled a good way out of their instructions, forsuch concessions were steadily refused by William in person. It is, however, more probable that Augustus, whose slippery feet were disposedto slide smoothly and swiftly over this dangerous ground, had representedthe Prince's communications under a favorable gloss of his own. At anyrate, nothing in the subsequent proceedings justified the conclusionsthus hastily formed. 

The Landgrave Philip, from the beginning, manifested his repugnance tothe match. As soon as the proposition had been received by Augustus, thatpotentate despatched Hans von Carlowitz to the grandfather at Cassel. ThePrince of Orange, it was represented, was young, handsome, wealthy, afavorite of the Spanish monarch; the Princess Anna, on the other hand, said her uncle was not likely to grow straighter or better proportionedin body, nor was her crooked and perverse character likely to improvewith years. It was therefore desirable to find a settlement for her assoon as possible. The Elector, however, would decide upon nothing withoutthe Landgrave's consent. 

To this frank, and not very flattering statement, so far as the younglady was concerned, the Landgrave answered stoutly and characteristically. The Prince was a Spanish subject, he said, and would not be able toprotect Anna in her belief, who would sooner or later become a fugitive:he was but a Count in Germany, and no fitting match for an Elector'sdaughter; moreover, the lady herself ought to be consulted, who had noteven seen the Prince. If she were crooked in body, as the Elector stated, it was a shame to expose her; to conceal it, however, was questionable, asthe Prince might complain afterwards that a straight princess had beenpromised, and a crooked one fraudulently substituted, --and so on, though agood deal more of such quaint casuistry, in which the Landgrave wasaccomplished. The amount of his answer, however, to the marriage proposalwas an unequivocal negative, from which he never wavered. 

In consequence of this opposition, the negotiations were for a timesuspended. Augustus implored the Prince not to abandon the project, promising that every effort should be made to gain over the Landgrave, hinting that the old man might "go to his long rest soon, " and evensuggesting that if the worst came to the worst, he had bound himself todo nothing without the knowledge of the Landgrave, but was not obliged towait for his consent. 

On the other hand, the Prince had communicated to the King of Spain thefact of the proposed marriage. He had also held many long conversationswith the Regent and with Granvelle. In all these interviews he haduniformly used one language: his future wife was to "live as a Catholic, "and if that point were not conceded, he would break off the negotiations. He did not pretend that she was to abjure her Protestant faith. TheDuchess, in describing to Philip the conditions, as sketched to her bythe Prince, stated expressly that Augustus of Saxony was to consent thathis niece "should live Catholically after the marriage, " but that it wasquite improbable that "before the nuptials she would be permitted toabjure her errors, and receive necessary absolution, according to therules of the Church. " The Duchess, while stating her full confidence inthe orthodoxy of the Prince, expressed at the same time her fears thatattempts might be made in the future by his new connexions "to perverthim to their depraved opinions. "

A silence of many months ensued on the part of the sovereign, duringwhich he was going through the laborious process of making up his mind, or rather of having it made up for him by people a thousand miles off. Inthe autumn Granvelle wrote to say that the Prince was very much surprisedto have been kept so long waiting for a definite reply to hiscommunications, made at the beginning of the year concerning his intendedmarriage, and to learn at last that his Majesty had sent no answer, uponthe ground that the match had been broken off; the fact being, that thenegotiations were proceeding more earnestly than ever. 

Nothing could be more helpless and more characteristic than the letterwhich Philip sent, thus pushed for a decision. "You wrote me, " said he, "that you had hopes that this matter of the Prince's marriage would go nofurther, and seeing that you did not write oftener on the subject, Ithought certainly that it had been terminated. This pleased me not alittle, because it was the best thing that could be done. Likewise, "continued the most tautological of monarchs, "I was much pleased that itshould be done. Nevertheless;" he added, "if the marriage is to beproceeded with, I really don't know what to say about it, except to referit to my sister, inasmuch as a person being upon the spot can see betterwhat can be done with regard to it; whether it be possible to prevent it, or whether it be best, if there be no remedy, to give permission. But ifthere be a remedy, it would be better to take it, because, " concluded theKing, pathetically, "I don't see how the Prince could think of marryingwith the daughter of the man who did to his majesty, now in glory, thatwhich Duke Maurice did. "

Armed with this luminous epistle, which, if it meant any thing, meant areluctant affirmation to the demand of the Prince for the royal consent, the Regent and Granvelle proceeded to summon William of Orange, and tocatechise him in a manner most galling to the pride, and with a latitudenot at all justified by any reasonable interpretation of the royalinstructions. They even informed him that his Majesty had assembled"certain persons learned in cases of conscience, and versed in theology, "according to whose advice a final decision, not yet possible, would begiven at some future period. This assembly of learned conscience-keepersand theologians had no existence save in the imaginations of Granvelleand Margaret. The King's letter, blind and blundering as it was, gave theDuchess the right to decide in the affirmative on her own responsibility;yet fictions like these formed a part of the "dissimulation, " which wasaccounted profound statesmanship by the disciples of Machiavelli. ThePrince, however irritated, maintained his steadiness; assured the Regentthat the negotiation had advanced too far to be abandoned, and repeatedhis assurance that the future Princess of Orange was to "live as aCatholic. "

In December, 1560, William made a visit to Dresden, where he was receivedby the Elector with great cordiality. This visit was conclusive as to themarriage. The appearance and accomplishments of the distinguished suitormade a profound impression upon the lady. Her heart was carried by storm. Finding, or fancying herself very desperately enamored of the proposedbridegroom, she soon manifested as much eagerness for the marriage as didher uncle, and expressed herself frequently with the violence whichbelonged to her character. "What God had decreed, " she said, "the Devilshould not hinder. "

The Prince was said to have exhibited much diligence in his attention tothe services of the Protestant Church during his visit at Dreaden. Asthat visit lasted, however, but ten or eleven days, there was no greatopportunity for shewing much zeal. 

At the same period one William Knuttel was despatched by Orange on theforlorn hope of gaining the old Landgrave's consent, without making anyvital concessions. "Will the Prince, " asked the Landgrave, "permit mygranddaughter to have an evangelical preacher in the house?"--"No, "answered Knuttel. "May she at least receive the sacrament of the Lord'sSupper in her own chamber, according to the Lutheran form?"--"No, "answered Knuttel, "neither in Breda, nor any where else in theNetherlands. If she imperatively requires such sacraments, she must goover the border for them, to the nearest Protestant sovereign. "

Upon the 14th April, 1561, the Elector, returning to the charge, caused alittle note to be drawn up on the religious point, which he forwarded, inthe hope that the Prince would copy and sign it. He added a promise thatthe memorandum should never be made public to the signer's disadvantage. 

At the same time he observed to Count Louis, verbally, "that he had beensatisfied with the declarations made by the Prince when in Dresden, uponall points, except that concerning religion. He therefore felt obliged tobeg for a little agreement in writing. --"By no means! by no means!"interrupted Louis promptly, at the very first word, "the Prince can giveyour electoral highness no such assurance. 'T would be risking life, honor, and fortune to do so, as your grace is well aware. " The Electorprotested that the declaration, if signed, should never come into theSpanish monarch's hands, and insisted upon sending it to the Prince. Louis, in a letter to his brother, characterized the document as"singular, prolix and artful, " and strongly advised the Prince to havenothing to do with it. 

This note, which the Prince was thus requested to sign, and which hisbrother Louis thus strenuously advised him not to sign, the Prince neverdid sign. Its tenor was to the following effect:--The Princess, aftermarriage, was, neither by menace nor persuasion; to be turned from thetrue and pure Word of God, or the use of the sacrament according to thedoctrines of the Augsburg Confession. The Prince was to allow her to readbooks written in accordance with the Augsburg Confession. The prince wasto permit her, as often, annually, as she required it, to go out of theNetherlands to some place where she could receive the sacrament accordingto the Augsburg Confession. In case she were in sickness or perils ofchildbirth, the Prince, if necessary, would call to her an evangelicalpreacher, who might administer to her the holy sacrament in her chamber. The children who might spring from the marriage were to be instructed asto the doctrines of the Augsburg Confession. 

Even if executed, this celebrated memorandum would hardly have been atvariance with the declarations made by the Prince to the Spanishgovernment. He had never pretended that his bride was to become aCatholic, but only to live as a Catholic. All that he had promised, orwas expected to promise, was that his wife should conform to the law inthe Netherlands. The paper, in a general way, recognized that law. Incase of absolute necessity, however, it was stipulated that the Princessshould have the advantage of private sacraments. This certainly wouldhave been a mortal offence in a Calvinist or Anabaptist, but forLutherans the practise had never been so strict. Moreover, the Princealready repudiated the doctrines of the edicts, and rebelled against thecommand to administer them within his government. A general promise, therefore, made by him privately, in the sense of the memorandum drawn upby the Elector, would have been neither hypocritical nor deceitful, butworthy the man who looked over such grovelling heads as Granvelle andPhilip on the one side, or Augustus of Saxony on the other, and estimatedtheir religious pretences at exactly what they were worth. A formaldocument, however, technically according all these demands made by theElector, would certainly be regarded by the Spanish government as a veryculpable instrument. The Prince never signed the note, but, as we shallhave occasion to state in its proper place, he gave a verbal declaration, favorable to its tenor, but in very vague and brief terms, before anotary, on the day of the marriage. 

If the reader be of opinion that too much time has been expended upon theelucidation of this point, he should remember that the character of agreat and good man is too precious a possession of history to be lightlyabandoned. It is of no great consequence to ascertain the precise creedof Augustus of Saxony, or of his niece; it is of comparatively littlemoment to fix the point at which William of Orange ceased to be anhonest, but liberal Catholic, and opened his heart to the light of theReformation; but it is of very grave interest that his name should becleared of the charge of deliberate fraud and hypocrisy. It has thereforebeen thought necessary to prove conclusively that the Prince never gave, in Dresden or Cassel, any assurance inconsistent with his assertions toKing and Cardinal. The whole tone of his language and demeanor on thereligious subject was exhibited in his reply to the Electress, who, immediately after the marriage, entreated that he would not pervert herniece from the paths of the true religion. "She shall not be troubled, "said the Prince, "with such melancholy things. Instead of holy writ sheshall read 'Amadis de Gaule, ' and such books of pastime which discoursede amore; and instead of knitting and sewing she shall learn to dance agaldiarde, and such courtoisies as are the mode of our country andsuitable to her rank. "

The reply was careless, flippant, almost contemptuous. It is very certainthat William of Orange was not yet the "father William" he was destinedto become--grave, self-sacrificing, deeply religious, heroic; but it wasequally evident from this language that he had small sympathy, either inpublic or private, with Lutheranism or theological controversy. LandgraveWilliam was not far from right when he added, in his quaint style, afterrecalling this well-known reply, "Your grace will observe, therefore, that when the abbot has dice in his pocket, the convent will play. "

So great was the excitement at the little court of Cassel, that manyProtestant princes and nobles declared that "they would sooner give theirdaughters to a boor or a swineherd than to a Papist. " The Landgrave wasequally vigorous in his protest, drawn up in due form on the 26th April, 1561. He was not used, he said, "to flatter or to tickle with a foxtail. "He was sorry if his language gave offense, nevertheless "the marriage wasodious, and that was enough. " He had no especial objection to the Prince, "who before the world was a brave and honorable man. " He conceded thathis estates were large, although he hinted that his debts also wereample; allowed that he lived in magnificent style, had even heard "of oneof his banquets, where all the table-cloths, plates, and every thingelse, were made of sugar, " but thought he might be even a little tooextravagant; concluding, after a good deal of skimble-skamble of thisnature, with "protesting before God, the world, and all pious Christians, that he was not responsible for the marriage, but only the ElectorAugustus and others, who therefore would one day have to render accountthereof to the Lord. "

Meantime the wedding had been fixed to take place on Sunday, the 24thAugust, 1561. This was St. Bartholomew's, a nuptial day which was notdestined to be a happy one in the sixteenth century. The Landgrave andhis family declined to be present at the wedding, but a large andbrilliant company were invited. The King of Spain sent a bill of exchangeto the Regent, that she might purchase a ring worth three thousandcrowns, as a present on his part to the bride. Beside this liberalevidence that his opposition to the marriage was withdrawn, he authorizedhis sister to appoint envoys from among the most distinguished nobles torepresent him on the occasion. The Baron de Montigny, accordingly, with abrilliant company of gentlemen, was deputed by the Duchess, although shedeclined sending all the governors of the provinces, according to therequest of the Prince. The marriage was to take place at Leipsic. Aslight picture of the wedding festivities, derived entirely fromunpublished sources, may give some insight into the manners and customsof high life in Germany and the Netherlands at this epoch. 

The Kings of Spain and Denmark were invited, and were represented byspecial ambassadors. The Dukes of Brunswick, Lauenburg, Mecklenburg, theElector and Margraves of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Cologne, the Dukeof Cleves, the Bishops of Naumburg, Meneburg, Meissen, with many otherpotentates, accepted the invitations, and came generally in person, a fewonly being represented by envoys. The town councils of Erfurt, Leipsic, Magdeburg, and other cities, were also bidden. The bridegroom waspersonally accompanied by his brothers John, Adolphus, and Louis; by theBurens, the Leuchtenbergs, and various other distinguished personages. 

As the electoral residence at Leipsic was not completely finished, separate dwellings were arranged for each of the sovereign familiesinvited, in private houses, mostly on the market-place. Here they were tobe furnished with provisions by the Elector's officials, but they were tocook for themselves. For this purpose all the princes had been requestedto bring their own cooks and butlers, together with their plate andkitchen utensils. The sovereigns themselves were to dine daily with theElector at the town-house, but the attendants and suite were to taketheir meals in their own lodgings. A brilliant collection of gentlemenand pages, appointed by the Elector to wait at his table, were ordered toassemble at Leipsic on the 22d, the guests having been all invited forthe 23d. Many regulations were given to these noble youths, that theymight discharge their duties with befitting decorum. Among other orders, they received particular injunctions that they were to abstain from alldrinking among themselves, and from all riotous conduct whatever, whilethe sovereigns and potentates should be at dinner. "It would be ashameful indecency, " it was urged, "if the great people sitting at tableshould be unable to hear themselves talk on account of the screaming ofthe attendants. " This provision did not seem unreasonable. They were alsoinstructed that if invited to drink by any personage at the great tablesthey were respectfully to decline the challenge, and to explain the causeafter the repast. 

Particular arrangements were also made for the safety of the city. Besides the regular guard of Leipsic, two hundred and twentyarquebuseers, spearsmen, and halberdmen, were ordered from theneighboring towns. These were to be all dressed in uniform; one arm, sideand leg in black, and the other in yellow, according to a paintingdistributed beforehand to the various authorities. As a mounted patrole, Leipsic had a regular force of two men. These were now increased to ten, and received orders to ride with their lanterns up and down all thestreets and lanes, to accost all persons whom they might find abroadwithout lights in their hands, to ask them their business in courteouslanguage, and at the same time to see generally to the peace and safetyof the town. 

Fifty arquebuseers were appointed to protect the town-house, and aburgher watch of six hundred was distributed in different quarters, especially to guard against fire. 

On Saturday, the day before the wedding, the guests had all arrived atLeipsic, and the Prince of Orange, with his friends, at Meneburg. OnSunday, the 24th August, the Elector at the head of his guests andattendants, in splendid array, rode forth to receive the bridegroom. Hiscavalcade numbered four thousand. William of Orange had arrived, accompanied by one thousand mounted men. The whole troop now entered thecity together, escorting the Prince to the town-house. Here hedismounted, and was received on the staircase by the Princess Anna, attended by her ladies. She immediately afterwards withdrew to herapartments. 

It was at this point, between 4 and 5 P. M. , that the Elector andElectress, with the bride and bridegroom, accompanied also by the DameSophia von Miltitz and the Councillors Hans von Ponika and UbrichWoltersdorff upon one side, and by Count John of Nassau and Heinrich vonWiltberg upon the other, as witnesses, appeared before Wolf Seidel, notary, in a corner room of the upper story of the town-house. One of thecouncillors, on the part of the Elector, then addressed the bridegroom. He observed that his highness would remember, no doubt, the contents of amemorandum or billet, sent by the Elector on the 14th April of that year, by the terms of which the Prince was to agree that he would, neither bythreat nor persuasion, prevent his future wife from continuing in theAugsburg Confession; that he would allow her to go to places where shemight receive the Augsburg sacraments; that in case of extreme need sheshould receive them in her chamber; and that the children who mightspring from the marriage should be instructed as to the Augsburgdoctrines. As, however, continued the councillor, his highness the Princeof Orange has, for various reasons, declined giving any such agreement inwriting, as therefore it had been arranged that before the marriageceremony the Prince should, in the presence of the bride and of the otherwitnesses, make a verbal promise on the subject, and as the parties werenow to be immediately united in marriage, therefore the Elector had nodoubt that the Prince would make no objection in presence of thosewitnesses to give his consent to maintain the agreements comprised in thememorandum or note. The note was then read. Thereupon, the Princeanswered verbally. "Gracious Elector; I remember the writing which yousent me on the 14th April. All the point: just narrated by the Doctorwere contained in it. I now state to your highness that I will keep itall as becomes a prince, and conform to it. " Thereupon he gave theElector his hand. --

What now was the amount and meaning of this promise on the part of thePrince? Almost nothing. He would conform to the demands of the Elector, exactly as he had hitherto said he would conform to them. Taken inconnexion with his steady objections to sign and seal any instrument onthe subject--with his distinct refusal to the Landgrave (through Knuttel)to allow the Princess an evangelical preacher or to receive thesacraments in the Netherlands--with the vehement, formal, and publicprotest, on the part of the Landgrave, against the marriage--with thePrince's declarations to the Elector at Dresden, which were satisfactoryon all points save the religious point, --what meaning could this verbalpromise have, save that the Prince would do exactly as much with regardto the religious question as he had always promised, and no more? Thiswas precisely what did happen. There was no pretence on the part of theElector, afterwards, that any other arrangement had been contemplated. The Princess lived catholically from the moment of her marriage, exactlyas Orange had stated to the Duchess Margaret, and as the Elector knewwould be the case. The first and the following children born of themarriage were baptized by Catholic priests, with very elaborate Catholicceremonies, and this with the full consent of the Elector, who sentdeputies and officiated as sponsor on one remarkable occasion. 

Who, of all those guileless lambs then, Philip of Spain, the Elector ofSaxony, or Cardinal Granvelle, had been deceived by the language oractions of the Prince? Not one. It may be boldly asserted that thePrince, placed in a transition epoch, both of the age and of his owncharacter, surrounded by the most artful and intriguing personages knownto history, and involved in a network of most intricate and difficultcircumstances, acquitted himself in a manner as honorable as it wasprudent. It is difficult to regard the notarial instrument otherwise thanas a memorandum, filed rather by Augustus than by wise William, in orderto put upon record for his own justification, his repeated thoughunsuccessful efforts to procure from the Prince a regularly signed, sealed, and holographic act, upon the points stated in the famous note. 

After the delay occasioned by these private formalities, the bridalprocession, headed by the court musicians, followed by the courtmarshals, councillors, great officers of state, and the electoral family, entered the grand hall of the town-house. The nuptial ceremony was thenperformed by "the Superintendent Doctor Pfeffinger. " Immediatelyafterwards, and in the same hall, the bride and bridegroom were placedpublicly upon a splendid, gilded bed, with gold-embroidered curtains, thePrincess being conducted thither by the Elector and Electress. Confectsand spiced drinks were then served to them and to the assembled company. After this ceremony they were conducted to their separate chambers, todress for dinner. Before they left the hall, however, Margrave Hans ofBrandenburg, on part of the Elector of Saxony, solemnly recommended thebride to her husband, exhorting him to cherish her with faith andaffection, and "to leave her undisturbed in the recognized truth of theholy gospel and the right use of the sacraments. "

Five round tables were laid in the same hall immediately afterwards--eachaccommodating ten guests. As soon as the first course of twenty-fivedishes had been put upon the chief table, the bride and bridegroom, theElector and Electress, the Spanish and Danish envoys and others, wereescorted to it, and the banquet began. During the repast, the Elector'schoir and all the other bands discoursed the "merriest and most ingeniousmusic. " The noble vassals handed the water, the napkins, and the wine, and every thing was conducted decorously and appropriately. As soon asthe dinner was brought to a close, the tables were cleared away, and theball began in the same apartment. Dances, previously arranged, wereperformed, after which "confects and drinks" were again distributed, andthe bridal pair were then conducted to the nuptial chamber. 

The wedding, according to the Lutheran custom of the epoch, had thustaken place not in a church, but in a private dwelling; the hall of thetown-house, representing, on this occasion, the Elector's own saloons. Onthe following morning, however, a procession was formed at seven o'clockto conduct the newly-married couple to the church of St. Nicholas, thereto receive an additional exhortation and benediction. Two separatecompanies of gentlemen, attended by a great number of "fifers, drummers, and trumpeters, " escorted the bride and the bridegroom, "twelve countswearing each a scarf of the Princess Anna's colors, with golden garlandson their heads and lighted torches in their hands, " preceding her to thechoir, where seats had been provided for the more illustrious portion ofthe company. The church had been magnificently decked in tapestry, and, as the company entered, a full orchestra performed several fine motettos. After listening to a long address from Dr. Pfeffinger, and receiving ablessing before the altar, the Prince and Princess of Orange returned, with their attendant processions, to the town-house. 

After dinner, upon the same and the three following days, a tournamentwas held. The lists were on the market-place, on the side nearest thetown-house; the Electress and the other ladies looking down from balconyand window to "rain influence and adjudge the prize. " The chief hero ofthese jousts, according to the accounts in the Archives, was the Electorof Saxony. He "comported himself with such especial chivalry" that hisfar-famed namesake and remote successor, Augustus the Strong, couldhardly have evinced more knightly prowess. On the first day heencountered George Von Wiedebach, and unhorsed him so handsomely that thediscomfited cavalier's shoulder was dislocated. On the following day hetilted with Michael von Denstedt, and was again victorious, hitting hisadversary full in the target, and "bearing him off over his horse's tailso neatly, that the knight came down, heels over head, upon the earth. "

On Wednesday, there was what was called the palliatourney. The Prince ofOrange, at the head of six bands, amounting in all to twenty-nine men;the Margrave George of Brandenburg, with seven bands, comprisingthirty-four men, and the Elector Augustus, with one band of four men, besides himself, all entered the lists. Lots were drawn for the "gate ofhonor, " and gained by the Margrave, who accordingly defended it with hisband. Twenty courses were then run between these champions and the Princeof Orange, with his men. The Brandenburgs broke seven lances, thePrince's party only six, so that Orange was obliged to leave the listsdiscomfited. The ever-victorious Augustus then took the field, and rantwenty courses against the defenders, breaking fourteen spears to theBrandenburg's ten. The Margrave, thus defeated, surrendered the "gate ofhonor" to the Elector, who maintained, it the rest of the day against allcomers. It is fair to suppose, although the fact is not recorded, thatthe Elector's original band had received some reinforcement. Otherwise, it would be difficult to account for these constant victories, except byascribing more than mortal strength, as well as valor, to Augustus andhis four champions. His party broke one hundred and fifty-six lances, ofwhich number the Elector himself broke thirty-eight and a half. Hereceived the first prize, but declined other guerdons adjudged to him. The reward for the hardest hitting was conferred on Wolf Von Schonberg, "who thrust Kurt Von Arnim clean out of the saddle, so that he fellagainst the barriers. "

On Thursday was the riding at the ring. The knights who partook of thissport wore various strange garbs over their armor. Some were disguised ashussars, some as miners, come as lansquenettes; others as Tartans, pilgrims, fools, bird-catchers, hunters, monks; peasants, or Netherlandcuirassiers. Each party was attended by a party of musicians, attired insimilar costume. Moreover, Count Gunter Von Schwartzburg made, hisappearance in the lists, accompanied "by five remarkable giants ofwonderful proportions and appearance, very ludicrous to behold, whoperformed all kind of odd antics on horseback. "

The next day there was a foot tourney, followed in the evening by"mummeries, " or masquerades. These masques were repeated on the followingevening, and afforded great entertainment. The costumes were magnificent, "with golden and pearl embroidery, " the dances were very merry andartistic, and the musicians, who formed a part of the company, exhibitedremarkable talent. These "mummeries" had been brought by William ofOrange from the Netherlands, at the express request of the Elector, onthe ground that such matters were much better understood in the provincesthan in Germany. 

Such is a slight sketch of the revels by which this ill-fated Bartholomewmarriage was celebrated. While William of Orange was thus employed inGermany, Granvelle seized the opportunity to make his entry into the cityof Mechlin, as archbishop; believing that such a step would be betteraccomplished in the absence of the Prince from the country. The Cardinalfound no one in the city to welcome him. None of the great nobles werethere. "The people looked upon the procession with silent hatred. No mancried, God bless him. " He wrote to the King that he should push forwardthe whole matter of the bishoprics as fast as possible, adding theridiculous assertion that the opposition came entirely from the nobility, and that "if the seigniors did not talk so much, not a man of the peoplewould open his mouth on the subject. "

The remonstrance offered by the three estates of Brabant against thescheme had not influenced Philip. He had replied in a peremptory tone. Hehad assured them that he had no intention of receding, and that theprovince of Brabant ought to feel itself indebted to him for having giventhem prelates instead of abbots to take care of their eternal interests, and for having erected their religious houses into episcopates. Theabbeys made what resistance they could, but were soon fain to come to acompromise with the bishops, who, according to the arrangement thus made, were to receive a certain portion of the abbey revenues, while theremainder was to belong to the institutions, together with a continuanceof their right to elect their own chiefs, subordinate, however, to theapprobation of the respective prelates of the diocese. Thus was theepiscopal matter settled in Brabant. In many of the other bishoprics thenew dignitaries were treated with disrespect, as they made their entranceinto their cities, while they experienced endless opposition andannoyance on attempting to take possession of the revenue assigned tothem. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 History shows how feeble are barriers of paper Licences accorded by the crown to carry slaves to America We believe our mothers to have been honest women When the abbot has dice in his pocket, the convent will play Wiser simply to satisfy himself

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 7. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 18551561-1562 [CHAPTER III. ]

 The inquisition the great cause of the revolt--The three varieties of the institution--The Spanish inquisition described--The Episcopal inquisition in the Netherlands--The Papal inquisition established in the provinces by Charles V. --His instructions to the inquisitors-- They are renewed by Philip--Inquisitor Titelmann--Instances of his manner of proceeding--Spanish and Netherland inquisitions compared-- Conduct of Granvelle--Faveau and Mallart condemned at Valenciennes-- "Journee des maubrulea"--Severe measures at Valenciennes--Attack of the Rhetoric Clubs Upon Granvelle--Granvelle's insinuations against Egmont and Simon Renard--Timidity of Viglius--Universal hatred toward the Cardinal--Buffoonery of Brederode and Lumey--Courage of Granvelle--Philip taxes the Netherlands for the suppression of the Huguenots in France--Meeting of the Knights of the Fleece--Assembly at the house of Orange--Demand upon the estates for supplies-- Montigny appointed envoy to Spain--Open and determined opposition to Granvelle--Secret representations by the Cardinal to Philip, concerning Egmont and other Seigniors--Line of conduct traced out for the King--Montigny's representations in Spain--Unsatisfactory result of his mission. 

The great cause of the revolt which, within a few years, was to breakforth throughout the Netherlands; was the inquisition. It is almostpuerile to look further or deeper, when such a source of convulsion liesat the very outset of any investigation. During the war there had been, for reasons already indicated, an occasional pause in the religiouspersecution. Philip had now returned to Spain, having arranged, withgreat precision, a comprehensive scheme for exterminating that religiousbelief which was already accepted by a very large portion of hisNetherland Subjects. From afar there rose upon the provinces theprophetic vision of a coming evil still more terrible than any which hadyet oppressed them. As across the bright plains of Sicily, when the sunis rising, the vast pyramidal shadow of Mount Etna is definitely andvisibly projected--the phantom of that ever-present enemy, which holdsfire and devastation in its bosom--so, in the morning hour of Philip'sreign, the shadow of the inquisition was cast from afar across those warmand smiling provinces--a spectre menacing fiercer flames and widerdesolation than those which mere physical agencies could ever compass. 

There has been a good deal of somewhat superfluous discussion concerningthe different kinds of inquisition. The distinction drawn between thepapal, the episcopal, and the Spanish inquisitions, did not, in thesixteenth century, convince many unsophisticated minds of the merits ofthe establishment in any of its shapes. However classified or entitled, it was a machine for inquiring into a man's thoughts, and for burning himif the result was not satisfactory. 

The Spanish inquisition, strictly so called, that is to say, the modernor later institution established by Pope Alexander the Sixth andFerdinand the Catholic, was doubtless invested with a more completeapparatus for inflicting human misery, and for appalling humanimagination, than any of the other less artfully arranged inquisitions, whether papal or episcopal. It had been originally devised for Jews orMoors, whom the Christianity of the age did not regard as human beings, but who could not be banished without depopulating certain districts. Itwas soon, however, extended from pagans to heretics. The DominicanTorquemada was the first Moloch to be placed upon this pedestal of bloodand fire, and from that day forward the "holy office" was almostexclusively in the hands of that band of brothers. In the eighteen yearsof Torquemada's administration; ten thousand two hundred and twentyindividuals were burned alive, and ninety-seven thousand three hundredand twenty-one punished with infamy, confiscation of property, orperpetual imprisonment, so that the total number of families destroyed bythis one friar alone amounted to one hundred and fourteen thousand fourhundred and one. In course of time the jurisdiction of the office wasextended. It taught the savages of India and America to shudder at thename of Christianity. The fear of its introduction froze the earlierheretics of Italy, France, and Ger many into orthodoxy. It was a courtowning allegiance to no temporal authority, superior to all othertribunals. It was a bench of monks without appeal, having its familiarsin every house, diving into the secrets of every fireside, judging, andexecuting its horrible decrees without responsibility. It condemned notdeeds, but thoughts. It affected to descend into individual conscience, and to punish the crimes which it pretended to discover. Its process wasreduced to a horrible simplicity. It arrested on suspicion, tortured tillconfession, and then punished by fire. Two witnesses, and those toseparate facts, were sufficient to consign the victim to a loathsomedungeon. Here he was sparingly supplied with food, forbidden to speak, oreven to sing to which pastime it could hardly be thought he would feelmuch inclination--and then left to himself, till famine and misery shouldbreak his spirit. When that time was supposed to have arrived he wasexamined. Did he confess, and forswear his heresy, whether actuallyinnocent or not, he might then assume the sacred shirt, and escape withconfiscation of all his property. Did he persist in the avowal of hisinnocence, two witnesses sent him to the stake, one witness to the rack. He was informed of the testimony against him, but never confronted withthe witness. That accuser might be his son, father, or the wife of hisbosom, for all were enjoined, under the death penalty, to inform theinquisitors of every suspicious word which might fall from their nearestrelatives. The indictment being thus supported, the prisoner was tried bytorture. The rack was the court of justice; the criminal's only advocatewas his fortitude--for the nominal counsellor, who was permitted nocommunication with the prisoner, and was furnished neither with documentsnor with power to procure evidence, was a puppet, aggravating thelawlessness of the proceedings by the mockery of legal forms: The torturetook place at midnight, in a gloomy dungeon, dimly, lighted by torches. The victim--whether man, matron, or tender virgin--was stripped naked, and stretched upon the wooden bench. Water, weights, fires, pulleys, screws--all the apparatus by which the sinews could be strained withoutcracking, the bones crushed without breaking, and the body rackedexquisitely without giving up its ghost, was now put into operation. Theexecutioner, enveloped in a black robe from head to foot, with his eyesglaring at his victim through holes cut in the hood which muffled hisface, practised successively all the forms of torture which the devilishingenuity of the monks had invented. The imagination sickens whenstriving to keep pace with these dreadful realities. Those who wish toindulge their curiosity concerning the details of the system, may easilysatisfy themselves at the present day. The flood of light which has beenpoured upon the subject more than justifies the horror and the rebellionof the Netherlanders. 

The period during which torture might be inflicted from day to day wasunlimited in duration. It could only be terminated by confession; so thatthe scaffold was the sole refuge from the rack. Individuals have bornethe torture and the dungeon fifteen years, and have been burned at thestake at last. 

Execution followed confession, but the number of condemned prisoners wasallowed to accumulate, that a multitude of victims might grace each greatgala-day. The auto-da fe was a solemn festival. The monarch, the highfunctionaries of the land, the reverend clergy, the populace regarded itas an inspiring and delightful recreation. When the appointed morningarrived, the victim was taken from his dungeon. He was then attired in ayellow robe without sleeves, like a herald's coat, embroidered all overwith black figures of devils. A large conical paper mitre was placed uponhis head, upon which was represented a human being in the midst offlames, surrounded by imps. His tongue was then painfully gagged, so thathe could neither open nor shut his mouth. After he was thus accoutred, and just as he was leaving his cell, a breakfast, consisting of everydelicacy, was placed before him, and he was urged, with ironicalpoliteness, to satisfy his hunger. He was then led forth into the publicsquare. The procession was formed with great pomp. It was headed by thelittle school children, who were immediately followed by the band ofprisoners, each attired in the horrible yet ludicrous manner described. Then came the magistrates and nobility, the prelates and otherdignitaries of the Church: the holy inquisitors, with their officials andfamiliars, followed, all on horseback, with the blood-red flag of the"sacred office" waving above them, blazoned upon either side with theportraits of Alexander and of Ferdinand, the pair of brothers who hadestablished the institution. After the procession came the rabble. Whenall had reached the neighborhood of the scaffold, and had been arrangedin order, a sermon was preached to the assembled multitude. It was filledwith laudations of the inquisition, and with blasphemous revilingsagainst the condemned prisoners. Then the sentences were read to theindividual victims. Then the clergy chanted the fifty-first psalm, thewhole vast throng uniting in one tremendous miserere. If a priesthappened to be among the culprits, he was now stripped of the canonicalswhich he had hitherto worn; while his hands, lips, and shaven crown werescraped with a bit of glass, by which process the oil of his consecrationwas supposed to be removed. He was then thrown into the common herd. Those of the prisoners who were reconciled, and those whose execution wasnot yet appointed, were now separated from the others. The rest werecompelled to mount a scaffold, where the executioner stood ready toconduct them to the fire. The inquisitors then delivered them into hishands, with an ironical request that he would deal with them tenderly, and without blood-letting or injury. Those who remained steadfast to thelast were then burned at the stake; they who in the last extremityrenounced their faith were strangled before being thrown into the flames. Such was the Spanish inquisition--technically--so called: It was, according' to the biographer of Philip the Second, a "heavenly remedy, aguardian angel of Paradise, a lions' den in which Daniel and other justmen could sustain no injury, but in which perverse sinners were torn topieces. " It was a tribunal superior to all human law, without appeal, andcertainly owing no allegiance to the powers of earth or heaven. No rank, high or humble, was safe from its jurisdiction. The royal family were notsacred, nor, the pauper's hovel. Even death afforded no protection. Theholy office invaded the prince in his palace and the beggar in hisshroud. The corpses of dead heretics were mutilated and burned. Theinquisitors preyed upon carcases and rifled graves. A gorgeous festivalof the holy office had, as we have seen, welcomed Philip to his nativeland. The news of these tremendous autos-da fe, in which so manyillustrious victims had been sacrificed before their sovereign's eyes, had reached the Netherlands almost simultaneously with the bulls creatingthe new bishoprics in the provinces. It was not likely that the measurewould be rendered more palatable by this intelligence of the royalamusements. 

The Spanish inquisition had never flourished in any soil but that of thepeninsula. It is possible that the King and Granvelle were sincere intheir protestations of entertaining no intention of introducing it intothe Netherlands, although the protestations of such men are entitled tobut little weight. The truth was, that the inquisition existed already inthe provinces. It was the main object of the government to confirm andextend the institution. The episcopal inquisition, as we have alreadyseen, had been enlarged by the enormous increase in the number ofbishops, each of whom was to be head inquisitor in his diocese, with twospecial inquisitors under him. With this apparatus and with the edicts, as already described, it might seem that enough had already been done forthe suppression of heresy. But more had been done. A regular papalinquisition also existed in the Netherlands. This establishment, like theedicts, was the gift of Charles the Fifth. A word of introduction is hereagain necessary--nor let the reader deem that too much time is devoted tothis painful subject. On the contrary, no definite idea can be formed asto the character of the Netherland revolt without a thoroughunderstanding of this great cause--the religious persecution in which thecountry had lived, breathed, and had its being, for half a century, andin which, had the rebellion not broken out at last, the population musthave been either exterminated or entirely embruted. The few years whichare immediately to occupy us in the present and succeeding chapter, present the country in a daily increasing ferment from the action ofcauses which had existed long before, but which received an additionalstimulus as the policy of the new reign developed itself. 

Previously to the accession of Charles V. , it can not be said that aninquisition had ever been established in the provinces. Isolatedinstances to the contrary, adduced by the canonists who gave their adviceto Margaret of Parma, rather proved the absence than the existence of thesystem. In the reign of Philip the Good, the vicar of theinquisitor-general gave sentence against some heretics, who were burnedin Lille (1448). In 1459, Pierre Troussart, a Jacobin monk, condemnedmany Waldenses, together with some leading citizens of Artois, accused ofsorcery and heresy. He did this, however, as inquisitor for the Bishop ofArras, so that it was an act of episcopal, and not papal inquisition. Ingeneral, when inquisitors were wanted in the provinces, it was necessaryto borrow them from France or Germany. The exigencies of persecutionmaking a domestic staff desirable, Charles the Fifth, in the year 1522, applied to his ancient tutor, whom he had placed on the papal throne. 

Charles had, however, already, in the previous year appointed Francis Vander Hulst to be inquisitor-general for the Netherlands. This man, whomErasmus called a "wonderful enemy to learning, " was also provided with acoadjutor, Nicholas of Egmond by name, a Carmelite monk, who wascharacterized by the same authority as "a madman armed with a sword. " Theinquisitor-general received full powers to cite, arrest, imprison, torture heretics without observing the ordinary forms of law, and tocause his sentences to be executed without appeal. He was, however, inpronouncing definite judgments, to take the advice of Laurens, presidentof the grand council of Mechlin, a coarse, cruel and ignorant man, who"hated learning with a more than deadly hatred, " and who might certainlybe relied upon to sustain the severest judgments which the inquisitormight fulminate. Adrian; accordingly, commissioned Van der Hulst to beuniversal and general inquisitor for all the Netherlands. At the sametime it was expressly stated that his functions were not to supersedethose exercised by the bishops as inquisitors in their own sees. Thus thepapal inquisition was established in the provinces. Van der Hulst, aperson of infamous character, was not the man to render the institutionless odious than it was by its nature. Before he had fulfilled his dutiestwo years, however, he was degraded from his office by the Emperor forhaving forged a document. In 1525, Buedens, Houseau and Coppin wereconfirmed by Clement the Seventh as inquisitors in the room of Van derHulst. In 1531, Ruard Tapper and Michael Drutius were appointed by Paulthe Third, on the decease of Coppin, the other two remaining in office. The powers of the papal inquisitors had been gradually extended, and theywere, by 1545, not only entirely independent of the episcopalinquisition, but had acquired right of jurisdiction over bishops andarchbishops, whom they were empowered to arrest and imprison. They hadalso received and exercised the privilege of appointing delegates, orsub-inquisitors, on their own authority. Much of the work was, indeed, performed by these officials, the most notorious of whom were Barbier, DeMonte, Titelmann, Fabry, Campo de Zon, and Stryen. In 1545, and again in1550, a stringent set of instructions were drawn up by the Emperor forthe guidance of these papal inquisitors. A glance at their context showsthat the establishment was not intended to be an empty form. 

They were empowered to inquire, proceed against, and chastise allheretics, all persons suspected of heresy, and their protectors. Accompanied by a notary, they were to collect written informationconcerning every person in the provinces, "infected or vehementlysuspected. " They were authorized to summon all subjects of his Majesty, whatever their rank, quality, or station, and to compel them to giveevidence, or to communicate suspicions. They were to punish all whopertinaciously refused such depositions with death. The Emperor commandedhis presidents, judges, sheriffs, and all other judicial and executiveofficers to render all "assistance to the inquisitors and their familiarsin their holy and pious inquisition, whenever required so to do, " on painof being punished as encouragers of heresy, that is to say, with death. Whenever the inquisitors should be satisfied as to the heresy of anyindividual, they were to order his arrest and detention by the judge ofthe place, or by others arbitrarily to be selected by them. The judges orpersons thus chosen, were enjoined to fulfil the order, on pain of beingpunished as protectors of heresy, that is to say, with death, by sword orfire. If the prisoner were an ecclesiastic, the inquisitor was to dealsummarily with the case "without noise or form in the process--selectingan imperial councillor to render the sentence of absolution orcondemnation. " If the prisoner were a lay person, the inquisitor was toorder his punishment, according to the edicts, by the council of theprovince. In case of lay persons suspected but not convicted of heresy, the inquisitor was to proceed to their chastisement, "with the advice ofa counsellor or some other expert. " In conclusion, the Emperor orderedthe "inquisitors to make it known that they were not doing their ownwork, but that of Christ, and to persuade all persons of this fact. " Thisclause of their instructions seemed difficult of accomplishment, for noreasonable person could doubt that Christ, had he re-appeared in humanform, would have been instantly crucified again, or burned alive in anyplace within the dominions of Charles or Philip. The blasphemy with whichthe name of Jesus was used by such men to sanctify all these namelesshorrors, is certainly not the least of their crimes. 

In addition to these instructions, a special edict had been issued on the26th April, 1550, according to which all judicial officers, at therequisition of the inquisitors, were to render them all assistance in theexecution of their office, by arresting and detaining all personssuspected of heresy, according to the instructions issued to saidinquisitors; and this, notwithstanding any privileges or charters to thecontrary. In short, the inquisitors were not subject to the civilauthority, but the civil authority to them. The imperial edict empoweredthem "to chastise, degrade, denounce, and deliver over heretics to thesecular judges for punishment; to make use of gaols, and to make arrests, without ordinary warrant, but merely with notice given to a singlecounselor, who was obliged to give sentence according to their desire, without application to the ordinary judge. "

These instructions to the inquisitors had been renewed and confirmed byPhilip, in the very first month of his reign (28th Nov. 1555). As in thecase of the edicts, it had been thought desirable by Granvelle to makeuse of the supposed magic of the Emperor's name to hallow the wholemachinery of persecution. The action of the system during the greaterpart of the imperial period had been terrible. Suffered for a time tolanguish during the French war, it had lately been renewed withadditional vigor. Among all the inquisitors, the name of Peter Titelmannwas now pre-eminent. He executed his infamous functions throughoutFlanders, Douay, and Tournay, the most thriving and populous portions ofthe Netherlands, with a swiftness, precision, and even with a jocularitywhich hardly seemed human. There was a kind of grim humor about the man. The woman who, according to Lear's fool, was wont to thrust her live eelsinto the hot paste, "rapping them o' the coxcombs with a stick and cryingreproachfully, Wantons, lie down!" had the spirit of a true inquisitor. Even so dealt Titelmann with his heretics writhing on the rack or in theflames. Cotemporary chronicles give a picture of him as of some grotesqueyet terrible goblin, careering through the country by night or day, alone, on horseback, smiting the trembling peasants on the head with agreat club, spreading dismay far and wide, dragging suspected personsfrom their firesides or their beds, and thrusting them into dungeons, arresting, torturing, strangling, burning, with hardly the shadow ofwarrant, information, or process. 

The secular sheriff, familiarly called Red-Rod, from the color of hiswand of office, meeting this inquisitor Titelmann one day upon the highroad, thus wonderingly addressed him--"How can you venture to go aboutalone, or at most with an attendant or two, arresting people on everyside, while I dare not attempt to execute my office, except at the headof a strong force, armed in proof; and then only at the peril of mylife?"

"Ah! Red-Rod, " answered Peter, jocosely, "you deal with bad people. Ihave nothing to fear, for I seize only the innocent and virtuous, whomake no resistance, and let themselves be taken like lambs. "

"Mighty well, " said the other; "but if you arrest all the good people andI all the bad, 'tis difficult to say who in the world is to escapechastisement. " The reply of the inquisitor has not been recorded, butthere is no doubt that he proceeded like a strong man to run his day'scourse. 

He was the most active of all the agents in the religious persecution atthe epoch of which we are now treating, but he had been inquisitor formany years. The martyrology of the provinces reeks with his murders. Heburned men for idle words or suspected thoughts; he rarely waited, according to his frank confession, for deeds. Hearing once that a certainschoolmaster, named Geleyn de Muler, of Audenarde, "was addicted toreading the Bible, " he summoned the culprit before him and accused him ofheresy. The schoolmaster claimed, if he were guilty of any crime, to betried before the judges of his town. "You are my prisoner, " saidTitelmann, "and are to answer me and none other. " The inquisitorproceeded accordingly to catechize him, and soon satisfied himself of theschoolmaster's heresy. He commanded him to make immediate recantation. The schoolmaster refused. "Do you not love your wife and children?" askedthe demoniac Titelmann. "God knows, " answered the heretic, "that if thewhole world were of gold, and my own, I would give it all only to havethem with me, even had I to live on bread and water and in bondage. " "Youhave then, " answered the inquisitor, "only to renounce the error of youropinions. "--"Neither for wife, children, nor all the world, can Irenounce my God and religious truth, " answered the prisoner. ThereuponTitelmann sentenced him to the stake. He was strangled and then throwninto the flames. 

At about the same-time, Thomas Calberg, tapestry weaver, of Tournay, within the jurisdiction of this same inquisitor, was convicted of havingcopied some hymns from a book printed in Geneva. He was burned alive. Another man, whose name has perished, was hacked to death with sevenblows of a rusty sword, in presence of his wife, who was sohorror-stricken that she died on the spot before her husband. His crime, to be sure, was anabaptism, the most deadly offence in the calendar. Inthe same year, one Walter Kapell was burned at the stake for hereticalopinions. He was a man of some property, and beloved by the poor peopleof Dixmuyde, in Flanders, where he resided, for his many charities. Apoor idiot, who had been often fed by his bounty, called out to theinquisitor's subalterns, as they bound his patron to the stake, "ye arebloody murderers; that man has done no wrong; but has given me bread toeat. " With these words, he cast himself headlong into the flames toperish with his protector, but was with difficulty rescued by theofficers. A day or two afterwards, he made his way to the stake, wherethe half-burnt skeleton of Walter Kapell still remained, took the bodyupon his shoulders, and carried it through the streets to the house ofthe chief burgomaster, where several other magistrates happened then tobe in session. Forcing his way into their presence, he laid his burthenat their feet, crying, "There, murderers! ye have eaten his flesh, noweat his bones!" It has not been recorded whether Titelmann sent him tokeep company with his friend in the next world. The fate of so obscure avictim could hardly find room on the crowded pages of the Netherlandmartyrdom. 

This kind of work, which went on daily, did not increase the love of thepeople for the inquisition or the edicts. It terrified many, but itinspired more with that noble resistance to oppression, particularly toreligious oppression, which is the sublimest instinct of human nature. Men confronted the terrible inquisitors with a courage equal to theircruelty: At Tournay, one of the chief cities of Titelmann's district, andalmost before his eyes, one Bertrand le Blas, a velvet manufacturer, committed what was held an almost incredible crime. Having begged hiswife and children to pray for a blessing upon what he was about toundertake, he went on Christmas-day to the Cathedral of Tournay andstationed himself near the altar. Having awaited the moment in which thepriest held on high the consecrated host, Le Blas then forced his waythrough the crowd, snatched the wafer from the hands of the astonishedecclesiastic, and broke it into bits, crying aloud, as he did so, "Misguided men, do ye take this thing to be Jesus Christ, your Lord andSaviour?" With these words, he threw the fragments on the ground andtrampled them with his feet. 

 [Histoire des Martyrs, f. 356, exev. ; apud Brandt, i. 171, 172. It may be well supposed that this would be regarded as a crime of almost inconceivable magnitude. It was death even to refuse to kneel in the streets when the wafer was carried by. Thus, for example, a poor huckster, named Simon, at Bergen-op-Zoom, who neglected to prostrate himself before his booth at the passage of the host, was immediately burned. Instances of the same punishment for that offence might be multiplied. In this particular case, it is recorded that the sheriff who was present at the execution was so much affected by the courage and fervor of the simple-minded victim, that he went home, took to his bed, became delirious, crying constantly, Ah, Simon! Simon! and died miserably, "notwithstanding all that the monks could do to console him. "]

The amazement and horror were so universal at such an appalling offence, that not a finger was raised to arrest the criminal. Priests andcongregation were alike paralyzed, so that he would have found nodifficulty in making his escape. Ho did not stir, however; he had come tothe church determined to execute what he considered a sacred duty, and toabide the consequences. After a time, he was apprehended. The inquisitordemanded if he repented of what he had done. He protested, on thecontrary, that he gloried in the deed, and that he would die a hundreddeaths to rescue from such daily profanation the name of his Redeemer, Christ. He was then put thrice to the torture, that he might be forced toreveal his accomplices. It did not seem in human power for one man toaccomplish such a deed of darkness without confederates. Bertrand hadnone, however, and could denounce none. A frantic sentence was thendevised as a feeble punishment for so much wickedness. He was dragged ona hurdle, with his mouth closed with an iron gag, to the market-place. Here his right hand and foot were burned and twisted off between twored-hot irons. His tongue was then torn out by the roots, and because hestill endeavored to call upon the name of God, the iron gag was againapplied. With his arms and legs fastened together behind his back, he wasthen hooked by the middle of his body to an iron chain, and made to swingto and fro over a slow fire till he was entirely roasted. His life lastedalmost to the end of these ingenious tortures, but his fortitude lastedas long as his life. 

In the next year, Titelmann caused one Robert Ogier, of Ryssel, inFlanders, to be arrested, together with his wife and two sons. Theircrime consisted in not going to mass, and in practising private worshipat home. They confessed the offence, for they protested that they couldnot endure to see the profanation of their Saviour's name in theidolatrous sacraments. They were asked what rites they practised in theirown house. One of the sons, a mere boy, answered, "We fall on our knees, and pray to God that he may enlighten our hearts, and forgive our sins. We pray for our sovereign, that his reign may be prosperous, and his lifepeaceful. We also pray for the magistrates and others in authority, thatGod may protect and preserve them all. " The boy's simple eloquence drewtears even from the eyes of some of his judges; for the inquisitor hadplaced the case before the civil tribunal. The father and eldest sonwere, however, condemned to the flames. "Oh God!" prayed the youth at thestake, "Eternal Father, accept the sacrifice of our lives, in the name ofthy beloved Son. "--"Thou liest, scoundrel!" fiercely interrupted a monk, who was lighting the fire; "God is not your father; ye are the devil'schildren. " As the flames rose about them, the boy cried out once more, "Look, my father, all heaven is opening, and I see ten hundred thousandangels rejoicing over us. Let us be glad, for we are dying for thetruth. "--"Thou liest! thou liest!" again screamed the monk; "all hellis opening, and you see ten thousand devils thrusting you into eternalfire. " Eight days afterwards, the wife of Ogier and his other son wereburned; so that there was an end of that family. 

Such are a few isolated specimens of the manner of proceeding in a singledistrict of the Netherlands. The inquisitor Titelmann certainly deservedhis terrible reputation. Men called him Saul the persecutor, and it waswell known that he had been originally tainted with the heresy which hehad, for so many years, been furiously chastising. At the epoch which nowengages our attention, he felt stimulated by the avowed policy of thegovernment to fresh exertions, by which all his previous achievementsshould be cast into the shade. In one day he broke into a house inRyssel, seized John de Swarte, his wife and four children, together withtwo newly-married couples, and two other persons, convicted them ofreading the Bible, and of praying in their own doors, and had them allimmediately burned. 

Are these things related merely to excite superfluous horror? Are thesufferings of these obscure Christians beneath the dignity of history? Isit not better to deal with murder and oppression in the abstract, withoutentering into trivial details? The answer is, that these things are thehistory of the Netherlands at this epoch; that these hideous detailsfurnish the causes of that immense movement, out of which a greatrepublic was born and an ancient tyranny destroyed; and that CardinalGranvelle was ridiculous when he asserted that the people would not opentheir mouths if the seigniors did not make such a noise. Because thegreat lords "owed their very souls"--because convulsions might help topay their debts, and furnish forth their masquerades andbanquets--because the Prince of Orange was ambitious, and Egmont jealousof the Cardinal--therefore superficial writers found it quite naturalthat the country should be disturbed, although that "vile and mischievousanimal, the people, " might have no objection to a continuance of thesystem which had been at work so long. On the contrary, it was exactlybecause the movement was a popular and a religious movement that it willalways retain its place among the most important events of history. Dignified documents, state papers, solemn treaties, are often of no morevalue than the lambskin on which they are engrossed. Ten thousandnameless victims, in the cause of religious and civil freedom, may buildup great states and alter the aspect of whole continents. 

The nobles, no doubt, were conspicuous, and it was well for the cause ofthe right that, as in the early hours of English liberty, the crown andmitre were opposed by the baron's sword and shield. Had all the seigniorsmade common cause with Philip and Granvelle, instead of setting theirbreasts against the inquisition, the cause of truth and liberty wouldhave been still more desperate. Nevertheless they were directed andcontrolled, under Providence, by humbler, but more powerful agencies thantheir own. The nobles were but the gilded hands on the outside of thedial--the hour to strike was determined by the obscure but weightymovements within. 

Nor is it, perhaps, always better to rely upon abstract phraseology, toproduce a necessary impression. Upon some minds, declamation concerningliberty of conscience and religious tyranny makes but a vague impression, while an effect may be produced upon them, for example by a dry, concrete, cynical entry in an account book, such as the following, takenat hazard from the register of municipal expenses at Tournay, during theyears with which we are now occupied:

 "To Mr. Jacques Barra, executioner, for having tortured, twice, Jean de Lannoy, ten sous. 

 "To the same, for having executed, by fire, said Lannoy, sixty sous. For having thrown his cinders into the river, eight sous. "

This was the treatment to which thousands, and tens of thousands, hadbeen subjected in the provinces. Men, women, and children were burned, and their "cinders" thrown away, for idle words against Rome, spokenyears before, for praying alone in their closets, for not kneeling to awafer when they met it in the streets, for thoughts to which they hadnever given utterance, but which, on inquiry, they were too honest todeny. Certainly with this work going on year after year in every city inthe Netherlands, and now set into renewed and vigorous action by a manwho wore a crown only that he might the better torture hisfellow-creatures, it was time that the very stones in the streets shouldbe moved to mutiny. 

Thus it may be seen of how much value were the protestations of Philipand of Granvelle, on which much stress has latterly been laid, that itwas not their intention to introduce the Spanish inquisition. With theedicts and the Netherland inquisition, such as we have described them, the step was hardly necessary. 

In fact, the main difference between the two institutions consisted inthe greater efficiency of the Spanish in discovering such of its victimsas were disposed to deny their faith. Devised originally for moretimorous and less conscientious infidels who were often disposed to skulkin obscure places and to renounce without really abandoning their errors, it was provided with a set of venomous familiars who glided through everychamber and coiled themselves at every fireside. The secret details ofeach household in the realm being therefore known to the holy office andto the monarch, no infidel or heretic could escape discovery. Thisinvisible machinery was less requisite for the Netherlands. There wascomparatively little difficulty in ferreting out the "vermin"--to use theexpression of a Walloon historian of that age--so that it was onlynecessary to maintain in good working order the apparatus for destroyingthe noxious creatures when unearthed. The heretics of the provincesassembled at each other's houses to practise those rites described insuch simple language by Baldwin Ogier, and denounced under such horriblepenalties by the edicts. The inquisitorial system of Spain was hardlynecessary for men who had but little prudence in concealing, and noinclination to disavow their creed. "It is quite a laughable matter, "wrote Granvelle, who occasionally took a comic view of the inquisition, "that the King should send us depositions made in Spain by which we areto hunt for heretics here, as if we did not know of thousands already. Would that I had as many doubloons of annual income, " he added, "as thereare public and professed heretics in the provinces. " No doubt theinquisition was in such eyes a most desirable establishment. "To speakwithout passion, " says the Walloon, "the inquisition well administered isa laudable institution, and not less necessary than all the other officesof spirituality and temporality belonging both to the bishops and to thecommissioners of the Roman see. " The papal and episcopal establishments, in co-operation with the edicts, were enough, if thoroughly exercised andcompletely extended. The edicts alone were sufficient. "The edicts andthe inquisition are one and the same thing, " said the Prince of Orange. The circumstance, that the civil authorities were not as entirelysuperseded by the Netherland, as by the Spanish system, was rather adifference of form than of fact. We have seen that the secular officersof justice were at the command of the inquisitors. Sheriff, gaoler, judge, and hangman, were all required, under the most terrible penalties, to do their bidding. The reader knows what the edicts were. He knows alsothe instructions to the corps of papal inquisitors, delivered by Charlesand Philip: He knows that Philip, both in person and by letter, had donehis utmost to sharpen those instructions, during the latter portion ofhis sojourn in the Netherlands. Fourteen new bishops, each with twospecial inquisitors under him, had also been appointed to carry out thegreat work to which the sovereign had consecrated his existence. Themanner in which the hunters of heretics performed their office has beenexemplified by slightly sketching the career of a single one of thesub-inquisitors, Peter Titelmann. The monarch and his minister scarcelyneeded, therefore, to transplant the peninsular exotic. Why should theydo so? Philip, who did not often say a great deal in a few words, onceexpressed the whole truth of the matter in a single sentence: "Whereforeintroduce the Spanish inquisition?" said he; "the inquisition of theNetherlands is much more pitiless than that of Spain. "

Such was the system of religious persecution commenced by Charles, andperfected by Philip. The King could not claim the merit of the invention, which justly belonged to the Emperor. At the same time, hisresponsibility for the unutterable woe caused by the continuance of thescheme is not a jot diminished. There was a time when the whole systemhad fallen into comparative desuetude. It was utterly abhorrent to theinstitutions and the manners of the Netherlanders. Even a great number ofthe Catholics in the provinces were averse to it. Many of the leadinggrandees, every one of whom was Catholic were foremost in denouncing itscontinuance. In short, the inquisition had been partially endured, butnever accepted. Moreover, it had never been introduced into Luxemburg orGroningen. In Gelderland it had been prohibited by the treaty throughwhich that province had been annexed to the emperor's dominions, and ithad been uniformly and successfully resisted in Brabant. Therefore, although Philip, taking the artful advice of Granvelle, had shelteredhimself under the Emperor's name by re-enacting, word for word, hisdecrees, and re-issuing his instructions, he can not be allowed any suchprotection at the bar of history. Such a defence for crimes so enormousis worse than futile. In truth, both father and son recognizedinstinctively the intimate connexion between ideas of religious and ofcivil freedom. "The authority of God and the supremacy of his Majesty"was the formula used with perpetual iteration to sanction the constantrecourse to scaffold and funeral pile. Philip, bigoted in religion, andfanatical in his creed of the absolute power of kings, identified himselfwillingly with the Deity, that he might more easily punish crimes againsthis own sacred person. Granvelle carefully sustained him in theseconvictions, and fed his suspicions as to the motives of those whoopposed his measures. The minister constantly represented the greatseigniors as influenced by ambition and pride. They had only disapprovedof the new bishoprics, he insinuated, because they were angry that hisMajesty should dare to do anything without their concurrence, and becausetheir own influence in the states would be diminished. It was theirobject, he said, to keep the King "in tutelage"--to make him a "shadowand a cipher, " while they should themselves exercise all authority in theprovinces. It is impossible to exaggerate the effect of such suggestionsupon the dull and gloomy mind to which they were addressed. It is easy, however, to see that a minister with such views was likely to be ascongenial to his master as he was odious to the people. For already, inthe beginning of 1562, Granvelle was extremely unpopular. "The Cardinalis hated of all men, " wrote Sir Thomas Gresham. The great strugglebetween him and the leading nobles had already commenced. The peoplejustly identified him with the whole infamous machinery of persecution, which had either originated or warmly made his own. Viglius andBerlaymont were his creatures. With the other members of the statecouncil, according to their solemn statement, already recorded, he didnot deign to consult, while he affected to hold them responsible for themeasures of the administration. Even the Regent herself complained thatthe Cardinal took affairs quite out of her hands, and that he decidedupon many important matters without her cognizance. She already began tofeel herself the puppet which it had been intended she should become; shealready felt a diminution of the respectful attachment for theecclesiastic which had inspired her when she procured his red hat. 

Granvelle was, however, most resolute in carrying out the intentions ofhis master. We have seen how vigorously he had already set himself to theinauguration of the new bishoprics, despite of opposition and obloquy. Hewas now encouraging or rebuking the inquisitors in their "pious office"throughout all the provinces. Notwithstanding his exertions, however, heresy continued to spread. In the Walloon provinces the infection wasmost prevalent, while judges and executioners were appalled by themutinous demonstrations which each successive sacrifice provoked. Thevictims were cheered on their way to the scaffold. The hymns of Marotwere sung in the very faces of the inquisitors. Two ministers, Faveau andMallart, were particularly conspicuous at this moment at Valenciennes. The governor of the province, Marquis Berghen, was constantly absent, forhe hated with his whole soul the system of persecution. For thisnegligence Granvelle denounced him secretly and perpetually to Philip, "The Marquis says openly, " said the Cardinal, "that 'tis not right toshed blood for matters of faith. With such men to aid us, your Majestycan judge how much progress we can make. " It was, however, important, inGranvelle's opinion, that these two ministers at Valenciennes should beat once put to death. They were avowed heretics, and they preached totheir disciples, although they certainly were not doctors of divinity. Moreover, they were accused, most absurdly, no doubt, of pretending towork miracles. It was said that, in presence of several witnesses, theyhad undertaken to cast out devils; and they had been apprehended on anaccusation of this nature. 

 ["Histoire des choses les plus memorables qui se sent passees en la ville et Compte de Valenciennes depuis le commencement des troubles des Pays-Bas sons le regne de Phil. II. , jusqu' a l'annee 1621. "-- MS. (Collect. Gerard). --This is a contemporary manuscript belonging to the Gerard collection in the Royal Library at the Hague. Its author was a citizen of Valenciennes, and a personal witness of most of the events which he describes. He appears to have attained to a great age, as he minutely narrates, from personal observation, many scenes which occurred before 1566, and his work is continued till the year 1621. It is a mere sketch, without much literary merit, but containing many local anecdotes of interest. Its anonymous author was a very sincere Catholic. ]

Their offence really consisted in reading the Bible to a few of theirfriends. Granvelle sent Philibert de Bruxelles to Valenciennes to procuretheir immediate condemnation and execution. He rebuked the judges andinquisitors, he sent express orders to Marquis Berghen to repair at onceto the scene of his duties. The prisoners were condemned in the autumn of1561. The magistrates were, however, afraid to carry the sentence intoeffect. Granvelle did not cease to censure them for their pusillanimity, and wrote almost daily letters, accusing the magistrates of beingthemselves the cause of the tumults by which they were appalled. Thepopular commotion was, however, not lightly to be braved. Six or sevenmonths long the culprits remained in confinement, while daily and nightlythe people crowded the streets, hurling threats and defiance at theauthorities, or pressed about the prison windows, encouraging theirbeloved ministers, and promising to rescue them in case the attemptshould be made to fulfil the sentence. At last Granvelle sent down aperemptory order to execute the culprits by fire. On the 27th of April, 1562, Faveau and Mallart were accordingly taken from their jail andcarried to the market-place, where arrangements had been made for burningthem. Simon Faveau, as the executioner was binding him to the stake, uttered the invocation, "O! Eternal Father!" A woman in the crowd, at thesame instant, took off her shoe and threw it at the funeral pile. Thiswas a preconcerted signal. A movement was at once visible in the crowd. Men in great numbers dashed upon the barriers which had been erected inthe square around the place of execution. Some seized the fagots, whichhad been already lighted, and scattered them in every direction; sometore up the pavements; others broke in pieces the barriers. Theexecutioners were prevented from carrying out the sentence, but the guardwere enabled, with great celerity and determination, to bring off theculprits and to place them in their dungeon again. The authorities werein doubt and dismay. The inquisitors were for putting the ministers todeath in prison, and hurling their heads upon the street. Eveningapproached while the officials were still pondering. The people who hadbeen chanting the Psalms of David through the town, without havingdecided what should be their course of action, at last determined torescue the victims. A vast throng, after much hesitation, accordinglydirected their steps to the prison. "You should have seen this vilepopulace, " says an eye-witness, "moving, pausing, recoiling, sweepingforward, swaying to and fro like the waves of the sea when it is agitatedby contending winds. " The attack was vigorous, the defence was weak--forthe authorities had expected no such fierce demonstration, notwithstanding the menacing language which had been so often uttered. The prisoners were rescued, and succeeded in making their escape from thecity. The day in which the execution had been thus prevented was called, thenceforward, the "day of the ill-burned, " (Journee des mau-brulez). Oneof the ministers, however, Simon Faveau, not discouraged by this nearapproach to martyrdom, persisted in his heretical labors, and was a fewyears afterwards again apprehended. "He was then, " says the chronicler, cheerfully, "burned well and finally" in the same place whence he hadformerly been rescued. [Valenciennes MS. ]

This desperate resistance to tyranny was for a moment successful, because, notwithstanding the murmurs and menaces by which the storm hadbeen preceded, the authorities had not believed the people capable ofproceeding to such lengths. Had not the heretics--in the words ofInquisitor Titelmann--allowed themselves, year after year, to be takenand slaughtered like lambs? The consternation of the magistrates was soonsucceeded by anger. The government at Brussels was in a frenzy of ragewhen informed of the occurrence. A bloody vengeance was instantlyprepared, to vindicate the insult to the inquisition. On the 29th ofApril, detachments of Bossu's and of Berghen's "band of ordonnance" weresent into Valenciennes, together with a company of the Duke of Aerschot'sregiment. The prisons were instantly filled to overflowing with men andwomen arrested for actual or suspected participation in the tumult. Orders had been sent down from the capital to make a short process and asharp execution for all the criminals. On the 16th of May, the slaughtercommenced. Some were burned at the stake, some were beheaded: the numberof victims was frightful. "Nothing was left undone by the magistrates, "says an eyewitness, with great approbation, "which could serve for thecorrection and amendment of the poor people. " It was long before thejudges and hangmen rested from their labors. When at last the havoc wascomplete, it might be supposed that a sufficient vengeance had been takenfor the "day of the ill-burned, " and an adequate amount of "amendment"provided for the "poor people. "

Such scenes as these did not tend to increase the loyalty of the nation, nor the popularity of the government. On Granvelle's head was poured adaily increasing torrent of hatred. He was looked upon in the provincesas the impersonation of that religious oppression which became everymoment more intolerable. The King and the Regent escaped much of theodium which belonged to them, because the people chose to bestow alltheir maledictions upon the Cardinal. There was, however, no greatinjustice in this embodiment. Granvelle was the government. As the peopleof that day were extremely reverent to royalty, they vented all theirrage upon the minister, while maintaining still a conventional respectfor the sovereign. The prelate had already become the constant butt ofthe "Rhetoric Chambers. " These popular clubs for the manufacture ofhomespun poetry and street farces out of the raw material of publicsentiment, occupied the place which has been more effectively filled insucceeding ages, and in free countries by the daily press. Before theinvention of that most tremendous weapon, which liberty has ever wieldedagainst tyranny, these humble but influential associations shared withthe pulpit the only power which existed of moving the passions ordirecting the opinions of the people. They were eminently liberal intheir tendencies. The authors and the actors of their comedies, poems, and pasquils were mostly artisans or tradesmen, belonging to the classout of which proceeded the early victims, and the later soldiers of theReformation. Their bold farces and truculent satire had already effectedmuch in spreading among the people a detestation of Church abuses. Theywere particularly severe upon monastic licentiousness. "These corruptcomedians, called rhetoricians, " says the Walloon contemporary alreadycited, "afforded much amusement to the people. " Always some poor littlenuns or honest monks were made a part of the farce. It seemed as if thepeople could take no pleasure except in ridiculing God and the Church. The people, however, persisted in the opinion that the ideas of a monkand of God were not inseparable. Certainly the piety of the earlyreformers was sufficiently fervent, and had been proved by the steadinesswith which they confronted torture and death, but they knew no measure inthe ridicule which they heaped upon the men by whom they were dailymurdered in droves. The rhetoric comedies were not admirable in anaesthetic point of view, but they were wrathful and sincere. Thereforethey cost many thousand lives, but they sowed the seed of resistance toreligious tyranny, to spring up one day in a hundredfold harvest. It wasnatural that the authorities should have long sought to suppress theseperambulating dramas. "There was at that tyme, " wrote honest RichardClough to Sir Thomas Gresham, "syche playes (of Reteryke) played thethath cost many a 1000 man's lyves, for in these plays was the Word of Godfirst opened in thys country. Weche playes were and are forbidden mochemore strictly than any of the bookes of Martin Luther. "

These rhetoricians were now particularly inflamed against Granvelle. Theywere personally excited against him, because he had procured thesuppression of their religious dramas. "These rhetoricians who makefarces and street plays, " wrote the Cardinal to Philip, "are particularlyangry with me, because two years ago I prevented them from ridiculing theholy Scriptures. " Nevertheless, these institutions continued to pursuetheir opposition to the course of the government. Their uncouth gambols, their awkward but stunning blows rendered daily service to the cause ofreligious freedom. Upon the newly-appointed bishops they poured out anendless succession of rhymes and rebuses, epigrams, caricatures andextravaganzas. Poems were pasted upon the walls of every house, andpassed from hand to hand. Farces were enacted in every street; the odiousecclesiastics figuring as the principal buffoons. These representationsgave so much offence, that renewed edicts were issued to suppress them. The prohibition was resisted, and even ridiculed in many provinces, particularly in Holland. The tyranny which was able to drown a nation inblood and tears, was powerless to prevent them from laughing mostbitterly at their oppressors. The tanner, Cleon, was never belabored moresoundly by the wits of Athens, than the prelate by these Flemish"rhetoricians. " With infinitely less Attic salt, but with as muchheartiness as Aristophanes could have done, the popular rhymers gave theminister ample opportunity to understand the position which he occupiedin the Netherlands. One day a petitioner placed a paper in his hand andvanished. It contained some scurrilous verses upon himself, together witha caricature of his person. In this he was represented as a hen seatedupon a pile of eggs, out of which he was hatching a brood of bishops. Some of these were clipping the shell, some thrusting forth an arm, somea leg, while others were running about with mitres on their heads, allbearing whimsical resemblance to various prelates who had beennewly-appointed. Above the Cardinal's head the Devil was representedhovering, with these words issuing from his mouth: "This is my belovedSon, listen to him, my people. "

There was another lampoon of a similar nature, which was so wellexecuted, that it especially excited Granvelle's anger. It was a rhymedsatire of a general nature, like the rest, but so delicate and sostinging, that the Cardinal ascribed it to his old friend and presentenemy, Simon Renard. This man, a Burgundian by birth, and collegeassociate of Granvelle, had been befriended both by himself and hisfather. Aided by their patronage and his own abilities, he had arrived atdistinguished posts; having been Spanish envoy both in France andEngland, and one of the negotiators of the truce of Vaucelles. He hadlatterly been disappointed in his ambition to become a councillor ofstate, and had vowed vengeance upon the Cardinal, to whom he attributedhis ill success. He was certainly guilty of much ingratitude, for he hadbeen under early obligations to the man in whose side he now became aperpetual thorn. It must be confessed, on the other hand, that Granvellerepaid the enmity of his old associate with a malevolence equal to hisown, and if Renard did not lose his head as well as his politicalstation, it was not for want of sufficient insinuation on the part of theminister. Especially did Granvelle denounce him to "the master" as theperverter of Egmont, while he usually described that nobleman himself, asweak, vain, "a friend of smoke, " easily misguided, but in the mainwell-intentioned and loyal. At the same time, with all these vaguecommendations, he never omitted to supply the suspicious King with anaccount of every fact or every rumor to the Count's discredit. In thecase of this particular satire, he informed Philip that he could swear itcame from the pen of Renard, although, for the sake of deception, therhetoric comedians had been employed. He described the production asfilled with "false, abominable, and infernal things, " and as treating notonly himself, but the Pope and the whole ecclesiastical order with asmuch contumely as could be showed in Germany. He then proceeded toinsinuate, in the subtle manner which was peculiarly his own, that Egmontwas a party to the publication of the pasquil. Renard visited at thathouse, he said, and was received there on a much more intimate footingthan was becoming. Eight days before the satire was circulated, there hadbeen a conversation in Egmont's house, of a nature exactly similar to thesubstance of the pamphlet. The man, in whose hands it was first seen, continued Granvelle, was a sword cutler, a godson of the Count. Thisperson said that he had torn it from the gate of the city hall, but Godgrant, prayed the Cardinal, that it was not he who had first posted it upthere. 'Tis said that Egmont and Mansfeld, he added, have sent many timesto the cutler to procure copies of the satire, all which augments thesuspicion against them. 

With the nobles he was on no better terms than with the people. The greatseigniors, Orange, Egmont, Horn, and others, openly avowed theirhostility to him, and had already given their reasons to the King. Mansfeld and his son at that time were both with the opposition. Aerschotand Aremberg kept aloof from the league which was forming against theprelate, but had small sympathy for his person. Even Berlaymont began tolisten to overtures from the leading nobles, who, among otherinducements, promised to supply his children with bishoprics. There werenone truly faithful and submissive to the Cardinal but such men as thePrevot Morillon, who had received much advancement from him. 

This distinguished pluralist was popularly called "double A, B, C, " toindicate that he had twice as many benefices as there were letters in thealphabet. He had, however, no objection to more, and was faithful to thedispensing power. The same course was pursued by Secretary Bave, EsquireBordey, and other expectants and dependents. Viglius, always remarkablefor his pusillanimity, was at this period already anxious to retire. Theerudite and opulent Frisian preferred a less tempestuous career. He wasin favor of the edicts, but he trembled at the uproar which their literalexecution was daily exciting, for he knew the temper of his countrymen. On the other hand, he was too sagacious not to know the inevitableconsequence of opposition to the will of Philip. He was therefore mosteager to escape the dilemma. He was a scholar, and could find moreagreeable employment among his books. He had accumulated vast wealth, andwas desirous to retain it as long as possible. He had a learned head andwas anxious to keep it upon his shoulders. These simple objects could bebetter attained in a life of privacy. The post of president of the privycouncil and member of the "Consulta" was a dangerous one. He knew thatthe King was sincere in his purposes. He foresaw that the people wouldone day be terribly in earnest. Of ancient Frisian blood himself, he knewthat the, spirit of the ancient Batavians and Frisians had not whollydeserted their descendants. He knew that they were not easily roused, that they were patient, but that they would strike at last and wouldendure. He urgently solicited the King to release him, and pleaded hisinfirmities of body in excuse. Philip, however, would not listen to hisretirement, and made use of the most convincing arguments to induce himto remain. Four hundred and fifty annual florins, secured by goodreclaimed swamps in Friesland, two thousand more in hand, with a promiseof still larger emoluments when the King should come to the Netherlands, were reasons which the learned doctor honestly confessed himself unableto resist. Fortified by these arguments, he remained at his post, continued the avowed friend and adherent of Granvelle, and sustained withmagnanimity the invectives of nobles and people. To do him justice, hedid what he could to conciliate antagonists and to compromise principles. If it had ever been possible to find the exact path between right andwrong, the President would have found it, and walked in it withrespectability and complacency. 

In the council, however, the Cardinal continued to carry it with a highhand; turning his back on Orange and Egmont, and retiring with theDuchess and President to consult, after every session. Proud andimportant personages, like the Prince and Count, could ill brook suchinsolence; moreover, they suspected the Cardinal of prejudicing the mindof their sovereign against them. A report was very current, and obtainedalmost universal belief, that Granvelle had expressly advised his Majestyto take off the heads of at least half a dozen of the principal nobles inthe land. This was an error; "These two seigniors, " wrote the Cardinal toPhilip, "have been informed that I have written to your Majesty, that youwill never be master of these provinces without taking off at least halfa dozen heads, and that because it would be difficult, on account of theprobable tumults which such a course would occasion, to do it here, yourMajesty means to call them to Spain and do it there. Your Majesty canjudge whether such a thing has ever entered my thoughts. I have laughedat it as a ridiculous invention. This gross forgery is one of Renard's. "The Cardinal further stated to his Majesty that he had been informed bythese same nobles that the Duke of Alva, when a hostage for the treaty ofCateau Cambresis, had negotiated an alliance between the crowns of Franceand Spain for the extirpation of heresy by the sword. He added, that heintended to deal with the nobles with all gentleness, and that he shoulddo his best to please them. The only thing which he could not yield wasthe authority of his Majesty; to sustain that, he would sacrifice hislife, if necessary. At the same time Granvelle carefully impressed uponthe King the necessity of contradicting the report alluded to, a requestwhich he took care should also be made through the Regent in person. Hehad already, both in his own person and in that of the Duchess, beggedfor a formal denial, on the King's part, that there was any intention ofintroducing the Spanish inquisition into the Netherlands, and that theCardinal had counselled, originally, the bishoprics. Thus instructed, theKing accordingly wrote to Margaret of Parma to furnish the requiredcontradictions. In so doing, he made a pithy remark. "The Cardinal hadnot counselled the cutting off the half a dozen heads, " said the monarch, "but perhaps it would not be so bad to do it!" Time was to show whetherPhilip was likely to profit by the hint conveyed in the Cardinal'sdisclaimer, and whether the factor "half dozen" were to be used or not asa simple multiplier in the terrible account preparing. 

The contradictions, however sincere, were not believed by the personsmost interested. Nearly all the nobles continued to regard the Cardinalwith suspicion and aversion. Many of the ruder and more reckless classvied with the rhetoricians and popular caricaturists in the practicaljests which they played off almost daily against the common foe. Especially Count Brederode, "a madman, if there ever were one, " as acontemporary expressed himself, was most untiring in his efforts to makeGranvelle ridiculous. He went almost nightly to masquerades, dressed as acardinal or a monk; and as he was rarely known to be sober on these orany other occasions, the wildness of his demonstrations may easily beimagined. He was seconded on all these occasions by his cousin Robert dela Marck, Seigneur de Lumey, a worthy descendant of the famous "Wild Boarof Ardennes;" a man brave to temerity, but utterly depraved, licentious, and sanguinary. These two men, both to be widely notorious, from theirprominence in many of the most striking scenes by which the great revoltwas ushered in, had vowed the most determined animosity to the Cardinal, which was manifested in the reckless, buffooning way which belonged totheir characters. Besides the ecclesiastical costumes in which theyalways attired themselves at their frequent festivities, they also worefog-tails in their hats instead of plumes. They decked their servantsalso with the same ornaments; openly stating, that by these symbols theymeant to signify that the old fox Granvelle, and his cubs, Viglius, Berlaymont, and the rest, should soon be hunted down by them, and thebrush placed in their hats as a trophy. 

Moreover, there is no doubt that frequent threats of personal violencewere made against the Cardinal. Granvelle informed the King that his lifewas continually menaced by, the nobles, but that he feared them little, "for he believed them too prudent to attempt any thing of the kind. "There is no doubt, when his position with regard to the upper and lowerclasses in the country is considered, that there was enough to alarm atimid man; but Granvelle was constitutionally brave. He was accused ofwearing a secret shirt of mail, of living in perpetual trepidation, ofhaving gone on his knees to Egmont and Orange, of having sent Richardot, Bishop of Arras, to intercede for him in the same humiliating manner withEgmont. All these stories were fables. Bold as he was arrogant, heaffected at this time to look down with a forgiving contempt on theanimosity of the nobles. He passed much of his time alone, writing hiseternal dispatches to the King. He had a country-house, called LaFontaine, surrounded by beautiful gardens, a little way outside the gatesof Brussels, where he generally resided, and whence, notwithstanding theremonstrances of his friends, he often returned to town, after sunset, alone, or with but a few attendants. He avowed that he feared no attemptsat assassination, for, if the seigniors took his life, they would destroythe best friend they ever had. This villa, where most of his plans werematured and his state papers drawn up, was called by the people, inderision of his supposed ancestry, "The Smithy. " Here, as they believed, was the anvil upon which the chains of their slavery were forging; here, mostly deserted by those who had been his earlier, associates, he assumeda philosophical demeanor which exasperated, without deceiving hisadversaries. Over the great gate of his house he had placed the marblestatue of a female. It held an empty wine-cup in one hand, and an urn offlowing water in the other. The single word "Durate" was engraved uponthe pedestal. By the motto, which was his habitual device, he wassupposed, in this application, to signify that his power would outlastthat of the nobles, and that perennial and pure as living water, it wouldflow tranquilly on, long after the wine of their life had been drunk tothe lees. The fiery extravagance of his adversaries, and the calm andlimpid moderation of his own character, thus symbolized, were supposed toconvey a moral lesson to the world. The hieroglyphics, thus interpreted, were not relished by the nobles--all avoided his society, and declinedhis invitations. He consoled himself with the company of the lessergentry, --a class which he now began to patronize, and which he urgentlyrecommended to the favor of the King, --hinting that military and civiloffices bestowed upon their inferiors would be a means of lowering thepride of the grandees. He also affected to surround himself with evenhumbler individuals. "It makes me laugh, " he wrote to Philip, "to see thegreat seigniors absenting themselves from my dinners; nevertheless, I canalways get plenty of guests at my table, gentlemen and councillors. Isometimes invite even citizens, in order to gain their good will. "

The Regent was well aware of the anger excited in the breasts of theleading nobles by the cool manner in which they had been thrust out oftheir share in the administration of affairs. She defended herself withacrimony in her letters to the King, although a defence was hardly neededin that quarter for implicit obedience to the royal commands. Sheconfessed her unwillingness to consult with her enemies. 

She avowed her determination to conceal the secrets of the governmentfrom those who were capable of abusing her confidence. She representedthat there were members of the council who would willingly take advantageof the trepidation which she really felt, and which she should exhibit ifshe expressed herself without reserve before them. For this reason sheconfined herself, as Philip had always intended, exclusively to theConsulta. It was not difficult to recognize the hand which wrote theletter thus signed by Margaret of Parma. 

Both nobles and people were at this moment irritated by anothercircumstance. The civil war having again broken out in France, Philip, according to the promise made by him to Catharine de Medici, when he tookher daughter in marriage, was called upon to assist the Catholic partywith auxiliaries. He sent three thousand infantry, accordingly, which hehad levied in Italy, as many more collected in Spain, and gave immediateorders that the Duchess of Parma should despatch at least two thousandcavalry, from the Netherlands. Great was the indignation in the councilwhen the commands were produced. Sore was the dismay of Margaret. It wasimpossible to obey the King. The idea of sending the famous mountedgendarmerie of the provinces to fight against the French Huguenots couldnot be tolerated for an instant. The "bands of ordonnance" were very fewin number, and were to guard the frontier. They were purely for domesticpurposes. It formed no part of their duty to go upon crusades in foreignlands; still less to take a share in a religious quarrel, and least ofall to assist a monarch against a nation. These views were so cogentlypresented to the Duchess in council, that she saw the impossibility ofcomplying with her brother's commands. She wrote to Philip to thateffect. Meantime, another letter arrived out of Spain, chiding her delay, and impatiently calling upon her to furnish the required cavalry at once. The Duchess was in a dilemma. She feared to provoke another storm in thecouncil, for there was already sufficient wrangling there upon domesticsubjects. She knew it was impossible to obtain the consent, even ofBerlaymont and Viglius, to such an odious measure as the one proposed. She was, however, in great trepidation at the peremptory tone of theKing's despatch. Under the advice of Granvelle, she had recourse to atrick. A private and confidential letter of Philip was read to thecouncil, but with alterations suggested and interpolated by the Cardinal. The King was represented as being furious at the delay, but as willingthat a sum of money should be furnished instead of the cavalry, asoriginally required. This compromise, after considerable opposition, wasaccepted. The Duchess wrote to Philip, explaining and apologizing for thetransaction. The King received the substitution with as good a grace ascould have been expected, and sent fifteen hundred troopers from Spain tohis Medicean mother-in-law, drawing upon the Duchess of Parma for themoney to pay their expenses. Thus was the industry of the Netherlandstaxed that the French might be persecuted by their own monarch. 

The Regent had been forbidden, by her brother, to convoke thestates-general; a body which the Prince of Orange, sustained by Berghen, Montigny, and other nobles, was desirous of having assembled. It may beeasily understood that Granvelle would take the best care that the royalprohibition should be enforced. The Duchess, however, who, as alreadyhinted, was beginning to feel somewhat uncomfortable under the Cardinal'sdominion, was desirous of consulting some larger council than that withwhich she held her daily deliberations. A meeting of the Knights of theFleece was accordingly summoned. They assembled in Brussels, in the monthof May, 1562. The learned Viglius addressed them in a long and eloquentspeech, in which he discussed the troubled and dangerous condition of theprovinces, alluded to some of its causes, and suggested various remedies. It may be easily conceived, however, that the inquisition was not statedamong the causes, nor its suppression included among the remedies. Adiscourse, in which the fundamental topic was thus conscientiouslyomitted, was not likely, with all its concinnities, to make muchimpression upon the disaffected knights, or to exert a soothing influenceupon the people. The orator was, however, delighted with his ownperformance. He informs us, moreover, that the Duchess was equallycharmed, and that she protested she had never in her whole life heard anything more "delicate, more suitable, or more eloquent. " The Prince ofOrange, however, did not sympathize with her admiration. The President'selegant periods produced but little effect upon his mind. The meetingadjourned, after a few additional words from the Duchess, in which shebegged the knights to ponder well the causes of the increasingdiscontent, and to meet her again, prepared to announce what, in theiropinion, would be the course best adapted to maintain the honor of theKing, the safety of the provinces, and the glory of God. 

Soon after the separation of the assembly, the Prince of Orange issuedinvitations to most of the knights, to meet at his house for the purposeof private deliberation. The President and Cardinal were not included inthese invitations. The meeting was, in fact, what we should call acaucus, rather than a general gathering. Nevertheless, there were many ofthe government party present--men who differed from the Prince, and wereinclined to support Granvelle. The meeting was a stormy one. Two subjectswere discussed. The first was the proposition of the Duchess, toinvestigate the general causes of the popular dissatisfaction; the secondwas an inquiry how it could be rendered practicable to discuss politicalmatters in future--a proceeding now impossible, in consequence of theperverseness and arrogance of certain functionaries, and one which, whenever attempted, always led to the same inevitable result. This directassault upon the Cardinal produced a furious debate. His enemies weredelighted with the opportunity of venting their long-suppressed spleen. They indulged in savage invectives against the man whom they so sincerelyhated. His adherents, on the other hand--Bossu, Berlaymont, Courieres--were as warm in his defence. They replied by indignant denialsof the charge against him, and by bitter insinuations against the Princeof Orange. They charged him with nourishing the desire of being appointedgovernor of Brabant, an office considered inseparable from the generalstadholderate of all the provinces. They protested for themselves thatthey were actuated by no ambitious designs--that they were satisfied withtheir own position, and not inspired by jealousy of personages morepowerful than themselves. It is obvious that such charges andrecriminations could excite no healing result, and that the lines betweenCardinalists and their opponents would be defined in consequence moresharply than ever. The adjourned meeting of the Chevaliers of the Fleecetook place a few days afterwards. The Duchess exerted herself as much aspossible to reconcile the contending factions, without being able, however, to apply the only remedy which could be effective. The man whowas already fast becoming the great statesman of the country knew thatthe evil was beyond healing, unless by a change of purpose on the part ofthe government. The Regent, on the other hand, who it must be confessednever exhibited any remarkable proof of intellectual ability during theperiod of her residence in the Netherlands, was often inspired by afeeble and indefinite hope that the matter might be arranged by acompromise between the views of conflicting parties. Unfortunately theinquisition was not a fit subject for a compromise. 

Nothing of radical importance was accomplished by the Assembly of theFleece. It was decided that an application should be made to thedifferent states for a giant of money, and that, furthermore, a specialenvoy should be despatched to Spain. It was supposed by the Duchess andher advisers that more satisfactory information concerning the provincescould be conveyed to Philip by word of mouth than by the most elaborateepistles. The meeting was dissolved after these two measures had beenagreed upon. Doctor Viglius, upon whom devolved the duty of making thereport and petition to the states, proceeded to draw up the necessaryapplication. This he did with his customary elegance, and, as usual, verymuch to his own satisfaction. On returning to his house, however, afterhaving discharged this duty, he was very much troubled at finding that alarge mulberry-tree; which stood in his garden, had been torn up by theroots in a violent hurricane. The disaster was considered ominous by thePresident, and he was accordingly less surprised than mortified when hefound, subsequently, that his demand upon the orders had remained asfruitless as his ruined tree. The tempest which had swept his garden heconsidered typical of the storm which was soon to rage through the land, and he felt increased anxiety to reach a haven while it was yetcomparatively calm. 

The estates rejected the request for supplies, on various grounds; amongothers, that the civil war was drawing to a conclusion in France, andthat less danger was to be apprehended from that source than had latelybeen the case. Thus, the "cup of bitterness, " of which Granvelle hadalready complained; was again commended to his lips, and there was morereason than ever for the government to regret that the nationalrepresentatives had contracted the habit of meddling with financialmatters. 

Florence de Montmorency, Seigneur de Montigny, was selected by the Regentfor the mission which had been decided upon for Spain. This gentleman wasbrother to Count Horn, but possessed of higher talents and a more amiablecharacter than those of the Admiral. He was a warm friend of Orange, anda bitter enemy to Granvelle. He was a sincere Catholic, but a determinedfoe to the inquisition. His brother had declined to act as envoy. Thisrefusal can excite but little surprise, when Philip's wrath at theirparting interview is recalled, and when it is also remembered that thenew mission would necessarily lay bare fresh complaints against theCardinal, still more extensive than those which had produced the formerexplosion of royal indignation. Montigny, likewise, would have preferredto remain at home, but he was overruled. It had been written in hisdestiny that he should go twice into the angry lion's den, and that heshould come forth once, alive. 

Thus it has been shown that there was an open, avowed hostility on thepart of the grand seignors and most of the lesser nobility to theCardinal and his measures. The people fully and enthusiasticallysustained the Prince of Orange in his course. There was nothing underhandin the opposition made to the government. The Netherlands did notconstitute an absolute monarchy. They did not even constitute a monarchy. There was no king in the provinces. Philip was King of Spain, Naples, Jerusalem, but he was only Duke of Brabant, Count of Flanders, Lord ofFriesland, hereditary chief, in short, under various titles, of seventeenstates, each one of which, although not republican, possessedconstitutions as sacred as, and much more ancient than, the Crown. Theresistance to the absolutism of Granvelle and Philip was, therefore, logical, legal, constitutional. It was no cabal, no secret league, as theCardinal had the effrontery to term it, but a legitimate exercise ofpowers which belonged of old to those who wielded them, and which only anunrighteous innovation could destroy. 

Granvelle's course was secret and subtle. During the whole course of theproceedings which have just been described, he was; in daily confidentialcorrespondence with the King, besides being the actual author of themultitudinous despatches which were sent with the signature of theDuchess. He openly asserted his right to monopolize all the powers of theGovernment; he did his utmost to force upon the reluctant and almostrebellious people the odious measures which the King had resolved upon, while in his secret letters he uniformly represented the nobles whoopposed him, as being influenced, not by an honest hatred of oppressionand attachment to ancient rights, but by resentment, and jealousy oftheir own importance. He assumed, in his letters to his master, that theabsolutism already existed of right and in fact, which it was theintention of Philip to establish. While he was depriving the nobles, thestates and the nation of their privileges, and even of their naturalrights (a slender heritage in those days), he assured the King that therewas an evident determination to reduce his authority to a cipher. 

The estates, he wrote, had usurped the whole administration of thefinances, and had farmed it out to Antony Van Stralen and others, whowere making enormous profits in the business. "The seignors, " he said, "declare at their dinner parties that I wish to make them subject to theabsolute despotism of your Majesty. In point of fact, however, theyreally exercise a great deal more power than the governors of particularprovinces ever did before; and it lacks but little that Madame and yourMajesty should become mere ciphers, while the grandees monopolize thewhole power. This, " he continued, "is the principal motive of theiropposition to the new bishoprics. They were angry that your Majestyshould have dared to solicit such an arrangement at Rome, without, firstobtaining their consent. They wish to reduce your Majesty's authority toso low a point that you can do nothing unless they desire it. Theirobject is the destruction of the royal authority and of theadministration of justice, in order to avoid the payment of their debts;telling their creditors constantly that they, have spent their all inyour Majesty's service, and that they have never received recompence orsalary. This they do to make your Majesty odious. "

As a matter of course, he attributed the resistance on the part of thegreat nobles, every man of whom was Catholic, to base motives. They weremere demagogues, who refused to burn their fellow-creatures, not from anynatural repugnance to the task, but in order to gain favor with thepopulace. "This talk about the inquisition, " said he, "is all a pretext. 'Tis only to throw dust in the eyes of the vulgar, and to persuade theminto tumultuous demonstrations, while the real reason is, that theychoose that your Majesty should do nothing without their permission, andthrough their hands. "

He assumed sometimes, however, a tone of indulgence toward theseignors--who formed the main topics of his letters--an affectation whichmight, perhaps, have offended them almost as much as more open andsincere denunciation. He could forgive offences against himself. It wasfor Philip to decide as to their merits or crimes so far as the Crown wasconcerned. His language often was befitting a wise man who was speakingof very little children. "Assonleville has told me, as coming fromEgmont, " he wrote, "that many of the nobles are dissatisfied with me;hearing from Spain that I am endeavoring to prejudice your Majestyagainst them. " Certainly the tone of the Cardinal's daily letters wouldhave justified such suspicion, could the nobles have seen them. Granvellebegged the King, however, to disabuse them upon this point. "Would toGod, " said he, piously, "that they all would decide to sustain theauthority of your Majesty, and to procure such measures as tend to theservice of God and the security of the states. May I cease to exist if Ido not desire to render good service to the very least of thesegentlemen. Your Majesty knows that, when they do any thing for thebenefit of your service, I am never silent. Nevertheless, thus they areconstituted. I hope, however, that this flurry will blow over, and thatwhen your Majesty comes they will all be found to deserve rewards ofmerit. "

Of Egmont, especially, he often spoke in terms of vague, but somewhatcondescending commendation. He never manifested resentment in hisletters, although, as already stated, the Count had occasionallyindulged, not only in words, but in deeds of extreme violence againsthim. But the Cardinal was too forgiving a Christian, or too keen apolitician not to pass by such offences, so long as there was a chance ofso great a noble's remaining or becoming his friend. He, accordingly, described him, in general, as a man whose principles, in the main, weregood, but who was easily led by his own vanity and the perverse counselsof others. He represented him as having been originally a warm supporterof the new bishoprics, and as having expressed satisfaction that two ofthem, those of Bruges and Ypres, should have been within his ownstadholderate. He regretted, however; to inform the King that the Countwas latterly growing lukewarm, perhaps from fear of finding himselfseparated from the other nobles. On the whole, he was tractable enough, said the Cardinal, if he were not easily persuaded by the vile; but oneday, perhaps, he might open his eyes again. Notwithstanding these vagueexpressions of approbation, which Granvelle permitted himself in hisletters to Philip, he never failed to transmit to the monarch every fact, every rumor, every inuendo which might prejudice the royal mind againstthat nobleman or against any of the noblemen, whose characters he at thesame time protested he was most unwilling to injure. 

It is true that he dealt mainly by insinuation, while he was apt toconclude his statements with disclaimers upon his own part, and withhopes of improvement in the conduct of the seignors. At this particularpoint of time he furnished Philip with a long and most circumstantialaccount of a treasonable correspondence which was thought to be going onbetween the leading nobles and the future emperor, Maximilian. Thenarrative was a good specimen of the masterly style of inuendo in whichthe Cardinal excelled, and by which he was often enabled to convince hismaster of the truth of certain statements while affecting to discreditthem. He had heard a story, he said, which he felt bound to communicateto his Majesty, although he did not himself implicitly believe it. Hefelt himself the more bound to speak upon the subject because it talliedexactly with intelligence which he had received from another source. Thestory was that one of these seigniors (the Cardinal did not know which, for he had not yet thought proper to investigate the matter) had saidthat rather than consent that the King should act in this matter of thebishoprics against the privileges of Brabant, the nobles would elect fortheir sovereign some other prince of the blood. This, said the Cardinal, was perhaps a fantasy rather than an actual determination. Count Egmont, to be sure, he said, was constantly exchanging letters with the King ofBohemia (Maximilian), and it was supposed, therefore, that he was theprince of the blood who was to be elected to govern the provinces. It wasdetermined that he should be chosen King of the Romans, by fair means orby force, that he should assemble an army to attack the Netherlands, thata corresponding movement should be made within the states, and that thepeople should be made to rise, by giving them the reins in the matter ofreligion. The Cardinal, after recounting all the particulars of thisfiction with great minuteness, added, with apparent frankness, that thecorrespondence between Egmont and Maximilian did not astonish him, because there had been much intimacy between them in the time of the lateEmperor. He did not feel convinced, therefore, from the frequency of theletters exchanged, that there was a scheme to raise an army to attack theprovinces and to have him elected by force. On the contrary, Maximiliancould never accomplish such a scheme without the assistance of hisimperial father the Emperor, whom Granvelle was convinced would ratherdie than be mixed up with such villany against Philip. Moreover, unlessthe people should become still more corrupted by the bad counselsconstantly given them, the Cardinal did not believe that any of the greatnobles had the power to dispose in this way of the provinces at theirpleasure. Therefore, he concluded that the story was to be rejected asimprobable, although it had come to him directly from the house of thesaid Count Egmont. It is remarkable that, at the commencement of hisnarrative, the Cardinal had expressed his ignorance of the name of theseignior who was hatching all this treason, while at the end of it hegave a local habitation to the plot in the palace of Egmont. It is alsoquite characteristic that he should add that, after all, he consideredthat nobleman one of the most honest of all, if appearances did notdeceive. 

It may be supposed, however, that all these details of a plot which wasquite imaginary, were likely to produce more effect upon a mind so narrowand so suspicious as that of Philip, than could the vague assertions ofthe Cardinal, that in spite of all, he would dare be sworn that hethought the Count honest, and that men should be what they seemed. 

Notwithstanding the conspiracy, which, according to Granvelle's letters, had been formed against him, notwithstanding that his life was dailythreatened, he did not advise the King at this period to avenge him byany public explosion of wrath. He remembered, he piously observed, thatvengeance belonged to God, and that He would repay. Therefore he passedover insults meekly, because that comported best with his Majesty'sservice. Therefore, too, he instructed Philip to make no demonstration atthat time, in order not to damage his own affairs. He advised him todissemble, and to pretend not to know what was going on in the provinces. Knowing that his master looked to him daily for instructions, alwaysobeyed them with entire docility, and, in fact, could not move a step inNetherland matters without them, he proceeded to dictate to him the termsin which he was to write to the nobles, and especially laid down rulesfor his guidance in his coming interviews with the Seigneur de Montigny. Philip, whose only talent consisted in the capacity to learn such lessonswith laborious effort, was at this juncture particularly in need oftuition. The Cardinal instructed him, accordingly, that he was todisabuse all men of the impression that the Spanish inquisition was to beintroduced into the provinces. He was to write to the seigniors, promising to pay them their arrears of salary; he was to exhort them todo all in their power for the advancement of religion and maintenance ofthe royal authority; and he was to suggest to them that, by his answer tothe Antwerp deputation, it was proved that there was no intention ofestablishing the inquisition of Spain, under pretext of the newbishoprics. 

The King was, furthermore, to signify his desire that all the noblesshould exert themselves to efface this false impression from the popularmind. He was also to express himself to the same effect concerning theSpanish inquisition, the bishoprics, and the religious question, in thepublic letters to Madame de Parma, which were to be read in full council. The Cardinal also renewed his instructions to the King as to the mannerin which the Antwerp deputies were to be answered, by giving them, namely, assurances that to transplant the Spanish inquisition into theprovinces would be as hopeless as to attempt its establishment in Naples. He renewed his desire that Philip should contradict the story about thehalf dozen heads, and he especially directed him to inform Montigny thatBerghen had known of the new bishoprics before the Cardinal. This, urgedGranvelle, was particularly necessary, because the seigniors wereirritated that so important a matter should have been decided uponwithout their advice, and because the Marquis Berghen was now the "cockof the opposition. "

At about the same time, it was decided by Granvelle and the Regent, inconjunction with the King, to sow distrust and jealousy among the nobles, by giving greater "mercedes" to some than to others, although large sumswere really due to all. In particular, the attempt was made in thispaltry manner, to humiliate William of Orange. A considerable sum waspaid to Egmont, and a trifling one to the Prince, in consideration oftheir large claims upon the treasury. Moreover the Duke of Aerschot wasselected as envoy to the Frankfort Diet, where the King of the Romans wasto be elected, with the express intention, as Margaret wrote to Philip, of creating divisions among the nobles, as he had suggested. The Duchessat the same time informed her brother that, according to, Berlaymont, thePrince of Orange was revolving some great design, prejudicial to hisMajesty's service. 

Philip, who already began to suspect that a man who thought so much mustbe dangerous, was eager to find out the scheme over which William theSilent was supposed to be brooding, and wrote for fresh intelligence tothe Duchess. 

Neither Margaret nor the Cardinal, however, could discover any thingagainst the Prince--who, meantime, although disappointed of the missionto Frankfort, had gone to that city in his private capacity--saving thathe had been heard to say, "one day we shall be the stronger. " Granvelleand Madame de Parma both communicated this report upon the same day, butthis was all that they were able to discover of the latent plot. 

In the autumn of this year (1562) Montigny made his visit to Spain, asconfidential envoy from the Regent. The King being fully prepared as tothe manner in which he was to deal with him, received the ambassador withgreat cordiality. He informed him in the course of their interviews, thatGranvelle had never attempted to create prejudice against the nobles, that he was incapable of the malice attributed to him, and that even wereit otherwise, his evil representations against other public servantswould produce no effect. The King furthermore protested that he had nointention of introducing the Spanish inquisition into the Netherlands, and that the new bishops were not intended as agents for such a design, but had been appointed solely with a view of smoothing religiousdifficulties in the provinces, and of leading his people back into thefold of the faithful. He added, that as long ago as his visit to Englandfor the purpose of espousing Queen Mary, he had entertained the projectof the new episcopates, as the Marquis Berghen, with whom he hadconversed freely upon the subject, could bear witness. With regard to theconnexion of Granvelle with the scheme, he assured Montigny that theCardinal had not been previously consulted, but had first learned theplan after the mission of Sonnius. 

Such was the purport of the King's communications to the envoy, asappears from memoranda in the royal handwriting and from thecorrespondence of Margaret of Parma. Philip's exactness in conforming tohis instructions is sufficiently apparent, on comparing his statementswith the letters previously received from the omnipresent Cardinal. Beyond the limits of those directions the King hardly hazarded asyllable. He was merely the plenipotentiary of the Cardinal, as Montignywas of the Regent. So long as Granvelle's power lasted, he was absoluteand infallible. Such, then, was the amount of satisfaction derived fromthe mission of Montigny. There was to be no diminution of the religiouspersecution, but the people were assured upon royal authority, that theinquisition, by which they were daily burned and beheaded, could not belogically denominated the Spanish inquisition. In addition to thecomfort, whatever it might be, which the nation could derive from thisstatement, they were also consoled with the information that Granvellewas not the inventor of the bishoprics. Although he had violentlysupported the measure as soon as published, secretly denouncing astraitors and demagogues, all those who lifted their voices against it, although he was the originator of the renewed edicts, although he took, daily, personal pains that this Netherland inquisition, "more pitilessthan the Spanish, " should be enforced in its rigor, and although he, atthe last, opposed the slightest mitigation of its horrors, he was to berepresented to the nobles and the people as a man of mild andunprejudiced character, incapable of injuring even his enemies. "I willdeal with the seigniors most blandly, " the Cardinal had written toPhilip, "and will do them pleasure, even if they do not wish it, for thesake of God and your Majesty. " It was in this light, accordingly, thatPhilip drew the picture of his favorite minister to the envoy. Montigny, although somewhat influenced by the King's hypocritical assurances ofthe, benignity with which he regarded the Netherlands, was, nevertheless, not to be deceived by this flattering portraiture of a man whom he knewso well and detested so cordially as he did Granvelle. Solicited by theKing, at their parting interview, to express his candid opinion as to thecauses of the dissatisfaction in the provinces, Montigny very frankly andmost imprudently gave vent to his private animosity towards the Cardinal. He spoke of his licentiousness, greediness, ostentation, despotism, andassured the monarch that nearly all the inhabitants of the Netherlandsentertained the same opinion concerning him. He then dilated upon thegeneral horror inspired by the inquisition and the great repugnance feltto the establishment of the new episcopates. These three evils, Granvelle, the inquisition, and the bishoprics, he maintained were thereal and sufficient causes of the increasing popular discontent. Time wasto reveal whether the open-hearted envoy was to escape punishment for hisfrankness, and whether vengeance for these crimes against Granvelle andPhilip were to be left wholly, as the Cardinal had lately suggested, inthe hands of the Lord. 

Montigny returned late in December. His report concerning the results ofhis mission was made in the state council, and was received with greatindignation. The professions of benevolent intentions on the part of thesovereign made no impression on the mind of Orange, who was already inthe habit of receiving secret information from Spain with regard to theintentions of the government. He knew very well that the plot revealed tohim by Henry the Second in the wood of Vincennes was still the royalprogram, so far as the Spanish monarch was concerned. Moreover, his angerwas heightened by information received from Montigny that the names ofOrange, Egmont and their adherents, were cited to him as he passedthrough France as the avowed defenders of the Huguenots, in politics andreligion. The Prince, who was still a sincere Catholic, while he hatedthe persecutions of the inquisition, was furious at the statement. Aviolent scene occurred in the council. Orange openly denounced the reportas a new slander of Granvelle, while Margaret defended the Cardinal anddenied the accusation, but at the same time endeavored with the utmostearnestness to reconcile the conflicting parties. 

It had now become certain, however, that the government could no longerbe continued on its present footing. Either Granvelle or the seigniorsmust succumb. The Prince of Orange was resolved that the Cardinal shouldfall or that he would himself withdraw from all participation in theaffairs of government. In this decision he was sustained by Egmont, Horn, Montigny, Berghen, and the other leading nobles. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Affecting to discredit them An inspiring and delightful recreation (auto-da-fe) Arrested on suspicion, tortured till confession Inquisition of the Netherlands is much more pitiless Inquisition was not a fit subject for a compromise Made to swing to and fro over a slow fire Orator was, however, delighted with his own performance Philip, who did not often say a great deal in a few words Scaffold was the sole refuge from the rack Ten thousand two hundred and twenty individuals were burned Torquemada's administration (of the inquisition) Two witnesses sent him to the stake, one witness to the rack

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 8. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 18551563-1564 [CHAPTER IV. ]

 Joint letter to Philip, from Orange, Egmont, and Horn--Egmont's quarrel with Aerschot and with Aremberg--Philip's answer to the three nobles--His instructions to the Duchess--Egmont declines the King's invitation to visit Spain--Second letter of the three seigniors--Mission of Armenteros--Letter of Alva--Secret letters of Granvelle to Philip--The Cardinal's insinuations and instructions-- His complaints as to the lukewarmness of Berghen and Montigny in the cause of the inquisition--Anecdotes to their discredit privately chronicled by Granvelle--Supposed necessity for the King's presence in the provinces--Correspondence of Lazarus Schwendi--Approaching crisis--Anxiety of Granvelle to retire--Banquet of Caspar Schetz-- Invention of the foolscap livery--Correspondence of the Duchess and of the Cardinal with Philip upon the subject--Entire withdrawal of the three seigniors from the state council--the King advises with Alva concerning the recall of Granvelle--Elaborate duplicity of Philip's arrangements--His secret note to the Cardinal--His dissembling letters to others--Departure of Granvelle from the Netherlands--Various opinions as to its cause--Ludicrous conduct of Brederode and Hoogstraaten--Fabulous statements in Granvelle's correspondence concerning his recall--Universal mystification--The Cardinal deceived by the King--Granvelle in retirement--His epicureanism--Fears in the provinces as to his return--Universal joy at his departure--Representations to his discredit made by the Duchess to Philip--Her hypocritical letters to the Cardinal-- Masquerade at Count Mansfeld's--Chantonnay's advice to his brother-- Review of Granvelle's administration and estimate of his character. 

On the 11th March, 1563, Orange, Horn, and Egmont united in a remarkableletter to the King. They said that as their longer "taciturnity" mightcause the ruin of his Majesty's affairs, they were at last compelled tobreak silence. They hoped that the King would receive with benignity acommunication which was pure, frank, and free from all passion. Theleading personages of the province, they continued, having thoroughlyexamined the nature and extent of Cardinal Granvelle's authority, hadarrived at the conclusion that every thing was in his hands. Thispersuasion, they said, was rooted in the hearts of all his Majesty'ssubjects, and particularly in their own, so deeply, that it could not beeradicated as long as the Cardinal remained. The King was thereforeimplored to consider the necessity of remedying the evil. The royalaffairs, it was affirmed, would never be successfully conducted so longas they were entrusted to Granvelle, because he was so odious to so manypeople. If the danger were not imminent, they should not feel obliged towrite to his Majesty with so much vehemence. It was, however, an affairwhich allowed neither delay nor dissimulation. They therefore prayed theKing, if they had ever deserved credence in things of weight, to believethem now. By so doing, his Majesty would avoid great mischief. Many grandseigniors, governors, and others, had thought it necessary to give thisnotice, in order that the King might prevent the ruin of the country. If, however, his Majesty were willing, as they hoped, to avoid discontentingall for the sake of satisfying one, it was possible that affairs mightyet prosper. That they might not be thought influenced by ambition or byhope of private profit, the writers asked leave to retire from the statecouncil. Neither their reputation, they said, nor the interests of theroyal service would permit them to act with the Cardinal. They professedthemselves dutiful subjects and Catholic vassals. Had it not been for thezeal of the leading seigniors, the nobility, and other well-disposedpersons, affairs would not at that moment be so tranquil; the commonpeople having been so much injured, and the manner of life pursued by theCardinal not being calculated to give more satisfaction than was affordedby his unlimited authority. In conclusion, the writers begged his Majestynot to throw the blame upon them, if mischance should follow the neglectof this warning. This memorable letter was signed by Guillaume, deNassau, Lamoral d'Egmont, and Philippes de Montmorency (Count Horn). Itwas despatched undercover to Charles de Tisnacq, a Belgian, andprocurator for the affairs of the Netherlands at Madrid, a man whoserelations with Count Egmont were of a friendly character. It wasimpossible, however, to keep the matter a secret from the person mostinterested. The Cardinal wrote to the King the day before the letter waswritten, and many weeks before it was sent, to apprize him that it wascoming, and to instruct him as to the answer he was to make. Nearly allthe leading nobles and governors had adhered to the substance of theletter, save the Duke of Aerschot, Count Aremberg, and Baron Berlaymont. The Duke and Count had refused to join the league; violent scenes havingoccurred upon the subject between them and the leaders of the oppositionparty. Egmont, being with a large shooting party at Aerschot's countryplace, Beaumont, had taken occasion to urge the Duke to join in thegeneral demonstration against the Cardinal, arguing the matter in therough, off-hand, reckless manner which was habitual with him. Hisarguments offended the nobleman thus addressed, who was vain andirascible. He replied by affirming that he was a friend to Egmont, butwould not have him for his master. He would have nothing to do, he said, with their league against the Cardinal, who had never given him cause ofenmity. He had no disposition to dictate to the King as to his choice ofministers, and his Majesty was quite right to select his servants at hisown pleasure. The Duke added that if the seigniors did not wish him for afriend, it was a matter of indifference to him. Not one of them was hissuperior; he had as large a band of noble followers and friends as thebest of them, and he had no disposition to accept the supremacy of anynobleman in the land. The conversation carried on in this key soon becamea quarrel, and from words the two gentlemen would soon have come toblows, but for the interposition of Aremberg and Robles, who were presentat the scene. The Duchess of Parma, narrating the occurrence to the King, added that a duel had been the expected result of the affair, but thatthe two nobles had eventually been reconciled. It was characteristic ofAerschot that he continued afterward to associate with the nobles uponfriendly terms, while maintaining an increased intimacy with theCardinal. 

The gentlemen who sent the letter were annoyed at the premature publicitywhich it seemed to have attained. Orange had in vain solicited CountAremberg to join the league, and had quarrelled with him in consequence. Egmont, in the presence of Madame de Parma, openly charged Aremberg withhaving divulged the secret which had been confided to him. The Countfiercely denied that he had uttered a syllable on the subject to a humanbeing; but added that any communication on his part would have been quitesuperfluous, while Egmont and his friends were daily boasting of whatthey were to accomplish. Egmont reiterated the charge of a breach offaith by Aremberg. That nobleman replied by laying his hand upon hissword, denouncing as liars all persons who should dare to charge himagain with such an offence, and offering to fight out the quarrel uponthe instant. Here, again, personal combat was, with much difficulty, averted. 

Egmont, rude, reckless, and indiscreet, was already making manifest thathe was more at home on a battle-field than in a political controversywhere prudence and knowledge of human nature were as requisite ascourage. He was at this period more liberal in his sentiments than at anymoment of his life. Inflamed by his hatred of Granvelle, and determinedto compass the overthrow of that minister, he conversed freely with allkinds of people, sought popularity among the burghers, and descanted toevery one with much imprudence upon the necessity of union for the sakeof liberty and the national good. The Regent, while faithfully recordingin her despatches every thing of this nature which reached her ears, expressed her astonishment at Egmont's course, because, as she had oftentaken occasion to inform the King, she had always considered the Countmost sincerely attached to his Majesty's service. 

Berlaymont, the only other noble of prominence who did not approve the11th of March letter, was at this period attempting to "swim in twowaters, " and, as usual in such cases, found it very difficult to keephimself afloat. He had refused to join the league, but he stood alooffrom Granvelle. On a hope held out by the seigniors that his son shouldbe made Bishop of Liege, he had ceased during a whole year from visitingthe Cardinal, and had never spoken to him at the council-board. Granvelle, in narrating these circumstances to the King, expressed theopinion that Berlaymont, by thus attempting to please both parties, hadthoroughly discredited himself with both. 

The famous epistle, although a most reasonable and manly statement of anincontrovertible fact, was nevertheless a document which it required muchboldness to sign. The minister at that moment seemed omnipotent, and itwas obvious that the King was determined upon a course of political andreligious absolutism. It is, therefore, not surprising that, althoughmany sustained its principles, few were willing to affix their names to apaper which might prove a death-warrant to the signers. Even Montigny andBerghen, although they had been active in conducting the whole cabal, ifcabal it could be called, refused to subscribe the letter. Egmont andHorn were men of reckless daring, but they were not keen-sighted enoughto perceive fully the consequences of their acts. 

Orange was often accused by his enemies of timidity, but no man everdoubted his profound capacity to look quite through the deeds of men. Hispolitical foresight enabled him to measure the dangerous precipice whichthey were deliberately approaching, while the abyss might perhaps beshrouded to the vision of his companions. He was too tranquil of natureto be hurried, by passions into a grave political step, which in coolermoments he might regret. He resolutely, therefore, and with his eyesopen, placed himself in open and recorded enmity with the most powerfuland dangerous man in the whole Spanish realm, and incurred the resentmentof a King who never forgave. It may be safely averred that as muchcourage was requisite thus to confront a cold and malignant despotism, and to maintain afterwards, without flinching, during a whole lifetime, the cause of national rights and liberty of conscience, as to head themost brilliant charge of cavalry that ever made hero famous. 

Philip answered the letter of the three nobles on the 6th June following. In this reply, which was brief, he acknowledged the zeal and affection bywhich the writers had been actuated. He suggested, nevertheless, that, asthey had mentioned no particular cause for adopting the advice containedin their letter, it would be better that one of them should come toMadrid to confer with him. Such matters, he said, could be better treatedby word of mouth. He might thus receive sufficient information to enablehim to form a decision, for, said he in conclusion, it was not his customto aggrieve any of his ministers without cause. 

This was a fine phrase, but under the circumstances of its application, quite ridiculous. There was no question of aggrieving the minister. Theletter of the three nobles was very simple. It consisted of a fact and adeduction. The fact stated was, that the Cardinal was odious to allclasses of the nation. The deduction drawn was, that the government couldno longer be carried on by him without imminent danger of ruinousconvulsions. The fact was indisputable. The person most interestedconfirmed it in his private letters. "'Tis said, " wrote Granvelle toPhilip, "that grandees, nobles, and people, all abhor me, nor am Isurprised to find that grandees, nobles, and people are all openlyagainst me, since each and all have been invited to join in the league. "The Cardinal's reasons for the existence of the unpopularity, which headmitted to the full, have no bearing upon the point in the letter. Thefact was relied upon to sustain a simple, although a momentous inference. It was for Philip to decide upon the propriety of the deduction, and toabide by the consequences of his resolution when taken. As usual, however, the monarch was not capable of making up his mind. He knew verywell that the Cardinal was odious and infamous, because he was thewilling impersonation of the royal policy. Philip was, therefore, logically called upon to abandon the policy or to sustain the minister. He could make up his mind to do neither the one nor the other. In themean time a well-turned period of mock magnanimity had been furnishedhim. This he accordingly transmitted as his first answer to a mostimportant communication upon a subject which, in the words of thewriters, "admitted neither of dissimulation nor delay. " To deprive Philipof dissimulation and delay, however, was to take away his all. They werethe two weapons with which he fought his long life's battle. They summedup the whole of his intellectual resources. It was inevitable, therefore, that he should at once have recourse to both on such an emergency as thepresent one. 

At the same time that he sent his answer to the nobles, he wrote anexplanatory letter to the Regent. He informed her that he had receivedthe communication of the three seigniors, but instructed her that she wasto appear to know nothing of the matter until Egmont should speak to herupon the subject. He added that, although he had signified his wish tothe three nobles, that one of them, without specifying which, should cometo Madrid, he in reality desired that Egmont, who seemed the mosttractable of the three, should be the one deputed. The King added, thathis object was to divide the nobles, and to gain time. 

It was certainly superfluous upon Philip's part to inform his sister thathis object was to gain time. Procrastination was always his first refuge, as if the march of the world's events would pause indefinitely while hesat in his cabinet and pondered. It was, however, sufficiently puerile torecommend to his sister an affectation of ignorance on a subjectconcerning which nobles had wrangled, and almost drawn their swords inher presence. This, however, was the King's statesmanship when left tohis unaided exertions. Granvelle, who was both Philip and Margaret wheneither had to address or to respond to the world at large, did not alwaysfind it necessary to regulate the correspondence of his puppets betweenthemselves. In order more fully to divide the nobles, the King alsotransmitted to Egmont a private note, in his own handwriting, expressinghis desire that he should visit Spain in person, that they might confertogether upon the whole subject. 

These letters, as might be supposed, produced any thing but asatisfactory effect. The discontent and rage of the gentlemen who hadwritten or sustained the 11th of March communication, was much increased. The answer was, in truth, no answer at all. "'Tis a cold and bad reply, "wrote Louis of Nassau, "to send after so long a delay. 'Tis easy to seethat the letter came from the Cardinal's smithy. In summa it is a vilebusiness, if the gentlemen are all to be governed by one person. I hopeto God his power will come soon to an end. Nevertheless, " added Louis, "the gentlemen are all wide awake, for they trust the red fellow not abit more than he deserves. "

The reader has already seen that the letter was indeed "from theCardinal's smithy, " Granvelle having instructed his master how to replyto the seigniors before the communication had been despatched. 

The Duchess wrote immediately to inform her brother that Egmont hadexpressed himself willing enough to go to Spain, but had added that hemust first consult Orange and Horn. As soon as that step had been taken, she had been informed that it was necessary for them to advise with allthe gentlemen who had sanctioned their letter. The Duchess had then triedin vain to prevent such an assembly, but finding that, even if forbidden, it would still take place, she had permitted the meeting in Brussels, asshe could better penetrate into their proceedings there, than if itshould be held at a distance. She added, that she should soon send hersecretary Armenteros to Spain, that the King might be thoroughlyacquainted with what was occurring. 

Egmont soon afterwards wrote to Philip, declining to visit Spainexpressly on account of the Cardinal. He added, that he was ready toundertake the journey, should the King command his presence for any otherobject. The same decision was formally communicated to the Regent bythose Chevaliers of the Fleece who had approved the 11th of Marchletter--Montigny; Berghen, Meghem, Mansfeld, Ligne, Hoogstraaten, Orange, Egmont, and Horn. The Prince of Orange, speaking in the name of all, informed her that they did not consider it consistent with theirreputation, nor with the interest of his Majesty, that any one of themshould make so long and troublesome a journey, in order to accuse theCardinal. For any other purpose, they all held themselves ready to go toSpain at once. The Duchess expressed her regret at this resolution. ThePrince replied by affirming that, in all their proceedings, they had beengoverned, not by hatred of Granvelle but by a sense of duty to hisMajesty. It was now, he added, for the King to pursue what course itpleased him. 

Four days after this interview with the Regent, Orange, Egmont, and Hornaddressed a second letter to the King. In this communication they statedthat they had consulted with all the gentlemen with whose approbationtheir first letter had been written. As to the journey of one of them toSpain, --as suggested, they pronounced it very dangerous for any seigniorto absent himself, in the condition of affairs which then existed. It wasnot a sufficient cause to go thither on account of Granvelle. Theydisclaimed any intention of making themselves parties to a processagainst the Cardinal. They had thought that their simple, briefannouncement would have sufficed to induce his Majesty to employ thatpersonage in other places, where his talents would be more fruitful. Asto "aggrieving the Cardinal without cause, " there was no question ofaggrieving him at all, but of relieving him of an office which could notremain in his hands without disaster. As to "no particular cause havingbeen mentioned, " they said the omission was from no lack of many such. They had charged none, however, because, from their past services andtheir fidelity to his Majesty, they expected to be believed on theirhonor, without further witnesses or evidence. They had no intention ofmaking themselves accusers. They had purposely abstained fromspecifications. If his Majesty should proceed to ampler information, causes enough would be found. It was better, however, that they should befurnished by others than by themselves. His Majesty would then find thatthe public and general complaint was not without adequate motives. Theyrenewed their prayer to be excused from serving in the council of state, in order that they might not be afterwards inculpated for the faults ofothers. Feeling that the controversy between themselves and the Cardinalde Granvelle in the state council produced no fruit for his Majesty'saffairs, they preferred to yield to him. In conclusion, they begged theKing to excuse the simplicity of their letters, the rather that they werenot by nature great orators, but more accustomed to do well than to speakwell, which was also more becoming to persons of their quality. 

On the 4th of August, Count Horn also addressed a private letter to theKing, written in the same spirit as that which characterized the jointletter just cited. He assured his Majesty that the Cardinal could renderno valuable service to the crown on account of the hatred which the wholenation bore him, but that, as far as regarded the maintenance of theancient religion, all the nobles were willing to do their duty. 

The Regent now despatched, according to promise, her private secretary, Thomas de Armenteros, to Spain. His instructions, which were veryelaborate, showed that Granvelle was not mistaken when he charged herwith being entirely changed in regard to him, and when he addressed her areproachful letter, protesting his astonishment that his conduct hadbecome auspicious, and his inability to divine the cause of the wearinessand dissatisfaction which she manifested in regard to him. 

Armenteros, a man of low, mercenary, and deceitful character, but afavorite of the Regent, and already beginning to acquire that influenceover her mind which was soon to become so predominant, was no friend ofthe Cardinal. It was not probable that he would diminish the effect ofthat vague censure mingled with faint commendation, which characterizedMargaret's instructions by any laudatory suggestions of his own. He wasdirected to speak in general terms of the advance of heresy, and theincreasing penury of the exchequer. He was to request two hundredthousand crowns toward the lottery, which the Regent proposed to set upas a financial scheme. He was to represent that the Duchess had tried, unsuccessfully, every conceivable means of accommodating the quarrelbetween the Cardinal and the seigniors. She recognized Granvelle's greatcapacity, experience, zeal, and devotion--for all which qualities shemade much of him--while on the other hand she felt that it would be agreat inconvenience, and might cause a revolt of the country, were she toretain him in the Netherlands against the will of the seigniors. Thesemotives had compelled her, the messenger was to add, to place both viewsof the subject before the eyes of the King. Armenteros was, furthermore, to narrate the circumstances of the interviews which had recently takenplace between herself and the leaders of the opposition party. 

From the tenor of these instructions, it was sufficiently obvious thatMargaret of Parma was not anxious to retain the Cardinal, but that, onthe contrary, she was beginning already to feel alarm at the dangerousposition in which she found herself. A few days after the three nobleshad despatched their last letter to the King, they had handed her aformal remonstrance. In this document they stated their conviction thatthe country was on the high road to ruin, both as regarded his Majesty'sservice and the common weal. The bare, the popular discontent dailyincreasing, the fortresses on the frontier in a dilapidated condition. Itwas to be apprehended daily that merchants and other inhabitants of theprovinces would be arrested in foreign countries, to satisfy the debtsowed by his Majesty. To provide against all these evils, but one course, it was suggested, remained to the government--to summon thestates-general, and to rely upon their counsel and support. The nobles, however, forbore to press this point, by reason of the prohibition whichthe Regent had received from the King. They suggested, however, that suchan interdiction could have been dictated only by a distrust createdbetween his Majesty and the estates by persons having no love for either, and who were determined to leave no resource by which the distress of thecountry could be prevented. The nobles, therefore, begged her highnessnot to take it amiss if, so long as the King was indisposed to make otherarrangements for the administration of the provinces, they should abstainfrom appearing at the state council. They preferred to cause the shadowat last to disappear, which they had so long personated. In conclusion, however, they expressed their determination to do their duty in theirseveral governments, and to serve the Regent to the best of theirabilities. 

After this remonstrance had been delivered, the Prince of Orange, CountHorn, and Count Egmont abstained entirely from the sessions of the statecouncil. She was left alone with the Cardinal, whom she already hated, and with his two shadows, Viglius and Berlaymont. 

Armenteros, after a month spent on his journey, arrived in Spain, and wassoon admitted to an audience by Philip. In his first interview, whichlasted four hours, he read to the King all the statements and documentswith which he had come provided, and humbly requested a prompt decision. Such a result was of course out of the question. Moreover, the Cortes ofTarragon, which happened then to be in session, and which required theroyal attention, supplied the monarch with a fresh excuse for indulgingin his habitual vacillation. Meantime, by way of obtaining additionalcounsel in so grave an emergency, he transmitted the letters of thenobles, together with the other papers, to the Duke of Alva, andrequested his opinion on the subject. Alva replied with the roar of awild beast, "Every time, " he wrote, "that I see the despatches of thosethree Flemish seigniors my rage is so much excited that if I did not useall possible efforts to restrain it, my sentiments would seem those of amadman. " After this splenitive exordium he proceeded to express theopinion that all the hatred and complaints against the Cardinal hadarisen from his opposition to the convocation of the states-general. Withregard to persons who had so richly deserved such chastisement, herecommended "that their heads should be taken off; but, until this couldbe done, that the King should dissemble with them. " He advised Philip notto reply to their letters, but merely to intimate, through the Regent, that their reasons for the course proposed by them did not seemsatisfactory. He did not prescribe this treatment of the case as "a trueremedy, but only as a palliative; because for the moment only weakmedicines could be employed, from which, however, but small effect couldbe anticipated. " As to recalling the Cardinal, "as they had the impudenceto propose to his Majesty, " the Duke most decidedly advised against thestep. In the mean time, and before it should be practicable to proceed"to that vigorous chastisement already indicated, " he advised separatingthe nobles as much as possible by administering flattery and deceitfulcaresses to Egmont, who might be entrapped more easily than the others. 

Here, at least, was a man who knew his own mind. Here was a servant whocould be relied upon to do his master's bidding whenever this mastershould require his help. The vigorous explosion of wrath with which theDuke thus responded to the first symptoms of what he regarded asrebellion, gave a feeble intimation of the tone which he would assumewhen that movement should have reached a more advanced stage. It might beguessed what kind of remedies he would one day prescribe in place of the"mild medicines" in which he so reluctantly acquiesced for the present. 

While this had been the course pursued by the seigniors, the Regent andthe King, in regard to that all-absorbing subject of Netherlandpolitics--the straggle against Granvelle--the Cardinal, in his letters toPhilip, had been painting the situation by minute daily touches, in amanner of which his pencil alone possessed the secret. 

Still maintaining the attitude of an injured but forgiving Christian, hespoke of the nobles in a tone of gentle sorrow. He deprecated any risingof the royal wrath in his behalf; he would continue to serve thegentlemen, whether they would or no; he was most anxious lest anyconsiderations on his account should interfere with the King's decisionin regard to the course to be pursued in the Netherlands. At the sametime, notwithstanding these general professions of benevolence towardsthe nobles, he represented them as broken spendthrifts, wishing to creategeneral confusion in order to escape from personal liabilities; asconspirators who had placed themselves within the reach of theattorney-general; as ambitious malcontents who were disposed to overthrowthe royal authority, and to substitute an aristocratic republic upon itsruins. He would say nothing to prejudice the King's mind against thesegentlemen, but he took care to omit nothing which could possiblyaccomplish that result. He described them as systematically opposed tothe policy which he knew lay nearest the King's heart, and as determinedto assassinate the faithful minister who was so resolutely carrying itout, if his removal could be effected in no other way. He spoke of thestate of religion as becoming more and more unsatisfactory, and bewailedthe difficulty with which he could procure the burning of heretics;difficulties originating in the reluctance of men from whose elevatedrank better things might have been expected. 

As Granvelle is an important personage, as his character has beenalternately the subject of much censure and of more applause, and as theepoch now described was the one in which the causes of the greatconvulsion were rapidly germinating, it is absolutely necessary that thereader should be placed in a position to study the main character, aspainted by his own hand; the hand in which were placed, at that moment, the destinies of a mighty empire. It is the historian's duty, therefore, to hang the picture of his administration fully in the light. At themoment when the 11th of March letter was despatched, the Cardinalrepresented Orange and Egmont as endeavoring by every method of menace orblandishment to induce all the grand seigniors and petty nobles to joinin the league against himself. They had quarrelled with Aerschot andAremberg, they had more than half seduced Berlaymont, and theystigmatized all who refused to enter into their league as cardinalistsand familiars of the inquisition. He protested that he should regardtheir ill-will with indifference, were he not convinced that he washimself only a pretext, and that their designs were really much deeper. Since the return of Montigny, the seigniors had established a leaguewhich that gentleman and his brother, Count Horn, had both joined. Hewould say nothing concerning the defamatory letters and pamphlets ofwhich he was the constant object, for he wished no heed taken of matterswhich concerned exclusively himself, Notwithstanding this disclaimer, however, he rarely omitted to note the appearance of all such productionsfor his Majesty's especial information. "It was better to calm men'sspirits, " he said, "than to excite them. " As to fostering quarrels amongthe seigniors, as the King had recommended, that was hardly necessary, for discord was fast sowing its own seeds. "It gave him much pain, " hesaid, with a Christian sigh, "to observe that such dissensions hadalready arisen, and unfortunately on his account. " He then proceededcircumstantially to describe the quarrel between Aerschot and Egmont, already narrated by the Regent, omitting in his statement no particularwhich could make Egmont reprehensible in the royal eyes. He likewisepainted the quarrel between the same noble and Aremberg, to which he hadalready alluded in previous letters to the King, adding that manygentlemen, and even the more prudent part of the people, weredissatisfied with the course of the grandees, and that he was takingunderhand but dexterous means to confirm them in such sentiments. Heinstructed Philip how to reply to the letter addressed to him, but beggedhis Majesty not to hesitate to sacrifice him if the interests of hiscrown should seem to require it. 

With regard to religious matters, he repeatedly deplored that, notwithstanding his own exertions and those of Madame de Parma, thingswere not going on as he desired, but, on the contrary, very badly. "Forthe-love of God and the service of the holy religion, " he cried outfervently, "put your royal hand valiantly to the work, otherwise we haveonly to exclaim, Help, Lord, for we perish!"

Having uttered this pious exhortation in the ear of a man who needed nostimulant in the path of persecution, he proceeded to express his regretsthat the judges and other officers were not taking in hand thechastisement of heresy with becoming vigor. 

Yet, at that very moment Peter Titelmann was raging through Flanders, tearing whole families out of bed and burning them to ashes, with suchutter disregard to all laws or forms as to provoke in the very next yeara solemn protest from the four estates of Flanders; and Titelmann was butone of a dozen inquisitors. 

Granvelle, however, could find little satisfaction in the exertions ofsubordinates so long as men in high station were remiss in their duties. The Marquis Berghen, he informed Philip, showed but little disposition toput down heresy, in Valenciennes, while Montigny was equally remiss atTournay. They were often heard to say, to any who chose to listen, thatit was not right to inflict the punishment of death for matters ofreligion. This sentiment, uttered in that age of blood and fire, andcrowning the memory of those unfortunate nobles with eternal honor, wasdenounced by the churchman as criminal, and deserving of castigation. Heintimated, moreover, that these pretences of clemency were merehypocrisy, and that self-interest was at the bottom of their compassion. "'Tis very black, " said he, "when interest governs; but these men are ain debt, so deeply that they owe their very souls. They are seeking everymeans of escaping from their obligations, and are most desirous ofcreating general confusion. " As to the Prince of Orange, the Cardinalasserted that he owed nine hundred thousand florins, and had hardlytwenty-five thousand a-year clear income, while he spent ninety thousand, having counts; barons, and gentlemen in great numbers, in his household. At this point, he suggested that it might be well to find employment forsome of these grandees in Spain and other dominions of his Majesty, adding that perhaps Orange might accept the vice-royalty of Sicily. 

Resuming the religious matter, a few weeks later, he expressed himself alittle more cheerfully, "We have made so much outcry, " said he, "that atlast Marquis Berghen has been forced to burn a couple of heretics atValenciennes. Thus, it is obvious, " moralized the Cardinal, "that if hewere really willing to apply the remedy in that place, much progressmight be made; but that we can do but little so long as he remains in thegovernment of the provinces and refuses to assist us. " In a subsequentletter, he again uttered com plaints against the Marquis and Montigny, who were evermore his scapegoats and bugbears. Berghen will give us noaid, he wrote, despite of all the letters we send him. He absents himselffor private and political reasons. Montigny has eaten meat in Lent, asthe Bishop of Tournay informs me. Both he and the Marquis say openly thatit is not right to shed blood for matters of faith, so that the King canjudge how much can be effected with such coadjutors. Berghen avoids thepersecution of heretics, wrote the Cardinal again, a month later, toSecretary Perez. He has gone to Spa for his health, although those whosaw him last say he is fat and hearty. 

Granvelle added, however, that they had at last "burned one more preacheralive. " The heretic, he stated, had feigned repentance to save his life, but finding that, at any rate, his head would be cut off as a dogmatizer, he retracted his recantation. "So, " concluded the Cardinal, complacently, "they burned him. "

He chronicled the sayings and doings of the principal personages in theNetherlands, for the instruction of the King, with great regularity, insinuating suspicions when unable to furnish evidence, and addingcharitable apologies, which he knew would have but small effect upon themind of his correspondent. Thus he sent an account of a "very secretmeeting" held by Orange, Egmont, Horn, Montigny and Berghen, at the abbeyof La Forest, near Brussels, adding, that he did not know what they hadbeen doing there, and was at loss what to suspect. He would be mosthappy, he said, to put the best interpretation upon their actions, but hecould not help remembering with great sorrow the observation so recentlymade by Orange to Montigny, that one day they should be stronger. Laterin the year, the Cardinal informed the King that the same nobles wereholding a conference at Weerdt, that he had not learned what had beentransacted there, but thought the affair very suspicious. Philipimmediately communicated the intelligence to Alva, together with anexpression of Granvelle's fears and of his own, that a popular outbreakwould be the consequence of the continued presence of the minister in theNetherlands. 

The Cardinal omitted nothing in the way of anecdote or inuendo, whichcould injure the character of the leading nobles, with the exception, perhaps, of Count Egmont. With this important personage, whose characterhe well understood, he seemed determined, if possible, to maintainfriendly relations. There was a deep policy in this desire, to which weshall advert hereafter. The other seigniors were described in generalterms as disposed to overthrow the royal authority. They were bent uponGranvelle's downfall as the first step, because, that being accomplished, the rest would follow as a matter of course. "They intend, " said he, "toreduce the state into the form of a republic, in which the King shallhave no power except to do their bidding. " He added, that he saw withregret so many German troops gathering on the borders; for he believedthem to be in the control of the disaffected nobles of the Netherlands. Having made this grave insinuation, he proceeded in the same breath toexpress his anger at a statement said to have been made by Orange andEgmont, to the effect that he had charged them with intending to excite acivil commotion, an idea, he added, which had never entered his head. Inthe same paragraph, he poured into the most suspicious ear that everlistened to a tale of treason, his conviction that the nobles wereplanning a republic by the aid of foreign troops, and uttered a complaintthat these nobles had accused him of suspecting them. As for the Princeof Orange, he was described as eternally boasting of his influence inGermany, and the great things which he could effect by means of hisconnexions there, "so that, " added the Cardinal, "we hear no other song. "

He had much to say concerning the projects of these grandees to abolishall the councils, but that of state, of which body they intended toobtain the entire control. Marquis Berghen was represented as being atthe bottom of all these intrigues. The general and evident intention wasto make a thorough change in the form of government. The Marquis meant tocommand in every thing, and the Duchess would soon have nothing to do inthe provinces as regent for the King. In fact, Philip himself would beequally powerless, "for, " said the Cardinal, "they will have succeeded inputting your Majesty completely under guardianship. " He added, moreover, that the seigniors, in order to gain favor with the people and with theestates, had allowed them to acquire so much power, that they wouldrespond to any request for subsidies by a general popular revolt. "Thisis the simple truth, " said Granvelle, "and moreover, by the same process, in a very few days there will likewise be no religion left in the land. "When the deputies of some of the states, a few weeks later, had beenirregularly convened in Brussels, for financial purposes, the Cardinalinformed the monarch that the nobles were endeavoring to conciliate theirgood-will, by offering them a splendid series of festivities andbanquets. 

He related various anecdotes which came to his ears from time to time, all tending to excite suspicions as to the loyalty and orthodoxy of theprincipal nobles. A gentleman coming from Burgundy had lately, as heinformed the King, been dining with the Prince of Orange, with whom Hornand Montigny were then lodging. At table, Montigny called out in a veryloud voice to the strange cavalier, who was seated at a great distancefrom him, to ask if there were many Huguenots in Burgundy. No, repliedthe gentleman nor would they be permitted to exist there. "Then there canbe very few people of intelligence in that province, " returned Montigny, "for those who have any wit are mostly all Huguenots. " The Prince ofOrange here endeavored to put a stop to the conversation, saying that theBurgundians were very right to remain as they were; upon which Montignyaffirmed that he had heard masses enough lately to last him for threemonths. These things may be jests, commented Granvelle, but they are verybad ones; and 'tis evident that such a man is an improper instrument toremedy the state of religious affairs in Tournay. 

At another large party, the King was faithfully informed by the samechronicler, that Marquis Berghen had been teasing the Duke of Aerschotvery maliciously, because he would not join the league. The Duke hadresponded as he had formerly done to Egmont, that his Majesty was not toreceive laws from his vassals; adding that, for himself, he meant tofollow in the loyal track of his ancestors, fearing God and honoring theking. In short, said Granvelle, he answered them with so much wisdom, that although they had never a high opinion of his capacity, they weresilenced. This conversation had been going on before all the servants, the Marquis being especially vociferous, although the room was quite fullof them. As soon as the cloth was removed, and while some of the lackiesstill remained, Berghen had resumed the conversation. He said he was ofthe same mind as his ancestor, John of Berghen, had been, who had oncetold the King's grandfather, Philip the Fair, that if his Majesty wasbent on his own perdition, he had no disposition to ruin himself. If thepresent monarch means to lose these provinces by governing them as he didgovern them, the Marquis affirmed that he had no wish to lose the littleproperty that he himself possessed in the country. "But if, " argued theDuke of Aerschot, "the King absolutely refuse to do what you demand ofhim; what then?"--"Par la cordieu!" responded Berghen, in a rage, "wewill let him see!" whereupon all became silent. 

Granvelle implored the King to keep these things entirely to himself;adding that it was quite necessary for his Majesty to learn in thismanner what were the real dispositions of the gentlemen of the provinces. It was also stated in the same letter, that a ruffian Genoese, who hadbeen ordered out of the Netherlands by the Regent, because of a homicidehe had committed, was kept at Weert, by Count Horn, for the purpose ofmurdering the Cardinal. 

He affirmed that he was not allowed to request the expulsion of theassassin from the Count's house; but that he would take care, nevertheless, that neither this ruffian nor any other, should accomplishhis purpose. A few weeks afterwards, expressing his joy at thecontradiction of a report that Philip had himself been assassinated, Granvelle added; "I too, who am but a worm in comparison, am threatenedon so many sides, that many must consider me already dead. Nevertheless, I will endeavor, with God's help, to live as long as I can, and if theykill me, I hope they will not gain every thing. " Yet, with characteristicJesuitism, the Cardinal could not refrain, even in the very letter inwhich he detailed the rebellious demonstrations of Berghen, and themurderous schemes of Horn, to protest that he did not say these things"to prejudice his Majesty against any one, but only that it might beknown to what a height the impudence was rising. " Certainly the King andthe ecclesiastic, like the Roman soothsayers, would have laughed in eachother's face, could they have met, over the hollowness of suchdemonstrations. Granvelle's letters were filled, for the greater part, with pictures of treason, stratagem, and bloody intentions, fabricatedmostly out of reports, table-talk, disjointed chat in the carelessfreedom of domestic intercourse, while at the same time a margin wasalways left to express his own wounded sense of the injurious suspicionsuttered against him by the various subjects of his letters. "God knows, "said he to Perez, "that I always speak of them with respect, which ismore than they do of me. But God forgive them all. In times like these, one must hold one's tongue. One must keep still, in order not to stir upa hornet's nest. "

In short, the Cardinal, little by little, during the last year of hisresidence in the Netherlands, was enabled to spread a canvas before hissovereign's eye, in which certain prominent figures, highly colored bypatiently accumulated touches, were represented as driving a wholenation, against its own will, into manifest revolt. The estates and thepeople, he said, were already tired of the proceedings of the nobles, andthose personages would find themselves very much mistaken in thinkingthat men who had any thing to lose would follow them, when they began arebellion against his Majesty. On the whole, he was not desirous ofprolonging his own residence, although, to do him justice, he was notinfluenced by fear. He thought or affected to think that the situationwas one of a factitious popular discontent, procured by the intrigues ofa few ambitious and impoverished Catilines and Cethegi, not a risingrebellion such as the world had never seen, born of the slowly-awakenedwrath of, a whole people, after the martyrdom of many years. The remedythat he recommended was that his Majesty should come in person to theprovinces. The monarch would cure the whole disorder as soon as heappeared, said the Cardinal, by merely making the sign of the cross. Whether, indeed, the rapidly-increasing cancer of national discontentwould prove a mere king's evil, to be healed by the royal touch, as manypersons besides Granvelle believed, was a point not doomed to be tested. From that day forward Philip began to hold out hopes that he would cometo administer the desired remedy, but even then it was the opinion ofgood judges that he would give millions rather than make his appearancein the Netherlands. It was even the hope of William of Orange that theKing would visit the provinces. He expressed his desire, in a letter toLazarus Schwendi, that his sovereign should come in person, that he mightsee whether it had been right to sow so much distrust between himself andhis loyal subjects. The Prince asserted that it was impossible for anyperson not on the spot to imagine the falsehoods and calumnies circulatedby Granvelle and his friends, accusing Orange and his associates ofrebellion and heresy, in the most infamous manner in the world. He added, in conclusion, that he could write no more, for the mere thought of themanner in which the government of the Netherlands was carried on filledhim with disgust and rage. This letter, together with one in a similarstrain from Egmont, was transmitted by the valiant and highlyintellectual soldier to whom they were addressed, to the King of Spain, with an entreaty that he would take warning from the bitter truths whichthey contained. The Colonel, who was a most trusty friend of Orange, wrote afterwards to Margaret of Parma in the same spirit, warmly urgingher to moderation in religious matters. This application highly enragedMorillon, the Cardinal's most confidential dependent, who accordinglyconveyed the intelligence to his already departed chief, exclaiming inhis letter, "what does the ungrateful baboon mean by meddling with ouraffairs? A pretty state of things, truly, if kings are to choose orretain their ministers at the will of the people; little does he know ofthe disasters which would be caused by a relaxation of the edicts. " Inthe same sense, the Cardinal, just before his departure, which was nowimminent, wrote to warn his sovereign of the seditious character of themen who were then placing their breasts between the people and theirbutchers. He assured Philip that upon the movement of those noblesdepended the whole existence of the country. It was time that they shouldbe made to open their eyes. They should be solicited in every way toabandon their evil courses, since the liberty which they thoughtthemselves defending was but abject slavery; but subjection to a thousandbase and contemptible personages, and to that "vile animal called thepeople. "

It is sufficiently obvious, from the picture which we have now presentedof the respective attitudes of Granvelle, of the seigniors and of thenation, during the whole of the year 1563, and the beginning of thefollowing year, that a crisis was fast approaching. Granvelle was, forthe moment, triumphant, Orange, Egmont, and Horn had abandoned the statecouncil, Philip could not yet make up his mind to yield to the storm, andAlva howled defiance at the nobles and the whole people of theNetherlands. Nevertheless, Margaret of Parma was utterly weary of theminister, the Cardinal himself was most anxious to be gone, and thenation--for there was a nation, however vile the animal might be--wasbecoming daily more enraged at the presence of a man in whom, whetherjustly or falsely, it beheld the incarnation of the religious oppressionunder which they groaned. Meantime, at the close of the year, a newincident came to add to the gravity of the situation. Caspar Schetz, Baron of Grobbendonck, gave a Great dinner-party, in the month ofDecember, 1563. This personage, whose name was prominent for many yearsin the public affairs of the nation, was one of the four brothers whoformed a very opulent and influential mercantile establishment. 

He was the King's principal factor and financial agent. He was one of thegreat pillars of the Bourse at Antwerp. He was likewise a tolerablescholar, a detestable poet, an intriguing politician, and a corruptfinancier. He was regularly in the pay of Sir Thomas Gresham, to whom hefurnished secret information, for whom he procured differential favors, and by whose government he was rewarded by gold chains and presents ofhard cash, bestowed as secretly as the equivalent was conveyed adroitly. Nevertheless, although his venality was already more than suspected, andalthough his peculation, during his long career became so extensive thathe was eventually prosecuted by government, and died before the processwas terminated, the lord of Grobbendonck was often employed in mostdelicate negotiations, and, at the present epoch, was a man of muchimportance in the Netherlands. 

The treasurer-general accordingly gave his memorable banquet to adistinguished party of noblemen. The conversation, during dinner, turned, as was inevitable, upon the Cardinal. His ostentation, greediness, insolence, were fully canvassed. The wine flowed freely as it always didin those Flemish festivities--the brains of the proud and recklesscavaliers became hot with excitement, while still the odious ecclesiasticwas the topic of their conversation, the object alternately of fierceinvective or of scornful mirth. The pompous display which he affected inhis equipages, liveries, and all the appurtenances of his household, hadfrequently excited their derision, and now afforded fresh matter fortheir ridicule. The customs of Germany, the simple habiliments in whichthe retainers of the greatest houses were arrayed in that country, werecontrasted with the tinsel and glitter in which the prelate prankedhimself. It was proposed, by way of showing contempt for Granvelle, thata livery should be forthwith invented, as different as possible from hisin general effect, and that all the gentlemen present shouldindiscriminately adopt it for their own menials. Thus would the peoplewhom the Cardinal wished to dazzle with his finery learn to estimate suchgauds at their true value. It was determined that something extremelyplain, and in the German fashion, should be selected. At the same time, the company, now thoroughly inflamed with wine, and possessed by thespirit of mockery, determined that a symbol should be added to thelivery, by which the universal contempt for Granvelle should beexpressed. The proposition was hailed with acclamation, but who shouldinvent the hieroglyphical costume? All were reckless and ready enough, but ingenuity of device was required. At last it was determined to decidethe question by hazard. Amid shouts of hilarity, the dice were thrown. Those men were staking their lives, perhaps, upon the issue, but thereflection gave only a keener zest to the game. Egmont won. It was themost fatal victory which he had ever achieved, a more deadly prize eventhan the trophies of St. Quentin and Gravelingen. 

In a few days afterwards, the retainers of the house of Egmont surprisedBrussels by making their appearance in a new livery. Doublet and hose ofthe coarsest grey, and long hanging sleeves, without gold or silver lace, and having but a single ornament, comprised the whole costume. An emblemwhich seemed to resemble a monk's cowl, or a fool's cap and bells, wasembroidered upon each sleeve. The device pointed at the Cardinal, as did, by contrast, the affected coarseness of the dress. There was no doubt asto the meaning of the hood, but they who saw in the symbol moreresemblance to the jester's cap, recalled certain biting expressionswhich Granvelle had been accustomed to use. He had been wont, in the daysof his greatest insolence, to speak of the most eminent nobles as zanies, lunatics, and buffoons. The embroidered fool's cap was supposed to typifythe gibe, and to remind the arrogant priest that a Brutus, as in theolden time, might be found lurking in the costume of the fool. Howeverwitty or appropriate the invention, the livery had an immense success. According to agreement, the nobles who had dined with the treasurerordered it for all their servants. Never did a new dress become so soonthe fashion. The unpopularity of the minister assisted the quaintness ofthe device. The fool's-cap livery became the rage. Never was such a runupon the haberdashers, mercers, and tailors, since Brussels had been acity. All the frieze-cloth in Brabant was exhausted. All the serge inFlanders was clipped into monastic cowls. The Duchess at first laughedwith the rest, but the Cardinal took care that the king should be at onceinformed upon the subject. The Regent was, perhaps, not extremely sorryto see the man ridiculed whom she so cordially disliked, and, sheaccepted the careless excuses made on the subject by Egmont and by Orangewithout severe criticism. She wrote to her brother that, although thegentlemen had been influenced by no evil intention, she had thought itbest to exhort them not to push the jest too far. Already, however, shefound that two thousand pairs, of sleeves had been made, and the most shecould obtain was that the fools' caps, or monks' hoods, should in futurebe omitted from the livery. A change was accordingly made in the costume, at about the time of the cardinal's departure. 

A bundle of arrows, or in some instances a wheat-sheaf, was substitutedfor the cowls. Various interpretations were placed upon this new emblem. According to the nobles themselves, it denoted the union of all theirhearts in the King's service, while their enemies insinuated that it wasobviously a symbol of conspiracy. The costume thus amended was worn bythe gentlemen themselves, as well as by their servants. Egmont dined atthe Regent's table, after the Cardinal's departure, in a camlet doublet, with hanging sleeves, and buttons stamped with the bundle of arrows. 

For the present, the Cardinal affected to disapprove of the fashion onlyfrom its rebellious tendency. The fools' caps and cowls, he meeklyobserved to Philip, were the least part of the offence, for an injury tohimself could be easily forgiven. The wheat-sheaf and the arrow-bundles, however, were very vile things, for they betokened and confirmed theexistence of a conspiracy, such as never could be tolerated by a princewho had any regard for his own authority. 

This incident of the livery occupied the public attention, and inflamedthe universal hatred during the later months of the minister's residencein the country. Meantime the three seigniors had become very impatient atreceiving no answer to their letter. Margaret of Parma was urging herbrother to give them satisfaction, repeating to him their bittercomplaints that their characters and conduct were the subject of constantmisrepresentation to their sovereign, and picturing her own isolatedcondition. She represented herself as entirely deprived of the support ofthose great personages, who, despite her positive assurances to thecontrary, persisted in believing that they were held up to the King asconspirators, and were in danger of being punished as traitors. Philip, on his part, was conning Granvelle's despatches, filled with hints ofconspiracy, and holding counsel with Alva, who had already recommendedthe taking off several heads for treason. The Prince of Orange, whoalready had secret agents in the King's household, and was supplied withcopies of the most private papers in the palace, knew better than to bedeceived by the smooth representations of the Regent. Philip had, however, at last begun secretly to yield. He asked Alva's advice whetheron the whole it would not be better to let the Cardinal leave theNetherlands, at least for a time, on pretence of visiting his mother inBurgundy, and to invite Count Egmont to Madrid, by way of striking onelink from the chain, as Granvelle had suggested. The Duke had repliedthat he had no doubt of the increasing insolence of the three seigniors, as depicted in the letters of the Duchess Margaret, nor of theirintention to make the Cardinal their first victim; it being the regularprinciple in all revolts against the sovereign, to attack the chiefminister in the first place. He could not, however, persuade himself thatthe King should yield and Granvelle be recalled. Nevertheless, if it wereto be done at all, he preferred that the Cardinal should go to Burgundywithout leave asked either of the Duchess or of Philip; and that heshould then write; declining to return, on the ground that his life wasnot safe in the Netherlands. 

After much hesitation, the monarch at last settled upon a plan, whichrecommended itself through the extreme duplicity by which it was marked, and the complicated system of small deceptions, which it consequentlyrequired. The King, who was never so thoroughly happy or at home as whenelaborating the ingredients of a composite falsehood, now busily employedhimself in his cabinet. He measured off in various letters to the Regent, to the three nobles, to Egmont alone, and to Granvelle, certainproportionate parts of his whole plan, which; taken separately, wereintended to deceive, and did deceive nearly every person in the world, not only in his own generation, but for three centuries afterwards, butwhich arranged synthetically, as can now be done, in consequence ofmodern revelations, formed one complete and considerable lie, theobservation of which furnishes the student with a lesson in the politicalchemistry of those days, which was called Macchiavellian statesmanship. The termination of the Granvelle regency is, moreover, most important, not only for the grave and almost interminable results to which it led, but for the illustration which it affords of the inmost characters of theCardinal and "his master. "

The courier who was to take Philip's letters to the three nobles wasdetained three weeks, in order to allow Armenteros, who was charged withthe more important and secret despatches for the Duchess and Granvelle toreach Brussels first. All the letters, however, were ready at the sametime. The letter of instructions for Armenteros enjoined upon that envoyto tell the Regent that the heretics were to be chastised with renewedvigor, that she was to refuse to convoke the states-general under anypretext, and that if hard pressed, she was to refer directly to the King. With regard to Granvelle, the secretary was to state that his Majesty wasstill deliberating, and that the Duchess would be informed as to thedecision when it should be made. He was to express the royal astonishmentthat the seigniors should absent themselves from the state council, witha peremptory intimation that they should immediately return to theirposts. As they had specified no particularities against the Cardinal, theKing would still reflect upon the subject. 

He also wrote a private note to the Duchess, stating that he had not yetsent the letters for the three nobles, because he wished that Armenterosshould arrive before their courier. He, however, enclosed two notes forEgmont, of which Margaret was to deliver that one, which, in her opinion, was, under the circumstances, the best. In one of these missives the Kingcordially accepted, and in the other he politely declined Egmont's recentoffer to visit Spain. He also forwarded a private letter in his ownhand-writing to the Cardinal. Armenteros, who travelled but slowly onaccount of the state of his health, arrived in Brussels towards the endof February. Five or six days afterwards, on the 1st March, namely, thecourier arrived bringing the despatches for the seigniors. In his letterto Orange, Egmont, and Horn, the King expressed his astonishment at theirresolution to abstain from the state council. Nevertheless, said he, imperatively, fail not to return thither and to show how much more highlyyou regard my service and the good of the country than any otherparticularity whatever. As to Granvelle, continued Philip, since you willnot make any specifications, my intention is to think over the matterlonger, in order to arrange it as may seem most fitting. 

This letter was dated February 19 (1564), nearly a month later thereforethan the secret letter to Granvelle, brought by Armenteros, although allthe despatches had been drawn up at the same time and formed parts of thesame plan. In this brief note to Granvelle, however, lay the heart of thewhole mystery. 

"I have reflected much, " wrote the King, "on all that you have written meduring these last few months, concerning the ill-will borne you bycertain personages. I notice also your suspicions that if a revolt breaksout, they will commence with your person, thus taking occasion to proceedfrom that point to the accomplishment of their ulterior designs. I haveparticularly taken into consideration the notice received by you from thecurate of Saint Gudule, as well as that which you have learned concerningthe Genoese who is kept at Weert; all which has given me much anxiety aswell from my desire for the preservation of your life in which my serviceis so deeply interested, as for the possible results if any thing shouldhappen to you, which God forbid. I have thought, therefore, that it wouldbe well, in order to give time and breathing space to the hatred andrancor which those persons entertain towards you, and in order to seewhat coarse they will take in preparing the necessary remedy, for theprovinces, for you to leave the country for some days, in order to visityour mother, and this with the knowledge of the Duchess, my sister, andwith her permission, which you will request, and which I have written toher that she must give, without allowing it to appear that you havereceived orders to that effect from me. You will also beg her to write tome requesting my approbation of what she is to do. By taking this courseneither my authority nor yours will suffer prejudice; and according tothe turn which things may take, measures may be taken for your returnwhen expedient, and for whatever else there may be to arrange. "

Thus, in two words, Philip removed the unpopular minister forever. Thelimitation of his absence had no meaning, and was intended to have none. If there were not strength enough to keep the Cardinal in his place, itwas not probable that the more difficult task of reinstating him afterhis fall would be very soon attempted. It, seemed, however, to be dealingmore tenderly with Granvelle's self-respect thus to leave a vague openingfor a possible return, than to send him an unconditional dismissal. 

Thus, while the King refused to give any weight to the representations ofthe nobles, and affected to be still deliberating whether or not heshould recall the Cardinal, he had in reality already recalled him. Allthe minute directions according to which permission was to be asked ofthe Duchess to take a step which had already been prescribed by themonarch, and Philip's indulgence craved for obeying his own explicitinjunctions, were fulfilled to the letter. 

As soon as the Cardinal received the royal order, he privately madepreparations for his departure. The Regent, on the other hand, deliveredto Count Egmont the one of Philip's two letters in which that gentleman'svisit was declined, the Duchess believing that, in the present positionof affairs, she should derive more assistance from him than from the restof the seigniors. As Granvelle, however, still delayed his departure, even after the arrival of the second courier, she was again placed in asituation of much perplexity. The three nobles considered Philip's letterto them extremely "dry and laconic, " and Orange absolutely refused tocomply with the order to re-enter the state council. At a session of thatbody, on the 3d of March, where only Granvelle, Viglius, and Berlaymontwere present, Margaret narrated her fruitless attempts to persuade theseigniors into obedience to the royal orders lately transmitted, andasked their opinions. The extraordinary advice was then given, that "sheshould let them champ the bit a little while longer, and afterwards seewhat was to be done. " Even at the last moment, the Cardinal, reluctant toacknowledge himself beaten, although secretly desirous to retire, wasinclined for a parting struggle. The Duchess, however, being now armedwith the King's express commands, and having had enough of holding thereins while such powerful and restive personages were "champing the bit, "insisted privately that the Cardinal should make his immediate departureknown. Pasquinades and pamphlets were already appearing daily, each morebitter than the other; the livery was spreading rapidly through allclasses of people, and the seigniors most distinctly refused to recedefrom their determination of absenting themselves from the council so longas Granvelle remained. There was no help for it; and on the 13th of Marchthe Cardinal took his departure. Notwithstanding the mystery of the wholeproceeding, however, William of Orange was not deceived. He felt certainthat the minister had been recalled, and thought it highly improbablethat he would ever be permitted to return. "Although the Cardinal talksof coming back again soon, " wrote the Prince to Schwartzburg, "wenevertheless hope that, as he lied about his departure, so he will alsospare the truth in his present assertions. " This was the generalconviction, so far as the question of the minister's compulsory retreatwas concerned, of all those who were in the habit of receiving theirinformation and their opinions from the Prince of Orange. Many eventhought that Granvelle had been recalled with indignity and much againsthis will. "When the Cardinal, " wrote Secretary Lorich to Count Louis, "received the King's order to go, he growled like a bear, and kepthimself alone in his chamber for a time, making his preparations fordeparture. He says he shall come back in two months, but some of us thinkthey will be two long months which will eat themselves up like moneyborrowed of the Jews. " A wag, moreover, posted a large placard upon thedoor of Granvelle's palace in Brussels as soon as the minister'sdeparture was known, with the inscription, in large letters, "For sale, immediately. " In spite of the royal ingenuity, therefore, many shrewdlysuspected the real state of the case, although but very few actually knewthe truth. 

The Cardinal left Brussels with a numerous suite, stately equipages, andmuch parade. The Duchess provided him with her own mules and with asufficient escort, for the King had expressly enjoined that every careshould be taken against any murderous attack. There was no fear of suchassault, however, for all were sufficiently satisfied to see the ministerdepart. Brederode and Count Hoogstraaten were standing together, lookingfrom the window of a house near the gate of Caudenberg, to feast theireyes with the spectacle of their enemy's retreat. As soon as the Cardinalhad passed through that gate, on his way to Namur, the first stage of hisjourney, they rushed into the street, got both upon one horse, Hoogstraaten, who alone had boots on his legs, taking the saddle andBrederode the croup, and galloped after the Cardinal, with the exultationof school-boys. Thus mounted, they continued to escort the Cardinal onhis journey. At one time, they were so near his carriage, while it waspassing through a ravine, that they might have spoken to him from theheights above, where they had paused to observe him; but they pulled thecapes of their cloaks over their faces and suffered him to passunchallenged. "But they are young folk, " said the Cardinal, benignantly, after relating all these particulars to the Duchess, "and one should paylittle regard to their actions. " He added, that one of Egmont's gentlemendogged their party on the journey, lodging in the same inns with them, apparently in the hope of learning something from their conversation orproceedings. If that were the man's object, however, Granvelle expressedthe conviction that he was disappointed, as nothing could have been moremerry than the whole company, or more discreet than their conversation. 

The Cardinal began at once to put into operation the system of deception, as to his departure, which had been planned by Philip. The man who hadbeen ordered to leave the Netherlands by the King, and pushed intoimmediate compliance with the royal command by the Duchess, proceeded toaddress letters both to Philip and Margaret. He wrote from Namur to begthe Regent that she would not fail to implore his Majesty graciously toexcuse his having absented himself for private reasons at that particularmoment. He wrote to Philip from Besancon, stating that his desire tovisit his mother, whom he had not seen for nineteen years, and his natalsoil, to which he had been a stranger during the same period, had inducedhim to take advantage of his brother's journey to accompany him for a fewdays into Burgundy. He had, therefore, he said, obtained the necessarypermission from the Duchess, who had kindly promised to write veryparticularly by the first courier, to beg his Majesty's approval of theliberty which they had both taken. He wrote from the same place to theRegent again, saying that some of the nobles pretended to have learnedfrom Armenteros that the King had ordered the Cardinal to leave thecountry and not to return; all which, he added, was a very falseRenardesque invention, at which he did nothing but laugh. 

As a matter of course, his brother, in whose company he was about tovisit the mother whom he had not seen for the past nineteen years, was asmuch mystified as the rest of the world. Chantonnay was not aware thatany thing but the alleged motives had occasioned the journey, nor did heknow that his brother would perhaps have omitted to visit their commonparent for nineteen years longer had he not received the royal order toleave the Netherlands. 

Philip, on the other side, had sustained his part, in the farce with muchability. Viglius, Berlaymont, Morillon, and all the lesser cardinalistswere entirely taken in by the letters which were formally despatched tothe Duchess in reply to her own and the Cardinal's notification. "I cannot take it amiss, " wrote the King, "that you have given leave of absenceto Cardinal de Granvelle, for two or three months, according to theadvices just received from you, that he may attend to some privateaffairs of his own. " As soon as these letters had been read in thecouncil, Viglius faithfully transmitted them to Granvelle for thatpersonage's enlightenment; adding his own innocent reflection, that "thiswas very different language from that held by some people, that your mostillustrious lordship had retired by order of his Majesty. " Morillon alsosent the Cardinal a copy of the same passage in the royal despatch, saying, very wisely, "I wonder what they will all say now, since theseletters have been read in council. " The Duchess, as in duty bound, deniedflatly, on all occasions, that Armenteros had brought any lettersrecommending or ordering the minister's retreat. She conscientiouslydisplayed the letters of his Majesty, proving the contrary, and yet, saidViglius, it was very hard to prevent people talking as they liked. Granvelle omitted no occasion to mystify every one of his correspondentson the subject, referring, of course, to the same royal letters which hadbeen written for public reading, expressly to corroborate thesestatements. "You see by his Majesty's letters to Madame de Parma, " saidhe to Morillon, "how false is the report that the King had ordered me toleave Flanders, and in what confusion those persons find themselves whofabricated the story. " It followed of necessity that he should carry outhis part in the royal program, but he accomplished his task so adroitly, and with such redundancy of zeal, as to show his thorough sympathy withthe King's policy. He dissembled with better grace, even if the King didit more naturally. Nobody was too insignificant to be deceived, nobodytoo august. Emperor Ferdinand fared no better than "Esquire" Bordey. "Some of those who hate me, " he wrote to the potentate, "have circulatedthe report that I had been turned out of the country, and was never toreturn. This story has ended in smoke, since the letters written by hisMajesty to the Duchess of Parma on the subject of the leave of absencewhich she had given me. " Philip himself addressed a private letter toGranvelle, of course that others might see it, in which he affected tohave just learned that the Cardinal had obtained permission from theRegent "to make a visit to his mother, in order to arrange certain familymatters, " and gravely gave his approbation to the step. At the same timeit was not possible for the King to resist the temptation of adding oneother stroke of dissimulation to his own share in the comedy. Granvelleand Philip had deceived all the world, but Philip also deceivedGranvelle. The Cardinal made a mystery of his departure to Pollwiller, Viglius, Morillon, to the Emperor, to his own brother, and also to theKing's secretary, Gonzalo Perez; but he was not aware that Perez, whom hethought himself deceiving as ingeniously as he had done all the others, had himself drawn up the letter of recall, which the King had afterwardscopied out in his own hand and marked "secret and confidential. " YetGranvelle might have guessed that in such an emergency Philip wouldhardly depend upon his own literary abilities. 

Granvelle remained month after month in seclusion, doing his best tophilosophize. Already, during the latter period of his residence in theNetherlands, he had lived in a comparative and forced solitude. His househad been avoided by those power-worshippers whose faces are rarely turnedto the setting sun. He had, in consequence, already, before hisdeparture, begun to discourse on the beauties of retirement, the fatiguesof greatness, and the necessity of repose for men broken with the stormsof state. A great man was like a lake, he said, to which a thirstymultitude habitually resorted till the waters were troubled, sullied, andfinally exhausted. Power looked more attractive in front than in theretrospect. That which men possessed was ever of less value than thatwhich they hoped. In this fine strain of eloquent commonplace the fallingminister had already begun to moralize upon the vanity of human wishes. When he was established at his charming retreat in Burgundy, he had fullleisure to pursue the theme. He remained in retirement till his beardgrew to his waist, having vowed, according to report, that he would notshave till recalled to the Netherlands. If the report were true, saidsome of the gentlemen in the provinces, it would be likely to grow to hisfeet. He professed to wish himself blind and deaf that he might have noknowledge of the world's events, described himself as buried inliterature, and fit for no business save to remain in his chamber, fastened to his books, or occupied with private affairs and religiousexercises. He possessed a most charming residence at Orchamps, where hespent a great portion of his time. In one of his letters toVice-Chancellor Seld, he described the beauties of this retreat with muchdelicacy and vigor--"I am really not as badly off here, " said he, "as Ishould be in the Indies. I am in sweet places where I have wished for youa thousand times, for I am certain that you would think them appropriatefor philosophy and worthy the habitation of the Muses. Here are beautifulmountains, high as heaven, fertile on all their sides, wreathed withvineyards, and rich with every fruit; here are rivers flowing throughcharming valleys, the waters clear as crystal, filled with trout, breaking into numberless cascades. Here are umbrageous groves, fertilefields, lovely meadows; on the one aide great warmth, on the other aidedelectable coolness, despite the summer's heat. Nor is there any lack ofgood company, friends, and relations, with, as you well know, the verybest wines in the world. "

Thus it is obvious that the Cardinal was no ascetic. His hermitagecontained other appliances save those for study and devotion. His retiredlife was, in fact, that of a voluptuary. His brother, Chantonnay, reproached him with the sumptuousness and disorder of his establishment. He lived in "good and joyous cheer. " He professed to be thoroughlysatisfied with the course things had taken, knowing that God was aboveall, and would take care of all. He avowed his determination to extractpleasure and profit even from the ill will of his adversaries. "Behold myphilosophy, " he cried, "to live joyously as possible, laughing at theworld, at passionate people, and at all their calumnies. " It is evidentthat his philosophy, if it had any real existence, was sufficientlyEpicurean. It was, however, mainly compounded of pretence, like his wholenature and his whole life. Notwithstanding the mountains high as heaven, the cool grottos, the trout, and the best Burgundy wines in the world, concerning which he descanted so eloquently, he soon became in realitymost impatient of his compulsory seclusion. His pretence of "composinghimself as much as possible to tranquillity and repose" could deceivenone of the intimate associates to whom he addressed himself in thatedifying vein. While he affected to be blind and deaf to politics, he hadeyes and ears for nothing else. Worldly affairs were his element, and hewas shipwrecked upon the charming solitude which he affected to admire. He was most anxious to return to the world again, but he had difficultcards to play. His master was even more dubious than usual abouteverything. Granvelle was ready to remain in Burgundy as long as Philipchose that he should remain there. He was also ready to go to "India, Peru, or into the fire, " whenever his King should require any suchexcursion, or to return to the Netherlands, confronting any danger whichmight lie in his path. It is probable that he nourished for a long time ahope that the storm would blow over in the provinces, and his resumptionof power become possible. William of Orange, although more than halfconvinced that no attempt would be made to replace the minister, felt itnecessary to keep strict watch on his movements. "We must be on ourguard, " said he, "and not be deceived. Perhaps they mean to put usasleep, in order the better to execute their designs. For the presentthings are peaceable, and all the world is rejoiced at the departure ofthat good Cardinal. " The Prince never committed the error of undervaluingthe talents of his great adversary, and he felt the necessity of being onthe alert in the present emergency. "'Tis a sly and cunning bird that weare dealing with, " said he, "one that sleeps neither day nor night if ablow is to be dealt to us. " Honest Brederode, after solacing himself withthe spectacle of his enemy's departure, soon began to suspect his return, and to express himself on the subject, as usual, with ludicrousvehemence. "They say the red fellow is back again, " he wrote to CountLouis, "and that Berlaymont has gone to meet him at Namur. The Devilafter the two would be a good chase. " Nevertheless, the chances of thatreturn became daily fainter. Margaret of Parma hated the Cardinal withgreat cordiality. She fell out of her servitude to him into far morecontemptible hands, but for a brief interval she seemed to take a delightin the recovery of her freedom. According to Viglius, the court, afterGranvelle's departure, was like a school of boys and girls when thepedagogue's back is turned. He was very bitter against the Duchess forher manifest joy at emancipation. The poor President was treated with themost marked disdain by Margaret, who also took pains to show her disliketo all the cardinalists. Secretary Armenteros forbade Bordey, who wasGranvelle's cousin and dependent, from even speaking to him in public. The Regent soon became more intimate with Orange and Egmont than she hadever been with the Cardinal. She was made to see--and, seeing, she becameindignant--the cipher which she had really been during hisadministration. "One can tell what's o'clock, " wrote Morillon to thefallen minister, "since she never writes to you nor mentions your name. "As to Armenteros, with whom Granvelle was still on friendly relations, hewas restless in his endeavors to keep the once-powerful priest fromrising again. Having already wormed himself into the confidence of theRegent, he made a point of showing to the principal seigniors variousletters, in which she had been warned by the Cardinal to put no trust inthem. "That devil, " said Armenteros, "thought he had got into Paradisehere; but he is gone, and we shall take care that he never returns. " Itwas soon thought highly probable that the King was but temporizing, andthat the voluntary departure of the minister had been a deception. Ofcourse nothing was accurately known upon the subject. Philip had takengood care of that, but meantime the bets were very high that there wouldbe no restoration, with but few takers. Men thought if there had been anyroyal favor remaining for the great man, that the Duchess would not be sodecided in her demeanor on the subject. They saw that she was scarletwith indignation whenever the Cardinal's name was mentioned. They heardher thank Heaven that she had but one son, because if she had had asecond he must have been an ecclesiastic, and as vile as priests alwayswere. They witnessed the daily contumely which she heaped upon poorViglius, both because he was a friend of Granvelle and was preparing inhis old age to take orders. The days were gone, indeed, when Margaret wasso filled with respectful affection for the prelate, that she couldsecretly correspond with the Holy Father at Rome, and solicit the red hatfor the object of her veneration. She now wrote to Philip, stating thatshe was better informed as to affairs in the Netherlands than she hadever formerly been. She told her brother that all the views of Granvelleand of his followers, Viglius with the rest, had tended to produce arevolution which they hoped that Philip would find in full operation whenhe should come to the Netherlands. It was their object, she said, to fishin troubled waters, and, to attain that aim, they had ever pursued theplan of gaining the exclusive control of all affairs. That was the reasonwhy they had ever opposed the convocation of the states-general. Theyfeared that their books would be read, and their frauds, injustice, simony, and rapine discovered. This would be the result, if tranquillitywere restored to the country, and therefore they had done their best tofoment and maintain discord. The Duchess soon afterwards entertained herroyal brother with very detailed accounts of various acts of simony, peculation, and embezzlement committed by Viglius, which the Cardinal hadaided and abetted, and by which he had profited. --[Correspondence dePhil. II, i. 318-320. ]--These revelations are inestimable in a historicalpoint of view. They do not raise our estimate of Margaret's character, but they certainly give us a clear insight into the nature of theGranvelle administration. At the same time it was characteristic of theDuchess, that while she was thus painting the portrait of the Cardinalfor the private eye of his sovereign, she should address the banishedminister himself in a secret strain of condolence, and even of penitence. She wrote to assure Granvelle that she repented extremely having adoptedthe views of Orange. She promised that she would state publicly everywhere that the Cardinal was an upright man, intact in his morals and hisadministration, a most zealous and faithful servant of the King. Sheadded that she recognized the obligations she was under to him, and thatshe loved him like a brother. She affirmed that if the Flemish seigniorshad induced her to cause the Cardinal to be deprived of the government, she was already penitent, and that her fault deserved that the King, herbrother, should cut off her head, for having occasioned so great acalamity. --["Memoires de Granvelle, " tom. 33, p. 67. ]

There was certainly discrepancy between the language thus usedsimultaneously by the Duchess to Granvelle and to Philip, but Margarethad been trained in the school of Macchiavelli, and had sat at the feetof Loyola. 

The Cardinal replied with equal suavity, protesting that such a letterfrom the Duchess left him nothing more to desire, as it furnished himwith an "entire and perfect justification" of his conduct. He was awareof her real sentiments, no doubt, but he was too politic to quarrel withso important a personage as Philip's sister. 

An incident which occurred a few months after the minister's departureserved, to show the general estimation in which he was held by all ranksof Netherlanders. Count Mansfeld celebrated the baptism of his son, Philip Octavian, by a splendid series of festivities at Luxemburg, thecapital of his government. Besides the tournaments and similar sports, with which the upper classes of European society were accustomed at thatday to divert themselves, there was a grand masquerade, to which thepublic were admitted as spectators. In this "mummery" the most successfulspectacle was that presented by a group arranged in obvious ridicule ofGranvelle. A figure dressed in Cardinal's costume, with the red hat uponhis head, came pacing through the arena upon horseback. Before himmarched a man attired like a hermit, with long white beard, telling hisbeads upon a rosary, which he held ostentatiously in his hands. Behindthe mounted Cardinal came the Devil, attired in the usual guiseconsidered appropriate to the Prince of Darkness, who scourged both horseand rider with a whip of fog-tails, causing them to scamper about thelists in great trepidation, to the immense delight of the spectators. Thepractical pun upon Simon Renard's name embodied in the fox-tail, with theallusion to the effect of the manifold squibs perpetrated by that mostbitter and lively enemy upon Granvelle, were understood and relished bythe multitude. Nothing could be more hearty than the blows bestowed uponthe minister's representative, except the applause with which thissatire, composed of actual fustigation, was received. The humorousspectacle absorbed all the interest of the masquerade, and was frequentlyrepeated. It seemed difficult to satisfy the general desire to witness athorough chastisement of the culprit. 

The incident made a great noise in the country. The cardinalists feltnaturally very much enraged, but they were in a minority. No censure camefrom the government at Brussels, and Mansfeld was then and for a longtime afterwards the main pillar of royal authority in the Netherlands. Itwas sufficiently obvious that Granvelle, for the time at least, wassupported by no party of any influence. 

Meantime he remained in his seclusion. His unpopularity did not, however, decrease in his absence. More than a year after his departure, Berlaymontsaid the nobles detested the Cardinal more than ever, and would eat himalive if they caught him. The chance of his returning was dying graduallyout. At about the same period Chantonnay advised his brother to show histeeth. He assured Granvelle that he was too quiet in his disgrace, reminded him that princes had warm affections when they wished to makeuse of people, but that when they could have them too cheaply, theyesteemed them but little; making no account of men whom they wereaccustomed to see under their feet. He urged the Cardinal, in repeatedletters, to take heart again, to make himself formidable, and to risefrom his crouching attitude. All the world say, he remarked, that thegame is up between the King and yourself, and before long every one willbe laughing at you, and holding you for a dupe. 

Stung or emboldened by these remonstrances, and weary of his retirement, Granvelle at last abandoned all intention of returning to theNetherlands, and towards the end of 1565, departed to Rome, where heparticipated in the election of Pope Pius V. Five years afterwards he wasemployed by Philip to negotiate the treaty between Spain, Rome, andVenice against the Turk. He was afterwards Viceroy of Naples, and in1575, he removed to Madrid, to take an active part in the management ofthe public business, "the disorder of which, " says the Abbe Boisot, "could be no longer arrested by men of mediocre capacity. " He died inthat city on the 21st September, 1586, at the age of seventy, and wasburied at Besancon. 

We have dwelt at length on the administration of this remarkablepersonage, because the period was one of vital importance in the historyof the Netherland commonwealth. The minister who deals with the countryat an epoch when civil war is imminent, has at least as heavy aresponsibility upon his head as the man who goes forth to confront thearmed and full-grown rebellion. All the causes out of which the greatrevolt was born, were in violent operation during the epoch ofGranvelle's power. By the manner in which he comported himself inpresence of those dangerous and active elements of the comingconvulsions, must his character as a historical personage be measured. His individuality had so much to do with the course of the government, the powers placed in his hands were so vast, and his energy so untiring, that it is difficult to exaggerate the importance of his influence uponthe destiny of the country which he was permitted to rule. It is for thisreason that we have been at great pains to present his picture, sketchedas it were by his own hand. A few general remarks are, however, necessary. It is the historian's duty to fix upon one plain and definitecanvas the chameleon colors in which the subtle Cardinal produced his ownimage. Almost any theory concerning his character might be laid down andsustained by copious citations from his works; nay, the most oppositeconclusions as to his interior nature, may be often drawn from a singleone of his private and interminable letters. Embarked under his guidance, it is often difficult to comprehend the point to which we are tending. The oarsman's face beams upon us with serenity, but he looks in onedirection, and rows in the opposite course. Even thus it was threecenturies ago. Was it to be wondered at that many did not see theprecipice towards which the bark which held their all was gliding underthe same impulse?

No man has ever disputed Granvelle's talents. From friend and foe hisintellect has received the full measure of applause which it could everclaim. No doubt his genius was of a rare and subtle kind. His great powerwas essentially dramatic in its nature. He mastered the characters of themen with whom he had to deal, and then assumed them. He practised thisart mainly upon personages of exalted station, for his scheme was togovern the world by acquiring dominion over its anointed rulers. A smoothand supple slave in appearance, but, in reality, while his power lasted, the despot of his masters, he exercised boundless control by enactingtheir parts with such fidelity that they were themselves deceived. It isimpossible not to admire the facility with which this accomplishedProteus successively assumed the characters of Philip and of Margaret, through all the complicated affairs and voluminous correspondence of hisgovernment. 

When envoys of high rank were to be despatched on confidential missionsto Spain, the Cardinal drew their instructions as the Duchess--threwlight upon their supposed motives in secret letters as the King'ssister--and answered their representations with ponderous wisdom asPhilip; transmitting despatches, letters and briefs for royalconversations, in time to be thoroughly studied before the advent of theambassador. Whoever travelled from Brussels to Madrid in order to escapethe influence of the ubiquitous Cardinal, was sure to be confronted withhim in the inmost recesses of the King's cabinet as soon as he wasadmitted to an audience. To converse with Philip or Margaret was but tocommune with Antony. The skill with which he played his game, seatedquietly in his luxurious villa, now stretching forth one long arm to movethe King at Madrid, now placing Margaret upon what square he liked, anddealing with Bishops, Knight of the Fleece, and lesser dignitaries, theRichardota, the Morillons, the Viglii and the Berlaymonts, with solereference to his own scheme of action, was truly of a nature to exciteour special wonder. His aptitude for affairs and his power to readcharacter were extraordinary; but it was necessary that the affairsshould be those of a despotism, and the characters of an inferior nature. He could read Philip and Margaret, Egmont or Berlaymont, Alva or Viglius, but he had no plummet to sound the depths of a mind like that of Williamthe Silent. His genius was adroit and subtle, but not profound. He aimedat power by making the powerful subservient, but he had not the intellectwhich deals in the daylight face to face with great events and greatminds. In the violent political struggle of which his administrationconsisted, he was foiled and thrown by the superior strength of a manwhose warfare was open and manly, and who had no defence against thepoisoned weapons of his foe. 

His literary accomplishments were very great. His fecundity wasprodigious, and he wrote at will in seven languages. 'This polyglotfacility was not in itself a very remarkable circumstance, for it grewout of his necessary education and geographical position. Few men in thatage and region were limited to their mother tongue. The Prince of Orange, who made no special pretence to learning, possessed at least fivelanguages. Egmont, who was accounted an ignorant man, was certainlyfamiliar with three. The Cardinal, however, wrote not only with ease, butwith remarkable elegance, vigor and vivacity, in whatever language hechose to adopt. The style of his letters and other documents, regardedsimply as compositions, was inferior to that of no writer of the age. Hisoccasional orations, too, were esteemed models of smooth and flowingrhetoric, at an epoch when the art of eloquence was not much cultivated. Yet it must be allowed that beneath all the shallow but harmonious flowof his periods, it would be idle to search for a grain of golden sand. Not a single sterling, manly thought is to be found in all hisproductions. If at times our admiration is excited with the appearance ofa gem of true philosophy, we are soon obliged to acknowledge, on closerinspection, that we have been deceived by a false glitter. In retirement, his solitude was not relieved by serious application to any branch ofknowledge. Devotion to science and to the advancement of learning, avirtue which has changed the infamy of even baser natures than his intoglory, never dignified his seclusion. He had elegant tastes, he builtfine palaces, he collected paintings, and he discoursed of the fine artswith the skill and eloquence of a practised connoisseur; but the nectaredfruits of divine philosophy were but harsh and crabbed to him. 

His moral characteristics are even more difficult to seize than hisintellectual traits. It is a perplexing task to arrive at the intimateinterior structure of a nature which hardly had an interior. He did notchange, but he presented himself daily in different aspects. Certainpeculiarities he possessed, however, which were unquestionable. He wasalways courageous, generally calm. Placed in the midst of a nation whichhated him, exposed to the furious opposition of the most powerfuladversaries, having hardly a friend, except the cowardly Viglius and thepluralist Morillon, secretly betrayed by Margaret of Parma, insulted byrude grandees, and threatened by midnight assassins, he never lost hisself-possession, his smooth arrogance, his fortitude. He wasconstitutionally brave. He was not passionate in his resentments. To saythat he was forgiving by nature would be an immense error; but that hecould put aside vengeance at the dictate of policy is very certain. Hecould temporize, even after the reception of what he esteemed graveinjuries, if the offenders were powerful. He never manifested rancoragainst the Duchess. Even after his fall from power in the Netherlands, he interceded with the Pope in favor of the principality of Orange, whichthe pontiff was disposed to confiscate. The Prince was at that time asgood a Catholic as the Cardinal. He was apparently on good terms with hissovereign, and seemed to have a prosperous career before him. He was nota personage to be quarrelled with. At a later day, when the position ofthat great man was most clearly defined to the world, the Cardinal'sancient affection for his former friend and pupil did not prevent himfrom suggesting the famous ban by which a price was set upon his head, and his life placed in the hands of every assassin in Europe. It did notprevent him from indulging in the jocularity of a fiend, when the news ofthe first-fruits of that bounty upon murder reached his ears. It did notprevent him from laughing merrily at the pain which his old friend musthave suffered, shot through the head and face with a musket-ball, and atthe mutilated aspect which his "handsome face must have presented to theeyes of his apostate wife. " It did not prevent him from stoutlydisbelieving and then refusing to be comforted, when the recovery of theillustrious victim was announced. He could always dissemble withoutentirely forgetting his grievances. Certainly, if he were the forgivingChristian he pictured himself, it is passing strange to reflect upon theultimate fate of Egmont, Horn, Montigny, Berghen, Orange, and a host ofothers, whose relations with him were inimical. 

His extravagance was enormous, and his life luxurious. At the same timehe could leave his brother Champagny--a man, with all his faults, of anoble nature, and with scarcely inferior talents to his own--to languishfor a long time in abject poverty; supported by the charity of an ancientdomestic. His greediness for wealth was proverbial. No benefice was toolarge or too paltry to escape absorption, if placed within his possiblereach. Loaded with places and preferments, rolling in wealth, heapproached his sovereign with the whine of a mendicant. He talked of hisproperty as a "misery, " when he asked for boons, and expressed his thanksin the language of a slave when he received them. Having obtained theabbey of St. Armand, he could hardly wait for the burial of the Bishop ofTournay before claiming the vast revenues of Afflighem, assuring the Kingas he did so that his annual income was but eighteen thousand crowns. Atthe same time, while thus receiving or pursuing the vast rents of St. Armand and Afflighem, he could seize the abbey of Trulle from theexpectant hands of poor dependents, and accept tapestries and hogsheadsof wine from Jacques Lequien and others, as a tax on the benefices whichhe procured for them. Yet the man who, like his father before him, had solong fattened on the public money, who at an early day had incurred theEmperor's sharp reproof for his covetousness, whose family, beside allthese salaries and personal property, possessed already fragments of theroyal domain, in the shape of nineteen baronies and seigniories inBurgundy, besides the county of Cantecroix and other estates in theNetherlands, had the effrontery to affirm, "We have always ratherregarded the service of the master than our own particular profit. "

In estimating the conduct of the minister, in relation to the provinces, we are met upon the threshold by a swarm of vague assertions which are ofa nature to blind or distract the judgment. His character must be judgedas a whole, and by its general results, with a careful allowance forcontradictions and equivocations. Truth is clear and single, but thelights are parti-colored and refracted in the prism of hypocrisy. Thegreat feature of his administration was a prolonged conflict betweenhimself and the leading seigniors of the Netherlands. The ground of thecombat was the religious question. Let the quarrel be turned or torturedin any manner that human ingenuity can devise, it still remainsunquestionable that Granvelle's main object was to strengthen and toextend the inquisition, that of his adversaries to overthrow theinstitution. It followed, necessarily, that the ancient charters were tobe trampled in the dust before that tribunal could be triumphant. Thenobles, although all Catholics, defended the cause of the poor religiousmartyrs, the privileges of the nation and the rights of their order. Theywere conservatives, battling for the existence of certain great facts, entirely consonant to any theory of justice and divine reason--forancient constitutions which had been purchased with blood and treasure. "I will maintain, " was the motto of William of Orange. Philip, bigotedand absolute almost beyond comprehension, might perhaps have provedimpervious to any representations, even of Granvelle. Nevertheless, theminister might have attempted the task, and the responsibility is heavyupon the man who shared the power and directed the career, but who neverceased to represent the generous resistance of individuals to franticcruelty, as offences against God and the King. 

Yet extracts are drawn from his letters to prove that he considered theSpaniards as "proud and usurping, " that he indignantly denied ever havingbeen in favor of subjecting the Netherlands to the soldiers of thatnation; that he recommended the withdrawal of the foreign regiments, andthat he advised the King, when he came to the country, to bring with himbut few Spanish troops. It should, however, be remembered that heemployed, according to his own statements, every expedient which humaningenuity could suggest to keep the foreign soldiers in the provinces, that he "lamented to his inmost soul" their forced departure, and that hedid not consent to that measure until the people were in a tumult, andthe Zealanders threatening to lay the country under the ocean. "You mayjudge of the means employed to excite the people, " he wrote to Perez in1563, "by the fact that a report is circulated that the Duke of Alva iscoming hither to tyrannize the provinces. " Yet it appears by theadmissions of Del Ryo, one of Alva's blood council, that, "CardinalGranvelle expressly advised that an army of Spaniards should be sent tothe Netherlands, to maintain the obedience to his Majesty and theCatholic religion, " and that the Duke of Alva was appointed chief by theadvice of Cardinal Spinosa, and by that of Cardinal Granvelle, as, appeared by many letters written at the time to his friends. By the sameconfessions; it appeared that the course of policy thus distinctlyrecommended by Granvelle, "was to place the country under a system ofgovernment like that of Spain and Italy, and to reduce it entirely underthe council of Spain. " When the terrible Duke started on his errand ofblood and fire, the Cardinal addressed him, a letter of fulsome flattery;protesting "that all the world know that no person could be found soappropriate as he, to be employed in an affair of such importance;"urging him to advance with his army as rapidly as possible upon theNetherlands, hoping that "the Duchess of Parma would not be allowed toconsent that any pardon or concession should be made to the cities, bywhich the construction of fortresses would be interfered with, or therevocation of the charters which had been forfeited, be prevented, " andgiving him much advice as to the general measures to be adopted, and thepersons to be employed upon his arrival, in which number the infamousNoircarmes was especially recommended. In a document found among hispapers, these same points, with others, were handled at considerablelength. The incorporation of the provinces into one kingdom, of which theKing was to be crowned absolute sovereign; the establishment of, auniversal law for the Catholic religion, care being taken not to callthat law inquisition, "because there was nothing so odious to thenorthern nations as the word Spanish Inquisition, although the thing initself be most holy and just;" the abolition and annihilation of thebroad or general council in the cities, the only popular representationin the country; the construction of many citadels and fortresses to begarrisoned with Spaniards, Italians, and Germans. Such were the leadingfeatures in that remarkable paper. 

The manly and open opposition of the nobles was stigmatized as a cabal bythe offended priest. He repeatedly whispered in the royal ear that theirleague was a treasonable conspiracy, which the Attorney-General ought toprosecute; that the seigniors meant to subvert entirely the authority ofthe Sovereign; that they meant to put their King under tutelage, tocompel him to obey all their commands, to choose another prince of theblood for their chief, to establish a republic by the aid of foreigntroops. If such insinuations, distilled thus secretly into the ear ofPhilip, who, like his predecessor, Dionysius, took pleasure in listeningdaily to charges against his subjects and to the groans of his prisoners, were not likely to engender a dangerous gangrene in the royal mind, itwould be difficult to indicate any course which would produce such aresult. Yet the Cardinal maintained that he had never done the gentlemenill service, but that "they were angry with him for wishing to sustainthe authority of the master. " In almost every letter he expressed vaguegeneralities of excuse, or even approbation, while he chronicled eachdaily fact which occurred to their discredit. The facts he particularlyimplored the King to keep to himself, the vague laudation he as urgentlyrequested him to repeat to those interested. Perpetually dropping smallinnuendos like pebbles into the depths of his master's suspicious soul, he knew that at last the waters of bitterness would overflow, but heturned an ever-smiling face upon those who were to be his victims. Therewas ever something in his irony like the bland request of the inquisitorto the executioner that he would deal with his prisoners gently. Therewas about the same result in regard to such a prayer to be expected fromPhilip as from the hangman. Even if his criticisms had been uniformlyindulgent, the position of the nobles and leading citizens thus subjectedto a constant but secret superintendence, would have been too galling tobe tolerated. They did not know, so precisely as we have learned afterthree centuries, that all their idle words and careless gestures as wellas their graver proceedings, were kept in a noting book to be pored overand conned by rote in the recesses of the royal cabinet and the royalmind; but they suspected the espionage of the Cardinal, and they openlycharged him with his secret malignity. 

The men who refused to burn their fellow-creatures for a difference inreligious opinion were stigmatized as demagogues; as ruined spendthriftswho wished to escape from their liabilities in the midst of revolutionaryconfusion; as disguised heretics who were waiting for a good opportunityto reveal their true characters. Montigny, who, as a Montmorency, wasnearly allied to the Constable and Admiral of France, and was inepistolary correspondence with those relatives, was held up as aHuguenot; of course, therefore, in Philip's eye, the most monstrous ofmalefactors. 

Although no man could strew pious reflections and holy texts moreliberally, yet there was always an afterthought even in his most edifyingletters. A corner of the mask is occasionally lifted and the deadly faceof slow but abiding vengeance is revealed. "I know very well, " he wrote, soon after his fall, to Viglius, "that vengeance is the Lord's-God is mywitness that I pardon all the past. " In the same letter, nevertheless, headded, "My theology, however, does not teach me, that by enduring, one isto enable one's enemies to commit even greater wrongs. If the royaljustice is not soon put into play, I shall be obliged to right myself. This thing is going on too long-patience exhausted changes to fury. 'Tisnecessary that every man should assist himself as he can, and when Ichoose to throw the game into confusion I shall do it perhaps morenotably than the others. " A few weeks afterwards, writing to the samecorrespondent, he observed, "We shall have to turn again, and rejoicetogether. Whatever the King commands I shall do, even were I to marchinto the fire, whatever happens, and without fear or respect for anyperson I mean to remain the same man to the end--Durate;--and I have ahead that is hard enough when I do undertake any thing--'nec animismdespondeo'. " Here, certainly, was significant foreshadowing of thegeneral wrath to come, and it was therefore of less consequence that theportraits painted by him of Berghen, Horn, Montigny, and others, were sorarely relieved by the more flattering tints which he occasionallymingled with the sombre coloring of his other pictures. Especially withregard to Count Egmont, his conduct was somewhat perplexing and, at firstsight, almost inscrutable. That nobleman had been most violent inopposition to his course, had drawn a dagger upon him, had frequentlycovered him with personal abuse, and had crowned his offensive conduct bythe invention of the memorable fool's-cap: livery. Yet the Cardinalusually spoke of him with pity and gentle consideration, described him asreally well disposed in the main, as misled by others, as a "friend ofsmoke, " who might easily be gained by flattery and bribery. When therewas question of the Count's going to Madrid, the Cardinal renewed hiscompliments with additional expression of eagerness that they should becommunicated to their object. Whence all this Christian meekness in theauthor of the Ban against Orange and the eulogist of Alva? The trueexplanation of this endurance on the part of the Cardinal lies in theestimate which he had formed of Egmont's character. Granvelle had takenthe man's measure, and even he could not foresee the unparalleled crueltyand dulness which were eventually to characterize Philip's conducttowards him. On the contrary, there was every reason why the Cardinalshould see in the Count a personage whom brilliant services, illustriousrank, and powerful connexions, had marked for a prosperous future. It waseven currently asserted that Philip was about to create himGovernor-General of the Netherlands, in order to detach him entirely fromOrange, and to bind him more closely to the Crown. He was, therefore, aman to be forgiven. Nothing apparently but a suspicion of heresy coulddamage the prospects of the great noble, and Egmont was orthodox beyondall peradventure. He was even a bigot in the Catholic faith. He hadprivately told the Duchess of Parma that he had always been desirous ofseeing the edicts thoroughly enforced; and he denounced as enemies allthose persons who charged him with ever having been in favor ofmitigating the System. He was reported, to be sure, at about the time ofGranvelle's departure from the Netherlands, to have said "post pocula, that the quarrel was not with the Cardinal, but with the King, who wasadministering the public affairs very badly, even in the matter ofreligion. " Such a bravado, however, uttered by a gentleman in his cups, when flushed with a recent political triumph, could hardly outweigh inthe cautious calculations of Granvelle; distinct admissions in favor ofpersecution. Egmont in truth stood in fear of the inquisition. The heroof Gravelingen and St. Quentin actually trembled before Peter Titelmann. Moreover, notwithstanding all that had past, he had experienced a changein his sentiments in regard to the Cardinal. He frequently expressed theopinion that, although his presence in the Netherlands was inadmissible, he should be glad to see him Pope. He had expressed strong disapprobationof the buffooning masquerade by which he had been ridiculed at theMansfeld christening party. When at Madrid he not only spoke well ofGranvelle himself; but would allow nothing disparaging concerning him tobe uttered in his presence. When, however, Egmont had fallen from favor, and was already a prisoner, the Cardinal diligently exerted himself toplace under the King's eye what he considered the most damning evidenceof the Count's imaginary treason; a document with which the publicprosecutor had not been made acquainted. 

Thus, it will be seen by this retrospect how difficult it is to seize allthe shifting subtleties of this remarkable character. His sophisms even, when self-contradictory, are so adroit that they are often hard to parry. He made a great merit to himself for not having originated the newepiscopates; but it should be remembered that he did his utmost toenforce the measure, which was "so holy a scheme that he would sacrificefor its success his fortune and his life. " He refused the archbishopricof Mechlin, but his motives for so doing were entirely sordid. Hisrevenues were for the moment diminished, while his personal distinctionwas not, in his opinion, increased by the promotion. He refused to acceptit because "it was no addition to his dignity, as he was already Cardinaland Bishop of Arras, " but in this statement he committed an importantanachronism. He was not Cardinal when he refused the see of Mechlin;having received the red hat upon February 26, 1561, and having alreadyaccepted the archbishopric in May of the preceding year. He affirmed that"no man would more resolutely defend the liberty and privileges of theprovinces than he would do, " but he preferred being tyrannized by hisprince, to maintaining the joyful entrance. He complained of theinsolence of the states in meddling with the supplies; he denounced theconvocation of the representative bodies, by whose action alone, whatthere was of "liberty and privilege" in the land could be guarded; herecommended the entire abolition of the common councils in the cities. Hedescribed himself as having always combated the opinion that "any thingcould be accomplished by terror, death and violence, " yet he recommendedthe mission of Alva, in whom "terror, death, and violence" wereincarnate. He was indignant that he should be accused of having advisedthe introduction of the Spanish inquisition; but his reason was that theterm sounded disagreeably in northern ears, while the thing was mostcommendable. He manifested much anxiety that the public should bedisabused of their fear of the Spanish inquisition, but he was theindefatigable supporter of the Netherland inquisition, which Philipdeclared with reason to be "the more pitiless institution" of the two. Hewas the author, not of the edicts, but of their re-enactment, verballyand literally, in all the horrid extent to which they had been carried byCharles the Fifth; and had recommended the use of the Emperor's name tosanctify the infernal scheme. He busied himself personally in theexecution of these horrible laws, even when judge and hangman slackened. To the last he denounced all those "who should counsel his Majesty topermit a moderation of the edicts, " and warned the King that if he shouldconsent to the least mitigation of their provisions, things would goworse in the provinces than in France. He was diligent in establishingthe reinforced episcopal inquisition side by side with these edicts, andwith the papal inquisition already in full operation. He omitted nooccasion of encouraging the industry of all these various branches in thebusiness of persecution. When at last the loud cry from the oppressedinhabitants of Flanders was uttered in unanimous denunciation by the fourestates of that province of the infamous Titelmann, the Cardinal's voice, from the depths of his luxurious solitude, was heard, not in sympathywith the poor innocent wretches, who were daily dragged from their humblehomes to perish by sword and fire, but in pity for the inquisitor who wasdoing the work of hell. "I deeply regret, " he wrote to Viglius, "that thestates of Flanders should be pouting at inquisitor Titelmann. Truly hehas good zeal, although sometimes indiscreet and noisy; still he must besupported, lest they put a bridle upon him, by which his authority willbe quite enervated. " The reader who is acquainted with the personality ofPeter Titelmann can decide as to the real benignity of the joyousepicurean who could thus commend and encourage such a monster of cruelty. 

If popularity be a test of merit in a public man, it certainly could notbe claimed by the Cardinal. From the moment when Gresham declared him tobe "hated of all men, " down to the period of his departure, the odiumresting upon him had been rapidly extending: He came to the country withtwo grave accusations resting upon his name. The Emperor Maximilianasserted that the Cardinal had attempted to take his life by poison, andhe persisted in the truth of the charge thus made by him, till the day ofhis death. Another accusation was more generally credited. He was theauthor of the memorable forgery by which the Landgrave Philip of Hessehad been entrapped into his long imprisonment. His course in and towardsthe Netherlands has been sufficiently examined. Not a single charge hasbeen made lightly, but only after careful sifting of evidence. Moreoverthey are all sustained mainly from the criminal's own lips. Yet when thesecrecy of the Spanish cabinet and the Macchiavellian scheme of policy bywhich the age was characterized are considered, it is not strange thatthere should have been misunderstandings and contradictions with regardto the man's character till a full light had been thrown upon it by thedisinterment of ancient documents. The word "Durate, " which was theCardinals device, may well be inscribed upon his mask, which has at lastbeen torn aside, but which was formed of such durable materials, that ithas deceived the world for three centuries. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Attempting to swim in two waters Dissimulation and delay Excited with the appearance of a gem of true philosophy Insinuating suspicions when unable to furnish evidence Maintaining the attitude of an injured but forgiving Christian More accustomed to do well than to speak well Perpetually dropping small innuendos like pebbles Procrastination was always his first refuge They had at last burned one more preacher alive

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 9. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 18551564-1565 [CHAPTER V. ]

 Return of the three seigniors to the state council--Policy of Orange--Corrupt character of the government--Efforts of the Prince in favor of reform--Influence of Armenteros--Painful situation of Viglius--His anxiety to retire--Secret charges against him transmitted by the Duchess to Philip--Ominous signs of the times-- Attention of Philip to the details of persecution--Execution of Fabricius, and tumult at Antwerp--Horrible cruelty towards the Protestants--Remonstrance of the Magistracy of Bruges and of the four Flemish estates against Titelmann--Obduracy of Philip--Council of Trent--Quarrel for precedence between the French and Spanish envoys--Order for the publication of the Trent decrees in the Netherlands--Opposition to the measure--Reluctance of the Duchess-- Egmont accepts a mission to Spain--Violent debate in the council concerning his instructions--Remarkable speech of Orange--Apoplexy of Viglius--Temporary appointment of Hopper--Departure of Egmont-- Disgraceful scene at Cambray--Character of the Archbishop--Egmont in Spain--Flattery and bribery--Council of Doctors--Vehement declarations of Philip--His instructions to Egmont at his departure --Proceedings of Orange in regard to his principality--Egmont's report to the state council concerning his mission--His vainglory-- Renewed orders from Philip to continue the persecution--Indignation of Egmont--Habitual dissimulation of the King--Reproof of Egmont by Orange--Assembly of doctors in Brussels--Result of their deliberations transmitted to Philip--Universal excitement in the Netherlands--New punishment for heretics--Interview at Bayonne between Catharine de Medici and her daughter, the Queen of Spain-- Mistaken views upon this subject--Diplomacy of Alva--Artful conduct of Catharine--Stringent letters from Philip to the Duchess with regard to the inquisition--Consternation of Margaret and of Viglius --New proclamation of the Edicts, the Inquisition, and the Council of Trent--Fury of the people--Resistance of the leading seigniors and of the Brabant Council--Brabant declared free of the inquisition--Prince Alexander of Parma betrothed to Donna Maria of Portugal--Her portrait--Expensive preparations for the nuptials-- Assembly of the Golden Fleece--Oration of Viglius--Wedding of Prince Alexander. 

The remainder of the year, in the spring of which the Cardinal had leftthe Netherlands, was one of anarchy, confusion, and corruption. At firstthere had been a sensation of relief. 

Philip had exchanged letters of exceeding amity with Orange, Egmont, andHorn. These three seigniors had written, immediately upon Granvelle'sretreat, to assure the King of their willingness to obey the royalcommands, and to resume their duties at the state council. They had, however, assured the Duchess that the reappearance of the Cardinal in thecountry would be the signal for their instantaneous withdrawal. Theyappeared at the council daily, working with the utmost assiduity oftentill late into the night. Orange had three great objects in view, byattaining which the country, in his opinion, might yet be saved, and thethreatened convulsions averted. These were to convoke the states-general, to moderate or abolish the edicts, and to suppress the council of financeand the privy council, leaving only the council of state. The two firstof these points, if gained, would, of course, subvert the whole absolutepolicy which Philip and Granvelle had enforced; it was, therefore, hardlyprobable that any impression would be made upon the secret determinationof the government in these respects. As to the council of state, thelimited powers of that body, under the administration of the Cardinal, had formed one of the principal complaints against that minister. Thejustice and finance councils were sinks of iniquity. The most barefaceddepravity reigned supreme. A gangrene had spread through the wholegovernment. The public functionaries were notoriously and outrageouslyvenal. The administration of justice had been poisoned at the fountain, and the people were unable to slake their daily thirst at the pollutedstream. There was no law but the law of the longest purse. The highestdignitaries of Philip's appointment had become the most mercenaryhucksters who ever converted the divine temple of justice into a den ofthieves. Law was an article of merchandise, sold by judges to the highestbidder. A poor customer could obtain nothing but stripes andimprisonment, or, if tainted with suspicion of heresy, the fagot or thesword, but for the rich every thing was attainable. Pardons for the mostatrocious crimes, passports, safe conducts, offices of trust and honor, were disposed of at auction to the highest bidder. Against all this seaof corruption did the brave William of Orange set his breast, undauntedand unflinching. Of all the conspicuous men in the land, he was the onlyone whose worst enemy had never hinted through the whole course of hispublic career, that his hands had known contamination. His honor was everuntarnished by even a breath of suspicion. The Cardinal could accuse himof pecuniary embarrassment, by which a large proportion of his revenueswere necessarily diverted to the liquidation of his debts, but he couldnot suggest that the Prince had ever freed himself from difficulties byplunging his hands into the public treasury, when it might easily havebeen opened to him. 

It was soon, however, sufficiently obvious that as desperate a strugglewas to be made with the many-headed monster of general corruption as withthe Cardinal by whom it had been so long fed and governed. The Prince wasaccused of ambition and intrigue. It was said that he was determined toconcentrate all the powers of government in the state council, which wasthus to become an omnipotent and irresponsible senate, while the Kingwould be reduced to the condition of a Venetian Doge. It was, of course, suggested that it was the aim of Orange to govern the new Tribunal ofTen. No doubt the Prince was ambitious. Birth, wealth, genius, and virtuecould not have been bestowed in such eminent degree on any man withoutcarrying with them the determination to assert their value. It was nothis wish so much as it was the necessary law of his being to impresshimself upon his age and to rule his fellow-men. But he practised no artsto arrive at the supremacy which he felt must always belong to him, whatever might be his nominal position in the political hierarchy. He wasalready, although but just turned of thirty years, vastly changed fromthe brilliant and careless grandee, as he stood at the hour of theimperial abdication. He was becoming careworn in face, thin of figure, sleepless of habit. The wrongs of which he was the daily witness, theabsolutism, the cruelty, the rottenness of the government, had marked hisface with premature furrows. "They say that the Prince is very sad, "wrote Morillon to Granvelle; "and 'tis easy to read as much in his face. They say he can not sleep. " Truly might the monarch have taken warningthat here was a man who was dangerous, and who thought too much. "Sleekheaded men, and such as slept o' nights, " would have been moreeligible functionaries, no doubt, in the royal estimation, but, for abrief period, the King was content to use, to watch, and to suspect theman who was one day to be his great and invincible antagonist. Hecontinued assiduous at the council, and he did his best, by entertainingnobles and citizens at his hospitable mansion, to cultivate goodrelations with large numbers of his countrymen. He soon, however, hadbecome disgusted with the court. Egmont was more lenient to the foulpractices which prevailed there, and took almost a childish pleasure indining at the table of the Duchess, dressed, as were many of the youngernobles, in short camlet doublet with the wheat-sheaf buttons. 

The Prince felt more unwilling to compromise his personal dignity bycountenancing the flagitious proceedings and the contemptible supremacyof Armenteros, and it was soon very obvious, therefore, that Egmont was agreater favorite at court than Orange. At the same time the Count wasalso diligently cultivating the good graces of the middle and lowerclasses in Brussels, shooting with the burghers at the popinjay, callingevery man by his name, and assisting at jovial banquets in town-house orguild-hall. The Prince, although at times a necessary partaker also inthese popular amusements, could find small cause for rejoicing in theaspect of affairs. When his business led him to the palace, he wassometimes forced to wait in the ante-chamber for an hour, while SecretaryArmenteros was engaged in private consultation with Margaret upon themost important matters of administration. It could not be otherwise thangalling to the pride and offensive to the patriotism of the Prince, tofind great public transactions entrusted to such hands. Thomas deArmenteros was a mere private secretary--a simple clerk. He had no rightto have cognizance of important affairs, which could only come before hisMajesty's sworn advisers. He was moreover an infamous peculator. He wasrolling up a fortune with great rapidity by his shameless traffic inbenefices, charges, offices, whether of church or state. His name ofArmenteros was popularly converted into Argenteros, in order to symbolizethe man who was made of public money. His confidential intimacy with theDuchess procured for him also the name of "Madam's barber, " in allusionto the famous ornaments of Margaret's upper lip, and to the celebratedinfluence enjoyed by the barbers of the Duke of Savoy, and of Louis theEleventh. This man sold dignities and places of high responsibility atpublic auction. The Regent not only connived at these proceedings, whichwould have been base enough, but she was full partner in the disgracefulcommerce. Through the agency of the Secretary, she, too, was amassing alarge private fortune. "The Duchess has gone into the business of vendingplaces to the highest bidders, " said Morillon, "with the bit between herteeth. " The spectacle presented at the council-board was oftensufficiently repulsive not only to the cardinalists, who were treatedwith elaborate insolence, but to all men who loved honor and justice, orwho felt an interest in the prosperity of government. There was nothingmajestic in the appearance of the Duchess, as she sat conversing apartwith Armenteros, whispering, pinching, giggling, or disputing, whileimportant affairs of state were debated, concerning which the Secretaryhad no right to be informed. It was inevitable that Orange should beoffended to the utmost by such proceedings, although he was himselftreated with comparative respect. As for the ancient adherents ofGranvelle, the Bordeys, Baves, and Morillons, they were forbidden by thefavorite even to salute him in the streets. Berlaymont was treated by theDuchess with studied insult. "What is the man talking about?" she wouldask with languid superciliousness, if he attempted to express his opinionin the state-council. Viglius, whom Berlaymont accused of doing his best, without success, to make his peace with the seigniors, was in even stillgreater disgrace than his fellow-cardinalists. He longed, he said, to bein Burgundy, drinking Granvelle's good wine. His patience under the dailyinsults which he received from the government made him despicable in theeyes of his own party. He was described by his friends as pusillanimousto an incredible extent, timid from excess of riches, afraid of his ownshadow. He was becoming exceedingly pathetic, expressing frequently adesire to depart and end his days in peace. His faithful Hopper sustainedand consoled him, but even Joachim could not soothe his sorrows when hereflected that after all the work performed by himself and colleagues, "they had only been beating the bush for others, " while their own sharein the spoils had been withheld. Nothing could well be more contumeliousthan Margaret's treatment of the learned Frisian. When other councillorswere summoned to a session at three o'clock, the President was invited atfour. It was quite impossible for him to have an audience of the Duchessexcept in the presence of the inevitable Armenteras. He was not allowedto open his mouth, even when he occasionally plucked up heart enough toattempt the utterance of his opinions. His authority was completely dead. Even if he essayed to combat the convocation of the states-general by thearguments which the Duchess, at his suggestion, had often used for thepurpose, he was treated with the same indifference. "The poor President, "wrote Granvelle to the King's chief secretary, Gonzalo Perez, "is afraid, as I hear, to speak a word, and is made to write exactly what they tellhim. " At the same time the poor President, thus maltreated and mortified, had the vanity occasionally to imagine himself a bold and formidablepersonage. The man whom his most intimate friends described as afraid ofhis own shadow, described himself to Granvelle as one who went his owngait, speaking his mind frankly upon every opportunity, and compellingpeople to fear him a little, even if they did not love him. But theCardinal knew better than to believe in this magnanimous picture of thedoctor's fancy. 

Viglius was anxious to retire, but unwilling to have the appearance ofbeing disgraced. He felt instinctively, although deceived as to theactual facts, that his great patron had been defeated and banished. Hedid not wish to be placed in the same position. He was desirous, as hepiously expressed himself, of withdrawing from the world, "that he mightbalance his accounts with the Lord, before leaving the lodgings of life. "He was, however, disposed to please "the master" as well as the Lord. Hewished to have the royal permission to depart in peace. In his own loftylanguage, he wished to be sprinkled on taking his leave "with the holywater of the court. " Moreover, he was fond of his salary, although hedisliked the sarcasms of the Duchess. Egmont and others had advised himto abandon the office of President to Hopper, in order, as he was gettingfeeble, to reserve his whole strength for the state-council. Viglius didnot at all relish the proposition. He said that by giving up the seals, and with them the rank and salary which they conferred, he should becomea deposed saint. He had no inclination, as long as he remained on theground at all, to part with those emoluments and honors, and to beconverted merely into the "ass of the state-council. " He had, however, with the sagacity of an old navigator, already thrown out his anchor intothe best holding-ground during the storms which he foresaw were soon tosweep the state. Before the close of the year which now occupies, thelearned doctor of laws had become a doctor of divinity also; and hadalready secured, by so doing, the wealthy prebend of Saint Bavon ofGhent. This would be a consolation in the loss of secular dignities, anda recompence for the cold looks of the Duchess. He did not scruple toascribe the pointed dislike which Margaret manifested towards him to theawe in which she stood of his stern integrity of character. The truereason why Armenteros and the Duchess disliked him was because, in hisown words, "he was not of their mind with regard to lotteries, the saleof offices, advancement to abbeys, and many other things of the kind, bywhich they were in such a hurry to make their fortune. " Upon anotheroccasion he observed, in a letter to Granvelle, that "all offices weresold to the highest bidder, and that the cause of Margaret's resentmentagainst both the Cardinal and himself was, that they had so longprevented her from making the profit which she was now doing from thesale of benefices, offices, and other favors. "

The Duchess, on her part, characterized the proceedings and policy, bothpast and present, of the cardinalists as factious, corrupt, and selfishin the last degree. She assured her brother that the simony, rapine, anddishonesty of Granvelle, Viglius, and all their followers, had broughtaffairs into the ruinous condition which was then but too apparent. Theywere doing their best, she said, since the Cardinal's departure, to show, by their sloth and opposition, that they were determined to allow nothingto prosper in his absence. To quote her own vigorous expression toPhilip--"Viglius made her suffer the pains of hell. " She described him asperpetually resisting the course of the administration, and she threw outdark suspicions, not only as to his honesty but his orthodoxy. Philiplent a greedy ear to these scandalous hints concerning the lateomnipotent minister and his friends. It is an instructive lesson in humanhistory to look through the cloud of dissimulation in which the actors ofthis remarkable epoch were ever enveloped, and to watch them all stabbingfiercely at each other in the dark, with no regard to previousfriendship, or even present professions. It is edifying to see theCardinal, with all his genius and all his grimace, corresponding onfamiliar terms with Armenteros, who was holding him up to obloquy uponall occasions; to see Philip inclining his ear in pleased astonishment toMargaret's disclosures concerning the Cardinal, whom he was at the veryinstant assuring of his undiminished confidence; and to see Viglius, theauthor of the edict of 1550, and the uniform opponent of any mitigationin its horrors, silently becoming involved without the least suspicion ofthe fact in the meshes of inquisitor Titelmann. 

Upon Philip's eager solicitations for further disclosures, Margaretaccordingly informed her brother of additional facts communicated to her, after oaths of secrecy had been exchanged, by Titelmann and his colleaguedel Canto. They had assured her, she said, that there were grave doubtstouching the orthodoxy of Viglius. He had consorted with heretics duringa large portion of his life, and had put many suspicious persons intooffice. As to his nepotism, simony, and fraud, there was no doubt at all. He had richly provided all his friends and relations in Friesland withbenefices. He had become in his old age a priest and churchman, in orderto snatch the provostship of Saint Bavon, although his infirmities didnot allow him to say mass, or even to stand erect at the altar. Theinquisitors had further accused him of having stolen rings, jewels, plate, linen, beds, tapestry, and other furniture, from theestablishment, all which property he had sent to Friesland, and of havingseized one hundred thousand florins in ready money which had belonged tothe last abbe--an act consequently of pure embezzlement. The Duchessafterwards transmitted to Philip an inventory of the plundered property, including the furniture of nine houses, and begged him to command Vigliusto make instant restitution. If there be truth in the homely proverb, that in case of certain quarrels honest men recover their rights, it isperhaps equally certain that when distinguished public personages attackeach other, historians may arrive at the truth. Here certainly areedifying pictures of the corruption of the Spanish regency in theNetherlands, painted by the President of the state-council, and of thedishonesty of the President painted by the Regent. 

A remarkable tumult occurred in October of this year, at Antwerp. ACarmelite monk, Christopher Smith, commonly called Fabricius, had left amonastery in Bruges, adopted the principles of the Reformation, and takento himself a wife. He had resided for a time in England; but, invited byhis friends, he had afterwards undertaken the dangerous charge ofgospel-teacher in the commercial metropolis of the Netherlands. He was, however, soon betrayed to the authorities by a certain bonnet dealer, popularly called Long Margaret, who had pretended, for the sake ofsecuring the informer's fee, to be a convert to his doctrines. He wasseized, and immediately put to the torture. He manfully refused to betrayany members of his congregation, as manfully avowed and maintained hisreligious creed. He was condemned to the flames, and during the intervalwhich preceded his execution, he comforted his friends by letters ofadvice, religious consolation and encouragement, which he wrote from hisdungeon. He sent a message to the woman who had betrayed him, assuringher of his forgiveness, and exhorting her to repentance. His calmness, wisdom, and gentleness excited the admiration of all. When; therefore, this humble imitator of Christ was led through the streets of Antwerp tothe stake, the popular emotion was at once visible. To the multitude whothronged about the executioners with threatening aspect, he addressed anurgent remonstrance that they would not compromise their own safety by atumult in his cause. He invited all, however, to remain steadfast to thegreat truth for which he was about to lay down his life. The crowd, asthey followed the procession of hangmen, halberdsmen, and magistrates, sang the hundred and thirtieth psalm in full chorus. As the victimarrived upon the market-place, he knelt upon the ground to pray, for thelast time. He was, however, rudely forced to rise by the executioner, whoimmediately chained him to the stake, and fastened a leathern straparound his throat. At this moment the popular indignation becameuncontrollable; stones were showered upon the magistrates and soldiers, who, after a slight resistance, fled for their lives. The foremost of theinsurgents dashed into the enclosed arena, to rescue the prisoner. It wastoo late. The executioner, even as he fled, had crushed the victim's headwith a sledge hammer, and pierced him through and through with a poniard. Some of the bystanders maintained afterwards that his fingers and lipswere seen to move, as if in feeble prayer, for a little time longer, until, as the fire mounted, he fell into the flames. For the remainder ofthe day, after the fire had entirely smouldered to ashes, the charred andhalf-consumed body of the victim remained on the market-place, a ghastlyspectacle to friend and foe. It was afterwards bound to a stone and castinto the Scheld. Such was the doom of Christopher Fabricius, for havingpreached Christianity in Antwerp. During the night an anonymous placard, written with blood, was posted upon the wall of the town-house, statingthat there were men in the city who would signally avenge his murder. Nothing was done, however, towards the accomplishment of the threat. TheKing, when he received the intelligence of the transaction, was furiouswith indignation, and wrote savage letters to his sister, commandinginstant vengeance to be taken upon all concerned in so foul a riot. Asone of the persons engaged had, however, been arrested and immediatelyhanged, and as the rest had effected their escape, the affair wassuffered to drop. 

The scenes of outrage, the frantic persecutions, were fast becoming toohorrible to be looked upon by Catholic or Calvinist. The prisons swarmedwith victims, the streets were thronged with processions to the stake. The population of thriving cities, particularly in Flanders, weremaddened by the spectacle of so much barbarity inflicted, not uponcriminals, but usually upon men remarkable for propriety of conduct andblameless lives. It was precisely at this epoch that the burgomasters, senators, and council of the city of Bruges (all Catholics) humblyrepresented to the Duchess Regent, that Peter Titelmann, inquisitor ofthe Faith, against all forms of law, was daily exercising inquisitionamong the inhabitants, not only against those suspected or accused ofheresy, but against all, however untainted their characters; that he wasdaily citing before him whatever persons he liked, men or women, compelling them by force to say whatever it pleased him; that he wasdragging people from their houses, and even from the sacred precincts ofthe church; often in revenge for verbal injuries to himself, always underpretext of heresy, and without form or legal warrant of any kind. Theytherefore begged that he might be compelled to make use of preparatoryexaminations with the co-operation of the senators of the city, to sufferthat witnesses should make their depositions without being intimidated bymenace, and to conduct all his subsequent proceedings according to legalforms, which he had uniformly violated; publicly declaring that he wouldconduct himself according to his own pleasure. 

The four estates of Flanders having, in a solemn address to the King, represented the same facts, concluded their brief but vigorousdescription of Titelmann's enormities by calling upon Philip to suppressthese horrible practices, so manifestly in violation of the ancientcharters which he had sworn to support. It may be supposed that theappeal to Philip would be more likely to call down a royal benedictionthan the reproof solicited upon the inquisitor's head. In the privycouncil, the petitions and remonstrances were read, and, in the words ofthe President, "found to be in extremely bad taste. " In the debate whichfollowed, Viglius and his friends recalled to the Duchess, in earnestlanguage, the decided will of the King, which had been so oftenexpressed. A faint representation was made, on the other hand, of thedangerous consequences, in case the people were driven to a still deeperdespair. The result of the movement was but meagre. The Duchess announcedthat she could do nothing in the matter of the request until furtherinformation, but that meantime she had charged Titelmann to conducthimself in his office "with discretion and modesty. " The discretion andmodesty, however, never appeared in any modification of the inquisitor'sproceedings, and he continued unchecked in his infamous career untildeath, which did not occur till several years afterwards. In truth, Margaret was herself in mortal fear of this horrible personage. Hebesieged her chamber door almost daily, before she had risen, insistingupon audiences which, notwithstanding her repugnance to the man, she didnot dare to refuse. "May I perish, " said Morillon, "if she does not standin exceeding awe of Titelmann. " Under such circumstances, sustained bythe King in Spain, the Duchess in Brussels, the privy council, and by aleading member of what had been thought the liberal party, it was notdifficult for the inquisition to maintain its ground, notwithstanding thesolemn protestations of the estates and the suppressed curses of thepeople. 

Philip, so far from having the least disposition to yield in the matterof the great religious persecution, was more determined as to his coursethan ever. He had already, as easy as August of this year, despatchedorders to the Duchess that the decrees of the Council of Trent should bepublished and enforced throughout the Netherlands. The memorable quarrelas to precedency between the French and Spanish delegates had given somehopes of a different determination. Nevertheless, those persons whoimagined that, in consequence of this quarrel of etiquette, Philip wouldslacken in his allegiance to the Church, were destined to be bitterlymistaken. He informed his sister that, in the common cause ofChristianity, he should not be swayed by personal resentments. 

How, indeed, could a different decision be expected? His envoy at Rome, as well as his representatives at the council, had universally repudiatedall doubts as to the sanctity of its decrees. "To doubt the infallibilityof the council, as some have dared to do, " said Francis de Vargas, "andto think it capable of error, is the most devilish heresy of all. "Nothing could so much disturb and scandalize the world as such asentiment. Therefore the Archbishop of Granada told, very properly, theBishop of Tortosa, that if he should express such an opinion in Spain, they would burn him. These strenuous notions were shared by the King. Therefore, although all Europe was on tip-toe with expectation to see howPhilip would avenge himself for the slight put upon his ambassador, Philip disappointed all Europe. 

In August, 1564, he wrote to the Duchess Regent, that the decrees were tobe proclaimed and enforced without delay. They related to three subjects, the doctrines to be inculcated by the Church, the reformation ofecclesiastical moral, and the education of the people. General policeregulations were issued at the same time, by which heretics were to beexcluded from all share in the usual conveniences of society, and were infact to be strictly excommunicated. Inns were to receive no guests, schools no children, alms-houses no paupers, grave-yards no dead bodies, unless guests, children, paupers, and dead bodies were furnished with themost satisfactory proofs of orthodoxy. Midwives of unsuspected Romanismwere alone to exercise their functions, and were bound to give noticewithin twenty-four hours of every birth which occurred; the parish clerkswere as regularly to record every such addition to the population, andthe authorities to see that Catholic baptism was administered in eachcase with the least possible delay. Births, deaths, and marriages couldonly occur with validity under the shadow of the Church. No human beingcould consider himself born or defunct unless provided with a priest'scertificate. The heretic was excluded, so far as ecclesiastical dogmacould exclude him, from the pale of humanity, from consecrated earth, andfrom eternal salvation. 

The decrees contained many provisions which not only conflicted with theprivileges of the provinces, but with the prerogatives of the sovereign. For this reason many of the lords in council thought that at least theproper exceptions should be made upon their promulgation. This was alsothe opinion of the Duchess, but the King, by his letters of October, andNovember (1564), expressly prohibited any alteration in the ordinances, and transmitted a copy of the form according to which the canons had beenpublished in Spain, together with the expression of his desire that asimilar course should be followed in the Netherlands. Margaret of Parmawas in great embarrassment. It was evident that the publication could nolonger be deferred. Philip had issued his commands, but grave senatorsand learned doctors of the university had advised strongly in favor ofthe necessary exceptions. The extreme party, headed by Viglius, were infavor of carrying out the royal decisions. They were overruled, and theDuchess was induced to attempt a modification, if her brother'spermission could be obtained. The President expressed the opinion thatthe decrees, even with the restrictions proposed, would "give nocontentment to the people, who, moreover, had no right to meddle withtheology. " The excellent Viglius forgot, however, that theology had beenmeddling altogether too much with the people to make it possible that thepublic attention should be entirely averted from the subject. Men andwomen who might be daily summoned to rack, stake, and scaffold, in thecourse of these ecclesiastical arrangements, and whose births, deaths, marriages, and position in the next world, were now to be formallydecided upon, could hardly be taxed with extreme indiscretion, if theydid meddle with the subject. 

In the dilemma to which the Duchess was reduced, she again bethoughtherself of a special mission to Spain. At the end of the year (1564), itwas determined that Egmont should be the envoy. Montigny excused himselfon account of private affairs; Marquis Berghen "because of hisindisposition and corpulence. " There was a stormy debate in council afterEgmont had accepted the mission and immediately before his departure. Viglius had been ordered to prepare the Count's instructions. Havingfinished the rough draught, he laid it before the board. The paper wasconceived in general terms and might mean any thing or nothing. Nocriticism upon its language was, however, offered until it came to theturn of Orange to vote upon the document. Then, however, William theSilent opened his lips, and poured forth a long and vehement discourse, such as he rarely pronounced, but such as few except himself could utter. There was no shuffling, no disguise, no timidity in his language. He tookthe ground boldly that the time had arrived for speaking out. The objectof sending an envoy of high rank and European reputation like the Countof Egmont, was to tell the King the truth. Let Philip know it now. Lethim be unequivocally informed that this whole machinery of placards andscaffolds, of new bishops and old hangmen, of decrees, inquisitors, andinformers, must once and forever be abolished. Their day was over. TheNetherlands were free provinces, they were surrounded by free countries, they were determined to vindicate their ancient privileges. Moreover, hisMajesty was to be plainly informed of the frightful corruption which madethe whole judicial and administrative system loathsome. The venalitywhich notoriously existed every where, on the bench, in the councilchamber, in all public offices, where purity was most essential, wasdenounced by the Prince in scathing terms. He tore the mask fromindividual faces, and openly charged the Chancellor of Brabant, EngelbertMaas, with knavery and corruption. He insisted that the King should beinformed of the necessity of abolishing the two inferior councils, and ofenlarging the council of state by the admission of ten or twelve newmembers selected for their patriotism, purity, and capacity. Above all, it was necessary plainly to inform his Majesty that the canons of Trent, spurned by the whole world, even by the Catholic princes of Germany, could never be enforced in the Netherlands, and that it would be ruinousto make the attempt. He proposed and insisted that the Count of Egmontshould be instructed accordingly. He avowed in conclusion that he was aCatholic himself and intended to remain in the Faith, but that he couldnot look on with pleasure when princes strove to govern the souls of men, and to take away their liberty in matters of conscience and religion. 

Here certainly was no daintiness of phraseology, and upon these leadingpoints, thus slightly indicated, William of Orange poured out hiseloquence, bearing conviction upon the tide of his rapid invective. Hisspeech lasted till seven in the evening, when the Duchess adjourned themeeting. The council broke up, the Regent went to supper, but the effectof the discourse upon nearly all the members was not to be mistaken. Viglius was in a state of consternation, perplexity, and despair. He feltsatisfied that, with perhaps the exception of Berlaymont, all who hadlistened or should afterwards listen to the powerful arguments of Orange, would be inevitably seduced or bewildered. The President lay awake, tossing and tumbling in his bed, recalling the Prince's oration, point bypoint, and endeavoring, to answer it in order. It was important, he felt, to obliterate the impression produced. Moreover, as we have often seen, the learned Doctor valued himself upon his logic. 

It was absolutely necessary, therefore, that in his reply, next day, hiseloquence should outshine that of his antagonist. The President thuspassed a feverish and uncomfortable night, pronouncing and listening toimaginary harangues. With the dawn of day he arose and proceeded to dresshimself. The excitement of the previous evening and the subsequentsleeplessness of his night had, however, been too much for his feeble andslightly superannuated frame. Before he had finished his toilet, a strokeof apoplexy stretched him senseless upon the floor. His servants, whenthey soon afterwards entered the apartment, found him rigid, and to allappearance dead. After a few days, however, he recovered his physicalsenses in part, but his reason remained for a longer time shattered, andwas never perhaps fully restored to its original vigor. 

This event made it necessary that his place in the council should besupplied. Viglius had frequently expressed intentions of retiring, ameasure to which he could yet never fully make up his mind. His place wasnow temporarily supplied by his friend and countryman, Joachim Hopper, like himself a, Frisian doctor of ancient blood and extensiveacquirements, well versed in philosophy and jurisprudence; a professor ofLouvain and a member of the Mechlin council. He was likewise the originalfounder and projector of Douay University, an institution which atPhilip's desire he had successfully organized in 1556, in order that aFrench university might be furnished for Walloon youths, as a substitutefor the seductive and poisonous Paris. For the rest, Hopper was a mereman of routine. He was often employed in private affairs by Philip, without being entrusted with the secret at the bottom of them. His mindwas a confused one, and his style inexpressibly involved and tedious. "Poor master Hopper, " said Granvelle, "did not write the best French inthe world; may the Lord forgive him. He was learned in letters, but knewvery little of great affairs. " His manners were as cringing as hisintellect was narrow. He never opposed the Duchess, so that hiscolleagues always called him Councillor "Yes, Madam, " and he did his bestto be friends with all the world. 

In deference to the arguments of Orange, the instructions for Egmont wereaccordingly considerably modified from the original draughts of Viglius. As drawn up by the new President, they contained at least a few hints tohis Majesty as to the propriety of mitigating the edicts and extendingsome mercy to his suffering people. The document was, however, not verysatisfactory to the Prince, nor did he perhaps rely very implicitly uponthe character of the envoy. 

Egmont set forth upon his journey early in January (1565). He travelledin great state. He was escorted as far as Cambray by several nobles ofhis acquaintance, who improved the occasion by a series of tremendousbanquets during the Count's sojourn, which was protracted till the end ofJanuary. The most noted of these gentlemen were Hoogstraaten, Brederode, the younger Mansfeld, Culemburg, and Noircarmes. Before they parted withthe envoy, they drew up a paper which they signed with their blood, andafterwards placed in the hands of his Countess. In this document theypromised, on account of their "inexpressible and very singular affection"for Egmont, that if, during his mission to Spain, any evil should befalhim, they would, on their faith as gentlemen and cavaliers of honor, takevengeance, therefore, upon the Cardinal Granvelle, or upon all who shouldbe the instigators thereof. 

 [Green v. P. , Archives, etc. , i. 345, from Arnoldi, Hist. Denkwurd, p. 282. , It is remarkable that after the return of the Count from. Spain, Hoogstraaten received this singular bond from the Countess, and gave it to Mansfeld, to be burned in his presence. Mansfeld, however, advised keeping it, on account of Noircarmes, whose signature was attached to the document, and whom he knew to be so false and deceitful a man that it might be well to have it within their power at some future day to reproach him therewith. --Ibid. It will be seen in the sequel that Noircarmes more than justified the opinion of Mansfeld, but that the subsequent career of Mansfeld himself did not entitle him to reproach any of Philip's noble hangmen. ]

Wherever Brederode was, there, it was probable, would be much severecarousing. Before the conclusion, accordingly, of the visit to Cambray, that ancient city rang with the scandal created by a most uproariousscene. A banquet was given to Egmont and his friends in the citadel. Brederode, his cousin Lumey, and the other nobles from Brussels, were allpresent. The Archbishop of Cambray, a man very odious to the liberalparty in the provinces, was also bidden to the feast. During the dinner, this prelate, although treated with marked respect by Egmont, was theobject of much banter and coarse pleasantry by the ruder portion of theguests. Especially these convivial gentlemen took infinite pains tooverload him with challenges to huge bumpers of wine; it being thoughtvery desirable, if possible; to place the Archbishop under the table. This pleasantry was alternated with much rude sarcasm concerning the newbishoprics. The conversation then fell upon other topics, among others, naturally upon the mission of Count Egmont. Brederede observed that itwas a very hazardous matter to allow so eminent a personage to leave theland at such a critical period. Should any thing happen to the Count, theNetherlands would sustain an immense loss. The Archbishop, irritated bythe previous conversation, ironically requested the speaker to becomforted, "because, " said he, "it will always be easy to find a newEgmont. " Upon this, Brederode, beside himself with rage, cried outvehemently, "Are we to tolerate such language from this priest?"Gulemburg, too, turning upon the offender, observed, "Your observationwould be much more applicable to your own case. If you were to die, 'twould be easy to find five hundred of your merit, to replace you in thesee of Cambray. " The conversation was, to say the least, becomingpersonal. The Bishop, desirous of terminating this keen encounter ofwits, lifted a goblet full of wine and challenged Brederode to drink. That gentleman declined the invitation. After the cloth had been removed, the cup circulated more freely than ever. The revelry became fast andfurious. One of the younger gentlemen who was seated near the Bishopsnatched the bonnet of that dignitary from his head and placed it uponhis own. He then drained a bumper to his health, and passed the gobletand the cap to his next neighbor. Both circulated till they reached theViscount of Ghent, who arose from his seat and respectfully restored thecap to its owner. Brederode then took a large "cup of silver and gold, "filled it to the brim, and drained it to the confusion of CardinalGranvelle; stigmatizing that departed minister, as he finished, by anepithet of more vigor than decency. He then called upon all the companyto pledge him to the same toast, and denounced as cardinalists all thosewho should refuse. The Archbishop, not having digested the affronts whichhad been put upon him already, imprudently ventured himself once moreinto the confusion, and tried to appeal to the reason of the company. Hemight as well have addressed the crew of Comus. He gained nothing butadditional insult. Brederode advanced upon him with threatening gestures. Egmont implored the prelate to retire, or at least not to take notice ofa nobleman so obviously beyond the control of his reason. The Bishop, however, insisted--mingling reproof, menace; and somewhat imperiousdemands--that the indecent Saturnalia should cease. It would have beenwiser for him to retire. Count Hoogstraaten, a young man and small ofstature, seized the gilt laver, in which the company had dipped theirfingers before seating themselves at table: "Be quiet, be quiet, littleman, " said Egmont, soothingly, doing his best to restrain the tumult. "Little man, indeed, " responded the Count, wrathfully; "I would have youto know that never did little man spring from my race. " With those wordshe hurled the basin, water, and all, at the head of the Archbishop. Hoogstraaten had no doubt manifested his bravery before that day; he wasto display, on future occasions, a very remarkable degree of heroism; butit must be confessed that the chivalry of the noble house of Lalaing wasnot illustrated by this attack upon a priest. The Bishop was sprinkled bythe water, but not struck by the vessel. Young Mansfeld, ashamed of theoutrage, stepped forward to apologize for the conduct of his companionsand to soothe the insulted prelate. That personage, however, exasperated, very naturally, to the highest point, pushed him rudely away, crying, "Begone, begone! who is this boy that is preaching to me?" Whereupon, Mansfeld, much irritated, lifted his hand towards the ecclesiastic, andsnapped his fingers contemptuously in his face. Some even said that hepulled the archiepiscopal nose, others that he threatened his life with adrawn dagger. Nothing could well have been more indecent or more cowardlythan the conduct of these nobles upon this occasion. Their intoxication, together with the character of the victim, explained, but certainly couldnot palliate the vulgarity of the exhibition. It was natural enough thatmen like Brederode should find sport in this remarkable badgering of abishop, but we see with regret the part played by Hoogstraaten in thedisgraceful scene. 

The prelate, at last, exclaiming that it appeared that he had beeninvited only to be insulted, left the apartment, accompanied byNoircarmes and the Viscount of Ghent, and threatening that all hisfriends and relations should be charged with his vengeance. The next daya reconciliation was effected, as well as such an arrangement waspossible, by the efforts of Egmont, who dined alone with the prelate. Inthe evening, Hoogstraaten, Culemburg, and Brederode called upon theBishop, with whom they were closeted for, an hour, and the partyseparated on nominal terms of friendship. 

This scandalous scene; which had been enacted not only before manyguests, but in presence of a host of servants, made necessarily a greatsensation throughout the country. There could hardly be much differenceof opinion among respectable people as to the conduct of the noblemen whohad thus disgraced themselves. Even Brederode himself, who appeared tohave retained, as was natural, but a confused impression of thetransaction, seemed in the days which succeeded the celebrated banquet, to be in doubt whether he and his friends had merited any great amount ofapplause. He was, however, somewhat self-contradictory, although alwaysvehement in his assertions on the subject. At one time hemaintained--after dinner, of course--that he would have killed theArchbishop if they had not been forcibly separated; at other moments hedenounced as liars all persons who should insinuate that he had committedor contemplated any injury to that prelate; offering freely to fight anyman who disputed either of his two positions. 

The whole scene was dramatized and represented in masquerade at a weddingfestival given by Councillor d'Assonleville, on the marriage ofCouncillor Hopper's daughter, one of the principal parts being enacted bya son of the President-judge of Artois. It may be supposed that if sucheminent personages, in close connexion with the government, took part insuch proceedings, the riot must have been considered of a very pardonablenature. The truth was, that the Bishop was a cardinalist, and thereforeentirely out of favor with the administration. He was also a man oftreacherous, sanguinary character, and consequently detested by thepeople. He had done his best to destroy heresy in Valenciennes by fireand sword. "I will say one thing, " said he in a letter to Granvelle, which had been intercepted, "since the pot is uncovered, and the wholecookery known, we had best push forward and make an end of all theprincipal heretics, whether rich or poor, without regarding whether thecity will be entirely ruined by such a course. Such an opinion I shoulddeclare openly were it not that we of the ecclesiastical profession areaccused of always crying out for blood. " Such was the prelate's theory. His practice may be inferred from a specimen of his proceedings whichoccurred at a little later day. A citizen of Cambray, having beenconverted to the Lutheran Confession, went to the Archbishop, andrequested permission to move out of the country, taking his property withhim. The petitioner having made his appearance in the forenoon, wasrequested to call again after dinner, to receive his answer. The burgherdid so, and was received, not by the prelate, but by the executioner, whoimmediately carried the Lutheran to the market-place, and cut off hishead. It is sufficiently evident that a minister of Christ, with suchpropensities, could not excite any great sympathy, however deeplyaffronted he might have been at a drinking party, so long as anyChristians remained in the land. 

Egmont departed from Cambray upon the 30th January, his friends taking amost affectionate farewell of him; and Brederode assuring him, with athousand oaths, that he would forsake God for his service. His receptionat Madrid was most brilliant. When he made his first appearance at thepalace, Philip rushed from his cabinet into the grand hall of reception, and fell upon his neck, embracing him heartily before the Count had timeto drop upon his knee and kiss the royal hand. During the whole period ofhis visit he dined frequently at the King's private table, an honorrarely accorded by Philip, and was feasted and flattered by all the greatdignitaries of the court as never a subject of the Spanish crown had beenbefore. All vied with each other in heaping honors upon the man whom theKing was determined to honor. 

Philip took him out to drive daily in his own coach, sent him to see thewonders of the new Escorial, which he was building to commemorate thebattle of St. Quentin, and, although it was still winter, insisted uponshowing him the beauties of his retreat in the Segovian forest. Granvelle's counsels as to the method by which the "friend of smoke" wasso easily to be gained, had not fallen unheeded in his royal pupil'sears. The Count was lodged in the house of Ruy Gomez, who soon felthimself able, according to previous assurances to that effect, containedin a private letter of Armenteros, to persuade the envoy to any coursewhich Philip might command. Flattery without stint was administered. Moresolid arguments to convince the Count that Philip was the most generousand clement of princes were also employed with great effect. The royaldues upon the estate of Gaasbecque, lately purchased by Egmont, wereremitted. A mortgage upon his Seigneurie of Ninove was discharged, and aconsiderable sum of money presented to him in addition. Altogether, thegifts which the ambassador received from the royal bounty amounted to onehundred thousand crowns. Thus feasted, flattered, and laden withpresents, it must be admitted that the Count more than justified theopinions expressed in the letter of Armenteros, that he was a man easilygoverned by those who had credit with him. Egmont hardly broached thepublic matters which had brought him to Madrid. Upon the subject of theedicts, Philip certainly did not dissemble, however loudly the envoy mayhave afterwards complained at Brussels. In truth, Egmont, intoxicated bythe incense offered to him at the Spanish court, was a different man fromEgmont in the Netherlands, subject to the calm but piercing glance andthe irresistible control of Orange. Philip gave him no reason to supposethat he intended any change in the religious system of the provinces, atleast in any sense contemplated by the liberal party. On the contrary, acouncil of doctors and ecclesiastics was summoned, at whose deliberationsthe Count was invited to assist; on which occasion the King excitedgeneral admiration by the fervor of his piety and the vehemence of hisejaculations. Falling upon his knees before a crucifix, in the midst ofthe assembly, he prayed that God would keep him perpetually in the samemind, and protested that he would never call himself master of those whodenied the Lord God. Such an exhibition could leave but little doubt inthe minds of those who witnessed it as to the royal sentiments, nor didEgmont make any effort to obtain any relaxation of those religiousedicts, which he had himself declared worthy of approbation, and fit tobe maintained. As to the question of enlarging the state-council, Philipdismissed the subject with a few vague observations, which Egmont, notvery zealous on the subject at the moment, perhaps misunderstood. Thepunishment of heretics by some new method, so as to secure the pains butto take away the glories of martyrdom, was also slightly discussed, andhere again Egmont was so unfortunate as to misconceive the royal meaning, and to interpret an additional refinement of cruelty into an expressionof clemency. On the whole, however, there was not much negotiationbetween the monarch and the ambassador. When the Count spoke of business, the King would speak to him of his daughters, and of his desire to seethem provided with brilliant marriages. As Egmont had eight girls, besides two sons, it was natural that he should be pleased to find Philiptaking so much interest in looking out husbands for them. The King spoketo him, as hardly could be avoided, of the famous fool's-cap livery. TheCount laughed the matter off as a jest, protesting that it was a merefoolish freak, originating at the wine-table, and asseverating, withwarmth, that nothing disrespectful or disloyal to his Majesty had beencontemplated upon that or upon any other occasion. Had a single gentlemanuttered an undutiful word against the King, Egmont vowed he would havestabbed him through and through upon the spot, had he been his ownbrother. These warm protestations were answered by a gentle reprimand asto the past by Philip, and with a firm caution as to the future. "Let itbe discontinued entirely, Count, " said the King, as the two were drivingtogether in the royal carriage. Egmont expressed himself in handsometerms concerning the Cardinal, in return for the wholesale approbationquoted to him in regard to his own character, from the private letters ofthat sagacious personage to his Majesty. Certainly, after all this, theCount might suppose the affair of the livery forgiven. Thus amicablypassed the hours of that mission, the preliminaries for which had calledforth so much eloquence from the Prince of Orange and so nearly carriedoff with apoplexy the President Viglius. On his departure Egmont receiveda letter of instructions from Philip as to the report which he was tomake upon his arrival in Brussels, to the Duchess. After many thingspersonally flattering to himself, the envoy was directed to represent theKing as overwhelmed with incredible grief at hearing the progress made bythe heretics, but as immutably determined to permit no change of religionwithin his dominions, even were he to die a thousand deaths inconsequence. The King, he was to state, requested the Duchess forthwithto assemble an extraordinary session of the council, at which certainbishops, theological doctors, and very orthodox lawyers, were to assist, in which, under pretence of discussing the Council of Trent matter, itwas to be considered whether there could not be some new way devised forexecuting heretics; not indeed one by which any deduction should be madefrom their sufferings (which certainly was not the royal wish, nor likelyto be grateful to God or salutary to religion), but by which all hopes ofglory--that powerful incentive to their impiety--might be precluded. Withregard to any suggested alterations in the council of state, or in theother two councils, the King was to be represented as unwilling to formany decision until he should hear, at length, from the Duchess Regentupon the subject. 

Certainly here was a sufficient amount of plain speaking upon one greatsubject, and very little encouragement with regard to the other. YetEgmont, who immediately after receiving these instructions set forth uponhis return to the Netherlands, manifested nothing but satisfaction. Philip presented to him, as his travelling companion, the young PrinceAlexander of Parma, then about to make a visit to his mother in Brussels, and recommended the youth, afterwards destined to play so prominent apart in Flemish history, to his peculiar caret Egmont addressed a letterto the King from Valladolid, in which he indulged in ecstasies concerningthe Escorial and the wood of Segovia, and declared that he was returningto the Netherlands "the most contented man in the world. "

He reached Brussels at the end of April. Upon the fifth of May heappeared before the council, and proceeded to give an account of hisinterview with the King, together with a statement of the royalintentions and opinions. These were already sufficiently well known. Letters, written after the envoy's departure, had arrived before him, inwhich, while in the main presenting the same views as those contained inthe instructions to Egmont, Philip had expressed his decided prohibitionof the project to enlarge the state council and to suppress the authorityof the other two. Nevertheless, the Count made his report according tothe brief received at Madrid, and assured his hearers that the King wasall benignity, having nothing so much at heart as the temporal andeternal welfare of the provinces. The siege of Malta, he stated, wouldprevent the royal visit to the Netherlands for the moment, but it wasdeferred only for a brief period. To remedy the deficiency in theprovincial exchequer, large remittances would be made immediately fromSpain. To provide for the increasing difficulties of the religiousquestion, a convocation of nine learned and saintly personages wasrecommended, who should devise some new scheme by which the objections tothe present system of chastising heretics might be obviated. 

It is hardly necessary to state that so meagre a result to the mission ofEgmont was not likely to inspire the hearts of Orange and his adherentswith much confidence. No immediate explosion of resentment, however, occurred. The general aspect for a few days was peaceful. Egmontmanifested much contentment with the reception which he met with inSpain, and described the King's friendly dispositions towards the leadingnobles in lively colors. He went to his government immediately after hisreturn, assembled the states of Artois, in the city of Arras, anddelivered the letters sent to that body by the King. He made a speech onthis occasion, informing the estates that his Majesty had given ordersthat the edicts of the Emperor were to be enforced to the letter; addingthat he had told the King, freely, his own opinion upon the subject; inorder to dissuade him from that which others were warmly urging. Hedescribed Philip as the most liberal and debonair of princes; his councilin Spain as cruel and sanguinary. Time was to show whether the epithetsthus applied to the advisers were not more applicable to the monarch thanthe eulogies thus lavished by the blind and predestined victim. It willalso be perceived that this language, used before the estates of Artois, varied materially from his observation to the Dowager Duchess ofAerschot, denouncing as enemies the men who accused him of havingrequested a moderation of the edicts. In truth, this most vacillating, confused, and unfortunate of men perhaps scarcely comprehended thepurport of his recent negotiations in Spain, nor perceived the drift ofhis daily remarks at home. He was, however, somewhat vaingloriousimmediately after his return, and excessively attentive to business. "Hetalks like a King, " said Morillon, spitefully, "negotiates night and day, and makes all bow before him. " His house was more thronged withpetitioners, courtiers, and men of affairs, than even the palace of theDuchess. He avowed frequently that he would devote his life and hisfortune to the accomplishment of the King's commands, and declared hisuncompromising hostility to all who should venture to oppose that loyaldetermination. 

It was but a very short time, however, before a total change wasdistinctly perceptible in his demeanor. These halcyon days were soonfled. The arrival of fresh letters from Spain gave a most unequivocalevidence of the royal determination, if, indeed, any doubt could berationally entertained before. The most stringent instructions to keepthe whole machinery of persecution constantly at work were transmitted tothe Duchess, and aroused the indignation of Orange and his followers. They avowed that they could no longer trust the royal word, since, sosoon after Egmont's departure, the King had written despatches so much atvariance with his language, as reported by the envoy. There was nothing, they said, clement and debonair in these injunctions upon gentlemen oftheir position and sentiments to devote their time to the encouragementof hangmen and inquisitors. The Duchess was unable to pacify the nobles. Egmont was beside himself with rage. With his usual recklessness andwrath, he expressed himself at more than one session of the state councilin most unmeasured terms. His anger had been more inflamed by informationwhich he had received from the second son of Berlaymont, a young andindiscreet lad, who had most unfortunately communicated many secretswhich he had learned from his father, but which were never intended forEgmont's ear. 

Philip's habitual dissimulation had thus produced much unnecessaryperplexity. It was his custom to carry on correspondence through the aidof various secretaries, and it was his invariable practice to deceivethem all. Those who were upon the most confidential terms with themonarch, were most sure to be duped upon all important occasions. It hasbeen seen that even the astute Granvelle could not escape this common lotof all who believed their breasts the depositories of the royal secrets. Upon this occasion, Gonzalo Perez and Ruy Gomez complained bitterly thatthey had known nothing of the letters which had recently been despatchedfrom Valladolid, while Tisnacq and Courterville had been ignorant of thecommunications forwarded by the hands of Egmont. They avowed that theKing created infinite trouble by thus treating his affairs in one waywith one set of councillors and in an opposite sense with the others, thus dissembling with all, and added that Philip was now much astonishedat the dissatisfaction created in the provinces by the discrepancybetween the French letters brought by Egmont, and the Spanish letterssince despatched to the Duchess. As this was his regular manner oftransacting business, not only for the Netherlands, but for all hisdominions, they were of opinion that such confusion and dissatisfactionmight well be expected. 

After all, however, notwithstanding the indignation of Egmont, it must beconfessed that he had been an easy dupe. He had been dazzled by royalsmiles, intoxicated by court incense, contaminated by yet baser bribes. He had been turned from the path of honor and the companionship of thewise and noble to do the work of those who were to compass hisdestruction. The Prince of Orange reproached him to his face with havingforgotten, when in Spain, to represent the views of his associates andthe best interests of the country, while he had well remembered his ownprivate objects, and accepted the lavish bounty of the King. Egmont, stung to the heart by the reproof, from one whom he honored and whowished him well, became sad and sombre for a long time, abstained fromthe court and from society, and expressed frequently the intention ofretiring to his estates. He was, however, much governed by his secretary, the Seigneur de Bakerzeel, a man of restless, intriguing, and deceitfulcharacter, who at this period exercised as great influence over the Countas Armenteros continued to maintain over the Duchess, whose unpopularityfrom that and other circumstances was daily increasing. 

In obedience to the commands of the King, the canons of Trent had beenpublished. They were nominally enforced at Cambray, but a fierceopposition was made by the clergy themselves to the innovation inMechlin, Utrecht, and many other places. 

This matter, together with other more vitally important questions, camebefore the assembly of bishops and doctors, which, according to Philip'sinstructions, had been convoked by the Duchess. The opinion of thelearned theologians was, on the whole, that the views of the TrentCouncil, with regard to reformation of ecclesiastical morals and populareducation, was sound. There was some discordancy between the clerical andlay doctors upon other points. The seigniors, lawyers, and deputies fromthe estates were all in favor of repealing the penalty of death forheretical offences of any kind. President Viglius, with all the bishopsand doctors of divinity, including the prelates of St. Omer, Namur andYpres, and four theological professors from Louvain, stoutly maintainedthe contrary opinion. The President especially, declared himselfvehemently in favor of the death punishment, and expressed much angeragainst those who were in favor of its abolition. The Duchess, upon thesecond day of the assembly, propounded formally the question, whether anychange was to be made in the chastisement of heretics. The Prince ofOrange, with Counts Horn and Egmont, had, however, declined to take partin the discussions, on the ground that it was not his Majesty's intentionthat state councillors should deliver their opinions before strangers, but that persons from outside had been summoned to communicate theiradvice to the Council. The seigniors having thus washed their hands ofthe matter, the doctors came to a conclusion with great alacrity. It wastheir unanimous opinion that it comported neither with the service of Godnor the common weal, to make any change in the punishment, except, perhaps, in the case of extreme youth; but that, on the contrary, heretics were only to be dealt with by retaining the edicts in theirrigor, and by courageously chastising the criminals. After sitting forthe greater part of six days, the bishops and doctors of divinity reducedtheir sentiments to writing, and affixed their signatures to thedocument. Upon the great point of the change suggested in the penaltiesof heresy, it was declared that no alteration was advisable in theedicts, which had been working so well for thirty-five years. At the sametime it was suggested that "some persons, in respect to their age andquality, might be executed or punished more or less rigorously thanothers; some by death, some by galley slavery, some by perpetualbanishment and entire confiscation of property. " The possibility was alsoadmitted, of mitigating the punishment of those who, without beingheretics or sectaries, might bring themselves within the provisions ofthe edicts, "through curiosity, nonchalance, or otherwise. " Suchoffenders, it was hinted, might be "whipped with rods, fined, banished, or subjected to similar penalties of a lighter nature. " It will beperceived by this slight sketch of the advice thus offered to the Duchessthat these theologians were disposed very carefully to strain the mercy, which they imagined possible in some cases, but which was to drop onlyupon the heads of the just. Heretics were still to be dealt with, so faras the bishops and presidents could affect their doom, with unmitigatedrigor. 

When the assembly was over, the Duchess, thus put in possession of therecorded wisdom of these special councillors, asked her constitutionaladvisers what she was to do with it. Orange, Egmont, Horn, Mansfeldreplied, however, that it was not their affair, and that their opinionhad not been demanded by his Majesty in the premises. The Duchessaccordingly transmitted to Philip the conclusions of the assembly, together with the reasons of the seigniors for refusing to take part inits deliberations. The sentiments of Orange could hardly be doubtful, however, nor his silence fail to give offense to the higher powers. Hecontented himself for the time with keeping his eyes and ears open to thecourse of events, but he watched well. He had "little leisure for amusinghimself, " as Brederode suggested. That free-spoken individual looked uponthe proceedings of the theological assembly with profound disgust. "Yourletter, " he wrote to Count Louis, "is full of those blackguards ofbishops and presidents. I would the race were extinct, like that of greendogs. They will always combat with the arms which they have ever used, remaining to the end avaricious, brutal, obstinate, ambitious, et cetera. I leave you to supply the rest. "

Thus, then, it was settled beyond peradventure that there was to be nocompromise with heresy. The King had willed it. The theologians hadadvised it. The Duchess had proclaimed it. It was supposed that withoutthe axe, the fire, and the rack, the Catholic religion would beextinguished, and that the whole population of the Netherlands wouldembrace the Reformed Faith. This was the distinct declaration of Viglius, in a private letter to Granvelle. "Many seek to abolish the chastisementof heresy, " said he; "if they gain this point, actum est de religioneCatholica; for as most of the people are ignorant fools, the hereticswill soon be the great majority, if by fear of punishment they are notkept in the true path. "

The uneasiness, the terror, the wrath of the people seemed rapidlyculminating to a crisis. Nothing was talked of but the edicts and theinquisition. Nothing else entered into the minds of men. In the streets, in the shops, in the taverns, in the fields; at market, at church, atfunerals, at weddings; in the noble's castle, at the farmer's fireside, in the mechanic's garret, upon the merchants' exchange, there was but oneperpetual subject of shuddering conversation. It was better, men began towhisper to each other, to die at once than to live in perpetual slavery. It was better to fall with arms in hand than to be tortured and butcheredby the inquisition. Who could expect to contend with such a foe in thedark?

They reproached the municipal authorities with lending themselves asinstruments to the institution. They asked magistrates and sheriffs howfar they would go in their defence before God's tribunal for theslaughter of his creatures, if they could only answer the divinearraignment by appealing to the edict of 1550. On the other hand, theinquisitors were clamorous in abuse of the languor and the cowardice ofthe secular authorities. They wearied the ear of the Duchess withcomplaints of the difficulties which they encountered in the execution oftheir functions--of the slight alacrity on the part of the variousofficials to assist them in the discharge of their duties. Notwithstanding the express command of his Majesty to that effect, theyexperienced, they said, a constant deficiency of that cheerfulco-operation which they had the right to claim, and there was perpetualdiscord in consequence. They had been empowered by papal and by royaldecree to make use of the gaols, the constables, the whole penalmachinery of each province; yet the officers often refused to act, andhad even dared to close the prisons. Nevertheless, it had been intended, as fully appeared by the imperial and royal instructions to theinquisitors, that their action through the medium of the provincialauthorities should be unrestrained. Not satisfied with theserepresentations to the Regent, the inquisitors had also made a directappeal to the King. Judocus Tiletanus and Michael de Bay addressed toPhilip a letter from Louvain. They represented to him that they were theonly two left of the five inquisitors-general appointed by the Pope forall the Netherlands, the other three having been recently converted intobishops. Daily complaints, they said, were reaching them of theprodigious advance of heresy, but their own office was becoming soodious, so calumniated, and exposed to so much resistance, that theycould not perform its duties without personal danger. They urgentlydemanded from his Majesty, therefore, additional support and assistance. Thus the Duchess, exposed at once to the rising wrath of a whole peopleand to the shrill blasts of inquisitorial anger, was tossed to and fro, as upon a stormy sea. The commands of the King, too explicit to betampered with, were obeyed. The theological assembly had met and givenadvice. The Council of Trent was here and there enforced. The edicts wererepublished and the inquisitors encouraged. Moreover, in accordance withPhilip's suggestion, orders were now given that the heretics should beexecuted at midnight in their dungeons, by binding their heads betweentheir knees, and then slowly suffocating them in tubs of water. Secretdrowning was substituted for public burning, in order that the heretic'scrown of vainglory, which was thought to console him in his agony, mightnever be placed upon his head. 

In the course of the summer, Magaret wrote to her brother that thepopular frenzy was becoming more and more intense. The people were cryingaloud, she said, that the Spanish inquisition, or a worse than Spanishinquisition, had been established among them by means of bishops andecclesiastics. She urged Philip to cause the instructions for theinquisitors to be revised. Egmont, she said, was vehement in expressinghis dissatisfaction at the discrepancy between Philip's language to himby word of mouth and that of the royal despatches on the religiousquestion. The other seigniors were even more indignant. 

While the popular commotion in the Netherlands was thus fearfullyincreasing, another circumstance came to add to the prevailingdiscontent. The celebrated interview between Catharine de Medici and herdaughter, the Queen of Spain, occurred in the middle of the month ofJune, at Bayonne. The darkest suspicions as to the results to humanity ofthe plots to be engendered in this famous conference between therepresentatives of France and Spain were universally entertained. Thesesuspicions were most reasonable, but they were nevertheless mistaken. Theplan for a concerted action to exterminate the heretics in both kingdomshad, as it was perfectly well known, been formed long before this epoch. It was also no secret that the Queen Regent of France had been desirousof meeting her son-in-law in order to confer with him upon importantmatters, face to face. Philip, however, had latterly been disinclined forthe personal interview with Catharine. As his wife was most anxious tomeet her mother, it was nevertheless finally arranged that Queen Isabellashould make the journey; but he excused himself, on account of themultiplicity of his affairs, from accompanying her in the expedition. TheDuke of Alva was, accordingly, appointed to attend the Queen to Bayonne. Both were secretly instructed by Philip to leave nothing undone in theapproaching interview toward obtaining the hearty co-operation ofCatharine de Medici in a general and formally-arranged scheme for thesimultaneous extermination of all heretics in the French and Spanishdominions. Alva's conduct in this diplomatic commission was stealthy inthe extreme. His letters reveal a subtlety of contrivance and delicacy ofhandling such as the world has not generally reckoned among hischaracteristics. All his adroitness, as well as the tact of QueenIsabella, by whose ability Alva declared himself to have been astounded, proved quite powerless before the steady fencing of the wily Catharine. The Queen Regent, whose skill the Duke, even while defeated, acknowledgedto his master, continued firm in her design to maintain her own power byholding the balance between Guise and Montmorency, between Leaguer andHuguenot. So long as her enemies could be employed in exterminating eachother, she was willing to defer the extermination of the Huguenots. Thegreat massacre of St. Bartholomew was to sleep for seven years longer. Alva was, to be sure, much encouraged at first by the language of theFrench princes and nobles who were present at Bayonne. Monluc protestedthat "they might saw the Queen Dowager in two before she would becomeHuguenot. " Montpensier exclaimed that "he would be cut in pieces forPhilip's service--that the Spanish monarch was the only hope for France, "and, embracing Alva with fervor, he affirmed that "if his body were to beopened at that moment, the name of Philip would be found imprinted uponhis heart. " The Duke, having no power to proceed to an autopsy, physicalor moral, of Montpensier's interior, was left somewhat in the dark, notwithstanding these ejaculations. His first conversation with theyouthful King, however, soon dispelled his hopes. He found immediately, in his own words, that Charles the Ninth "had been doctored. " To take uparms, for religious reasons, against his own subjects, the monarchdeclared to be ruinous and improper. It was obvious to Alva that theroyal pupil had learned his lesson for that occasion. It was a pity forhumanity that the wisdom thus hypocritically taught him could not havesunk into his heart. The Duke did his best to bring forward the plans andwishes of his royal master, but without success. The Queen Regentproposed a league of the two Kings and the Emperor against the Turk, andwished to arrange various matrimonial alliances between the sons anddaughters of the three houses. Alva expressed the opinion that thealliances were already close enough, while, on the contrary, a secretleague against the Protestants would make all three families the safer. Catherine, however, was not to be turned from her position. She refusedeven to admit that the Chancellor de l'Hospital was a Huguenot, to whichthe Duke replied that she was the only person in her kingdom who heldthat opinion. She expressed an intention of convoking an assembly ofdoctors, and Alva ridiculed in his letters to Philip the affectation ofsuch a proceeding. In short, she made it sufficiently evident that thehour for the united action of the French and Spanish sovereigns againsttheir subjects had not struck, so that the famous Bayonne conference wasterminated without a result. It seemed not the less certain, however, inthe general opinion of mankind, that all the particulars of a regularplot had been definitely arranged upon this occasion, for theextermination of the Protestants, and the error has been propagated byhistorians of great celebrity of all parties, down to our own days. Thesecret letters of Alva, however, leave no doubt as to the facts. 

In the course of November, fresh letters from Philip arrived in theNetherlands, confirming every thing which he had previously written. Hewrote personally to the inquisitors-general, Tiletanus and De Bay, encouraging them, commending them, promising them his support, and urgingthem not to be deterred by any consideration from thoroughly fulfillingtheir duties. He wrote Peter Titelmann a letter, in which he applaudedthe pains taken by that functionary to remedy the ills which religion wassuffering, assured him of his gratitude, exhorted him to continue in hisvirtuous course, and avowed his determination to spare neither pains, expense, nor even his own life, to sustain the Catholic Faith. To theDuchess he wrote at great length, and in most unequivocal language. Hedenied that what he had written from Valladolid was of different meaningfrom the sense of the despatches by Egmont. With regard to certainAnabaptist prisoners, concerning whose fate Margaret had requested hisopinion, he commanded their execution, adding that such was his will inthe case of all, whatever their quality, who could be caught. That whichthe people said in the Netherlands touching the inquisition, hepronounced extremely distasteful to him. That institution, which hadexisted under his predecessors, he declared more necessary than ever; norwould he suffer it to be discredited. He desired his sister to put nofaith in idle talk, as to the inconveniences likely to flow from therigor of the inquisition. Much greater inconveniences would be the resultif the inquisitors did not proceed with their labors, and the Duchess wascommanded to write to the secular judges, enjoining upon them to place noobstacles in the path, but to afford all the assistance which might berequired. 

To Egmont, the King wrote with his own hand, applauding much that wascontained in the recent decisions of the assembly of bishops and doctorsof divinity, and commanding the Count to assist in the execution of theroyal determination. In affairs of religion, Philip expressed the opinionthat dissimulation and weakness were entirely out of place. 

When these decisive letters came before the state council, theconsternation was extreme. The Duchess had counted, in spite of herinmost convictions, upon less peremptory instructions. The Prince ofOrange, the Count of Egmont, and the Admiral, were loud in theirdenunciations of the royal policy. There was a violent and protracteddebate. The excitement spread at once to the, people. Inflammatoryhand-bills were circulated. Placards were posted every night upon thedoors of Orange, Egmont, and Horn, calling upon them to come forth boldlyas champions of the people and of liberty in religious matters. Banquetswere held daily at the houses of the nobility, in which the more ardentand youthful of their order, with brains excited by wine and anger, indulged in flaming invectives against the government, and interchangedvows to protect each other and the cause of the oppressed provinces. Meanwhile the privy council, to which body the Duchess had referred therecent despatches from Madrid, made a report upon the whole subject tothe state council, during the month of November, sustaining the royalviews, and insisting upon the necessity of carrying them into effect. Theedicts and inquisition having been so vigorously insisted upon by theKing, nothing was to be done but to issue new proclamations throughoutthe country, together with orders to bishops, councils, governors andjudges, that every care should be taken to enforce them to the full. 

This report came before the state council, and was sustained by some ofits members. The Prince of Orange expressed the same uncompromisinghostility to the inquisition which he had always manifested, but observedthat the commands of the King were so precise and absolute, as to leaveno possibility of discussing that point. There was nothing to be done, hesaid, but to obey, but he washed his hands of the fatal consequenceswhich he foresaw. There was no longer any middle course between obedienceand rebellion. This opinion, the soundness of which could scarcely bedisputed, was also sustained by Egmont and Horn. 

Viglius, on the contrary, nervous, agitated, appalled, was now disposedto temporize. He observed that if the seigniors feared such evil results, it would be better to prevent, rather than to accelerate the danger whichwould follow the proposed notification to the governors and municipalauthorities throughout the country, on the subject of the inquisition. Tomake haste, was neither to fulfil the intentions nor to serve theinterests of the King, and it was desirable "to avoid emotion andscandal. " Upon these heads the President made a very long speech, avowing, in conclusion, that if his Majesty should not find the courseproposed agreeable, he was ready to receive all the indignation upon hisown head. 

Certainly, this position of the President was somewhat inconsistent withhis previous course. He had been most violent in his denunciations of allwho should interfere with the execution of the great edict of which hehad been the original draughtsman. He had recently been ferocious incombating the opinion of those civilians in the assembly of doctors whohad advocated the abolition of the death penalty against heresy. He hadexpressed with great energy his private opinion that the ancient religionwould perish if the machinery of persecution were taken away; yet he nowfor the first time seemed to hear or to heed the outcry of a wholenation, and to tremble at the sound. Now that the die had been cast, inaccordance with the counsels of his whole life, now that the royalcommands, often enigmatical and hesitating; were at last too distinct tobe misconstrued, and too peremptory to be tampered with--the presidentimagined the possibility of delay. The health of the ancient Frisian hadbut recently permitted him to resume his seat at the council board. Hispresence there was but temporary, for he had received from Madrid theacceptance of his resignation, accompanied with orders to discharge theduties of President until the arrival of his successor, Charles deTisnacq. Thus, in his own language, the Duchess was still obliged to relyfor a season "upon her ancient Palinurus, " a necessity far from agreeableto her, for she had lost confidence in the pilot. It may be supposed thathe was anxious to smooth the troubled waters during the brief period inwhich he was still to be exposed to their fury; but he poured out the oilof his eloquence in vain. Nobody sustained his propositions. The Duchess, although terrified at the probable consequences, felt the impossibilityof disobeying the deliberate decree of her brother. A proclamation wasaccordingly prepared, by which it was ordered that the Council of Trent, the edicts and the inquisition, should be published in every town andvillage in the provinces, immediately, and once in six months foreverafterwards. The deed was done, and the Prince of Orange, stooping to theear of his next neighbor, as they sat at the council-board, whisperedthat they were now about to witness the commencement of the mostextraordinary tragedy which had ever been enacted. 

The prophecy was indeed a proof that the Prince could read the future, but the sarcasm of the President, that the remark had been made in a toneof exultation, was belied by every action of the prophet's life. 

The fiat went forth. In the market-place of every town and village of theNetherlands, the inquisition was again formally proclaimed. Every doubtwhich had hitherto existed as to the intention of the government wasswept away. No argument was thenceforward to be permissible as to theconstitutionality of the edicts as to the compatibility of theirprovisions with the privileges of the land. The cry of a people in itsagony ascended to Heaven. The decree was answered with a howl ofexecration. The flames of popular frenzy arose lurid and threateningabove the house-tops of every town and village. The impending conflictcould no longer be mistaken. The awful tragedy which the great watchmanin the land had so long unceasingly predicted, was seen sweeping solemnlyand steadily onward. The superstitious eyes of the age saw supernaturaland ominous indications in the sky. Contending armies trampled theclouds; blood dropped from heaven; the exterminating angel rode upon thewind. 

There was almost a cessation of the ordinary business of mankind. Commerce was paralyzed. Antwerp shook as with an earthquake. A chasmseemed to open, in which her prosperity and her very existence were to beforever engulfed. The foreign merchants, manufacturers, and artisans fledfrom her gates as if the plague were raging within them. Thriving citieswere likely soon to be depopulated. The metropolitan heart of the wholecountry was almost motionless. 

Men high in authority sympathized with the general indignation. TheMarquis Berghen, the younger Mansfeld, the Baron Montigny, openly refusedto enforce the edicts within their governments. Men of eminence inveighedboldly and bitterly against the tyranny of the government, and counselleddisobedience. The Netherlanders, it was stoutly maintained, were not suchsenseless brutes as to be ignorant of the mutual relation of prince andpeople. They knew that the obligation of a king to his vassals was assacred as the duties of the subjects to the sovereign. 

The four principal cities of Brabant first came forward in formaldenunciation of the outrage. An elaborate and conclusive document wasdrawn up in their name, and presented to the Regent. It set forth thatthe recent proclamation violated many articles in the "joyous entry. "That ancient constitution had circumscribed the power of the clergy, andthe jealousy had been felt in old times as much by the sovereign as thepeople. No ecclesiastical tribunal had therefore been allowed, exceptingthat of the Bishop of Cambray, whose jurisdiction was expressly confinedto three classes of cases--those growing out of marriages, testaments, and mortmains. 

It would be superfluous to discuss the point at the present day, whetherthe directions to the inquisitors and the publication of the edictsconflicted with the "joyous entrance. " To take a man from his house andburn him, after a brief preliminary examination, was clearly not tofollow the, letter and spirit of the Brabantine habeas corpus, by whichinviolability of domicile and regular trials were secured and sworn to bythe monarch; yet such had been the uniform practice of inquisitorsthroughout the country. The petition of the four cities was referred bythe Regent to the council of Brabant. The chancellor, or president judgeof that tribunal was notoriously corrupt--a creature of the Spanish. Hisefforts to sustain the policy of the administration however vain. TheDuchess ordered the archives of the province to be searched forprecedents, and the council to report upon the petition. The case was tooplain for argument or dogmatism, but the attempt was made to take refugein obscurity. The answer of the council was hesitating and equivocal. TheDuchess insisted upon a distinct and categorical answer to the fourcities. Thus pressed, the council of Brabant declared roundly that noinquisition of any kind had ever existed, in the provinces. It wasimpossible that any other answer could be given, but Viglius, with hisassociates in the privy council, were extremely angry at the conclusion. The concession was, however, made, notwithstanding the bad example which, according to some persons, the victory thus obtained by so important aprovince would afford to the people in the other parts of the country. Brabant was declared free of the inquisition. Meanwhile the pamphlets, handbills, pasquils, and other popular productions were multiplied. Touse a Flemish expression, they "snowed in the streets. " They were nailednightly on all the great houses in Brussels. Patriots were called upon tostrike, speak, redress. Pungent lampoons, impassioned invectives, andearnest remonstrances, were thrust into the hands of the Duchess. Thepublications, as they appeared; were greedily devoured by the people. "Weare willing, " it was said, in a remarkable letter to the King, "to diefor the Gospel, but we read therein 'Render unto Caesar that which isCaesar's, and unto God that which is God's. ' We thank God that ourenemies themselves are compelled to bear witness to our piety andpatience; so that it is a common saying--'He swears not; he is aProtestant; he is neither a fornicator nor a drunkard; he is of the newsect. ' Yet, notwithstanding these testimonials to our character, nomanner of punishment has been forgotten by which we can possibly beChastised. " This statement of the morality of the Puritans of theNetherlands was the justification of martyrs--not the self-glorificationof Pharisees. The fact was incontrovertible. Their tenets were rigid, buttheir lives were pure. They belonged generally to the middling and lowerclasses. They were industrious artisans, who desired to live in the fearof God and in honor of their King. They were protected by nobles andgentlemen of high position, very many of whom came afterwards warmly toespouse the creed which at first they had only generously defended. Theirwhole character and position resembled, in many features, those of theEnglish Puritans, who, three quarters of a century afterwards, fled forrefuge to the Dutch Republic, and thence departed to establish theAmerican Republic. The difference was that the Netherlanders were exposedto a longer persecution and a far more intense martyrdom. 

Towards the end of the year (1565) which was closing in such universalgloom; the contemporary chronicles are enlivened with a fitful gleam ofsunshine. The light enlivens only the more elevated regions of theFlemish world, but it is pathetic to catch a glimpse of those nobles, many of whose lives were to be so heroic, and whose destinies so tragic, as amid the shadows projected by coming evil, they still found time forthe chivalrous festivals of their land and epoch. A splendid tournamentwas held at the Chateau d'Antoing to celebrate the nuptials of BaronMontigny with the daughter of Prince d'Espinoy. Orange, Horn, andHoogstraaten were the challengers, and maintained themselves victoriouslyagainst all comers, Egmont and other distinguished knights being, amongthe number. 

Thus brilliantly and gaily moved the first hours of that marriage whichbefore six months had fled was to be so darkly terminated. The doom whichawaited the chivalrous bridegroom in the dungeon of Simancas was ere longto be recorded in one of the foulest chapters of Philip's tyranny. 

A still more elaborate marriage-festival, of which the hero was, at alater day, to exercise a most decisive influence over the fortunes of theland, was celebrated at Brussels before the close of the year. It will beremembered that Alexander, Prince of Parma, had accompanied Egmont on hisreturn from Spain in the month of April. The Duchess had been delightedwith the appearance of her son, then twenty years of age, but already anaccomplished cavalier. She had expressed her especial pleasure in findinghim so thoroughly a Spaniard "in manner, costume, and conversation, " thatit could not be supposed he had ever visited any other land, or spokenany other tongue than that of Spain. 

The nobles of the Flemish court did not participate in the mother'senthusiasm. It could not be denied that he was a handsome and gallantyoung prince; but his arrogance was so intolerable as to disgust eventhose most disposed to pay homage to Margaret's son. He kept himselfmainly in haughty retirement, dined habitually alone in his ownapartments, and scarcely honored any of the gentlemen of the Netherlandswith his notice. Even Egmont, to whose care he had been especiallyrecommended by Philip, was slighted. If, occasionally, he honored one ortwo of the seigniors with an invitation to his table, he sat alone insolemn state at the head of the board, while the guests, to whom hescarcely vouchsafed a syllable, were placed on stools without backs, below the salt. Such insolence, it may be supposed, was sufficientlygalling to men of the proud character, but somewhat reckless demeanor, which distinguished the Netherland aristocracy. After a short time theyheld themselves aloof, thinking it sufficient to endure such airs fromPhilip. The Duchess at first encouraged the young Prince in hishaughtiness, but soon became sad, as she witnessed its effects. It wasthe universal opinion that the young Prince was a mere compound of prideand emptiness. "There is nothing at all in the man, " said Chantonnay. Certainly the expression was not a fortunate one. Time was to show thatthere was more in the man than in all the governors despatchedsuccessively by Philip to the Netherlands; but the proof was to bedeferred to a later epoch. Meantime, his mother was occupied andexceedingly perplexed with his approaching nuptials. He had beenaffianced early in the year to the Princess Donna Maria of Portugal. Itwas found necessary, therefore, to send a fleet of several vessels toLisbon, to fetch the bride to the Netherlands, the wedding beingappointed to take place in Brussels. This expense alone was considerable, and the preparations for banquets, jousts, and other festivities, werelikewise undertaken on so magnificent a scale that the Duke, her husband, was offended at Margaret's extravagance. The people, by whom she was notbeloved, commented bitterly on the prodigalities which they werewitnessing in a period of dearth and trouble. Many of the nobles mockedat her perplexity. To crown the whole, the young Prince was so obligingas to express the hope, in his mother's hearing, that the bridal fleet, then on its way from Portugal, might sink with all it contained, to thebottom of the sea. 

The poor Duchess was infinitely chagrined by all these circumstances. The"insane and outrageous expenses" in which the nuptials had involved her, the rebukes of her husband, the sneers of the seigniors, the undutifulepigrams of her son, the ridicule of the people, affected her spirits tosuch a degree, harassed as she was with grave matters of state, that shekept her rooms for days together, weeping, hour after hour, in the mostpiteous manner. Her distress was the town talk; nevertheless, the fleetarrived in the autumn, and brought the youthful Maria to the provinces. This young lady, if the faithful historiographer of the Farnese house isto be credited, was the paragon of princesses. 

 [This princess, in her teens, might already exclaim, with the venerable Faustus:

 "Habe nun Philosophie Juristerei and Medicin Und leider ach: Theologie Durch studirt mit heissem Bemuhen, " etc. 

 The panegyrists of royal houses in the sixteenth century were not accustomed to do their work by halves. --Strada. ]

She was the daughter of Prince Edward, and granddaughter of John theThird. She was young and beautiful; she could talk both Latin and Greek, besides being well versed in philosophy, mathematics and theology. Shehad the scriptures at her tongue's end, both the old dispensation and thenew, and could quote from the fathers with the promptness of a bishop. She was so strictly orthodox that, on being compelled by stress ofweather to land in England, she declined all communication with QueenElizabeth, on account of her heresy. She was so eminently chaste that shecould neither read the sonnets of Petrarch, nor lean on the arm of agentleman. Her delicacy upon such points was, indeed, carried to suchexcess, that upon one occasion when the ship which was bringing her tothe Netherlands was discovered to be burning, she rebuked a rude fellowwho came forward to save her life, assuring him that there was lesscontamination in the touch of fire than in that of man. Fortunately, theflames were extinguished, and the Phoenix of Portugal was permitted todescend, unburned, upon the bleak shores of Flanders. 

The occasion, notwithstanding the recent tears of the Duchess, and thearrogance of the Prince, was the signal for much festivity among thecourtiers of Brussels. It was also the epoch from which movements of asecret and important character were to be dated. The chevaliers of theFleece were assembled, and Viglius pronounced before them one of his mostclassical orations. He had a good deal to say concerning the privateadventures of Saint Andrew, patron of the Order, and went into somedetails of a conversation which that venerated personage had once heldwith the proconsul Aegeas. The moral which he deduced from his narrativewas the necessity of union among the magnates for the maintenance of theCatholic faith; the nobility and the Church being the two columns uponwhich the whole social fabric reposed. It is to be feared that thePresident became rather prosy upon the occasion. Perhaps his homily, likethose of the fictitious Archbishop of Granada, began to smack of theapoplexy from which he had so recently escaped. Perhaps, the meetingbeing one of hilarity, the younger nobles became restive under theinfliction of a very long and very solemn harangue. At any rate, as themeeting broke up, there was a good dial of jesting on the subject. DeHammes, commonly called "Toison d'Or, " councillor and king-at-arms of theOrder, said that the President had been seeing visions and talking withSaint Andrew in a dream. Marquis Berghen asked for the source whence hehad derived such intimate acquaintance with the ideas of the Saint. ThePresident took these remarks rather testily, and, from trifling, thecompany became soon earnestly engaged in a warm discussion of theagitating topics of the day. It soon became evident to Viglius that DeHammer and others of his comrades had been dealing with dangerous things. He began shrewdly to suspect that the popular heresy was rapidlyextending into higher regions; but it was not the President alone whodiscovered how widely the contamination was spreading. The meeting, theaccidental small talk, which had passed so swiftly from gaiety togravity, the rapid exchange of ideas, and the free-masonry by whichintelligence upon forbidden topics had been mutually conveyed, becameevents of historical importance. Interviews between nobles, who, in thecourse of the festivities produced by the Montigny and Parma marriages, had discovered that they entertained a secret similarity of sentimentupon vital questions, became of frequent occurrence. The result to whichsuch conferences led will be narrated in the following chapter. 

Meantime, upon the 11th November, 1565, the marriage of Prince Alexanderand Donna Maria was celebrated; with great solemnity, by the Archbishopof Cambray, in the chapel of the court at Brussels. On the followingSunday the wedding banquet was held in the great hall, where, ten yearspreviously, the memorable abdication of the bridegroom's imperialgrandfather had taken place. 

The walls were again hung with the magnificent tapestry of Gideon, whilethe Knights of the Fleece, with all the other grandees of the land, wereassembled to grace the spectacle. The King was represented by his envoyin England, Don Guzman de Silva, who came to Brussels for the occasion, and who had been selected for this duty because, according to Armenteros, "he was endowed, beside his prudence, with so much witty gracefulnesswith ladies in matters of pastime and entertainment. " Early in the monthof December, a famous tournament was held in the great market-place ofBrussels, the Duke of Parma, the Duke of Aerschot, and Count Egmont beingjudges of the jousts. Count Mansfeld was the challenger, assisted by hisson Charles, celebrated among the gentry of the land for his dexterity insuch sports. To Count Charles was awarded upon this occasion the silvercup from the lady of the lists. Count Bossu received the prize forbreaking best his lances; the Seigneur de Beauvoir for the most splendidentrance; Count Louis, of Nassau, for having borne himself most gallantlyin the melee. On the same evening the nobles, together with the bridalpair, were entertained at a splendid supper, given by the city ofBrussels in the magnificent Hotel de Ville. On this occasion the prizesgained at the tournament were distributed, amid the applause and hilarityof all the revellers. 

Thus, with banquet, tourney, and merry marriage bells, with gaietygilding the surface of society, while a deadly hatred to the inquisitionwas eating into the heart of the nation, and while the fires of civil warwere already kindling, of which no living man was destined to witness theextinction, ended the year 1565. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 All offices were sold to the highest bidder English Puritans Habeas corpus He did his best to be friends with all the world Look through the cloud of dissimulation No law but the law of the longest purse Panegyrists of royal houses in the sixteenth century Secret drowning was substituted for public burning Sonnets of Petrarch St. Bartholomew was to sleep for seven years longer To think it capable of error, is the most devilish heresy of all

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 10. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLICJOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. , LL. D. 18551566 [CHAPTER VI. ]

 Francis Junius--His sermon at Culemburg House--The Compromise-- Portraits of Sainte Aldegonde, of Louis 'Nassau, of "Toison d'Or, " of Charles Mansfeld--Sketch of the Compromise--Attitude of Orange-- His letter to the Duchess--Signers of the Compromise--Indiscretion of the confederates--Espionage over Philip by Orange-- Dissatisfaction of the seigniors--Conduct of Egmont--Despair of the people--Emigration to England--Its effects--The request--Meeting at Breda and Hoogstraaten--Exaggerated statements concerning the Request in the state council--Hesitation of the Duchess--Assembly of notables--Debate concerning the Request and the inquisition-- Character of Brederode--Arrival of the petitioners in Brussels-- Presentation of the Request--Emotion of Margaret--Speech of Brederode--Sketch of the Request--Memorable sarcasm of Berlaymont-- Deliberation in the state council--Apostille to the Request--Answer to the Apostille--Reply of the Duchess--Speech of D'Esquerdes-- Response of Margaret--Memorable banquet at Culemburg House--Name of "the beggars" adopted--Orange, Egmont, and Horn break up the riotous meeting--Costume of "the beggars"--Brederode at Antwerp--Horrible execution at Oudenardo--Similar cruelties throughout the provinces-- Project of "Moderation"--Religious views of Orange--His resignation of all his offices not accepted--The "Moderation" characterized-- Egmont at Arras Debate on the "Moderation"--Vacillation of Egmont-- Mission of Montigny and Berghen to Spain--Instructions to the envoys--Secret correspondence of Philip with the Pope concerning the Netherland inquisition and the edicts--Field-preaching in the provinces--Modet at Ghent--Other preachers characterized--Excitement at Tournay--Peter Gabriel at Harlem--Field--preaching near Antwerp-- Embarrassment of the Regent--Excitement at Antwerp--Pensionary Wesenbeck sent to Brussels--Orange at Antwerp--His patriotic course --Misrepresentation of the Duchess--Intemperate zeal of Dr. Rythovius--Meeting at St. Trond--Conference at Duffel--Louis of Nassau deputed to the Regent--Unsatisfactory negotiations. 

The most remarkable occurrence in the earlier part of the year 1556 wasthe famous Compromise. This document, by which the signers pledgedthemselves to oppose the inquisition, and to defend each other againstall consequences of such a resistance, was probably the work of Philip deMarnix, Lord of Sainte Aldegonde. Much obscurity, however, rests upon theorigin of this league. Its foundations had already been laid in thelatter part of the preceding year. The nuptials of Parma with thePortuguese princess had been the cause of much festivity, not only inBrussels, but at Antwerp. The great commercial metropolis had celebratedthe occasion by a magnificent banquet. There had been triumphal arches, wreaths of flowers, loyal speeches, generous sentiments, in the usualprofusion. The chief ornament of the dinner-table had been a magnificentpiece of confectionary, netting elaborately forth the mission of CountMansfeld with the fleet to Portugal to fetch the bride from her home, with exquisitely finished figures in sugar--portraits, it is to bepresumed--of the principal personages as they appeared during the moststriking scenes of the history. At the very moment, however, of thesedelectations, a meeting was held at Brussels of men whose minds wereoccupied with sterner stuff than sugar-work. On the wedding-day of Parma, Francis Junius, a dissenting minister then residing at Antwerp, wasinvited to Brussels to preach a sermon in the house of Count Culemburg, on the horse-market (now called Little Sablon), before a small assemblyof some twenty gentlemen. 

This Francis Junius, born of a noble family in Bourges, was the pastor ofthe secret French congregation of Huguenots at Antwerp. He was veryyoung, having arrived from Geneva, where he had been educated, to takecharge of the secret church, when but just turned of twenty years. Hewas, however, already celebrated for his learning, his eloquence, and hiscourage. Towards the end of 1565, it had already become known that Juniuswas in secret understanding with Louis of Nassau, to prepare an addressto government on the subject of the inquisition and edicts. Orders weregiven for his arrest. 

A certain painter of Brussels affected conversion to the new religion, that he might gain admission to the congregation, and afterwards earn thereward of the informer. He played his part so well that he was permittedto attend many meetings, in the course of which he sketched the portraitof the preacher, and delivered it to the Duchess Regent, together withminute statements as to his residence and daily habits. Nevertheless, with all this assistance, the government could not succeed in layinghands on him. He escaped to Breda, and continued his labors in spite ofpersecution. The man's courage may be estimated from the fact that hepreached on one occasion a sermon, advocating the doctrines of thereformed Church with his usual eloquence, in a room overlooking themarket-place, where, at the very, instant, the execution by fire ofseveral heretics was taking place, while the light from the flames inwhich the brethren of their Faith were burning, was flickering throughthe glass windows of the conventicle. Such was the man who preached asermon in Culemburg Palace on Parma's wedding-day. The nobles wholistened to him were occupied with grave discourse after conclusion ofthe religious exercises. Junius took no part in their conversation, butin his presence it was resolved that a league against the "barbarous andviolent inquisition" should be formed, and, that the confederates shouldmutually bind themselves both within and without the Netherlands to thisgreat purpose. Junius, in giving this explicit statement; has notmentioned the names of the nobles before whom he preached. It may beinferred that some of them were the more ardent and the more respectableamong the somewhat miscellaneous band by whom the Compromise wasafterwards signed. 

At about the same epoch, Louis of Nassau, Nicolas de Hammes, and certainother gentlemen met at the baths of Spa. At this secret assembly, thefoundations of the Compromise were definitely laid. A document wasafterwards drawn up, which was circulated for signatures in the earlypart of 1566. It is, therefore, a mistake to suppose that this memorablepaper was simultaneously signed and sworn to at any solemn scene likethat of the declaration of American Independence, or like some of thesubsequent transactions in the Netherland revolt, arranged purposely fordramatic effect. Several copies of the Compromise were passed secretlyfrom hand to hand, and in the course of two months some two thousandsignatures had been obtained. The original copy bore but three names, those of Brederode, Charles de Mansfeld, and Louis of Nassau. Thecomposition of the paper is usually ascribed to Sainte Aldegonde, although the fact is not indisputable. At any rate, it is very certainthat he was one of the originators and main supporters of the famousleague. Sainte Aldegonde was one of the most accomplished men of his age. He was of ancient nobility, as he proved by an abundance of historicaland heraldic evidence, in answer to a scurrilous pamphlet in which he hadbeen accused, among other delinquencies, of having sprung from plebeianblood. Having established his "extraction from true and ancient gentlemenof Savoy, paternally and maternally, " he rebuked his assailants in manlystrain. "Even had it been that I was without nobility of birth, " said he, "I should be none the less or more a virtuous or honest man; nor can anyone reproach me with having failed in the point of honor or duty. Whatgreater folly than to boast of the virtue or gallantry of others, as domany nobles who, having neither a grain of virtue in their souls nor adrop of wisdom in their brains, are entirely useless to their country!Yet there are such men, who, because their ancestors have done somevalorous deed, think themselves fit to direct the machinery of a wholecountry, having from their youth learned nothing but to dance and to spinlike weathercocks with their heads as well as their heels. " CertainlySainte Aldegonde had learned other lessons than these. He was one of themany-sided men who recalled the symmetry of antique patriots. He was apoet of much vigor and imagination; a prose writer whose style wassurpassed by that of none of his contemporaries, a diplomatist in whosetact and delicacy William of Orange afterwards reposed in the mostdifficult and important negotiations, an orator whose discourses on manygreat public occasions attracted the attention of Europe, a soldier whosebravery was to be attested afterwards on many a well-fought field, atheologian so skilful in the polemics of divinity, that, as it willhereafter appear, he was more than a match for a bench of bishops upontheir own ground, and a scholar so accomplished, that, besides speakingand writing the classical and several modern languages with facility, hehad also translated for popular use the Psalms of David into vernacularverse, and at a very late period of his life was requested by thestates-general of the republic to translate all the Scriptures, a work, the fulfilment of which was prevented by his death. A passionate foe tothe inquisition and to all the abuses of the ancient Church, an ardentdefender of civil liberty, it must be admitted that he partook also ofthe tyrannical spirit of Calvinism. He never rose to the lofty heights towhich the spirit of the great founder of the commonwealth was destined tosoar, but denounced the great principle of religious liberty for allconsciences as godless. He was now twenty-eight years of age, having beenborn in the same year with his friend Louis of Nassau. His device, "Reposailleurs, " finely typified the restless, agitated and laborious life towhich he was destined. 

That other distinguished leader of the newly-formed league, Count Louis, was a true knight of the olden time, the very mirror of chivalry. Gentle, generous, pious; making use, in his tent before the battle, of theprayers which his mother sent him from the home of his childhood, --yetfiery in the field as an ancient crusader--doing the work of general andsoldier with desperate valor and against any numbers--cheerful andsteadfast under all reverses, witty and jocund in social intercourse, animating with his unceasing spirits the graver and more foreboding soulof his brother; he was the man to whom the eyes of the most ardent amongthe Netherland Reformers were turned at this early epoch, the trustystaff upon which the great Prince of Orange was to lean till it wasbroken. As gay as Brederode, he was unstained by his vices, and exerciseda boundless influence over that reckless personage, who often protestedthat he would "die a poor soldier at his feet. " The career of Louis wasdestined to be short, if reckoned by years, but if by events, it was toattain almost a patriarchal length. At the age of nineteen he had takenpart in the battle of St. Quentin, and when once the war of freedomopened, his sword was never to be sheathed. His days were filled withlife, and when he fell into his bloody but unknown grave, he was to leavea name as distinguished for heroic valor and untiring energy as forspotless integrity. He was small of stature, but well formed; athletic inall knightly exercises, with agreeable features, a dark laughing eye, close-clipped brown hair, and a peaked beard. 

"Golden Fleece, " as Nicholas de Hammes was universally denominated, wasthe illegitimate scion of a noble house. He was one of the most active ofthe early adherents to the league, kept the lists of signers in hispossession, and scoured the country daily to procure new confederates. Atthe public preachings of the reformed religion, which soon after thisepoch broke forth throughout the Netherlands as by a common impulse, hemade himself conspicuous. He was accused of wearing, on such occasions, the ensigns of the Fleece about his neck, in order to induce ignorantpeople to believe that they might themselves legally follow, when theyperceived a member of that illustrious fraternity to be leading the way. As De Hammer was only an official or servant of that Order, but not acompanion, the seduction of the lieges by such false pretenses wasreckoned among the most heinous of his offences. He was fierce in hishostility to the government, and one of those fiery spirits whosepremature zeal was prejudicial to the cause of liberty, and dishearteningto the cautious patriotism of Orange. He was for smiting at once thegigantic atrocity of the Spanish dominion, without waiting for theforging of the weapons by which the blows were to be dealt. He forgotthat men and money were as necessary as wrath, in a contest with the mosttremendous despotism of the world. "They wish, " he wrote to Count Louis, "that we should meet these hungry wolves with remonstrances, using gentlewords, while they are burning and cutting off heads. --Be it so then. Letus take the pen let them take the sword. For them deeds, for us words. Weshall weep, they will laugh. The Lord be praised for all; but I can notwrite this without tears. " This nervous language painted the situationand the character of the writer. 

As for Charles Mansfeld, he soon fell away from the league which he hadembraced originally with excessive ardor. 

By the influence of the leaders many signatures were obtained during thefirst two months of the year. The language of the document was such thatpatriotic Catholics could sign it as honestly as Protestants. Itinveighed bitterly against the tyranny of "a heap of strangers, " who, influenced only by private avarice and ambition, were making use of anaffected zeal for the Catholic religion, to persuade the King into aviolation of his oaths. It denounced the refusal to mitigate the severityof the edicts. It declared the inquisition, which it seemed the intentionof government to fix permanently upon them, as "iniquitous, contrary toall laws, human and divine, surpassing the greatest barbarism which wasever practised by tyrants, and as redounding to the dishonor of God andto the total desolation of the country. " The signers protested, therefore, that "having a due regard to their duties as faithful vassalsof his Majesty, and especially, as noblemen--and in order not to bedeprived of their estates and their lives by those who, under pretext ofreligion, wished to enrich themselves by plunder and murder, " they hadbound themselves to each other by holy covenant and solemn oath to resistthe inquisition. They mutually promised to oppose it in every shape, openor covert, under whatever mask, it might assume, whether bearing the nameof inquisition, placard, or edict, "and to extirpate and eradicate thething in any form, as the mother of all iniquity and disorder. " Theyprotested before God and man, that they would attempt nothing to thedishonor of the Lord or to the diminution of the King's grandeur, majesty, or dominion. They declared, on the contrary, an honest purposeto "maintain the monarch in his estate, and to suppress all seditious, tumults, monopolies, and factions. " They engaged to preserve theirconfederation, thus formed, forever inviolable, and to permit none of itsmembers to be persecuted in any manner, in body or goods, by anyproceeding founded on the inquisition, the edicts, or the present league. 

It will be seen therefore, that the Compromise was in its origin, acovenant of nobles. It was directed against the foreign influence bywhich the Netherlands were exclusively governed, and against theinquisition, whether papal, episcopal, or by edict. There is no doubtthat the country was controlled entirely by Spanish masters, and that theintention was to reduce the ancient liberty of the Netherlands intosubjection to a junta of foreigners sitting at Madrid. Nothing morelegitimate could be imagined than a constitutional resistance to such apolicy. 

The Prince of Orange had not been consulted as to the formation of theleague. It was sufficiently obvious to its founders that his cautiousmind would find much to censure in the movement. His sentiments withregard to the inquisition and the edicts were certainly known to all men. In the beginning of this year, too, he had addressed a remarkable letterto the Duchess, in answer to her written commands to cause the Council ofTrent, the inquisition, and the edicts, in accordance with the recentcommands of the King, to be published and enforced throughout hisgovernment. Although his advice on the subject had not been asked, heexpressed his sense of obligation to speak his mind on the subject, preferring the hazard of being censured for his remonstrance, to that ofincurring the suspicion of connivance at the desolation of the land byhis silence. He left the question of reformation in ecclesiastical moralsuntouched, as not belonging to his vocation: As to the inquisition, hemost distinctly informed her highness that the hope which still lingeredin the popular mind of escaping the permanent establishment of thatinstitution, had alone prevented the utter depopulation of the country, with entire subversion of its commercial and manufacturing industry. Withregard to the edicts, he temperately but forcibly expressed the opinionthat it was very hard to enforce those placards now in their rigor, whenthe people were exasperated, and the misery universal, inasmuch as theyhad frequently been modified on former occasions. The King, he said, could gain nothing but difficulty for himself, and would be sure to losethe affection of his subjects by renewing the edicts, strengthening theinquisition, and proceeding to fresh executions, at a time when thepeople, moved by the example of their neighbors, were naturally inclinedto novelty. Moreover, when by reason of the daily increasing prices ofgrain a famine was impending over the land, no worse moment could bechosen to enforce such a policy. In conclusion, he observed that he wasat all times desirous to obey the commands of his Majesty and herHighness, and to discharge the duties of "a good Christian. " The use ofthe latter term is remarkable, as marking an epoch in the history of thePrince's mind. A year before he would have said a good Catholic, but itwas during this year that his mind began to be thoroughly pervaded byreligious doubt, and that the great question of the Reformation forceditself, not only as a political, but as a moral problem upon him, whichhe felt that he could not much longer neglect instead of solving. 

Such were the opinions of Orange. He could not, however, safely entrustthe sacred interests of a commonwealth to such hands as those ofBrederode--however deeply that enthusiastic personage might drink thehealth of "Younker William, " as he affectionately denominated thePrince--or to "Golden Fleece, " or to Charles Mansfeld, or to that youngerwild boar of Ardennes, Robert de la Marck. In his brother and in SainteAldegonde he had confidence, but he did not exercise over them thatcontrol which he afterwards acquired. His conduct towards the confederacywas imitated in the main by the other great nobles. The covenanters neverexpected to obtain the signatures of such men as Orange, Egmont, Horn, Meghen, Berghen, or Montigny, nor were those eminent personages everaccused of having signed the Compromise, although some of them wereafterwards charged with having protected those who did affix their namesto the document. The confederates were originally found among the lessernobles. Of these some were sincere Catholics, who loved the ancientChurch but hated the inquisition; some were fierce Calvinists ordetermined Lutherans; some were troublous and adventurous spirits, men ofbroken fortunes, extravagant habits, and boundless desires, who no doubtthought that the broad lands of the Church, with their stately abbeys;would furnish much more fitting homes and revenues for gallant gentlementhan for lazy monks. All were young, few had any prudence or conduct, andthe history of the league more than justified the disapprobation ofOrange. The nobles thus banded together, achieved little by theirconfederacy. They disgraced a great cause by their orgies, almost ruinedit by their inefficiency, and when the rope of sand which they hadtwisted fell asunder, the people had gained nothing and the gentry hadalmost lost the confidence of the nation. These remarks apply to the massof the confederates and to some of the leaders. Louis of Nassau andSainte Aldegonde were ever honored and trusted as they deserved. 

Although the language of the Compromise spoke of the leaguers as nobles, yet the document was circulated among burghers and merchants also, manyof whom, according to the satirical remark of a Netherland Catholic, may, have been influenced by the desire of writing their names in sucharistocratic company, and some of whom were destined to expiate suchvainglory upon the scaffold. 

With such associates, therefore, the profound and anxious mind of Orangecould have little in common. Confidence expanding as the numbersincreased, their audacity and turbulence grew with the growth of theleague. The language at their wild banquets was as hot as the wine whichconfused their heads; yet the Prince knew that there was rarely afestival in which there did not sit some calm, temperate Spaniard, watching with quiet eye and cool brain the extravagant demeanor, andlistening with composure to the dangerous avowals or bravados of theserevellers, with the purpose of transmitting a record of their language ordemonstrations, to the inmost sanctuary of Philip's cabinet at Madrid. The Prince knew, too, that the King was very sincere in his determinationto maintain the inquisition, however dilatory his proceedings mightappear. He was well aware that an armed force might be expected ere longto support the royal edicts. Already the Prince had organized that systemof espionage upon Philip, by which the champion of his country was solong able to circumvent its despot. The King left letters carefullylocked in his desk at night, and unseen hands had forwarded copies ofthem to William of Orange before the morning. He left memoranda in hispockets on retiring to bed, and exact transcripts of those papers foundtheir way, likewise, ere he rose, to the same watchman in theNetherlands. No doubt that an inclination for political intrigue was aprominent characteristic of the Prince, and a blemish upon the purity ofhis moral nature. Yet the dissimulating policy of his age he had masteredonly that he might accomplish the noblest purposes to which a great andgood man can devote his life-the protection of the liberty and thereligion of a whole people against foreign tyranny. His intrigue servedhis country, not a narrow personal ambition, and it was only by such artsthat he became Philip's master, instead of falling at once, like so manygreat personages, a blind and infatuated victim. No doubt his purveyorsof secret information were often destined fearfully to atone for theircontraband commerce, but they who trade in treason must expect to pay thepenalty of their traffic. 

Although, therefore, the great nobles held themselves aloof from theconfederacy, yet many of them gave unequivocal signs of their dissentfrom the policy adopted by government. Marquis Berghen wrote to theDuchess; resigning his posts, on the ground of his inability to executethe intention of the King in the matter of religion. Meghen replied tothe same summons by a similar letter. Egmont assured her that he wouldhave placed his offices in the King's hands in Spain, could he haveforeseen that his Majesty would form such resolutions as had now beenproclaimed. The sentiments of Orange were avowed in the letter to whichwe have already alluded. His opinions were shared by Montigny, Culemburg, and many others. The Duchess was almost reduced to desperation. Thecondition of the country was frightful. The most determined loyalists, such as Berlaymont, Viglius and Hopper, advised her not to mention thename of inquisition in a conference which she was obliged to hold with adeputation from Antwerp. She feared, all feared, to pronounce the hatedword. She wrote despairing letters to Philip, describing the condition ofthe land and her own agony in the gloomiest colors. Since the arrival ofthe royal orders, she said, things had gone from bad to worse. The Kinghad been ill advised. It was useless to tell the people that theinquisition had always existed in the provinces. They maintained that itwas a novelty; that the institution was a more rigorous one than theSpanish Inquisition, which, said Margaret, "was most odious, as the Kingknew. " It was utterly impossible to carry the edicts into execution. Nearly all the governors of provinces had told her plainly that theywould not help to burn fifty or sixty thousand Netherlanders. Thusbitterly did Margaret of Parma bewail the royal decree; not that she hadany sympathy for the victims, but because she felt the increasing dangerto the executioner. One of two things it was now necessary to decideupon, concession or armed compulsion. Meantime, while Philip was slowlyand secretly making his levies, his sister, as well as his people, was onthe rack. Of all the seigniors, not one was placed in so painful aposition as Egmont. His military reputation and his popularity made himtoo important a personage to be slighted, yet he was deeply mortified atthe lamentable mistake which he had committed. He now averred that hewould never take arms against the King, but that he would go where manshould never see him more. 

Such was the condition of the nobles, greater and less. That of thepeople could not well be worse. Famine reigned in the land. Emigration, caused not by over population, but by persecution, was fast weakening thecountry. It was no wonder that not only, foreign merchants should bescared from the great commercial cities by the approaching disorders; butthat every industrious artisan who could find the means of escape shouldseek refuge among strangers, wherever an asylum could be found. Thatasylum was afforded by Protestant England, who received these intelligentand unfortunate wanderers with cordiality, and learned with eagerness thelessons in mechanical skill which they had to teach. Already thirtythousand emigrant Netherlanders were established in Sandwich, Norwich, and other places, assigned to them by Elizabeth. It had always, however, been made a condition of the liberty granted to these foreigners forpractising their handiwork, that each house should employ at least oneEnglish apprentice. "Thus, " said a Walloon historian, splenetically, "bythis regulation, and by means of heavy duties on foreign manufactures, have the English built up their own fabrics and prohibited those of theNetherlands. Thus have they drawn over to their own country our skilfulartisans to practise their industry, not at home but abroad, and our poorpeople are thus losing the means of earning their livelihood. Thus hasclothmaking, silk-making and the art of dyeing declined in this country, and would have been quite extinguished but by our wise countervailingedicts. " The writer, who derived most of his materials and his wisdomfrom the papers of Councillor d'Assonleville, could hardly doubt that thepersecution to which these industrious artisans, whose sufferings heaffected to deplore, had been subjected, must have had something to dowith their expatriation; but he preferred to ascribe it wholly to theprotective system adopted by England. In this he followed the opinion ofhis preceptor. "For a long time, " said Assonleville, "the Netherlandshave been the Indies to England; and as long as she has them, she needsno other. The French try to surprise our fortresses and cities: theEnglish make war upon our wealth and upon the purses of the people. "Whatever the cause, however, the current of trade was already turned. Thecloth-making of England was already gaining preponderance over that ofthe provinces. Vessels now went every week from Sandwich to Antwerp, laden with silk, satin, and cloth, manufactured in England, while as manybut a few years before, had borne the Flemish fabrics of the same naturefrom Antwerp to England. 

It might be supposed by disinterested judges that persecution was at thebottom of this change in commerce. The Prince of Orange estimated that upto this period fifty thousand persons in the provinces had been put todeath in obedience to the edicts. He was a moderate man, and accustomedto weigh his words. As a new impulse had been given to the system ofbutchery--as it was now sufficiently plain that "if the father hadchastised his people with a scourge the son held a whip of scorpions" asthe edicts were to be enforced with renewed vigor--it was natural thatcommerce and manufactures should make their escape out of a doomed landas soon as possible, whatever system of tariffs might be adopted byneighboring nations. 

A new step had been resolved upon early in the month of March by theconfederates. A petition, or "Request, " was drawn up, which was to bepresented to the Duchess Regent in a formal manner by a large number ofgentlemen belonging to the league. This movement was so grave, and likelyto be followed by such formidable results, that it seemed absolutelynecessary for Orange and his friends to take some previous cognizance ofit before it was finally arranged. The Prince had no power, nor was thereany reason why he should have the inclination, to prevent the measure, but he felt it his duty to do what he could to control the vehemence ofthe men who were moving so rashly forward, and to take from theirmanifesto, as much as possible, the character of a menace. 

For this end, a meeting ostensibly for social purposes and "good cheer"was held, in the middle of March, at Breda, and afterwards adjourned toHoogstraaten. To these conferences Orange invited Egmont, Horn, Hoogstraaten, Berghen, Meghen, Montigny, and other great nobles. Brederode, Tholouse, Boxtel, and other members of the league, were alsopresent. The object of the Prince in thus assembling his own immediateassociates, governors of provinces and knights of the Fleece, as well assome of the leading members of the league, was twofold. It had long beenhis opinion that a temperate and loyal movement was still possible, bywhich the impending convulsions might be averted. The line of policywhich he had marked out required the assent of the magnates of the land, and looked towards the convocation of the states-general. It was naturalthat he should indulge in the hope of being seconded by the men who werein the same political and social station with himself. All, althoughCatholics, hated the inquisition. As Viglius pathetically exclaimed, "Saint Paul himself would have been unable to persuade these men thatgood fruit was to be gathered from the inquisition in the cause ofreligion. " Saint Paul could hardly be expected to reappear on earth forsuch a purpose. Meantime the arguments of the learned President hadproved powerless, either to convince the nobles that the institution waslaudable or to obtain from the Duchess a postponement in the publicationof the late decrees. The Prince of Orange, however, was not able to bringhis usual associates to his way of thinking. The violent purposes of theleaguers excited the wrath of the more loyal nobles. Their intentionswere so dangerous, even in the estimation of the Prince himself, that hefelt it his duty to lay the whole subject before the Duchess, although hewas not opposed to the presentation of a modest and moderate Request. Meghen was excessively indignant at the plan of the confederates, whichhe pronounced an insult to the government, a treasonable attempt tooverawe the Duchess, by a "few wretched vagabonds. " He swore that "hewould break every one of their heads, if the King would furnish him witha couple of hundred thousand florins. " Orange quietly rebuked thistruculent language, by assuring him both that such a process would bemore difficult than he thought, and that he would also find many men ofgreat respectability among the vagabonds. 

The meeting separated at Hoogstraaten without any useful result, but itwas now incumbent upon the Prince, in his own judgment, to watch, and ina measure to superintend, the proceedings of the confederates. By hiscare the contemplated Request was much altered, and especially made moregentle in its tone. Meghen separated himself thenceforth entirely fromOrange, and ranged himself exclusively upon the side of Government. Egmont vacillated, as usual, satisfying neither the Prince nor theDuchess. 

Margaret of Parma was seated in her council chamber very soon after theseoccurrences, attended both by Orange and Egmont, when the Count of Meghenentered the apartment. With much precipitation, he begged that allmatters then before the board might be postponed, in order that he mightmake an important announcement. He then stated that he had receivedinformation from a gentleman on whose word he could rely, a veryaffectionate servant of the King, but whose name he had promised not toreveal, that a very extensive conspiracy of heretics and sectaries hadbeen formed, both within and without the Netherlands, that they hadalready a force of thirty-five thousand men, foot and horse, ready foraction, that they were about to make a sudden invasion, and to plunderthe whole country, unless they immediately received a formal concessionof entire liberty of conscience, and that, within six or seven days, fifteen hundred men-at-arms would make their appearance before herHighness. These ridiculous exaggerations of the truth were confirmed byEgmont, who said that he had received similar information from personswhose names he was not at liberty to mention, but from whose statementshe could announce that some great tumult might be expected every day. Headded that there were among the confederates many who wished to changetheir sovereign, and that the chieftains and captains of the conspiracywere all appointed. The same nobleman also laid before the council a copyof the Compromise, the terms of which famous document scarcely justifiedthe extravagant language with which it had been heralded. The Duchess wasastounded at these communications. She had already received, but probablynot yet read, a letter from the Prince of Orange upon the subject, inwhich a moderate and plain statement of the actual facts was laid down, which was now reiterated by the same personage by word of mouth. Anagitated and inconclusive debate followed, in which, however, itsufficiently appeared, as the Duchess informed her brother, that one oftwo things must be done without further delay. The time had arrived forthe government to take up arms, or to make concessions. 

In one of the informal meetings of councillors, now held almost daily, onthe subject of the impending Request, Aremberg, Meghen, and Berlaymontmaintained that the door should be shut in the face of the petitionerswithout taking any further notice of the petition. Berlaymont suggestedalso, that if this course were not found advisable, the next best thingwould be to allow the confederates to enter the palace with theirRequest, and then to cut them to pieces to the very last man, by means oftroops to be immediately ordered from the frontiers. Such sanguinaryprojects were indignantly rebuked by Orange. He maintained that theconfederates were entitled to be treated with respect. Many of them, hesaid, were his friends--some of them his relations--and there was noreason for refusing to gentlemen of their rank, a right which belonged tothe poorest plebeian in the land. Egmont sustained these views of thePrince as earnestly as he had on a previous occasion appeared tocountenance the more violent counsels of Meghen. 

Meantime, as it was obvious that the demonstration on the part of theconfederacy was soon about to be made, the Duchess convened a grandassembly of notables, in which not only all the state and privycouncillors, but all the governors and knights of the Fleece were to takepart. On the 28th of March, this assembly was held, at which the wholesubject of the Request, together with the proposed modifications of theedicts and abolition of the inquisition, was discussed. The Duchess alsorequested the advice of the meeting--whether it would not be best for herto retire to some other city, like Mons, which she had selected as herstronghold in case of extremity. The decision was that it would be ahigh-handed proceeding to refuse the right of petition to a body ofgentlemen, many of them related to the greatest nobles in the land; butit was resolved that they should be required to make their appearancewithout arms. As to the contemplated flight of the Duchess, it was urged, with much reason, that such a step would cast disgrace upon thegovernment, and that it would be a sufficiently precautionary measure tostrengthen the guards at the city gates--not to prevent the entrance ofthe petitioners, but to see that they were unaccompanied by an armedforce. It had been decided that Count Brederode should present thepetition to the Duchess at the head of a deputation of about threehundred gentlemen. The character of the nobleman thus placed foremost onsuch an important occasion has been sufficiently made manifest. He had noqualities whatever but birth and audacity to recommend him as a leaderfor a political party. It was to be seen that other attributes werenecessary to make a man useful in such a position, and the Count'sdeficiencies soon became lamentably conspicuous. He was the linealdescendant and representative of the old Sovereign Counts of Holland. Five hundred years before his birth; his ancestor Sikko, younger brotherof Dirk the Third, had died, leaving two sons, one of whom was the firstBaron of Brederode. A descent of five centuries in unbroken malesuccession from the original sovereigns of Holland, gave him a bettergenealogical claim to the provinces than any which Philip of Spain couldassert through the usurping house of Burgundy. In the approaching tumultshe hoped for an opportunity of again asserting the ancient honors of hisname. He was a sworn foe to Spaniards and to "water of the fountain. " Buta short time previously to this epoch he had written to Louis of Nassau, then lying ill of a fever, in order gravely to remonstrate with him onthe necessity of substituting wine for water on all occasions, and itwill be seen in the sequel that the wine-cup was the great instrument onwhich he relied for effecting the deliverance of the country. Although"neither bachelor nor chancellor, " as he expressed it, he was supposed tobe endowed with ready eloquence and mother wit. Even these gifts, however, if he possessed them, were often found wanting on importantemergencies. Of his courage there was no question, but he was notdestined to the death either of a warrior or a martyr. Headlong, noisy, debauched, but brave, kind-hearted and generous, he was a fittingrepresentative of his ancestors, the hard-fighting, hard-drinking, crusading, free-booting sovereigns of Holland and Friesland, and wouldhimself have been more at home and more useful in the eleventh centurythan in the sixteenth. 

It was about six o'clock in the evening, on the third day of April(1566), that the long-expected cavalcade at last entered Brussels. Animmense concourse of citizens of all ranks thronged around the nobleconfederates as soon as they made their appearance. They were about twohundred in number, all on horseback, with pistols in their holsters, andBrederode, tall, athletic, and martial in his bearing, with handsomefeatures and fair curling locks upon his shoulders, seemed an appropriatechieftain for that band of Batavian chivalry. 

The procession was greeted with frequent demonstrations of applause as itwheeled slowly through the city till it reached the mansion of OrangeNassau. Here Brederode and Count Louis alighted, while the rest of thecompany dispersed to different quarters of the town. 

"They thought that I should not come to Brussels, " said Brederode, as hedismounted. "Very well, here I am; and perhaps I shall depart in adifferent manner. " In the Course of the next day, Counts Culemburg andVan den Berg entered the city with one hundred other cavaliers. 

On the morning of the fifth of April, the confederates were assembled atthe Culemburg mansion, which stood on the square called the Sabon, withina few minutes' walk of the palace. A straight handsome street led fromthe house along the summit of the hill, to the splendid residence of theancient Dukes of Brabant, then the abode of Duchess Margaret. At a littlebefore noon, the gentlemen came forth, marching on foot, two by two, tothe number of three hundred. Nearly all were young, many of them bore themost ancient historical names of their country, every one was arrayed inmagnificent costume. It was regarded as ominous, that the man who led theprocession, Philip de Bailleul, was lame. The line was closed byBrederode and Count Louis, who came last, walking arm in arm. An immensecrowd was collected in the square in front of the palace, to welcome themen who were looked upon as the deliverers of the land from Spanishtyranny, from the Cardinalists, and from the inquisition. They werereceived with deafening huzzas and clappings of hands by the assembledpopulace. As they entered the council chamber, passing through the greathall, where ten years before the Emperor had given away his crowns, theyfound the Emperor's daughter seated in the chair of state, and surroundedby the highest personages of the country. The emotion of the Duchess wasevident, as the procession somewhat abruptly made its appearance; nor washer agitation diminished as she observed among the petitioners manyrelatives and, retainers of the Orange and Egmont houses, and sawfriendly glances of recognition exchanged between them and their chiefs. 

As soon as all had entered the senate room, Brederode advanced, made alow obeisance, and spoke a brief speech. He said that he had come thitherwith his colleagues to present a humble petition to her Highness. Healluded to the reports which had been rife, that they had contemplatedtumult, sedition, foreign conspiracies, and, what was more abominablethan all, a change of sovereign. He denounced such statements ascalumnies, begged the Duchess to name the men who had thus aspersed anhonorable and loyal company, and called upon her to inflict exemplarypunishment upon the slanderers. With these prefatory remarks he presentedthe petition. The famous document was then read aloud. --Its tone wassufficiently loyal, particularly in the preamble, which was filled withprotestations of devotion to both King and Duchess. After thisconventional introduction, however, the petitioners proceeded to state, very plainly, that the recent resolutions of his Majesty, with regard tothe edict and the inquisition, were likely to produce a generalrebellion. They had hoped, they said, that a movement would be made bythe seigniors or by the estates, to remedy the evil by striking at itscause, but they had waited in vain. The danger, on the other hand, wasaugmenting every day, universal sedition was at the gate, and they hadtherefore felt obliged to delay no longer, but come forward the first anddo their duty. They professed to do this with more freedom, because thedanger touched them very nearly. They were the most exposed to thecalamities which usually spring from civil commotions, for their, housesand lands situate in the open fields, were exposed to the pillage of allthe world. Moreover there was not one of them, whatever his condition, who was not liable at any moment to be executed under the edicts, at thefalse complaint of the first man who wished to obtain his estate, and whochose to denounce him to the inquisitor, at whose mercy were the livesand property of all. They therefore begged the Duchess Regent to despatchan envoy on their behalf, who should humbly implore his Majesty toabolish the edicts. In the mean time they requested her Highness to ordera general surcease of the inquisition, and of all executions, until theKing's further pleasure was made known, and until new ordinances, made byhis Majesty with advice and consent of the states-general duly assembled, should be established. The petition terminated as it had commenced, withexpressions of extreme respect and devoted loyalty. 

The agitation of Duchess Margaret increased very perceptibly during thereading of the paper. When it was finished, she remained for a fewminutes quite silent, with tears rolling down her cheeks. As soon as shecould overcome her excitement, she uttered a few words to the effect thatshe would advise with her councillors and give the petitioners suchanswer as should be found suitable. The confederates then passed out fromthe council chamber into the grand hall; each individual, as he took hisdeparture, advancing towards the Duchess and making what was called the"caracole, " in token of reverence. There was thus ample time tocontemplate the whole company; and to count the numbers of thedeputation. 

After this ceremony had been concluded, there was much earnest debate in. The council. The Prince of Orange addressed a few words to the Duchess, with the view of calming her irritation. He observed that theconfederates were no seditious rebels, but loyal gentlemen, well born, well connected, and of honorable character. They had been influenced, hesaid, by an honest desire to save their country from impendingdanger--not by avarice or ambition. Egmont shrugged his shoulders, andobserved that it was necessary for him to leave the court for a season, in order to make a visit to the baths of Aix, for an inflammation whichhe had in the leg. It was then that Berlaymont, according to the accountwhich has been sanctioned by nearly every contemporary writer, whetherCatholic or Protestant, uttered the gibe which was destined to becomeimmortal, and to give a popular name to the confederacy. "What, Madam, "he is reported to have cried in a passion, "is it possible that yourHighness can entertain fears of these beggars? (gueux). Is it not obviouswhat manner of men they are? They have not had wisdom enough to managetheir own estates, and are they now to teach the King and your Highnesshow to govern the country? By the living God, if my advice were taken, their petition should have a cudgel for a commentary, and we would makethem go down the steps of the palace a great deal faster than theymounted them. "

The Count of Meghen was equally violent in his language. Aremberg was forordering "their reverences; the confederates, " to, quit Brussels withoutdelay. The conversation, carried on in so violent a key, might notunnaturally have been heard by such of the gentlemen as had not yet leftthe grand hall adjoining the council chamber. The meeting of the councilwas then adjourned for an hour or two, to meet again in the afternoon, for the purpose of deciding deliberately upon the answer to be given tothe Request. Meanwhile, many of the confederates were swaggering aboutthe streets, talking very bravely of the scene which had just occurred, and it is probable, boasting not a little of the effect which theirdemonstration would produce. As they passed by the house of Berlaymont, that nobleman, standing at his window in company with Count Aremberg, issaid to have repeated his jest. "There go our fine beggars again, " saidhe. "Look, I pray you, with what bravado they are passing before us!"

On the 6th of April, Brederode, attended by a large number of hiscompanions, again made his appearance at the palace. He then received thepetition, which was returned to him with an apostille or commentary tothis effect:--Her Highness would despatch an envoy for the purpose ofinducing his Majesty to grant the Request. Every thing worthy of theKing's unaffected (naive) and customary benignity might be expected as tothe result. The Duchess had already, with the assistance of the state andprivy councillors, Fleece knights and governors, commenced a project formoderating the edicts, to be laid before the King. As her authority didnot allow her to suspend the inquisition and placards, she was confidentthat the petitioners would be satisfied with the special applicationabout to be made to the King. Meantime, she would give orders to allinquisitors, that they should proceed "modestly and discreetly" in theiroffice, so that no one would have cause to complain. Her Highness hopedlikewise that the gentlemen on their part would conduct themselves in aloyal and satisfactory manner; thus proving that they had no intention tomake innovations in the ancient religion of the country. 

Upon the next day but one, Monday, 8th of April, Brederode, attended by anumber of the confederates, again made his appearance at the palace, forthe purpose of delivering an answer to the Apostille. In this secondpaper the confederates rendered thanks for the prompt reply which theDuchess had given to their Request, expressed regrets that she did notfeel at liberty to suspend the inquisition, and declared their confidencethat she would at once give such orders to the inquisitors andmagistrates that prosecutions for religious matters should cease, untilthe King's further pleasure should be declared. They professed themselvesdesirous of maintaining whatever regulations should be thereafterestablished by his Majesty, with the advice and consent of thestates-general, for the security of the ancient religion, and promised toconduct themselves generally in such wise that her Highness would haveevery reason to be satisfied with them. They, moreover, requested thatthe Duchess would cause the Petition to be printed in authentic form bythe government printer. 

The admission that the confederates would maintain the ancient religionhad been obtained, as Margaret informed her brother, through thedexterous management of Hoogstraaten, without suspicion on the part ofthe petitioners that the proposition for such a declaration came fromher. 

The Duchess replied by word of mouth to the second address thus made toher by the confederates, that she could not go beyond the Apostille whichshe had put on record. She had already caused letters for the inquisitorsand magistrates to be drawn up. The minutes for those instructions shouldbe laid before the confederates by Count Hoogstraaten and SecretaryBerty. As for the printing of their petition, she was willing to granttheir demand, and would give orders to that effect. 

The gentlemen having received this answer, retired into the great hall. After a few minutes' consultation, however, they returned to the councilchamber, where the Seigneur d'Esquerdes, one of their number, addressed afew parting words, in the name of his associates, to the Regent;concluding with a request that she would declare, the confederates tohave done no act, and made no demonstration, inconsistent with their dutyand with a perfect respect for his Majesty. 

To this demand the Duchess answered somewhat drily that she could not bejudge in such a cause. Time and their future deeds, she observed, couldonly bear witness as to their purposes. As for declarations from her, they must be satisfied with the Apostille which they had alreadyreceived. 

With this response, somewhat more tart than agreeable, the nobles wereobliged to content themselves, and they accordingly took their leave. 

It must be confessed that they had been disposed to slide rathercavalierly over a good deal of ground towards the great object which theyhad in view. Certainly the petitio principii was a main feature of theirlogic. They had, in their second address, expressed perfect confidence asto two very considerable concessions. The Duchess was practically tosuspend the inquisition, although she had declared herself withoutauthority for that purpose, The King, who claimed, de jure and de facto, the whole legislative power, was thenceforth to make laws on religiousmatters by and with the consent of the states-general. Certainly, theseends were very laudable, and if a civil and religious revolution couldhave been effected by a few gentlemen going to court in fine clothes topresent a petition, and by sitting down to a tremendous banquetafterwards, Brederode and his associates were the men to accomplish thetask. Unfortunately, a sea of blood and long years of conflict laybetween the nation and the promised land, which for a moment seemed sonearly within reach. 

Meantime the next important step in Brederode's eyes was a dinner. Heaccordingly invited the confederates to a magnificent repast which he hadordered to be prepared in the Culemburg mansion. Three hundred guests satdown, upon the 8th of April, to this luxurious banquet, which wasdestined to become historical. 

The board glittered with silver and gold. The wine circulated with morethan its usual rapidity among the band of noble Bacchanals, who werenever weary of drinking the healths of Brederode, of Orange, and ofEgmont. It was thought that the occasion imperiously demanded anextraordinary carouse, and the political events of the past three dayslent an additional excitement to the wine. There was an earnestdiscussion as to an appropriate name to be given to their confederacy. Should they call themselves the "Society of Concord, " the restorers oflost liberty, or by what other attractive title should the league bebaptized? Brederode was, however, already prepared to settle thequestion. He knew the value of a popular and original name; he possessedthe instinct by which adroit partisans in every age have been accustomedto convert the reproachful epithets of their opponents into watchwords ofhonor, and he had already made his preparations for a startlingtheatrical effect. Suddenly, amid the din of voices, he arose, with allhis rhetorical powers at command: He recounted to the company theobservations which the Seigneur de Berlaymont was reported to have madeto the Duchess, upon the presentation of the Request, and the name whichhe had thought fit to apply to them collectively. Most of the gentlementhen heard the memorable sarcasm for the first time. Great was theindignation of all that the state councillor should have dared tostigmatize as beggars a band of gentlemen with the best blood of the landin their veins. Brederode, on the contrary, smoothing their anger, assured them with good humor that nothing could be more fortunate. "Theycall us beggars!" said he; "let us accept the name. We will contend withthe inquisition, but remain loyal to the King, even till compelled towear the beggar's sack. "

He then beckoned to one of his pages, who brought him a leathern wallet, such as was worn at that day by professional mendicants, together with alarge wooden bowl, which also formed part of their regular appurtenances. Brederode immediately hung the wallet around his neck, filled the bowlwith wine, lifted it with both hands, and drained it at a draught. "Longlive the beggars!" he cried, as he wiped his beard and set the bowl down. "Vivent les gueulx. " Then for the first time, from the lips of thosereckless nobles rose the famous, cry, which was so often to ring overland and sea, amid blazing cities, on blood-stained decks, through thesmoke and carnage of many a stricken field. The humor of Brederode washailed with deafening shouts of applause. The Count then threw the walletaround the neck of his nearest neighbor, and handed him the wooden bawl. Each guest, in turn, donned the mendicant's knapsack. Pushing aside hisgolden goblet, each filled the beggars' bowl to the brim, and drained itto the beggars' health. Roars of laughter, and shouts of "Vivent lesgueulx" shook the walls of the stately mansion, as they were doomed neverto shake again. The shibboleth was invented. The conjuration which theyhad been anxiously seeking was found. Their enemies had provided themwith a spell, which was to prove, in after days, potent enough to start aspirit from palace or hovel, forest or wave, as the deeds of the "wildbeggars, " the "wood beggars, " and the "beggars of the sea" taught Philipat last to understand the nation which he had driven to madness. 

When the wallet and bowl had made the circuit of the table, they weresuspended to a pillar in the hall. Each of the company in succession thenthrew some salt into his goblet, and, placing himself under these symbolsof the brotherhood, repeated a jingling distich, produced impromptu forthe occasion. 

 By this salt, by this bread, by this wallet we swear, These beggars ne'er will change, though all the world should stare. 

This ridiculous ceremony completed the rites by which the confederacyreceived its name; but the banquet was by no means terminated. The uproarbecame furious. The younger and more reckless nobles abandoned themselvesto revelry, which would have shamed heathen Saturnalia. They renewed toeach other, every moment, their vociferous oaths of fidelity to thecommon cause, drained huge beakers to the beggars' health, turned theircaps and doublets inside out, danced upon chairs and tables. Severaladdressed each other as Lord Abbot, or Reverend Prior, of this or thatreligious institution, thus indicating the means by which some of themhoped to mend their broken fortunes. 

While the tumult was at its height, the Prince of Orange with Counts Hornand Egmont entered the apartment. They had been dining quietly withMansfeld, who was confined to his house with an inflamed eye, and theywere on their way to the council chamber, where the sessions were nowprolonged nightly to a late hour. Knowing that Hoogstraaten, somewhatagainst his will, had been induced to be present at the banquet, they hadcome round by the way of Culemburg House, to induce him to retire. Theywere also disposed, if possible, to abridge the festivities which theirinfluence would have been powerless to prevent. 

These great nobles, as soon as they made their appearance, weresurrounded by a crew of "beggars, " maddened and dripping with their, recent baptism of wine, who compelled them to drink a cup amid shouts of"Vivent le roi et les gueulx!" The meaning of this cry they of coursecould not understand, for even those who had heard Berlaymont'scontemptuous remarks, might not remember the exact term which he hadused, and certainly could not be aware of the importance to which it hadjust been elevated. As for Horn, he disliked and had long beforequarrelled with Brederode, had prevented many persons from signing theCompromise, and, although a guest at that time of Orange, was in thehabit of retiring to bed before supper, to avoid the company of many whofrequented the house. Yet his presence for a few moments, with the bestintentions, at the conclusion of this famous banquet, was made one of themost deadly charges which were afterwards drawn up against him by theCrown. The three seigniors refused to be seated, and remained but for amoment, "the length of a Miserere, " taking with them Hoogstraaten as theyretired. They also prevailed upon the whole party to break up at the sametime, so that their presence had served at least to put a conclusion tothe disgraceful riot. When they arrived at the council chamber theyreceived the thanks of the Duchess for what they had done. 

Such was the first movement made by the members of the Compromise. Was itstrange that Orange should feel little affinity with such companions? Hadhe not reason to hesitate, if the sacred cause of civil and religiousliberty could only be maintained by these defenders and with suchassistance?

The "beggars" did not content themselves with the name alone of thetime-honored fraternity of Mendicants in which they had enrolledthemselves. Immediately after the Culemburg banquet, a costume for theconfederacy was decided upon. 

These young gentlemen discarding gold lace and velvet, thought itexpedient to array themselves in doublets and hose of ashen grey, withshort cloaks of the same color, all of the coarsest materials. Theyappeared in this guise in the streets, with common felt hats on theirheads, and beggars' pouches and bowls at their sides. They caused alsomedals of lead and copper to be struck, bearing upon one side the head ofPhilip; upon the reverse, two hands clasped within a wallet, with themotto, "Faithful to the King, even to wearing the beggar's sack. " Thesebadges they wore around their necks, or as buttons to their hats. As afurther distinction they shaved their beards close, excepting themoustachios, which were left long and pendent in the Turkishfashion, --that custom, as it seemed, being an additional characteristicof Mendicants. 

Very soon after these events the nobles of the league dispersed from thecapital to their various homes. Brederode rode out of Brussels at thehead of a band of cavaliers, who saluted the concourse of applaudingspectators with a discharge of their pistols. Forty-three gentlemenaccompanied him to Antwerp, where he halted for a night. The Duchess hadalready sent notice to the magistrates of that city of his intendedvisit, and warned them to have an eye upon his proceedings. "The greatbeggar, " as Hoogstraaten called him, conducted himself, however, with asmuch propriety as could be expected. Four or five thousand of theinhabitants thronged about the hotel where he had taken up his quarters. He appeared at a window with his wooden bowl, filled with wine, in hishands, and his wallet at his side. He assured the multitude that he wasready to die to defend the good people of Antwerp and of all theNetherlands against the edicts and the inquisition. Meantime he dranktheir healths, and begged all who accepted the pledge to hold up theirhands. The populace, highly amused, held up and clapped their hands ashonest Brederode drained his bowl, and were soon afterwards persuaded toretire in great good humor. 

These proceedings were all chronicled and transmitted to Madrid. It wasalso both publicly reported and secretly registered, that Brederode hadeaten capons and other meat at Antwerp, upon Good Friday, which happenedto be the, day of his visit to that city. He denied the charge, however;with ludicrous vehemence. "They who have told Madame that we ate meat inAntwerp, " he wrote to Count Louis, "have lied wickedly and miserably, twenty-four feet down in their throats. " He added that his nephew, Charles Mansfeld, who, notwithstanding the indignant prohibition of hisfather, had assisted of the presentation of the Request, and was then inhis uncle's company at Antwerp, had ordered a capon, which Brederode hadcountermanded. "They told me afterwards, " said he, "that my nephew hadbroiled a sausage in his chamber. I suppose that he thought himself inSpain, where they allow themselves such dainties. "

Let it not be thought that these trifles are beneath the dignity ofhistory. Matters like these filled the whole soul of Philip, swelled thebills of indictment for thousands of higher and better men thanBrederode, and furnished occupation as well for secret correspondents andspies as for the most dignified functionaries of Government. Capons orsausages on Good Friday, the Psalms of Clement Marot, the Sermon on theMount in the vernacular, led to the rack, the gibbet, and the stake, butushered in a war against the inquisition which was to last for eightyyears. Brederode was not to be the hero of that party which he disgracedby his buffoonery. Had he lived, he might, perhaps, like many of hisconfederates, have redeemed, by his bravery in the field, a characterwhich his orgies had rendered despicable. He now left Antwerp for thenorth of Holland, where, as he soon afterwards reported to Count Louis, "the beggars were as numerous as the sands on the seashore. "

His "nephew Charles, " two months afterwards, obeyed his father'sinjunction, and withdrew formally from the confederacy. 

Meantime the rumor had gone abroad that the Request of the nobles hadalready produced good fruit, that the edicts were to be mitigated, theinquisition abolished, liberty of conscience eventually to prevail. "Uponthese reports, " says a contemporary, "all the vermin of exiles andfugitives for religion, as well as those who had kept in concealment, began to lift up their heads and thrust forth their horns. " It was knownthat Margaret of Parma had ordered the inquisitors and magistrates toconduct themselves "modestly and discreetly. " It was known that the privycouncil was hard at work upon the project for "moderating" the edicts. Modestly and discreetly, Margaret of Parma, almost immediately aftergiving these orders, and while the "moderation" was still in the hands ofthe lawyers, informed her brother that she had given personal attentionto the case of a person who had snatched the holy wafer from the priest'shand at Oudenarde. This "quidam, " as she called him--for his name wasbeneath the cognizance of an Emperor's bastard daughter--had by herorders received rigorous and exemplary justice. And what was the"rigorous and exemplary justice" thus inflicted upon the "quidam?" Theprocurator of the neighboring city of Tournay has enabled us to answer. The young man, who was a tapestry weaver, Hans Tiskaen by name, had, uponthe 30th May, thrown the holy wafer upon the ground. For this crime, which was the same as that committed on Christmas-day of the previousyear by Bertrand le Blas, at Tournay, he now met with a similar althoughnot quite so severe a punishment. Having gone quietly home after doingthe deed, he was pursued, arrested, and upon the Saturday ensuing takento the market-place of Oudenarde. Here the right hand with which he hadcommitted the offence was cut off, and he was then fastened to the stakeand burned to death over a slow fire. He was fortunately not more than aquarter of an hour in torment, but he persisted in his opinions, andcalled on God for support to his last breath. 

This homely tragedy was enacted at Oudenarde, the birth place of DuchessMargaret. She was the daughter of the puissant Charles the Fifth, but hermother was only the daughter of a citizen of Oudenarde; of a "quidam"like the nameless weaver who had thus been burned by her express order. It was not to be supposed, however, that the circumstance could operatein so great a malefactor's favor. Moreover, at the same moment, she sentorders that a like punishment should be inflicted upon another personthen in a Flemish prison, for the crime of anabaptism. 

The privy council, assisted by thirteen knights of the Fleece, had beenhard at work, and the result of their wisdom was at last revealed in a"moderation" consisting of fifty-three articles. 

What now was the substance of those fifty-three articles, so painfullyelaborated by Viglius, so handsomely drawn up into shape by Councillord'Assonleville? Simply to substitute the halter for the fagot. Afterelimination of all verbiage, this fact was the only residuum. It was mostdistinctly laid down that all forms of religion except the Roman Catholicwere forbidden; that no public or secret conventicles were to be allowed;that all heretical writings were to be suppressed; that all curiousinquiries into the Scriptures were to be prohibited. Persons whoinfringed these regulations were divided into two classes--the misleadersand the misled. There was an affectation of granting mercy to persons inthe second category, while death was denounced upon those composing thefirst. It was merely an affectation; for the rambling statute was so openin all its clauses, that the Juggernaut car of persecution could bedriven through the whole of them, whenever such a course should seemexpedient. Every man or woman in the Netherlands might be placed in thelist of the misleaders, at the discretion of the officials. The pretendedmercy to the misguided was a mere delusion. 

The superintendents, preachers, teachers, ministers, sermon-makers, deacons, and other officers, were to be executed with the halter, withconfiscation of their whole property. So much was very plain. Otherheretics, however, who would abjure their heresy before the bishop, mightbe pardoned for the first offence, but if obstinate, were to be banished. This seemed an indication of mercy, at least to the repentant criminals. But who were these "other" heretics? All persons who discussed religiousmatters were to be put to death. All persons, not having studied theologyat a "renowned university, " who searched and expounded the Scriptures, were to be put to death. All persons in whose houses any act of theperverse religion should be committed, were to be put to death. Allpersons who harbored or protected ministers and teachers of any sect, were to be put to death. All the criminals thus carefully enumerated wereto be executed, whether repentant or not. If, however, they abjured theirerrors, they were to be beheaded instead of being strangled. Thus it wasobvious that almost any heretic might be brought to the halter at amoment's notice. 

Strictly speaking, the idea of death by the halter or the axe was lessshocking to the imagination than that of being burned or buried alive. Inthis respect, therefore, the edicts were softened by the proposed"Moderation. " It would, however, always be difficult to persuade anyconsiderable slumber of intelligent persons, that the infliction of aviolent death, by whatever process, on account of religious opinions, wasan act of clemency. The Netherlanders were, however, to be persuaded intothis belief. The draft of the new edict was ostentatiously called the"Moderatie, " or the "Moderation. " It was very natural, therefore, thatthe common people, by a quibble, which is the same in Flemish as inEnglish, should call the proposed "Moderation" the "Murderation. " Therough mother-wit of the people had already characterized and annihilatedthe project, while dull formalists were carrying it through thepreliminary stages. 

A vote in favor of the project having been obtained from the estates ofArtois, Hainault, and Flanders, the instructions for the envoys; BaronMontigny and Marquis Berghen, were made out in conformity to the scheme. Egmont had declined the mission, not having reason to congratulatehimself upon the diplomatic success of his visit to Spain in thepreceding year. The two nobles who consented to undertake the office werepersuaded into acceptance sorely against their will. They were aware thattheir political conduct since the King's departure from the country hadnot always been deemed satisfactory at Madrid, but they were, of course, far from suspecting the true state of the royal mind. They were both assincere Catholics and as loyal gentlemen as Granvelle, but they were notaware how continuously, during a long course of years, that personage hadrepresented them to Philip as renegades and rebels. They had maintainedthe constitutional rights of the state, and they had declined to act asexecutioners for the inquisition, but they were yet to learn that suchdemonstrations amounted to high treason. 

Montigny departed, on the 29th May, from Brussels. He left the bride towhom he had been wedded amid scenes of festivity, the precedingautumn--the unborn child who was never to behold its father's face. Hereceived warnings in Paris, by which he scorned to profit. The Spanishambassador in that city informed him that Philip's wrath at the recenttransactions in the Netherlands was high. He was most significantlyrequested, by a leading personage in France, to feign illness, or to takerefuge in any expedient by which he might avoid the fulfilment of hismission. Such hints had no effect in turning him from his course, and heproceeded to Madrid, where he arrived on the 17th of June. 

His colleague in the mission, Marquis Berghen, had been prevented fromsetting forth at the same time, by an accident which, under thecircumstances, might almost seem ominous. Walking through the palacepark, in a place where some gentlemen were playing at pall-mall, he wasaccidentally struck in the leg by a wooden ball. The injury, althoughtrifling, produced go much irritation and fever that he was confined tohis bed for several weeks. It was not until the 1st of July that he wasable to take his departure from Brussels. Both these unfortunate noblesthus went forth to fulfil that dark and mysterious destiny from which theveil of three centuries has but recently been removed. 

Besides a long historical discourse, in eighteen chapters, delivered byway of instruction to the envoys, Margaret sent a courier beforehand witha variety of intelligence concerning the late events. Alonzo del Canto, one of Philip's spies in the Netherlands, also wrote to inform the Kingthat the two ambassadors were the real authors of all the troubles thenexisting in the country. Cardinal Granvelle, too, renewed his previousstatements in a confidential communication to his Majesty, adding that nopersons more appropriate could have been selected than Berghen andMontigny, for they knew better than any one else the state of affairs inwhich they had borne the principal part. Nevertheless, Montigny, upon hisarrival in Madrid on the 17th of June, was received by Philip with muchapparent cordiality, admitted immediately to an audience, and assured inthe strongest terms that there was no dissatisfaction in the royal mindagainst the seigniors, whatever false reports might be circulated to thateffect. In other respects, the result of this and of his succeedinginterviews with the monarch was sufficiently meagre. 

It could not well be otherwise. The mission of the envoys was anelaborate farce to introduce a terrible tragedy. They were sent toprocure from Philip the abolition of the inquisition and the moderationof the edicts. At the very moment, however, of all these legislative anddiplomatic arrangements, Margaret of Parma was in possession of secretletters from Philip, which she was charged to deliver to the Archbishopof Sorrento, papal nuncio at the imperial court, then on a special visitto Brussels. This ecclesiastic had come to the Netherlands ostensibly toconfer with the Prince of Orange upon the affairs of his principality, toremonstrate with Count Culemburg, and to take measures for thereformation of the clergy. The real object of his mission, however, wasto devise means for strengthening the inquisition and suppressing heresyin the provinces. Philip, at whose request he had come, had charged himby no means to divulge the secret, as the King was anxious to have itbelieved that the ostensible was the only business which the prelate hadto perform in the country. Margaret accordingly delivered to him theprivate letters, in which Philip avowed his determination to maintain theinquisition and the edicts in all their rigor, but enjoined profoundsecrecy upon the subject. The Duchess, therefore, who knew the face ofthe cards, must have thought it a superfluous task to continue the game, which to Philip's cruel but procrastinating temperament was perhaps apleasurable excitement. 

The scheme for mitigating the edicts by the substitution of stranglingfor burning, was not destined therefore far much success either in Spainor in the provinces; but the people by whom the next great movement wasmade in the drama of the revolt, conducted themselves in a manner toshame the sovereign who oppressed, and the riotous nobles who hadundertaken to protect their liberties. 

At this very moment, in the early summer of 1566, many thousands ofburghers, merchants, peasants, and gentlemen, were seen mustering andmarching through the fields of every province, armed with arquebus, javelin, pike and broadsword. For what purpose were these gatherings?Only to hear sermons and to sing hymns in the open air, as it wasunlawful to profane the churches with such rites. This was the firstgreat popular phase of the Netherland rebellion. Notwithstanding theedicts and the inquisition with their daily hecatombs, notwithstandingthe special publication at this time throughout the country by theDuchess Regent that all the sanguinary statutes concerning religion werein as great vigor as ever, notwithstanding that Margaret offered a rewardof seven hundred crowns to the man who would bring her a preacher--deador alive, --the popular thirst for the exercises of the reformed religioncould no longer be slaked at the obscure and hidden fountains where theirpriests had so long privately ministered. 

Partly emboldened by a temporary lull in the persecution, partlyencouraged by the presentation of the Request and by the events to whichit had given rise, the Reformers now came boldly forth from their lurkingplaces and held their religious meetings in the light of day. Theconsciousness of numbers and of right had brought the conviction ofstrength. The audacity of the Reformers was wonderful to the mind ofPresident Viglius, who could find no language strong enough with which tocharacterize and to deplore such blasphemous conduct. The field-preachingseemed in the eyes of government to spread with the rapidity of amalignant pestilence. The miasma flew upon the wings of the wind. Asearly as 1562, there had been public preaching in the neighborhood ofYpres. The executions which followed, however, had for the timesuppressed the practice both in that place as well as throughout Flandersand the rest of the provinces. It now broke forth as by one impulse fromone end of the country to the other. In the latter part of June, HermannStryoker or Modet, a monk who had renounced his vows to become one of themost popular preachers in the Reformed Church, addressed a congregationof seven or eight thousand persons in the neighborhood of Ghent. PeterDathenus, another unfrocked monk, preached at various places in WestFlanders, with great effect. A man endowed with a violent, stormyeloquence, intemperate as most zealots, he was then rendering betterservices to the cause of the Reformation than he was destined to do atlater periods. 

But apostate priests were not the only preachers. To the ineffabledisgust of the conservatives in Church and State, there were men withlittle education, utterly devoid of Hebrew, of lowly station--hatters, curriers, tanners, dyers, and the like, who began to preach also;remembering, unseasonably perhaps, that the early disciples, selected bythe founder of Christianity, had not all been doctors of theology, withdiplomas from a "renowned university. " But if the nature of such men weresubdued to what it worked in, that charge could not be brought againstministers with the learning and accomplishments of Ambrose Wille, Marnier, Guy de Bray, or Francis Junius, the man whom Scaliger called the"greatest of all theologians since the days of the apostles. " Anaristocratic sarcasm could not be levelled against Peregrine de laGrange, of a noble family in Provence, with the fiery blood of southernFrance in his veins, brave as his nation, learned, eloquent, enthusiastic, who galloped to his field-preaching on horseback, and fireda pistol-shot as a signal for his congregation to give attention. 

On the 28th of June, 1566, at eleven o'clock at night, there was anassemblage of six thousand people near Tournay, at the bridge ofErnonville, to hear a sermon from Ambrose Wille, a man who had studiedtheology in Geneva, at the feet of Calvin, and who now, with a specialprice upon his head, --was preaching the doctrines he had learned. Twodays afterwards, ten thousand people assembled at the same spot, to hearPeregrine de la Grange. Governor Moulbais thundered forth a proclamationfrom the citadel, warning all men that the edicts were as rigorous asever, and that every man, woman, or child who went to these preachings, was incurring the penalty of death. The people became only the moreardent and excited. Upon Sunday, the seventh of July; twenty thousandpersons assembled at the same bridge to hear Ambrose Wille. One man inthree was armed. Some had arquebuses, others pistols, pikes, swords, pitchforks, poniards, clubs. The preacher, for whose apprehension a freshreward had been offered, was escorted to his pulpit by a hundred mountedtroopers. He begged his audience not to be scared from the word of God bymenace; assured them that although but a poor preacher himself, he held adivine commission; that he had no fear of death; that, should he fall, there were many better than he to supply his place, and fifty thousandmen to avenge his murder. 

The Duchess sent forth proclamations by hundreds. She ordered the instantsuppression of these armed assemblies and the arrest of the preachers. But of what avail were proclamations against such numbers with weapons intheir hands. Why irritate to madness these hordes of enthusiasts, whowere now entirely pacific, and who marched back to the city, afterconclusion of divine service, with perfect decorum? All classes of thepopulation went eagerly to the sermons. The gentry of the place, the richmerchants, the notables, as well as the humbler artisans and laborers, all had received the infection. The professors of the Reformed religionoutnumbered the Catholics by five or six to one. On Sundays and otherholidays, during the hours of service, Tournay was literally emptied ofits inhabitants. The streets were as silent as if war or pestilence hadswept the place. The Duchess sent orders, but she sent no troops. Thetrained-bands of the city, the cross-bow-men of St. Maurice, the archersof St. Sebastian, the sword-players of St. Christopher, could not beordered from Tournay to suppress the preaching, for they had all gone tothe preaching themselves. How idle, therefore; to send peremptory orderswithout a matchlock to enforce the command. 

Throughout Flanders similar scenes were enacted. The meetings wereencampments, for the Reformers now came to their religious services armedto the teeth, determined, if banished from the churches, to defend theirright to the fields. Barricades of upturned wagons, branches, and planks, were thrown up around the camps. Strong guards of mounted men werestationed at every avenue. Outlying scouts gave notice of approachingdanger, and guided the faithful into the enclosure. Pedlers and hawkersplied the trade upon which the penalty of death was fixed, and sold theforbidden hymn-books to all who chose to purchase. A strange andcontradictory spectacle! An army of criminals doing deeds which couldonly be expiated at the stake; an entrenched rebellion, bearding thegovernment with pike, matchlock, javelin and barricade, and all for nomore deadly purpose than to listen to the precepts of the pacific Jesus. 

Thus the preaching spread through the Walloon provinces to the northernNetherlands. Towards the end of July, an apostate monk, of singulareloquence, Peter Gabriel by name, was announced to preach at Overeen nearHarlem. This was the first field-meeting which had taken place inHolland. The people were wild with enthusiasm; the authorities besidethemselves with apprehension. People from the country flocked into thetown by thousands. The other cities were deserted, Harlem was filled tooverflowing. Multitudes encamped upon the ground the night before. Themagistrates ordered the gates to be kept closed in the morning till longafter the usual hour. It was of no avail. Bolts and bars were but smallimpediments to enthusiasts who had travelled so many miles on foot orhorseback to listen to a sermon. They climbed the walls, swam the moatand thronged to the place of meeting long before the doors had beenopened. When these could no longer be kept closed without a conflict, forwhich the magistrates were not prepared, the whole population poured outof the city with a single impulse. Tens of thousands were assembled uponthe field. The bulwarks were erected as usual, the guards were posted, the necessary precautions taken. But upon this occasion, and in thatregion there was but little danger to be apprehended. The multitude ofReformers made the edicts impossible, so long as no foreign troops werethere to enforce them. The congregation was encamped and arranged in anorderly manner. The women, of whom there were many, were placed next thepulpit, which, upon this occasion, was formed of a couple of spearsthrust into the earth, sustaining a cross-piece, against which thepreacher might lean his back. The services commenced with the singing ofa psalm by the whole vast assemblage. Clement Marot's verses, recentlytranslated by Dathenus, were then new and popular. The strains of themonarch minstrel, chanted thus in their homely but nervous mother tongueby a multitude who had but recently learned that all the poetry andrapture of devotion were not irrevocably coffined with a buried language, or immured in the precincts of a church, had never produced a moreelevating effect. No anthem from the world-renowned organ in that ancientcity ever awakened more lofty emotions than did those ten thousand humanvoices ringing from the grassy meadows in that fervid midsummer noon. When all was silent again, the preacher rose; a little, meagre man, wholooked as if he might rather melt away beneath the blazing sunshine ofJuly, than hold the multitude enchained four uninterrupted hours long, bythe magic of his tongue. His text was the 8th, 9th, and 10th verses ofthe second chapter of Ephesians; and as the slender monk spoke to hissimple audience of God's grace, and of faith in Jesus, who had descendedfrom above to save the lowliest and the most abandoned, if they would puttheir trust in Him, his hearers were alternately exalted with fervor ormelted into tears. He prayed for all conditions of men--for themselves, their friends, their enemies, for the government which had persecutedthem, for the King whose face was turned upon them in anger. At times, according to one who was present, not a dry eye was to be seen in thecrowd. When the minister had finished, he left his congregation abruptly, for he had to travel all night in order to reach Alkmaar, where he was topreach upon the following day. 

By the middle of July the custom was established outside all theprincipal cities. Camp-meetings were held in some places; as, forinstance, in the neighborhood of Antwerp, where the congregationsnumbered often fifteen thousand and on some occasions were estimated atbetween twenty and thirty thousand persons at a time; "very many ofthem, " said an eye-witness, "the best and wealthiest in the town. "

The sect to which most of these worshippers belonged was that of Calvin. In Antwerp there were Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anabaptists. TheLutherans were the richest sect, but the Calvinists the most numerous andenthusiastic. The Prince of Orange at this moment was strenuously opposedboth to Calvinism and Anabaptism, but inclining to Lutheranism. Politicalreasons at this epoch doubtless influenced his mind in religious matters. The aid of the Lutheran princes of Germany, who detested the doctrines ofGeneva, could hardly be relied upon for the Netherlanders, unless theywould adapt the Confession of Augsburg. The Prince knew that the Emperor, although inclined to the Reformation, was bitterly averse to Calvinism, and he was, therefore, desirous of healing the schism which existed inthe general Reformed Church. To accomplish this, however, would be togain a greater victory over the bigotry which was the prevailingcharacteristic of the age than perhaps could be expected. The Prince, from the first moment of his abandoning the ancient doctrines, wasdisposed to make the attempt. 

The Duchess ordered the magistrates of Antwerp to put down thesemass-meetings by means of the guild-militia. They replied that at anearlier day such a course might have been practicable, but that the sectshad become quite too numerous for coercion. If the authorities were ableto prevent the exercises of the Reformed religion within the city, itwould be as successful a result as could be expected. To prevent thepreaching outside the walls, by means of the bourgher force, was an utterimpossibility. The dilatoriness of the Sovereign placed the Regent in afrightful dilemma, but it was sufficiently obvious that the strugglecould not long be deferred. "There will soon be a hard nut to crack, "wrote Count Louis. "The King will never grant the preaching; the peoplewill never give it up, if it cost them their necks. There's a hard puffcoming upon the country before long. " The Duchess was not yet authorizedto levy troops, and she feared that if she commenced such operations, sheshould perhaps offend the King, while she at the same time might provokethe people into more effective military preparations than her own. Shefelt that for one company levied by her, the sectaries could raise ten. Moreover, she was entirely without money, even if she should otherwisethink it expedient to enrol an army. Meantime she did what she could with"public prayers, processions, fasts, sermons, exhortations, " and otherecclesiastical machinery which she ordered the bishops to put in motion. Her situation was indeed sufficiently alarming. 

Egmont, whom many of the sectaries hoped to secure as their leader incase of a civil war, showed no disposition to encourage such hopes, butas little to take up arms against the people. He went to Flanders, wherethe armed assemblages for field-preaching had become so numerous that aforce of thirty or forty thousand men might be set on foot almost at amoment's warning, and where the conservatives, in a state of alarm, desired the presence of their renowned governor. The people of Antwerp, on their part, demanded William of Orange. The Prince, who was hereditaryburgrave of the city, had at first declined the invitation of themagistracy. The Duchess united her request with the universal prayer ofthe inhabitants. Events meantime had been thickening, and suspicionincreasing. Meghen had been in the city for several days, much to thedisgust of the Reformers, by whom he was hated. Aremberg was expected tojoin him, and it was rumored that measures were secretly in progressunder the auspices of these two leading cardinalists, for introducing agarrison, together with great store of ammunition, into the city. On theother hand, the "great beggar, " Brederode, had taken up his quarters alsoin Antwerp; had been daily entertaining a crowd of roystering nobles athis hotel, previously to a second political demonstration, which willsoon be described, and was constantly parading the street, followed by aswarm of adherents in the beggar livery. The sincere Reformers were madenearly as uncomfortable by the presence of their avowed friends, as bythat of Meghen and Aremberg, and earnestly desired to be rid of them all. Long and anxious were the ponderings of the magistrates upon all thesesubjects. It was determined, at last, to send a fresh deputation toBrussels, requesting the Regent to order the departure of Meghen, Aremberg, and Brederode from Antwerp; remonstrating with her against anyplan she might be supposed to entertain of sending mercenary troops intothe city; pledging the word of the senate to keep the peace, meanwhile, by their regular force; and above all, imploring her once more, in themost urgent terms, to send thither the burgrave, as the only man who wascapable of saving the city from the calamities into which it was solikely to fall. 

The Prince of Orange being thus urgently besought, both by the governmentof Antwerp, the inhabitants of that city, and by the Regent herself, atlast consented to make the visit so earnestly demanded. On the 13th July, he arrived in Antwerp. The whole city was alive with enthusiasm. Half itspopulation seemed to have come forth from the gates to bid him welcome, lining the road for miles. The gate through which he was to pass, theramparts, the roofs of the houses were packed close, with expectant andeager faces. At least thirty thousand persons had assembled to welcometheir guest. A long cavalcade of eminent citizens had come as far asBerghen to meet him and to escort him into the city. Brederode, attendedby some of the noble confederates, rode at the head of the procession. Asthey encountered the Prince, a discharge of pistol-shots was fired by wayof salute, which was the signal for a deafening shout from the assembledmultitude. The crowd thronged about the Prince as he advanced, callinghim their preserver, their father, their only hope. Wild shouts ofwelcome rose upon every side, as he rode through the town, mingled withoccasional vociferations of "long life to the beggars. " These party crieswere instantly and sharply rebuked by Orange, who expressed, inBrederode's presence, the determination that he would make men unlearnthat mischievous watchword. He had, moreover, little relish at that timefor the tumultuous demonstrations of attachment to his person, which weretoo fervid to be censured, but too unseasonable to be approved. When thecrowd had at last been made to understand that their huzzas weredistasteful to the Prince, most of the multitude consented to disperse, feeling, however, a relief from impending danger in the presence of theman to whom they instinctively looked as their natural protector. 

The senators had come forth in a body to receive the burgrave and escorthim to the hotel prepared for him. Arrived there, he lost no time inopening the business which had brought him to Antwerp. He held at once along consultation with the upper branch of the government. Afterwards, day after day, he honestly, arduously, sagaciously labored to restore thepublic tranquillity. He held repeated deliberations with every separateportion of the little commonwealth, the senate, the council of ancients, the corporation of ward-masters, the deans of trades. Nor did he confinehis communication to these organized political bodies alone. He hadfrequent interviews with the officers of the military associations, withthe foreign merchant companies, with the guilds of "Rhetoric. " Thechambers of the "Violet" and the "Marigold" were not too frivolous orfantastic to be consulted by one who knew human nature and theconstitution of Netherland society so well as did the Prince. Night andday he labored with all classes of citizens to bring about a betterunderstanding, and to establish mutual confidence. At last by his effortstranquillity was restored. The broad-council having been assembled, itwas decided that the exercise of the Reformed religion should be excludedfrom the city, but silently tolerated in the suburbs, while an armedforce was to be kept constantly in readiness to suppress all attempts atinsurrection. The Prince had desired, that twelve hundred men should beenlisted and paid by the city, so that at least a small number ofdisciplined troops might be ready at a moment's warning; but he found itimpossible to carry the point with the council. The magistrates werewilling to hold themselves responsible for the peace of the city, butthey would have no mercenaries. 

Thus, during the remainder of July and the early part of August, wasWilliam of Orange strenuously occupied in doing what should have been theRegent's work. He was still regarded both by the Duchess and by theCalvinist party--although having the sympathies of neither, --as the onlyman in the Netherlands who could control the rising tide of a nationalrevolt. He took care, said his enemies, that his conduct at Antwerpshould have every appearance of loyalty; but they insinuated that he wasa traitor from the beginning, who was insidiously fomenting the troubleswhich he appeared to rebuke. No one doubted his genius, and all felt oraffected admiration at its display upon this critical occasion. "ThePrince of Orange is doing very great and notable services at Antwerp tothe King and to the country, " said Assonleville. "That seignior is veryskilful in managing great affairs. " Margaret of Parma wrote letters tohim fixed with the warmest gratitude, expressions of approbation, and ofwishes that he could both remain in Antwerp and return to assist her inBrussels. Philip, too, with his own pen, addressed him a letter, in whichimplicit confidence in the Prince's character was avowed, all suspicionon the part of the Sovereign indignantly repudiated, earnest thanks forhis acceptance of the Antwerp mission uttered, and a distinct refusalgiven to the earnest request made by Orange to resign his offices. ThePrince read or listened to all this commendation, and valued it exactlyat its proper worth. He knew it to be pure grimace. He was no moredeceived by it than if he had read the letter sent by Margaret to Philip, a few weeks later, in which she expressed herself as "thoroughly awarethat it was the intention of Orange to take advantage of the impendingtumults, for the purpose of conquering the provinces and of dividing thewhole territory among himself and friends. " Nothing could be more utterlyfalse than so vile and ridiculous a statement. 

The course of the Prince had hitherto been, and was still, bothconsistent and loyal. He was proceeding step by step to place the monarchin the wrong, but the only art which he was using, was to plant himselfmore firmly upon the right. It was in the monarch's power to convoke theassembly of the states-general, so loudly demanded by the whole nation, to abolish the inquisition, to renounce persecution, to accept the greatfact of the Reformation. To do so he must have ceased to be Philip. Tohave faltered in attempting to bring him into that path, the Prince musthave ceased to be William of Orange. Had he succeeded, there would havebeen no treason and no Republic of Holland. His conduct at the outbreakof the Antwerp troubles was firm and sagacious. Even had his dutyrequired him to put down the public preaching with peremptory violence, he had been furnished with no means to accomplish the purpose. Therebellion, if it were one, was already full-grown. It could not be takenby the throat and strangled with one hand, however firm. 

A report that the High Sheriff of Brabant was collecting troops bycommand of government, in order to attack the Reformers at theirfield-preachings, went far to undo the work already accomplished by thePrince. The assemblages swelled again from ten or twelve thousand totwenty-five thousand, the men all providing themselves more thoroughlywith weapons than before. Soon afterwards, the intemperate zeal ofanother individual, armed to the teeth--not, however, like the martialsheriff and his forces, with arquebus and javelin, but with the stillmore deadly weapons of polemical theology, --was very near causing ageneral outbreak. A peaceful and not very numerous congregation werelistening to one of their preachers in a field outside the town. Suddenlyan unknown individual in plain clothes and with a pragmatical demeanor, interrupted the discourse by giving a flat contradiction to some of thedoctrines advanced. The minister replied by a rebuke, and a reiterationof the disputed sentiment. --The stranger, evidently versed inecclesiastical matters, volubly and warmly responded. The preacher, a manof humble condition and moderate abilities, made as good show of argumentas he could, but was evidently no match for his antagonist. He was soonvanquished in the wordy warfare. Well he might be, for it appeared thatthe stranger was no less a personage than Peter Rythovius, a doctor ofdivinity, a distinguished pedant of Louvain, a relation of a bishop andhimself a Church dignitary. This learned professor, quite at home in hissubject, was easily triumphant, while the poor dissenter, more accustomedto elevate the hearts of his hearers than to perplex their heads, sankprostrate and breathless under the storm of texts, glosses, and hardHebrew roots with which he was soon overwhelmed. The professor's triumphwas, however, but short-lived, for the simple-minded congregation, wholoved their teacher, were enraged that he should be thus confounded. Without more ado, therefore, they laid violent hands upon the Quixoticknight-errant of the Church, and so cudgelled and belabored him bodilythat he might perhaps have lost his life in the encounter had he not beenprotected by the more respectable portion of the assembly. These persons, highly disapproving the whole proceeding, forcibly rescued him from theassailants, and carried him off to town, where the news of the incidentat once created an uproar. Here he was thrown into prison as a disturberof the peace, but in reality that he might be personally secure. The nextday the Prince of Orange, after administering to him a severe rebuke forhis ill-timed exhibition of pedantry, released him from confinement, andhad him conveyed out of the city. "This theologian;" wrote the Prince toDuchess Margaret, "would have done better, methinks, to stay at home; forI suppose he had no especial orders to perform this piece of work. "

Thus, so long as this great statesman could remain in the metropolis, histemperate firmness prevented the explosion which had so long beenexpected. His own government of Holland and Zeland, too, especiallydemanded his care. The field-preaching had spread in that region withprodigious rapidity. Armed assemblages, utterly beyond the power of thecivil authorities, were taking place daily in the neighborhood ofAmsterdam. Yet the Duchess could not allow him to visit his government inthe north. If he could be spared from Antwerp for a day, it was necessarythat he should aid her in a fresh complication with the confederatednobles in the very midst, therefore, of his Antwerp labors, he had beenobliged, by Margaret's orders, to meet a committee at Duffel. For in thissame eventful month of July a great meeting was held by the members ofthe Compromise at St. Trond, in the bishopric of Liege. They cametogether on the thirteenth of the month, and remained assembled till thebeginning of August. It was a wild, tumultuous convention, numbering somefifteen hundred cavaliers, each with his esquires and armed attendants; alarger and more important gathering than had yet been held. Brederode andCount Louis were the chieftains of the assembly, which, as may besupposed from its composition and numbers, was likely to be neither veryorderly in its demonstrations nor wholesome in its results. It was anill-timed movement. The convention was too large for deliberation, tooriotous to inspire confidence. The nobles quartered themselves everywhere in the taverns and the farm-houses of the neighborhood, while largenumbers encamped upon the open fields. There was a constant din ofrevelry and uproar, mingled with wordy warfare, and an occasionalcrossing of swords. It seemed rather like a congress of ancient, savageBatavians, assembled in Teutonic fashion to choose a king amid hoarseshouting, deep drinking, and the clash of spear and shield, than ameeting for a lofty and earnest purpose, by their civilized descendants. A crowd of spectators, landlopers, mendicants, daily aggregatedthemselves to the aristocratic assembly, joining, with natural unction, in the incessant shout of "Vivent les gueux!" It was impossible that sosoon after their baptism the self-styled beggars should repudiate allconnection with the time-honored fraternity in which they had enrolledthemselves. 

The confederates discussed--if an exchange of vociferations could becalled discussion--principally two points: whether, in case they obtainedthe original objects of their petition, they should pause or move stillfurther onward; and whether they should insist upon receiving some pledgefrom the government, that no vengeance should be taken upon them fortheir previous proceedings. Upon both questions, there was much vehemenceof argument and great difference of opinion. They, moreover, took twovery rash and very grave resolutions--to guarantee the people against allviolence on account of their creeds, and to engage a force of Germansoldiery, four thousand horse and forty companies of infantry by, "wartgeld" or retaining wages. It was evident that these gentlemen weredisposed to go fast and far. If they had been ready in the spring toreceive their baptism of wine, the "beggars" were now eager for thebaptism of blood. At the same time it must be observed that the levieswhich they proposed, not to make, but to have at command, were purely fordefence. In case the King, as it was thought probable, should visit theNetherlands with fire and sword, then there would be a nucleus ofresistance already formed. 

Upon the 18th July, the Prince of Orange, at the earnest request of theRegent, met a committee of the confederated nobles at Duffel. CountEgmont was associated with him in this duty. The conference was not verysatisfactory. The deputies from St. Trend, consisting of Brederode, Culemburg, and others, exchanged with the two seigniors the oldarguments. It was urged upon the confederates, that they had madethemselves responsible for the public tranquillity so long as the Regentshould hold to her promise; that, as the Duchess had sent twodistinguished envoys to Madrid, in order to accomplish, if possible, thewishes of the nobles, it was their duty to redeem their own pledges; thatarmed assemblages ought to be suppressed by their efforts rather thanencouraged by their, example; and that, if they now exerted themselveszealously to check, the tumults, the Duchess was ready to declare, in herown-name and that of his Majesty, that the presentation of the Requesthad been beneficial. 

The nobles replied that the pledges had become a farce, that the Regentwas playing them false, that persecution was as fierce as ever, that the"Moderation" was a mockery, that the letters recommending "modesty anddiscretion" to the inquisitors had been mere waste paper, that a pricehad been set upon the heads of the preachers as if they had been wildbeasts, that there were constant threats of invasions from Spain, thatthe convocation of the states-general had been illegally deferred, thatthe people had been driven to despair, and that it was the conduct ofgovernment, not of the confederates, which had caused the Reformers tothrow off previous restraint and to come boldly forth by tens ofthousands into the fields, not to defy their King, but to worship theirGod. 

Such, in brief, was the conference of Duffel. In conclusion, a paper wasdrawn up which Brederode carried back to the convention, and which it wasproposed to submit to the Duchess for her approval. At the end of themonth, Louis of Nassau was accordingly sent to Brussels, accompanied bytwelve associates, who were familiarly called his twelve apostles. Herehe laid before her Highness in council a statement, embodying the viewsof the confederates. In this paper they asserted that they were everready to mount and ride against a foreign foe, but that they would neverdraw a sword against their innocent countrymen. They maintained thattheir past conduct deserved commendation, and that in requiring lettersof safe conduct in the names both of the Duchess and of theFleece-knights, they were governed not by a disposition to ask forpardon, but by a reluctance without such guarantees to enter intostipulations touching the public tranquillity. If, however, they shouldbe assured that the intentions of the Regent were amicable and that therewas no design to take vengeance for the past--if, moreover, she werewilling to confide in the counsels of Horn, Egmont, and Orange, and totake no important measure without their concurrence--if, above all, shewould convoke the states-general, then, and then only, were theconfederates willing to exert their energies to preserve peace, torestrain popular impetuosity and banish universal despair. 

So far Louis of Nassau and his twelve apostles. It must be confessedthat, whatever might be thought of the justice, there could be but oneopinion as to the boldness of these views. The Duchess was furious. Ifthe language held in April had been considered audacious, certainly thisnew request was, in her own words, "still more bitter to the taste andmore difficult of digestion. " She therefore answered in a veryunsatisfactory, haughty and ambiguous manner, reserving decision upontheir propositions till they had been discussed by the state council, andintimating that they would also be laid before the Knights of the Fleece, who were to hold a meeting upon the 26th of August. 

There was some further conversation without any result. Esquerdescomplained that the confederates were the mark of constant calumny, anddemanded that the slanderers should be confronted with them and punished. "I understand perfectly well, " interrupted Margaret, "you wish to takejustice into your own hands and to be King yourself. " It was furtherintimated by these reckless gentlemen, that if they should be driven byviolence into measures of self-protection, they had already securedfriends in a certain country. The Duchess, probably astonished at thefrankness of this statement, is said to have demanded furtherexplanations. The confederates replied by observing that they hadresources both in the provinces and in Germany. The state council decidedthat to accept the propositions of the confederates would be to establisha triumvirate at once, and the Duchess wrote to her brother distinctlyadvising against the acceptance of the proposal. The assembly at St. Trond was then dissolved, having made violent demonstrations which werenot followed by beneficial results, and having laid itself open tovarious suspicions, most of which were ill-founded, while some of themwere just. 

Before giving the reader a brief account of the open and the secretpolicy pursued by the government at Brussels and Madrid, in consequenceof these transactions, it is now necessary to allude to a startlingseries of events, which at this point added to the complications of thetimes, and exercised a fatal influence upon the situation of thecommonwealth. 

1566 [CHAPTER VII. ]

 Ecclesiastical architecture in the Netherlands--The image-breaking-- Description of Antwerp Cathedral--Ceremony of the Ommegang-- Precursory disturbances--Iconoclasts at Antwerp--Incidents of the image--breaking in various cities--Events at Tournay--Preaching of Wille--Disturbance by a little boy--Churches sacked at Tournay-- Disinterment of Duke Adolphus of Gueldres--Iconoclasts defeated and massacred at Anchin--Bartholomew's Day at Valenciennes--General characteristics of the image-breaking--Testimony of contemporaries as to the honesty of the rioters--Consternation of the Duchess-- Projected flight to Mons--Advice of Horn and other seigniors-- Accord of 25th August. 

The Netherlands possessed an extraordinary number of churches andmonasteries. Their exquisite architecture and elaborate decoration hadbeen the earliest indication of intellectual culture displayed in thecountry. In the vast number of cities, towns, and villages which werecrowded upon that narrow territory, there had been, from circumstancesoperating throughout Christendom, a great accumulation of ecclesiasticalwealth. The same causes can never exist again which at an early daycovered the soil of Europe with those magnificent creations of Christianart. It was in these anonymous but entirely original achievements thatGothic genius; awaking from its long sleep of the dark ages, firstexpressed itself. The early poetry of the German races was hewn andchiselled in atone. Around the steadfast principle of devotion then sofirmly rooted in the soil, clustered the graceful and vigorous emanationsof the newly-awakened mind. All that science could invent, all that artcould embody, all that mechanical ingenuity could dare, all that wealthcould lavish, whatever there was of human energy which was panting forpacific utterance, wherever there stirred the vital principle whichinstinctively strove to create and to adorn at an epoch when vulgarviolence and destructiveness were the general tendencies of humanity, allgathered around these magnificent temples, as their aspiring pinnacles atlast pierced the mist which had so long brooded over the world. 

There were many hundreds of churches, more or less remarkable, in theNetherlands. Although a severe criticism might regret to find in theseparticular productions of the great Germanic school a development of thatpractical tendency which distinguished the Batavian and Flemishbranches, --although it might recognize a departure from that mysticprinciple which, in its efforts to symbolize the strivings of humanitytowards the infinite object of worship above, had somewhat disregardedthe wants of the worshippers below, --although the spaces might be toowide and the intercolumniations too empty, except for the convenience ofcongregations; yet there were, nevertheless, many ecclesiasticalmasterpieces, which could be regarded as very brilliant manifestations ofthe Batavian and Belgic mind during the thirteenth and fourteenthcenturies. Many were filled with paintings from a school which hadprecedence in time and merit over its sister nurseries of art in Germany. All were peopled with statues. All were filled with profusely-adornedchapels, for the churches had been enriched generation after generationby wealthy penitence, which had thus purchased absolution for crime andsmoothed a pathway to heaven. 

And now, for the space of only six or seven summer days and nights, thereraged a storm by which all these treasures were destroyed. Nearly everyone of these temples was entirely rifled of its contents; not for thepurpose of plunder, but of destruction. Hardly a province or a townescaped. Art must forever weep over this bereavement; Humanity mustregret that the reforming is thus always ready to degenerate into thedestructive principle; but it is impossible to censure very severely thespirit which prompted the brutal, but not ferocious deed. Those statues, associated as they were with the remorseless persecution which had solong desolated the provinces, had ceased to be images. They had grownhuman and hateful, so that the people arose and devoted them toindiscriminate massacre. 

No doubt the iconoclastic fury is to be regretted; for such treasures canscarcely be renewed. The age for building and decorating great cathedralsis past. Certainly, our own age, practical and benevolent, if lesspoetical, should occupy itself with the present, and project itself intothe future. It should render glory to God rather by causing wealth tofertilize the lowest valleys of humanity, than by rearing gorgeoustemples where paupers are to kneel. To clothe the naked, redeem thecriminal, feed the hungry, less by alms and homilies than by preventiveinstitutions and beneficent legislation; above all, by the diffusion ofnational education, to lift a race upon a level of culture hardlyattained by a class in earlier times, is as lofty a task as to accumulatepiles of ecclesiastical splendor. 

It would be tedious to recount in detail the events which characterizedthe remarkable image-breaking in the Netherlands. As Antwerp was thecentral point in these transactions, and as there was more wealth andmagnificence in the great cathedral of that city than in any church ofnorthern Europe, it is necessary to give a rapid outline of the eventswhich occurred there. From its exhibition in that place the spirit everywhere will best be shown. 

The Church of Our Lady, which Philip had so recently converted into acathedral, dated from the year 1124, although it may be more fairlyconsidered a work of the fourteenth century. Its college of canons hadbeen founded in another locality by Godfrey of Bouillon. The Brabantinehero, who so romantically incarnates the religious poetry of his age, whofirst mounted the walls of redeemed Jerusalem, and was its firstChristian monarch, but who refused to accept a golden diadem on the spotwhere the Saviour had been crowned with thorns; the Fleming who lived andwas the epic which the great Italian, centuries afterwards; translatedinto immortal verse, is thus fitly associated with the beautifularchitectural poem which was to grace his ancestral realms. The body ofthe church, the interior and graceful perspectives of which were notliable to the reproach brought against many Netherland churches, ofassimilating themselves already to the municipal palaces which they wereto suggest--was completed in the fourteenth century. The beautifulfacade, with its tower, was not completed till the year 1518. Theexquisite and daring spire, the gigantic stem upon which the consummateflower of this architectural creation was to be at last unfolded, was aplant of a whole century's growth. Rising to a height of nearly fivehundred feet, over a church of as many feet in length, it worthilyrepresented the upward tendency of Gothic architecture. Externally andinternally the cathedral was a true expression of the Christian principleof devotion. Amid its vast accumulation of imagery, its endlessornaments, its multiplicity of episodes, its infinite variety of details, the central, maternal principle was ever visible. Every thing pointedupwards, from the spire in the clouds to the arch which enshrined thesmallest sculptured saint in the chapels below. It was a sanctuary, notlike pagan temples, to enclose a visible deity, but an edifice wheremortals might worship an unseen Being in the realms above. 

The church, placed in the centre of the city, with the noisy streets ofthe busiest metropolis in Europe eddying around its walls, was a sacredisland in the tumultuous main. Through the perpetual twilight, tallcolumnar trunks in thick profusion grew from a floor chequered withprismatic lights and sepulchral shadows. Each shaft of the petrifiedforest rose to a preternatural height, their many branches interminglingin the space above, to form an impenetrable canopy. Foliage, flowers andfruit of colossal luxuriance, strange birds, beasts, griffins andchimeras in endless multitudes, the rank vegetation and the fantasticzoology of a fresher or fabulous world, seemed to decorate and to animatethe serried trunks and pendant branches, while the shattering symphoniesor dying murmurs of the organ suggested the rushing of the wind throughthe forest, now the full diapason of the storm and now the gentle cadenceof the evening breeze. 

Internally, the whole church was rich beyond expression. All that opulentdevotion and inventive ingenuity could devise, in wood, bronze, marble, silver, gold, precious jewelry, or blazing sacramental furniture, hadbeen profusely lavished. The penitential tears of centuries had incrustedthe whole interior with their glittering stalactites. Divided into fivenaves, with external rows of chapels, but separated by no screens orpartitions, the great temple forming an imposing whole, the effect wasthe more impressive, the vistas almost infinite in appearance. Thewealthy citizens, the twenty-seven guilds, the six military associations, the rhythmical colleges, besides many other secular or religioussodalities, had each their own chapels and altars. Tombs adorned with theeffigies of mailed crusaders and pious dames covered the floor, tatteredbanners hung in the air, the escutcheons of the Golden Fleece, an ordertypical of Flemish industry, but of which Emperors and Kings were proudto be the chevaliers, decorated the columns. The vast andbeautifully-painted windows glowed with scriptural scenes, antiqueportraits, homely allegories, painted in those brilliant and forgottencolors which Art has not ceased to deplore. The daylight melting intogloom or colored with fantastic brilliancy, priests in effulgent robeschanting in unknown language, the sublime breathing of choral music, thesuffocating odors of myrrh and spikenard, suggestive of the orientalscenery and imagery of Holy Writ, all combined to bewilder and exalt thesenses. The highest and humblest seemed to find themselves upon the samelevel within those sacred precincts, where even the bloodstained criminalwas secure, and the arm of secular justice was paralyzed. 

But the work of degeneration had commenced. The atmosphere of thecathedral was no longer holy in the eyes of increasing multitudes. Betterthe sanguinary rites of Belgic Druids, better the yell of slaughteredvictims from the "wild wood without mercy" of the pagan forefathers ofthe nation, than this fantastic intermingling of divine music, glowingcolors, gorgeous ceremonies, with all the burning, beheading andstrangling work which had characterized the system of human sacrifice forthe past half-century. 

Such was the church of Notre Dame at Antwerp. Thus indifferent or hostiletowards the architectural treasure were the inhabitants of a city, wherein a previous age the whole population would have risked their lives todefend what they esteemed the pride and garland of their metropolis. 

The Prince of Orange had been anxiously solicited by the Regent to attendthe conference at Duffel. After returning to Antwerp, he consented, inconsequence of the urgent entreaties of the senate, to delay hisdeparture until the 18th of August should be past. On the 13th of thatmonth he had agreed with the magistrates upon an ordinance, which wasaccordingly published, and by which the preachings were restricted to thefields. A deputation of merchants and others waited upon him with arequest to be permitted the exercises of the Reformed religion in thecity. This petition the Prince peremptorily refused, and the deputies, aswell as their constituents, acquiesced in the decision, "out of especialregard and respect for his person. " He, however, distinctly informed theDuchess that it would be difficult or impossible to maintain such aposition long, and that his departure from the city would probably befollowed by an outbreak. He warned her that it was very imprudent for himto leave Antwerp at that particular juncture. Nevertheless, the meetingof the Fleece-knights seemed, in Margaret's opinion, imperatively torequire his presence in Brussels. She insisted by repeated letters thathe should leave Antwerp immediately. 

Upon the 18th August, the great and time-honored ceremony of the Ommegangoccurred. Accordingly, the great procession, the principal object ofwhich was to conduct around the city a colossal image of the Virgin, issued as usual from the door of the cathedral. The image, bedizened andeffulgent, was borne aloft upon the shoulders of her adorers, followed bythe guilds, the military associations, the rhetoricians, the religioussodalities, all in glittering costume, bearing blazoned banners, andmarching triumphantly through the streets with sound of trumpet and beatof drum. The pageant, solemn but noisy, was exactly such a show as wasmost fitted at that moment to irritate Protestant minds and to lead tomischief. No violent explosion of ill-feeling, however, took place. Theprocession was followed by a rabble rout of scoffers, but they confinedthemselves to words and insulting gestures. The image was incessantlysaluted, as she was borne along--the streets, with sneers, imprecations, and the rudest, ribaldry. "Mayken! Mayken!" (little Mary) "your hour iscome. 'Tis your last promenade. The city is tired of you. " Such were thegreetings which the representative of the Holy Virgin received from mengrown weary of antiquated mummery. A few missiles were thrownoccasionally at the procession as it passed through the city, but nodamage was inflicted. When the image was at last restored to its place, and the pageant brought to a somewhat hurried conclusion, there seemedcause for congratulation that no tumult had occurred. 

On the following morning there was a large crowd collected in front ofthe cathedral. The image, instead of standing in the centre of thechurch, where, upon all former occasions, it had been accustomed duringthe week succeeding the ceremony to receive congratulatory, visits, wasnow ignominiously placed behind an iron railing within the choir. It hadbeen deemed imprudent to leave it exposed to sacrilegious hands. Theprecaution excited derision. Many vagabonds of dangerous appearance, manyidle apprentices and ragged urchins were hanging for a long time aboutthe imprisoned image, peeping through the railings, and indulging in manya brutal jest. "Mayken! Mayken!" they cried; "art thou terrified so soon?Hast flown to thy nest so early? Dost think thyself beyond the reach ofmischief? Beware, Mayken! thine hour is fast approaching!" Othersthronged around the balustrade, shouting "Vivent les gueux!" and hoarselycommanding the image to join in the beggars' cry. Then, leaving the spot, the mob roamed idly about the magnificent church, sneering at the idols, execrating the gorgeous ornaments, scoffing at crucifix and altar. 

Presently one of the rabble, a ragged fellow of mechanical aspect, in atattered black doublet and an old straw hat, ascended the pulpit. Openinga sacred volume which he found there, he began to deliver anextemporaneous and coarse caricature of a monkish sermon. Some of thebystanders applauded, some cried shame, some shouted "long live thebeggars!" some threw sticks and rubbish at the mountebank, some caughthim by the legs and strove to pull him from the place. He, on the otherhand, manfully maintained his ground, hurling back every missile, struggling with his assailants, and continuing the while to pour forth amalignant and obscene discourse. At last a young sailor, warm in theCatholic Faith, and impulsive as mariners are prone to be, ascended thepulpit from behind, sprang upon the mechanic, and flung him headlong downthe steps. The preacher grappled with his enemy as he fell, and both camerolling to the ground. Neither was much injured, but a tumult ensued. Apistol-shot was fired, and the sailor wounded in the arm. Daggers weredrawn, cudgels brandished, the bystanders taking part generally againstthe sailor, while those who protected him were somewhat bruised andbelabored before they could convey him out of the church. Nothing more, however, transpired that day, and the keepers of the cathedral wereenabled to expel the crowd and to close the doors for the night. 

Information of this tumult was brought to the senate, then assembled inthe Hotel de Ville. That body was thrown into a state of greatperturbation. In losing the Prince of Orange, they seemed to have losttheir own brains, and the first measure which they took was to despatch amessenger to implore his return. In the mean time, it was necessary thatthey should do something for themselves. It was evident that a storm wasbrewing. The pest which was sweeping so rapidly through the provinceswould soon be among them. Symptoms of the dreaded visitation were alreadybut too manifest. What precaution should: they take? Should they issue aproclamation? Such documents had been too common of late, and had losttheir virtue. It was the time not to assert but to exercise authority. Should they summon the ward-masters, and order the instant arming andmustering of their respective companies? Should they assemble thecaptains of the Military associations? Nothing better could have beendesired than such measures in cases of invasion or of ordinary tumult, but who should say how deeply the poison had sunk into the body politic;who should say with how much or how little alacrity the burgher militiawould obey the mandates of the magistracy? It would be better to issue noproclamation unless they could enforce its provisions; it would be betternot to call out the citizen soldiery unless they were likely to proveobedient. Should mercenary troops at this late hour be sent for? Wouldnot their appearance at this crisis rather inflame the rage thanintimidate the insolence of the sectaries? Never were magistrates ingreater perplexity. They knew not what course was likely to prove thesafest, and in their anxiety to do nothing wrong, the senators didnothing at all. After a long and anxious consultation, the honestburgomaster and his associates all went home to their beds, hoping thatthe threatening flame of civil tumult would die out of itself, or perhapsthat their dreams would supply them with that wisdom which seemed deniedto their waking hours. 

In the morning, as it was known that no precaution had been taken, theaudacity of the Reformers was naturally increased. Within the cathedral agreat crowd was at an early hour collected, whose savage looks and raggedappearance denoted that the day and night were not likely to pass away sopeacefully as the last. The same taunts and imprecations were hurled atthe image of the Virgin; the same howling of the beggars' cry resoundedthrough the lofty arches. For a few hours, no act of violence wascommitted, but the crowd increased. A few trifles, drifting, as usual, before the event, seemed to indicate the approaching convulsion. A verypaltry old woman excited the image-breaking of Antwerp. She had for yearsbeen accustomed to sit before the door of the cathedral with wax-tapersand wafers, earning scanty subsistence from the profits of her meagretrade, and by the small coins which she sometimes received in charity. Some of the rabble began to chaffer with this ancient hucksteress. Theyscoffed at her consecrated wares; they bandied with her ribald jests, ofwhich her public position had furnished her with a supply; they assuredher that the hour had come when her idolatrous traffic was to be foreverterminated, when she and her patroness, Mary, were to be given over todestruction together. The old woman, enraged, answered threat withthreat, and gibe with gibe. Passing from words to deeds, she began tocatch from the ground every offensive missile or weapon which she couldfind, and to lay about her in all directions. Her tormentors defendedthemselves as they could. Having destroyed her whole stock-in-trade, theyprovoked others to appear in her defence. The passers-by thronged to thescene; the cathedral was soon filled to overflowing; a furious tumult wasalready in progress. 

Many persons fled in alarm to the town-house, carrying information ofthis outbreak to the magistrates. John Van Immerzeel, Margrava ofAntwerp, was then holding communication with the senate, and awaiting thearrival of the ward-masters, whom it had at last been thought expedientto summon. Upon intelligence of this riot, which the militia, ifpreviously mustered, might have prevented, the senate determined toproceed to the cathedral in a body, with the hope of quelling the mob bythe dignity of their presence. The margrave, who was the high executiveofficer of the little commonwealth, marched down to the cathedralaccordingly, attended by the two burgomasters and all the senators. Atfirst their authority, solicitations, and personal influence, produced agood effect. Some of those outside consented to retire, and the tumultpartially subsided within. As night, however, was fast approaching, manyof the mob insisted upon remaining for evening mass. They were informedthat there would be none that night, and that for once the people couldcertainly dispense with their vespers. 

Several persons now manifesting an intention of leaving the cathedral, itwas suggested to the senators that if, they should lead the way, thepopulace would follow in their train, and so disperse to their homes. Theexcellent magistrates took the advice, not caring, perhaps, to fulfil anylonger the dangerous but not dignified functions of police officers. Before departing, they adopted the precaution of closing all the doors ofthe church, leaving a single one open, that the rabble still remainingmight have an opportunity to depart. It seemed not to occur to thesenators that the same gate would as conveniently afford an entrance forthose without as an egress for those within. That unlooked-for eventhappened, however. No sooner had the magistrates retired than the rabbleburst through the single door which had been left open, overpowered themargrave, who, with a few attendants, had remained behind, vainlyendeavoring by threats and exhortations to appease the tumult, drove himignominiously from the church, and threw all the other portals wide open. Then the populace flowed in like an angry sea. The whole of the cathedralwas at the mercy of the rioters, who were evidently bent on mischief. Thewardens and treasurers of the church, after a vain attempt to secure afew of its most precious possessions, retired. They carried the news tothe senators, who, accompanied by a few halberdmen, again ventured toapproach the spot. It was but for a moment, however, for, appalled by thefurious sounds which came from within the church, as if subterranean andinvisible forces were preparing a catastrophe which no human power couldwithstand, the magistrates fled precipitately from the scene. Fearingthat the next attack would be upon the town-house, they hastened toconcentrate at that point their available forces, and left the statelycathedral to its fate. 

And now, as the shadows of night were deepening the perpetual twilight ofthe church, the work of destruction commenced. Instead of evening massrose the fierce music of a psalm, yelled by a thousand angry voices. Itseemed the preconcerted signal for a general attack. A band of maraudersflew upon the image of the Virgin, dragged it forth from its receptacle, plunged daggers into its inanimate body, tore off its jewelled andembroidered garments, broke the whole figure into a thousand pieces, andscattered the fragments along the floor. A wild shout succeeded, and thenthe work which seemed delegated to a comparatively small number of theassembled crowd, went on with incredible celerity. Some were armed withaxes, some with bludgeons, some with sledge-hammers; others broughtladders, pulleys, ropes, and levers. Every statue was hurled from itsniche, every picture torn from the wall, every wonderfully-painted windowshivered to atoms, every ancient monument shattered, every sculptureddecoration, however inaccessible in appearance, hurled to the ground. Indefatigably, audaciously, --endowed, as it seemed, with preternaturalstrength and nimbleness, these furious iconoclasts clambered up the dizzyheights, shrieking and chattering like malignant apes, as they tore offin triumph the slowly-matured fruit of centuries. In a space of timewonderfully brief, they had accomplished their task. 

A colossal and magnificent group of the Saviour crucified between twothieves adorned the principal altar. The statue of Christ was wrenchedfrom its place with ropes and pulleys, while the malefactors, with bitterand blasphemous irony, were left on high, the only representatives of themarble crowd which had been destroyed. A very beautiful piece ofarchitecture decorated the choir, --the "repository, " as it was called, inwhich the body of Christ was figuratively enshrined. This much-admiredwork rested upon a single column, but rose, arch upon arch, pillar uponpillar, to the height of three hundred feet, till quite lost in the vaultabove. "It was now shattered into a million pieces. " The statues, images, pictures, ornaments, as they lay upon the ground, were broken withsledge-hammers, hewn with axes, trampled, torn; and beaten into shreds. Atroop of harlots, snatching waxen tapers from the altars, stood aroundthe destroyers and lighted them at their work. Nothing escaped theiromnivorous rage. They desecrated seventy chapels, forced open all thechests of treasure, covered their own squalid attire with the gorgeousrobes of the ecclesiastics, broke the sacred bread, poured out thesacramental wine into golden chalices, quaffing huge draughts to thebeggars' health; burned all the splendid missals and manuscripts, andsmeared their shoes with the sacred oil, with which kings and prelateshad been anointed. It seemed that each of these malicious creatures musthave been endowed with the strength of a hundred giants. How else, in thefew brief hours of a midsummer night, could such a monstrous desecrationhave been accomplished by a troop which, according to all accounts, wasnot more than one hundred in number. There was a multitude of spectators, as upon all such occasions, but the actual spoilers were very few. 

The noblest and richest temple of the Netherlands was a wreck, but thefury of the spoilers was excited, not appeased. Each seizing a burningtorch, the whole herd rushed from the cathedral, and swept howlingthrough the streets. "Long live the beggars!" resounded through thesultry midnight air, as the ravenous pack flew to and fro, smiting everyimage of the Virgin, every crucifix, every sculptured saint, everyCatholic symbol which they met with upon their path. All night long, theyroamed from one sacred edifice to another, thoroughly destroying as theywent. Before morning they had sacked thirty churches within the citywalls. They entered the monasteries, burned their invaluable libraries, destroyed their altars, statues, pictures, and descending into thecellars, broached every cask which they found there, pouring out in onegreat flood all the ancient wine and ale with which those holy men hadbeen wont to solace their retirement from generation to generation. Theyinvaded the nunneries, whence the occupants, panic-stricken, fled forrefuge to the houses of their friends and kindred. The streets werefilled with monks and nuns, running this way and that, shrieking andfluttering, to escape the claws of these fiendish Calvinists. The terrorwas imaginary, for not the least remarkable feature in these transactionswas, that neither insult nor injury was offered to man or woman, and thatnot a farthing's value of the immense amount of property destroyed, wasappropriated. It was a war not against the living, but against gravenimages, nor was the sentiment which prompted the onslaught in the leastcommingled with a desire of plunder. The principal citizens of Antwerp, expecting every instant that the storm would be diverted from theecclesiastical edifices to private dwellings, and that robbery, rape, andmurder would follow sacrilege, remained all night expecting the attack, and prepared to defend their hearths, even if the altars were profaned. The precaution was needless. It was asserted by the Catholics that theconfederates and other opulent Protestants had organized this company ofprofligates for the meagre pittance of ten stivers day. On the otherhand, it was believed by many that the Catholics had themselves plottedthe whole outrage in order to bring odium upon the Reformers. Bothstatements were equally unfounded. The task was most thoroughlyperformed, but it was prompted: by a furious fanaticism, not by basermotives. 

Two days and nights longer the havoc raged unchecked through all thechurches of Antwerp and the neighboring villages. Hardly a statue orpicture escaped destruction. Fortunately, the illustrious artist, whoselabors were destined in the next generation to enrich and ennoble thecity, Rubens, most profound of colorists, most dramatic--of artists;whose profuse tropical genius seemed to flower the more luxuriantly, asif the destruction wrought by brutal hands were to be compensated by thecreative energy of one, divine spirit, had not yet been born. Of thetreasures which existed the destruction was complete. Yet the rage wasdirected exclusively against stocks and stones. Not a man was wounded nora woman outraged. Prisoners, indeed, who had been languishing hopelesslyin dungeons were liberated. A monk, who had been in the prison of theBarefoot Monastery, for twelve years, recovered his freedom. Art wastrampled in the dust, but humanity deplored no victims. 

These leading features characterized the movement every where. Theprocess was simultaneous and almost universal. It was difficult to saywhere it began and where it ended. A few days in the midst of Augustsufficed for the whole work. The number of churches desecrated has neverbeen counted. In the single province of Flanders, four hundred weresacked. In Limburg, Luxemburg, and Namur, there was no image-breaking. InMechlin, seventy or eighty persons accomplished the work thoroughly, inthe very teeth of the grand council, and of an astonished magistracy. 

In Tournay, a city distinguished for its ecclesiastical splendor, thereform had been making great progress during the summer. At the same timethe hatred between the two religions had been growing more and moreintense. Trifles and serious matters alike fed the mutual animosity. 

A tremendous outbreak had been nearly occasioned by an insignificantincident. A Jesuit of some notoriety had been preaching a glowingdiscourse in the pulpit of Notre Dane. He earnestly avowed his wish thathe were good enough to die for all his hearers. He proved todemonstration that no man should shrink from torture or martyrdom inorder to sustain the ancient faith. As he was thus expatiating, hisfervid discourse was suddenly interrupted by three sharp, sudden blows, of a very peculiar character, struck upon the great portal of the Church. The priest, forgetting his love for martyrdom, turned pale and droppedunder the pulpit. Hurrying down the steps, he took refuge in the vestry, locking and barring the door. The congregation shared in his panic: "Thebeggars are coming, " was the general cry. There was a horrible tumult, which extended through the city as the congregation poured precipitatelyout of the Cathedral, to escape a band of destroying and furiousCalvinists. Yet when the shock had a little subsided, it was discoveredthat a small urchin was the cause of the whole tumult. Having beenbathing in the Scheldt, he had returned by way of the church with acouple of bladders under his arm. He had struck these against the door ofthe Cathedral, partly to dry them, partly from a love of mischief. Thus agreat uproar, in the course of which it had been feared that Toumay wasto be sacked and drenched in blood, had been caused by a little wantonboy who had been swimming on bladders. 

This comedy preceded by a few days only the actual disaster. On the 22dof August the news reached Tournay that the churches in Antwerp, Ghent, and many other places, had been sacked. There was an instantaneousmovement towards imitating the example on the same evening. Pasquier dela Barre, procureur-general of the city, succeeded by much entreaty intranquillizing the people for the night. The "guard of terror" was set, and hopes were entertained that the storm might blow over. Theexpectation, was vain. At daybreak next day, the mob swept upon thechurches and stripped them to the very walls. Pictures, statues; organs, ornaments, chalices of silver and gold, reliquaries, albs, chasubles, copes, ciboriea, crosses, chandeliers, lamps; censers, all of richestmaterial, glittering with pearls, rubies, and other precious stones, werescattered in heaps of ruin upon the ground. 

As the Spoilers burrowed among the ancient tombs, they performed, in oneor two instances, acts of startling posthumous justice. The embalmed bodyof Duke Adolphus of Gueldres, last of the Egmonts, who had reigned inthat province, was dragged from its sepulchre and recognized. Although ithad been there for ninety years, it was as uncorrupted, "Owing to theexcellent spices which had preserved it from decay, " as upon the day ofburial. Thrown upon the marble floor of the church, it lay several daysexposed to the execrations of the multitude. The Duke had committed acrime against his father, in consequence of which the province which hadbeen ruled by native races, had passed under the dominion of Charles theBold. Weary of waiting for the old Duke's inheritance, he had risenagainst him in open rebellion. Dragging him from his bed at midnight inthe depth of winter, he had compelled the old man, with no covering buthis night gear, to walk with naked feet twenty-five miles over ice andsnow from Grave to Buren, while he himself performed the same journey inhis company on horseback. He had then thrown him into a dungeon beneaththe tower of Buren castle, and kept him a close prisoner for six months. 

 [Memoires de Philippe de Comines (Loud. Et Paris, 1747), liv. Iv. 194-196. In the Royal Gallery at Berlin is a startling picture by Rembrandt, in which the old Duke is represented looking out of the bars of his dungeon at his son, who is threatening him with uplifted hand and savage face. No subject could be imagined better adapted to the gloomy and sarcastic genius of that painter. ]

At last, the Duke of Burgundy summoned the two before his council, andproposed that Adolphus should allow his father 6000 florins annually, with the title of Duke till his death. "He told us, " said Comines, "thathe would sooner throw the old man head-foremost down a well and jump inhimself afterwards. His father had been Duke forty-four years, and it wastime for him to retire. " Adolphus being thus intractable, had been keptin prison till after the death of Charles the Bold. To the memorableinsurrection of Ghent, in the time of the Lady Mary, he owed his liberty. The insurgent citizens took him from prison, and caused him to lead themin their foray against Tournay. Beneath the walls of that city he wasslain, and buried under its cathedral. And now as if his offence had notbeen sufficiently atoned for by the loss of his ancestral honors, hiscaptivity, and his death, the earth, after the lapse of nearly a century, had cast him forth from her bosom. There, once more beneath the sunlight, amid a ribald crew of a later generation which had still preserved thememory of his sin, lay the body of the more than parricide, whom"excellent spices" had thus preserved from corruption, only to be themark of scorn and demoniac laughter. 

A large assemblage of rioters, growing in numbers as they advanced, sweptover the province of Tournay, after accomplishing the sack of the citychurches. Armed with halberds, hammers, and pitchforks, they carried onthe war, day after day, against the images. At the convent ofMarchiennes, considered by contemporaries the most beautiful abbey in allthe Netherlands, they halted to sing the ten commandments in Marot'sverse. Hardly had the vast chorus finished the precept against gravenimages;

 Taiiler ne to feras imaige De quelque chose que ce soit, Sy bonneur luy fail on hommaige, Bon Dieu jalousie en recoit, when the whole mob seemed seized with sudden madness. Without waiting tocomplete the Psalm, they fastened upon the company of marble martyrs, asif they had possessed sensibility to feel the blows inflicted. In an hourthey had laid the whole in ruins. 

Having accomplished this deed, they swept on towards Anchin. Here, however, they were confronted by the Seigneur de la Tour, who, at thehead of a small company of peasants, attacked the marauders and gained acomplete victory. Five or six hundred of them were slain, others weredrowned in the river and adjacent swamps, the rest were dispersed. It wasthus proved that a little more spirit upon the part of the orderlyportion of the inhabitants, might have brought about a different resultthan the universal image-breaking. 

In Valenciennes, "the tragedy, " as an eye-witness calls it, was performedupon Saint Bartholomew's day. It was, however, only a tragedy of statues. Hardly as many senseless stones were victims as there were to be livingHuguenots sacrificed in a single city upon a Bartholomew which was fastapproaching. In the Valenciennes massacre, not a human being was injured. 

Such in general outline and in certain individual details, was thecelebrated iconomachy of the Netherlands. The movement was a suddenexplosion of popular revenge against the symbols of that Church fromwhich the Reformers had been enduring such terrible persecution. It wasalso an expression of the general sympathy for the doctrines which hadtaken possession of the national heart. It was the depravation of thatinstinct which had in the beginning of the summer drawn Calvinists andLutherans forth in armed bodies, twenty thousand strong, to worship Godin the open fields. The difference between the two phenomena was, thatthe field-preaching was a crime committed by the whole mass of theReformers; men, women, and children confronting the penalties of death, by a general determination, while the imagebreaking was the act of asmall portion of the populace. A hundred persons belonging to the lowestorder of society sufficed for the desecration of the Antwerp churches. Itwas, said Orange, "a mere handful of rabble" who did the deed. SirRichard Clough saw ten or twelve persons entirely sack church afterchurch, while ten thousand spectators looked on, indifferent orhorror-struck. The bands of iconoclasts were of the lowest character, andfew in number. Perhaps the largest assemblage was that which ravaged theprovince of Tournay, but this was so weak as to be entirely routed by asmall and determined force. The duty of repression devolved upon bothCatholics and Protestants. Neither party stirred. All seemed overcomewith special wonder as the tempest swept over the land. 

The ministers of the Reformed religion, and the chiefs of the liberalparty, all denounced the image-breaking. Francis Junius bitterlyregretted such excesses. Ambrose Wille, pure of all participation in thecrime, stood up before ten thousand Reformers at Tournay--even while thestorm was raging in the neighboring cities, and, when many voices aroundhim were hoarsely commanding similar depravities to rebuke the outragesby which a sacred cause was disgraced. The Prince of Orange, in hisprivate letters, deplored the riots, and stigmatized the perpetrators. Even Brederode, while, as Suzerain of his city of Viane, he ordered theimages there to be quietly taken from the churches, characterized thispopular insurrection as insensate and flagitious. Many of the leadingconfederates not only were offended with the proceedings, but, in theireagerness to chastise the iconoclasts and to escape from a league ofwhich they were weary, began to take severe measures against theMinisters and Reformers, of whom they had constituted themselves in Aprilthe especial protectors. 

The next remarkable characteristic of these tumults was the almost entireabstinence of the rioters from personal outrage and from pillage. Thetestimony of a very bitter, but honest Catholic at Valenciennes, isremarkable upon this point. "Certain chroniclers, " said he, "have greatlymistaken the character of this image-breaking. It has been said that theCalvinists killed a hundred priests in this city, cutting some of theminto pieces, and burning others over a slow fire. I remember very wellevery thing which happened upon that abominable day, and I can affirmthat not a single priest was injured. The Huguenots took good care not toinjure in any way the living images. " This was the case every where. Catholic and Protestant writers agree that no deeds of violence werecommitted against man or woman. 

It would be also very easy to accumulate a vast weight of testimony as totheir forbearance from robbery. They destroyed for destruction's sake, not for purposes of plunder. 

Although belonging to the lowest classes of society, they left heaps ofjewellery, of gold and silver plate, of costly embroidery, lying unheededupon the ground. They felt instinctively that a great passion would becontaminated by admixture with paltry motives. In Flanders a company ofrioters hanged one of their own number for stealing articles to the valueof five Shillings. In Valenciennes the iconoclasts were offered largesums if they would refrain from desecrating the churches of that city, but they rejected the proposal with disdain. The honest Catholic burgherwho recorded the fact, observed that he did so because of the manymisrepresentations on the subject, not because he wished to flatterheresy and rebellion. 

At Tournay, the greatest scrupulousness was observed upon this point. Thefloor of the cathedral was strewn with "pearls and precious stones, withchalices and reliquaries of silver and gold;" but the ministers of thereformed religion, in company with the magistrates, came to the spot, andfound no difficulty, although utterly without power to prevent the storm, in taking quiet possession of the wreck. "We had every thing of value, "says Procureur-General De la Barre, "carefully inventoried, weighed, locked in chests, and placed under a strict guard in the prison of theHalle, to which one set of keys were given to the ministers, and anotherto the magistrates. " Who will dare to censure in very severe languagethis havoc among stocks and stones in a land where so many living men andwomen, of more value than many statues, had been slaughtered by theinquisition, and where Alva's "Blood Tribunal" was so soon to eclipseeven that terrible institution in the number of its victims and theamount of its confiscations?

Yet the effect of the riots was destined to be most disastrous for a timeto the reforming party. It furnished plausible excuses for many lukewarmfriends of their cause to withdraw from all connection with it. Egmontdenounced the proceedings as highly flagitious, and busied himself withpunishing the criminals in Flanders. The Regent was beside herself withindignation and terror. Philip, when he heard the news, fell into aparoxysm of frenzy. "It shall cost them dear!" he cried, as he tore hisbeard for rage; "it shall cost them dear! I swear it by the soul of myfather!" The Reformation in the Netherlands, by the fury of thesefanatics, was thus made apparently to abandon the high ground upon whichit had stood in the early summer. The sublime spectacle of themultitudinous field-preaching was sullied by the excesses of theimage-breaking. The religious war, before imminent, became inevitable. 

Nevertheless, the first effect of the tumults was a temporary advantageto the Reformers. A great concession was extorted from the fears of theDuchess Regent, who was certainly placed in a terrible position. Herconduct was not heroic, although she might be forgiven for trepidation. Her treachery, however, under these trying circumstances was less venial. At three o'clock in the morning of the 22nd of August, Orange, Egmont, Horn, Hoogatraaten, Mansfeld, and others were summoned to the palace. They found her already equipped for flight, surrounded by herwaiting-women, chamberlains and lackeys, while the mules and hackneysstood harnessed in the court-yard, and her body-guard were prepared tomount at a moment's notice. She announced her intention of retreating atonce to Mons, in which city, owing to Aerschot's care, she hoped to findrefuge against the fury of the rebellion then sweeping the country. Heralarm was almost beyond control. She was certain that the storm was readyto burst upon Brussels, and that every Catholic was about to be massacredbefore her eyes. Aremberg, Berlaymont, and Noircarmes were with theDuchess when the other seigniors arrived. 

A part of the Duke of Aerschot's company had been ordered out to escortthe projected flight to Mons. Orange, Horn, Egmont, and Hoogstraatenimplored her to desist from her fatal resolution. They represented thatsuch a retreat before a mob would be the very means of ruining thecountry. They denounced all persons who had counselled the scheme, asenemies of his Majesty and herself. They protested their readiness to dieat her feet in her defence, but besought her not to abandon the post ofduty in the hour of peril. While they were thus anxiously debating, Viglius entered the chamber. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Margaret turned to the aged President, uttering fierce reproaches anddesponding lamentations. Viglius brought the news that the citizens hadtaken possession of the gates, and were resolved not to permit herdeparture from the city. He reminded her, according to the indispensablepractice of all wise counsellors, that he had been constantly predictingthis result. He, however, failed in administering much consolation, or insuggesting any remedy. He was, in truth, in as great a panic as herself, and it was, according to the statement of the Duchess, mainly in order tosave the President from threatened danger, that she eventually resolvedto make concessions. "Viglius, " wrote Margaret to Philip, "is so muchafraid of being cut to pieces, that his timidity has become incredible. "Upon the warm assurance of Count Horn, that he would enable her to escapefrom the city, should it become necessary, or would perish in theattempt, a promise in which he was seconded by the rest of the seigniors, she consented to remain for the day in her palace. --Mansfeld wasappointed captain-general of the city; Egmont, Horn, Orange, and theothers agreed to serve under his orders, and all went down together tothe townhouse. The magistrates were summoned, a general meeting of thecitizens was convened, and the announcement made of Mansfeld'sappointment, together with an earnest appeal to all honest men to supportthe Government. The appeal was answered by a shout of unanimousapprobation, an enthusiastic promise to live or die with the Regent, andthe expression of a resolution to permit neither reformed preaching norimage-breaking within the city. 

Nevertheless, at seven o'clock in the evening, the Duchess again sent forthe seigniors. She informed them that she had received fresh and certaininformation, that the churches were to be sacked that very night; thatViglius, Berlaymont, and Aremberg were to be killed, and that herself andEgmont were to be taken prisoners. She repeated many times that she hadbeen ill-advised, expressed bitter regret at having deferred her flightfrom the city, and called upon those who had obstructed her plan, now tofulfil their promises. Turning fiercely upon Count Horn, she uttered avolley of reproaches upon his share in the transaction. "You are thecause, " said she, "that I am now in this position. Why do you not redeemyour pledge and enable me to leave the place at once. " Horn replied thathe was ready to do so if she were resolved to stay no longer. He would atthe instant cut his way through the guard at the Caudenberg gate, andbring her out in safety, or die in the effort. At the same time heassured her that he gave no faith to the idle reports flying about thecity, reminded her that nobles, magistrates, and citizens were united inher defence, and in brief used the, same arguments which had before beenused to pacify her alarm. The nobles were again successful in enforcingtheir counsels, the Duchess was spared the ignominy and the disaster of aretreat before an insurrection which was only directed against statues, and the ecclesiastical treasures of Brussels were saved from sacrilege. 

On the 25th August came the crowning act of what the Reformers consideredtheir most complete triumph, and the Regent her deepest degradation. Itwas found necessary under the alarming aspect of affairs, that liberty ofworship, in places where it had been already established, should beaccorded to the new religion. Articles of agreement to this effect wereaccordingly drawn up and exchanged between the Government and Lewis ofNassau, attended by fifteen others of the confederacy. A correspondingpledge was signed by them, that so long as the Regent was true to herengagement, they would consider their previously existing leagueannulled, and would assist cordially in every endeavor to maintaintranquillity and support the authority of his Majesty. The importantAccord was then duly signed by the Duchess. It declared that theinquisition was abolished, that his Majesty would soon issue a newgeneral edict, expressly and unequivocally protecting the nobles againstall evil consequences from past transactions, that they were to beemployed in the royal service, and that public preaching according to theforms of the new religion was to be practised in places where it hadalready taken place. Letters general were immediately despatched to thesenates of all the cities, proclaiming these articles of agreement andordering their execution. Thus for a fleeting moment there was a thrillof joy throughout the Netherlands. The inquisition was thought foreverabolished, the era of religious reformation arrived. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 All denounced the image-breaking Anxiety to do nothing wrong, the senators did nothing at all Before morning they had sacked thirty churches Bigotry which was the prevailing characteristic of the age Enriched generation after generation by wealthy penitence Fifty thousand persons in the provinces (put to death) Furious fanaticism Lutheran princes of Germany, detested the doctrines of Geneva Monasteries, burned their invaluable libraries No qualities whatever but birth and audacity to recommend him Notre Dame at Antwerp Persons who discussed religious matters were to be put to death Premature zeal was prejudicial to the cause Purchased absolution for crime and smoothed a pathway to heaven Rearing gorgeous temples where paupers are to kneel Schism which existed in the general Reformed Church Storm by which all these treasures were destroyed (in 7 days) The noblest and richest temple of the Netherlands was a wreck Tyrannical spirit of Calvinism Would not help to burn fifty or sixty thousand Netherlanders

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, 1555-1566, Complete:

 A pleasantry called voluntary contributions or benevolences A country disinherited by nature of its rights Absolution for incest was afforded at thirty-six livres Achieved the greatness to which they had not been born Advancing age diminished his tendency to other carnal pleasures Affecting to discredit them All offices were sold to the highest bidder All denounced the image-breaking All his disciples and converts are to be punished with death All reading of the scriptures (forbidden) Altercation between Luther and Erasmus, upon predestination An hereditary papacy, a perpetual pope-emperor An inspiring and delightful recreation (auto-da-fe) Announced his approaching marriage with the Virgin Mary Annual harvest of iniquity by which his revenue was increased Anxiety to do nothing wrong, the senators did nothing at all Arrested on suspicion, tortured till confession As ready as papists, with age, fagot, and excommunication Attacking the authority of the pope Attempting to swim in two waters Batavian legion was the imperial body guard Beating the Netherlanders into Christianity Before morning they had sacked thirty churches Bigotry which was the prevailing characteristic of the age Bishop is a consecrated pirate Bold reformer had only a new dogma in place of the old ones Brethren, parents, and children, having wives in common Burned alive if they objected to transubstantiation Burned, strangled, beheaded, or buried alive (100, 000) Charles the Fifth autocrat of half the world Condemning all heretics to death Consign to the flames all prisoners whatever (Papal letter) Courage of despair inflamed the French Craft meaning, simply, strength Criminal whose guilt had been established by the hot iron Criminals buying Paradise for money Crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs Decrees for burning, strangling, and burying alive Democratic instincts of the ancient German savages Denies the utility of prayers for the dead Despot by birth and inclination (Charles V. ) Difference between liberties and liberty Dispute between Luther and Zwingli concerning the real presence Dissimulation and delay Divine right Drank of the water in which, he had washed Endure every hardship but hunger English Puritans Enormous wealth (of the Church) which engendered the hatred Enriched generation after generation by wealthy penitence Erasmus encourages the bold friar Erasmus of Rotterdam Even for the rape of God's mother, if that were possible Excited with the appearance of a gem of true philosophy Executions of Huss and Jerome of Prague Fable of divine right is invented to sanction the system Felix Mants, the anabaptist, is drowned at Zurich Few, even prelates were very dutiful to the pope Fiction of apostolic authority to bind and loose Fifty thousand persons in the provinces (put to death) Fishermen and river raftsmen become ocean adventurers For myself I am unworthy of the honor (of martyrdom) For women to lament, for men to remember Forbids all private assemblies for devotion Force clerical--the power of clerks Furious fanaticism Gallant and ill-fated Lamoral Egmont Gaul derided the Roman soldiers as a band of pigmies German finds himself sober--he believes himself ill Govern under the appearance of obeying Great science of political equilibrium Great Privilege, the Magna Charta of Holland Guarantees of forgiveness for every imaginable sin Habeas corpus Halcyon days of ban, book and candle He knew men, especially he knew their weaknesses He did his best to be friends with all the world Heresy was a plant of early growth in the Netherlands His imagination may have assisted his memory in the task History shows how feeble are barriers of paper Holland, England, and America, are all links of one chain I would carry the wood to burn my own son withal In Holland, the clergy had neither influence nor seats Informer, in case of conviction, should be entitled to one half Inquisition of the Netherlands is much more pitiless Inquisition was not a fit subject for a compromise Insinuating suspicions when unable to furnish evidence Invented such Christian formulas as these (a curse) Inventing long speeches for historical characters July 1st, two Augustine monks were burned at Brussels King of Zion to be pinched to death with red-hot tongs Labored under the disadvantage of never having existed Learn to tremble as little at priestcraft as at swordcraft Let us fool these poor creatures to their heart's content Licences accorded by the crown to carry slaves to America Little grievances would sometimes inflame more than vast Long succession of so many illustrious obscure Look through the cloud of dissimulation Lutheran princes of Germany, detested the doctrines of Geneva Made to swing to and fro over a slow fire Maintaining the attitude of an injured but forgiving Christian Man had only natural wrongs (No natural rights) Many greedy priests, of lower rank, had turned shop-keepers Monasteries, burned their invaluable libraries More accustomed to do well than to speak well No one can testify but a householder No calumny was too senseless to be invented No law but the law of the longest purse No qualities whatever but birth and audacity to recommend him Not of the stuff of which martyrs are made (Erasmus) Notre Dame at Antwerp Nowhere was the persecution of heretics more relentless Obstinate, of both sexes, to be burned Often much tyranny in democracy One golden grain of wit into a sheet of infinite platitude Orator was, however, delighted with his own performance Others go to battle, says the historian, these go to war Panegyrists of royal houses in the sixteenth century Pardon for murder, if not by poison, was cheaper Pardon for crimes already committed, or about to be committed Paying their passage through, purgatory Perpetually dropping small innuendos like pebbles Persons who discussed religious matters were to be put to death Petty passion for contemptible details Philip, who did not often say a great deal in a few words Planted the inquisition in the Netherlands Poisoning, for example, was absolved for eleven ducats Pope and emperor maintain both positions with equal logic Power to read and write helped the clergy to much wealth Premature zeal was prejudicial to the cause Procrastination was always his first refuge Promises which he knew to be binding only upon the weak Purchased absolution for crime and smoothed a pathway to heaven Rashness alternating with hesitation Readiness to strike and bleed at any moment in her cause Rearing gorgeous temples where paupers are to kneel Repentant females to be buried alive Repentant males to be executed with the sword Revocable benefices or feuds Ruinous honors Sale of absolutions was the source of large fortunes to the priests Same conjury over ignorant baron and cowardly hind Scaffold was the sole refuge from the rack Schism which existed in the general Reformed Church Scoffing at the ceremonies and sacraments of the Church Secret drowning was substituted for public burning Sharpened the punishment for reading the scriptures in private Slavery was both voluntary and compulsory Soldier of the cross was free upon his return Sonnets of Petrarch Sovereignty was heaven-born, anointed of God St. Peter's dome rising a little nearer to the clouds St. Bartholomew was to sleep for seven years longer Storm by which all these treasures were destroyed (in 7 days) Tanchelyn Taxation upon sin Ten thousand two hundred and twenty individuals were burned That vile and mischievous animal called the people The noblest and richest temple of the Netherlands was a wreck The Gaul was singularly unchaste The vivifying becomes afterwards the dissolving principle The bad Duke of Burgundy, Philip surnamed "the Good, " The egg had been laid by Erasmus, hatched by Luther These human victims, chained and burning at the stake They had at last burned one more preacher alive Thousands of burned heretics had not made a single convert Thus Hand-werpen, hand-throwing, became Antwerp To think it capable of error, is the most devilish heresy of all To prefer poverty to the wealth attendant upon trade Torquemada's administration (of the inquisition) Tranquillity of despotism to the turbulence of freedom Two witnesses sent him to the stake, one witness to the rack Tyrannical spirit of Calvinism Understood the art of managing men, particularly his superiors Upon one day twenty-eight master cooks were dismissed Villagers, or villeins We believe our mothers to have been honest women When the abbot has dice in his pocket, the convent will play William of Nassau, Prince of Orange Wiser simply to satisfy himself Would not help to burn fifty or sixty thousand Netherlanders

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, 1566-1574, CompleteTHE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY1855

VOLUME 2, Book 1. , 15661566 [CHAPTER VIII. ]

 Secret policy of the government--Berghen and Montigny in Spain-- Debates at Segovia--Correspondence of the Duchess with Philip-- Procrastination and dissimulation of the King--Secret communication to the Pope--Effect in the provinces of the King's letters to the government--Secret instructions to the Duchess--Desponding statements of Margaret--Her misrepresentations concerning Orange, Egmont, and others--Wrath and duplicity of Philip--Egmont's exertions in Flanders--Orange returns to Antwerp--His tolerant spirit--Agreement of 2d September--Horn at Tournay--Excavations in the Cathedral--Almost universal attendance at the preaching-- Building of temples commenced--Difficult position of Horn--Preaching in the Clothiers' Hall--Horn recalled--Noircarmes at Tournay-- Friendly correspondence of Margaret with Orange, Egmont, Horn, and Hoogstraaten--Her secret defamation of these persons. 

Egmont in Flanders, Orange at Antwerp, Horn at Tournay; Hoogstraaten atMechlin, were exerting themselves to suppress insurrection and to avertruin. What, meanwhile, was the policy of the government? The secretcourse pursued both at Brussels and at Madrid may be condensed into theusual formula--dissimulation, procrastination, and again dissimulation. 

It is at this point necessary to take a rapid survey of the open and thesecret proceedings of the King and his representatives from the moment atwhich Berghen and Montigny arrived in Madrid. Those ill-fated gentlemenhad been received with apparent cordiality, and admitted to frequent, butunmeaning, interviews with his Majesty. The current upon which they wereembarked was deep and treacherous, but it was smooth and very slow. Theyassured the King that his letters, ordering the rigorous execution of theinquisition and edicts, had engendered all the evils under which theprovinces were laboring. They told him that Spaniards and tools ofSpaniards had attempted to govern the country, to the exclusion of nativecitizens and nobles, but that it would soon be found that Netherlanderswere not to be trodden upon like the abject inhabitants of Milan, Naples, and Sicily. Such words as these struck with an unaccustomed sound uponthe royal ear, but the envoys, who were both Catholic and loyal, had noidea, in thus expressing their opinions, according to their sense ofduty, and in obedience to the King's desire, upon the causes of thediscontent, that they were committing an act of high treason. 

When the news of the public preaching reached Spain, there were almostdaily consultations at the grove of Segovia. The eminent personages whocomposed the royal council were the Duke of Alva, the Count de Feria, DonAntonio de Toledo, Don Juan Manrique de Lara, Ruy Gomez, Quixada, Councillor Tisnacq, recently appointed President of the State Council, and Councillor Hopper. Six Spaniards and two Netherlanders, one of whom, too, a man of dull intellect and thoroughly subservient character, todeal with the local affairs of the Netherlands in a time of intenseexcitement! The instructions of the envoys had been to represent thenecessity of according three great points--abolition of the inquisition, moderation of the edicts, according to the draft prepared in Brussels, and an ample pardon for past transactions. There was much debate upon allthese propositions. Philip said little, but he listened attentively tothe long discourses in council, and he took an incredible quantity ofnotes. It was the general opinion that this last demand on the part ofthe Netherlanders was the fourth link in the chain of treason. The firsthad been the cabal by which Granvelle had been expelled; the second, themission of Egmont, the main object of which had been to procure amodification of the state council, in order to bring that body under thecontrol of a few haughty and rebellious nobles; the third had been thepresentation of the insolent and seditious Request; and now, to crown thewhole, came a proposition embodying the three points--abolition of theinquisition, revocation of the edicts, and a pardon to criminals, forwhom death was the only sufficient punishment. 

With regard to these three points, it was, after much wrangling, decidedto grant them under certain restrictions. To abolish the inquisitionwould be to remove the only instrument by which the Church had beenaccustomed to regulate the consciences and the doctrines of its subjects. It would be equivalent to a concession of religious freedom, at least toindividuals within their own domiciles, than which no concession could bemore pernicious. Nevertheless, it might be advisable to permit thetemporary cessation of the papal inquisition, now that the episcopalinquisition had been so much enlarged and strengthened in theNetherlands, on the condition that this branch of the institution shouldbe maintained in energetic condition. With regard to the Moderation, itwas thought better to defer that matter till, the proposed visit of hisMajesty to the provinces. If, however, the Regent should think itabsolutely necessary to make a change, she must cause a new draft to bemade, as that which had been sent was not found admissible. Touching thepardon general, it would be necessary to make many conditions andrestrictions before it could be granted. Provided these were sufficientlyminute to exclude all persons whom it might be found desirable tochastise, the amnesty was possible. Otherwise it was quite out of thequestion. 

Meantime, Margaret of Parma had been urging her brother to come to adecision, painting the distracted condition of the country in theliveliest colors, and insisting, although perfectly aware of Philip'sprivate sentiments, upon a favorable decision as to the three pointsdemanded by the envoys. Especially she urged her incapacity to resist anyrebellion, and demanded succor of men and money in case the "Moderation"were not accepted by his Majesty. 

It was the last day of July before the King wrote at all, to communicatehis decisions upon the crisis which had occurred in the first week ofApril. The disorder for which he had finally prepared a prescription had, before his letter arrived, already passed through its subsequent stagesof the field-preaching and the image-breaking. Of course these freshsymptoms would require much consultation, pondering, and note-takingbefore they could be dealt with. In the mean time they would beconsidered as not yet having happened. This was the masterlyprocrastination of the sovereign, when his provinces were in a blaze. 

His masterly dissimulation was employed in the direction suggested by hiscouncillors. Philip never originated a thought, nor laid down a plan, buthe was ever true to the falsehood of his nature, and was indefatigable infollowing out the suggestions of others. No greater mistake can be madethan to ascribe talent to this plodding and pedantic monarch. The man'sintellect was contemptible, but malignity and duplicity, almostsuperhuman; have effectually lifted his character out of the regions ofthe common-place. He wrote accordingly to say that the pardon, undercertain conditions, might be granted, and that the papal inquisitionmight cease--the bishops now being present in such numbers, "to take careof their flocks, " and the episcopal inquisition being, thereforeestablished upon so secure a basis. He added, that if a moderation of theedicts were still desired, a new project might be sent to Madrid, as theone brought by Berghen and Montigny was not satisfactory. In arrangingthis wonderful scheme for composing the tumults of the country, which hadgrown out of a determined rebellion to the inquisition in any form, hefollowed not only the advice, but adopted the exact language of hiscouncillors. 

Certainly, here was not much encouragement for patriotic hearts in theNetherlands. A pardon, so restricted that none were likely to be forgivensave those who had done no wrong; an episcopal inquisition stimulated torenewed exertions, on the ground that the papal functionaries were to bedischarged; and a promise that, although the proposed Moderation of theedicts seemed too mild for the monarch's acceptance, yet at some futureperiod another project would be matured for settling the matter touniversal satisfaction--such were the propositions of the Crown. Nevertheless, Philip thought he had gone too far, even in administeringthis meagre amount of mercy, and that he had been too frank in employingso slender a deception, as in the scheme thus sketched. He thereforesummoned a notary, before whom, in presence of the Duke of Alva, theLicentiate Menchaca and Dr. Velasco, he declared that, although he hadjust authorized Margaret of Parma, by force of circumstances, to grantpardon to all those who had been compromised in the late disturbances ofthe Netherlands, yet as he had not done this spontaneously nor freely, hedid not consider himself bound by the authorization, but that, on thecontrary, he reserved his right to punish all the guilty, andparticularly those who had been the authors and encouragers of thesedition. 

So much for the pardon promised in his official correspondence. 

With regard to the concessions, which he supposed himself to have made inthe matter of the inquisition and the edicts, he saved his conscience byanother process. Revoking with his right hand all which his left had beendoing, he had no sooner despatched his letters to the Duchess Regent thanhe sent off another to his envoy at Rome. In this despatch he instructedRequesens to inform the Pope as to the recent royal decisions upon thethree points, and to state that there had not been time to consult hisHoliness beforehand. Nevertheless, continued Philip "the prudent, " it wasperhaps better thus, since the abolition could have no force, unless thePope, by whom the institution had been established, consented to itssuspension. This matter, however, was to be kept a profound secret. Somuch for the inquisition matter. The papal institution, notwithstandingthe official letters, was to exist, unless the Pope chose to destroy it;and his Holiness, as we have seen, had sent the Archbishop of Sorrento, afew weeks before, to Brussels, for the purpose of concerting secretmeasures for strengthening the "Holy Office" in the provinces. 

With regard to the proposed moderation of the edicts, Philip informedPius the Fifth, through Requesens, that the project sent by the Duchessnot having been approved, orders had been transmitted for a new draft, inwhich all the articles providing for the severe punishment of hereticswere to be retained, while alterations, to be agreed upon by the stateand privy councils, and the knights of the Fleece, were to beadopted--certainly in no sense of clemency. On the contrary, the Kingassured his Holiness, that if the severity of chastisement should bemitigated the least in the world by the new articles, they would in nocase receive the royal approbation. Philip further implored the Pope "notto be scandalized" with regard to the proposed pardon, as it would be byno means extended to offenders against religion. All this was to be keptentirely secret. The King added, that rather than permit the leastprejudice to the ancient religion, he would sacrifice all his states, andlose a hundred lives if he had so many; for he would never consent to bethe sovereign of heretics. He said he would arrange the troubles of theNetherlands, without violence, if possible, because forcible measureswould cause the entire destruction of the country. Nevertheless theyshould be employed, if his purpose could be accomplished in no other way. In that case the King would himself be the executor of his own design, without allowing the peril which he should incur, nor the ruin of theprovinces, nor that of his other realms, to prevent him from doing allwhich a Christian prince was bound to do, to maintain the Catholicreligion and the authority of the Holy See, as well as to testify hispersonal regard for the reigning pontiff, whom he so much loved andesteemed. 

Here was plain speaking. Here were all the coming horrors distinctlyforeshadowed. Here was the truth told to the only being with whom Philipever was sincere. Yet even on this occasion, he permitted himself afalsehood by which his Holiness was not deceived. Philip had no intentionof going to the Netherlands in person, and the Pope knew that he hadnone. "I feel it in my bones, " said Granvelle, mournfully, "that nobodyin Rome believes in his Majesty's journey to the provinces. " From thattime forward, however, the King began to promise this visit, which washeld out as a panacea for every ill, and made to serve as an excuse forconstant delay. 

It may well be supposed that if Philip's secret policy had beenthoroughly understood in the Netherlands, the outbreak would have comesooner. On the receipt, however, of the public despatches from Madrid, the administration in Brussels made great efforts to represent theirtenor as highly satisfactory. The papal inquisition was to be abolished, a pardon was to be granted, a new moderation was to be arranged at someindefinite period; what more would men have? Yet without seeing the faceof the cards, the people suspected the real truth, and Orange wasconvinced of it. Viglius wrote that if the King did not make his intendedvisit soon, he would come too late, and that every week more harm wasdone by procrastination than could be repaired by months of labor andperhaps by torrents of blood. What the precise process was, through whichPhilip was to cure all disorders by his simple presence, the Presidentdid not explain. 

As for the measures propounded by the King after so long a delay, theywere of course worse than useless; for events had been marching while hehad been musing. The course suggested was, according to Viglius, but "aplaster for a wound, but a drag-chain for the wheel. " He urged that theconvocation of the states-general was the only remedy for the perils inwhich the country was involved; unless the King should come in person. Hehowever expressed the hope that by general consultation some means wouldbe devised by which, if not a good, at least a less desperate aspectwould be given to public affairs, "so that the commonwealth, if fall itmust, might at least fall upon its feet like a cat, and break its legsrather than its neck. "

Notwithstanding this highly figurative view of the subject; andnotwithstanding the urgent representations of Duchess Margaret to herbrother, that nobles and people were all clamoring about the necessity ofconvening the states general, Philip was true to his instincts on this ason the other questions. He knew very well that the states-general of theNetherlands and Spanish despotism were incompatible ideas, and herecoiled from the idea of the assembly with infinite aversion. At thesame time a little wholesome deception could do no harm. He wrote to theDuchess, therefore, that he was determined never to allow thestates-general to be convened. He forbade her to consent to the stepunder any circumstances, but ordered her to keep his prohibition aprofound secret. He wished, he said, the people to think that it was onlyfor the moment that the convocation was forbidden, and that the Duchesswas expecting to receive the necessary permission at another time. It washis desire, he distinctly stated, that the people should not despair ofobtaining the assembly, but he was resolved never to consent to the step, for he knew very well what was meant by a meeting of the States-general. Certainly after so ingenuous but secret a declaration from the discipleof Macchiavelli, Margaret might well consider the arguments to be usedafterward by herself and others, in favor of the ardently desiredmeasure, as quite superfluous. 

Such then was the policy secretly resolved upon by Philip; even before heheard of the startling events which were afterwards to break upon him. Hewould maintain the inquisition and the edicts; he would exterminate theheretics, even if he lost all his realms and his own life in the cause;he would never hear of the national representatives coming together. Whatthen were likely to be his emotions when he should be told of twentythousand armed heretics assembling at one spot, and fifteen thousand atanother, in almost every town in every province, to practice theirblasphemous rites; when he should be told of the whirlwind which hadswept all the ecclesiastical accumulations of ages out of existence; whenhe should read Margaret's despairing letters, in which she acknowledgedthat she had at last committed an act unworthy of God, of her King, andof herself, in permitting liberty of worship to the renegades from theancient church!

The account given by the Duchess was in truth very dismal. She said thatgrief consumed her soul and crimson suffused her cheeks while she relatedthe recent transactions. She took God to witness that she had resistedlong, that she had past many sleepless nights, that she had been wastedwith fever and grief. After this penitential preface she confessed that, being a prisoner and almost besieged in her palace, sick in body andsoul, she had promised pardon and security to the confederates, withliberty of holding assemblies to heretics in places where the practicehad already obtained. These concessions had been made valid until theKing by and with the consent of the states-general, should definitelyarrange the matter. She stated, however, that she had given her consentto these two demands, not in the royal name, but in her own. The King wasnot bound by her promise, and she expreesed the hope that he would haveno regard to any such obligation. She further implored her brother tocome forth as soon as possibe to avenge the injuries inflicted upon theancient church, adding, that if deprived of that consolation, she shouldincontinently depart this life. That hope alone would prevent her death. 

This was certainly strong language. She was also very explicit in herrepresentations of the influence which had been used by certainpersonages to prevent the exercise of any authority upon her own part. "Wherefore, " said Margaret, "I eat my heart; and shall never have peacetill the arrival of your Majesty. "

There was no doubt who those personages were who, as it was pretended, had thus held the Duchess in bondage, and compelled her to grant theseinfamous concessions. In her secret Italian letters, she furnished theKing with a tissue of most extravagant and improbable falsehoods, supplied to her mainly by Noircarmes and Mansfeld, as to the coursepursued at this momentous crisis by Orange, Egmont, Horn, andHoogstraaten. They had all, she said, declared against God and againstreligion. --Horn, at least, was for killing all the priests and monks inthe country, if full satisfaction were not given to the demands of theheretics. Egmont had declared openly for the beggars, and was levyingtroops in Germany. Orange had the firm intention of making himself masterof the whole country, and of dividing it among the other seigniors andhimself. The Prince had said that if she took refuge in Mons, as she hadproposed, they would instantly convoke the states-general, and take allnecessary measures. Egmont had held the same language, saying that hewould march at the head of forty thousand men to besiege her in thatcity. All these seigniors, however, had avowed their determination toprevent her flight, to assemble the estates, and to drag her by forcebefore the assembly, in order to compel her consent to every measurewhich might be deemed expedient. Under all these circumstances, she hadbeen obliged to defer her retreat, and to make the concessions which hadoverwhelmed her with disgrace. 

With such infamous calumnies, utterly disproved by every fact in thecase, and unsupported by a tittle of evidence, save the hearsay reportsof a man like Noircarmes, did this "woman, nourished at Rome, in whom noone could put confidence, " dig the graves of men who were doing theirbest to serve her. 

Philip's rage at first hearing of the image-breaking has been indicated. He was ill of an intermittent fever at the wood of Segovia when the newsarrived, and it may well be supposed that his wrath at these proceedingswas not likely to assuage his malady. Nevertheless, after the first burstof indignation, he found relief in his usual deception. While slowlymaturing the most tremendous vengeance which anointed monarch everdeliberately wreaked upon his people, he wrote to say, that it was "hisintention to treat his vassals and subjects in the provinces like a goodand clement prince, not to ruin them nor to put them into servitude, butto exercise all humanity, sweetness, and grace, avoiding all harshness. "Such were the avowed intentions of the sovereign towards his people atthe moment when the terrible Alva, who was to be the exponent of all this"humanity, sweetness, and grace, " was already beginning the preparationsfor his famous invasion of the Netherlands. 

The essence of the compact agreed to upon the 23d August between theconfederates and the Regent, was that the preaching of the reformedreligion should be tolerated in places where it had previously to thatdate been established. Upon this basis Egmont, Horn, Orange, Hoogstraaten, and others, were directed once more to attempt thepacification of the different provinces. 

Egmont departed for his government of Flanders, and from that momentvanished all his pretensions, which at best had been, slender enough, tothe character of a national chieftain. During the whole of the year hiscourse had been changeful. He had felt the influence of Orange; he hadgenerous instincts; he had much vanity; he had the pride of high rank;which did not easily brook the domination of strangers, in a land whichhe considered himself and his compeers entitled by their birth to rule. At this juncture, however, particularly when in the company ofNoircarmes, Berlaymont, and Viglius, he expressed, notwithstanding theircalumnious misstatements, the deepest detestation of the heretics. He wasa fervent Catholic, and he regarded the image-breaking as an unpardonable crime. "We must take up arms, " said he, "sooner or later, to bringthese Reformers to reason, or they will end by laying down the law forus. " On the other hand, his anger would be often appeased by the gravebut gracious remonstrances of Orange. During a part of the summer, theReformers had been so strong in Flanders that upon a single day sixtythousand armed men had been assembled at the different field-preachingswithin that province. "All they needed was a Jacquemart, or a Philip vanArtevelde, " says a Catholic, contemporary, "but they would have scornedto march under the banner of a brewer; having dared to raise their eyesfor a chief, to the most illustrious warrior of his ages. " No doubt, hadEgmont ever listened to these aspirations, he might have taken the fieldagainst the government with an invincible force, seized the capital, imprisoned the Regent, and mastered the whole country, which was entirelydefenceless, before Philip would have had time to write more than tendespatches upon the subject. 

These hopes of the Reformers, if hopes they could be called, were nowdestined to be most bitterly disappointed. Egmont entered Flanders, notas a chief of rebels--not as a wise pacificator, but as an unscrupulouspartisan of government, disposed to take summary vengeance on allsuspected persons who should fall in his way. He ordered numerousexecutions of image-breakers and of other heretics. The whole provincewas in a state of alarm; for, although he had not been furnished by theRegent with a strong body of troops, yet the name of the conqueror atSaint Quentin and Gravelines was worth many regiments. His severity wasexcessive. His sanguinary exertions were ably seconded also by hissecretary Bakkerzeel, a man who exercised the greatest influence over hischief, and who was now fiercely atoning for having signed the Compromiseby persecuting those whom that league had been formed to protect. "Amidall the perplexities of the Duchess Regent, " Says a Walloon historian, "this virtuous princess was consoled by the exploits of Bakkerzeel, gentleman in Count Egmont's service. On one occasion he hanged twentyheretics, including a minister, at a single heat. "

Such achievements as these by the hands or the orders of thedistinguished general who had been most absurdly held up as a possibleprotector of the civil and religious liberties of the country, createdprofound sensation. Flanders and Artois were filled with the wives andchildren of suspected I thousands who had fled the country to escape thewrath of Egmont. The cries and piteous lamentations of these unfortunatecreatures were heard on every side. Count Louis was earnestly implored tointercede for the persecuted Reformers. "You who have been so noblygifted by Heaven, you who have good will and singular bounty written uponyour face, " said Utenhove to Louis, "have the power to save these poorvictims from the throats of the ravenous wolves. " The Count responded tothe appeal, and strove to soften the severity of Egmont, without, however, producing any very signal effect. Flanders was soon pacified, nor was that important province permitted to enjoy the benefits of theagreement which had been extorted, from the Duchess. The preachings wereforbidden, and the ministers and congregations arrested and chastised, even in places where the custom had been established previously to the23d August. Certainly such vigorous exertions upon the part both ofmaster and man did not savor of treason to Philip, and hardly seemed toindicate the final doom of Egmont and Bakkerzeel. 

The course of Orange at Antwerp was consistent with his whole career. Hehonestly came to arrange a pacification, but he knew that this end couldbe gained only by loyally maintaining the Accord which had been signedbetween the confederates and the Regent. He came back to the city on the26th August, and found order partially re-established. The burghershaving at last become thoroughly alarmed, and the fury of theimage-breakers entirely appeased, it had been comparatively easy torestore tranquillity. The tranquillity, however, rather restored itself, and when the calm had succeeded to the tempest, the placid heads of theburgomasters once, more emerged from the waves. 

Three image-breakers, who had been taken in the act, were hanged by orderof the magistrates upon the 28th of August. The presence of Orange gavethem courage to achieve these executions which he could not prevent, asthe fifth article of the Accord enjoined the chastisement of the rioters. The magistrates chose that the "chastisement" on this occasion should beexemplary, and it was not in the power of Orange to interfere with theregular government of the city when acting according to its laws. Thedeed was not his, however, and he hastened, in order to obviate thenecessity of further violence, to prepare articles of agreement, upon thebasis of Margaret's concessions. Public preaching, according to theReformed religion, had already taken place within the city. Upon the 22d, possession had been taken of at least three churches. The senate haddeputed pensionary Wesenbeck to expostulate with the ministers, for themagistrates were at that moment not able to command. Taffin, the Walloonpreacher, had been tractable, and had agreed to postpone his exercises. He furthermore had accompanied the pensionary to the cathedral, in orderto persuade Herman Modet that it would be better for him likewise todefer his intended ministrations. They had found that eloquent enthusiastalready in the great church, burning with impatience to ascend upon theruins, and quite unable to resist the temptation of setting a Flemishpsalm and preaching a Flemish sermon within the walls which had for somany centuries been vocal only to the Roman tongue and the Roman ritual. All that he would concede to the entreaties of his colleague and of themagistrate, was that his sermon should be short. In this, however, he hadoverrated his powers of retention, for the sermon not only became a longone, but he had preached another upon the afternoon of the same day. Thecity of Antwerp, therefore, was clearly within the seventh clause of thetreaty of the 24th August, for preaching had taken place in thecathedral, previously to the signing of that Accord. 

Upon the 2d September, therefore, after many protracted interview withthe heads of the Reformed religion, the Prince drew up sixteen articlesof agreement between them, the magistrates and the government, which wereduly signed and exchanged. They were conceived in the true spirit ofstatesmanship, and could the rulers of the land have elevated themselvesto the mental height of William de Nassau, had Philip been able ofcomprehending such a mind, the Prince, who alone possessed the power inthose distracted times of governing the wills of all men, would haveenabled the monarch to transmit that beautiful cluster of provinces, without the lose of a single jewel, to the inheritors of his crown. 

If the Prince were playing a game, he played it honorably. To haveconceived the thought of religious toleration in an age of universaldogmatism; to have labored to produce mutual respect among conflictingopinions, at a period when many Dissenters were as bigoted as theorthodox, and when most Reformers fiercely proclaimed not liberty forevery Christian doctrine, but only a new creed in place of all therest, --to have admitted the possibility of several roads, to heaven, whenzealots of all creeds would shut up all pathways but their own; if suchsentiments and purposes were sins, they would have been ill-exchanged forthe best virtues of the age. Yet, no doubt, this was his crying offencein the opinion of many contemporaries. He was now becoming apostate fromthe ancient Church, but he had long thought that Emperors, Kings, andPopes had taken altogether too much care of men's souls in times past, and had sent too many of them prematurely to their great account. He wasequally indisposed to grant full-powers for the same purpose toCalvinists, Lutherans, or Anabaptists. "He censured the severity of ourtheologians, " said a Catholic contemporary, accumulating all thereligious offences of the Prince in a single paragraph, "because theykeep strictly the constitutions of the Church without conceding a singlepoint to their adversaries; he blamed the Calvinists as seditious andunruly people, yet nevertheless had a horror for the imperial edictswhich condemned them to death; he said it was a cruel thing to take aman's life for sustaining an erroneous opinion; in short, he fantasied inhis imagination a kind of religion, half Catholic, half Reformed, inorder to content all persons; a system which would have been adoptedcould he have had his way. " This picture, drawn by one of his mostbrilliant and bitter enemies, excites our admiration while intended toinspire aversion. 

The articles of agreement at Antwerp thus promulgated assigned threechurches to the different sects of reformers, stipulated that no attemptshould be made by Catholics or Protestants to disturb the religiousworship of each other, and provided that neither by mutual taunts intheir sermons, nor by singing street ballads, together with improperallusions and overt acts of hostility, should the good-fellowship whichought to reign between brethren and fellow-citizens, even althoughentertaining different opinions as to religious rites and doctrines, befor the future interrupted. 

This was the basis upon which the very brief religious peace, brokenalmost as soon as established, was concluded by William of Orange, notonly at Antwerp, but at Utrecht, Amsterdam, and other principal citieswithin his government. The Prince, however, notwithstanding his unweariedexertions, had slender hopes of a peaceful result. He felt that the laststep taken by the Reformation had been off a precipice. He liked not suchrapid progress. He knew that the King would never forgive theimage-breaking. He felt that he would never recognize the Accord of the24th August. Sir Thomas Gresham, who, as the representative of theProtestant Queen of England in the great commercial metropolis of Europe, was fully conversant with the turn things were taking, was alreadyadvising some other place for the sale of English commodities. He gavenotice to his government that commerce would have no security at Antwerp"in those brabbling times. " He was on confidential terms with the Prince, who invited him to dine upon the 4th September, and caused pensionaryWesenbeck, who was also present, to read aloud the agreement which wasthat day to be proclaimed at the town-house. Orange expressed himself, however, very doubtfully as to the future prospects of the provinces, andas to the probable temper of the King. "In all his talke, " says Gresham, "the Prince aside unto me, 'I know this will nothing contente the King!'"

While Egmont had been, thus busied in Flanders, and Orange at Antwerp, Count Horn had been doing his best in the important city of Tournay. TheAdmiral was not especially gifted with intellect, nor with the power ofmanaging men, but he went there with an honest purpose of seeing theAccord executed, intending, if it should prove practicable, rather tofavor the Government than the Reformers. At the same time, for thepurpose of giving satisfaction to the members of "the religion, " and ofmanifesting his sincere desire for a pacification, he accepted lodgingswhich had been prepared for him at the house of a Calvinist merchant inthe city, rather, than, take up his quarters with fierce old governorMoulbais, in the citadel. This gave much offence to the Catholics; andinspired the Reformers, with the hope of having their preaching insidethe town. To this privilege they were entitled, for the practice hadalready been established there, previously to the 24th October. Nevertheless, at first he was disposed to limit them, in accordance withthe wishes of the Duchess, to extra-mural exercises. 

Upon his arrival, by a somewhat ominous conjuncture, he had supped withsome of the leading citizens in the hall of the "gehenna" or tortureroom, certainly not a locality calculated to inspire a healthy appetite. On the following Sunday he had been entertained with a great banquet, atwhich all the principal burghers were present, held in a house on themarket-place. The festivities had been interrupted by a quarrel, whichhad been taking place in the cathedral. Beneath the vaults of thatedifice, tradition said that a vast treasure was hidden, and the canonshad been known to boast that this buried wealth would be sufficient torebuild their temple more magnificently than ever, in case of its totaldestruction. The Admiral had accordingly placed a strong guard in thechurch as soon as he arrived, and commenced very extensive excavations insearch of this imaginary mine. The Regent informed her brother that theCount was prosecuting this work with the view of appropriating whatevermight be found to his own benefit. As she knew that he was a ruined man, there seemed no more satisfactory mode of accounting for theseproceedings. Horn had, however, expressly stated to her that every pennywhich should come into his possession from that or any other source wouldcarefully be restored to the rightful owners. Nothing of consequence wasever found to justify the golden legends of the monks, but in the meantime the money-diggers gave great offence. The canons, naturally alarmedfor the safety of their fabulous treasure, had forced the guard, bysurreptitiously obtaining the countersign from a certain official of thetown. A quarrel ensued which ended in the appearance of this personage, together with the commander of the military force on guard in thecathedral, before the banqueting company. The Count, in the rough wayhabitual with him, gave the culprit a sound rebuke for his intermeddling, and threatened, in case the offence were repeated, to have him instantlybound, gagged, and forwarded to Brussels for further punishment. Thematter thus satisfactorily adjusted, the banquet proceeded, the merchantspresent being all delighted at seeing the said official, who wasexceedingly, unpopular, "so well huffed by the Count. " The excavationswere continued for along time, until there seemed danger of destroyingthe foundation of the church, but only a few bits of money werediscovered, with some other articles of small value. 

Horn had taken his apartments in the city in order to be at hand tosuppress any tumults, and to inspire confidence in the people. He hadcome to a city where five sixths of the inhabitants--were of the reformedreligion, and he did not, therefore, think it judicious to attemptviolently the suppression of their worship. Upon his arrival he hadissued a proclamation, ordering that all property which might have beenpillaged from the religious houses should be instantly restored to themagistracy, under penalty that all who disobeyed the command should "beforthwith strangled at the gibbet. " Nothing was brought back, however, for the simple reason that nothing had been stolen. There was, therefore, no one to be strangled. 

The next step was to publish the Accord of 24th August, and to signifythe intention of the Admiral to enforce its observance. The preachingswere as enthusiastically attended as ever, while the storm which had beenraging among the images had in the mean time been entirely allayed. Congregations of fifteen thousand were still going to hear Ambrose Willein the suburbs, but they were very tranquil in their demeanor. It wasarranged between the Admiral and the leaders of the reformedconsistories, that three places, to be selected by Horn, should beassigned for their places of worship. At these spots, which were outsidethe walls, permission was given the Reformers to build meeting-houses. Tothis arrangement the Duchess formally gave her consent. 

Nicholas Taffin; councillor, in the name of the Reformers, made "a braveand elegant harangue" before the magistrates, representing that, as onthe most moderate computation, three quarters of the population weredissenters, as the Regent had ordered the construction of the newtemples, and as the Catholics retained possession of all the churches inthe city, it was no more than fair that the community should bear theexpense of the new buildings. It was indignantly replied, however, thatCatholics could not be expected to pay for the maintenance of heresy, particularly when they had just been so much exasperated by theimage-breaking Councillor Taffin took nothing, therefore by his "braveand elegant harangue, " saving a small vote of forty livres. 

The building was, however, immediately commenced. Many nobles and richcitizens contributed to the work; some making donations in money; othersgiving quantities of oaks, poplars, elms, and other timber trees, to beused in the construction. The foundation of the first temple outside thePorts de Cocquerel was immediately laid. Vast heaps of broken images andother ornaments of the desecrated churches were most unwisely used forthis purpose, and the Catholics were exceedingly enraged at beholdingthose male and female saints, who had for centuries been placed in such"reverend and elevated positions, " fallen so low as to be thefoundation-stones of temples whose builders denounced all those holythings as idols. 

As the autumn began to wane, the people were clamorous for permission tohave their preaching inside the city. The new buildings could not befinished before the winter; but in the mean time the camp-meetings werebecoming, in the stormy seasons fast approaching, a very inconvenientmode of worship. On the other hand, the Duchess was furious at theproposition, and commanded Horn on no account to consent that theinterior of Tournay should be profaned by these heretical rites. It wasin vain that the Admiral represented the justice of the claim, as theseexercises had taken place in several of the city churches previously tothe Accord of the 24th of August. 

That agreement had been made by the Duchess only to be broken. She hadalready received money and the permission to make levies, and was fastassuming a tone very different from the abject demeanor which hadcharacterized her in August. Count Horn had been used even as Egmont, Orange and Hoogstraaten had been employed, in order that their personalinfluence with the Reformers might be turned to account. The tools andthe work accomplished by them were to be thrown away at the mostconvenient opportunity. 

The Admiral was placed in a most intolerable position. An honest, common-place, sullen kind of man, he had come to a city full of heretics, to enforce concessions just made by the government to heresy. He soonfound himself watched, paltered with, suspected by the administration atBrussels. Governor Moulbais in the citadel, who was nominally under hisauthority, refused obedience to his orders, was evidently receivingsecret instructions from the Regent, and was determined to cannonade thecity into submission at a very early day. Horn required him to pledgehimself that no fresh troops should enter the castle. Moulbais swore hewould make no such promise to a living soul. The Admiral stormed with hisusual violence, expressed his regret that his brother Montigny had so bada lieutenant in the citadel, but could make no impression upon thedetermined veteran, who knew, better than Horn, the game which waspreparing. Small reinforcements were daily arriving at the castle; thesoldiers of the garrison had been heard to boast "that they would sooncarve and eat the townsmen's flesh on their dressers, " and all the goodeffect from the Admiral's proclamation on arriving, had completelyvanished. 

Horn complained bitterly of the situation in which he was placed. He knewhimself the mark of incessant and calumnious misrepresentation both atBrussels and Madrid. He had been doing his best, at a momentous crisis, to serve the government without violating its engagements, but hedeclared himself to be neither theologian nor jurist, and incapable, while suspected and unassisted, of performing a task which the mostlearned doctors of the council would find impracticable. He would rather, he bitterly exclaimed, endure a siege in any fortress by the Turks, thanbe placed in such a position. He was doing all that he was capable ofdoing, yet whatever he did was wrong. There was a great difference, hesaid, between being in a place and talking about it at a distance. 

In the middle of October he was recalled by the Duchess, whose lettershad been uniformly so ambiguous that he confessed he was quite unable todivine their meaning. Before he left the city, he committed his mostunpardonable crime. Urged by the leaders of the reformed congregations topermit their exercises in the Clothiers' Hall until their temples shouldbe finished, the Count accorded his consent provisionally, and subject torevocation by the Regent, to whom the arrangement was immediately to becommunicated. 

Horn departed, and the Reformers took instant possession of the hall. Itwas found in a very dirty and disorderly condition, encumbered withbenches, scaffoldings, stakes, gibbets, and all the machinery used forpublic executions upon the market-place. A vast body of men went to workwith a will; scrubbing, cleaning, whitewashing, and removing all the foullumber of the hall; singing in chorus, as they did so, the hymns ofClement Marot. By dinner-time the place was ready. The pulpit and benchesfor the congregation had taken the place of the gibbet timber. It isdifficult to comprehend that such work as this was a deadly crime. Nevertheless, Horn, who was himself a sincere Catholic, had committed themost mortal of all his offences against Philip and against God, by havingcountenanced so flagitious a transaction. 

The Admiral went to Brussels. Secretary de la Torre, a very second-ratepersonage, was despatched to Tournay to convey the orders of the Regent. Governor Moulbais, now in charge of affairs both civil and military, wasto prepare all things for the garrison, which was soon to be despatchedunder Noircarmes. The Duchess had now arms in her hands, and her languagewas bold. La Torre advised the Reformers to be wise "while the rod wasyet green and growing, lest it should be gathered for their backs; for itwas unbecoming is subjects to make bargains with their King. " There washardly any decent pretext used in violating the Accord of the 24thAugust, so soon as the government was strong enough to break it. It wasalways said that the preachings suppressed, had not been establishedpreviously to that arrangement; but the preachings had in realityobtained almost every where, and were now universally abolished. Theridiculous quibble was also used that, in the preachings other religiousexercises were not included, whereas it was notorious that they had neverbeen separated. It is, however, a gratuitous task, to unravel thedeceptions of tyranny when it hardly deigns to disguise itself. Thedissimulations which have resisted the influence of centuries are moreworthy of serious investigation, and of these the epoch offers us asufficient supply. 

At the close of the year, the city of Tournay was completely subjugatedand the reformed religion suppressed. Upon the 2nd day of January, 1567, the Seignior de Noircarmes arrived before the gates at the head of elevencompanies, with orders from Duchess Margaret to strengthen the garrisonand disarm the citizens. He gave the magistrates exactly one hour and ahalf to decide whether they would submit without a murmur. He expressedan intention of maintaining the Accord of 24th August; a ridiculousaffectation under the circumstances, as the event proved. The notableswere summoned, submission agreed upon, and within the prescribed time themagistrates came before Noircarmes, with an unconditional acceptance ofhis terms. That truculent personage told them, in reply, that they haddone wisely, for if they had delayed receiving the garrison a minutelonger, he would have instantly burned the city to ashes and put everyone of the inhabitants to the sword. He had been fully authorized to doso, and subsequent events were to show, upon more than one dreadfuloccasion, how capable Noircarmes would have been of fulfilling thismenace. 

The soldiers, who had made a forced march all night, and who had beenfirmly persuaded that the city would refuse the terms demanded, wereexcessively disappointed at being obliged to forego the sack and pillageupon which they had reckoned. Eight or nine hundred rascally peasants, too, who had followed in the skirts of the regiments, each provided witha great empty bag, which they expected to fill with booty which theymight purchase of the soldiers, or steal in the midst of the expectedcarnage and rapine, shared the discontent of the soldiery, by whom theywere now driven ignominiously out of the town. 

The citizens were immediately disarmed. All the fine weapons which theyhad been obliged to purchase at their own expense, when they had beenarranged by the magistrates under eight banners, for defence of the cityagainst tumult and invasion, were taken from them; the most beautifulcutlasses, carbines, poniards, and pistols, being divided by Noircarmesamong his officers. Thus Tournay was tranquillized. 

During the whole of these proceedings in Flanders, and at Antwerp, Tournay, and Mechlin, the conduct of the Duchess had been marked withmore than her usual treachery. She had been disavowing acts which the menupon whom she relied in her utmost need had been doing by her authority;she had been affecting to praise their conduct, while she was secretlymisrepresenting their actions and maligning their motives, and she hadbeen straining every nerve to make foreign levies, while attempting toamuse the confederates and sectaries with an affectation of clemency. 

When Orange complained that she had been censuring his proceedings atAntwerp, and holding language unfavorable to his character, she protestedthat she thoroughly approved his arrangements--excepting only the twopoints of the intramural preachings and the permission to heretics ofother exercises than sermons--and that if she were displeased with him hemight be sure that she would rather tell him so than speak ill of himbehind his back. The Prince, who had been compelled by necessity, andfully authorized by the terms of the "Accord", to grant those two pointswhich were the vital matter in his arrangements, answered very calmly, that he was not so frivolous as to believe in her having used language tohis discredit had he not been quite certain of the fact, as he would soonprove by evidence. Orange was not the man to be deceived as to theposition in which he stood, nor as to the character of those with whom hedealt. Margaret wrote, however, in the same vein concerning him toHoogstmaten, affirming that nothing could be further from her intentionthan to characterize the proceedings of "her cousin, the Prince ofOrange, as contrary to the service of his Majesty; knowing, as she did, how constant had been his affection, and how diligent his actions, in thecause of God and the King. "

She also sent councillor d'Assonleville on a special mission to thePrince, instructing that smooth personage to inform her said cousin ofOrange that he was and always had been "loved and cherished by hisMajesty, and that for herself she had ever loved him like a brother or achild. "

She wrote to Horn, approving of his conduct in the main, although inobscure terms, and expressing great confidence in his zeal, loyalty, andgood intentions. She accorded the same praise to Hoogstraaten, while asto Egmont she was perpetually reproaching him for the suspicions which heseemed obstinately to entertain as to her disposition and that of Philip, in regard to his conduct and character. 

It has already been partly seen what were her private sentiments andsecret representations as to the career of the distinguished personagesthus encouraged and commended. Her pictures were painted in dailydarkening colors. She told her brother that Orange, Egmont, and Horn wereabout to place themselves at the head of the confederates, who were totake up arms and had been levying troops; that the Lutheran religion wasto be forcibly established, that the whole power of the government was tobe placed in the triumvirate thus created by those seigniors, and thatPhilip was in reality to be excluded entirely from those provinces whichwere his ancient patrimony. All this information she had obtained fromMansfeld, at whom the nobles were constantly sneering as at a faithfulvalet who would never receive his wages. 

She also informed the King that the scheme for dividing the country wasalready arranged: that Augustus of Saxony was to have Friesland andOveryssel; Count Brederode, Holland; the Dukes of Cleves and Lorraine, Gueldres; the King of France, Flanders, Artois, and Hainault, of whichterritories Egmont was to be perpetual stadholder; the Prince of Orange, Brabant; and so on indefinitely. A general massacre of all the Catholicshad been arranged by Orange, Horn, and Egmont, to commence as soon as theKing should put his foot on shipboard to come to the country. This lastremarkable fact Margaret reported to Philip, upon the respectableauthority of Noircarmes. 

She apologized for having employed the service of these nobles, on theground of necessity. Their proceedings in Flanders, at Antwerp, Tournay, Mechlin, had been highly reprehensible, and she had been obliged todisavow them in the most important particulars. As for Egmont, she hadmost unwillingly entrusted forces to his hands for the purpose of puttingdown the Flemish sectaries. She had been afraid to show a want ofconfidence in his character, but at the same time she believed that allsoldiers under Egmont's orders would be so many enemies to the king. Notwithstanding his protestations of fidelity to the ancient religion andto his Majesty, she feared that he was busied with some great plotagainst God and the King. When we remember the ruthless manner in whichthe unfortunate Count had actually been raging against the sectaries, andthe sanguinary proofs which he had been giving of his fidelity to "Godand the King, " it seems almost incredible that Margaret could havewritten down all these monstrous assertions. 

The Duchess gave, moreover, repeated warnings to her brother, that thenobles were in the habit of obtaining possession of all thecorrespondence between Madrid and Brussels; and that they spent a vastdeal of money in order to read her own and Philip's most private letters. She warned him therefore, to be upon his guard, for she believed thatalmost all their despatches were read. Such being the cases and the tenorof those documents being what we have seen it to be, her complaints as tothe incredulity of those seigniors to her affectionate protestations, seem quite wonderful. 

CHAPTER IX. , Part 1. , 1566

 Position of Orange--The interview at Dendermonde--The supposititious letters of Alava--Views of Egmont--Isolation of Orange--Conduct of Egmont and of Horn--Confederacy, of the nobles dissolved--Weak behavior of prominent personages----Watchfulness of Orange-- Convocation of States General demanded--Pamphlet of Orange--City of Valenciennes refuses a garrison--Influence of La Grange and De Bray --City, declared in a state of siege--Invested by Noircarmes-- Movements to relieve the place--Calvinists defeated at Lannoy and at Waterlots--Elation of the government--The siege pressed more closely--Cruelties practised upon the country people--Courage of the inhabitants--Remonstrance to the Knights of the Fleece--Conduct of Brederode--Orange at Amsterdam--New Oath demanded by Government-- Orange refuses--He offers his resignation of all offices--Meeting at Breda--New "Request" of Brederode--He creates disturbances and levies troops in Antwerp--Conduct of Hoogstraaten--Plans of Brederode--Supposed connivance of Orange--Alarm at Brussels-- Tholouse at Ostrawell--Brederode in Holland--De Beauvoir defeats Tholouse--Excitement at Antwerp--Determined conduct of Orange--Three days' tumult at Antwerp suppressed by the wisdom and courage of Orange. 

It is necessary to allude to certain important events contemporaneouswith those recorded in the last chapter, that the reader may thoroughlyunderstand the position of the leading personages in this great drama atthe close of the year 1566. 

The Prince of Orange had, as we have seen, bean exerting all his energiesfaithfully to accomplish the pacification of the commercial metropolis, upon the basis assented to beforehand by the Duchess. He had establisheda temporary religious peace, by which alone at that crisis the gatheringtempest could be averted; but he had permitted the law to take its courseupon certain rioters, who had been regularly condemned by courts ofjustice. He had worked day and night--notwithstanding immense obstacles, calumnious misstatements, and conflicting opinions--to restore order outof chaos; he had freely imperilled his own life--dashing into atumultuous mob on one occasion, wounding several with the halberd whichhe snatched from one of his guard, and dispersing almost with his singlearm a dangerous and threatening insurrection--and he had remained inAntwerp, at the pressing solicitations of the magistracy, who representedthat the lives of not a single ecclesiastic would be safe as soon as hisback was turned, and that all the merchants would forthwith depart fromthe city. It was nevertheless necessary that he should make a personalvisit to his government of Holland, where similar disorders had beenprevailing, and where men of all ranks and parties were clamoring fortheir stadholder. 

Notwithstanding all his exertions however, he was thoroughly aware of theposition in which he stood towards the government. The sugared phrases ofMargaret, the deliberate commendation of the "benign and debonair"Philip, produced no effect upon this statesman, who was accustomed tolook through and through men's actions to the core of their hearts. Inthe hearts of Philip and Margaret he already saw treachery and revengeindelibly imprinted. He had been especially indignant at the insult whichthe Duchess Regent had put upon him, by sending Duke Eric of Brunswickwith an armed force into Holland in order to protect Gouda, Woerden, andother places within the Prince's own government. He was thoroughlyconversant with the general tone in which the other seigniors and himselfwere described to their sovereign. He, was already convinced that thecountry was to be conquered by foreign mercenaries, and that his ownlife, with these of many other nobles, was to be sacrificed. The momenthad arrived in which he was justified in looking about him for means ofdefence, both for himself and his country, if the King should be soinsane as to carry out the purposes which the Prince suspected. The timewas fast approaching in which a statesman placed upon such an elevationbefore the world as that which he occupied, would be obliged to choosehis part for life. To be the unscrupulous tool of tyranny, a rebel, or anexile, was his necessary fate. To a man so prone to read the future, themoment for his choice seemed already arrived. Moreover, he thought itdoubtful, and events were most signally to justify his doubts, whether hecould be accepted as the instrument of despotism, even were he inclinedto prostitute himself to such service. At this point, therefore, undoubtedly began the treasonable thoughts of William the Silent, if itbe treason to attempt the protection of ancient and chartered libertiesagainst a foreign oppressor. He despatched a private envoy to Egmont, representing the grave suspicions manifested by the Duchess in sendingDuke Eric into Holland, and proposing that means should be taken intoconsideration for obviating the dangers with which the country wasmenaced. Catholics as well as Protestants, he intimated, were to becrushed in one universal conquest as soon as Philip had completed theformidable preparations which he was making for invading the provinces. For himself, he said, he would not remain in the land to witness theutter desolation of the people, nor to fall an unresisting victim to thevengeance which he foresaw. If, however, he might rely upon theco-operation of Egmont and Horn, he was willing, with the advice of thestates-general, to risk preparations against the armed invasion ofSpaniards by which the country was to be reduced to slavery. It wasincumbent, however, upon men placed as they were, "not to let the grassgrow under their feet;" and the moment for action was fast approaching. 

This was the scheme which Orange was willing to attempt. To make use ofhis own influence and that of his friends, to interpose between asovereign insane with bigotry, and a people in a state of religiousfrenzy, to resist brutal violence if need should be by force, and tocompel the sovereign to respect the charters which he had sworn tomaintain, and which were far more ancient than his sovereignty; so muchof treason did William of Orange already contemplate, for in no other waycould he be loyal to his country and his own honor. 

Nothing came of this secret embassy, for Egmont's heart and fate werealready fixed. Before Orange departed, however; for the north, where hispresence in the Dutch provinces was now imperatively required, amemorable interview took place at Dendermonde between Orange, Horn, Egmont, Hoogstraaten, and Count Louis. The nature of this conference wasprobably similar to that of the secret mission from Orange to Egmont justrecorded. It was not a long consultation. The gentlemen met at eleveno'clock, and conversed until dinner was ready, which was between twelveand one in the afternoon. They discussed the contents of a letterrecently received by Horn from his brother Montigny at Segovia, giving alively picture of Philip's fury at the recent events in the Netherlands, and expressing the Baron's own astonishment and indignation that it hadbeen impossible for the seigniors to prevent such outrages as the publicpreaching, the image-breaking and the Accord. They had also someconversation concerning the dissatisfaction manifested by the Duchess atthe proceedings of Count Horn at Tournay, and they read a very remarkableletter which had been furnished them, as having been written by theSpanish envoy in Paris, Don Francis of Alava, to Margaret of Parma. Thisletter was forged. At least the Regent, in her Italian correspondence, asserted it to be fictitious, and in those secret letters to Philip sheusually told the truth. The astuteness of William of Orange had in thisinstance been deceived. The striking fidelity, however, with which thepresent and future policy of the government was sketched, the accuracywith which many unborn events were foreshadowed, together with the minutetouches which gave an air of genuineness to the fictitious despatch, might well deceive even so sagacious an observer as the Prince. 

The letters alluded to the deep and long-settled hostility of Philip toOrange, Horn, and Egmont, as to a fact entirely within the writer'sknowledge, and that of his correspondent, but urged upon the Duchess theassumption of an extraordinary degree of apparent cordiality in herintercourse with them. It was the King's intention to use them and todestroy them, said the writer, and it was the Regent's duty to second thedesign. "The tumults and troubles have not been without their secretconcurrence, " said the supposititious Alava, "and your Highness may restassured that they will be the first upon whom his Majesty will seize, notto confer benefits, but to chastise them as they deserve. Your Highness, however, should show no symptom of displeasure, but should constantlymaintain in their minds the idea that his Majesty considers them as themost faithful of his servants. While they are persuaded of this, they canbe more easily used, but when the time comes, they will be treated inanother manner. Your Highness may rest assured that his Majesty is notless inclined than your Highness that they should receive the punishmentwhich they merit. " The Duchess was furthermore recommended "to deal withthe three seigniors according to the example of the Spanish Governmentsin its intercourse with the envoys, Bergen and Montigny, who are met witha smiling face, but who are closely watched, and who will never bepermitted to leave Spain alive. " The remainder of the letter alludes tosupposed engagements between France and Spain for the extirpation ofheresy, from which allusion to the generally accepted but mistaken notionas to the Bayonne conference, a decided proof seems to be furnished thatthe letter was not genuine. Great complaints, however, are made, as tothe conduct of the Queen Regent, who is described as "a certain lady wellknown to her Highness, and as a person without faith, friendship, ortruth; the most consummate hypocrite in the world. " After givinginstances of the duplicity manifested by Catherine de Medici, the writercontinues: "She sends her little black dwarf to me upon frequent errands, in order that by means of this spy she may worm out my secrets. I am, however, upon my guard, and flatter myself that I learn more from himthan she from me. She shall never be able to boast of having deceived aSpaniard. "

An extract or two from this very celebrated document seemedindispensable, because of the great importance attached to it, both atthe Dendermonde Conference, and at the trials of Egmont and Horn. Thecontemporary writers of Holland had no doubt of its genuineness, and whatis more remarkable, Strada, the historiographer of the Farnese family, after quoting Margaret's denial of the authenticity of the letter, coollyobserves: "Whether this were only an invention of the conspirators, oractually a despatch from Alava, I shall not decide. It is certain, however, that the Duchess declared it to be false. "

Certainly, as we read the epistles, and observe how profoundly the writerseems to have sounded the deep guile of the Spanish Cabinet, and howdistinctly events, then far in the future, are indicated, we are temptedto exclaim: "aut Alava, aut Diabolus;" either the envoy wrote thedespatch, or Orange. Who else could look into the future, and intoPhilip's heart so unerringly?

As the charge has never been made, so far as we are aware, against thePrince, it is superfluous to discuss the amount of immorality whichshould belong to such a deception. A tendency to employ stratagem in hiswarfare against Spain was, no doubt, a blemish upon his--high character. Before he is condemned, however, in the Court of Conscience, theineffable wiles of the policy with which he had to combat must bethoroughly scanned, as well as the pure and lofty purpose for which hislife's long battle was fought. 

There was, doubtless, some conversation at Dendermonde on the proprietyor possibility of forcible resistance to a Spanish army, with which itseemed probable that Philip was about to invade the provinces, and takethe lives of the leading nobles. Count Louis was in favor of makingprovision in Germany for the accomplishment of this purpose. It is alsohighly probable that the Prince may have encouraged the proposition. Inthe sense of his former communication to Egmont, he may have reasoned onthe necessity of making levies to sustain the decisions of thestates-general against violence. There is, however, no proof of any suchfact. Egmont, at any rate, opposed the scheme, on the ground that "it waswrong to entertain any such ill opinion of so good a king as Philip, thathe had never done any thing unjust towards his subjects, and that if anyone was in fear, he had better leave the country. "

Egmont, moreover; doubted the authenticity of the letters from Alava, butagreed to carry them to Brussels, and to lay them before the Regent. Thatlady, when she saw them, warmly assured the Count that they wereinventions. 

The Conference broke up after it had lasted an hour and a half. Thenobles then went to dinner, at which other persons appear to have beenpresent, and the celebrated Dendermonde meeting was brought to a close. After the repast was finished, each of the five nobles mounted his horse, and departed on his separate way. 

From this time forth the position of, these leading seigniors became moresharply defined. Orange was left in almost complete isolation. Withoutthe assistance of Egmont, any effective resistance to the impendinginvasion from Spain seemed out of the question. The Count, however, hadtaken his irrevocable and fatal resolution. After various oscillationsduring the stormy period which had elapsed, his mind, notwithstanding allthe disturbing causes by which it had hitherto been partially influenced, now pointed steadily to the point of loyalty. The guidance of that polestar was to lead him to utter shipwreck. The unfortunate noble, entrenched against all fear of Philip by the brazen wall of an easyconscience; saw no fault in his past at which he should grow pale withapprehension. Moreover, he was sanguine by nature, a Catholic inreligion, a royalist from habit and conviction. Henceforth he wasdetermined that his services to the crown should more than counterbalanceany idle speeches or insolent demonstrations of which he might have beenpreviously guilty. 

Horn pursued a different course, but one which separated him also fromthe Prince, while it led to the same fate which Egmont was blindlypursuing. --The Admiral had committed no act of treason. On the contrary, he had been doing his best, under most difficult circumstances, to avertrebellion and save the interests of a most ungrateful sovereign. He wasnow disposed to wrap himself in his virtue, to retreat from a court life, for which he had never felt a vocation, and to resign all connection witha government by which he felt himself very badly, treated. Moody, wrathful, disappointed, ruined, and calumniated, he would no longer keepterms with King or Duchess. He had griefs of long standing against thewhole of the royal family. He had never forgiven the Emperor for refusinghim, when young, the appointment of chamberlain. He had served Philiplong and faithfully, but he had never received a stiver of salary or"merced, " notwithstanding all his work as state councillor, as admiral, as superintendent in Spain; while his younger brother had long been inreceipt of nine or ten thousand florins yearly. He had spent four hundredthousand florins in the King's service; his estates were mortgaged totheir full value; he had been obliged to sell, his family plate. He haddone his best in Tourney to serve the Duchess, and he had averted the"Sicilian vespers, " which had been imminent at his arrival. He had savedthe Catholics from a general massacre, yet he heard nevertheless fromMontigny, that all his actions were distorted in Spain, and his motivesblackened. His heart no longer inclined him to continue in Philip'sservice, even were he furnished with the means of doing so. He hadinstructed his secretary, Alonzo de la Loo, whom he had despatched manymonths previously to Madrid, that he was no longer to press his master'sclaims for a "merced, " but to signify that he abandoned all demands andresigned all posts. He could turn hermit for the rest of his days, aswell as the Emperor Charles. If he had little, he could live upon little. It was in this sense that he spoke to Margaret of Parma, to Assonleville, to all around him. It was precisely in this strain and temper that hewrote to Philip, indignantly defending his course at Tourney, protestingagainst the tortuous conduct of the Duchess, and bluntly declaring thathe would treat no longer with ladies upon matters which concerned a man'shonor. 

Thus, smarting under a sense of gross injustice, the Admiral expressedhimself in terms which Philip was not likely to forgive. He hadundertaken the pacification of Tournay, because it was Montigny'sgovernment, and he had promised his services whenever they should berequisite. Horn was a loyal and affectionate brother, and it is patheticto find him congratulating Montigny on being, after all, better off inSpain than in the Netherlands. Neither loyalty nor the sincereCatholicism for which Montigny at this period commended Horn in hisprivate letters, could save the two brothers from the doom which was nowfast approaching. 

Thus Horn, blind as Egmont--not being aware that a single step beyondimplicit obedience had created an impassable gulf between Philip andhimself--resolved to meet his destiny in sullen retirement. Not anentirely disinterested man, perhaps, but an honest one, as the worldwent, mediocre in mind, but brave, generous, and direct of purpose, goaded by the shafts of calumny, hunted down by the whole pack whichfawned upon power as it grew more powerful, he now retreated to his"desert, " as he called his ruined home at Weert, where he stood at bay, growling defiance at the Regent, at Philip, at all the world. 

Thus were the two prominent personages upon whose co-operation Orange hadhitherto endeavored to rely, entirely separated from him. The confederacyof nobles, too, was dissolved, having accomplished little, notwithstanding all its noisy demonstrations, and having lost all creditwith the people by the formal cessation of the Compromise in consequenceof the Accord of August. As a body, they had justified the sarcasm ofHubert Languet, that "the confederated nobles had ruined their country bytheir folly and incapacity. " They had profaned a holy cause by indecentorgies, compromised it by seditious demonstrations, abandoned it whenmost in need of assistance. Bakkerzeel had distinguished himself byhanging sectaries in Flanders. "Golden Fleece" de Hammes, after creatinggreat scandal in and about Antwerp, since the Accord, had ended byaccepting an artillery commission in the Emperor's army, together withthree hundred crowns for convoy from Duchess Margaret. Culemburg wasserving the cause of religious freedom by defacing the churches withinhis ancestral domains, pulling down statues, dining in chapels and givingthe holy wafer to his parrot. Nothing could be more stupid than theseacts of irreverence, by which Catholics were offended and honest patriotsdisgusted. Nothing could be more opposed to the sentiments of Orange, whose first principle was abstinence by all denominations of Christiansfrom mutual insults. At the same time, it is somewhat revolting toobserve the indignation with which such offences were regarded by men ofthe most abandoned character. Thus, Armenteros, whose name was synonymouswith government swindling, who had been rolling up money year after year, by peculations, auctioneering of high posts in church and state, bribes, and all kinds of picking and stealing, could not contain his horror as hereferred to wafers eaten by parrots, or "toasted on forks" by renegadepriests; and poured out his emotions on the subject into the faithfulbosom of Antonio Perez, the man with whose debaucheries, politicalvillanies, and deliberate murders all Europe was to ring. 

No doubt there were many individuals in the confederacy for whom it wasreserved to render honorable service in the national cause. The names ofLouis Nassau, Mamix of St. Aldegonde, Bernard de Merode, were to bewritten in golden letters in their country's rolls; but at this momentthey were impatient, inconsiderate, out of the control of Orange. Louiswas anxious for the King to come from Spain with his army, and for "thebear dance to begin. " Brederode, noisy, bawling, and absurd as ever, wasbringing ridicule upon the national cause by his buffoonery, andendangering the whole people by his inadequate yet rebellious exertions. 

What course was the Prince of Orange to adopt? He could find no one tocomprehend his views. He felt certain at the close of the year that thepurpose of the government was fixed. He made no secret of hisdetermination never to lend himself as an instrument for the contemplatedsubjugation of the people. He had repeatedly resigned all his offices. Hewas now determined that the resignation once for all should be accepted. If he used dissimulation, it was because Philip's deception permitted noman to be frank. If the sovereign constantly disavowed all hostilepurposes against his people, and manifested extreme affection for the menwhom he had already doomed to the scaffold, how could the Prince openlydenounce him? It was his duty to save his country and his friends fromimpending ruin. He preserved, therefore, an attitude of watchfulness. Philip, in the depth of his cabinet, was under a constant inspection bythe sleepless Prince. The sovereign assured his sister that herapprehensions about their correspondence was groundless. He always lockedup his papers, and took the key with him. Nevertheless, the key was takenout of his pocket and the papers read. Orange was accustomed to observe, that men of leisure might occupy themselves with philosophical pursuitsand with the secrets of nature, but that it was his business to study thehearts of kings. He knew the man and the woman with whom he had to deal. We have seen enough of the policy secretly pursued by Philip and Margaretto appreciate the accuracy with which the Prince, groping as it were inthe dark, had judged the whole situation. Had his friends taken hiswarnings, they might have lived to render services against tyranny. Hadhe imitated their example of false loyalty, there would have been oneadditional victim, more illustrious than all the rest, and a wholecountry hopelessly enslaved. 

It is by keeping these considerations in view, that we can explain hisconnection with such a man as Brederode. The enterprises of that noble, of Tholouse, and others, and the resistance of Valenciennes, could hardlyhave been prevented even by the opposition of the Prince. But why shouldhe take the field against men who, however rashly or ineffectually, wereendeavoring to oppose tyranny, when he knew himself already proscribedand doomed by the tyrant? Such loyalty he left to Egmont. Till late inthe autumn, he had still believed in the possibility of convoking thestates-general, and of making preparations in Germany to enforce theirdecrees. 

The confederates and sectaries had boasted that they could easily raisean army of sixty thousand men within the provinces, --that twelve hundredthousand florins monthly would be furnished by the rich merchants ofAntwerp, and that it was ridiculous to suppose that the Germanmercenaries enrolled by the Duchess in Saxony, Hesse, and otherProtestant countries, would ever render serious assistance against theadherents of the reformed religion. Without placing much confidence insuch exaggerated statements, the Prince might well be justified inbelieving himself strong enough, if backed by the confederacy, by Egmont, and by his own boundless influence, both at Antwerp and in his owngovernment, to sustain the constituted authorities of the nation evenagainst a Spanish army, and to interpose with legitimate and irresistiblestrength between the insane tyrant and the country which he was preparingto crush. It was the opinion of the best informed Catholics that, ifEgmont should declare for the confederacy, he could take the field withsixty thousand men, and make himself master of the whole country at ablow. In conjunction with Orange, the moral and physical force would havebeen invincible. 

It was therefore not Orange alone, but the Catholics and Protestantsalike, the whole population of the country, and the Duchess Regentherself, who desired the convocation of the estates. NotwithstandingPhilip's deliberate but secret determination never to assemble that body, although the hope was ever to be held out that they should be convened, Margaret had been most importunate that her brother should permit themeasure. "There was less danger, " she felt herself compelled to say, "inassembling than in not assembling the States; it was better to preservethe Catholic religion for a part of the country, than to lose italtogether. " "The more it was delayed, " she said, "the more ruinous anddesperate became the public affairs. If the measure were postponed muchlonger, all Flanders, half Brabant, the whole of Holland, Zeland, Gueldrea, Tournay, Lille, Mechlin, would be lost forever, without achance of ever restoring the ancient religion. " The country, in short, was "without faith, King, or law, " and nothing worse could be apprehendedfrom any deliberation of the states-general. These being the opinions ofthe Duchess, and according to her statement those of nearly all the goodCatholics in the country, it could hardly seem astonishing or treasonablethat the Prince should also be in favor of the measure. 

As the Duchess grew stronger, however, and as the people, aghast at thefate of Tournay and Valenciennes, began to lose courage, she saw lessreason for assembling the states. Orange, on the other hand, completelydeserted by Egmont and Horn, and having little confidence in thecharacters of the ex-confederates, remained comparatively quiescent butwatchful. 

At the close of the year, an important pamphlet from his hand wascirculated, in which his views as to the necessity of allowing somedegree of religious freedom were urged upon the royal government with hisusual sagacity of thought, moderation of language, and modesty in tone. The man who had held the most important civil and military offices in thecountry almost from boyhood, and who was looked up to by friend and foeas the most important personage in the three millions of its inhabitants, apologized for his "presumption" in coming forward publicly with hisadvice. "I would not, " he said, "in matters of such importance, affect tobe wiser or to make greater pretensions than my age or experiencewarrants, yet seeing affairs in such perplexity, I will rather incur therisk of being charged with forwardness than neglect that which I considermy duty. "

This, then, was the attitude of the principal personages in theNetherlands, and the situation of affairs at the end of the eventful year1566, the last year of peace which the men then living or their childrenwere to know. The government, weak at the commencement, was strong at theclose. The confederacy was broken and scattered. The Request, the beggarbanquets, the public preaching, the image-breaking, the Accord of August, had been followed by reaction. Tournay had accepted its garrison. Egmont, completely obedient to the crown, was compelling all the cities ofFlanders and Artois to receive soldiers sufficient to maintain implicitobedience, and to extinguish all heretical demonstrations, so that theRegent was at comparative leisure to effect the reduction ofValenciennes. 

This ancient city, in the province of Hainault, and on the frontier ofFrance, had been founded by the Emperor Valentinian, from whom it hadderived its name. Originally established by him as a city of refuge, ithad received the privilege of affording an asylum to debtors, to outlaws, and even to murderers. This ancient right had been continued, undercertain modifications, even till the period with which we are nowoccupied. Never, however, according to the government, had the right ofasylum, even in the wildest times, been so abused by the city before. What were debtors, robbers, murderers, compared to heretics? yet theseworst enemies of their race swarmed in the rebellious city, practisingeven now the foulest rites of Calvin, and obeying those most pestilentialof all preachers, Guido de Bray, and Peregrine de la Grange. The placewas the hot-bed of heresy and sedition, and it seemed to be agreed, as bycommon accord, that the last struggle for what was called the newreligion, should take place beneath its walls. 

Pleasantly situated in a fertile valley, provided with very strongfortifications and very deep moats, Valenciennes, with the Scheld flowingthrough its centre, and furnishing the means of laying the circumjacentmeadows under water, was considered in those days almost impregnable. Thecity was summoned, almost at the same time as Tournay, to accept agarrison. This demand of government was met by a peremptory refusal. Noircarmes, towards the middle of December, ordered the magistrates tosend a deputation to confer with him at Conde. Pensionary Outremanaccordingly repaired to that neighboring city, accompanied by some of hiscolleagues. This committee was not unfavorable to the demands ofgovernment. The magistracies of the cities, generally, were far fromrebellious; but in the case of Valenciennes the real power at that momentwas with the Calvinist consistory, and the ministers. The deputies, aftertheir return from Conde, summoned the leading members of the reformedreligion, together with the preachers. It was urged that it was theirduty forthwith to use their influence in favor of the demand made by thegovernment upon the city. 

"May I grow mute as a fish!" answered de la Grange, stoutly, "may thetongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, before I persuade my people toaccept a garrison of cruel mercenaries, by whom their rights ofconscience are to be trampled upon!"

Councillor Outreman reasoned with the fiery minister, that if he and hiscolleague were afraid of their own lives, ample provision should be madewith government for their departure under safe conduct. La Grange repliedthat he had no fears for himself, that the Lord would protect those whopreached and those who believed in his holy word, but that He would notforgive them should they now bend their necks to His enemies. 

It was soon very obvious that no arrangement could be made. Themagistrates could exert no authority, the preachers were all-powerful;and the citizens, said a Catholic inhabitant of Valenciennes, "allowedthemselves to be led by their ministers like oxen. " Upon the 17thDecember, 1566, a proclamation was accordingly issued by the DuchessRegent, declaring the city in a state of siege, and all its inhabitantsrebels. The crimes for which this penalty was denounced, were elaboratelyset forth in the edict. Preaching according to the reformed religion hadbeen permitted in two or three churches, the sacrament according to theCalvinistic manner had been publicly administered, together with arenunciation by the communicants of their adhesion to the CatholicChurch, and now a rebellious refusal to receive the garrison sent to themby the Duchess had been added to the list of their iniquities. Foroffences like these the Regent deemed it her duty to forbid allinhabitants of any city, village, or province of the Netherlands holdingcommunication with Valenciennes, buying or selling with its inhabitants, or furnishing them with provisions; on pain of being consideredaccomplices in their rebellion, and as such of being executed with thehalter. 

The city was now invested by Noircarmes with all the troops which couldbe spared. The confederates gave promises of assistance to thebeleaguered citizens, Orange privately encouraged them to holdout intheir legitimate refusal. Brederode and others busied themselves withhostile demonstrations which were destined to remain barren; but in themean time the inhabitants had nothing to rely upon save their own stouthearts and arms. 

At first, the siege was sustained with a light heart. Frequent sallieswere made, smart skirmishes were ventured, in which the Huguenots, on thetestimony of a most bitter Catholic contemporary, conducted themselveswith the bravery of veteran troops, and as if they had done nothing alltheir lives but fight; forays were made upon the monasteries of theneighborhood for the purpose of procuring supplies, and the brokenstatues of the dismantled churches were used to build a bridge across anarm of the river, which was called in derision the Bridge of Idols. Noircarmes and the six officers under him, who were thought to beconducting their operations with languor, were christened the SevenSleepers. Gigantic spectacles, three feet in circumference, were plantedderisively upon the ramparts, in order that the artillery, which it wassaid that the papists of Arras were sending, might be seen, as soon as itshould arrive. Councillor Outreman, who had left the city before thesiege, came into it again, on commission from Noircarmes. He was receivedwith contempt, his proposals on behalf of the government were answeredwith outcries of fury; he was pelted with stones, and was very glad tomake his escape alive. The pulpits thundered with the valiant deeds ofJoshua, Judas Maccabeus, and other bible heroes. The miracles wrought intheir behalf served to encourage the enthusiasm of the people, while themovements making at various points in the neighborhood encouraged a hopeof a general rising throughout the country. 

Those hopes were destined to disappointment. There were large assemblagesmade, to be sure, at two points. Nearly three thousand sectaries had beencollected at Lannoy under Pierre Comaille, who, having been a locksmithand afterwards a Calvinist preacher, was now disposed to try his fortuneas a general. His band was, however, disorderly. Rustics armed withpitchforks, young students and old soldiers out of employment, furnishedwith rusty matchlocks, pikes and halberds, composed his force. A companysimilar in character, and already amounting to some twelve hundred innumber, was collecting at Waterlots. It was hoped that an imposing arraywould soon be assembled, and that the two bands, making a junction, wouldthen march to the relief of Valenciennes. It was boasted that in a veryshort time, thirty thousand men would be in the field. There was even afear of some such result felt by the Catholics. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 1566, the last year of peace Dissenters were as bigoted as the orthodox If he had little, he could live upon little Incur the risk of being charged with forwardness than neglect Not to let the grass grow under their feet

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 13. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY1855

1567 [CHAPTER IX. , Part 2. ]

 Calvinists defeated at Lannoy and at Waterlots--Elation of the government--The siege pressed more closely--Cruelties practised upon the country people--Courage of the inhabitants--Remonstrance to the Knights of the Fleece--Conduct of Brederode--Orange at Amsterdam-- New Oath demanded by Government--Orange refuses--He offers his resignation of all offices--Meeting at Breda--New "Request" of Brederode--He creates disturbances and levies troops in Antwerp-- Conduct of Hoogstraaten--Plans of Brederode--Supposed connivance of Orange--Alarm at Brussels--Tholouse at Ostrawell--Brederode in Holland--De Beauvoir defeats Tholouse--Excitement at Antwerp-- Determined conduct of Orange--Three days' tumult at Antwerp suppressed by the wisdom and courage of Orange. 

It was then that Noircarmes and his "seven sleepers" showed that theywere awake. Early in January, 1567, that fierce soldier, among whosevices slothfulness was certainly never reckoned before or afterwards, fell upon the locksmith's army at Zannoy, while the Seigneur deRassinghem attacked the force at Waterlots on the same day. Noircarmesdestroyed half his enemies at the very first charge. The ill-assortedrabble fell asunder at once. The preacher fought well, but hisundisciplined force fled at the first sight of the enemy. Those whocarried arquebusses threw them down without a single discharge, that theymight run the faster. At least a thousand were soon stretched dead uponthe field; others were hunted into the river. Twenty-six hundred, according to the Catholic accounts, were exterminated in an hour. 

Rassinghem, on his part, with five or six hundred regulars, attackedTeriel's force, numbering at least twice as many. Half of these were sooncut to pieces and put to flight. Six hundred, however, who had seen someservice, took refuge in the cemetery of Waterlots. Here, from behind thestone wall of the inclosure, they sustained the attack of the Catholicswith some spirit. The repose of the dead in the quiet country church-yardwas disturbed by the uproar of a most sanguinary conflict. The temporaryfort was soon carried, and the Huguenots retreated into the church. Arattling arquebusade was poured in upon them as they struggled in thenarrow doorway. At least four hundred corpses were soon strewn among theancient graves. The rest were hunted, into the church, and from thechurch into the belfry. A fire was then made in the steeple and kept uptill all were roasted or suffocated. Not a man escaped. 

This was the issue in the first stricken field in the Netherlands, forthe cause of religious liberty. It must be confessed that it was not veryencouraging to the lovers of freedom. The partisans of government wereelated, in proportion to the apprehension which had been felt for theresult of this rising in the Walloon country. "These good hypocrites, "wrote a correspondent of Orange, "are lifting up their heads like so manydromedaries. They are becoming unmanageable with pride. " The Duke ofAerschot and Count Meghem gave great banquets in Brussels, where all thegood chevaliers drank deep in honor of the victory, and to the health ofhis Majesty and Madame. "I saw Berlaymont just go by the window, " wroteSchwartz to the Prince. "He was coming from Aerschot's dinner with a faceas red as the Cardinal's new hat. "

On the other hand, the citizens of Valenciennes were depressed in equalmeasure with the exultation of their antagonists. There was no more talkof seven sleepers now, no more lunettes stuck upon lances, to spy thecoming forces of the enemy. It was felt that the government was wideawake, and that the city would soon see the impending horrors withouttelescopes. The siege was pressed more closely. Noircarmes took up acommanding position at Saint Armand, by which he was enabled to cut offall communication between the city and the surrounding country. All thevillages in the neighborhood were pillaged; all the fields laid waste. All the infamies which an insolent soldiery can inflict upon helplesspeasantry were daily enacted. Men and women who attempted anycommunication--with the city, were murdered in cold blood by hundreds. The villagers were plundered of their miserable possessions, childrenwere stripped naked in the midst of winter for the sake of the rags whichcovered them; matrons and virgins were sold at public auction by the tapof drum; sick and wounded wretches were burned over slow fires, to affordamusement to the soldiers. In brief, the whole unmitigated curse whichmilitary power inflamed by religious bigotry can embody, had descendedupon the heads of these unfortunate provincials who had dared to worshipGod in Christian churches without a Roman ritual. 

Meantime the city maintained, a stout heart still. The whole populationwere arranged under different banners. The rich and poor alike took armsto defend the walls which sheltered them. The town paupers were enrolledin three companies, which bore the significant title of the "Tons-nulls"or the "Stark-nakeds, " and many was the fierce conflict delivered outsidethe gates by men, who, in the words of a Catholic then in the city, mightrather be taken for "experienced veterans than for burghers andartisans. " At the same time, to the honor of Valenciennes, it must bestated, upon the same incontestable authority, that not a Catholic in thecity was injured or insulted. The priests who had remained there were notallowed to say mass, but they never met with an opprobrious word or lookfrom the people. 

The inhabitants of the city called upon the confederates for assistance. They also issued an address to the Knights of the Fleece; a paper whichnarrated the story of their wrongs in pathetic and startling language. They appealed to those puissant and illustrious chevaliers to prevent theperpetration of the great wrong which was now impending over so manyinnocent heads. "Wait not, " they said, "till the thunderbolt has fallen, till the deluge has overwhelmed us, till the fires already blazing havelaid the land in coals and ashes, till no other course be possible, butto abandon the country in its desolation to foreign barbarity. Let thecause of the oppressed come to your ears. So shall your conscience becomea shield of iron; so shall the happiness of a whole country witnessbefore the angels, of your truth to his Majesty, in the cause of his truegrandeur and glory. "

These stirring appeals to an order of which Philip was chief, Vigliuschancellor, Egmont, Mansfeld, Aerschot, Berlaymont, and others, chevaliers, were not likely to produce much effect. The city could relyupon no assistance in those high quarters. 

Meantime, however, the bold Brederode was attempting a very extensivediversion, which, if successful, would have saved Valenciennes and thewhole country beside. That eccentric personage, during the autumn andwinter had been creating disturbances in various parts of the country. Wherever he happened to be established, there came from the windows ofhis apartments a sound of revelry and uproar. Suspicious characters invarious costumes thronged his door and dogged his footsteps. At the sametime the authorities felt themselves obliged to treat him with respect. At Horn he had entertained many of the leading citizens at a greatbanquet. --The-health-of-the-beggars had been drunk in mighty potations, and their shibboleth had resounded through the house. In the midst of thefestivities, Brederode had suspended a beggar's-medal around the neck ofthe burgomaster, who had consented to be his guest upon that occasion, but who had no intention of enrolling himself in the fraternities ofactual or political mendicants. The excellent magistrate, however, wasnear becoming a member of both. The emblem by which he had beenconspicuously adorned proved very embarrassing to him upon his recoveryfrom the effects of his orgies with the "great beggar, " and he wassubsequently punished for his imprudence by the confiscation of half hisproperty. 

Early in January, Brederode had stationed himself in his city of Viane. There, in virtue of his seignorial rights, he had removed all statues andother popish emblems from the churches, performing the operation, however, with much quietness and decorum. He had also collected manydisorderly men at arms in this city, and had strengthened itsfortifications, to resist, as he said, the threatened attacks of DukeEric of Brunswick and his German mercenaries. A printing-press wasestablished in the place, whence satirical pamphlets, hymn-books, andother pestiferous productions, were constantly issuing to the annoyanceof government. Many lawless and uproarious individuals enjoyed theCount's hospitality. All the dregs and filth of the provinces, accordingto Doctor Viglius, were accumulated at Viane as in a cesspool. Along theplacid banks of the Lech, on which river the city stands, the "hydra ofrebellion" lay ever coiled and threatening. 

Brederode was supposed to be revolving vast schemes, both political andmilitary, and Margaret of Parma was kept in continual apprehension by thebravado of this very noisy conspirator. She called upon William ofOrange, as usual, for assistance. The Prince, however, was veryill-disposed to come to her relief. An extreme disgust for the policy ofthe government already began to, characterize his public language. In theautumn and winter he had done all that man could do for the safety of themonarch's crown, and for the people's happiness. His services in Antwerphave been recorded. As soon as he could tear himself from that city, where the magistrates and all classes of citizens clung to him as totheir only saviour, he had hastened to tranquillize the provinces ofHolland, Zeland, and Utrecht. He had made arrangements in the principalcities there upon the same basis which he had adopted in Antwerp, and towhich Margaret had consented in August. It was quite out of the questionto establish order without permitting the reformers, who constituted muchthe larger portion of the population, to have liberty of religiousexercises at some places, not consecrated, within the cities. 

At Amsterdam, for instance, as he informed the Duchess, there were swarmsof unlearned, barbarous people, mariners and the like, who could by nomeans perceive the propriety of doing their preaching in the opencountry, seeing that the open country, at that season, was quite underwater. --Margaret's gracious suggestion that, perhaps, something might bedone with boats, was also considered inadmissible. "I know not, " saidOrange, "who could have advised your highness to make such aproposition. " He informed her, likewise; that the barbarous mariners hada clear right to their preaching; for the custom had already beenestablished previously to the August treaty, at a place called the"Lastadge, " among the wharves. "In the name of God, then, " wroteMargaret; "let them continue to preach in the Lastadge. " This being allthe barbarians wanted, an Accord, with the full consent of the Regent, was drawn up at Amsterdam and the other northern cities. The Catholicskept churches and cathedrals, but in the winter season, the greater partof the population obtained permission to worship God upon dry land, inwarehouses and dock-yards. 

Within a very few weeks, however, the whole arrangement was coollycancelled by the Duchess, her permission revoked, and peremptoryprohibition of all preaching within or without the walls proclaimed. Thegovernment was growing stronger. Had not Noircarmes and Rassinghem cut topieces three or four thousand of these sectaries marching to battle underparsons, locksmiths, and similar chieftains? Were not all lovers of goodgovernment "erecting their heads like dromedaries?"

It may easily be comprehended that the Prince could not with complacencypermit himself to be thus perpetually stultified by a weak, false, andimperious woman. She had repeatedly called upon him when she was appalledat the tempest and sinking in the ocean; and she had as constantlydisavowed his deeds and reviled his character when she felt herself insafety again. He had tranquillized the old Batavian provinces, where theold Batavian spirit still lingered, by his personal influence and hisunwearied exertions. Men of all ranks and religions were grateful for hislabors. The Reformers had not gained much, but they were satisfied. TheCatholics retained their churches, their property, their consideration. The states of Holland had voted him fifty thousand florins, as anacknowledgment of his efforts in restoring peace. He had refused thepresent. He was in debt, pressed for money, but he did not choose, as heinformed Philip, "that men should think his actions governed by motivesof avarice or particular interest, instead of the true affection which hebore to his Majesty's service and the good of the country. " Nevertheless, his back was hardly turned before all his work was undone by the Regent. 

A new and important step on the part of the government had now placed himin an attitude of almost avowed rebellion. All functionaries, fromgovernors of provinces down to subalterns in the army, were required totake a new oath of allegiance, "novum et hactenua inusitatum religioniajuramentum, " as the Prince characterized it, which was, he said, quiteequal to the inquisition. Every man who bore his Majesty's commission wasordered solemnly to pledge himself to obey the orders of government, every where, and against every person, without limitation orrestriction. --Count Mansfeld, now "factotum at Brussels, " had taken theoath with great fervor. So had Aerachot, Berlaymont, Meghem, and, after alittle wavering, Egmont. Orange spurned the proposition. He had takenoaths enough which he had never broken, nor intended now to break: He wasready still to do every thing conducive to the real interest of themonarch. Who dared do more was no true servant to the government, no truelover of the country. He would never disgrace himself by a blind pledge, through which he might be constrained to do acts detrimental, in hisopinion, to the safety of the crown, the happiness of the commonwealth, and his own honor. The alternative presented he willingly embraced. Herenounced all his offices, and desired no longer to serve a governmentwhose policy he did not approve, a King by whom he was suspected. 

His resignation was not accepted by the Duchess, who still made effortsto retain the services of a man who was necessary to her administration. She begged him, notwithstanding the purely defensive and watchfulattitude which he had now assumed, to take measures that Brederode shouldabandon his mischievous courses. She also reproached the Prince withhaving furnished that personage with artillery for his fortifications. Orange answered, somewhat contemptuously, that he was not Brederode'skeeper, and had no occasion to meddle with his affairs. He had given himthree small field-pieces, promised long ago; not that he mentioned thatcircumstance as an excuse for the donation. "Thank God, " said he, "wehave always had the liberty in this country of making to friends orrelatives what presents we liked, and methinks that things have come to apretty pass when such trifles are scrutinized. " Certainly, as Suzerain ofViane, and threatened with invasion in his seignorial rights, the Countmight think himself justified in strengthening the bulwarks of his littlestronghold, and the Prince could hardly be deemed very seriously toendanger the safety of the crown by the insignificant present which hadannoyed the Regent. 

It is not so agreeable to contemplate the apparent intimacy which thePrince accorded to so disreputable a character, but Orange was now inhostility to the government, was convinced by evidence, whose accuracytime was most signally to establish, that his own head, as well as manyothers, were already doomed to the block, while the whole country wasdevoted to abject servitude, and he was therefore disposed to look withmore indulgence upon the follies of those who were endeavoring, howeverweakly and insanely, to avert the horrors which he foresaw. The time forreasoning had passed. All that true wisdom and practical statesmanshipcould suggest, he had already placed at the disposal of a woman whostabbed him in the back even while she leaned upon his arm--of a king whohad already drawn his death warrant, while reproaching his "cousin ofOrange" for want of confidence in the royal friendship. Was he now toattempt the subjugation of his country by interfering with theproceedings of men whom he had no power to command, and who, at least, were attempting to oppose tyranny? Even if he should do so, he wasperfectly aware of the reward, reserved for his loyalty. He liked notsuch honors as he foresaw for all those who had ever interposed betweenthe monarch and his vengeance. For himself he had the liberation of acountry, the foundation of a free commonwealth to achieve. There was muchwork for those hands before he should fall a victim to the crownedassassin. 

Early in February, Brederode, Hoogstraaten, Horn, and some othergentlemen, visited the Prince at Breda. Here it is supposed the advice ofOrange was asked concerning the new movement contemplated by Brederode. He was bent upon presenting a new petition to the Duchess with greatsolemnity. There is no evidence to show that the Prince approved thestep, which must have seemed to him superfluous, if not puerile. Heprobably regarded the matter with indifference. Brederode, however, whowas fond of making demonstrations, and thought himself endowed with agenius for such work, wrote to the Regent for letters of safe conductthat he might come to Brussels with his petition. The passports werecontemptuously refused. He then came to Antwerp, from which city heforwarded the document to Brussels in a letter. 

By this new Request, the exercise of the reformed religion was claimed asa right, while the Duchess was summoned to disband the forces which shehad been collecting, and to maintain in good faith the "August" treaty. These claims were somewhat bolder than those of the previous April, although the liberal party was much weaker and the confederacy entirelydisbanded. Brederode, no doubt, thought it good generalship to throw thelast loaf of bread into the enemy's camp before the city shouldsurrender. His haughty tone was at once taken down by Margaret of Parma. "She wondered, " she said, "what manner of nobles these were, who, afterrequesting, a year before, to be saved only from the inquisition, nowpresumed to talk about preaching in the cities. " The concessions ofAugust had always been odious, and were now canceled. "As for you andyour accomplices, " she continued to the Count, "you will do well to go toyour homes at once without meddling with public affairs, for, in case ofdisobedience, I shall deal with you as I shall deem expedient. "

Brederode not easily abashed, disregarded the advice, and continued inAntwerp. Here, accepting the answer of the Regent as a formal declarationof hostilities, he busied himself in levying troops in and about thecity. 

Orange had returned to Antwerp early in February. During his absence, Hoogstraaten had acted as governor at the instance of the Prince and ofthe Regent. During the winter that nobleman, who was very young and veryfiery, had carried matters with a high hand, whenever there had been theleast attempt at sedition. Liberal in principles, and the devoted friendof Orange, he was disposed however to prove that the champions ofreligious liberty were not the patrons of sedition. A riot occurring inthe cathedral, where a violent mob were engaged in defacing whatever wasleft to deface in that church, and in heaping insults on the papists attheir worship, the little Count, who, says a Catholic contemporary, "hadthe courage of a lion, " dashed in among them, sword in hand, killed threeupon the spot, and, aided by his followers, succeeded in slaying, wounding, or capturing all the rest. He had also tracked the ringleaderof the tumult to his lodging, where he had caused him to be arrested atmidnight, and hanged at once in his shirt without any form of trial. Suchrapid proceedings little resembled the calm and judicious moderation ofOrange upon all occasions, but they certainly might have sufficed toconvince Philip that all antagonists of the inquisition were not hereticsand outlaws. Upon the arrival of the Prince in Antwerp, it was consideredadvisable that Hoogstraaten should remain associated with him in thetemporary government of the city. 

During the month of February, Brederode remained in Antwerp, secretlyenrolling troops. It was probably his intention--if so desultory andirresponsible an individual could be said to have an intention--to makean attempt upon the Island of Walcheren. If such important cities asFlushing and Middelburg could be gained, he thought it possible toprevent the armed invasion now soon expected from Spain. Orange had sentan officer to those cities, who was to reconnoitre their condition, andto advise them against receiving a garrison from government without hisauthority. So far he connived at Brederode's proceedings, as he had aperfect right to do, for Walcheren was within what had been the Prince'sgovernment, and he had no disposition that these cities should share thefate of Tourney, Valenciennes, Bois le Duc, and other towns which hadalready passed or were passing under the spears of foreign mercenaries. 

It is also probable that he did not take any special pains to check theenrolments of Brederode. The peace of Antwerp was not endangered, and tothe preservation of that city the Prince seemed now to limit himself. Hewas hereditary burgrave of Antwerp, but officer of Philip's never more. Despite the shrill demands of Duchess Margaret, therefore; the Prince didnot take very active measures by which the crown of Philip might besecured. He, perhaps, looked upon the struggle almost with indifference. Nevertheless, he issued a formal proclamation by which the Count'senlistments were forbidden. Van der Aa, a gentleman who had been activein making these levies, was compelled to leave the city. Brederode wasalready gone to the north to busy himself with further enrolments. 

In the mean time there had been much alarm in Brussels. Egmont, whoomitted no opportunity of manifesting his loyalty, offered to throwhimself at once into the Isle of Walcheren, for the purpose of dislodgingany rebels who might have effected an entrance. He collected accordinglyseven or eight hundred Walloon veterans, at his disposal in Flanders, inthe little port of Sas de Ghent, prepared at once to execute hisintention, "worthy, " says a Catholic writer, "of his well-known courageand magnanimity. " The Duchess expressed gratitude for the Count'sdevotion and loyalty, but his services in the sequel proved unnecessary. The rebels, several boat-loads of whom had been cruising about in theneighborhood of Flushing during the early part of March, had been refusedadmittance into any of the ports on the island. They therefore sailed upthe Scheld, and landed at a little village called Ostrawell, at thedistance of somewhat more than a mile from Antwerp. 

The commander of the expedition was Marnix of Tholouse, brother to Marnixof Saint Aldegonde. This young nobleman, who had left college to fightfor the cause of religious liberty, was possessed of fine talents andaccomplishments. Like his illustrious brother, he was already a sincereconvert to the doctrines of the reformed Church. He had nothing, however, but courage to recommend him as a leader in a military expedition. He wasa mere boy, utterly without experience in the field. His troops were rawlevies, vagabonds and outlaws. 

Such as it was, however, his army was soon posted at Ostrawell in aconvenient position, and with considerable judgment. He had the Scheldand its dykes in his rear, on his right and left the dykes and thevillage. In front he threw up a breastwork and sunk a trench. Here thenwas set up the standard of rebellion, and hither flocked daily manymalcontents from the country round. Within a few days three thousand menwere in his camp. On the other handy Brederode was busy in Holland, andboasted of taking the field ere long with six thousand soldiers at thevery least. Together they would march to the relief of Valenciennes, anddictate peace in Brussels. 

It was obvious that this matter could not be allowed to go on. TheDuchess, with some trepidation, accepted the offer made by Philip deLannoy, Seigneur de Beauvoir, commander of her body-guard in Brussels, todestroy this nest of rebels without delay. Half the whole number of thesesoldiers was placed at his disposition, and Egmont supplied De Beauvoirwith four hundred of his veteran Walloons. 

With a force numbering only eight hundred, but all picked men, theintrepid officer undertook his enterprise, with great despatch andsecrecy. Upon the 12th March, the whole troop was sent off in smallparties, to avoid suspicion, and armed only with sword and dagger. Theirhelmets, bucklers, arquebusses, corselets, spears, standards and drums, were delivered to their officers, by whom they were conveyed noiselesslyto the place of rendezvous. Before daybreak, upon the following morning, De Beauvoir met his soldiers at the abbey of Saint Bernard, within aleague of Antwerp. Here he gave them their arms, supplied them withrefreshments, and made them a brief speech. He instructed them that theywere to advance, with furled banners and without beat of drum, tillwithin sight of the enemy, that the foremost section was to deliver itsfire, retreat to the rear and load, to be followed by the next, which wasto do the same, and above all, that not an arquebus should be dischargedtill the faces of the enemy could be distinguished. 

The troop started. After a few minutes' march they were in full sight ofOstrawell. They then displayed their flags and advanced upon the fortwith loud huzzas. Tholouse was as much taken by surprise as if they hadsuddenly emerged from the bowels of the earth. He had been informed thatthe government at Brussels was in extreme trepidation. When he firstheard the advancing trumpets and sudden shouts, he thought it adetachment of Brederode's promised force. The cross on the banners soonundeceived him. Nevertheless "like a brave and generous young gentlemanas he was, " he lost no time in drawing up his men for action, imploredthem to defend their breastworks, which were impregnable against so smalla force, and instructed them to wait patiently with their fire, till theenemy were near enough to be marked. 

These orders were disobeyed. The "young scholar, " as De Beauvoir haddesignated him, had no power to infuse his own spirit into his rabblerout of followers. They were already panic-struck by the unexpectedappearance of the enemy. The Catholics came on with the coolness ofveterans, taking as deliberate aim as if it had been they, not theirenemies, who were behind breastworks. The troops of Tholouse firedwildly, precipitately, quite over the heads of the assailants. Many ofthe defenders were slain as fast as they showed themselves above theirbulwarks. The ditch was crossed, the breastwork carried at, a singledetermined charge. The rebels made little resistance, but fled as soon asthe enemy entered their fort. It was a hunt, not a battle. Hundreds werestretched dead in the camp; hundreds were driven into the Scheld; six oreight hundred took refuge in a farm-house; but De Beauvoir's men set fireto the building, and every rebel who had entered it was burned alive orshot. No quarter was given. Hardly a man of the three thousand who hadheld the fort escaped. The body of Tholouse was cut into a hundredpieces. The Seigneur de Beauvoir had reason, in the brief letter whichgave an account of this exploit, to assure her Highness that there were"some very valiant fellows in his little troop. " Certainly they hadaccomplished the enterprise entrusted to them with promptness, neatness, and entire success. Of the great rebellious gathering, which every dayhad seemed to grow more formidable, not a vestige was left. 

This bloody drama had been enacted in full sight of Antwerp. The fighthad lasted from daybreak till ten o'clock in the forenoon, during thewhole of which period, the city ramparts looking towards Ostrawell, theroofs of houses, the towers of churches had been swarming with eagerspectators. The sound of drum and trumpet, the rattle of musketry, theshouts of victory, the despairing cries of the vanquished were heard bythousands who deeply sympathized with the rebels thus enduring sosanguinary a chastisement. In Antwerp there were forty thousand peopleopposed to the Church of Rome. Of this number the greater proportion wereCalvinists, and of these Calvinists there were thousands looking downfrom the battlements upon the disastrous fight. 

The excitement soon became uncontrollable. Before ten o'clock vastnumbers of sectaries came pouring towards the Red Gate, which affordedthe readiest egress to the scene of action; the drawbridge of theOstrawell Gate having been destroyed the night before by command ofOrange. They came from every street and alley of the city. Some werearmed with lance, pike, or arquebus; some bore sledge-hammers; others hadthe partisans, battle-axes, and huge two-handed swords of the previouscentury; all were determined upon issuing forth to the rescue of theirfriends in the fields outside the town. The wife of Tholouse, not yetaware of her husband's death, although his defeat was obvious, flew fromstreet to street, calling upon the Calvinists to save or to avenge theirperishing brethren. 

A terrible tumult prevailed. Ten thousand men were already up and inarms. --It was then that the Prince of Orange, who was sometimes describedby his enemies as timid and pusillanimous by nature, showed the mettle hewas made of. His sense of duty no longer bade him defend the crown ofPhilip--which thenceforth was to be entrusted to the hirelings of theInquisition--but the vast population of Antwerp, the women, the children, and the enormous wealth of the richest Deity in the world had beenconfided to his care, and he had accepted the responsibility. Mountinghis horse, he made his appearance instantly at the Red Gate, before asformidable a mob as man has ever faced. He came there almost alone, without guards. Hoogstraaten arrived soon afterwards with the sameintention. The Prince was received with howls of execration. A thousandhoarse voices called him the Pope's servant, minister of Antichrist, andlavished upon him many more epithets of the same nature. His life was inimminent danger. A furious clothier levelled an arquebus full at hisbreast. "Die, treacherous villain?" he cried; "thou who art the causethat our brethren have perished thus miserably in yonder field. " Theloaded weapon was struck away by another hand in the crowd, while thePrince, neither daunted by the ferocious demonstrations against his life, nor enraged by the virulent abuse to which he was subjected, continuedtranquilly, earnestly, imperatively to address the crowd. William ofOrange had that in his face and tongue "which men willingly callmaster-authority. " With what other talisman could he, without violenceand without soldiers, have quelled even for a moment ten thousand furiousCalvinists, armed, enraged against his person, and thirsting forvengeance on Catholics. The postern of the Red Gate had already beenbroken through before Orange and his colleague, Hoogstraaten, hadarrived. The most excited of the Calvinists were preparing to rush forthupon the enemy at Ostrawell. The Prince, after he had gained the ear ofthe multitude, urged that the battle was now over, that the reformerswere entirely cut to pieces, the enemy, retiring, and that a disorderlyand ill-armed mob would be unable to retrieve the fortunes of the day. Many were persuaded to abandon the design. Five hundred of the mostviolent, however, insisted upon leaving the gates, and the governors, distinctly warning these zealots that their blood must be upon their ownheads, reluctantly permitted that number to issue from the city. The restof the mob, not appeased, but uncertain, and disposed to take vengeanceupon the Catholics within the walls, for the disaster which had beenoccurring without, thronged tumultuously to the long, wide street, calledthe Mere, situate in the very heart of the city. 

Meantime the ardor of those who had sallied from the gate grew sensiblycooler, when they found themselves in the open fields. De Beauvoir, whosemen, after the victory, had scattered in pursuit of the fugitives, nowheard the tumult in the city. Suspecting an attack, he rallied hiscompact little army again for a fresh encounter. The last of thevanquished Tholousians who had been captured; more fortunate than theirpredecessors, had been spared for ransom. There were three hundred ofthem; rather a dangerous number of prisoners for a force of eighthundred, who were just going into another battle. De Beauvoir commandedhis soldiers, therefore, to shoot them all. This order having beenaccomplished, the Catholics marched towards Antwerp, drums beating, colors flying. The five hundred Calvinists, not liking their appearance, and being in reality outnumbered, retreated within; the gates as hastilyas they had just issued from them. De Beauvoir advanced close to the citymoat, on the margin of which he planted the banners of the unfortunateTholouse, and sounded a trumpet of defiance. Finding that the citizenshad apparently no stomach for the fight, he removed his trophies, andtook his departure. 

On the other hand, the tumult within the walls had again increased. TheCalvinists had been collecting in great numbers upon the Mere. This was alarge and splendid thoroughfare, rather an oblong market-place than astreet, filled with stately buildings, and communicating by various crossstreets with the Exchange and with many other public edifices. By anearly hour in the afternoon twelve or fifteen thousand Calvinists, allarmed and fighting men, had assembled upon the place. They had barricadedthe whole precinct with pavements and upturned wagons. They had alreadybroken into the arsenal and obtained many field-pieces, which wereplanted at the entrance of every street and by-way. They had stormed thecity jail and liberated the prisoners, all of whom, grateful andferocious, came to swell the numbers who defended the stronghold on theMere. A tremendous mischief was afoot. Threats of pillaging the churchesand the houses of the Catholics, of sacking the whole opulent city, weredistinctly heard among this powerful mob, excited by religiousenthusiasm, but containing within one great heterogeneous mass theelements of every crime which humanity can commit. The alarm throughoutthe city was indescribable. The cries of women and children, as theyremained in trembling expectation of what the next hour might bringforth, were, said one who heard them, "enough to soften the hardesthearts. "

Nevertheless the diligence and courage of the Prince kept pace with theinsurrection. He had caused the eight companies of guards enrolled inSeptember, to be mustered upon the square in front of the city hall, forthe protection of that building and of the magistracy. He had summonedthe senate of the city, the board of ancients, the deans of guilds, theward masters, to consult with him at the council-room. At the peril ofhis life he had again gone before the angry mob in the Mere, advancingagainst their cannon and their outcries, and compelling them to appointeight deputies to treat with him and the magistrates at the town-hall. This done, quickly but deliberately he had drawn up six articles, towhich those deputies gave their assent, and in which the city governmentcordially united. These articles provided that the keys of the cityshould remain in the possession of the Prince and of Hoogstraaten, thatthe watch should be held by burghers and soldiers together, that themagistrates should permit the entrance of no garrison, and that thecitizens should be entrusted with the care of, the charters, especiallywith that of the joyful entrance. 

These arrangements, when laid before the assembly at the Mere by theirdeputies, were not received with favor. The Calvinists demanded the keysof the city. They did not choose to be locked up at the mercy of any man. They had already threatened to blow the city hall into the air if thekeys were not delivered to them. They claimed that burghers, withoutdistinction of religion, instead of mercenary troops, should be allowedto guard the market-place in front of the town-hall. 

It was now nightfall, and no definite arrangement had been concluded. Nevertheless, a temporary truce was made, by means of a concession as tothe guard. It was agreed that the burghers, Calvinists and Lutherans, aswell as Catholics, should be employed to protect the city. By subtlety, however, the Calvinists detailed for that service, were posted not in thetown-house square, but on the ramparts and at the gates. 

A night of dreadful expectation was passed. The army of fifteen thousandmutineers remained encamped and barricaded on the Mere, with guns loadedand artillery pointed. Fierce cries of "Long live the beggars, "--"Downwith the papists, " and other significant watchwords, were heard all nightlong, but no more serious outbreak occurred. 

During the whole of the following day, the Calvinists remained in theirencampment, the Catholics and the city guardsmen at their posts near thecity hall. The Prince was occupied in the council-chamber from morningtill night with the municipal authorities, the deputies of "thereligion, " and the guild officers, in framing a new treaty of peace. Towards evening fifteen articles were agreed upon, which were to beproposed forthwith to the insurgents, and in case of nonacceptance to beenforced. The arrangement provided that there should be no garrison; thatthe September contracts permitting the reformed worship at certain placeswithin the city should be maintained; that men of different partiesshould refrain from mutual insults; that the two governors, the Princeand Hoogstraaten, should keep the keys; that the city should be guardedby both soldiers and citizens, without distinction of religious creed;that a band of four hundred cavalry and a small flotilla of vessels ofwar should be maintained for the defence of the place, and that theexpenses to be incurred should be levied upon all classes, clerical andlay, Catholic and Reformed, without any exception. 

It had been intended that the governors, accompanied by the magistrates, should forthwith proceed to the Mere, for the purpose of laying theseterms before the insurgents. Night had, however, already arrived, and itwas understood that the ill-temper of the Calvinists had rather increasedthan diminished, so that it was doubtful whether the arrangement would beaccepted. It was, therefore, necessary to await the issue of another day, rather than to provoke a night battle in the streets. 

During the night the Prince labored incessantly to provide against thedangers of the morrow. The Calvinists had fiercely expressed theirdisinclination to any reasonable arrangement. They had threatened, without farther pause, to plunder the religious houses and the mansionsof all the wealthy Catholics, and to drive every papist out of town. Theyhad summoned the Lutherans to join with them in their revolt, and menacedthem, in case of refusal, with the same fate which awaited the Catholics. The Prince, who was himself a Lutheran, not entirely free from theuniversal prejudice against the Calvinists, whose sect he afterwardsembraced, was fully aware of the deplorable fact, that the enmity at thatday between Calvinists and Lutherans was as fierce as that betweenReformers and Catholics. He now made use of this feeling, and of hisinfluence with those of the Augsburg Confession, to save the city. Duringthe night he had interviews with the ministers and notable members of theLutheran churches, and induced them to form an alliance upon thisoccasion with the Catholics and with all friends of order, against anarmy of outlaws who were threatening to burn and sack the city. TheLutherans, in the silence of night, took arms and encamped, to the numberof three or four thousand, upon the river side, in the neighborhood ofSaint Michael's cloister. The Prince also sent for the deans of all theforeign mercantile associations--Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Hanseatic, engaged their assistance also for the protection of the city, and commanded them to remain in their armor at their respectivefactories, ready to act at a moment's warning. It was agreed that theyshould be informed at frequent intervals as to the progress of events. 

On the morning of the 15th, the city of Antwerp presented a fearfulsight. Three distinct armies were arrayed at different points within itswalls. The Calvinists, fifteen thousand strong, lay in their encampmenton the Mere; the Lutherans, armed, and eager for action, were at St. Michael's; the Catholics and the regulars of the city guard were postedon the square. Between thirty-five and forty thousand men were up, according to the most moderate computation. All parties were excited, andeager for the fray. The fires of religious hatred burned fiercely inevery breast. Many malefactors and outlaws, who had found refuge in thecourse of recent events at Antwerp, were in the ranks of the Calvinists, profaning a sacred cause, and inspiring a fanatical party with bloodyresolutions. Papists, once and forever, were to be hunted down, even asthey had been for years pursuing Reformers. Let the men who had fed faton the spoils of plundered Christians be dealt with in like fashion. Lettheir homes be sacked, their bodies given to the dogs--such were thecries uttered by thousands of armed men. 

On the other hand, the Lutherans, as angry and as rich as the Catholics, saw in every Calvinist a murderer and a robber. They thirsted after theirblood; for the spirit of religious frenzy; the characteristic of thecentury, can with difficulty be comprehended in our colder and moresceptical age. There was every probability that a bloody battle was to befought that day in the streets of Antwerp--a general engagement, in thecourse of which, whoever might be the victors, the city was sure to bedelivered over to fire, sack, and outrage. Such would have been theresult, according to the concurrent testimony of eye-witnesses, andcontemporary historians of every country and creed, but for the courageand wisdom of one man. William of Orange knew what would be theconsequence of a battle, pent up within the walls of Antwerp. He foresawthe horrible havoc which was to be expected, the desolation which wouldbe brought to every hearth in the city. "Never were men so desperate andso willing to fight, " said Sir Thomas Gresham, who had been expectingevery hour his summons to share in the conflict. If the Prince wereunable that morning to avert the impending calamity, no other power, under heaven, could save Antwerp from destruction. 

The articles prepared on the 14th had been already approved by those whorepresented the Catholic and Lutheran interests. They were read early inthe morning to the troops assembled on the square and at St. Michael's, and received with hearty cheers. It was now necessary that the Calvinistsshould accept them, or that the quarrel should be fought out at once. Atten o'clock, William of Orange, attended by his colleague, Hoogstraaten, together with a committee of the municipal authorities, and followed by ahundred troopers, rode to the Mere. They wore red scarfs over theirarmor, as symbols by which all those who had united to put down theinsurrection were distinguished. The fifteen thousand Calvinists, fierceand disorderly as ever, maintained a threatening aspect. Nevertheless, the Prince was allowed to ride into the midst of the square. The articleswere then read aloud by his command, after which, with great composure, he made a few observations. He pointed out that the arrangement offeredthem was founded upon the September concessions, that the right ofworship was conceded, that the foreign garrison was forbidden, and thatnothing further could be justly demanded or honorably admitted. He toldthem that a struggle upon their part would be hopeless, for the Catholicsand Lutherans, who were all agreed as to the justice of the treaty, outnumbered them by nearly two to one. He, therefore, most earnestly andaffectionately adjured them to testify their acceptance to the peaceoffered by repeating the words with which he should conclude. Then, witha firm voice; the Prince exclaimed, "God Save the King!" It was the lasttime that those words were ever heard from the lips of the man alreadyproscribed by Philip. The crowd of Calvinists hesitated an instant, andthen, unable to resist the tranquil influence, convinced by hisreasonable language, they raised one tremendous shout of "Vive le Roi!"

The deed was done, the peace accepted, the dreadful battle averted, Antwerp saved. The deputies of the Calvinists now formally accepted andsigned the articles. Kind words were exchanged among the various classesof fellow-citizens, who but an hour before had been thirsting for eachother's blood, the artillery and other weapons of war were restored tothe arsenals, Calvinists, Lutherans, and Catholics, all laid down theirarms, and the city, by three o'clock, was entirely quiet. Fifty thousandarmed men had been up, according to some estimates, yet, after three daysof dreadful expectation, not a single person had been injured, and thetumult was now appeased. 

The Prince had, in truth, used the mutual animosity of Protestant sectsto a good purpose; averting bloodshed by the very weapons with which thebattle was to have been waged. Had it been possible for a man likeWilliam the Silent to occupy the throne where Philip the Prudent sat, howdifferent might have been the history of Spain and the fate of theNetherlands. Gresham was right, however, in his conjecture that theRegent and court would not "take the business well. " Margaret of Parmawas incapable of comprehending such a mind as that of Orange, or ofappreciating its efforts. She was surrounded by unscrupulous andmercenary soldiers, who hailed the coming civil war as the mostprofitable of speculations. "Factotum" Mansfeld; the Counts Aremberg andMeghem, the Duke of Aerschot, the Sanguinary Noircarmes, were alreadycounting their share in the coming confiscations. In the internecineconflict approaching, there would be gold for the gathering, even if nohonorable laurels would wreath their swords. "Meghen with his regiment isdesolating the country, " wrote William of Orange to the Landgrave ofHesse, "and reducing many people to poverty. Aremberg is doing the samein Friesland. They are only thinking how, under the pretext of religion, they may grind the poor Christians, and grow rich and powerful upon theirestates and their blood. "

The Seignior de Beauvoir wrote to the Duchess, claiming all the estatesof Tholouse, and of his brother St. Aldegonde, as his reward for theOstrawell victory, while Noircarmes was at this very moment to commenceat Valenciennes that career of murder and spoliation which, continued atMons a few years afterwards, was to load his name with infamy. 

From such a Regent, surrounded by such councillors, was the work ofWilliam de Nassau's hands to gain applause? What was it to them thatcarnage and plunder had been spared in one of the richest and mostpopulous cities in Christendom? Were not carnage and plunder the veryelements in which they disported themselves? And what more dreadfuloffence against God and Philip could be committed than to permit, as thePrince had just permitted, the right of worship in a Christian land toCalvinists and Lutherans? As a matter of course, therefore, Margaret ofParma denounced the terms by which Antwerp had been saved as a "novel andexorbitant capitulation, " and had no intention of signifying herapprobation either to prince or magistrate. 

1567 [CHAPTER X. ]

 Egmont and Aerschot before Valenciennes--Severity of Egmont-- Capitulation of the city--Escape and capture of the ministers-- Execution of La Grange and De Bray--Horrible cruelty at Valenciennes--Effects of the reduction of Valenciennes--The Duchess at Antwerp--Armed invasion of the provinces decided upon in Spain-- Appointment of Alva--Indignation of Margaret--Mission of De Billy-- Pretended visit of Philip--Attempts of the Duchess to gain over Orange--Mission of Berty--Interview between Orange and Egmont at Willebroek--Orange's letters to Philip, to Egmont, and to Horn-- Orange departs from the Netherlands--Philip's letter to Egmont-- Secret intelligence received by Orange--La Torre's mission to Brederode--Brederode's departure and death--Death of Bergen--Despair in the provinces--Great emigration--Cruelties practised upon those of the new religion--Edict of 24th May--Wrath of the King. 

Valenciennes, whose fate depended so closely upon the issue of thesevarious events, was now trembling to her fall. Noircarmes had beendrawing the lines more and more closely about the city, and by arefinement of cruelty had compelled many Calvinists from Tournay to actas pioneers in the trenches against their own brethren in Valenciennes. After the defeat of Tholouse, and the consequent frustration of allBrederode's arrangements to relieve the siege, the Duchess had sent afresh summons to Valenciennes, together with letters acquainting thecitizens with the results of the Ostrawell battle. The intelligence wasnot believed. Egmont and Aerschot, however, to whom Margaret hadentrusted this last mission to the beleaguered town, roundly rebuked thedeputies who came to treat with them, for their insolence in daring todoubt the word of the Regent. The two seigniors had establishedthemselves in the Chateau of Beusnage, at a league's distance fromValenciennes. Here they received commissioners from the city, half ofwhom were Catholics appointed by the magistrates, half Calvinists deputedby the consistories. These envoys were informed that the Duchess wouldpardon the city for its past offences, provided the gates should now beopened, the garrison received, and a complete suppression of all religionexcept that of Rome acquiesced in without a murmur. As nearly the wholepopulation was of the Calvinist faith, these terms could hardly bethought favorable. It was, however, added, that fourteen days should beallowed to the Reformers for the purpose of converting their property, and retiring from the country. 

The deputies, after conferring with their constituents in the, city, returned on the following day with counter-propositions, which were notmore likely to find favor with the government. They offered to accept thegarrison, provided the soldiers should live at their own expense, withoutany tax to the citizens for their board, lodging, or pay. They claimedthat all property which had been seized should be restored, all personsaccused of treason liberated. They demanded the unconditional revocationof the edict by which the city had been declared rebellious, togetherwith a guarantee from the Knights of the Fleece and the state councilthat the terms of the propose& treaty should be strictly observed. 

As soon as these terms had been read to the two seigniors, the Duke ofAerschot burst into an immoderate fit of laughter. He protested thatnothing could be more ludicrous than such propositions, worthy of aconqueror dictating a peace, thus offered by a city closely beleaguered, and entirely at the mercy of the enemy. The Duke's hilarity was notshared by Egmont, who, on the contrary, fell into a furious passion. Heswore that the city should be burned about their ears, and that every oneof the inhabitants should be put to the sword for the insolent languagewhich they had thus dared to address to a most clement sovereign. Heordered the trembling deputies instantly to return with this peremptoryrejection of their terms, and with his command that the proposals ofgovernment should be accepted within three days' delay. 

The commissioners fell upon their knees at Egmont's feet, and begged formercy. They implored him at least to send this imperious message by someother hand than theirs, and to permit them to absent themselves from thecity. They should be torn limb from limb, they said, by the enragedinhabitants, if they dared to present themselves with such instructionsbefore them. Egmont, however, assured them that they should be sent intothe city, bound hand and foot, if they did not instantly obey his orders. The deputies, therefore, with heavy hearts, were fain to return home withthis bitter result to their negotiations. The, terms were rejected, as amatter of course, but the gloomy forebodings of the commissioners, as totheir own fate at the hands of their fellow-citizens, were not fulfilled. 

Instant measures were now taken to cannonade the city. Egmont, at thehazard of his life, descended into the foss, to reconnoitre the works, and to form an opinion as to the most eligible quarter at which to directthe batteries. Having communicated the result of his investigations toNoircarmes, he returned to report all these proceedings to the Regent atBrussels. Certainly the Count had now separated himself far enough fromWilliam of Orange, and was manifesting an energy in the cause of tyrannywhich was sufficiently unscrupulous. Many people who had been deceived byhis more generous demonstrations in former times, tried to persuadethemselves that he was acting a part. Noircarmes, however--and no man wasmore competent to decide the question distinctly--expressed his entireconfidence in Egmont's loyalty. Margaret had responded warmly to hiseulogies, had read with approbation secret letters from Egmont toNoircarmes, and had expressed the utmost respect and affection for "theCount. " Egmont had also lost no time in writing to Philip, informing himthat he had selected the most eligible spot for battering down theobstinate city of Valenciennes, regretting that he could not have had theeight or ten military companies, now at his disposal, at an earlier day, in which case he should have been able to suppress many tumults, butcongratulating his sovereign that the preachers were all fugitive, thereformed religion suppressed, and the people disarmed. He assured theKing that he would neglect no effort to prevent any renewal of thetumults, and expressed the hope that his Majesty would be satisfied withhis conduct, notwithstanding the calumnies of which the times were full. 

Noircarmes meanwhile, had unmasked his batteries, and opened his fireexactly according to Egmont's suggestions. 

The artillery played first upon what was called the "White Tower, " whichhappened to bear this ancient, rhyming inscription:

 "When every man receives his own, And justice reigns for strong and weak, Perfect shall be this tower of stone, And all the dumb will learn to speak. "

 "Quand chacun sera satisfaict, Et la justice regnera, Ce boulevard sera parfaict, Et--la muette parlera. "--Valenciennes MS. 

For some unknown reason, the rather insipid quatrain was tortured into abaleful prophecy. It was considered very ominous that the battery shouldbe first opened against this Sibylline tower. The chimes, too, which hadbeen playing, all through the siege, the music of Marot's sacred songs, happened that morning to be sounding forth from every belfry thetwenty-second psalm: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

It was Palm Sunday, 23d of March. The women and children were goingmournfully about the streets, bearing green branches in their hands, andpraying upon their knees, in every part of the city. Despair andsuperstition had taken possession of citizens, who up to that period hadjustified La Noue's assertion, that none could endure a siege likeHuguenots. As soon as the cannonading began, the spirit of theinhabitants seemed to depart. The ministers exhorted their flocks in vainas the tiles and chimneys began to topple into the streets, and theconcussions of the artillery were responded to by the universal wailingof affrighted women. 

Upon the very first day after the unmasking of the batteries, the citysent to Noircarmes, offering almost an unconditional surrender. Not theslightest breach had been effected--not the least danger of an assaultexisted--yet the citizens, who had earned the respect of theirantagonists by the courageous manner in which they had sallied andskirmished during the siege, now in despair at any hope of eventualsuccor, and completely demoralized by the course of recent events outsidetheir walls, surrendered ignominiously, and at discretion. The onlystipulation agreed to by Noircarmes was, that the city should not besacked, and that the lives of the inhabitants should be spared. 

This pledge was, however, only made to be broken. Noircarmes entered thecity and closed the gates. All the richest citizens, who of course weredeemed the most criminal, were instantly arrested. The soldiers, althoughnot permitted formally to sack the city, were quartered upon theinhabitants, whom they robbed and murdered, according to the testimony ofa Catholic citizen, almost at their pleasure. 

Michael Herlin, a very wealthy and distinguished burgher, was arrestedupon the first day. The two ministers, Guido de Bray and Peregrine de laGrange, together with the son of Herlin, effected their escape by thewater-gate. Having taken refuge in a tavern at Saint Arnaud, they wereobserved, as they sat at supper, by a peasant, who forthwith ran off tothe mayor of the borough with the intelligence that some individuals, wholooked like fugitives, had arrived at Saint Arnaud. One of them, said theinformer, was richly dressed; and wore a gold-hilted sword with velvetscabbard. By the description, the mayor recognized Herlin theyounger, --and suspected his companions. They were all arrested, and sentto Noircarmes. The two Herlins, father and son, were immediatelybeheaded. Guido de Bray and Peregrine de la Grange were loaded withchains, and thrown into a filthy dungeon, previously to their beinghanged. Here they were visited by the Countess de Roeulx, who was curiousto see how the Calvinists sustained themselves in their martyrdom. Sheasked them how they could sleep, eat, or drink, when covered with suchheavy fetters. "The cause, and my good conscience, " answered De Bray, "make me eat, drink, and sleep better than those who are doing me wrong. These shackles are more honorable to me than golden rings and chains. They are more useful to me, and as I hear their clank, methinks I hearthe music of sweet voices and the tinkling of lutes. "

This exultation never deserted these courageous enthusiasts. Theyreceived their condemnation to death "as if it had been an invitation toa marriage feast. " They encouraged the friends who crowded their path tothe scaffold with exhortations to remain true in the Reformed faith. LaGrange, standing upon the ladder, proclaimed with a loud voice, that hewas slain for having preached the pure word of God to a Christian peoplein a Christian land. De Bray, under the same gibbet; testified stoutlythat he, too, had committed that offence alone. He warned his friends toobey the magistrates, and all others in authority, except in matters ofconscience; to abstain from sedition; but to obey the will of God. Theexecutioner threw him from the ladder while he was yet speaking. So endedthe lives of two eloquent, learned, and highly-gifted divines. 

Many hundreds of victims were sacrificed in the unfortunate city. "Therewere a great many other citizens strangled or beheaded, " says anaristocratic Catholic historian of the time, "but they were mostlypersonages of little quality, whose names are quite unknown tome. "--[Pontus Payen]--The franchises of the city were all revoked. Therewas a prodigious amount of property confiscated to the benefit ofNoircarmes and the rest of the "Seven Sleepers. " Many Calvinists wereburned, others were hanged. "For--two whole years, " says anotherCatholic, who was a citizen of Valenciennes at the time, "there was, scarcely a week in which several citizens were not executed and often agreat number were despatched at a time. All this gave so much alarm tothe good and innocent, that many quitted the city as fast as they could. "If the good and innocent happened to be rich, they might be sure thatNoircarmes would deem that a crime for which no goodness and innocencecould atone. 

Upon the fate of Valenciennes had depended, as if by common agreement, the whole destiny of the anti-Catholic party. "People had learned atlast, " says another Walloon, "that the King had long arms, and that hehad not been enlisting soldiers to string beads. So they drew in theirhorns and their evil tempers, meaning to put them forth again, should thegovernment not succeed at the siege of Valenciennes. " The government hadsucceeded, however, and the consternation was extreme, the generalsubmission immediate and even abject. "The capture of Valenciennes, "wrote Noircarmes to Granvelle, "has worked a miracle. The other citiesall come forth to meet me, putting the rope around their own necks. " Noopposition was offered any where. Tournay had been crushed; Valenciennes, Bois le Duc, and all other important places, accepted their garrisonswithout a murmur. Even Antwerp had made its last struggle, and as soon asthe back of Orange was turned, knelt down in the dust to receive itsbridle. The Prince had been able, by his courage and wisdom, to avert asanguinary conflict within its walls, but his personal presence alonecould guarantee any thing like religious liberty for the inhabitants, nowthat the rest of the country was subdued. On the 26th April, sixteencompanies of infantry, under Count Mansfeld, entered the gates. On the28th the Duchess made a visit to the city, where she was received withrespect, but where her eyes were shocked by that which she termed the"abominable, sad, and hideous spectacle of the desolated churches. "

To the eyes of all who loved their fatherland and their race, the sightof a desolate country, with its ancient charters superseded by bruteforce, its industrious population swarming from the land in droves, as ifthe pestilence were raging, with gibbets and scaffolds erected in everyvillage, and with a Sickening and universal apprehension of still darkerdisasters to follow, was a spectacle still more sad, hideous, andabominable. 

For it was now decided that the Duke of Alva, at the head of a Spanisharmy, should forthwith take his departure for the Netherlands. A landalready subjugated was to be crushed, and every vestige of its ancientliberties destroyed. The conquered provinces, once the abode of municipalliberty, of science, art, and literature, and blessed with an unexampledmercantile and manufacturing prosperity, were to be placed in absolutesubjection to the cabinet council at Madrid. A dull and malignant bigot, assisted by a few Spanish grandees, and residing at the other extremityof Europe, was thenceforth to exercise despotic authority over countrieswhich for centuries had enjoyed a local administration, and a systemnearly approaching to complete self-government. Such was the policydevised by Granvelle and Spinosa, which the Duke of Alva, upon the 15thApril, had left Madrid to enforce. 

It was very natural that Margaret of Parma should be indignant at beingthus superseded. She considered herself as having acquired much credit bythe manner in which the latter insurrectionary movements had beensuppressed, so soon as Philip, after his endless tergiversations, hadsupplied her with arms and money. Therefore she wrote in a tone of greatasperity to her brother, expressing her discontent. She had always beentrammelled in her action, she said, by his restrictions upon herauthority. She complained that he had no regard for her reputation or herpeace of mind. Notwithstanding, all impediments and dangers, she had atlast settled the country, and now another person was to reap the honor. She also despatched the Seigneur de Billy to Spain, for the purpose ofmaking verbal representations to his Majesty upon the inexpediency ofsending the Duke of Alva to the Netherlands at that juncture with aSpanish army. 

Margaret gained nothing, however, by her letters and her envoy, save around rebuke from Philip, who was not accustomed to brook the language ofremonstrance; even from his sister. His purpose was fixed. Absolutesubmission was now to be rendered by all. "He was highly astonished anddissatisfied, " he said, "that she should dare to write to him with somuch passion, and in so resolute a manner. If she received no otherrecompense, save the glory of having restored the service of God, sheought to express her gratitude to the King for having given her theopportunity of so doing. "

The affectation of clement intentions was still maintained, together withthe empty pretence of the royal visit. Alva and his army were comingmerely to prepare the way for the King, who still represented himself as"debonair and gentle, slow to anger, and averse from bloodshed. "Superficial people believed that the King was really coming, and hopedwonders from his advent. The Duchess knew better. The Pope never believedin it, Granvelle never believed in it, the Prince of Orange neverbelieved in it, Councillor d'Assonleville never believed in it. "HisMajesty, " says the Walloon historian, who wrote from Assonleville'spapers, "had many imperative reasons for not coming. He was fond ofquiet, he was a great negotiator, distinguished for phlegm and modesty, disinclined to long journeys, particularly to sea voyages, which werevery painful to him. Moreover, he was then building his Escorial with somuch taste and affection that it was impossible for him to leave home. "These excellent reasons sufficed to detain the monarch, in whose place ageneral was appointed, who, it must be confessed, was neither phlegmaticnor modest, and whose energies were quite equal to the work required. There had in truth never been any thing in the King's project of visitingthe Netherlands but pretence. 

On the other hand, the work of Orange for the time was finished. He hadsaved Antwerp, he had done his best to maintain the liberties of thecountry, the rights of conscience, and the royal authority, so far asthey were compatible with each other. The alternative had now beendistinctly forced upon every man, either to promise blind obedience or toaccept the position of a rebel. William of Orange had thus become arebel. He had been requested to sign the new oath, greedily taken by theMansfelds, the Berlaymont, the Aerachot, and the Egmonts, to obey everyorder which he might receive, against every person and in every place, without restriction or limitation, --and he had distinctly and repeatedlydeclined the demand. He had again and again insisted upon resigning allhis offices. The Duchess, more and more anxious to gain over such aninfluential personage to the cause of tyranny, had been most importunatein her requisitions. "A man with so noble a heart, " she wrote to thePrince, "and with a descent from, such illustrious and loyal ancestors, can surely not forget his duties to his Majesty and the country. "

William of Orange knew his duty to both better than the Duchess couldunderstand. He answered this fresh summons by reminding her that he haduniformly refused the new and extraordinary pledge required of him. Hehad been true to his old oaths, and therefore no fresh pledge wasnecessary. Moreover, a pledge without limitation he would never take. Thecase might happen, he said, that he should be ordered to do thingscontrary to his conscience, prejudicial to his Majesty's service, and inviolation of his oaths to maintain the laws of the country. He thereforeonce more resigned all his offices, and signified his intention ofleaving the provinces. 

Margaret had previously invited him to an interview at Brussels, which hehad declined, because he had discovered a conspiracy in that place to"play him a trick. " Assonleville had already been sent to him withouteffect. He had refused to meet a deputation of Fleece Knights at Mechlin, from the same suspicion of foul play. After the termination of theAntwerp tumult, Orange again wrote to the Duchess, upon the 19th March, repeating his refusal to take the oath, and stating that he consideredhimself as at least suspended from all his functions, since she hadrefused, upon the ground of incapacity, to accept his formal resignation. Margaret now determined, by the advice of the state council, to sendSecretary Berty, provided with an ample letter of instructions, upon aspecial mission to the Prince at Antwerp. That respectable functionaryperformed his task with credit, going through the usual formalities, andadducing the threadbare arguments in favor of the unlimited oath, withmuch adroitness and decorum. He mildly pointed out the impropriety oflaying down such responsible posts as those which the Prince now occupiedat such a juncture. He alluded to the distress which the step mustoccasion to the debonair sovereign. 

William of Orange became somewhat impatient under the official lecture ofthis secretary to the privy council, a mere man of sealing-wax andprotocols. The slender stock of platitudes with which he had comeprovided was soon exhausted. His arguments shrivelled at once in thescorn with which the Prince received them. The great statesman, who, itwas hoped, would be entrapped to ruin, dishonor, and death by such veryfeeble artifices, asked indignantly whether it were really expected thathe should acknowledge himself perjured to his old obligations by nowsigning new ones; that he should disgrace himself by an unlimited pledgewhich might require him to break his oaths to the provincial statutes andto the Emperor; that he should consent to administer the religious edictswhich he abhorred; that he should act as executioner of Christians onaccount of their religious opinions, an office against which his soulrevolted; that he should bind himself by an unlimited promise which mightrequire, him to put his own wife to death, because she was a Lutheran?Moreover, was it to be supposed that he would obey without restrictionany orders issued to him in his Majesty's name, when the King'srepresentative might be a person whose supremacy it ill became one ofhis' race to acknowledge? Was William of Orange to receive absolutecommands from the Duke of Alva? Having mentioned that name withindignation, the Prince became silent. 

It was very obvious that no impression was to be made upon the man byformalists. Poor Berty having conjugated his paradigm conscientiouslythrough all its moods and tenses, returned to his green board in thecouncil-room with his proces verbal of the conference. Before he took hisleave, however, he prevailed upon Orange to hold an interview with theDuke of Aerschot, Count Mansfeld, and Count Egmont. 

This memorable meeting took place at Willebroek, a village midway betweenAntwerp and Brussels, in the first week of April. The Duke of Aerschotwas prevented from attending, but Mansfeld and Egmont--accompanied by thefaithful Berty, to make another proces verbal--duly made theirappearance. The Prince had never felt much sympathy with Mansfeld, but atender and honest friendship had always existed between himself andEgmont, notwithstanding the difference of their characters, the incessantartifices employed by the Spanish court to separate them, and theimpassable chasm which now, existed between their respective positionstowards the government. 

The same common-places of argument and rhetoric were now discussedbetween Orange and the other three personages, the, Prince distinctlystating, in conclusion, that he considered himself as discharged from allhis offices, and that he was about to leave the Netherlands for Germany. The interview, had it been confined to such formal conversation, wouldhave but little historic interest. Egmont's choice had been made. Severalmonths before he had signified his determination to hold those forenemies who should cease to conduct themselves as faithful vassals, declared himself to be without fear that the country was to be placed inthe hands of Spaniards, and disavowed all intention, in any casewhatever, of taking arms against the King. His subsequent course, as wehave seen, had been entirely in conformity with these solemndeclarations. Nevertheless, the Prince, to whom they had been made, thought it still possible to withdraw his friend from the precipice uponwhich he stood, and to save him from his impending fate. His love forEgmont had, in his own noble; and pathetic language, "struck its rootstoo deeply into his heart" to permit him, in this their partinginterview, to neglect a last effort, even if this solemn warning weredestined to be disregarded. 

By any reasonable construction of history, Philip was an unscrupuloususurper, who was attempting to convert himself from a Duke of Brabant anda Count of Holland into an absolute king. It was William who wasmaintaining, Philip who was destroying; and the monarch who was thusblasting the happiness of the provinces, and about to decimate theirpopulation, was by the same process to undermine his own power forever, and to divest himself of his richest inheritance. The man on whom hemight have leaned for support, had he been capable of comprehending hischaracter, and of understanding the age in which he had himself beencalled upon to reign, was, through Philip's own insanity, converted intothe instrument by which his most valuable provinces were, to be takenfrom him, and eventually re-organized into: an independent commonwealth. Could a vision, like that imagined by the immortal dramatist for anothertyrant and murderer, have revealed the future to Philip, he, too, mighthave beheld his victim, not crowned himself, but pointing to a line ofkings, even to some who 'two-fold balls and treble sceptres carried', andsmiling on them for his. But such considerations as these had no effectupon the Prince of Orange. He knew himself already proscribed, and heknew that the secret condemnation had extended to Egmont also. He wasanxious that his friend should prefer the privations of exile, with thechance of becoming the champion of a struggling country, to the wretchedfate towards which his blind confidence was leading him. Even then itseemed possible that the brave soldier, who had been recently defilinghis sword in the cause of tyranny, might be come mindful of his brighterand earlier fame. Had Egmont been as true to his native land as, until"the long divorce of steel fell on him, " he was faithful to Philip, hemight yet have earned brighter laurels than those gained at St. Quentinand Gravelines. Was he doomed to fall, he might find a glorious deathupon freedom's battle-field, in place of that darker departure then sonear him, which the prophetic language of Orange depicted, but which hewas too sanguine to fear. He spoke with confidence of the royal clemency. "Alas, Egmont, " answered the Prince, "the King's clemency, of which youboast, will destroy you. Would that I might be deceived, but I foreseetoo clearly that you are to be the bridge which the Spaniards willdestroy so soon as they have passed over it to invade our country. " Withthese last, solemn words he concluded his appeal to awaken the Count fromhis fatal security. Then, as if persuaded that he was looking upon hisfriend for the last time, William of Orange threw his arms around Egmont, and held him for a moment in a close embrace. Tears fell from the eyes ofboth at this parting moment--and then the brief scene of simple and loftypathos terminated--Egmont and Orange separated from each other, never tomeet again on earth. 

A few days afterwards, Orange addressed a letter to Philip once moreresigning all his offices, and announcing his intention of departing fromthe Netherlands for Germany. He added, that he should be always ready toplace himself and his property at the King's orders in every thing whichhe believed conducive to the true service of his Majesty. The Prince hadalready received a remarkable warning from old Landgrave Philip of Hesse, who had not forgotten the insidious manner in which his own memorablecaptivity had been brought about by the arts of Granvelle and of Alva. "Let them not smear your mouths with honey, " said the Landgrave. "If thethree seigniors, of whom the Duchess Margaret has had so much to say, areinvited to court by Alva, under pretext of friendly consultation, letthem be wary, and think twice ere they accept. I know the Duke of Alvaand the Spaniards, and how they dealt with me. "

The Prince, before he departed, took a final leave of Horn and Egmont, byletters, which, as if aware of the monumental character they were toassume for posterity, he drew up in Latin. He desired, now that he wasturning his back upon the country, that those two nobles who had refusedto imitate, and had advised against his course, should remember that, hewas acting deliberately, conscientiously, and in pursuance of along-settled plan. 

To Count Horn he declared himself unable to connive longer at the sinsdaily committed against the country and his own conscience. He assuredhim that the government had been accustoming the country to panniers, inorder that it might now accept patiently the saddle and bridle. Forhimself, he said, his back was not strong enough for the weight alreadyimposed upon it, and he preferred to endure any calamity which mighthappen to him in exile, rather than be compelled by those whom they hadall condemned to acquiesce in the object so long and steadily pursued. 

He reminded Egmont, who had been urging him by letter to remain, that hisresolution had been deliberately taken, and long since communicated tohis friends. He could not, in conscience, take the oath required; norwould he, now that all eyes were turned upon him, remain in the land, theonly recusant. He preferred to encounter all that could happen, ratherthan attempt to please others by the sacrifice of liberty, of hisfatherland, of his own conscience. "I hope, therefore, " said he to Egmontin conclusion, "that you, after weighing my reasons, will not disapprovemy departure. The rest I leave to God, who will dispose of all as maymost conduce to the glory of his name. For yourself, I pray you tobelieve that you have no more sincere friend than I am. My love for youhas struck such deep root into my heart, that it can be lessened by nodistance of time or place, and I pray you in return to maintain the samefeelings towards me which you have always cherished. "

The Prince had left Antwerp upon the 11th April, and had written theseletters from Breda, upon the 13th of the same month. Upon the 22d, hetook his departure for Dillenburg, the ancestral seat of his family inGermany, by the way of Grave and Cleves. 

It was not to be supposed that this parting message would influenceEgmont's decision with regard to his own movements, when hisdetermination had not been shaken at his memorable interview with thePrince. The Count's fate was sealed. Had he not been praised byNoircarmes; had he not earned the hypocritical commendations of DuchessMargaret; nay more, had he not just received a most affectionate letterof, thanks and approbation from the King of Spain himself? This letter, one of the most striking monuments of Philip's cold-blooded perfidy, wasdated the 26th of March. "I am pleased, my cousin, " wrote the monarch toEgmont, "that you have taken the new oath, not that I considered it atall necessary so far as regards yourself, but for the example which youhave thus given to others, and which I hope they will all follow. I havereceived not less pleasure in hearing of the excellent manner in whichyou are doing your duty, the assistance you are rendering, and the offerswhich you are making to my sister, for which I thank you, and request youto continue in the same course. "

The words were written by the royal hand which had already signed thedeath-warrant of the man to whom they were addressed. Alva, who cameprovided with full powers to carry out the great scheme resolved upon, unrestrained by provincial laws or by the statutes of the Golden Fleece, had left Madrid to embark for Carthagena, at the very moment when Egmontwas reading the royal letter. "The Spanish honey, " to use once more oldLandgrave Philip's homely metaphor, had done its work, and theunfortunate victim was already entrapped. 

Count Horn remained in gloomy silence in his lair at Weert, awaiting thehunters of men, already on their way. It seemed inconceivable that he, too, who knew himself suspected and disliked, should have thus blindedhimself to his position. It will be seen, however, that the same perfidywas to be employed to ensnare him which proved so successful with Egmont. 

As for the Prince himself, he did not move too soon. Not long after hisarrival in Germany, Vandenesse, the King's private secretary, butOrange's secret agent, wrote him word that he had read letters from theKing to Alva in which the Duke was instructed to "arrest the Prince assoon as he could lay hands upon him, and not to let his trial last morethan twenty-four hours. "

Brederode had remained at Viane, and afterwards at Amsterdam, since theill-starred expedition of Tholouse, which he had organized, but at whichhe had not assisted. He had given much annoyance to the magistracy ofAmsterdam, and to all respectable persons, Calvinist or Catholic. He mademuch mischief, but excited no hopes in the minds of reformers. He wasever surrounded by a host of pot companions, swaggering nobles disguisedas sailors, bankrupt tradesmen, fugitives and outlaws of everydescription, excellent people to drink the beggars' health and to bawlthe beggars' songs, but quite unfit for any serious enterprise. People ofsubstance were wary of him, for they had no confidence in his capacity, and were afraid of his frequent demands for contributions to thepatriotic cause. He spent his time in the pleasure gardens, shooting atthe mark with arquebuss or crossbow, drinking with his comrades, andshrieking "Vivent les gueux. "

The Regent, determined to dislodge him, had sent Secretary La Torre tohim in March, with instructions that if Brederode refused to leaveAmsterdam, the magistracy were to call for assistance upon Count Meghem, who had a regiment at Utrecht. This clause made it impossible for LaTorre to exhibit his instructions to Brederode. Upon his refusal, thatpersonage, although he knew the secretary as well as he knew his ownfather, coolly informed him that he knew nothing about him; that he didnot consider him as respectable a person as he pretended to be; that hedid not believe a word of his having any commission from the Duchess, andthat he should therefore take no notice whatever of his demands. La Torreanswered meekly, that he was not so presumptuous, nor so destitute ofsense as to put himself into comparison with a, gentleman of CountBrederode's quality, but that as he had served as secretary to the privycouncil for twenty-three years, he had thought that he might be believedupon his word. Hereupon La Tome drew up a formal protest, and Brederodedrew up another. La Torre made a proces verbal of their interview, whileBrederode stormed like a madman, and abused the Duchess for a capriciousand unreasonable tyrant. He ended by imprisoning La Torre for a day ortwo, and seizing his papers. By a singular coincidence, these events tookplace on the 13th, 24th, and 15th of March, the very days of the greatAntwerp tumult. The manner in which the Prince of Orange had been dealingwith forty or fifty thousand armed men, anxious to cut each other'sthroats, while Brederode was thus occupied in browbeating a pragmaticalbut decent old secretary, illustrated the difference in calibre of thetwo men. 

This was the Count's last exploit. He remained at Amsterdam some weekslonger, but the events which succeeded changed the Hector into a faithfulvassal. Before the 12th of April, he wrote to Egmont, begging hisintercession with Margaret of Parma, and offering "carte blanche" as toterms, if he might only be allowed to make his peace with government. Itwas, however, somewhat late in the day for the "great beggar" to make hissubmission. No terms were accorded him, but he was allowed by the Duchessto enjoy his revenues provisionally, subject to the King's pleasure. Uponthe 25th April, he entertained a select circle of friends at his hotel inAmsterdam, and then embarked at midnight for Embden. A numerousprocession of his adherents escorted him to the ship, bearing lightedtorches, and singing bacchanalian songs. He died within a yearafterwards, of disappointment and hard drinking, at Castle Hardenberg, inGermany, after all his fretting and fury, and notwithstanding hisvehement protestations to die a poor soldier at the feet of Louis Nassau. 

That "good chevalier and good Christian, " as his brother affectionatelycalled him, was in Germany, girding himself for the manly work whichProvidence had destined him to perform. The life of Brederode, who hadengaged in the early struggle, perhaps from the frivolous expectation ofhearing himself called Count of Holland, as his ancestors had been, hadcontributed nothing to the cause of freedom, nor did his death occasionregret. His disorderly band of followers dispersed in every directionupon the departure of their chief. A vessel in which Batenburg, Galaina, and other nobles, with their men-at-arms, were escaping towards a Germanport, was carried into Harlingen, while those gentlemen, overpowered bysleep and wassail, were unaware of their danger, and delivered over toCount Meghem, by the treachery of their pilot. The soldiers, wereimmediately hanged. The noblemen were reserved to grace the first greatscaffold which Alva was to erect upon the horse-market in Brussels. 

The confederacy was entirely broken to pieces. Of the chieftains to whomthe people had been accustomed to look for support and encouragement, some had rallied to the government, some were in exile, some were inprison. Montigny, closely watched in Spain, was virtually a captive, pining for the young bride to whom he had been wedded amid such brilliantfestivities but a few months before his departure, and for the childwhich was never to look upon its father's face. 

His colleague, Marquis Berghen, more fortunate, was already dead. Theexcellent Viglius seized the opportunity to put in a good word forNoircarmes, who had been grinding Tournay in the dust, and butchering theinhabitants of Valenciennes. "We have heard of Berghen's death, " wrotethe President to his faithful Joachim. "The Lord of Noircarmes, who hasbeen his substitute in the governorship of Hainault, has given a specimenof what he can do. Although I have no private intimacy with thatnobleman, I can not help embracing him with all my benevolence. Therefore, oh my Hopper, pray do your best to have him appointedgovernor. "

With the departure of Orange, a total eclipse seemed to come over theNetherlands. The country was absolutely helpless, the popular heart coldwith apprehension. All persons at all implicated in the late troubles, orsuspected of heresy, fled from their homes. Fugitive soldiers were huntedinto rivers, cut to pieces in the fields, hanged, burned, or drowned, like dogs, without quarter, and without remorse. The most industrious andvaluable part of the population left the land in droves. The tide sweptoutwards with such rapidity that the Netherlands seemed fast becoming thedesolate waste which they had been before the Christian era. Throughoutthe country, those Reformers who were unable to effect their escapebetook themselves to their old lurking-places. The new religion wasbanished from all the cities, every conventicle was broken up by armedmen, the preachers and leading members were hanged, their disciplesbeaten with rods, reduced to beggary, or imprisoned, even if theysometimes escaped the scaffold. An incredible number, however, wereexecuted for religious causes. Hardly a village so small, says theAntwerp chronicler, --[Meteren]--but that it could furnish one, two, orthree hundred victims to the executioner. The new churches were levelledto the ground, and out of their timbers gallows were constructed. It wasthought an ingenious pleasantry to hang the Reformers upon the beamsunder which they had hoped to worship God. The property of the fugitiveswas confiscated. The beggars in name became beggars in reality. Many whofelt obliged to remain, and who loved their possessions better than theircreed, were suddenly converted into the most zealous of Catholics. Persons who had for years not gone to mass, never omitted now their dailyand nightly visits to the churches. Persons who had never spoken to anecclesiastic but with contumely, now could not eat their dinners withoutone at their table. Many who were suspected of having participated inCalvinistic rites, were foremost and loudest in putting down anddenouncing all forms and shows of the reformation. The country was ascompletely "pacified, " to use the conqueror's expression, as Gaul hadbeen by Caesar. 

The, Regent issued a fresh edict upon the 24th May, to refresh thememories of those who might have forgotten previous statutes, which were, however, not calculated to make men oblivious. By this new proclamation, all ministers and teachers were sentenced to the gallows. All persons whohad suffered their houses to be used for religious purposes weresentenced to the gallows. All parents or masters whose children orservants had attended such meetings were sentenced to the gallows, whilethe children and servants were only to be beaten with rods. All peoplewho sang hymns at the burial of their relations were sentenced to thegallows. Parents who allowed their newly-born children to be baptized byother hands than those of the Catholic priest were sentenced to thegallows. The same punishment was denounced against the persons who shouldchristen the child or act as its sponsors. Schoolmasters who should teachany error or false doctrine were likewise to be punished with death. Those who infringed the statutes against the buying and selling ofreligious books and songs were to receive the same doom; after the firstoffence. All sneers or insults against priests and ecclesiastics werealso made capital crimes. Vagabonds, fugitives; apostates, runaway monks, were ordered forthwith to depart from every city on pain of death. In allcases confiscation of the whole property of the criminal was added to thehanging. 

This edict, says a contemporary historian, increased the fear of thoseprofessing the new religion to such an extent that they left the country"in great heaps. " It became necessary, therefore, to issue a subsequentproclamation forbidding all persons, whether foreigners or natives, toleave the land or to send away their property, and prohibiting allshipmasters, wagoners, and other agents of travel, from assisting in theflight of such fugitives, all upon pain of death. 

Yet will it be credited that the edict of 24th May, the provisions ofwhich have just been sketched, actually excited the wrath of Philip onaccount of their clemency? He wrote to the Duchess, expressing the painand dissatisfaction which he felt, that an edict so indecent, so illegal, so contrary to the Christian religion, should have been published. Nothing, he said, could offend or distress him more deeply, than anyoutrage whatever, even the slightest one, offered to God and to His RomanCatholic Church. He therefore commanded his sister instantly to revokethe edict. One might almost imagine from reading the King's letter thatPhilip was at last appalled at the horrors committed in his name. Alas, he was only indignant that heretics had been suffered to hang who oughtto have been burned, and that a few narrow and almost impossibleloopholes had been left through which those who had offended alighteffect their escape. 

And thus, while the country is paralyzed with present and expected woe, the swiftly advancing trumpets of the Spanish army resound from beyondthe Alps. The curtain is falling upon the prelude to the great tragedywhich the prophetic lips of Orange had foretold. When it is again lifted, scenes of disaster and of bloodshed, battles, sieges, executions, deedsof unfaltering but valiant tyranny, of superhuman and successfulresistance, of heroic self-sacrifice, fanatical courage and insanecruelty, both in the cause of the Wrong and the Right, will be revealedin awful succession--a spectacle of human energy, human suffering, andhuman strength to suffer, such as has not often been displayed upon thestage of the world's events. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 God Save the King! It was the last time Having conjugated his paradigm conscientiously Indignant that heretics had been suffered to hang Insane cruelty, both in the cause of the Wrong and the Right Sick and wounded wretches were burned over slow fires Slender stock of platitudes The time for reasoning had passed Who loved their possessions better than their creed

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 14. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY1855

1567 [Part III. , ALVA, CHAPTER 1. ]

 Continued dissensions in the Spanish cabinet--Ruy Gomez and Alva-- Conquest of the Netherlands entrusted to the Duke--Birth, previous career and character of Alva--Organization of the invading army-- Its march to the provinces--Complaints of Duchess Margaret--Alva receives deputations on the frontier--Interview between the Duke and Egmont--Reception of Alva by the Duchess of Parma--Circular letters to the cities requiring their acceptance of garrisons--Margaret's secret correspondence--Universal apprehension--Keys of the great cities demanded by Alva--Secret plans of the government, arranged before the Duke's departure--Arrest of Orange, Egmont, Horn, and others, determined upon--Stealthy course of the government towards them--Infatuation of Egmont--Warnings addressed to him by De Billy and others--Measures to entrap Count Horn--Banquet of the Grand Prior--The Grand Prior's warning to Egmont--Evil counsels of Noircarmes--Arrests of Egmont, Horn, Bakkerzeel and Straalen-- Popular consternation--Petulant conduct of Duchess Margaret-- Characteristic comments of Granvelle--His secret machinations and disclaimers--Berghen and Montigny--Last moments of Marquis Berghen-- Perfidy of Ruy Gomez--Establishment of the "Blood-Council"--Its leading features--Insidious behavior of Viglius--Secret correspondence, concerning the President, between Philip and Alva-- Members of the "Blood-Council"--Portraits of Vargas and Hessels-- Mode of proceeding adopted by the council--Wholesale executions-- Despair in the provinces--The resignation of Duchess Margaret accepted--Her departure from the Netherlands--Renewed civil war in France--Death of Montmorency--Auxiliary troops sent by Alva to France--Erection of Antwerp citadel--Description of the citadel. 

The armed invasion of the Netherlands was the necessary consequence ofall which had gone before. That the inevitable result had been so longdeferred lay rather in the incomprehensible tardiness of Philip'scharacter than in the circumstances of the case. Never did a monarch holdso steadfastly to a deadly purpose, or proceed so languidly and with somuch circumvolution to his goal. The mask of benignity, of possibleclemency, was now thrown off, but the delusion of his intended visit tothe provinces was still maintained. He assured the Regent that he shouldbe governed by her advice, and as she had made all needful preparationsto receive him in Zeland, that it would be in Zeland he should arrive. 

The same two men among Philip's advisers were prominent as at an earlierday--the Prince of Eboli and the Duke of Alva. They still representedentirely opposite ideas, and in character, temper, and history, each wasthe reverse of the other. The policy of the Prince was pacific andtemporizing; that of the Duke uncompromising and ferocious. Ruy Gomez wasdisposed to prevent, if possible, the armed mission of Alva, and he nowopenly counselled the King to fulfil his long-deferred promise, and tomake his appearance in person before his rebellious subjects. Thejealousy and hatred which existed between the Prince and theDuke--between the man of peace and the man of wrath--were constantlyexploding, even in the presence of the King. The wrangling in the councilwas incessant. Determined, if possible; to prevent the elevation of hisrival, the favorite was even for a moment disposed to ask for the commandof the army himself. There was something ludicrous in the notion, that aman whose life had been pacific, and who trembled at the noise of arms, should seek to supersede the terrible Alva, of whom his eulogistsasserted, with, Castilian exaggeration, that the very name of fearinspired him with horror. But there was a limit beyond which theinfluence of Anna de Mendoza and her husband did not extend. Philip wasnot to be driven to the Netherlands against his will, nor to be preventedfrom assigning the command of the army to the most appropriate man inEurope for his purpose. 

It was determined at last that the Netherland heresy should be conqueredby force of arms. The invasion resembled both a crusade against theinfidel, and a treasure-hunting foray into the auriferous Indies, achievements by which Spanish chivalry had so often illustrated itself. The banner of the cross was to be replanted upon the conqueredbattlements of three hundred infidel cities, and a torrent of wealth, richer than ever flowed from Mexican or Peruvian mines, was to flow intothe royal treasury from the perennial fountains of confiscation. Who sofit to be the Tancred and the Pizarro of this bicolored expedition as theDuke of Alva, the man who had been devoted from his earliest childhood, and from his father's grave, to hostility against unbelievers, and whohad prophesied that treasure would flow in a stream, a yard deep, fromthe Netherlands as soon as the heretics began to meet with their deserts. An army of chosen troops was forthwith collected, by taking the fourlegions, or terzios, of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and Lombardy, andfilling their places in Italy by fresh levies. About ten thousand pickedand veteran soldiers were thus obtained, of which the Duke of Alva wasappointed general-in-chief. 

Ferdinando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, was now in his sixtieth year. He was the most successful and experienced general of Spain, or ofEurope. No man had studied more deeply, or practised more constantly, themilitary science. In the most important of all arts at that epoch he wasthe most consummate artist. In the only honorable profession of the age, he was the most thorough and the most pedantic professor. Since the daysof Demetrius Poliorcetes, no man had besieged so many cities. Since thedays of Fabius Cunctator; no general had avoided so many battles, and nosoldier, courageous as he was, ever attained to a more sublimeindifference to calumny or depreciation. Having proved in his boyhood, atFontarabia, and in his maturity: at Muhlberg, that he could exhibitheroism and headlong courage; when necessary, he could afford to lookwith contempt upon the witless gibes which his enemies had occasionallyperpetrated at his expense. Conscious of holding his armies in his hand, by the power of an unrivalled discipline, and the magic of a nameillustrated by a hundred triumphs, he, could bear with patience andbenevolence the murmurs of his soldiers when their battles were deniedthem. 

He was born in 1508, of a family which boasted, imperial descent. APalaeologus, brother of a Byzantine emperor, had conquered the city ofToledo, and transmitted its appellation as a family name. The father ofFerdinando, Don Garcia, had been slain on the isle of Gerbes, in battlewith the Moors, when his son was but four years of age. The child wasbrought up by his grandfather, Don Frederic, and trained from histenderest infancy to arms. Hatred to the infidel, and a determination toavenge his father's blood; crying to him from a foreign grave, were theearliest of his instincts. As a youth he was distinguished for hisprowess. His maiden sword was fleshed at Fontarabia, where, although butsixteen years of age, he was considered, by his constancy in hardship, byhis brilliant and desperate courage, and by the example of militarydiscipline which he afforded to the troops, to have contributed in nosmall degree to the success of the Spanish arms. 

In 1530, he accompanied the Emperor in his campaign against the Turk. Charles, instinctively recognizing the merit of the youth who wasdestined to be the life-long companion of his toils and glories, distinguished him with his favor at the opening of his career. Young, brave, and enthusiastic, Ferdinand de Toledo at this period was asinteresting a hero as ever illustrated the pages of Castilian romance. His mad ride from Hungary to Spain and back again, accomplished inseventeen days, for the sake of a brief visit to his newly-married wife, is not the least attractive episode in the history of an existence whichwas destined to be so dark and sanguinary. In 1535, he accompanied theEmperor on his memorable expedition to Tunis. In 1546 and 1547 he wasgeneralissimo in the war against the Smalcaldian league. His mostbrilliant feat of arms-perhaps the most brilliant exploit of theEmperor's reign--was the passage of the Elbe and the battle of Muhlberg, accomplished in spite of Maximilian's bitter and violent reproaches, andthe tremendous possibilities of a defeat. That battle had finished thewar. The gigantic and magnanimous John Frederic, surprised at hisdevotions in the church, fled in dismay, leaving his boots behind him, which for their superhuman size, were ridiculously said afterwards to betreasured among the trophies of the Toledo house. 

 [Hist. Du Due d'Albe, i. 274. Brantome, Hom. Illust. , etc. (ch. V. ), says that one of the boots was "large enough to hold a camp bedstead, " p. 11. I insert the anecdote only as a specimen of the manner in which similar absurdities, both of great and, of little consequence, are perpetuated by writers in every land and age. The armor of the noble-hearted and unfortunate John Frederic may still be seen in Dresden. Its size indicates a man very much above the average height, while the external length of the iron shoe, on-the contrary, is less than eleven inches. ]

The rout was total. "I came, I saw, and God conquered, " said the Emperor, in pious parody of his immortal predecessor's epigram. Maximilian, with athousand apologies for his previous insults, embraced the heroic DonFerdinand over and over again, as, arrayed in a plain suit of blue armor, unadorned save with streaks of his enemies' blood, he returned frompursuit of the fugitives. So complete and so sudden was the victory, thatit was found impossible to account for it, save on the ground ofmiraculous interposition. Like Joshua, in the vale of Ajalon, DonFerdinand was supposed to have commanded the sun to stand still for aseason, and to have been obeyed. Otherwise, how could the passage of theriver, which was only concluded at six in the evening, and the completeoverthrow of the Protestant forces, have all been accomplished within thenarrow space of an April twilight? The reply of the Duke to Henry theSecond of France, who questioned him subsequently upon the subject, iswell known. "Your Majesty, I was too much occupied that evening with whatwas taking place on the earth beneath, to pay much heed to the evolutionsof the heavenly bodies. " Spared as he had been by his good fortune fromtaking any part in the Algerine expedition, or in witnessing theignominious retreat from Innspruck, he was obliged to submit to theintercalation of the disastrous siege of Metz in the long history of hissuccesses. Doing the duty of a field-marshal and a sentinel, supportinghis army by his firmness and his discipline when nothing else could havesupported them, he was at last enabled, after half the hundred thousandmen with whom Charles had begun the siege had been sacrificed, to inducehis imperial master to raise the siege before the remaining fiftythousand had been frozen or starved to death. 

The culminating career of Alva seemed to have closed in the mist whichgathered around the setting star of the empire. Having accompanied Philipto England in 1554, on his matrimonial-expedition, he was destined in thefollowing years, as viceroy and generalissimo of Italy, to be placed in aseries of false positions. A great captain engaged in a little war, thechampion of the cross in arms against the successor of St. Peter, he hadextricated himself, at last, with his usual adroitness, but with verylittle glory. To him had been allotted the mortification, to another thetriumph. The lustre of his own name seemed to sink in the ocean whilethat of a hated rival, with new spangled ore, suddenly "flamed in theforehead of the morning sky. " While he had been paltering with a dotard, whom he was forbidden to crush, Egmont had struck down the chosen troopsof France, and conquered her most illustrious commanders. Here was theunpardonable crime which could only be expiated by the blood of thevictor. Unfortunately for his rival, the time was now approaching whenthe long-deferred revenge was to be satisfied. 

On the whole, the Duke of Alva was inferior to no general of his age. Asa disciplinarian he was foremost in Spain, perhaps in Europe. Aspendthrift of time, he was an economist of blood, and this was, perhaps, in the eye of humanity, his principal virtue. Time and myself are two, was a frequent observation of Philip, and his favorite general consideredthe maxim as applicable to war as to politics. Such were his qualities asa military commander. As a statesman, he had neither experience nortalent. As a man his character was simple. He did not combine a greatvariety of vices, but those which he had were colossal, and he possessedno virtues. He was neither lustful nor intemperate, but his professedeulogists admitted his enormous avarice, while the world has agreed thatsuch an amount of stealth and ferocity, of patient vindictiveness anduniversal bloodthirstiness, were never found in a savage beast of theforest, and but rarely in a human bosom. His history was now to show thathis previous thrift of human life was not derived from any love of hiskind. Personally he was stern and overbearing. As difficult of access asPhilip himself, he was even more haughty to those who were admitted tohis presence. He addressed every one with the depreciating second personplural. Possessing the right of being covered in the presence of theSpanish monarch, he had been with difficulty brought to renounce itbefore the German Emperor. He was of an illustrious family; but histerritorial possessions were not extensive. His duchy was a small one, furnishing him with not more than fourteen thousand crowns of annualincome, and with four hundred soldiers. He had, however, been a thriftyfinancier all his life, never having been without a handsome sum of readymoney at interest. Ten years before his arrival in the Netherlands, hewas supposed to have already increased his income to forty thousand ayear by the proceeds of his investments at Antwerp. As already intimated, his military character was sometimes profoundly misunderstood. He wasoften considered rather a pedantic than a practical commander, morecapable to discourse of battles than to gain them. Notwithstanding thathis long life had been an, almost unbroken campaign, the ridiculousaccusation of timidity was frequently made against him. A gentleman atthe court of the Emperor Charles once addressed a letter to the Duke withthe title of "General of his Majesty's armies in the Duchy of Milan intime of peace, and major-domo of the household in the time of war. " Itwas said that the lesson did the Duke good, but that he rewarded verybadly the nobleman who gave it, having subsequently caused his head to betaken off. In general, however, Alva manifested a philosophical contemptfor the opinions expressed concerning his military fame, and wasespecially disdainful of criticism expressed by his own soldiers. "Recollect, " said he, at a little later period, to Don John of Austria, "that the first foes with whom one has to contend are one's own troops;with their clamors for an engagement at this moment, and--their murmurs, about results at another; with their 'I thought that the battle should befought;' or, 'it was my, opinion that the occasion ought not to be lost. 'Your highness will have opportunity enough to display valor, and willnever be weak enough to be conquered by the babble of soldiers. "

In person he was tall, thin, erect, with a small head, a long visage, lean yellow cheek, dark twinkling eyes, a dust complexion, blackbristling hair, and a long sable-silvered beard, descending in two wavingstreams upon his breast. 

Such being the design, the machinery was well selected. The best man inEurope to lead the invading force was placed at the head of ten thousandpicked veterans. The privates in this exquisite little army, said theenthusiastic connoisseur Brantome, who travelled post into Lorraineexpressly to see them on their march, all wore engraved or gilded armor, and were in every respect equipped like captains. They were the first whocarried muskets, a weapon which very much astonished the Flemings when itfirst rattled in their ears. The musketeers, he observed, might have beenmistaken, for princes, with such agreeable and graceful arrogance didthey present themselves. Each was attended by his servant or esquire, whocarried his piece for him, except in battle, and all were treated withextreme deference by the rest of the army, as if they had been officers. The four regiments of Lombardy, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples, composed atotal of not quite nine thousand of the best foot soldiers in Europe. They were commanded respectively by Don Sancho de Lodiono, Don Gonzalo deBracamonte, Julien Romero, and Alfonso de Ulloa, all distinguished andexperienced generals. The cavalry, amounting to about twelve hundred; wasunder the command of the natural son of the Duke, Don Ferdinando deToledo, Prior of the Knights of St. John. Chiapin Vitelli, Marquis ofCetona, who had served the King in many a campaign, was appointedMarechal de camp, and Gabriel Cerbelloni was placed in command of theartillery. On the way the Duke received, as a present from the Duke ofSavoy, the services of the distinguished engineer, Pacheco, or Paciotti, whose name was to be associated with the most celebrated citadel of theNetherlands; and whose dreadful fate was to be contemporaneous with theearliest successes of the liberal party. 

With an army thus perfect, on a small scale, in all its departments, andfurnished, in addition, with a force of two thousand prostitutes, asregularly enrolled, disciplined, and distributed as the cavalry or theartillery, the Duke embarked upon his momentous enterprise, on the 10thof May, at Carthagena. Thirty-seven galleys, under command of PrinceAndrea Doria, brought the principal part of the force to Genoa, the Dukebeing delayed a few days at Nice by an attack of fever. On the 2d ofJune, the army was mustered at Alexandria de Palla, and ordered torendezvous again at San Ambrosio at the foot of the Alps. It was thendirected to make its way over Mount Cenis and through Savoy; Burgundy, and Lorraine, by a regularly arranged triple movement. The seconddivision was each night to encamp on the spot which had been occupiedupon the previous night by the vanguard, and the rear was to place itselfon the following night in the camp of the corps de bataille. Thus coilingitself along almost in a single line by slow and serpentine windings, with a deliberate, deadly, venomous purpose, this army, which was to bethe instrument of Philip's long deferred vengeance, stole through narrowmountain pass and tangled forest. So close and intricate were many of thedefiles through which the journey led them that, had one tithe of thetreason which they came to punish, ever existed, save in the diseasedimagination of their monarch, not one man would have been left to tellthe tale. Egmont, had he really been the traitor and the conspirator hewas assumed to be, might have easily organized the means of cutting offthe troops before they could have effected their entrance into thecountry which they had doomed to destruction. His military experience, his qualifications for a daring stroke, his great popularity, and theintense hatred entertained for Alva, would have furnished him with asufficient machinery for the purpose. 

Twelve days' march carried the army through Burgundy, twelve more throughLorraine. During the whole of the journey they were closely accompaniedby a force of cavalry and infantry, ordered upon this service by the Kingof France, who, for fear of exciting a fresh Huguenot demonstration, hadrefused the Spaniards a passage through his dominions. This reconnoitringarmy kept pace with them like their shadow, and watched all theirmovements. A force of six thousand Swiss, equally alarmed and uneasy atthe progress of the troops, hovered likewise about their flanks, without, however, offering any impediment to their advance. Before the middle ofAugust they had reached Thionville, on the Luxemburg frontier, having onthe last day marched a distance of two leagues through a forest, whichseemed expressly arranged to allow a small defensive force to embarrassand destroy an invading army. No opposition, however, was attempted, andthe Spanish soldiers encamped at last within the territory of theNetherlands, having accomplished their adventurous journey in entiresafety, and under perfect discipline. 

The Duchess had in her secret letters to Philip continued to express herdisapprobation of the enterprise thus committed to Alva, She had bitterlycomplained that now when the country had been pacified by her efforts, another should be sent to reap all the glory, or perhaps to undo all thatshe had so painfully and so successfully done. She stated to her brother, in most unequivocal language, that the name of Alva was odious enough tomake the whole Spanish nation detested in the Netherlands. She could findno language sufficiently strong to express her surprise that the Kingshould have decided upon a measure likely to be attended with such fatalconsequences without consulting her on the subject, and in opposition towhat had been her uniform advice. She also wrote personally to Alva, imploring, commanding, and threatening, but with equally ill success. TheDuke knew too well who was sovereign of the Netherlands now; his master'ssister or himself. As to the effects of his armed invasion upon thetemper of the provinces, he was supremely indifferent. He came as aconqueror not as a mediator. "I have tamed people of iron in my day, "said he, contemptuously, "shall I not easily crush these men of butter?"

At Thionville he was, however, officially waited upon by Berlaymont andNoircarmes, on the part of the Regent. He at this point, moreover, beganto receive deputations from various cities, bidding him a hollow andtrembling welcome, and deprecating his displeasure for any thing in thepast which might seem offensive. To all such embassies he replied invague and conventional language; saying, however, to his confidentialattendants: I am here, so much is certain, whether I am welcome or not isto me a matter of little consequence. At Tirlemont, on the 22d August, hewas met by Count Egmont, who had ridden forth from Brussels to show him abecoming respect, as the representative of his sovereign, The Count wasaccompanied by several other noblemen, and brought to the Duke a presentof several beautiful horses. Alva received him, however, but coldly, forhe was unable at first to adjust the mask to his countenance as adroitlyas was necessary. Behold the greatest of all the heretics, he observed tohis attendants, as soon as the nobleman's presence was announced, and ina voice loud enough for him to hear. 

Even after they had exchanged salutations, he addressed several remarksto him in a half jesting, half biting tone, saying among other things, that his countship might have spared him the trouble of making this longjourney in his old age. There were other observations in a similar strainwhich might have well aroused the suspicion of any man not determined, like Egmont, to continue blind and deaf. After a brief interval, however, Alva seems to have commanded himself. He passed his arm lovingly overthat stately neck, which he had already devoted to the block, and theCount having resolved beforehand to place himself, if possible, uponamicable terms with the new Viceroy--the two rode along side by side infriendly conversation, followed by the regiment of infantry and threecompanies of light horse, which belonged to the Duke's immediate command. Alva, still attended by Egmont, rode soon afterwards through the Louvaingate into Brussels, where they separated for a season. Lodgings had beentaken for the Duke at the house of a certain Madame de Jasse, in theneighborhood of Egmont's palace. Leaving here the principal portion ofhis attendants, the Captain-General, without alighting, forthwithproceeded to the palace to pay his respects to the Duchess of Parma. 

For three days the Regent had been deliberating with her council as tothe propriety of declining any visit from the man whose presence shejustly considered a disgrace and an insult to herself. This being thereward of her eight years' devotion to her brother's commands; to besuperseded by a subject, and one too who came to carry out a policy whichshe had urgently deprecated, it could hardly be expected of the Emperor'sdaughter that she should graciously submit to the indignity, and receiveher successor with a smiling countenance. In consequence, however, of thesubmissive language with which the Duke had addressed her in his recentcommunications, offering with true Castilian but empty courtesy, to placehis guards, his army, and himself at her feet, she had consented toreceive his visit with or without his attendants. 

On his appearance in the court-yard, a scene of violent altercation andalmost of bloodshed took place between his body-guard and the archers ofthe Regent's household, who were at last, with difficulty, persuaded toallow the mercenaries of the hated Captain-General to pass. Presentinghimself at three o'clock in the afternoon, after these not verysatisfactory preliminaries, in the bedchamber of the Duchess, where itwas her habit to grant confidential audiences, he met, as might easily besupposed, with a chilling reception: The Duchess, standing motionless inthe centre of the apartment, attended by Berlaymont, the Duke ofAerachot, and Count Egmont, acknowledged his salutations with calmseverity. Neither she nor any one of her attendants advanced a step tomeet him. The Duke took off his hat, but she, calmly recognizing hisright as a Spanish grandee, insisted upon his remaining covered. A stiffand formal conversation of half an hour's duration then ensued, allparties remaining upon their feet. The Duke, although respectful; foundit difficult to conceal his indignation and his haughty sense ofapproaching triumph. Margaret was cold, stately, and forbidding, disguising her rage and her mortification under a veil of imperial pride. Alva, in a letter to Philip, describing the interview, assured hisMajesty that he had treated the Duchess with as much deference as hecould have shown to the Queen, but it is probable, from othercontemporaneous accounts, that an ill-disguised and even angry arrogancewas at times very visible in his demeanor. The state council had advisedthe Duchess against receiving him until he had duly exhibited his powers. This ceremony had been waived, but upon being questioned by the Duchessat this interview as to their nature and extent, he is reported to havecoolly answered that he really did not exactly remember, but that hewould look them over, and send her information at his earliestconvenience. 

The next day, however, his commission was duly exhibited. 

In this document, which bore date 31st January, 1567, Philip appointedhim to be Captain-General "in correspondence with his Majesty's dearsister of Parma, who was occupied with other matters belonging to thegovernment, " begged the Duchess to co-operate with him and to commandobedience for him, and ordered all the cities of the Netherlands toreceive such garrisons as he should direct. 

At the official interview between Alva and Madame de Parma, at whichthese powers were produced, the necessary preliminary arrangements weremade regarding the Spanish troops, which were now to be immediatelyquartered in the principal cities. The Duke, however, informed the Regentthat as these matters were not within her province, he should take theliberty of arranging them with the authorities, without troubling her inthe matter, and would inform her of the result of his measures at theirnext interview, which was to take place on the 26th August. 

Circular letters signed by Philip, which Alva had brought with him, werenow despatched to the different municipal bodies of the country. In thesethe cities were severally commanded to accept the garrisons, and toprovide for the armies whose active services the King hoped would not berequired, but which he had sent beforehand to prepare a peaceful entrancefor himself. He enjoined the most absolute obedience to the Duke of Alvauntil his own arrival, which was to be almost immediate. These letterswere dated at Madrid on the 28th February, and were now accompanied by abrief official circular, signed by Margaret of Parma, in which sheannounced the arrival of her dear cousin of Alva, and demandedunconditional submission to his authority. 

Having thus complied with these demands of external and conventionalpropriety, the indignant Duchess unbosomed herself, in her privateItalian letters to her brother, of the rage which had been hithertopartially suppressed. She reiterated her profound regret that Philip hadnot yet accepted the resignation which she had so recently and soearnestly offered. She disclaimed all jealousy of the supreme powers nowconferred upon Alva, but thought that his Majesty might have allowed herto leave the country before the Duke arrived with an authority which wasso extraordinary, as well as so humiliating to herself. Her honor mightthus have been saved. She was pained to perceive that she was like tofurnish a perpetual example to all others, who considering the manner inwhich she had been treated by the King, would henceforth have but littleinducement to do their duty. At no time, on no occasion, could any personever render him such services as hers had been. For nine years she hadenjoyed not a moment of repose. If the King had shown her but littlegratitude, she was consoled by the thought that she had satisfied herGod, herself, and the world. She had compromised her health, perhaps herlife, and now that she had pacified the country, now that the King wasmore absolute, more powerful than ever before, another was sent to enjoythe fruit of her labors and her sufferings. 

The Duchess made no secret of her indignation at being thus supersededand as she considered the matter, outraged. She openly avowed herdispleasure. She was at times almost beside herself with rage. There wasuniversal sympathy with her emotions, for all hated the Duke, andshuddered at the arrival of the Spaniards. The day of doom for all thecrimes which had ever been committed in the course of ages, seemed now tohave dawned upon the Netherlands. The sword which had so long beenhanging over them, seemed now about to descend. Throughout the provinces, there was but one feeling of cold and hopeless dismay. Those who stillsaw a possibility of effecting their escape from the fated land, swarmedacross the frontier. All foreign merchants deserted the great marts. Thecities became as still as if the plague-banner had been unfurled on everyhouse-top. 

Meantime the Captain-General proceeded methodically with his work. Hedistributed his troops through Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and otherprincipal cities. As a measure of necessity and mark of the lasthumiliation, he required the municipalities to transfer their keys to hiskeeping. The magistrates of Ghent humbly remonstrated against theindignity, and Egmont was imprudent enough to make himself themouth-piece of their remonstrance, which, it is needless to add, wasunsuccessful. Meantime his own day of reckoning had arrived. 

As already observed, the advent of Alva at the head of a foreign army wasthe natural consequence of all which had gone before. The delusion of theroyal visit was still maintained, and the affectation of a possibleclemency still displayed, while the monarch sat quietly in his cabinetwithout a remote intention of leaving Spain, and while the messengers ofhis accumulated and long-concealed wrath were already descending upontheir prey. It was the deliberate intention of Philip, when the Duke wasdespatched to the Netherlands, that all the leaders of theanti-inquisition party, and all who had, at any time or in any way, implicated themselves in opposition to the government, or in censure ofits proceedings, should be put to death. It was determined that theprovinces should be subjugated to the absolute domination of the councilof Spain, a small body of foreigners sitting at the other end of Europe, a junta in which Netherlanders were to have no voice and exercise noinfluence. The despotic government of the Spanish and Italian possessionswas to be extended to these Flemish territories, which were thus to beconverted into the helpless dependencies of a foreign and an absolutecrown. There was to be a re-organization of the inquisition, upon thesame footing claimed for it before the outbreak of the troubles, togetherwith a re-enactment and vigorous enforcement of the famous edicts againstheresy. 

Such was the scheme recommended by Granvelle and Espinosa, and to beexecuted by Alva. As part and parcel of this plan, it was also arrangedat secret meetings at the house of Espinosa, before the departure of theDuke, that all the seigniors against whom the Duchess Margaret had madeso many complaints, especially the Prince of Orange, with the CountsEgmont, Horn, and Hoogstraaten, should be immediately arrested andbrought to chastisement. The Marquis Berghen and the Baron Montigny, being already in Spain, could be dealt with at pleasure. It was alsodecided that the gentlemen implicated in the confederacy or compromise, should at once be proceeded against for high treason, without any regardto the promise of pardon granted by the Duchess. 

The general features of the great project having been thus mapped out, afew indispensable preliminaries were at once executed. In order thatEgmont, Horn, and other distinguished victims might not take alarm, andthus escape the doom deliberately arranged for them, royal assuranceswere despatched to the Netherlands, cheering their despondency anddispelling their doubts. With his own hand Philip wrote the letter, fullof affection and confidence, to Egmont, to which allusion has alreadybeen made. He wrote it after Alva had left Madrid upon his mission ofvengeance. The same stealthy measures were pursued with regard to others. The Prince of Orange was not capable of falling into the royal trap, however cautiously baited. Unfortunately he could not communicate hiswisdom to his friends. 

It is difficult to comprehend so very sanguine a temperament as that towhich Egmont owed his destruction. It was not the Prince of Orange alonewho had prophesied his doom. Warnings had come to the Count from everyquarter, and they were now frequently repeated. Certainly he was notwithout anxiety, but he had made his decision; determined to believe inthe royal word, and in the royal gratitude for his services rendered, notonly against Montmorency and De Thermes, but against the heretics ofFlanders. He was, however, much changed. He had grown prematurely old. Atforty-six years his hair was white, and he never slept without pistolsunder his pillow. Nevertheless he affected, and sometimes felt, alight-heartedness which surprised all around him. The Portuguesegentleman Robles, Seigneur de Billy, who had returned early in the summerfrom Spain; whither he had been sent upon a confidential mission byMadame de Parma, is said to have made repeated communications to Egmontas to the dangerous position in which he stood. Immediately after hisarrival in Brussels he had visited the Count, then confined to his houseby an injury caused by the fall of his horse. "Take care to get well veryfast, " said De Billy, "for there are very bad stories told about you inSpain. " Egmont laughed heartily at the observation, as if, nothing couldwell be more absurd than such a warning. His friend--for De Billy is saidto have felt a real attachment to the Count--persisted in his prophecies, telling him that "birds in the field sang much more sweetly than those incages, " and that he would do well to abandon the country before thearrival of Alva. 

These warnings were repeated almost daily by the same gentleman, and byothers, who were more and more astonished at Egmont's infatuation. Nevertheless, he had disregarded their admonitions, and had gone forth tomeet the Duke at Tirlemont. Even then he might have seen, in the coldnessof his first reception, and in the disrespectful manner of the Spanishsoldiers, who not only did not at first salute him, but who murmuredaudibly that he was a Lutheran and traitor, that he was not so great afavorite with the government at Madrid as he desired to be. 

After the first few moments, however, Alva's manner had changed, whileChiappin Vitelli, Gabriel de Serbelloni, and other principal officers, received the Count with great courtesy, even upon his first appearance. The grand prior, Ferdinando de Toledo, natural son of the Duke, andalready a distinguished soldier, seems to have felt a warm and unaffectedfriendship for Egmont, whose brilliant exploits in the field had excitedhis youthful admiration, and of whose destruction he was, nevertheless, compelled to be the unwilling instrument. For a few days, accordingly, after the arrival of the new Governor-General all seemed to be goingsmoothly. The grand prior and Egmont became exceedingly intimate, passingtheir time together in banquets, masquerades, and play, as joyously as ifthe merry days which had succeeded the treaty of Cateau Cambreais werereturned. The Duke, too, manifested the most friendly dispositions, taking care to send him large presents of Spanish and Italian fruits, received frequently by the government couriers. 

Lapped in this fatal security, Egmont not only forgot his fears, butunfortunately succeeded in inspiring Count Horn with a portion of hisconfidence. That gentleman had still remained in his solitary mansion atWeert, notwithstanding the artful means which had been used to lure himfrom that "desert. " It is singular that the very same person who, according to a well-informed Catholic contemporary, had been most eagerto warn Egmont of his danger, had also been the foremost instrument foreffecting the capture of the Admiral. The Seigneur de Billy, on the dayafter his arrival from Madrid, had written to Horn, telling him that theKing was highly pleased with his services and character. De Billy alsostated that he had been commissioned by Philip to express distinctly theroyal gratitude for the Count's conduct, adding that his Majesty wasabout to visit the Netherlands in August, and would probably be precededor accompanied by Baron Montigny. 

Alva and his son Don Ferdinando had soon afterwards addressed lettersfrom Gerverbiller (dated 26th and 27th July) to Count Horn, filled withexpressions of friendship and confidence. The Admiral, who had sent oneof his gentlemen to greet the Duke, now responded from Weert that he wasvery sensible of the kindness manifested towards him, but that forreasons which his secretary Alonzo de la Loo would more fullycommunicate, he must for the present beg to be excused from a personalvisit to Brussels. The secretary was received by Alva with extremecourtesy. The Duke expressed infinite pain that the King had not yetrewarded Count Horn's services according to their merit, said that a yearbefore he had told his brother Montigny how very much he was theAdmiral's friend, and begged La Loo to tell his master that he should notdoubt the royal generosity and gratitude. The governor added, that if hecould see the Count in person he could tell him things which would pleasehim, and which would prove that he had not been forgotten by his friends. La Loo had afterward a long conversation with the Duke's secretaryAlbornoz, who assured him that his master had the greatest affection forCount Horn, and that since his affairs were so much embarrassed, he mighteasily be provided with the post of governor at Milan, or viceroy ofNaples, about to become vacant. The secretary added, that the Duke wasmuch hurt at receiving no visits from many distinguished nobles whosefaithful friend and servant he was, and that Count Horn ought to visitBrussels, if not to treat of great affairs, at least to visit theCaptain-General as a friend. "After all this, " said honest Alonzo, "I amgoing immediately to Weert, to urge his lordship to yield to the Duke'sdesires. "

This scientific manoeuvring, joined to the urgent representations ofEgmont, at last produced its effect. The Admiral left his retirement atWeert to fall into the pit which his enemies had been so skilfullypreparing at Brussels. On the night of the 8th September, Egmont receivedanother most significative and mysterious warning. A Spaniard, apparentlyan officer of rank, came secretly into his house, and urged him solemnlyto effect his escape before the morrow. The Countess, who related thestory afterwards, always believed, without being certain, that themysterious visitor was Julian Romero, marechal de camp. Egmont, however, continued as blindly confident as before. 

On the following day, September 9th, the grand prior, Don Ferdinando, gave a magnificent dinner, to which Egmont and Horn, together withNoircarmes, the Viscount of Ghent, and many other noblemen were invited. The banquet was enlivened by the music of Alva's own military band, whichthe Duke sent to entertain the company. At three o'clock he sent amessage begging the gentlemen, after their dinner should be concluded, tofavor him with their company at his house (the maison de Jassey), as hewished to consult them concerning the plan of the citadel, which heproposed erecting at Antwerp. 

At this moment, the grand prior who was seated next to Egmont, whisperedin his ear; "Leave this place, Signor Count, instantly; take the fleetesthorse in your stable and make your escape without a moment's delay. "Egmont, much troubled, and remembering the manifold prophecies andadmonitions which he had passed by unheeded, rose from the table and wentinto the next room. He was followed by Noircarmes and two othergentlemen, who had observed his agitation, and were curious as to itscause. The Count repeated to them the mysterious words just whispered tohim by the grand prior, adding that he was determined to take the advicewithout a moment's delay. "Ha! Count, " exclaimed Noircarmes, "do not putlightly such implicit confidence in this stranger who is counselling youto your destruction. What will the Duke of Alva and all the Spaniards sayof such a precipitate flight? Will they not say that your Excellency hasfled from the consciousness of guilt? Will not your escape be construedinto a confession of high treason. "

If these words were really spoken by Noircarmes; and that they were so, we have the testimony of a Walloon gentleman in constant communicationwith Egmont's friends and with the whole Catholic party, they furnishanother proof of the malignant and cruel character of the man. The advicefixed forever the fate of the vacillating Egmont. He had risen from tabledetermined to take the advice of a noble-minded Spaniard, who hadadventured his life to save his friend. He now returned in obedience tothe counsel of a fellow-countryman, a Flemish noble, to treat thewell-meant warning with indifference, and to seat himself again at thelast banquet which he was ever to grace with his presence. 

At four o'clock, the dinner being finished, Horn and Egmont, accompaniedby the other gentlemen, proceeded to the "Jassy" house, then occupied byAlva, to take part in the deliberations proposed. They were received bythe Duke with great courtesy. The engineer, Pietro Urbino, soon appearedand laid upon the table a large parchment containing the plan andelevation of the citadel to be erected at Antwerp. A warm discussion uponthe subject soon arose, Egmont, Horn, Noircarmes and others, togetherwith the engineers Urbino and Pacheco, all taking part in the debate. After a short time, the Duke of Alva left the apartment, on pretext of asudden indisposition, leaving the company still warmly engaged in theirargument. The council lasted till near seven in the evening. As it brokeup, Don Sancho d'Avila, captain of the Duke's guard, requested Egmont toremain for a moment after the rest, as he had a communication to make tohim. After an insignificant remark or two, the Spanish officer, as soonas the two were alone, requested Egmont to surrender his sword. TheCount, agitated, and notwithstanding every thing which had gone before, still taken by surprise, scarcely knew what reply to make. Don Sanchorepeated that he had been commissioned to arrest him, and again demandedhis sword. At the same moment the doors of the adjacent apartment wereopened, and Egmont saw himself surrounded by a company of Spanishmusqueteers and halberdmen. Finding himself thus entrapped, he gave uphis sword, saying bitterly, as he did so, that it had at least renderedsome service to the King in times which were past. He was then conductedto a chamber, in the upper story of the house, where his temporary prisonhad been arranged. The windows were barricaded, the daylight excluded, the whole apartment hung with black. Here he remained fourteen days (fromthe 9th to 23d September). During this period, he was allowed nocommunication with his friends. His room was lighted day and night withcandles, and he was served in strict silence by Spanish attendants, andguarded by Spanish soldiers. The captain of the watch drew his curtainevery midnight, and aroused him from sleep that he might be identified bythe relieving officer. 

Count Horn was arrested upon the same occasion by Captain Salinas, as hewas proceeding through the court-yard of the house, after the breaking upof the council. He was confined in another chamber of the mansion, andmet with a precisely similar treatment to that experienced by Egmont. Upon the 23d September, both were removed under a strong guard to thecastle of Ghent. 

On this same day, two other important arrests, included and arranged inthe same program, had been successfully accomplished. Bakkerzeel, privateand confidential secretary of Egmont, and Antony Van Straalen, the richand influential burgomaster of Antwerp, were taken almost simultaneously. At the request of Alva, the burgomaster had been invited by the Duchessof Parma to repair on business to Brussels. He seemed to have feared anambuscade, for as he got into his coach to set forth upon the journey, hewas so muffed in a multiplicity of clothing, that he was scarcely to berecognized. He was no sooner, however, in the open country and upon aspot remote from human habitations, than he was suddenly beset by a bandof forty soldiers under command of Don Alberic Lodron and Don Sancho deLodrono. These officers had been watching his movements for many days. The capture of Bakkerzeel was accomplished with equal adroitness at aboutthe same hour. 

Alva, while he sat at the council board with Egmont and Horn, wassecretly informed that those important personages, Bakkerzeel andStraalen, with the private secretary of the Admiral, Alonzo de la Loo, inaddition, had been thus successfully arrested. He could with difficultyconceal his satisfaction, and left the apartment immediately that thetrap might be sprung upon the two principal victims of his treachery. Hehad himself arranged all the details of these two important arrests, while his natural son, the Prior Don Ferdinando, had been compelled tosuperintend the proceedings. The plot had been an excellent plot, and wasaccomplished as successfully as it bad been sagaciously conceived. Nonebut Spaniards had been employed in any part of the affair. Officers ofhigh rank in his Majesty's army had performed the part of spies andpolicemen with much adroitness, nor was it to be expected that the dutywould seem a disgrace, when the Prior of the Knights of Saint John wassuperintendent of the operations, when the Captain-General of theNetherlands had arranged the whole plan, and when all, from subaltern toviceroy, had received minute instructions as to the contemplatedtreachery from the great chief of the Spanish police, who sat on thethrone of Castile and Aragon. 

No sooner were these gentlemen in custody than the secretary Albornoz wasdispatched to the house of Count Horn, and to that of Bakkerzeel, whereall papers were immediately seized, inventoried, and placed in the handsof the Duke. Thus, if amid the most secret communications of Egmont andHorn or their correspondents, a single treasonable thought should belurking, it was to go hard but it might be twisted into a cord strongenough to strangle them all. 

The Duke wrote a triumphant letter to his Majesty that very night. Heapologized that these important captures had been deferred so long but, stated that he had thought it desirable to secure all these leadingpersonages at a single stroke. He then narrated the masterly manner inwhich the operations had been conducted. Certainly, when it is rememberedthat the Duke had only reached Brussels upon the 23d August, and that thetwo Counts were securely lodged in prison on the 9th of September, itseemed a superfluous modesty upon his part thus to excuse himself for anapparent delay. At any rate, in the eyes of the world and of posterity, his zeal to carry out the bloody commands of his master was sufficientlyswift. 

The consternation was universal throughout the provinces when the arrestsbecame known. Egmont's great popularity and distinguished services placedhim so high above the mass of citizens, and his attachment to theCatholic religion was moreover so well known, as to make it obvious thatno man could now be safe, when men like him were in the power of Alva andhis myrmidons. The animosity to the Spaniards increased hourly. TheDuchess affected indignation at the arrest of the two nobles, although itnowhere appears that she attempted a word in their defence, or lifted, atany subsequent moment, a finger to save them. She was not anxious to washher hands of the blood of two innocent men; she was only offended thatthey had been arrested without her permission. The Duke had, it is true, sent Berlaymont and Mansfeld to give her information of the fact, as soonas the capture had been made, with the plausible excuse that he preferredto save her from all the responsibility and all the unpopularity of themeasure, Nothing, however, could appease her wrath at this and everyother indication of the contempt in which he appeared to hold the sisterof his sovereign. She complained of his conduct daily to every one whowas admitted to her presence. Herself oppressed by a sense of personalindignity, she seemed for a moment to identify herself with the cause ofthe oppressed provinces. She seemed to imagine herself the champion oftheir liberties, and the Netherlanders, for a moments seemed toparticipate in the delusion. Because she was indignant at the insolenceof the Duke of Alva to her self, the honest citizens began to give hercredit for a sympathy with their own wrongs. She expressed herselfdetermined to move about from one city to another, until the answer toher demand for dismissal should arrive. She allowed her immediateattendants to abuse the Spaniards in good set terms upon every occasion. Even her private chaplain permitted himself, in preaching before her inthe palace chapel, to denounce the whole nation as a race of traitors andravishers, and for this offence was only reprimanded, much against herwill, by the Duchess, and ordered to retire for a season to his convent. She did not attempt to disguise her dissatisfaction at every step whichhad been taken by the Duke. In all this there was much petulance, butvery little dignity, while there was neither a spark of real sympathy forthe oppressed millions, nor a throb of genuine womanly emotion for theimpending fate of the two nobles. Her principal grief was that she hadpacified the provinces, and that another had now arrived to reap theglory; but it was difficult, while the unburied bones of many hereticswere still hanging, by her decree, on the rafters of their own dismantledchurches, for her successfully to enact the part of a benignant andmerciful Regent. But it is very true that the horrors of the Duke'sadministration have been propitious to the fame of Margaret, and perhapsmore so to that of Cardinal Granvelle. The faint and struggling rays ofhumanity which occasionally illumined the course of their government, were destined to be extinguished in a chaos so profound and dark, thatthese last beams of light seemed clearer and more bountiful by thecontrast. 

The Count of Hoogstraaten, who was on his way to Brussels, had, by goodfortune, injured his hand through the accidental discharge of a pistol. Detained by this casualty at Cologne, he was informed, before his arrivalat the capital, of the arrest of his two distinguished friends, andaccepted the hint to betake himself at once to a place of Safety. 

The loyalty of the elder Mansfeld was beyond dispute even by Alva. Hisson Charles had, however, been imprudent, and, as we have seen, had evenaffixed his name to the earliest copies of the Compromise. He hadretired, it is true, from all connexion with the confederates, but hisfather knew well that the young Count's signature upon that famousdocument would prove his death-warrant, were he found in the country. Hetherefore had sent him into Germany before the arrival of the Duke. 

The King's satisfaction was unbounded when he learned this importantachievement of Alva, and he wrote immediately to express his approbationin the most extravagant terms. Cardinal Granvelle, on the contrary, affected astonishment at a course which he had secretly counselled. Heassured his Majesty that he had never believed Egmont to entertainsentiments opposed to the Catholic religion, nor to the interests of theCrown, up to the period of his own departure from the Netherlands. He waspersuaded, he said, that the Count had been abused by others, although, to be sure, the Cardinal had learned with regret what Egmont had writtenon the occasion of the baptism of Count Hoogstraaten's child. As to theother persons arrested, he said that no one regretted their fate. TheCardinal added, that he was supposed to be himself the instigator ofthese captures, but that he was not disturbed by that, or by otherimputations of a similar nature. 

In conversation with those about him, he frequently expressed regret thatthe Prince of Orange had been too crafty to be caught in the same net inwhich his more simple companions were so inextricably entangled. Indeed, on the first arrival of the news, that men of high rank had been arrestedin Brussels, the Cardinal eagerly inquired if the Taciturn had beentaken, for by that term he always characterized the Prince. Receiving anegative reply, he expressed extreme disappointment, adding, that ifOrange had escaped, they had taken nobody; and that his capture wouldhave been more valuable than that of every man in the Netherlands. 

Peter Titelmann, too, the famous inquisitor, who, retired from activelife, was then living upon Philip's bounty, and encouraged by friendlyletters from that monarch, expressed the same opinion. Having beeninformed that Egmont and Horn had been captured, he eagerly inquired if"wise William" had also been taken. He was, of course, answered in thenegative. "Then will our joy be but brief, " he observed. "Woe unto us forthe wrath to come from Germany. "

On the 12th of July, of this year, Philip wrote to Granvelle to inquirethe particulars of a letter which the Prince of Orange, according to aprevious communication of the Cardinal, had written to Egmont on theoccasion of the baptism of Count Hoogstraaten's child. On the 17th ofAugust, the Cardinal replied, by setting the King right as to the errorwhich he had committed. The letter, as he had already stated, was notwritten by Orange, but by Egmont, and he expressed his astonishment thatMadame de Parma had not yet sent it to his Majesty. The Duchess must haveseen it, because her confessor had shown it to the person who wasGranvelle's informant. In this letter, the Cardinal continued, thestatement had been made by Egmont to the Prince of Orange that theirplots were discovered, that the King was making armaments, that they wereunable to resist him, and that therefore it had become necessary todissemble and to accommodate themselves as well as possible to thepresent situation, while waiting for other circumstances under which toaccomplish their designs. Granvelle advised, moreover, that Straalen, whohad been privy to the letter, and perhaps the amanuensis, should beforthwith arrested. 

The Cardinal was determined not to let the matter sleep, notwithstandinghis protestation of a kindly feeling towards the imprisoned Count. Against the statement that he knew of a letter which amounted to a fullconfession of treason, out of Egmont's own mouth--a fact which, ifproved, and perhaps, if even insinuated, would be sufficient with Philipto deprive Egmont of twenty thousand lives--against these constantrecommendations to his suspicious and sanguinary master, to ferret outthis document, if it were possible, it must be confessed that thechurchman's vague and hypocritical expressions on the side of mercy werevery little worth. 

Certainly these seeds of suspicion did not fall upon a barren soil. Philip immediately communicated the information thus received to the Dukeof Alva, charging him on repeated occasions to find out what was written, either by Egmont or by Straalen, at Egmont's instigation, stating thatsuch a letter was written at the time of the Hoogstraaten baptism, thatit would probably illustrate the opinions of Egmont at that period, andthat the letter itself, which the confessor of Madame de Parma had oncehad in his hands, ought, if possible, to be procured. Thus the verylanguage used by Granvelle to Philip was immediately repeated by themonarch to his representative in the Netherlands, at the moment when allEgmont's papers were in his possession, and when Egmont's privatesecretary was undergoing the torture, in order that; secrets might bewrenched from him which had never entered his brain. The fact that nosuch letter was found, that the Duchess had never alluded to any suchdocument, and that neither a careful scrutiny of papers, nor theapplication of the rack, could elicit any satisfactory information on thesubject, leads to the conclusion that no such treasonable paper had everexisted, save in the imagination of the Cardinal. At any rate, it is nomore than just to hesitate before affixing a damning character to adocument, in the absence of any direct proof that there ever was such adocument at all. The confessor of Madame de Parma told another person, who told the Cardinal, that either Count Egmont, or Burgomaster Straalen, by command of Count Egmont, wrote to the Prince of Orange thus and so. What evidence was this upon which to found a charge of high treasonagainst a man whom Granvelle affected to characterize as otherwiseneither opposed to the Catholic religion, nor to the true service of theKing? What vulpine kind of mercy was it on the part of the Cardinal, while making such deadly insinuations, to recommend the imprisoned victimto clemency?

The unfortunate envoys, Marquis Bergen and Baron Montigny, had remainedin Spain under close observation. Of those doomed victims who, in spiteof friendly remonstrances and of ominous warnings, had thus ventured intothe lion's den, no retreating footmarks were ever to be seen. Their fate, now that Alva had at last been despatched to the Netherlands, seemed tobe sealed, and the Marquis Bergen, accepting the augury in its most evilsense, immediately afterwards had sickened unto death. Whether it werethe sickness of hope deferred, suddenly changing to despair, or whetherit were a still more potent and unequivocal poison which came to therelief of the unfortunate nobleman, will perhaps never be ascertainedwith certainty. The secrets of those terrible prison-houses of Spain, where even the eldest begotten son, and the wedded wife of the monarch, were soon afterwards believed to have been the victims of his darkrevenge, can never perhaps be accurately known, until the grave gives upits dead, and the buried crimes of centuries are revealed. 

It was very soon after the departure of Alva's fleet from Carthagena, that the Marquis Bergen felt his end approaching. He sent for the Princeof Eboli, with whom he had always maintained intimate relations, and whomhe believed to be his disinterested friend. Relying upon his faithfulbreast, and trusting to receive from his eyes alone the pious drops ofsympathy which he required, the dying noble poured out his long and lastcomplaint. He charged him to tell the man whom he would no longer callhis king, that he had ever been true and loyal, that the bitterness ofhaving been constantly suspected, when he was conscious of entirefidelity, was a sharper sorrow than could be lightly believed, and thathe hoped the time would come when his own truth and the artifices of hisenemies would be brought to light. He closed his parting message bypredicting that after he had been long laid in the grave, theimpeachments against his character would be, at last, although too late, retracted. 

So spake the unhappy envoy, and his friend replied with words ofconsolation. It is probable that he even ventured, in the King's name, togrant him the liberty of returning to his home; the only remedy, as hisphysicians had repeatedly stated, which could possibly be applied to hisdisease. But the devilish hypocrisy of Philip, and the abject perfidy ofEboli, at this juncture, almost surpass belief. The Prince came to pressthe hand and to close the eyes of the dying man whom he called hisfriend, having first carefully studied a billet of most minute and secretinstructions from his master as to the deportment he was to observe uponthis solemn occasion and afterwards. This paper, written in Philip's ownhand, had been delivered to Eboli on the very day of his visit to Bergen, and bore the superscription that it was not to be read nor opened tillthe messenger who brought it had left his presence. It directed thePrince, if it should be evident Marquis was past recovery, to promisehim, in the King's name, the permission of returning to the Netherlands. Should, however, a possibility of his surviving appear, Eboli was only tohold out a hope that such permission might eventually be obtained. Incase of the death of Bergen, the Prince was immediately to confer withthe Grand Inquisitor and with the Count of Feria, upon the measures to betaken for his obsequies. It might seem advisable, in that event toexhibit the regret which the King and his ministers felt for his death, and the great esteem in which they held the nobles of the Netherlands. Atthe same time, Eboli was further instructed to confer with the samepersonages as to the most efficient means for preventing the escape ofBaron Montigny; to keep a vigilant eye upon his movements, and to givegeneral directions to governors and to postmasters to intercept hisflight, should it be attempted. Finally, in case of Bergen's death, thePrince was directed to despatch a special messenger, apparently on hisown responsibility, and as if in the absence and without the knowledge ofthe King, to inform the Duchess of Parma of the event, and to urge herimmediately to take possession of the city of Bergen-op-Zoom, and of allother property belonging to the Marquis, until it should be ascertainedwhether it were not possible to convict him, after death, of treason, andto confiscate his estates accordingly. 

Such were the instructions of Philip to Eboli, and precisely inaccordance with the program, was the horrible comedy enacted at thedeath-bed of the envoy. Three days after his parting interview with hisdisinterested friend, the Marquis was a corpse. --Before his limbs werecold, a messenger was on his way to Brussels, instructing the Regent tosequestrate his property, and to arrest, upon suspicion of heresy, theyouthful kinsman and niece, who, by the will of the Marquis, were to beunited in marriage and to share his estate. The whole drama, beginningwith the death scene, was enacted according to order: Before the arrivalof Alva in the Netherlands, the property of the Marquis was in the handsof the Government, awaiting the confiscation, --which was but for a briefseason delayed, while on the other hand, Baron Montigny, Bergen'scompanion in doom, who was not, however, so easily to be carried off byhomesickness, was closely confined in the alcazar of Segovia, never toleave a Spanish prison alive. There is something pathetic in the delusionin which Montigny and his brother, the Count Horn, both indulged, eachbelieving that the other was out of harm's way, the one by his absencefrom the Netherlands, the other by his absence from Spain, while both, involved in the same meshes, were rapidly and surely approaching theirfate. 

In the same despatch of the 9th September, in which the Duke communicatedto Philip the capture of Egmont and Horn, he announced to him hisdetermination to establish a new court for the trial of crimes committedduring the recent period of troubles. This wonderful tribunal wasaccordingly created with the least possible delay. It was called theCouncil of Troubles, but it soon acquired the terrible name, by which itwill be forever known in history, of the 'Blood-Council'. It supersededall other institutions. Every court, from those of the municipalmagistracies up to the supreme councils of the provinces, were forbiddento take cognizance in future of any cause growing out of the latetroubles. The council of state, although it was not formally disbanded, fell into complete desuetude, its members being occasionally summonedinto Alva's private chambers in an irregular manner, while its principalfunctions were usurped by the Blood-Council. Not only citizens of everyprovince, but the municipal bodies and even the sovereign provincialestates themselves, were compelled to plead, like humble individuals, before this new and extraordinary tribunal. It is unnecessary to alludeto the absolute violation which was thus committed of all charters, lawsand privileges, because the very creation of the council was a bold andbrutal proclamation that those laws and privileges were at an end. Theconstitution or maternal principle of this suddenly erected court was ofa twofold nature. It defined and it punished the crime of treason. Thedefinitions, couched in eighteen articles, declared it to be treason tohave delivered or signed any petition against the new bishops, theInquisition, or the Edicts; to have tolerated public preaching under anycircumstances; to have omitted resistance to the image-breaking, to thefield-preaching, or to the presentation of the Request by the nobles, and"either through sympathy or surprise" to have asserted that the King didnot possess the right to deprive all the provinces of their liberties, orto have maintained that this present tribunal was bound to respect in anymanner any laws or any charters. In these brief and simple, butcomprehensive terms, was the crime of high treason defined. Thepunishment was still more briefly, simply, and comprehensively stated, for it was instant death in all cases. So well too did this new andterrible engine perform its work, that in less than three months from thetime of its erection, eighteen hundred human beings had suffered death byits summary proceedings; some of the highest, the noblest, and the mostvirtuous in the land among the number; nor had it then manifested theslightest indication of faltering in its dread career. 

Yet, strange to say, this tremendous court, thus established upon theruins of all the ancient institutions of the country, had not beenprovided with even a nominal authority from any source whatever. The Kinghad granted it no letters patent or charter, nor had even the Duke ofAlva thought it worth while to grant any commissions either in his ownname or as Captain-General, to any of the members composing the board. The Blood-Council was merely an informal club, of which the Duke wasperpetual president, while the other members were all appointed byhimself. 

Of these subordinate councillors, two had the right of voting, subject, however, in all cases to his final decision, while the rest of the numberdid not vote at all. It had not, therefore, in any sense, the characterof a judicial, legislative, or executive tribunal, but was purely a boardof advice by which the bloody labors of the duke were occasionallylightened as to detail, while not a feather's weight of power or ofresponsibility was removed from his shoulders. He reserved for himselfthe final decision upon all causes which should come before the council, and stated his motives for so doing with grim simplicity. "Two reasons, "he wrote to the King, "have determined me thus to limit the power of thetribunal; the first that, not knowing its members, I might be easilydeceived by them; the second, that the men of law only condemn for crimeswhich are proved; whereas your Majesty knows that affairs of state aregoverned by very different rules from the laws which they have here. "

It being, therefore, the object of the Duke to compose a body of men whowould be of assistance to him in condemning for crimes which could not beproved, and in slipping over statutes which were not to be recognized, itmust be confessed that he was not unfortunate in the appointments whichhe made to the office of councillors. In this task of appointment he hadthe assistance of the experienced Viglius. That learned jurisconsult, with characteristic lubricity, had evaded the dangerous honor forhimself, but he nominated a number of persons from whom the Duke selectedhis list. The sacerdotal robes which he had so recently and so "craftily"assumed, furnished his own excuse, and in his letters to his faithfulHopper he repeatedly congratulated himself upon his success in keepinghimself at a distance from so bloody and perilous a post. 

It is impossible to look at the conduct of the distinguished Frisian atthis important juncture without contempt. Bent only upon saving himself, his property, and his reputation, he did not hesitate to bend before the"most illustrious Duke, " as he always denominated him, with fulsome andfawning homage. While he declined to dip his own fingers in the innocentblood which was about to flow in torrents, he did not object to officiateat the initiatory preliminaries of the great Netherland holocaust. Hisdecent and dainty demeanor seems even more offensive than the jocularityof the real murderers. Conscious that no man knew the laws and customs ofthe Netherlands better than himself, he had the humble effrontery toobserve that it was necessary for him at that moment silently to submithis own unskilfulness to the superior judgment and knowledge of others. Having at last been relieved from the stone of Sisyphus, which, as heplaintively expressed himself, he had been rolling for twenty years;having, by the arrival of Tisnacq, obtained his discharge as President ofthe state council, he was yet not unwilling to retain the emoluments andthe rank of President of the privy council, although both offices hadbecome sinecures since the erection of the Council of Blood. Although hislife had been spent in administrative and judicial employments, he didnot blush upon a matter of constitutional law to defer to the authorityof such jurisconsults as the Duke of Alva and his two Spanishbloodhounds, Vargas and Del Rio. He did not like, he observed, in hisconfidential correspondence, to gainsay the Duke, when maintaining, thatin cases of treason, the privileges of Brabant were powerless, althoughhe mildly doubted whether the Brabantines would agree with the doctrine. He often thought, he said, of remedies for restoring the prosperity ofthe provinces, but in action he only assisted the Duke, to the best ofhis abilities, in arranging the Blood-Council. He wished well to hiscountry, but he was more anxious for the favor of Alva. "I rejoice, " saidhe, in one of his letters, "that the most illustrious Duke has written tothe King in praise of my obsequiousness; when I am censured here for soreverently cherishing him, it is a consolation that my services to theKing and to the governor are not unappreciated there. " Indeed the Duke ofAlva, who had originally suspected the President's character, seemed atlast overcome by his indefatigable and cringing homage. He wrote to theKing, in whose good graces the learned Doctor was most anxious at thatportentous period to maintain himself, that the President was veryserviceable and diligent, and that he deserved to receive a crumb ofcomfort from the royal hand. Philip, in consequence, wrote in one of hisletters a few lines of vague compliment, which could be shown to Viglius, according to Alva's suggestion. It is, however, not a littlecharacteristic of the Spanish court and of the Spanish monarch, that, onthe very day before, he had sent to the Captain-General a few documentsof very different import. In order, as he said, that the Duke might beignorant of nothing which related to the Netherlands, he forwarded to himcopies of the letters written by Margaret of Parma from Brussels, threeyears before. These letters, as it will be recollected, contained anaccount of the secret investigations which the Duchess had made as to theprivate character and opinions of Viglius--at the very moment when heapparently stood highest in her confidence--and charged him with heresy, swindling, and theft. Thus the painstaking and time-serving President, with all his learning and experience, was successively the dupe ofMargaret and of Alva, whom he so obsequiously courted, and always ofPhilip, whom he so feared and worshipped. 

With his assistance, the list of blood-councillors was quickly completed. No one who was offered the office refused it. Noircarmes and Berlaymontaccepted with very great eagerness. Several presidents and councillors ofthe different provincial tribunals were appointed, but all theNetherlanders were men of straw. Two Spaniards, Del Rio and Vargas, werethe only members who could vote; while their decisions, as alreadystated, were subject to reversal by Alva. Del Rio was a man withoutcharacter or talent, a mere tool in the hands of his superiors, but Juande Vargas was a terrible reality. 

No better man could have been found in Europe for the post to which hewas thus elevated. To shed human blood was, in his opinion, the onlyimportant business and the only exhilarating pastime of life. His youthhad been stained with other crimes. He had been obliged to retire fromSpain, because of his violation of an orphan child to whom he wasguardian, but, in his manhood, he found no pleasure but in murder. Heexecuted Alva's bloody work with an industry which was almost superhuman, and with a merriment which would have shamed a demon. His execrable jestsring through the blood and smoke and death-cries of those days ofperpetual sacrifice. He was proud to be the double of the iron-heartedDuke, and acted so uniformly in accordance with his views, that the rightof revision remained but nominal. There could be no possibility ofcollision where the subaltern was only anxious to surpass an incomparablesuperior. The figure of Vargas rises upon us through the mist of threecenturies with terrible distinctness. Even his barbarous grammar has notbeen forgotten, and his crimes against syntax and against humanity haveacquired the same immortality. "Heretici fraxerunt templa, boni nihilifaxerunt contra, ergo debent omnes patibulare, " was the comprehensive butbarbarous formula of a man who murdered the Latin language as ruthlesslyas he slaughtered his contemporaries. 

Among the ciphers who composed the rest of the board, the FlemishCouncillor Hessels was the one whom the Duke most respected. He was notwithout talent or learning, but the Duke only valued him for his cruelty. Being allowed to take but little share in the deliberations, Hessels wasaccustomed to doze away his afternoon hours at the council table, andwhen awakened from his nap in order that he might express an opinion onthe case then before the court, was wont to rub his eyes and to call out"Ad patibulum, ad patibulum, " ("to the gallows with him, to the gallowswith him, ") with great fervor, but in entire ignorance of the culprit'sname or the merits of the case. His wife, naturally disturbed that herhusband's waking and sleeping hours were alike absorbed with thishangman's work, more than once ominously expressed her hope to him, thathe, whose head and heart were thus engrossed with the gibbet, might notone day come to hang upon it himself; a gloomy prophecy which the Futuremost terribly fulfilled. 

The Council of Blood, thus constituted, held its first session on the20th September, at the lodgings of Alva. Springing completely grown andarmed to the teeth from the head of its inventor, the new tribunal--atthe very outset in possession of all its vigor--forthwith began tomanifest a terrible activity in accomplishing the objects of itsexistence. The councillors having been sworn to "eternal secrecy as toany thing which should be transacted at the board, and having likewisemade oath to denounce any one of their number who should violate thepledge, " the court was considered as organized. Alva worked therein sevenhours daily. It may be believed that the subordinates were not spared, and that their office proved no sinecure. Their labors, however, were notencumbered by antiquated forms. As this supreme and only tribunal for allthe Netherlands had no commission or authority save the will of theCaptain-General, so it was also thought a matter of supererogation toestablish a set of rules and orders such as might be useful in lessindependent courts. The forms of proceeding were brief and artless. Therewas a rude organization by which a crowd of commissioners, acting asinferior officers of the council, were spread over the provinces, whosebusiness was to collect information concerning all persons who might beincriminated for participation in the recent troubles. The greatestcrime, however, was to be rich, and one which could be expiated by novirtues, however signal. Alva was bent upon proving himself asaccomplished a financier as he was indisputably a consummate commander, and he had promised his master an annual income of 500, 000 ducats fromthe confiscations which were to accompany the executions. 

It was necessary that the blood torrent should flow at once through theNetherlands, in order that the promised golden river, a yard deep, according to his vaunt, should begin to irrigate the thirsty soil ofSpain. It is obvious, from the fundamental laws which were made to definetreason at the same moment in which they established the council, thatany man might be at any instant summoned to the court. Every man, whetherinnocent or guilty, whether Papist or Protestant, felt his head shakingon his shoulders. If he were wealthy, there seemed no remedy but flight, which was now almost impossible, from the heavy penalties affixed by thenew edict upon all carriers, shipmasters, and wagoners, who should aid inthe escape of heretics. 

A certain number of these commissioners were particularly instructed tocollect information as to the treason of Orange, Louis Nassau, Brederode, Egmont, Horn, Culemberg, Vanden Berg, Bergen, and Montigny. Upon suchinformation the proceedings against those distinguished seigniors were tobe summarily instituted. Particular councillors of the Court of Bloodwere charged with the arrangement of these important suits, but thecommissioners were to report in the first instance to the Duke himself, who afterwards returned the paper into the hands of his subordinates. 

With regard to the inferior and miscellaneous cases which were dailybrought in incredible profusion before the tribunal, the samepreliminaries were observed, by way of aping the proceedings in courts ofjustice. Alva sent the cart-loads of information which were daily broughtto him, but which neither he nor any other man had time to read, to bedisposed of by the board of councillors. It was the duty of the differentsubalterns, who, as already stated, had no right of voting, to preparereports upon the cases. Nothing could be more summary. Information waslodged against a man, or against a hundred men, in one document. The Dukesent the papers to the council, and the inferior councillors reported atonce to Vargas. If the report concluded with a recommendation of death tothe man, or the hundred men in question, Vargas instantly approved it, and execution was done upon the man, or the hundred men, withinforty-eight hours. If the report had any other conclusion, it wasimmediately sent back for revision, and the reporters were overwhelmedwith reproaches by the President. 

Such being the method of operation, it may be supposed that thecouncillors were not allowed to slacken in their terrible industry. Theregister of every city, village, and hamlet throughout the Netherlandsshowed the daily lists of men, women, and children thus sacrificed at theshrine of the demon who had obtained the mastery over this unhappy land. It was not often that an individual was of sufficient importance to betried--if trial it could be called--by himself. It was found moreexpeditious to send them in batches to the furnace. Thus, for example, onthe 4th of January, eighty-four inhabitants of Valenciennes werecondemned; on another day, ninety-five miscellaneous individuals, fromdifferent places in Flanders; on another, forty-six inhabitants ofMalines; on another, thirty-five persons from different localities, andso on. 

The evening of Shrovetide, a favorite holiday in the Netherlands, afforded an occasion for arresting and carrying off a vast number ofdoomed individuals at a single swoop. It was correctly supposed that theburghers, filled with wine and wassail, to which perhaps the persecutionunder which they lived lent an additional and horrible stimulus, might beeasily taken from their beds in great numbers, and be delivered over atonce to the council. The plot was ingenious, the net was spreadaccordingly. Many of the doomed were, however, luckily warned of theterrible termination which was impending over their festival, andbestowed themselves in safety for a season. A prize of about five hundredprisoners was all which rewarded the sagacity of the enterprise. It isneedless to add that they were all immediately executed. It is awearisome and odious task to ransack the mouldy records of threecenturies ago, in order to reproduce the obscure names of the thousandswho were thus sacrificed.. The dead have buried their dead, and areforgotten. It is likewise hardly necessary to state that the proceedingsbefore the council were all 'ex parte', and that an information wasalmost inevitably followed by a death-warrant. It sometimes happened eventhat the zeal of the councillors outstripped the industry of thecommissioners. The sentences were occasionally in advance of the docket. Thus upon one occasion a man's case was called for trial, but before theinvestigation was commenced it was discovered that he had been alreadyexecuted. A cursory examination of the papers proved, moreover, as usual, that the culprit had committed no crime. "No matter for that, " saidVargas, jocosely, "if he has died innocent, it will be all the better forhim when he takes his trial in the other world. "

But, however the councillors might indulge in these gentle jests amongthemselves, it was obvious that innocence was in reality impossible, according to the rules which had been laid down regarding treason. Thepractice was in accordance with the precept, and persons were dailyexecuted with senseless pretexts, which was worse than executions with nopretexts at all. Thus Peter de Witt of Amsterdam was beheaded, because atone of the tumults in that city he had persuaded a rioter not to fireupon a magistrate. This was taken as sufficient proof that he was a manin authority among the rebels, and he was accordingly put to death. Madame Juriaen, who, in 1566, had struck with her slipper a little woodenimage of the Virgin, together with her maid-servant, who had witnessedwithout denouncing the crime, were both drowned by the hangman in ahogshead placed on the scaffold. 

Death, even, did not in all cases place a criminal beyond the reach ofthe executioner. Egbert Meynartzoon, a man of high official rank, hadbeen condemned, together with two colleagues, on an accusation ofcollecting money in a Lutheran church. He died in prison of dropsy. Thesheriff was indignant with the physician, because, in spite of cordialsand strengthening prescriptions, the culprit had slipped through hisfingers before he had felt those of the hangman. He consoled himself byplacing the body on a chair, and having the dead man beheaded in companywith his colleagues. 

Thus the whole country became a charnel-house; the deathbell tolledhourly in every village; not a family but was called to mourn for itsdearest relatives, while the survivors stalked listlessly about, theghosts of their former selves, among the wrecks of their former homes. The spirit of the nation, within a few months after the arrival of Alva, seemed hopelessly broken. The blood of its best and bravest had alreadystained the scaffold; the men to whom it bad been accustomed to look forguidance and protection, were dead, in prison, or in exile. Submissionhad ceased to be of any avail, flight was impossible, and the spirit ofvengeance had alighted at every fireside. The mourners went daily aboutthe streets, for there was hardly a house which had not been madedesolate. The scaffolds, the gallows, the funeral piles, which had beensufficient in ordinary times, furnished now an entirely inadequatemachinery for the incessant executions. Columns and stakes in everystreet, the door-posts of private houses, the fences in the fields wereladen with human carcasses, strangled, burned, beheaded. The orchards inthe country bore on many a tree the hideous fruit of human bodies. 

Thus the Netherlands were crushed, and but for the stringency of thetyranny which had now closed their gates, would have been depopulated. The grass began to grow in the streets of those cities which had recentlynourished so many artisans. In all those great manufacturing andindustrial marts, where the tide of human life had throbbed sovigorously, there now reigned the silence and the darkness of midnight. It was at this time that the learned Viglius wrote to his friend Hopper, that all venerated the prudence and gentleness of the Duke of Alva. Suchwere among the first-fruits of that prudence and that gentleness. 

The Duchess of Parma had been kept in a continued state of irritation. She had not ceased for many months to demand her release from the odiousposition of a cipher in a land where she had so lately been sovereign, and she had at last obtained it. Philip transmitted his acceptance of herresignation by the same courier who brought Alva's commission to begovernor-general in her place. The letters to the Duchess were full ofconventional compliments for her past services, accompanied, however, with a less barren and more acceptable acknowledgment, in the shape of alife income of 14, 000 ducats instead of the 8000 hitherto enjoyed by herHighness. 

In addition to this liberal allowance, of which she was never to bedeprived, except upon receiving full payment of 140, 000 ducats, she waspresented with 25, 000 florins by the estates of Brabant, and with 30, 000by those of Flanders. 

With these substantial tokens of the success of her nine years' fatigueand intolerable anxiety, she at last took her departure from theNetherlands, having communicated the dissolution of her connexion withthe provinces by a farewell letter to the Estates dated 9th December, 1567. Within a few weeks afterwards, escorted by the Duke of Alva acrossthe frontier of Brabant; attended by a considerable deputation of Flemishnobility into Germany, and accompanied to her journey's end at Parma bythe Count and Countess of Mansfeld, she finally closed her eventfulcareer in the Netherlands. 

The horrors of the succeeding administration proved beneficial to herreputation. Upon the dark ground of succeeding years the lines whichrecorded her history seemed written with letters of light. Yet herconduct in the Netherlands offers but few points for approbation, andmany for indignant censure. That she was not entirely destitute offeminine softness and sentiments of bounty, her parting despatch to herbrother proved. In that letter she recommended to him a course ofclemency and forgiveness, and reminded him that the nearer kings approachto God in station, the more they should endeavor to imitate him in hisattributes of benignity. But the language of this farewell was moretender than had been the spirit of her government. One looks in vain, too, through the general atmosphere of kindness which pervades theepistle; for a special recommendation of those distinguished and doomedseigniors, whose attachment to her person and whose chivalrous andconscientious endeavors to fulfil her own orders, had placed them uponthe edge of that precipice from which they were shortly to be hurled. Themen who had restrained her from covering herself with disgrace by aprecipitate retreat from the post of danger, and who had imperilled theirlives by obedience to her express instructions, had been long languishingin solitary confinement, never to be terminated except by a traitor'sdeath--yet we search in vain for a kind word in their behalf. 

Meantime the second civil war in France had broken out. The hollow truceby which the Guise party and the Huguenots had partly pretended todeceive each other was hastened to its end; among other causes, by themarch of Alva, to the Netherlands. The Huguenots had taken alarm, forthey recognized the fellowship which united their foes in all countriesagainst the Reformation, and Conde and Coligny knew too well that thesame influence which had brought Alva to Brussels would soon create anexterminating army against their followers. Hostilities were resumed withmore bitterness than ever. The battle of St. Denis--fierce, fatal, butindecisive--was fought. The octogenarian hero, Montmorency, fighting likea foot soldier, refusing to yield his sword, and replying to therespectful solicitations of his nearest enemy by dashing his teeth downhis throat with the butt-end of his pistol, the hero of so many battles, whose defeat at St. Quintin had been the fatal point in his career, haddied at last in his armor, bravely but not gloriously, in conflict withhis own countrymen, led by his own heroic nephew. The military control ofthe Catholic party was completely in the hand of the Guises; theChancellor de l'Hopital had abandoned the court after a last and futileeffort to reconcile contending factions, which no human power couldunite; the Huguenots had possessed themselves of Rochelle and of otherstrong places, and, under the guidance of adroit statesmen andaccomplished generals, were pressing the Most Christian monarch hard inthe very heart of his kingdom. 

As early as the middle of October, while still in Antwerp, Alva hadreceived several secret agents of the French monarch, then closelybeleaguered in his capital. Cardinal Lorraine offered to place severalstrong places of France in the hands of the Spaniard, and Alva hadwritten to Philip that he was disposed to accept the offer, and to renderthe service. The places thus held would be a guarantee for his expenses, he said, while in case King Charles and his brother should die, "theirpossession would enable Philip to assert his own claim to the Frenchcrown in right of his wife, the Salic law being merely a pleasantry. "

The Queen Dowager, adopting now a very different tone from that whichcharacterized her conversation at the Bayonne interview, wrote to Alva, that, if for want of 2000 Spanish musketeers, which she requested him tofurnish, she should be obliged to succumb, she chose to disculpateherself in advance before God and Christian princes for the peace whichshe should be obliged to make. The Duke wrote to her in reply, that itwas much better to have a kingdom ruined in preserving it for God and theking by war, than to have it kept entire without war, to the profit ofthe devil and of his followers. He was also reported on another occasionto have reminded her of the Spanish proverb--that the head of one salmonis worth those of a hundred frogs. The hint, if it were really given, wascertainly destined to be acted upon. 

The Duke not only furnished Catherine with advice, but with themusketeers which she had solicited. Two thousand foot and fifteen hundredhorse, under the Count of Aremberg, attended by a choice band of theCatholic nobility of the Netherlands, had joined the royal camp at Parisbefore the end of the year, to take their part in the brief hostilitiesby which the second treacherous peace was to be preceded. 

Meantime, Alva was not unmindful of the business which had served as apretext in the arrest of the two Counts. The fortifications of theprincipal cities were pushed on with great rapidity. The memorablecitadel of Antwerp in particular had already been commenced in Octoberunder the superintendence of the celebrated engineers, Pacheco andGabriel de Cerbelloni. In a few months it was completed, at a cost of onemillion four hundred thousand florins, of which sum the citizens, inspite of their remonstrances, were compelled to contribute more than onequarter. The sum of four hundred thousand florins was forced from theburghers by a tax upon all hereditary property within the municipality. 

Two thousand workmen were employed daily in the construction of thisimportant fortress, which was erected, as its position most plainlymanifested, not to protect, but to control the commercial capital of theprovinces. It stood at the edge of the city, only separated from itswalls by an open esplanade. It was the most perfect pentagon in Europe, having one of its sides resting on the Scheld, two turned towards thecity, and two towards the open country. Five bastions, with walls ofhammered stone, connected by curtains of turf and masonry, surrounded bywalls measuring a league in circumference, and by an outer moat fed bythe Scheld, enclosed a spacious enceinte, where a little church with manysmall lodging-houses, shaded by trees and shrubbery, nestled among thebristling artillery, as if to mimic the appearance of a peaceful andpastoral village. To four of the five bastions, the Captain-General, withcharacteristic ostentation, gave his own names and titles. One was calledthe Duke, the second Ferdinando, a third Toledo, a fourth Alva, while thefifth was baptized with the name of the ill-fated engineer, Pacheco. TheWatergate was decorated with the escutcheon of Alva, surrounded by hisGolden Fleece collar, with its pendant lamb of God; a symbol ofblasphemous irony, which still remains upon the fortress, to recal theimage of the tyrant and murderer. Each bastion was honeycombed withcasemates and subterranean storehouses, and capable of containing withinits bowels a vast supply of provisions, munitions, and soldiers. Such wasthe celebrated citadel built to tame the turbulent spirit of Antwerp, atthe cost of those whom it was to terrify and to insult. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Conde and Coligny Furnished, in addition, with a force of two thousand prostitutes He came as a conqueror not as a mediator Hope deferred, suddenly changing to despair Meantime the second civil war in France had broken out Spendthrift of time, he was an economist of blood The greatest crime, however, was to be rich Time and myself are two

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 15. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY18551568 [CHAPTER II. ]

 Orange, Count Louis, Hoogstraaten, and others, cited before the Blood-Council--Charges against them--Letter of Orange in reply-- Position and sentiments of the Prince--Seizure of Count de Buren-- Details of that transaction--Petitions to the Council from Louvain and other places--Sentence of death against the whole population of the Netherlands pronounced by the Spanish Inquisition and proclaimed by Philip--Cruel inventions against heretics--The Wild Beggars-- Preliminary proceedings of the Council against Egmont and Horn-- Interrogatories addressed to them in prison--Articles of accusation against them--Foreclosure of the cases--Pleas to the jurisdiction-- Efforts by the Countesses Egmont and Horn, by many Knights of the Fleece, and by the Emperor, in favor of the prisoners--Answers of Alva and of Philip--Obsequious behavior of Viglius--Difficulties arising from the Golden Fleece statutes set aside--Particulars of the charges against Count Horn and of his defence--Articles of accusation against Egmont--Sketch of his reply--Reflections upon the two trials--Attitude of Orange--His published 'Justification'--His secret combinations--His commission to Count Louis--Large sums of money subscribed by the Nassau family, by Netherland refugees, and others--Great personal sacrifices made by the Prince--Quadruple scheme for invading the Netherlands--Defeat of the patriots under Cocqueville--Defeat of Millers--Invasion of Friesland by Count Louis--Measures of Alva to oppose him--Command of the royalists entreated to Aremberg and Meghem--The Duke's plan for the campaign-- Skirmish at Dam--Detention of Meghem--Count Louis at Heiliger--Lee-- Nature of the ground--Advance of Aremberg--Disposition of the patriot forces--Impatience of the Spanish troops to engage--Battle of Heiliger-Lee--Defeat and death of Aremberg--Death of Adolphus Nassau--Effects of the battle--Anger and severe measures of Alva-- Eighteen nobles executed at Brussels--Sentence of death pronounced upon Egmont and Horn--The Bishop of Ypres sent to Egmont--Fruitless intercession by the prelate and the Countess--Egmont's last night in prison--The "grande place" at Brussels--Details concerning the execution of Egmont and Horn--Observation upon the characters of the two nobles--Destitute condition of Egmont's family. 

Late in October, the Duke of Alva made his triumphant entry into the newfortress. During his absence, which was to continue during the remainderof the year, he had ordered the Secretary Courteville and the Councillordel Rio to superintend the commission, which was then actually engaged incollecting materials for the prosecutions to be instituted against thePrince of Orange and the other nobles who had abandoned the country. Accordingly, soon after his return, on the 19th of January, 1568, thePrince, his brother Louis of Nassau, his brother-in-law, Count Van denBerg, the Count Hoogstraaten, the Count Culemburg, and the BaronMontigny, were summoned in the name of Alva to appear before theBlood-Council, within thrice fourteen days from the date of theproclamation, under pain of perpetual banishment with confiscation oftheir estates. It is needless to say that these seigniors did not obeythe summons. They knew full well that their obedience would be rewardedonly by death. 

The charges against the Prince of Orange, which were drawn up in tenarticles, stated, chiefly and briefly, that he had been, and was, thehead and front of the rebellion; that as soon as his Majesty had left theNetherlands, he had begun his machinations to make himself master of thecountry and to expel his sovereign by force, if he should attempt toreturn to the provinces; that he had seduced his Majesty's subjects byfalse pretences that the Spanish inquisition was about to be introduced;that he had been the secret encourager and director of Brederode and theconfederated nobles; and that when sent to Antwerp, in the name of theRegent, to put down the rebellion, he had encouraged heresy and accordedfreedom of religion to the Reformers. 

The articles against Hoogstraaten and the other gentlemen mere of similartenor. It certainly was not a slender proof of the calm effrontery of thegovernment thus to see Alva's proclamation charging it as a crime uponOrange that he had inveigled the lieges into revolt by a false assertionthat the inquisition was about to be established, when letters from theDuke to Philip, and from Granvelle to Philip, dated upon nearly the sameday, advised the immediate restoration of the inquisition as soon as anadequate number of executions had paved the way for the measure. It wasalso a sufficient indication of a reckless despotism, that while theDuchess, who had made the memorable Accord with the Religionists, received a flattering letter of thanks and a farewell pension of fourteenthousand ducats yearly, those who, by her orders, had acted upon thattreaty as the basis of their negotiations, were summoned to lay downtheir heads upon the block. 

The Prince replied to this summons by a brief and somewhat contemptuousplea to the jurisdiction. As a Knight of the Fleece, as a member of theGermanic Empire, as a sovereign prince in France, as a citizen of theNetherlands, he rejected the authority of Alva and of hisself-constituted tribunal. His innocence he was willing to establishbefore competent courts and righteous judges. As a Knight of the Fleece, he said he could be tried only by his peers, the brethren of the Order, and, for that purpose, he could be summoned only by the King as Head ofthe Chapter, with the sanction of at least six of his fellow-knights. Inconclusion, he offered to appear before his Imperial Majesty, theElectors, and other members of the Empire, or before the Knights of theGolden Fleece. In the latter case, he claimed the right, under thestatutes of that order, to be placed while the trial was pending, not ina solitary prison, as had been the fate of Egmont and of Horn, but underthe friendly charge and protection of the brethren themselves. The letterwas addressed to the procurator-general, and a duplicate was forwarded tothe Duke. 

From the general tenor of the document, it is obvious both that thePrince was not yet ready to throw down the gauntlet to his sovereign, norto proclaim his adhesion to the new religion: Of departing from theNetherlands in the spring, he had said openly that he was still inpossession of sixty thousand florins yearly, and that he should commenceno hostilities against Philip, so long as he did not disturb him in hishonor or his estates. Far-seeing politician, if man ever were, he knewthe course whither matters were inevitably tending, but he knew how muchstrength was derived from putting an adversary irretrievably in thewrong. He still maintained an attitude of dignified respect towards themonarch, while he hurled back with defiance the insolent summons of theviceroy. Moreover, the period had not yet arrived for him to breakpublicly with the ancient faith. Statesman, rather than religionist, atthis epoch, he was not disposed to affect a more complete conversion thanthe one which he had experienced. He was, in truth, not for a newdoctrine, but for liberty of conscience. His mind was already expandingbeyond any dogmas of the age. The man whom his enemies stigmatized asatheist and renegade, was really in favor of toleration, and therefore, the more deeply criminal in the eyes of all religious parties. 

Events, personal to himself, were rapidly to place him in a position fromwhich he might enter the combat with honor. 

His character had already been attacked, his property threatened withconfiscation. His closest ties of family were now to be severed by thehand of the tyrant. His eldest child, the Count de Buren, torn from hisprotection, was to be carried into indefinite captivity in a foreignland. It was a remarkable oversight, for a person of his sagacity, that, upon his own departure from the provinces, he should leave his son, thena boy of thirteen years, to pursue his studies at the college of Louvain. Thus exposed to the power of the government, he was soon seized as ahostage for the good behavior of the father. Granvelle appears to havebeen the first to recommend the step in a secret letter to Philip, butAlva scarcely needed prompting. Accordingly, upon the 13th of February, 1568, the Duke sent the Seignior de Chassy to Louvain, attended by fourofficers and by twelve archers. He was furnished with a letter to theCount de Buren, in which that young nobleman was requested to placeimplicit confidence in the bearer of the despatch, and was informed thatthe desire which his Majesty had to see him educated for his service, wasthe cause of the communication which the Seignior de Chassy was about tomake. 

That gentleman was, moreover, minutely instructed as to his method ofproceeding in this memorable case of kidnapping. He was to present theletter to the young Count in presence of his tutor. He was to invite himto Spain in the name of his Majesty. He was to assure him that hisMajesty's commands were solely with a view, to his own good, and that hewas not commissioned to arrest, but only to escort him. He was to allowthe Count to be accompanied only by two valets, two pages, a cook, and akeeper of accounts. He was, however, to induce his tutor to accompanyhim, at least to the Spanish frontier. He was to arrange that the secondday after his arrival at Louvain, the Count should set out for Antwerp, where he was to lodge with Count Lodron, after which they were to proceedto Flushing, whence they were to embark for Spain. At that city he was todeliver the young Prince to the person whom he would find there, commissioned for that purpose by the Duke. As soon as he had made thefirst proposition at Louvain to the Count, he was, with the assistance ofhis retinue, to keep the most strict watch over him day and night, butwithout allowing the supervision to be perceived. 

The plan was carried out admirably, and in strict accordance with theprogram. It was fortunate, however, for the kidnappers, that the youngPrince proved favorably disposed to the plan. He accepted the invitationof his captors with alacrity. He even wrote to thank the governor for hisfriendly offices in his behalf. He received with boyish gratification thefestivities with which Lodron enlivened his brief sojourn at Antwerp, andhe set forth without reluctance for that gloomy and terrible land ofSpain, whence so rarely a Flemish traveller had returned. A changeling, as it were, from his cradle, he seemed completely transformed by hisSpanish tuition, for he was educated and not sacrificed by Philip. Whenhe returned to the Netherlands, after a twenty years' residence in Spain, it was difficult to detect in his gloomy brow, saturnine character, andJesuistical habits, a trace of the generous spirit which characterizedthat race of heroes, the house of Orange-Nassau. 

Philip had expressed some anxiety as to the consequences of this captureupon the governments of Germany. Alva, however, re-assured his sovereignupon that point, by reason of the extreme docility of the captive, andthe quiet manner in which the arrest had been conducted. At thatparticular juncture, moreover, it would, have been difficult for thegovernment of the Netherlands to excite surprise any where, except by anact of clemency. The president and the deputation of professors from theuniversity of Louvain waited upon Vargas, by whom, as acting president ofthe Blood-Council, the arrest had nominally been made, with aremonstrance that the measure was in gross violation of their statutesand privileges. That personage, however, with his usual contempt both forlaw and Latin, answered brutally, "Non curamus vestros privilegios, " andwith this memorable answer, abruptly closed his interview with thetrembling pedants. 

Petitions now poured into the council from all quarters, abjectrecantations from terror-stricken municipalities, humble intercessions inbehalf of doomed and imprisoned victims. To a deputation of themagistracy of Antwerp, who came with a prayer for mercy in behalf of someof their most distinguished fellow-citizens, then in prison, the Dukegave a most passionate and ferocious reply. He expressed his wonder thatthe citizens of Antwerp, that hotbed of treason, should dare to approachhim in behalf of traitors and heretics. Let them look to it in future, hecontinued, or he would hang every man in the whole city, to set anexample to the rest of the country; for his Majesty would rather thewhole land should become an uninhabited wilderness, than that a singleDissenter should exist within its territory. 

Events now marched with rapidity. The monarch seemed disposed literallyto execute the threat of his viceroy. Early in the year, the most sublimesentence of death was promulgated which has ever been pronounced sincethe creation of the world. The Roman tyrant wished that his enemies'heads were all upon a single neck, that he might strike them off at ablow; the inquisition assisted Philip to place the heads of all hisNetherland subjects upon a single neck for the same fell purpose. Uponthe 16th February, 1568, a sentence of the Holy Office condemned all theinhabitants of the Netherlands to death as heretics. From this universaldoom only a few persons, especially named; were excepted. A proclamationof the King, dated ten days later, confirmed this decree of theinquisition, and ordered it to be carried into instant execution, withoutregard to age, sex, or condition. This is probably the most concisedeath-warrant that was ever framed. Three millions of people, men, women, and children, were sentenced to the scaffold in: three lines; and, as itwas well known that these were not harmless thunders, like some bulls ofthe Vatican, but serious and practical measures, which it was intendedshould be enforced, the horror which they produced may be easilyimagined. It was hardly the purpose of Government to compel the absolutecompletion of the wholesale plan in all its length and breadth, yet inthe horrible times upon which they had fallen, the Netherlanders might beexcused for believing that no measure was too monstrous to be fulfilled. At any rate, it was certain that when all were condemned, any might at amoment's warning be carried to the scaffold, and this was precisely thecourse adopted by the authorities. 

Under this universal decree the industry of the Blood-Council might, nowseem superfluous. Why should not these mock prosecutions be dispensedwith against individuals, now that a common sentence had swallowed thewhole population in one vast grave? Yet it may be supposed that if theexertions of the commissioners and councillors served no other purpose, they at least furnished the Government with valuable evidence as to therelative wealth and other circumstances of the individual victims. Theleading thought of the Government being that persecution, judiciouslymanaged, might fructify into a golden harvest, --it was still desirable topersevere in the cause in which already such bloody progress had beenmade. 

And under this new decree, the executions certainly did not slacken. Menin the highest and the humblest positions were daily and hourly draggedto the stake. Alva, in a single letter to Philip, coolly estimated thenumber of executions which were to take place immediately after theexpiration of holy week, "at eight hundred heads. " Many a citizen, convicted of a hundred thousand florins and of no other crime, sawhimself suddenly tied to a horse's tail, with his hands fastened behindhim, and so dragged to the gallows. But although wealth was anunpardonable sin, poverty proved rarely a protection. Reasons sufficientcould always be found for dooming the starveling laborer as well as theopulent burgher. To avoid the disturbances created in the streets by thefrequent harangues or exhortations addressed to the bystanders by thevictims on their way to the scaffold, a new gag was invented. The tongueof each prisoner was screwed into an iron ring, and then seared with ahot iron. The swelling and inflammation which were the immediate result, prevented the tongue from slipping through the ring, and of courseeffectually precluded all possibility of speech. 

Although the minds of men were not yet prepared for concentrated revoltagainst the tyranny under which they were languishing, it was notpossible to suppress all sentiments of humanity, and to tread out everyspark of natural indignation. 

Unfortunately, in the bewilderment and misery of this people, the firstdevelopment of a forcible and organized resistance was of a depraved andmalignant character. Extensive bands of marauders and highway robberssprang into existence, who called themselves the Wild Beggars, and who, wearing the mask and the symbols of a revolutionary faction, committedgreat excesses in many parts of the country, robbing, plundering, andmurdering. Their principal wrath was exercised against religious housesand persons. Many monasteries were robbed, many clerical persons maimedand maltreated. It became a habit to deprive priests of their noses orears, and to tie them to the tails of horses. This was the work ofruffian gangs, whose very existence was engendered out of the social andmoral putrescence to which the country was reduced, and who were willingto profit by the deep and universal hatred which was felt againstCatholics and monks. An edict thundered forth by Alva, authorizing andcommanding all persons to slay the wild beggars at sight, without trialor hangman, was of comparatively slight avail. An armed force of veteransactively scouring the country was more successful, and the freebooterswere, for a time, suppressed. 

Meantime the Counts Egmont and Horn had been kept in rigorous confinementat Ghent. Not a warrant had been read or drawn up for their arrest. Not asingle preliminary investigation, not the shadow of an information hadpreceded the long imprisonment of two men so elevated in rank, sodistinguished in the public service. After the expiration of two months, however, the Duke condescended to commence a mock process against them. The councillors appointed to this work were Vargas and Del Rio, assistedby Secretary Praets. These persons visited the Admiral on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 17th of November, and Count Egmont on the 12th, 13th, 14th, and16th, of the same month; requiring them to respond to a long, confused, and rambling collection of interrogatories. They were obliged to renderthese replies in prison, unassisted by any advocates, on penalty of beingcondemned 'in contumaciam'. The questions, awkwardly drawn up as theyseemed, were yet tortuously and cunningly arranged with a view ofentrapping the prisoners into self-contradiction. After this work hadbeen completed, all the papers by which they intended to justify theiranswers were taken away from them. Previously, too, their houses andthose of their secretaries, Bakkerzeel and Alonzo de la Loo, had beenthoroughly ransacked, and every letter and document which could be foundplaced in the hands of government. Bakkerzeel, moreover, as alreadystated, had been repeatedly placed upon the rack, for the purpose ofextorting confessions which might implicate his master. Thesepreliminaries and precautionary steps having been taken, the Counts hadagain been left to their solitude for two months longer. On the 10thJanuary, each was furnished with a copy of the declarations oraccusations filed against him by the procurator-general. To thesedocuments, drawn up respectively in sixty-three, and in ninety articles, they were required, within five days' time, without the assistance of anadvocate, and without consultation with any human being, to deliver awritten answer, on pain, as before, of being proceeded against andcondemned by default. 

This order was obeyed within nearly the prescribed period and here, itmay be said, their own participation in their trial ceased; while therest of the proceedings were buried in the deep bosom of theBlood-Council. After their answers had been delivered, and not till then, the prisoners were, by an additional mockery, permitted to employadvocates. These advocates, however, were allowed only occasionalinterviews with their clients, and always in the presence of certainpersons, especially deputed for that purpose by the Duke. They were alsoallowed commissioners to collect evidence and take depositions, butbefore the witnesses were ready, a purposely premature day, 8th of May, was fixed upon for declaring the case closed, and not a single tittle oftheir evidence, personal or documentary, was admitted. --Their advocatespetitioned for an exhibition of the evidence prepared by government, andwere refused. Thus, they were forbidden to use the testimony in theirfavor, while that which was to be employed against them was kept secret. Finally, the proceedings were formally concluded on the 1st of June, andthe papers laid before the Duke. The mass of matter relating to these twomonster processes was declared, three days afterwards to have beenexamined--a physical impossibility in itself--and judgment was pronouncedupon the 4th of June. This issue was precipitated by the campaign ofLouis Nassau in Friesland, forming a aeries of important events which itwill be soon our duty to describe. It is previously necessary, however, to add a few words in elucidation of the two mock trials which have beenthus briefly sketched. 

The proceeding had been carried on, from first to last, under protest bythe prisoners, under a threat of contumacy on the part of the government. Apart from the totally irresponsible and illegal character of thetribunal before which they were summoned--the Blood-Council being aprivate institution of Alva's without pretext or commission--these noblesacknowledged the jurisdiction of but three courts. As Knights of theGolden Fleece, both claimed the privilege of that Order to be tried byits statutes. As a citizen and noble of Brabant, Egmont claimed theprotection of the "Joyeuse Entree, " a constitution which had been swornto by Philip and his ancestors, and by Philip more amply, than by all hisancestors. As a member and Count of the Holy Roman Empire, the Admiralclaimed to be tried by his peers, the electors and princes of the realm. 

The Countess Egmont, since her husband's arrest, and the confiscation ofhis estates before judgment, had been reduced to a life of poverty aswell as agony. With her eleven children, all of tender age, she had takenrefuge in a convent. Frantic with despair, more utterly desolate, andmore deeply wronged than high-born lady had often been before, she leftno stone unturned to save her husband from his fate, or at least toobtain for him an impartial and competent tribunal. She addressed theDuke of Alva, the King, the Emperor, her brother the Elector Palatine, and many leading Knights of the Fleece. The Countess Dowager of Horn, both whose sons now lay in the jaws of death, occupied herself also withthe most moving appeals to the same high personages. No pains were sparedto make the triple plea to the jurisdiction valid. The leading Knights ofthe Fleece, Mansfeld, whose loyalty was unquestioned, and Hoogstraaten, although himself an outlaw; called upon the King of Spain to protect thestatutes of the illustrious order of which he was the chief. The estatesof Brabant, upon the petition of Sabina, Countess Egmont, that they wouldtake to heart the privileges of the province, so that her husband mightenjoy that protection of which the meanest citizen in the land could notbe justly deprived, addressed a feeble and trembling protest to Alva, andenclosed to him the lady's petition. The Emperor, on behalf of CountHorn, wrote personally to Philip, to claim for him a trial before themembers of the realm. 

It was all in vain. The conduct of Philip and his Viceroy coincided inspirit with the honest brutality of Vargas. "Non curamus vestrosprivilegios, " summed up the whole of the proceedings. Non curamus vestrosprivilegios had been the unanswerable reply to every constitutionalargument which had been made against tyranny since Philip mounted hisfather's throne. It was now the only response deemed necessary to thecrowd of petitions in favor of the Counts, whether they proceeded fromsources humble or august. Personally, the King remained silent as thegrave. In writing to the Duke of Alva, he observed that "the Emperor, theDukes of Bavaria and Lorraine, the Duchess and the Duchess-dowager, hadwritten to him many times, and in the most pressing manner, in favor ofthe Counts Horn and Egmont. " He added, that he had made no reply to them, nor to other Knights of the Fleece who had implored him to respect thestatutes of the order, and he begged Alva "to hasten the process as fastas possible. " To an earnest autograph letter, in which the Emperor, onthe 2nd of March, 1568, made a last effort to save the illustriousprisoners, he replied, that "the whole world would at last approve hisconduct, but that, at any rate, he would not act differently, even if heshould risk the loss of the provinces, and if the sky should fall on hishead. "

But little heed was paid to the remonstrances in behalf of the imperialCourts, or the privileges of Brabant. These were but cobweb impedimentswhich, indeed, had long been brushed away. President Viglius was evenpathetic on the subject of Madame Egmont's petition to the council ofBrabant. It was so bitter, he said, that the Duke was slightly annoyed, and took it ill that the royal servants in that council should have hisMajesty's interests so little at heart. It seemed indecent in the eyes ofthe excellent Frisian, that a wife pleading for her husband, a mother forher, eleven children, so soon to be fatherless, should indulge in stronglanguage!

The statutes of the Fleece were obstacles somewhat more serious. As, however, Alva had come to the Netherlands pledged to accomplish thedestruction of these two nobles, as soon as he should lay his hands uponthem, it was only a question of form, and even that question was, after alittle reflection, unceremoniously put aside. 

To the petitions in behalf of the two Counts, therefore, that they shouldbe placed in the friendly keeping of the Order, and be tried by itsstatutes, the Duke replied, peremptorily, that he had undertaken thecognizance of this affair by commission of his Majesty, as sovereign ofthe land, not as head of the Golden Fleece, that he should carry itthrough as it had been commenced, and that the Counts should discontinuepresentations of petitions upon this point. 

In the embarrassment created by the stringent language of these statutes, Doctor Viglius found an opportunity to make himself very useful. Alva hadbeen turning over the laws and regulations of the Order, but could findno loophole. The President, however, came to his rescue, and announced itas his legal opinion that the Governor need concern himself no further onthe subject, and that the code of the Fleece offered no legal impedimentto the process. Alva immediately wrote to communicate this opinion toPhilip, adding, with great satisfaction, that he should immediately makeit known to the brethren of the Order, a step which was the morenecessary because Egmont's advocate had been making great trouble withthese privileges, and had been protesting at every step of theproceedings. In what manner the learned President argued thesetroublesome statutes out of the way, has nowhere appeared; but hecompletely reinstated himself in favor, and the King wrote to thank himfor his legal exertions. 

It was now boldly declared that the statutes of the Fleece did not extendto such crimes as those with which the prisoner were charged. Alva, moreover, received an especial patent, ante-dated eight or nine months, by which Philip empowered him to proceed against all persons implicatedin the troubles, and particularly against Knights of the Golden Fleece. 

It is superfluous to observe that these were merely the arbitrary acts ofa despot. It is hardly necessary to criticise such proceedings. Theexecution of the nobles had been settled before Alva left Spain. As theywere inhabitants of a constitutional country, it was necessary to strideover the constitution. As they were Knights of the Fleece, it wasnecessary to set aside the statutes of the Order. The Netherlandconstitutions seemed so entirely annihilated already, that they couldhardly be considered obstacles; but the Order of the Fleece was an augustlittle republic of which Philip was the hereditary chief, of whichemperors, kings, and great seigniors were the citizens. Tyranny might beembarrassed by such subtle and golden filaments as these, even while itcrashed through municipal charters as if they had been reeds andbulrushes. Nevertheless, the King's course was taken. Although thethirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth chapters of the Order expresslyprovided for the trial and punishment of brethren who had been guilty ofrebellion, heresy, or treason; and although the eleventh chapter;perpetual and immutable, of additions to that constitution by the EmperorCharles, conferred on the Order exclusive jurisdiction over all crimeswhatever committed by the knights, yet it was coolly proclaimed by Alva, that the crimes for which the Admiral and Egmont had been arrested, werebeyond the powers of the tribunal. 

So much for the plea to the jurisdiction. It is hardly worth while tolook any further into proceedings which were initiated and brought to aconclusion in the manner already narrated. Nevertheless, as they werecalled a process, a single glance at the interior of that mass ofdocuments can hardly be superfluous. 

The declaration against Count Horn; upon which, supported by invisiblewitnesses, he was condemned, was in the nature of a narrative. Itconsisted in a rehearsal of circumstances, some true and some fictitious, with five inferences. These five inferences amounted to five crimes--hightreason, rebellion, conspiracy, misprision of treason, and breach oftrust. The proof of these crimes was evolved, in a dim and misty manner, out of a purposely confused recital. No events, however, wererecapitulated which have not been described in the course of thishistory. Setting out with a general statement, that the Admiral, thePrince of Orange, Count Egmont, and other lords had organized a plot toexpel his Majesty from the Netherlands, and to divide the provinces amongthemselves; the declaration afterwards proceeded to particulars. Ten ofits sixty-three articles were occupied with the Cardinal Granvelle, who, by an absurd affectation, was never directly named, but called "a certainpersonage--a principal personage--a grand personage, of his Majesty'sstate council. " None of the offences committed against him wereforgotten: the 11th of March letter, the fool's-cap, the livery, werereproduced in the most violent colors, and the cabal against the ministerwas quietly assumed to constitute treason against the monarch. 

The Admiral, it was further charged, had advised and consented to thefusion of the finance and privy councils with that of state, a measurewhich was clearly treasonable. He had, moreover, held interviews with thePrince of Orange, with Egmont, and other nobles, at Breda and atHoogstraaten, at which meetings the confederacy and the petition had beenengendered. That petition had been the cause of all the evils which hadswept the land. "It had scandalously injured the King, by affirming thatthe inquisition was a tyranny to humanity, which was an infamous andunworthy proposition. " The confederacy, with his knowledge andcountenance, had enrolled 30, 000 men. He had done nothing, any more thanOrange or Egmont, to prevent the presentation of the petition. In theconsultation at the state-council which ensued, both he and the Princewere for leaving Brussels at once, while Count Egmont expressed anintention of going to Aix to drink the waters. Yet Count Egmont'sappearance (proceeded this indictment against another individual)exhibited not a single sign of sickness. The Admiral had, moreover, drankthe toast of "Vivent leg gueux" on various occasions, at the CulembergHouse banquet, at the private table of the Prince of Orange, at a supperat the monastery of Saint Bernard's, at a dinner given by BurgomasterStraalen. He had sanctioned the treaties with the rebels at Duffel, bywhich he had clearly rendered himself guilty of high treason. He had heldan interview with Orange, Egmont, and Hoogstraaten, at Denremonde, forthe treasonable purpose of arranging a levy of troops to prevent hisMajesty's entrance into the Netherlands. He had refused to come toBrussels at the request of the Duchess of Parma, when the rebels wereabout to present the petition. He had written to his secretary that hewas thenceforth resolved to serve neither King nor Kaiser. He hadreceived from one Taffin, with marks of approbation, a paper, statingthat the assembling of the states-general was the only remedy for thetroubles in the land. He had, repeatedly affirmed that the inquisitionand edicts ought to be repealed. 

On his arrival at Tournay in August, 1566, the people had cried "Viventles gueux;" a proof that he liked the cry. All his transactions atTournay, from first to last, had been criminal. He had tolerated Reformedpreaching, he had forbidden Catholics and Protestants to molest eachother, he had omitted to execute heretics, he had allowed thereligionists to erect an edifice for public worship outside the walls. Hehad said, at the house of Prince Espinoy, that if the King should comeinto the provinces with force, he would oppose him with 15, 000 troops. Hehad said, if his brother Montigny should be detained in Spain, he wouldmarch to his rescue at the head of 50, 000 men whom he had at his command. He had on various occasions declared that "men should live according totheir consciences"--as if divine and human laws were dead, and men, likewild beasts, were to follow all their lusts and desires. Lastly, he hadencouraged the rebellion in Valenciennes. 

Of all these crimes and misdeeds the procurator declared himselfsufficiently informed, and the aforesaid defendant entirely, commonly, and publicly defamed. 

Wherefore, that officer terminated his declaration by claiming "that thecause should be concluded summarily, and without figure or form ofprocess; and that therefore, by his Excellency or his sub-delegatedjudges, the aforesaid defendant should be declared to have in diverseways committed high treason, should be degraded from his dignities, andshould be condemned to death, with confiscation of all his estates. "

The Admiral, thus peremptorily summoned, within five days, withoutassistance, without documents, and from the walls of a prison, to answerto these charges, 'solos ex vinculis causam dicere', undertook his taskwith the boldness of innocence. He protested, of course, to thejurisdiction, and complained of the want of an advocate, not in order toexcuse any weakness in his defence, but only any inelegance in hisstatement. He then proceeded flatly to deny some of the facts, to admitothers, and to repel the whole treasonable inference. His answer in allessential respects was triumphant. Supported by the evidence which, alaswas not collected and published till after his death, it was impregnable. 

He denied that he had ever plotted against his King, to whom he had everbeen attached, but admitted that he had desired the removal of Granvelle, to whom he had always been hostile. He had, however, been an open andavowed enemy to the Cardinal, and had been engaged in no secretconspiracy against his character or against his life. He denied that thelivery (for which, however, he was not responsible) had been intended toridicule the Cardinal, but asserted that it was intended to afford anexample of economy to an extravagant nobility. He had met Orange andEgmont at Breda and Hoogstraaten, and had been glad to do so, for he hadbeen long separated from them. These interviews, however, had beensocial, not political, for good cheer and merry-making, not forconspiracy and treason. He had never had any connection with theconfederacy; he had neither advised nor protected the petition, but, onthe contrary, after hearing of the contemplated movement, had written togive notice thereof to the Duchess. He was in no manner allied, withBrederode, but, on the contrary, for various reasons, was not uponfriendly terms with him. He had not entered his house since his returnfrom Spain. He had not been a party to the dinner at Culemburg House. Upon that day he had dined with the Prince of Orange, with whom he waslodging and, after dinner, they had both gone together to visit Mansfeld, who was confined with an inflamed eye. There they had met Egmont, and thethree had proceeded together to Culemburg House in order to bring awayHoogstraaten, whom the confederates had compelled to dine with them; andalso to warn the nobles not to commit themselves by extravagant andsuspicious excesses. They had remained in the house but a few minutes, during which time the company had insisted upon their drinking a singlecup to the toast of "Vivent le roy et les gueux. " They had then retired, taking with them Hoogstraaten, and all thinking that they had rendered aservice to the government by their visit, instead of having madethemselves liable to a charge of treason. As to the cries of "Vivent lesgueux" at the tables of Orange, of the Abbot of Saint Bernard, and atother places, those words had been uttered by simple, harmless fellows;and as he considered, the table a place of freedom, he had not felthimself justified in rebuking the manners of his associates, particularly, in houses where he was himself but a guest. As forcommitting treason at the Duffel meeting, he had not been there at all. 

He thanked God that, at that epoch, he had been absent from Brussels, forhad he, as well as Orange and Egmont, been commissioned by the Duchess toarrange those difficult matters, he should have considered it his duty todo as they did. He had never thought of levying troops against hisMajesty. The Denremonde meeting had been held, to consult upon foursubjects: the affairs of Tournay; the intercepted letters of the Frenchambassador, Alava; the letter of Montigny, in which he warned his brotherof the evil impression which the Netherland matters were making in Spain;and the affairs of Antwerp, from which city the Prince of Orange found itnecessary at that moment to withdraw. --With regard to his absence fromBrussels, he stated that he had kept away from the Court because he wasruined. He was deeply in debt, and so complete was his embarrassment, that he had been unable in Antwerp to raise 1000 crowns upon hisproperty, even at an interest of one hundred per cent. So far from beingable to levy troops, he was hardly able to pay for his daily bread. Withregard to his transactions at Tournay, he had, throughout them all, conformed himself to the instructions of Madame de Parma. As to the cryof "Vivent les gueux, " he should not have cared at that moment if thepopulace had cried 'Vive Comte Horn', for his thoughts were then occupiedwith more substantial matters. He had gone thither under a specialcommission from the Duchess, and had acted under instructions dailyreceived by her own hand. He had, by her orders, effected a temporarycompromise between the two religious parties, on the basis of the Duffeltreaty. He had permitted the public preaching to continue, but had notintroduced it for the first time. He had allowed temples to be builtoutside the gates, but it was by express command of Madame, as he couldprove by her letters. She had even reproved him before the council, because the work had not been accomplished with sufficient despatch. Withregard to his alleged threat, that he would oppose the King's entrancewith 15, 000 men, he answered, with astonishing simplicity, that he didnot remember making any such observation, but it was impossible for a manto retain in his mind all the nonsense which he might occasionally utter. The honest Admiral thought that his poverty, already pleaded, was sonotorious that the charge was not worthy of a serious answer. He alsotreated the observation which he was charged with having made, relativeto his marching to Spain with 50, 000 men to rescue Montigny as "frivolousand ridiculous. " He had no power to raise a hundred men. Moreover he hadrejoiced at Montigny's detention, for he had thought that to be out ofthe Netherlands was to be out of harm's way. On the whole, he claimedthat in all those transactions of his which might be consideredanti-Catholic, he had been governed entirely by the instructions of theRegent, and by her Accord with the nobles. That Accord, as she hadrepeatedly stated to him, was to be kept sacred until his Majesty, byadvice of the states-general, should otherwise ordain. 

Finally, he observed, that law was not his vocation. He was nopettifogger, but he had endeavored loyally to conform himself to thebroad and general principles of honor, justice, and truth. In a very fewand simple words, he begged his judges to have regard to his deeds, andto a life of loyal service. If he had erred occasionally in those timesof tumult, his intentions had ever been faithful and honorable. 

The charges against Count Egmont were very similar to those against CountHorn. The answers of both defendants were nearly identical. Interrogations thus addressed to two different persons, as tocircumstances which had occurred long before, could not have been thusseparately, secretly, but simultaneously answered in languagesubstantially the same, had not that language been the words of truth. Egmont was accused generally of plotting with others to expel the Kingfrom the provinces, and to divide the territory among themselves. Througha long series of ninety articles, he was accused of conspiring againstthe character and life of Cardinal Granvelle. He was the inventor, it wascharged, of the fool's-cap livery. He had joined in the letters to theKing, demanding the prelate's removal. He had favored the fusion of thethree councils. He had maintained that the estates-general ought to beforthwith assembled, that otherwise the debts of his Majesty and of thecountry could never be paid, and that the provinces would go to theFrench, to the Germans, or to the devil. He had asserted that he wouldnot be instrumental in burning forty or fifty thousand men, in order thatthe inquisition and the edicts might be sustained. He had declared thatthe edicts were rigorous. He had advised the Duchess, to moderate them, and remove the inquisition, saying that these measures, with a pardongeneral in addition, were the only means of quieting the country. He hadadvised the formation of the confederacy, and promised to it hisprotection and favor. He had counselled the presentation of the petition. He had arranged all these matters, in consultation with the other nobles, at the interviews at Breda and Hoogstraaten. He had refused the demand ofMadame de Parma, to take arms in her defence. He had expressed hisintention, at a most critical moment, of going to the baths of Aix forhis health, although his personal appearance gave no indication of anymalady whatever. He had countenanced and counselled the proceedings ofthe rebel nobles at Saint Trond. He had made an accord with those of "thereligion" at Ghent, Bruges, and other places. He had advised the Duchessto grant a pardon to those who had taken up arms. He had maintained, incommon with the Prince of Orange, at a session of the state council, thatif Madame should leave Brussels, they would assemble the states-generalof their own authority, and raise a force of forty thousand men. He hadplotted treason, and made arrangements for the levy of troops at theinterview at Denremonde, with Horn, Hoogstraaten, and the Prince ofOrange. He had taken under his protection on the 20th April, 1566, theconfederacy of the rebels; had promised that they should never bemolested, for the future, on account of the inquisition or the edicts, and that so long as they kept within the terms of the Petition and theCompromise, he would defend them with his own person. He had grantedliberty of preaching outside the walls in many cities within hisgovernment. He had said repeatedly, that if the King desired to introducethe inquisition into the Netherlands, he would sell all his property andremove to another land; thus declaring with how much contempt anddetestation he regarded the said inquisition. He had winked at all theproceedings of the sectaries. He had permitted the cry of "Vivent lesgueux" at his table. He had assisted at the banquet at Culemburg House. 

These were the principal points in the interminable act of accusation. Like the Admiral, Egmont admitted many of the facts, and flatly deniedthe rest. He indignantly repelled the possibility of a treasonableinference from any of, or all, his deeds. He had certainly desired theremoval of Granvelle, for he believed that the King's service wouldprofit by his recal. He replied, almost in the same terms as the Admiralhad done, to the charge concerning the livery, and asserted that itsprincipal object had been to set an example of economy. The fool's-capand bells had been changed to a bundle of arrows, in consequence of acertain rumor which became rife in Brussels, and in obedience to anordinance of Madame de Parma. As to the assembling of the states-general, the fusion of the councils, the moderation of the edicts, he hadcertainly been in favor of these measures, which he considered to bewholesome and lawful, not mischievous or treasonable. He had certainlymaintained that the edicts were rigorous, and had advised the Duchess, under the perilous circumstances of the country, to grant a temporarymodification until the pleasure of his Majesty could be known. Withregard to the Compromise, he had advised all his friends to keep out ofit, and many in consequence had kept out of it. As to the presentation ofthe petition, he had given Madame de Parma notice thereof, so soon as hehad heard that such a step was contemplated. He used the same language ashad been employed by Horn, with regard to the interview at Breda andHoogstraaten--that they had been meetings of "good cheer" and goodfellowship. He had always been at every moment at the command of theDuchess, save when he had gone to Flanders and Artois to suppress thetumults, according to her express orders. He had no connexion with themeeting of the nobles at Saint Trond. He had gone to Duffel as specialenvoy from the Duchess, to treat with certain plenipotentiaries appointedat the Saint Trond meeting. He had strictly conformed to the letter ofinstructions, drawn up by the Duchess, which would be found among hispapers, but he had never promised the nobles his personal aid orprotection. With regard to the Denremonde meeting, he gave almost exactlythe same account as Horn had given. The Prince, the Admiral, and himself, had conversed between a quarter past eleven and dinner time, which wastwelve o'clock, on various matters, particularly upon the King'sdissatisfaction with recent events in the Netherlands, and upon a certainletter from the ambassador Alava in Paris to the Duchess of Parma. Hehad, however, expressed his opinion to Madame that the letter was aforgery. He had permitted public preaching in certain cities, outside thewalls, where it had already been established, because this was inaccordance with the treaty which Madame had made at Duffel, which she hadordered him honorably to maintain. He had certainly winked at thereligious exercises of the Reformers, because he had been expresslycommanded to do so, and because the government at that time was notprovided with troops to suppress the new religion by force. He relatedthe visit of Horn, Orange, and himself to Culemburg House, at thememorable banquet, in almost the same words which the Admiral had used. He had done all in his power to prevent Madame from leaving Brussels, inwhich effort he had been successful, and from which much good hadresulted to the country. He had never recommended that a pardon should begranted to those who had taken up arms, but on the contrary, had advisedtheir chastisement, as had appeared in his demeanor towards the rebels atOsterwel, Tournay, and Valenciennes. He had never permitted the cry of"Vivent les gueux" at his own table, nor encouraged it in his presenceany where else. 

Such were the leading features in these memorable cases of what wascalled high treason. Trial there was none. The tribunal was incompetent;the prisoners were without advocates; the government evidence wasconcealed; the testimony for the defence was excluded; and the cause wasfinally decided before a thousandth part of its merits could have beenplaced under the eyes of the judge who gave the sentence. 

But it is almost puerile to speak of the matter in the terms usuallyapplicable to state trials. The case had been settled in Madrid longbefore the arrest of the prisoners in Brussels. The sentence, signed byPhilip in blank, had been brought in Alva's portfolio from Spain. Theproceedings were a mockery, and, so far as any effect upon public opinionwas concerned, might as well have been omitted. If the gentlemen had beenshot in the court-yard of Jasse-house, by decree of a drum-headcourt-martial, an hour after their arrest, the rights of the provincesand the sentiments of humanity would not have been outraged more utterly. Every constitutional and natural right was violated from first to last. This certainly was not a novelty. Thousands of obscure individuals, whoserelations and friends were not upon thrones and in high places, but inbooths and cellars, and whose fate therefore did not send a shudder ofsympathy throughout Europe, had already been sacrificed by the Bloodtribunal. Still this great case presented a colossal emblem of thecondition in which the Netherlands were now gasping. It was a monumentalexhibition of the truth which thousands had already learned to theircost, that law and justice were abrogated throughout the land. Thecountry was simply under martial law--the entire population undersentence of death. The whole civil power was in Alva's hand; the wholeresponsibility in Alva's breast. Neither the most ignoble nor the mostpowerful could lift their heads in the sublime desolation which wassweeping the country. This was now proved beyond peradventure. Amiserable cobbler or weaver might be hurried from his shop to thescaffold, invoking the 'jus de non evocando' till he was gagged, but theEmperor would not stoop from his throne, nor electors palatine andpowerful nobles rush to his rescue; but in behalf of these prisoners themost august hands and voices of Christendom had been lifted up at thefoot of Philip's throne; and their supplications had proved as idle asthe millions of tears and death-cries which had beep shed or uttered inthe lowly places of the land. It was obvious; then, that all intercessionmust thereafter be useless. Philip was fanatically impressed with hismission. His viceroy was possessed by his loyalty as by a demon. In thisway alone, that conduct which can never be palliated may at least becomprehended. It was Philip's enthusiasm to embody the wrath of Godagainst heretics. It was Alva's enthusiasm to embody the wrath of Philip. Narrow-minded, isolated, seeing only that section of the world which wasvisible through the loop-hole of the fortress in which Nature hadimprisoned him for life, placing his glory in unconditional obedience tohis superior, questioning nothing, doubting nothing, fearing nothing, theviceroy accomplished his work of hell with all the tranquillity of anangel. An iron will, which clove through every obstacle; adamantinefortitude, which sustained without flinching a mountain of responsibilitysufficient to crush a common nature, were qualities which, united to, hisfanatical obedience, made him a man for Philip's work such as could nothave been found again in the world. 

The case, then, was tried before a tribunal which was not onlyincompetent, under the laws of the land, but not even a court of justicein any philosophical or legal sense. Constitutional and municipal lawwere not more outraged in its creation, than all national and naturalmaxims. 

The reader who has followed step by step the career of the twodistinguished victims through the perilous days of Margaret'sadministration, is sufficiently aware of the amount of treason with whichthey are chargeable. It would be an insult to common sense for us to setforth, in full, the injustice of their sentence. Both were guiltlesstowards the crown; while the hands of one, on the contrary, were deeplydyed in the blood of the people. This truth was so self-evident, thateven a member of the Blood-Council, Pierre Arsens, president of Artois, addressed an elaborate memoir to the Duke of Alva, criticising the caseaccording to the rules of law, and maintaining that Egmont, instead ofdeserving punishment, was entitled to a signal reward. 

So much for the famous treason of Counts Egmont and Horn, so far asregards the history of the proceedings and the merits of the case. Thelast act of the tragedy was precipitated by occurrences which must be nownarrated. 

The Prince of Orange had at last thrown down the gauntlet. Proscribed, outlawed, with his Netherland property confiscated, and his eldest childkidnapped, he saw sufficient personal justification for at last steppinginto the lists, the avowed champion of a nation's wrongs. Whether therevolution was to be successful, or to be disastrously crushed; whetherits result would be to place him upon a throne or a scaffold, not evenhe, the deep-revolving and taciturn politician, could possibly foresee. The Reformation, in which he took both a political and a religiousinterest, might prove a sufficient lever in his hands for the overthrowof Spanish power in the Netherlands. The inquisition might roll back uponhis country and himself, crushing them forever. The chances seemed withthe inquisition. The Spaniards, under the first chieftain in Europe, wereencamped and entrenched in the provinces. The Huguenots had just madetheir fatal peace in France, to the prophetic dissatisfaction of Coligny. The leading men of liberal sentiments in the Netherlands were captive orin exile. All were embarrassed by the confiscations which, inanticipation of sentence, had severed the nerves of war. The country wasterror-stricken; paralyzed, motionless, abject, forswearing itsconvictions, and imploring only life. At this moment William of Orangereappeared upon the scene. 

He replied to the act of condemnation, which had been pronounced againsthim in default, by a published paper, of moderate length and greateloquence. He had repeatedly offered to place himself, he said, upontrial before a competent court. As a Knight of the Fleece, as a member ofthe Holy Roman Empire, as a sovereign prince, he could acknowledge notribunal save the chapters of the knights or of the realm. The Emperor'spersonal intercession with Philip had been employed in vain, to obtainthe adjudication of his case by either. It would be both death anddegradation on his part to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the infamousCouncil of Blood. He scorned, he said, to plead his cause "before he knewnot what base knaves, not fit to be the valets of his companions andhimself. "

He appealed therefore to the judgment of the world. He published not anelaborate argument, but a condensed and scathing statement of theoutrages which had been practised upon him. He denied that he had been aparty to the Compromise. He denied that he had been concerned in theRequest, although he denounced with scorn the tyranny which could treat apetition to government as an act of open war against the sovereign. Hespoke of Granvelle with unmeasured wrath. He maintained that his owncontinuance in office had been desired by the cardinal, in order that hispersonal popularity might protect the odious designs of the government. The edicts, the inquisition, the persecution, the new bishoprics, hadbeen the causes of the tumults. He concluded with a burst of indignationagainst Philip's conduct toward himself. The monarch had forgotten hisservices and those of his valiant ancestors. He had robbed him of honor, he had robbed him of his son--both dearer to him than life. By thus doinghe had degraded himself more than he had injured him, for he had brokenall his royal oaths and obligations. 

The paper was published early in the summer of 1568. At about the sametime, the Count of Hoogstraaten published a similar reply to the act ofcondemnation with which he had been visited. He defended himself mainlyupon the ground, that all the crimes of which he stood arraigned had beencommitted in obedience to the literal instructions of the Duchess ofParma, after her accord with the confederates. 

The Prince now made the greatest possible exertions to raise funds andtroops. He had many meetings with influential individuals in Germany. TheProtestant princes, particularly the Landgrave of Hesse and the Electorof Saxony, promised him assistance. He brought all his powers ofeloquence and of diplomacy to make friends for the cause which he had nowboldly espoused. The high-born Demosthenes electrified large assembliesby his indignant invectives against the Spanish Philip. He excelled evenhis royal antagonist in the industrious subtlety with which he began toform a thousand combinations. Swift, secret, incapable of fatigue, thispowerful and patient intellect sped to and fro, disentangling theperplexed skein where all had seemed so hopelessly confused, andgradually unfolding broad schemes of a symmetrical and regeneratedpolity. He had high correspondents and higher hopes in England. He wasalready secretly or openly in league with half the sovereigns of Germany. The Huguenots of France looked upon him as their friend, and on Louis ofNassau as their inevitable chieftain, were Coligny destined to fall. Hewas in league with all the exiled and outlawed nobles of the Netherlands. By his orders recruits were daily enlisted, without sound of drum. Hegranted a commission to his brother Louis, one of the most skilful andaudacious soldiers of the age, than whom the revolt could not have founda more determined partisan, nor the Prince a more faithful lieutenant. 

This commission, which was dated Dillenburg, 6th April, 1568, was asomewhat startling document. It authorized the Count to levy troops andwage war against Philip, strictly for Philip's good. The fiction ofloyalty certainly never went further. The Prince of Orange made known toall "to whom those presents should come, " that through the affectionwhich he bore the gracious King, he purposed to expel his Majesty'sforces from the Netherlands. "To show our love for the monarch and hishereditary provinces, " so ran the commission, "to prevent the desolationhanging over the country by the ferocity of the Spaniards, to maintainthe privileges sworn to by his Majesty and his predecessors, to preventthe extirpation of all religion by the edicts, and to save the sons anddaughters of the land from abject slavery, we have requested our dearlybeloved brother Louis Nassau to enrol as many troops as he shall thinknecessary. "

Van der Bergh, Hoogstraaten, and others, provided with similar powers, were also actively engaged in levying troops; but the right hand of therevolt was Count Louis, as his illustrious brother was its head andheart. Two hundred thousand crowns was the sum which the Princeconsidered absolutely necessary for organizing the army with which hecontemplated making an entrance into the Netherlands. Half this amounthad been produced by the cities of Antwerp, Amsterdam, Leyden, Harlem, Middelburg, Flushing, and other towns, as well as by refugee merchants inEngland. The other half was subscribed by individuals. The Prince himselfcontributed 50, 000 florins, Hoogstraaten 30, 000, Louis of Nassau 10, 000, Culemberg 30, 000, Van der Bergh 30, 000, the Dowager-countess Horn 10, 000, and other persons in less proportion. Count John of Nassau also pledgedhis estates to raise a large sum for the cause. The Prince himself soldall his jewels, plate, tapestry, and other furniture, which were ofalmost regal magnificence. Not an enthusiast, but a deliberate, cautiousman, he now staked his all upon the hazard, seemingly so desperate. Thesplendor of his station has been sufficiently depicted. His luxury, hisfortune, his family, his life, his children, his honor, all were nowventured, not with the recklessness of a gambler, but with the calmconviction of a statesman. 

A private and most audacious attempt to secure the person: of Alva andthe possession of Brussels had failed. He was soon, however, called uponto employ all his energies against the open warfare which was nowcommenced. 

According to the plan of the Prince, the provinces were to be attackedsimultaneously, in three places, by his lieutenants, while he himself waswaiting in the neighborhood of Cleves, ready for a fourth assault. Anarmy of Huguenots and refugees was to enter Artois upon the frontier ofFrance; a second, under Hoogstraaten, was to operate between the Rhineand the Meuse; while Louis of Nassau was to raise the standard of revoltin Friesland. 

The two first adventures were destined to be signally unsuccessful. Aforce under Seigneur de Cocqueville, latest of all, took the fieldtowards the end of June. It entered the bailiwick of Hesdin in Artois, was immediately driven across the frontier by the Count de Roeulx, andcut to pieces at St. Valery by Marechal de Cossis, governor of Picardy. This action was upon the 18th July. Of the 2500 men who composed theexpedition, scarce 300 escaped. The few Netherlanders who were takenprisoners were given to the Spanish government, and, of course, hanged. 

The force under the Seigneur de Villars was earlier under arms, and thesooner defeated. This luckless gentleman, who had replaced the Count ofHoogstraaten, crossed the frontier of Juliers; in the neighborhood ofMaestricht, by the 20th April. His force, infantry and cavalry, amountedto nearly three thousand men. The object of the enterprise was to, raisethe country; and, if possible, to obtain a foothold by securing animportant city. Roermonde was the first point of attack, but theattempts, both by stratagem and by force, to secure the town, werefruitless. The citizens were not ripe for revolt, and refused the armyadmittance. While the invaders were, therefore, endeavoring to fire thegates, they were driven off by the approach of a Spanish force. 

The Duke, so soon as the invasion was known to him, had acted with greatpromptness. Don Sancho de Lodrono and Don Sancho de Avila, with fivevanderas of Spanish infantry, three companies of cavalry, and about threehundred pikemen under Count Eberstein, a force amounting in all to about1600 picked troops, had been at once despatched against Villars. Therebel chieftain, abandoning his attempt upon Roermonde, advanced towardsErkelens. Upon the 25th April, between Erkelens and Dalem, the Spaniardscame up with him, and gave him battle. Villars lost all his cavalry andtwo vanderas of his infantry in the encounter. With the remainder of hisforce, amounting to 1300 men, he effected his retreat in good order toDalem. Here he rapidly entrenched himself. At four in the afternoon, Sancho de Lodrono, at the head of 600 infantry, reached the spot. He wasunable to restrain the impetuosity of his men, although the cavalry underAvila, prevented by the difficult nature of the narrow path through whichthe rebels had retreated, had not yet arrived. The enemy were two to one, and were fortified; nevertheless, in half an hour the entrenchments werecarried, and almost every man in the patriot army put to the sword. Villars himself, with a handful of soldiers, escaped into the town, butwas soon afterwards taken prisoner, with all his followers. He sulliedthe cause in which he was engaged by a base confession of the designsformed by the Prince of Orange--a treachery, however, which did not savehim from the scaffold. In the course of this day's work, the Spanish losttwenty men, and the rebels nearly 200. This portion of the liberatingforces had been thus disastrously defeated on the eve of the entrance ofCount Louis into Friesland. 

As early as the 22d April, Alva had been informed, by thelieutenant-governor of that province, that the beggars were mustering ingreat force in the neighborhood of Embden. It was evident that animportant enterprise was about to be attempted. Two days afterwards, Louis of Nassau entered the provinces, attended by a small body oftroops. His banners blazed with patriotic inscriptions. 'Nunc autnunquam, Recuperare aut mori', were the watchwords of his desperateadventure: "Freedom for fatherland and conscience" was the device whichwas to draw thousands to his standard. On the western wolds of Frisia, hesurprised the castle of Wedde, a residence of the absent Aremberg, stadholder of the province. Thence he advanced to Appingadam, or Dam, onthe tide waters of the Dollart. Here he was met by, his younger brother, the gallant Adolphus, whose days were so nearly numbered, who broughtwith him a small troop of horse. At Wedde, at Dam, and at Slochteren, thestandard was set up. At these three points there daily gathered armedbodies of troops, voluntary adventurers, peasants with any rustic weaponwhich they could find to their hand. Lieutenant-governor Groesbeck wroteurgently to the Duke, that the beggars were hourly increasing in force;that the leaders perfectly understood their game; that they kept theirplans a secret, but were fast seducing the heart of the country. 

On the 4th May, Louis issued a summons to the magistracy of Groningen, ordering them to send a deputation to confer with him at Dam. He wasprepared, he said, to show the commission with which he was provided. Hehad not entered the country on a mere personal adventure, but hadreceived orders to raise a sufficient army. By the help of the eternalGod, he was determined, he said, to extirpate the detestable tyranny ofthose savage persecutors who had shed so much Christian blood. He wasresolved to lift up the down-trod privileges, and, to protect thefugitive, terror-stricken Christians and patriarchs of the country. Ifthe magistrates were disposed to receive him with friendship, it waswell. Otherwise, he should, with regret, feel himself obliged to proceedagainst them, as enemies of his Majesty and of the common weal. 

As the result of this summons, Louis received a moderate sum of money, oncondition of renouncing for the moment an attack upon the city. With thistemporary supply he was able to retain a larger number of theadventurers; who were daily swarming around him. 

In the mean time Alva was not idle. On the 30th April, he wrote toGroesbeck, that he must take care not to be taken napping; that he mustkeep his eyes well open until the arrival of succor, which was already onthe way. He then immediately ordered Count Aremberg, who had justreturned from France on conclusion of hostilities, to hasten to the seatof war. Five vanderas of his own regiment; a small body of cavalry, andBraccamonte's Sardinian legion, making in all a force of nearly 2500 men, were ordered to follow him with the utmost expedition. Count Meghem, stadholder of Gueldres, with five vanderas of infantry, three of lighthorse, and some artillery, composing a total of about 1500 men, wasdirected to co-operate with Aremberg. Upon this point the orders of theGovernor-general were explicit. It seemed impossible that the rabble routunder Louis Nassau could stand a moment before nearly 4000 picked andveteran troops, but the Duke was earnest in warning his generals not toundervalue the enemy. 

On the 7th May, Counts Meghem and Aremberg met and conferred at Arnheim, on their way to Friesland. It was fully agreed between them, after havingheard full reports of the rising in that province, and of the temperthroughout the eastern Netherlands, that it would be rash to attempt anyseparate enterprise. On the 11th, Aremberg reached Vollenhoven, where hewas laid up in his bed with the gout. Bodies of men, while he lay sick, paraded hourly with fife and drum before his windows, and dischargedpistols and arquebuses across the ditch of the blockhouse where he wasquartered. On the 18th, Braccamonte, with his legion, arrived by water atHarlingen. Not a moment more was lost. Aremberg, notwithstanding hisgout, which still confined him to a litter, started at once in pursuit ofthe enemy. Passing through Groningen, he collected all the troops whichcould be spared.. He also received six pieces of artillery. Six cannon, which the lovers of harmony had baptized with the notes of the gamut, 'ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la', were placed at his disposal by theauthorities, and have acquired historical celebrity. It was, however, ordained that when those musical pieces piped, the Spaniards were not todance. On the 22d, followed by his whole force, consisting ofBraccamonte's legion, his own four vanderas, and a troop of Germans, hecame in sight of the enemy at Dam. Louis of Nassau sent out a body ofarquebusiers, about one thousand strong, from the city. A sharp skirmishensued, but the beggars were driven into their entrenchments, with a lossof twenty or thirty men, and nightfall terminated the contest. 

It was beautiful to see, wrote Aremberg to Alva, how brisk and eager werethe Spaniards, notwithstanding the long march which they had that dayaccomplished. Time was soon to show how easily immoderate, valor mightswell into a fault. Meantime, Aremberg quartered his troops in and aboutWittewerum Abbey, close to the little unwalled city of Dam. 

On the other hand, Meghem, whose co-operation had been commanded by Alva, and arranged personally with Aremberg a fortnight before, at Arnheim, hadbeen delayed in his movements. His troops, who had received no wages fora long time had mutinied. A small sum of money, however, sent fromBrussels, quelled this untimely insubordination. Meghem then set forth toeffect his junction with his colleague, having assured theGovernor-general that the war would be ended in six days. The beggars hadnot a stiver, he said, and must disband or be beaten to pieces as soon asAremberg and he had joined forces. Nevertheless he admitted that thesesame "master-beggars, " as he called them, might prove too many for eithergeneral alone. 

Alva, in reply, expressed his confidence that four or five thousandchoice troops of Spain would be enough to make a short war of it, butnevertheless warned his officers of the dangers of overweeningconfidence. He had been informed that the rebels had assumed the redscarf of the Spanish uniform. He hoped the stratagem would not save themfrom broken heads, but was unwilling that his Majesty's badge should bealtered. 

He reiterated his commands that no enterprise should be undertaken, except by the whole army in concert; and enjoined the generalsincontinently to hang and strangle all prisoners the moment they shouldbe taken. 

Marching directly northward, Meghem reached Coeverden, some fifty milesfrom Dam, on the night of the 22d. He had informed Aremberg that he mightexpect him with his infantry and his light horse in the course of thenext day. On the following morning, the 23d, Aremberg wrote his lastletter to the Duke, promising to send a good account of the beggarswithin a very few hours. 

Louis of Nassau had broken up his camp at Dam about midnight. Fallingback, in a southerly direction, along the Wold-weg, or forest road, anarrow causeway through a swampy district, he had taken up a positionsome three leagues from his previous encampment. Near the monastery ofHeiliger Lee, or the "Holy Lion, " he had chosen his ground. A littlemoney in hand, ample promises, and the hopes of booty, had effectuallyterminated the mutiny, which had also broken out in his camp. Assuredthat Meghem had not yet effected his junction with Aremberg, prepared tostrike, at last, a telling blow for freedom and fatherland, Louis awaitedthe arrival of his eager foe. 

His position was one of commanding strength and fortunate augury. Heiliger Lee was a wooded eminence, artificially reared by Premonstrantmonks. It was the only rising ground in that vast extent of waterypastures, enclosed by the Ems and Lippe--the "fallacious fields"described by Tacitus. Here Hermann, first of Teutonic heroes, had dashedout of existence three veteran legions of tyrant Rome. Here the spectreof Varus, begrimed and gory, had risen from the morass to warnGermanicus, who came to avenge him, that Gothic freedom was a dangerousantagonist. And now, in the perpetual reproductions of history, anotherGerman warrior occupied a spot of vantage in that same perilous region. The tyranny with which he contended strove to be as universal as that ofRome, and had stretched its wings of conquest into worlds of which theCaesars had never dreamed. It was in arms, too, to crush not only therights of man, but the rights of God. The battle of freedom was to befought not only for fatherland, but for conscience. The cause was evenholier than that which had inspired the arm of Hermann. 

Although the swamps of that distant age had been transformed intofruitful pastures, yet the whole district was moist, deceitful, anddangerous. The country was divided into squares, not by hedges but byimpassable ditches. Agricultural entrenchments had long made the countryalmost impregnable, while its defences against the ocean rendered almostas good service against a more implacable human foe. 

Aremberg, leading his soldiers along the narrow causeway, in hot pursuitof what they considered a rabble rout of fugitive beggars, soon reachedWinschoten. Here he became aware of the presence of his despicable foe. Louis and Adolphus of Nassau, while sitting at dinner in the convent ofthe "Holy Lion, " had been warned by a friendly peasant of the approach ofthe Spaniards. The opportune intelligence had given the patriot generaltime to make his preparations. His earnest entreaties had made his troopsashamed of their mutinous conduct on the preceding day, and they were nowboth ready and willing to engage. The village was not far distant fromthe abbey, and in the neighborhood of the abbey Louis of Nassau was nowposted. Behind him was a wood, on his left a hill of moderate elevation, before him an extensive and swampy field. In the front of the field was acauseway leading to the abbey. This was the road which Aremberg was totraverse. On the plain which lay between the wood and the hill, the mainbody of the beggars were drawn up. They were disposed in two squares orsquadrons, rather deep than wide, giving the idea of a less number thanthey actually contained. The lesser square, in which were two thousandeight hundred men, was partially sheltered by the hill. Both were flankedby musketeers. On the brow of the hill was a large body of light armedtroops, the 'enfans perdus' of the army. The cavalry, amounting to notmore than three hundred men, was placed in front, facing the road alongwhich Aremberg was to arrive. 

That road was bordered by a wood extending nearly to the front of thehill. As Aremberg reached its verge, he brought out his artillery, andopened a fire upon the body of light troops. The hill protected a largepart of the enemy's body from this attack. Finding the rebels so strongin numbers and position, Aremberg was disposed only to skirmish. He knewbetter than did his soldiers the treacherous nature of the ground infront of the enemy. He saw that it was one of those districts where peathad been taken out in large squares for fuel, and where a fallacious andverdant scum upon the surface of deep pools simulated the turf that hadbeen removed. He saw that the battle-ground presented to him by hissagacious enemy was one great sweep of traps and pitfalls. Before hecould carry the position, many men must necessarily be engulfed. 

He paused for an instant. He was deficient in cavalry, having onlyMartinengo's troop, hardly amounting to four hundred men. He was sure ofMeghem's arrival within twenty-four hours. If, then, he could keep therebels in check, without allowing them any opportunity to disperse, heshould be able, on the morrow, to cut them to pieces, according to theplan agreed upon a fortnight before. But the Count had to contend with adouble obstacle. His soldiers were very hot, his enemy very cool. TheSpaniards, who had so easily driven a thousand musketeers from behindtheir windmill, the evening before, who had seen the whole rebel forcedecamp in hot haste on the very night of their arrival before Dam, supposed themselves in full career of victory. Believing that the namealone of the old legions had stricken terror to the hearts of thebeggars, and that no resistance was possible to Spanish arms, theyreviled their general for his caution. His reason for delay was theirsfor hurry. Why should Meghem's loitering and mutinous troops, arriving atthe eleventh hour, share in the triumph and the spoil? No man knew thecountry better than Aremberg, a native of the Netherlands, the stadholderof the province. Cowardly or heretical motives alone could sway him, ifhe now held them back in the very hour of victory. Inflamed beyondendurance by these taunts, feeling his pride of country touched to thequick, and willing to show that a Netherlander would lead whereverSpaniards dared to follow, Aremberg allowed himself to commit the graveerror for which he was so deeply to atone. Disregarding the dictates ofhis own experience and the arrangements of his superior, he yielded tothe braggart humor of his soldiers, which he had not, like Alva, learnedto moderate or to despise. 

In the mean, time, the body of light troops which had received the firefrom the musical pieces of Groningen was seen to waver. The artillery wasthen brought beyond the cover of the wood, and pointed more fully uponthe two main squares of the enemy. A few shots told. Soon afterward the'enfans perdus' retreated helter-skelter, entirely deserting theirposition. 

This apparent advantage, which was only a preconcerted stratagem, was toomuch for the fiery Spaniards. They rushed merrily forward to attack thestationary squares, their general being no longer able, to restrain theirimpetuosity. In a moment the whole van-guard had plunged into the morass. In a few minutes more they were all helplessly and hopelessly strugglingin the pools, while the musketeers of the enemy poured in a deadly fireupon them, without wetting the soles of their own feet. The pikemen, too, who composed the main body of the larger square, now charged upon all whowere extricating themselves from their entanglement, and drove them backagain to a muddy death. Simultaneously, the lesser patriot squadron, which had so long been sheltered, emerged from the cover of the hill, made a detour around its base, enveloped the rear-guard of the Spaniardsbefore they could advance to the succor of their perishing comrades, andbroke them to pieces almost instantly. Gonzalo de Braccamonte, the verySpanish colonel who had been foremost in denunciation of Aremberg, forhis disposition to delay the contest, was now the first to fly. To hisbad conduct was ascribed the loss of the day. The anger of Alva was sohigh, when he was informed of the incident, that he would have condemnedthe officer to death but for the intercession of his friends andcountrymen. The rout was sudden and absolute. The foolhardiness of theSpaniards had precipitated them into the pit which their enemies had dug. The day, was lost. Nothing was left for Aremberg but to perish withhonor. Placing himself at the head of his handful of cavalry, he dashedinto the melee. The shock was sustained by young Adolphus of Nassau, atthe head of an equal number of riders. Each leader singled out the other. They met as "captains of might" should do, in the very midst of theaffray. Aremberg, receiving and disregarding a pistol shot from hisadversary, laid Adolphus dead at his feet, with a bullet through his bodyand a sabre cut on his head. Two troopers in immediate attendance uponthe young Count shared the same fate from the same hand. Shortlyafterward, the horse of Aremberg, wounded by a musket ball, fell to theground. A few devoted followers lifted the charger to his legs and thebleeding rider to his saddle. They endeavored to bear their woundedgeneral from the scene of action. The horse staggered a few paces andfell dead. Aremberg disengaged himself from his body, and walked a fewpaces to the edge of a meadow near the road. Here, wounded in the action, crippled by the disease which had so long tormented him, and scarcelyable to sustain longer the burthen of his armor, he calmly awaited hisfate. A troop of the enemy advanced soon afterwards, and Aremberg fell, covered with wounds, fighting like a hero of Homer, single-handed, against a battalion, with a courage worthy a better cause and a betterfate. The sword by which he received his final death-blow was that of theSeigneur do Haultain. That officer having just seen his brother slainbefore his eyes, forgot the respect due to unsuccessful chivalry. 

The battle was scarcely finished when an advancing trumpet was heard. Thesound caused the victors to pause in their pursuit, and enabled a remnantof the conquered Spaniards to escape. Meghem's force was thought to beadvancing. That general had indeed arrived, but he was alone. He hadreached Zuidlaren, a village some four leagues from the scene of action, on the noon of that day. Here he had found a letter from Aremberg, requesting him to hasten. He had done so. His troops, however, havingcome from Coevorden that morning, were unable to accomplish so long amarch in addition. The Count, accompanied by a few attendants, reachedthe neighborhood of Heiliger Lee only in time to meet with some of thecamp sutlers and other fugitives, from whom he learned the disastrousnews of the defeat. Finding that all was lost, he very properly returnedto Zuidlaren, from which place he made the best of his way to Groningen. That important city, the key of Friesland, he was thus enabled to secure. The troops which he brought, in addition to the four German vanderas ofSchaumburg, already quartered there, were sufficient to protect itagainst the ill-equipped army of Louis Nassau. 

The patriot leader had accomplished, after all, but a barren victory. Hehad, to be sure, destroyed a number of Spaniards, amounting, according tothe different estimates, from five hundred to sixteen hundred men. He hadalso broken up a small but veteran army. More than all, he had taught theNetherlanders, by this triumphant termination to a stricken field, thatthe choice troops of Spain were not invincible. But the moral effect ofthe victory was the only permanent one. The Count's badly paid troopscould with difficulty be kept together. He had no sufficient artillery toreduce the city whose possession would have proved so important to thecause. Moreover, in common with the Prince of Orange and all hisbrethren, he had been called to mourn for the young and chivalrousAdolphus, whose life-blood had stained the laurels of this first patriotvictory. Having remained, and thus wasted the normal three days upon thebattle-field, Louis now sat down before Groningen, fortifying andentrenching himself in a camp within cannonshot of the city. 

On the 23rd we have seen that Aremberg had written, full of confidence, to the Governor-general, promising soon to send him good news of thebeggars. On the 26th, Count Meghem wrote that, having spoken with a manwho had helped to place Aremberg in his coffin, he could hardly entertainany farther doubt as to his fate. 

The wrath of the Duke was even greater than his surprise. Like Augustus, he called in vain on the dead commander for his legions, but preparedhimself to inflict a more rapid and more terrible vengeance than theRoman's. Recognizing the gravity of his situation, he determined to takethe field in person, and to annihilate this insolent chieftain who haddared not only to cope with, but to conquer his veteran regiments. Butbefore he could turn his back upon Brussels, many deeds were to be done. His measures now followed each other in breathless succession, fulminating and blasting at every stroke. On the 28th May, he issued anedict, banishing, on pain of death, the Prince of Orange, Louis Nassau, Hoogstraaten, Van den Berg, and others, with confiscation of all theirproperty. At the same time he razed the Culemburg Palace to the ground, and erected a pillar upon its ruins, commemorating the accursedconspiracy which had been engendered within its walls. On the 1st June, eighteen prisoners of distinction, including the two barons Batenburg, Maximilian Kock, Blois de Treslong and others, were executed upon theHorse Market, in Brussels. In the vigorous language of Hoogstraaten, thishorrible tragedy was enacted directly before the windows of that "cruelanimal, Noircarmes, " who, in company of his friend, Berlaymont, and therest of the Blood-Council, looked out upon the shocking spectacle. Theheads of the victims were exposed upon stakes, to which also their bodieswere fastened. Eleven of these victims were afterward deposited, uncoffined, in unconsecrated ground; the other seven were left unburiedto moulder on the gibbet. On the 2d June, Villars, the leader in theDaalem rising, suffered on the scaffold, with three others. On the 3d, Counts Egmont and Horn were brought in a carriage from Ghent to Brussels, guarded by ten companies of infantry and one of cavalry. They were thenlodged in the "Brood-huis" opposite the Town Hall, on the great square ofBrussels. On the 4th, Alva having, as he solemnly declared before God andthe world, examined thoroughly the mass of documents appertaining tothose two great prosecutions which had only been closed three daysbefore, pronounced sentence against the illustrious prisoners. Thesedocuments of iniquity signed and sealed by the Duke, were sent to theBlood-Council, where they were read by Secretary Praets. The signature ofPhilip was not wanting, for the sentences had been drawn upon blankssigned by the monarch, of which the Viceroy had brought a whole trunkfull from Spain. The sentence against Egmont declared very briefly thatthe Duke of Alva, having read all the papers and evidence in the case, had found the Count guilty of high treason. It was proved that Egmont hadunited with the confederates; that he had been a party to the accursedconspiracy of the Prince of Orange; that he had taken the rebel noblesunder his protection, and that he had betrayed the Government and theHoly Catholic Church by his conduct in Flanders. Therefore the Dukecondemned him to be executed by the sword on the following day, anddecreed that his head should be placed on high in a public place, thereto remain until the Duke should otherwise direct. The sentence againstCount Horn was similar in language and purport. 

That afternoon the Duke sent for the Bishop of Ypres, The prelate arrivedat dusk. As soon as he presented himself, Alva informed him of thesentence which had just been pronounced, and ordered him to convey theintelligence to the prisoners. He further charged him with the duty ofshriving the victims, and preparing their souls for death. The bishopfell on his knees, aghast at the terrible decree. He implored theGovernor-General to have mercy upon the two unfortunate nobles. If theirlives could not be spared, he prayed him at any rate to grant delay. Withtears and earnest supplications the prelate endeavored to avert or topostpone the doom which had been pronounced. It was in vain. Thesentence, inflexible as destiny, had been long before ordained. Itsexecution had been but hastened by the temporary triumph of rebellion inFriesland. Alva told the Bishop roughly that he had not been summoned togive advice. Delay or pardon was alike impossible. He was to act asconfessor to the criminals, not as councillor to the Viceroy. The Bishop, thus rebuked, withdrew to accomplish his melancholy mission. Meanwhile, on the same evening, the miserable Countess of Egmont had been appalledby rumors, too vague for belief, too terrible to be slighted. She was inthe chamber of Countess Aremberg, with whom she had come to condole forthe death of the Count, when the order for the immediate execution of herown husband was announced to her. She hastened to the presence of theGovernor-General. The Princess Palatine, whose ancestors had beenemperors, remembered only that she was a wife and a mother. She fell atthe feet of the man who controlled the fate of her husband, and imploredhis mercy in humble and submissive terms. The Duke, with calm and almostincredible irony, reassured the Countess by the information that, on themorrow, her husband was certainly to be released. With this ambiguousphrase, worthy the paltering oracles of antiquity, the wretched woman wasobliged to withdraw. Too soon afterward the horrible truth of the wordswas revealed to her--words of doom, which she had mistaken forconsolation. 

An hour before midnight the Bishop of Ypres reached Egmont's prison. TheCount was confined in a chamber on the second story of the Brood-huis, the mansion of the crossbowmen's guild, in that corner of the buildingwhich rests on a narrow street running back from the great square. He wasaroused from his sleep by the approach of his visitor. Unable to speak, but indicating by the expression of his features the occurrence of agreat misfortune, the Bishop, soon after his entrance, placed the papergiven to him by Alva in Egmont's hands. The unfortunate noble thussuddenly received the information that his death-sentence had beenpronounced, and that its execution was fixed for the next morning. Heread the paper through without flinching, and expressed astonishmentrather than dismay at its tidings. Exceedingly sanguine by nature, he hadnever believed, even after his nine months' imprisonment, in a fataltermination to the difficulties in which he was involved. He was nowstartled both at the sudden condemnation which had followed his lingeringtrial, and at the speed with which his death was to fulfil the sentence. He asked the Bishop, with many expressions of amazement, whether pardonwas impossible; whether delay at least might not be obtained? The prelateanswered by a faithful narrative of the conversation which had justoccurred between Alva and himself. Egmont, thus convinced of hisinevitable doom, then observed to his companion, with exquisite courtesy, that, since he was to die, he rendered thanks both to God and to the Dukethat his last moments were to be consoled by so excellent a fatherconfessor. 

Afterwards, with a natural burst of indignation, he exclaimed that it wasindeed a cruel and unjust sentence. He protested that he had never in hiswhole life wronged his Majesty; certainly never so deeply as to deservesuch a punishment. All that he had done had been with loyal intentions. The King's true interest had been his constant aim. Nevertheless, if hehad fallen into error, he prayed to God that his death might wipe awayhis misdeeds, and that his name might not be dishonored, nor his childrenbrought to shame. His beloved wife and innocent children were to enduremisery enough by his death and the confiscation of his estates. It was atleast due to his long services that they should be spared furthersuffering. He then asked his father confessor what advice he had to givetouching his present conduct. The Bishop replied by an exhortation, thathe should turn himself to God; that he should withdraw his thoughtsentirely from all earthly interests, and prepare himself for the worldbeyond the grave. He accepted the advice, and kneeling before the Bishop, confessed himself. He then asked to receive the sacrament, which theBishop administered, after the customary mass. Egmont asked what prayerwould be most appropriate at the hour of execution. His confessor repliedthat there was none more befitting than the one which Jesus had taughthis disciples--Our Father, which art in heaven. 

Some conversation ensued, in which the Count again expressed hisgratitude that his parting soul had been soothed by these pious andfriendly offices. By a revulsion of feeling, he then bewailed again thesad fate of his wife and of his young children. The Bishop entreated himanew to withdraw his mind from such harrowing reflections, and to givehimself entirely to God. Overwhelmed with grief, Egmont exclaimed withnatural and simple pathos--"Alas! how miserable and frail is our nature, that, when we should think of God only, we are unable to shut out theimages of wife and children. "

Recovering from his emotion, and having yet much time, he sat down andwrote with perfect self-possession two letters, one to Philip and one toAlva. The celebrated letter to the King was as follows:

 "SIRE, --I have learned, this evening, the sentence which your Majesty has been pleased to pronounce upon me. Although I have never had a thought, and believe myself never to have done a deed, which could tend to the prejudice of your Majesty's person or service, or to the detriment of our true ancient and Catholic religion, nevertheless I take patience to bear that which it has pleased the good God to send. If, during these troubles in the Netherlands, I have done or permitted aught which had a different appearance, it has been with the true and good intent to serve God and your Majesty, and the necessity of the times. Therefore, I pray your Majesty to forgive me, and to have compassion on my poor wife, my children, and my servants; having regard to my past services. In which hope I now commend myself to the mercy of God. 

 "From Brussels, "Ready to die, this 5th June, 1568, "Your Majesty's very humble and loyal vassal and servant, "LAMORAL D'EGMONT. "

Having thus kissed the murderous hand which smote him, he handed theletter, stamped rather with superfluous loyalty than with Christianforgiveness, to the Bishop, with a request that he would forward it toits destination, accompanied by a letter from his own hand. This duty theBishop solemnly promised to fulfil. 

Facing all the details of his execution with the fortitude which belongedto his character, he now took counsel with his confessor as to thelanguage proper for him to hold from the scaffold to the assembledpeople. The Bishop, however, strongly dissuaded him from addressing themultitude at all. 

The persons farthest removed, urged the priest, would not hear the words, while the Spanish troops in the immediate vicinity would not understandthem. It seemed, therefore, the part of wisdom and of dignity for him tobe silent, communing only with his God. The Count assented to thisreasoning, and abandoned his intention of saying a few farewell words tothe people, by many of whom he believed himself tenderly beloved. He nowmade many preparations for the morrow, in order that his thoughts, in thelast moments, might not be distracted by mechanical details, cutting thecollar from his doublet and from his shirt with his own hands, in orderthat those of the hangman might have no excuse for contaminating hisperson. The rest of the night was passed in prayer and meditation. 

Fewer circumstances concerning the last night of Count Horn's life havebeen preserved. It is, however, well ascertained that the Admiralreceived the sudden news of his condemnation with absolute composure. Hewas assisted at his devotional exercises in prison by the curate of LaChapelle. 

During the night, the necessary preparations for the morning tragedy hadbeen made in the great square of Brussels. It was the intention ofgovernment to strike terror to the heart of the people by the exhibitionof an impressive and appalling spectacle. The absolute and irresponsibledestiny which ruled them was to be made manifest by the immolation ofthese two men, so elevated by rank, powerful connexion, and distinguishedservice. 

The effect would be heightened by the character of the, locality wherethe gloomy show was to be presented. The great square of Brussels hadalways a striking and theatrical aspect. Its architectural effects, suggesting in some degree the meretricious union between Oriental and acorrupt Grecian art, accomplished in the medieval midnight, have amazedthe eyes of many generations. The splendid Hotel de Ville, with itsdaring spire and elaborate front, ornamented one side of the place;directly opposite was the graceful but incoherent facade of theBrood-huis, now the last earthly resting-place of the two distinguishedvictims, while grouped around these principal buildings rose thefantastic palaces of the Archers, Mariners, and of other guilds, withtheir festooned walls and toppling gables bedizened profusely withemblems, statues, and quaint decorations. The place had been alike thescene of many a brilliant tournament and of many a bloody execution. Gallant knights had contended within its precincts, while bright eyesrained influence from all those picturesque balconies and decoratedwindows. Martyrs to religious and to political liberty had, upon the samespot, endured agonies which might have roused every stone of its pavementto mutiny or softened them to pity. Here Egmont himself, in happier days, had often borne away the prize of skill or of valor, the cynosure ofevery eye; and hence, almost in the noon of a life illustrated by manybrilliant actions, he was to be sent, by the hand of tyranny, to hisgreat account. 

On the morning of the 5th of June, three thousand Spanish troops weredrawn up in battle array around a scaffold which had been erected in thecentre of the square. Upon this scaffold, which was covered with blackcloth, were placed two velvet cushions, two iron spikes, and a smalltable. Upon the table was a silver crucifix. The provost-marshal, Spelle, sat on horseback below, with his red wand in his hand, little dreamingthat for him a darker doom was reserved than that of which he was now theminister. The executioner was concealed beneath the draperies of thescaffold. 

At eleven o'clock, a company of Spanish soldiers, led by Julian Romeroand Captain Salinas, arrived at Egmont's chamber. The Count was ready forthem. They were about to bind his hands, but he warmly protested againstthe indignity, and, opening the folds of his robe, showed them that hehad himself shorn off his collars, and made preparations for his death. His request was granted. Egmont, with the Bishop at his side, then walkedwith a steady step the short distance which separated him from the placeof execution. Julian Romero and the guard followed him. On his way, heread aloud the fifty-first Psalm: "Hear my cry, O God, and give ear untomy prayer!" He seemed to have selected these scriptural passages as aproof that, notwithstanding the machinations of his enemies, and thecruel punishment to which they had led him, loyalty to his sovereign wasas deeply rooted and as religious a sentiment in his bosom as devotion tohis God. "Thou wilt prolong the King's life; and his years as manygenerations. He shall abide before God for ever! O prepare mercy andtruth which may preserve him. " Such was the remarkable prayer of thecondemned traitor on his way to the block. 

Having ascended the scaffold, he walked across it twice or thrice. He wasdressed in a tabard or robe of red damask, over which was thrown a shortblack mantle, embroidered in gold. He had a black silk hat, with blackand white plumes, on his head, and held a handkerchief in his hand. As hestrode to and fro, he expressed a bitter regret that he had not beenpermitted to die, sword in hand, fighting for his country and his king. Sanguine to the last, he passionately asked Romero, whether the sentencewas really irrevocable, whether a pardon was not even then to be granted. The marshal shrugged his shoulders, murmuring a negative reply. Uponthis, Egmont gnashed his teeth together, rather in rage than despair. Shortly afterward commanding himself again, he threw aside his robe andmantle, and took the badge of the Golden Fleece from his neck. Kneeling, then, upon one of the cushions, he said the Lord's Prayer aloud, andrequested the Bishop, who knelt at his side, to repeat it thrice. Afterthis, the prelate gave him the silver crucifix to kiss, and thenpronounced his blessing upon him. This done, the Count rose again to hisfeet, laid aside his hat and handkerchief, knelt again upon the cushion, drew a little cap over his eyes, and, folding his hands together, criedwith a loud voice, "Lord, into Thy hands I commit my spirit. " Theexecutioner then suddenly appeared, and severed his head from hisshoulders at a single blow. 

A moment of shuddering silence succeeded the stroke. The whole vastassembly seemed to have felt it in their own hearts. Tears fell from theeyes even of the Spanish soldiery, for they knew and honored Egmont as avaliant general. The French embassador, Mondoucet, looking upon the scenefrom a secret place, whispered that he had now seen the head fall beforewhich France had twice trembled. Tears were even seen upon the iron cheekof Alva, as, from a window in a house directly opposite the scaffold, helooked out upon the scene. 

A dark cloth was now quickly thrown over the body and the blood, and, within a few minutes, the Admiral was seen advancing through the crowd. His bald head was uncovered, his hands were unbound. He calmly salutedsuch of his acquaintances as he chanced to recognize upon his path. Undera black cloak, which he threw off when he had ascended the scaffold, hewore a plain, dark doublet, and he did not, like Egmont, wear theinsignia of the Fleece. Casting his eyes upon the corpse, which laycovered with the dark cloth, he asked if it were the body of Egmont. Being answered in the affirmative, he muttered a few words in Spanish, which were not distinctly audible. His attention was next caught by thesight of his own coat of arms reversed, and he expressed anger at thisindignity to his escutcheon, protesting that he had not deserved theinsult. He then spoke a few words to the crowd below, wishing themhappiness, and begging them to pray for his soul. He did not kiss thecrucifix, but he knelt upon the scaffold to pray, and was assisted in hisdevotions by the Bishop of Ypres. When they were concluded, he rose againto his feet. Then drawing a Milan cap completely over his face, anduttering, in Latin, the same invocation which Egmont had used, hesubmitted his neck to the stroke. 

Egmont had obtained, as a last favor, that his execution should precedethat of his friend. Deeming himself in part to blame for Horn'sreappearance in Brussels after the arrival of Alva, and for his, death, which was the result, he wished to be spared the pang of seeing him dead. Gemma Frisius, the astrologer who had cast the horoscope of Count Horn athis birth, had come to him in the most solemn manner to warn him againstvisiting Brussels. The Count had answered stoutly that he placed histrust in God, and that, moreover, his friend Egmont was going thitheralso, who had engaged that no worse fate should befal the one of themthan the other. 

The heads of both sufferers were now exposed for two hours upon the ironstakes. Their bodies, placed in coffins, remained during the sameinterval upon the scaffold. Meantime, notwithstanding the presence of thetroops, the populace could not be restrained from tears and fromexecrations. Many crowded about the scaffold, and dipped theirhandkerchiefs in the blood, to be preserved afterwards as memorials ofthe crime and as ensigns of revenge. 

The bodies were afterwards delivered to their friends. A statelyprocession of the guilds, accompanied by many of the clergy, conveyedtheir coffins to the church of Saint Gudule. Thence the body of Egmontwas carried to the convent of Saint Clara, near the old Brussels gate, where it was embalmed. His escutcheon and banners were hung upon theoutward wall of his residence, by order of the Countess. By command ofAlva they were immediately torn down. His remains were afterwardsconveyed to his city of Sottegem, in Flanders, where they were interred. Count Horn was entombed at Kempen. The bodies had been removed from thescaffold at two o'clock. The heads remained exposed between burningtorches for two hours longer. They were then taken down, enclosed inboxes, and, as it was generally supposed, despatched to Madrid. The Kingwas thus enabled to look upon the dead faces of his victims without thetrouble of a journey to the provinces. 

Thus died Philip Montmorency, Count of Horn, and Lamoral of Egmont, Prince of Gaveren. The more intense sympathy which seemed to attachitself to the fate of Egmont, rendered the misfortune of his companion inarms and in death comparatively less interesting. 

Egmont is a great historical figure, but he was certainly not a greatman. His execution remains an enduring monument not only of Philip'scruelty and perfidy but of his dullness. The King had everything to hopefrom Egmont and nothing to fear. Granvelle knew the man well, and, almostto the last, could not believe in the possibility of so unparalleled ablunder as that which was to make a victim, a martyr, and a popular idolof a personage brave indeed, but incredibly vacillating and inordinatelyvain, who, by a little management, might have been converted into a mostuseful instrument for the royal purposes. 

It is not necessary to recapitulate the events of Egmont's career. Stepby step we have studied his course, and at no single period have wediscovered even a germ of those elements which make the nationalchampion. His pride of order rendered him furious at the insolence ofGranvelle, and caused him to chafe under his dominion. His vanity of highrank and of distinguished military service made him covet the highestplace under the Crown, while his hatred of those by whom he consideredhimself defrauded of his claims, converted him into a malcontent. He hadno sympathy with the people, but he loved, as a grand Seignior, to belooked up to and admired by a gaping crowd. He was an unwaveringCatholic, held sectaries in utter loathing, and, after theimage-breaking, took a positive pleasure in hanging ministers, togetherwith their congregations, and in pressing the besieged Christians ofValenciennes to extremities. Upon more than one occasion he pronouncedhis unequivocal approval of the infamous edicts, and he exerted himselfat times to enforce them within his province. The transitory impressionmade upon his mind by the lofty nature of Orange was easily effaced inSpain by court flattery and by royal bribes. Notwithstanding thecoldness, the rebuffs, and the repeated warnings which might have savedhim from destruction, nothing could turn him at last from the fanaticloyalty towards which, after much wavering, his mind irrevocably pointed. His voluntary humiliation as a general, a grandee, a Fleming, and aChristian before the insolent Alva upon his first arrival, would move ourcontempt were it not for the gentler emotions suggested by the infatuatednobleman's doom. Upon the departure of Orange, Egmont was only too eagerto be employed by Philip in any work which the monarch could find for himto do. Yet this was the man whom Philip chose, through the executioner'ssword, to convert into a popular idol, and whom Poetry has loved tocontemplate as a romantic champion of freedom. 

As for Horn, details enough have likewise been given of his career toenable the reader thoroughly to understand the man. He was a person ofmediocre abilities and thoroughly commonplace character. His high rankand his tragic fate are all which make him interesting. He had littlelove for court or people. Broken in fortunes, he passed his time mainlyin brooding over the ingratitude of Charles and Philip, and incomplaining bitterly of the disappointments to which their policy haddoomed him. He cared nothing for Cardinalists or confederates. Hedisliked Brederode, he detested Granvelle. Gloomy and morose, he went tobed, while the men who were called his fellow-conspirators were diningand making merry in the same house with himself: He had as littlesympathy with the cry of "Vivent les gueux" as for that of "Vive le Roy. "The most interesting features in his character are his generosity towardhis absent brother and the manliness with which, as Montigny'srepresentative at Tournay, he chose rather to confront the anger of thegovernment, and to incur the deadly revenge of Philip, than make himselfthe executioner of the harmless Christians in Tournay. In this regard, his conduct is vastly more entitled to our respect than that of Egmont, and he was certainly more deserving of reverence from the people, eventhough deserted by all men while living, and left headless and solitaryin his coffin at Saint Gudule. 

The hatred for Alva, which sprang from the graves of these illustriousvictims, waxed daily more intense. "Like things of another world, " wroteHoogstraaten, "seem the cries, lamentations, and just compassion whichall the inhabitants of Brussels, noble or ignoble, feel for suchbarbarous tyranny, while this Nero of an Alva is boasting that he will dothe same to all whom he lays his hands upon. " No man believed that thetwo nobles had committed a crime, and many were even disposed to acquitPhilip of his share in the judicial murder. The people ascribed theexecution solely to the personal jealousy of the Duke. They discoursed toeach other not only of the envy with which the Governor-general hadalways regarded the military triumphs of his rival, but related thatEgmont had at different times won large sums of Alva at games of hazard, and that he had moreover, on several occasions, carried off the prizefrom the Duke in shooting at the popinjay. Nevertheless, in spite of allthese absurd rumors, there is no doubt that Philip and Alva must shareequally in the guilt of the transaction, and that the "chastisement" hadbeen arranged before Alva had departed from Spain. 

The Countess Egmont remained at the convent of Cambre with her elevenchildren, plunged in misery and in poverty. The Duke wrote to Philip, that he doubted if there were so wretched a family in the world. He, atthe same time, congratulated his sovereign on the certainty that the moreintense the effects, the more fruitful would be the example of this greatexecution. He stated that the Countess was considered a most saintlywoman, and that there had been scarcely a night in which, attended by herdaughters, she had not gone forth bare-footed to offer up prayers for herhusband in every church within the city. He added, that it was doubtfulwhether they had money enough to buy themselves a supper that very night, and he begged the King to allow them the means of supporting life. Headvised that the Countess should be placed, without delay in a Spanishconvent, where her daughters might at once take the veil, assuring hisMajesty that her dower was entirely inadequate to her support. Thushumanely recommending his sovereign to bestow an alms on the family whichhis own hand had reduced from a princely station to beggary, the Viceroyproceeded to detail the recent events in Friesland, together with themeasures which he was about taking to avenge the defeat and death ofCount Aremberg. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Deeply criminal in the eyes of all religious parties He had omitted to execute heretics Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the Netherlands Not for a new doctrine, but for liberty of conscience Questioning nothing, doubting nothing, fearing nothing The perpetual reproductions of history Wealth was an unpardonable sin

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 16. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY1855

1568 [CHAPTER III. ]

 Preparations of the Duke against Count Louis--Precarious situation of Louis in Friesland--Timidity of the inhabitants--Alva in Friesland--Skirmishing near Groningen--Retreat of the patriots-- Error committed by Louis--His position at Jemmingen--Mutinous demonstrations of his troops--Louis partially restores order-- Attempt to destroy the dykes interrupted by the arrival of Alva's forces--Artful strategy of the Duke--Defeat of Count Louis and utter destruction of his army--Outrages committed by the Spaniards--Alva at Utrecht--Execution of Vrow van Diemen--Episode of Don Carlos-- Fables concerning him and Queen Isabella--Mystery, concerning his death--Secret letters of Philip to the Pope--The one containing the truth of the transaction still concealed in the Vatican--Case against Philip as related by Mathieu, De Thou, and others--Testimony in the King's favor by the nuncio, the Venetian envoy, and others-- Doubtful state of the question--Anecdotes concerning Don Carlos--His character. 

Those measures were taken with the precision and promptness which markedthe Duke's character, when precision and promptness were desirable. Therehad been a terrible energy in his every step, since the successful forayof Louis Nassau. Having determined to take the field in person withnearly all the Spanish veterans, he had at once acted upon the necessityof making the capital secure, after his back should be turned. It wasimpossible to leave three thousand choice troops to guard Count Egmont. Aless number seemed insufficient to prevent a rescue. He had, therefore, no longer delayed the chastisement which had already been determined, butwhich the events in the north had precipitated. Thus the only positiveresult of Louis Nassau's victory was the execution of his imprisonedfriends. 

The expedition under Aremberg had failed from two causes. The Spanishforce had been inadequate, and they had attacked the enemy at adisadvantage. The imprudent attack was the result of the contempt withwhich they had regarded their antagonist. These errors were not to berepeated. Alva ordered Count Meghem, now commanding in the province ofGroningen, on no account to hazard hostilities until the game was sure. He also immediately ordered large reinforcements to move forward to theseat of war. The commanders intrusted with this duty were Duke Eric ofBrunswick, Chiappin Vitelli, Noircarmes, and Count de Roeulx. Therendezvous for the whole force was Deventer, and here they all arrived onthe 10th July. On the same day the Duke of Alva himself entered Deventer, to take command in person. On the evening of the 14th July he reachedRolden, a village three leagues distant from Groningen, at the head ofthree terzios of Spanish infantry, three companies of light horse, and atroop of dragoons. His whole force in and about Groningen amounted tofifteen thousand choice troops besides a large but uncertain number ofless disciplined soldiery. 

Meantime, Louis of Nassau, since his victory, had accomplished nothing. For this inactivity there was one sufficient excuse, the total want offunds. His only revenue was the amount of black mail which he was able tolevy upon the inhabitants of the province. He repeated his determinationto treat them all as enemies, unless they furnished him with the means ofexpelling their tyrants from the country. He obtained small sums in thismanner from time to time. The inhabitants were favorably disposed, butthey were timid and despairing. They saw no clear way towards theaccomplishment of the result concerning which Louis was so confident. They knew that the terrible Alva was already on his way. They felt sureof being pillaged by both parties, and of being hanged as rebels, besides, as soon as the Governor-general should make his appearance. 

Louis had, however, issued two formal proclamations for two especialcontributions. In these documents he had succinctly explained that thehouses of all recusants should be forthwith burned about their ears, andin consequence of these peremptory measures, he had obtained some tenthousand florins. Alva ordered counter-proclamations to be affixed tochurch doors and other places, forbidding all persons to contribute tothese forced loans of the rebels, on penalty of paying twice as much tothe Spaniards, with arbitrary punishment in addition, after his arrival. The miserable inhabitants, thus placed between two fires, had nothing forit but to pay one-half of their property to support the rebellion in thefirst place, with the prospect of giving the other half as a subsidy totyranny afterwards; while the gibbet stood at the end of the vista toreward their liberality. Such was the horrible position of the peasantryin this civil conflict. The weight of guilt thus accumulated upon thecrowned head which conceived, and upon the red right hand which wroughtall this misery, what human scales can measure?

With these precarious means of support, the army of Louis of Nassau, asmay easily be supposed, was anything but docile. After the victory ofHeiliger Lee there had seemed to his German mercenaries a probability ofextensive booty, which grew fainter as the slender fruit of that battlebecame daily more apparent. The two abbots of Wittewerum and of HeiligerLee, who had followed Aremberg's train in order to be witnesses of hisvictory, had been obliged to pay to the actual conqueror a heavy pricefor the entertainment to which they had invited themselves, and thesesums, together with the amounts pressed from the reluctant estates, andthe forced contributions paid by luckless peasants, enabled him to keephis straggling troops together a few weeks longer. Mutiny, however, wasconstantly breaking out, and by the eloquent expostulations and vaguepromises of the Count, was with difficulty suppressed. 

He had, for a few weeks immediately succeeding the battle, distributedhis troops in three different stations. On the approach of the Duke, however, he hastily concentrated his whole force at his own stronglyfortified camp, within half cannon shot of Groningen. His army, such asit was, numbered from 10, 000 to 12, 000 men. Alva reached Groningen earlyin the morning, and without pausing a moment, marched his troops directlythrough the city. He then immediately occupied an entrenched andfortified house, from which it was easy to inflict damage upon the camp. This done, the Duke, with a few attendants, rode forward to reconnoitrethe enemy in person. He found him in a well fortified position, havingthe river on his front, which served as a moat to his camp, and with adeep trench three hundred yards beyond, in addition. Two wooden bridgesled across the river; each was commanded by a fortified house, in whichwas a provision of pine torches, ready at a moment's warning, to set fireto the bridges. Having thus satisfied himself, the Duke rode back to hisarmy, which had received strict orders not to lift a finger till hisreturn. He then despatched a small force of five hundred musketeers, under Robles, to skirmish with the enemy, and, if possible, to draw themfrom their trenches. 

The troops of Louis, however, showed no greediness to engage. On thecontrary, it soon became evident that their dispositions were of anopposite tendency. The Count himself, not at that moment trusting hissoldiery, who were in an extremely mutinous condition, was desirous offalling back before his formidable antagonist. The Duke, faithful, however, to his life-long principles, had no intentions of precipitatingthe action in those difficult and swampy regions. The skirmishing, therefore, continued for many hours, an additional force of 1000 menbeing detailed from the Spanish army. The day was very sultry, however, the enemy reluctant, and the whole action languid. At last, towardsevening, a large body, tempted beyond their trenches, engaged warmly withthe Spaniards. The combat lasted but a few minutes, the patriots weresoon routed, and fled precipitately back to their camp. The panic spreadwith them, and the whole army was soon in retreat. On retiring, they had, however, set fire to the bridges, and thus secured an advantage at theoutset of the chase. The Spaniards were no longer to be held. Vitelliobtained permission to follow with 2000 additional troops. The fifteenhundred who had already been engaged, charged furiously upon theirretreating foes. Some dashed across the blazing bridges, with theirgarments and their very beards on fire. Others sprang into the river. Neither fire nor water could check the fierce pursuit. The cavalrydismounting, drove their horses into the stream, and clinging to theirtails, pricked the horses forward with their lances. Having thus beendragged across, they joined their comrades in the mad chase along thenarrow dykes, and through the swampy and almost impassable country wherethe rebels were seeking shelter. The approach of night, too soonadvancing, at last put an end to the hunt. The Duke with difficultyrecalled his men, and compelled them to restrain their eagerness untilthe morrow. Three hundred of the patriots were left dead upon the field, besides at least an equal number who perished in the river and canals. The army of Louis was entirely routed, and the Duke considered itvirtually destroyed. He wrote to the state council that he should pursuethem the next day, but doubted whether he should find anybody to talkwith him. In this the Governor-general soon found himself delightfullydisappointed. 

Five days later, the Duke arrived at Reyden, on the Ems. Owing to theunfavorable disposition of the country people, who were willing toprotect the fugitives by false information to their pursuers, he wasstill in doubt as to the position then occupied by the enemy. He had beenfearful that they would be found at this very village of Reyden. It was afatal error on the part of Count Louis that they were not. Had he made astand at this point, he might have held out a long time. The bridge whichhere crossed the river would have afforded him a retreat into Germany atany moment, and the place was easily to be defended in front. Thus hemight have maintained himself against his fierce but wary foe, while hisbrother Orange, who was at Strasburg watching the progress of events, wasexecuting his own long-planned expedition into the heart of theNetherlands. With Alva thus occupied in Friesland, the results of such aninvasion might have been prodigious. It was, however, not on the cardsfor that campaign. The mutinous disposition of the mercenaries under hiscommand had filled Louis with doubt and disgust. Bold and sanguine, butalways too fiery and impatient, he saw not much possibility of paying histroops any longer with promises. Perhaps he was not unwilling to placethem in a position where they would be obliged to fight or to perish. Atany rate, such was their present situation. Instead of halting at Reyden, he had made his stand at Jemmingen, about four leagues distant from thatplace, and a little further down the river. Alva discovered thisimportant fact soon after his arrival at Reyden, and could not concealhis delight. Already exulting at the error made by his adversary, inneglecting the important position which he now occupied himself, he wasdoubly delighted at learning the nature of the place which he had inpreference selected. He saw that Louis had completely entrapped himself. 

Jemmingen was a small town on the left bank of the Ems. The stream herevery broad and deep, is rather a tide inlet than a river, being but avery few miles from the Dollart. This circular bay, or ocean chasm, theresult of the violent inundation of the 13th century, surrounds, with theriver, a narrow peninsula. In the corner of this peninsula, as in thebottom of a sack, Louis had posted his army. His infantry, as usual, wasdrawn up in two large squares, and still contained ten thousand men. Therear rested upon the village, the river was upon his left; his meagreforce of cavalry upon the right. In front were two very deep trenches. The narrow road, which formed the only entrance to his camp, was guardedby a ravelin on each side, and by five pieces of artillery. 

The Duke having reconnoitred the enemy in person, rode back, satisfiedthat no escape was possible. The river was too deep and too wide forswimming or wading, and there were but very few boats. Louis was shut upbetween twelve thousand Spanish veterans and the river Ems. The rebelarmy, although not insufficient in point of numbers, was in a state ofdisorganization. They were furious for money and reluctant to fight. Theybroke out into open mutiny upon the very verge of battle, and swore thatthey would instantly disband, if the gold, which, as they believed, hadbeen recently brought into the camp, were not immediately distributedamong them. Such was the state of things on the eventful morning of the21st July. All the expostulations of Count Louis seemed powerless. Hiseloquence and his patience, both inferior to his valor, were soonexhausted. He peremptorily, refused the money for which they clamored, giving the most cogent of all reasons, an empty coffer. He demonstratedplainly that they were in that moment to make their election, whether towin a victory or to submit to a massacre. Neither flight nor surrenderwas possible. They knew how much quarter they could expect from thelances of the Spaniards or the waters of the Dollart. Their only chanceof salvation lay in their own swords. The instinct of self-preservation, thus invoked, exerted a little of its natural effect. 

Meantime, a work which had been too long neglected, was then, ifpossible, to be performed. In that watery territory, the sea was onlyheld in check by artificial means. In a very short time, by thedemolition of a few dykes and the opening of a few sluices, the wholecountry through which the Spaniards had to pass could be laid underwater. Believing it yet possible to enlist the ocean in his defence, Louis, having partially reduced his soldiers to obedience, ordered astrong detachment upon this important service. Seizing a spade, hecommenced the work himself, and then returned to set his army in battlearray. Two or three tide gates had been opened, two or three bridges hadbeen demolished, when Alva, riding in advance of his army, appearedwithin a mile or two of Jemmingen. It was then eight o'clock in themorning. The patriots redoubled their efforts. By ten o'clock the waterswere already knee high, and in some places as deep as to the waist. Atthat hour, the advanced guard of the Spaniards arrived. Fifteen hundredmusketeers were immediately ordered forward by the Duke. They werepreceded by a company of mounted carabineers, attended by a small band ofvolunteers of distinction. This little band threw themselves at once uponthe troops engaged in destroying the dykes. The rebels fled at the firstonset, and the Spaniards closed the gates. Feeling the full importance ofthe moment, Count Louis ordered a large force of musketeers to recoverthe position, and to complete the work of inundation. It was too late. The little band of Spaniards held the post with consummate tenacity. Charge after charge, volley after volley, from the overwhelming forcebrought against them, failed to loosen the fierce grip with which theyheld this key to the whole situation. Before they could be driven fromthe dykes, their comrades arrived, when all their antagonists at oncemade a hurried retreat to their camp. 

Very much the same tactics were now employed by the Duke, as in theengagement near Selwaert Abbey. He was resolved that this affair, also, should be a hunt, not a battle; but foresaw that it was to be a moresuccessful one. There was no loophole of escape, so that after a littlesuccessful baiting, the imprisoned victims would be forced to spring fromtheir lurking-place, to perish upon his spears. On his march from Reydenthat morning, he had taken care to occupy every farm-house, everybuilding of whatever description along the road, with his troops. He hadleft a strong guard on the bridge at Reyden, and had thus closedcarefully every avenue. The same fifteen hundred musketeers were nowadvanced further towards the camp. This small force, powerfully butsecretly sustained, was to feel the enemy; to skirmish with him, and todraw him as soon as possible out of his trenches. The plan succeeded. Gradually the engagements between them and the troops sent out by CountLouis grew more earnest. Finding so insignificant a force opposed tothem, the mutinous rebels took courage. The work waged hot. Lodrono andRomero, commanders of the musketeers, becoming alarmed, sent to the Dukefor reinforcements. He sent back word in reply, that if they were notenough to damage the enemy, they could, at least, hold their own for thepresent. So much he had a right to expect of Spanish soldiers. At anyrate, he should send no reinforcements. 

Again they were more warmly pressed; again their messenger returned withthe same reply. A third time they send the most urgent entreaties forsuccour. The Duke was still inexorable. 

Meantime the result of this scientific angling approached. By noon therebels, not being able to see how large a portion of the Spanish army hadarrived, began to think the affair not so serious. Count Louis sent out areconnoitring party upon the river in a few boats. They returned withouthaving been able to discover any large force. It seemed probable, therefore, that the inundation had been more successful in stopping theiradvance than had been supposed. Louis, always too rash, inflamed his menwith temporary enthusiasm. Determined to cut their way out by onevigorous movement, the whole army at last marched forth from theirentrenchments, with drums beating, colors flying; but already theconcealed reinforcements of their enemies were on the spot. The patriotsmet with a warmer reception than they had expected. Their courageevaporated. Hardly had they advanced three hundred yards, when the wholebody wavered and then retreated precipitately towards the encampment, having scarcely exchanged a shot with the enemy. Count Louis, in a frenzyof rage and despair, flew from rank to rank, in vain endeavouring torally his terror-stricken troops. It was hopeless. The battery whichguarded the road was entirely deserted. He rushed to the cannon himself, and fired them all with his own hand. It was their first and lastdischarge. His single arm, however bold, could not turn the tide ofbattle, and he was swept backwards with his coward troops. In a momentafterwards, Don Lope de Figueroa, who led the van of the Spaniards, dashed upon the battery, and secured it, together with the ravelins. Their own artillery was turned against the rebels, and the road was soonswept. The Spaniards in large numbers now rushed through the trenches inpursuit of the retreating foe. No resistance was offered, nor quartergiven. An impossible escape was all which was attempted. It was not abattle, but a massacre. Many of the beggars in their flight threw downtheir arms; all had forgotten their use. Their antagonists butchered themin droves, while those who escaped the sword were hurled into the river. Seven Spaniards were killed, and seven thousand rebels. 

 [Letter of Alva to the Council of State. Correspondanee du Duc d'Albe, 158. The same letter is published in Igor, iv. 245, 246. All writers allow seven thousand to have been killed on the patriot side, and--the number of Spaniards slain is not estimated at more than eighty, even by the patriotic Meteren, 55. Compare Bor, iv. 245-246; Herrera, av. 696; Hoofd, v, 176, and Mendoza, 72. ]

The swift ebb-tide swept the hats of the perishing wretches in suchnumbers down the stream, that the people at Embden knew the result of thebattle in an incredibly short period of time. The skirmishing had lastedfrom ten o'clock till one, but the butchery continued much longer. Ittook time to slaughter even unresisting victims. Large numbers obtainedrefuge for the night upon an island in the river. At low water next daythe Spaniards waded to them, and slew every man. Many found concealmentin hovels, swamps, and thickets, so that the whole of the following daywas occupied in ferreting out and despatching them. There was so much tobe done, that there was work enough for all. "Not a soldier, " says, withgreat simplicity, a Spanish historian who fought in the battle, "not asoldier, nor even a lad, who wished to share in the victory, but couldfind somebody to wound, to kill, to burn, or to drown. " The wounding, killing, burning, drowning lasted two days, and very few escaped. Thelandward pursuit extended for three or four leagues around, so that theroads and pastures were covered with bodies, with corslets, and otherweapons. Count Louis himself stripped off his clothes, and made hisescape, when all was over, by swimming across the Ems. With the paltryremnant of his troops he again took refuge in Germany. 

The Spanish army, two days afterwards, marched back to Groningen. Thepage which records their victorious campaign is foul with outrage and redwith blood. None of the horrors which accompany the passage of hostiletroops through a defenceless country were omitted. Maids and matrons wereravished in multitudes; old men butchered in cold blood. As Alvareturned, with the rear-guard of his army, the whole sky was red with aconstant conflagration; the very earth seemed changed to ashes. Everypeasant's hovel, every farm-house, every village upon the road had beenburned to the ground. So gross and so extensive had been the outrage, that the commander-in-chief felt it due to his dignity to hang some ofhis own soldiers who had most distinguished themselves in this work. Thusended the campaign of Count Louis in Friesland. Thus signally andterribly had the Duke of Alva vindicated the supremacy of Spanishdiscipline and of his own military skill. 

On his return to Groningen, the estates were summoned, and received asevere lecture for their suspicious demeanour in regard to the rebellion. In order more effectually to control both province and city, theGovernor-general ordered the construction of a strong fortress, which wassoon begun but never completed. Having thus furnished himself with a keyto this important and doubtful region, he returned by way of Amsterdam toUtrecht. There he was met by his son Frederic with strong reinforcements. The Duke reviewed his whole army, and found himself at the head of 30, 000infantry and 7, 000 cavalry. Having fully subdued the province, he had nooccupation for such a force, but he improved the opportunity by cuttingoff the head of an old woman in Utrecht. The Vrow van Diemen, eighteenmonths previously, had given the preacher Arendsoon a night's lodging inher house. The crime had, in fact, been committed by her son-in-law, whodwelt under her roof, and who had himself, without her participation, extended this dangerous hospitality to a heretic; but the old lady, although a devout Catholic, was rich. Her execution would strike awholesome terror into the hearts of her neighbours. The confiscation ofher estates would bring a handsome sum into the government coffers. Itwould be made manifest that the same hand which could destroy an army oftwelve thousand rebels at a blow could inflict as signal punishment onthe small delinquencies of obscure individuals. The old lady, who waspast eighty-four years of age, was placed in a chair upon the scaffold. She met her death with heroism, and treated her murderers with contempt. "I understand very well, " she observed, "why my death is considerednecessary. The calf is fat and must be killed. " To the executioner sheexpressed a hope that his sword was sufficiently sharp, "as he was likelyto find her old neck very tough. " With this grisly parody upon thepathetic dying words of Anne Boleyn, the courageous old gentlewomansubmitted to her fate. 

The tragedy of Don Carlos does not strictly belong to our subject, whichis the rise of the Netherland commonwealth--not the decline of theSpanish monarchy, nor the life of Philip the Second. The thread is butslender which connects the unhappy young prince with the fortunes of thenorthern republic. He was said, no doubt with truth, to desire thegovernment of Flanders. He was also supposed to be in secretcorrespondence with the leaders of the revolt in the provinces. Heappeared, however, to possess very little of their confidence. His nameis only once mentioned by William of Orange, who said in a letter that"the Prince of Spain had lately eaten sixteen pounds of fruit, includingfour pounds of grapes at a single sitting, and had become ill inconsequence. " The result was sufficiently natural, but it nowhere appearsthat the royal youth, born to consume the fruits of the earth so largely, had ever given the Netherlanders any other proof of his capacity togovern them. There is no doubt that he was a most uncomfortable personageat home, both to himself and to others, and that he hated his father'very cordially. He was extremely incensed at the nomination of Alva tothe Netherlands, because he had hoped that either the King would gothither or entrust the mission to him, in either of which events heshould be rid for a time of the paternal authority, or at least of thepaternal presence. It seems to be well ascertained that Carlos nourishedtowards his father a hatred which might lead to criminal attempts, butthere is no proof that such attempts were ever made. As to the fabulousamours of the Prince and the Queen, they had never any existence save inthe imagination of poets, who have chosen to find a source of sentimentalsorrow for the Infante in the arbitrary substitution of his father forhimself in the marriage contract with the daughter of Henry the Second. As Carlos was but twelve or thirteen years of age when thus deprived of abride whom he had never seen, the foundation for a passionate regret wasbut slight. It would hardly be a more absurd fantasy, had the poetschosen to represent Philip's father, the Emperor Charles, repining in hisdotage for the loss of "bloody Mary, " whom he had so handsomely ceded tohis son. Philip took a bad old woman to relieve his father; he took afair young princess at his son's expense; but similar changes in statemarriages were such matters of course, that no emotions were likely to becreated in consequence. There is no proof whatever, nor any reason tosurmise; that any love passages ever existed between Don Carlos and hisstep-mother. 

As to the process and the death of the Prince, the mystery has not yetbeen removed, and the field is still open to conjecture. It seems athankless task to grope in the dark after the truth at a variety ofsources; when the truth really exists in tangible shape if profane handscould be laid upon it. The secret is buried in the bosom of the Vatican. Philip wrote two letters on the subject to Pius V. The contents of thefirst (21st January, 1568) are known. He informed the pontiff that he hadbeen obliged to imprison his son, and promised that he would, in theconduct of the affair, omit nothing which could be expected of a fatherand of a just and prudent king. The second letter, in which he narrated, or is supposed to have narrated, the whole course of the tragicproceedings, down to the death and burial of the Prince, has never yetbeen made public. There are hopes that this secret missive, after threecenturies of darkness, may soon see the light. --[I am assured by Mr. Gachard that a copy of this important letter is confidently expected bythe Commission Royale d'Histoire. ]

As Philip generally told the truth to the Pope, it is probable that thesecret, when once revealed, will contain the veritable solution of themystery. Till that moment arrives, it seems idle to attempt fathoming thematter. Nevertheless, it may be well briefly to state the case as itstands. As against the King, it rests upon no impregnable, but certainlyupon respectable authority. The Prince of Orange, in his famous Apology, calls Philip the murderer of his wife and of his son, and says that therewas proof of the facts in France. He alludes to the violent death ofCarlos almost as if it were an indisputable truth. "As for Don Charles, "he says, "was he not our future sovereign? And if the father could allegeagainst his son fit cause for death, was it not rather for us to judgehim than for three or four monks or inquisitors of Spain?"

The historian, P. Matthieu, relates that Philip assembled his council ofconscience; that they recommended mercy; that hereupon Philip gave thematter to the inquisition, by which tribunal Carlos was declared aheretic on account of his connexion with Protestants, and for his attemptagainst his father's life was condemned to death, and that the sentencewas executed by four slaves, two holding the arms, one the feet, whilethe fourth strangled him. 

De Thou gives the following account of the transaction, having derivedmany of his details from the oral communications of Louis de Foix:

Philip imagined that his son was about to escape from Spain, and to makehis way to the Netherlands. The King also believed himself in danger ofassassination from Carlos, his chief evidence being that the Princealways carried pistols in the pockets of his loose breeches. As Carloswished always to be alone at night without any domestic in his chamber, de Foix had arranged for him a set of pulleys, by means of which he couldopen or shut his door without rising from his bed. He always slept withtwo pistols and two drawn swords under his pillow, and had two loadedarquebusses in a wardrobe close at hand. These remarkable precautionswould seem rather to indicate a profound fear of being himselfassassinated; but they were nevertheless supposed to justify Philip'ssuspicions, that the Infante was meditating parricide. On Christmas eve, however (1567), Don Carlos told his confessor that he had determined tokill a man. The priest, in consequence, refused to admit him to thecommunion. The Prince demanded, at least, a wafer which was notconsecrated, in order that he might seem to the people to beparticipating in the sacrament. The confessor declined the proposal, andimmediately repairing to the King, narrated the whole story. Philipexclaimed that he was himself the man whom the Prince intended to kill, but that measures should be forthwith taken to prevent such a design. Themonarch then consulted the Holy Office of the inquisition, and theresolution was taken to arrest his son. De Foix was compelled to alterthe pulleys of the door to the Prince's chamber in such a manner that itcould be opened without the usual noise, which was almost sure to awakenhim. At midnight, accordingly, Count Lerma entered the room so stealthilythat the arms were all, removed from the Prince's pillow and thewardrobe, without awakening the sleeper. Philip, Ruy Gomez, the Duke deFeria, and two other nobles, then noiselessly, crept into the apartment. Carlos still slept so profoundly that it was necessary for Derma to shakehim violently by the arm before he could be aroused. Starting from hissleep in the dead of night, and seeing his father thus accompanied, before his bed, the Prince cried out that he was a dead man, andearnestly besought the bystanders to make an end of him at once. Philipassured him, however, that he was not come to kill him, but to chastisehim paternally, and to recal him to his duty. He then read him a seriouslecture, caused him to rise from his bed, took away his servants, andplaced him under guard. He was made to array himself in mourninghabiliments, and to sleep on a truckle bed. The Prince was in despair. Hesoon made various attempts upon his own life. He threw himself into thefire, but was rescued by his guards, with his clothes all in flames. Hepassed several days without taking any food, and then ate so many pattiesof minced meat that he nearly died of indigestion. He was also said tohave attempted to choke himself with a diamond, and to have beenprevented by his guard; to have filled his bed with ice; to have sat incold draughts; to have gone eleven days without food, the last methodbeing, as one would think, sufficiently thorough. Philip, therefore, seeing his son thus desperate, consulted once more with the Holy Office, and came to the decision that it was better to condemn him legitimatelyto death than to permit him to die by his own hand. In order, however, tosave appearances, the order was secretly carried into execution. DonCarlos was made to swallow poison in a bowl of broth, of which he died ina few hours. This was at the commencement of his twenty-third year. Thedeath was concealed for several months, and was not made public tillafter Alva's victory at Jemmingen. 

Such was the account drawn up by de Thou from the oral communications ofde Foix, and from other sources not indicated. Certainly, such anarrative is far from being entitled to implicit credence. The historianwas a contemporary, but he was not in Spain, and the engineer's testimonyis, of course, not entitled to much consideration on the subject of theprocess and the execution (if there were an execution); althoughconclusive as to matters which had been within his personal knowledge. For the rest, all that it can be said to establish is the existence ofthe general rumor, that Carlos came to his death by foul means and inconsequence of advice given by the inquisition. 

On the other hand, in all the letters written at the period by persons inMadrid most likely, from their position, to know the truth, not asyllable has been found in confirmation of the violent death said to havebeen suffered by Carlos. Secretary Erasso, the papal nuncio Castagna, theVenetian envoy Cavalli, all express a conviction that the death of theprince had been brought about by his own extravagant conduct and mentalexcitement; by alternations of starving and voracious eating, by throwinghimself into the fire; by icing his bed, and by similar acts ofdesperation. Nearly every writer alludes to the incident of the refusalof the priest to admit Carlos to communion, upon the ground of hisconfessed deadly hatred to an individual whom all supposed to be theKing. It was also universally believed that Carlos meant to kill hisfather. The nuncio asked Spinosa (then president of Castile) if thisreport were true. "If nothing more were to be feared, " answered thepriest, "the King would protect himself by other measures, " but thematter was worse, if worse could be. The King, however, summoned all theforeign diplomatic body and assured them that the story was false. Afterhis arrest, the Prince, according to Castagna, attempted various means ofsuicide, abstaining, at last, many days from food, and dying inconsequence, "discoursing, upon his deathbed, gravely and like a man ofsense. "

The historian Cabrera, official panegyrist of Philip the Second, speaksof the death of Carlos as a natural one, but leaves a dark kind ofmystery about the symptoms of his disease. He states, that the Prince wastried and condemned by a commission or junta, consisting of Spinosa, RuyGomez, and the Licentiate Virviesca, but that he was carried off by anillness, the nature of which he does not describe. 

Llorente found nothing in the records of the Inquisition to prove thatthe Holy Office had ever condemned the Prince or instituted any processagainst him. He states that he was condemned by a commission, but that hedied of a sickness which supervened. It must be confessed that theillness was a convenient one, and that such diseases are very apt toattack individuals whom tyrants are disposed to remove from their path, while desirous, at the same time, to save appearances. It would certainlybe presumptuous to accept implicitly the narrative of de Thou, which isliterally followed by Hoofd and by many modern writers. On the otherhand, it would be an exaggeration of historical scepticism to absolvePhilip from the murder of his son, solely upon negative testimony. Thepeople about court did not believe in the crime. They saw no proofs ofit. Of course they saw none. Philip would take good care that thereshould be none if he had made up his mind that the death of the Princeshould be considered a natural one. And priori argument, which omits thecharacter of the suspected culprit, and the extraordinary circumstancesof time and place, is not satisfactory. Philip thoroughly understood thebusiness of secret midnight murder. We shall soon have occasion to relatethe elaborate and ingenious method by which the assassination of Montignywas accomplished and kept a profound secret from the whole world, untilthe letters of the royal assassin, after three centuries' repose, wereexhumed, and the foul mystery revealed. Philip was capable of any crime. Moreover, in his letter to his aunt, Queen Catharine of Portugal, hedistinctly declares himself, like Abraham, prepared to go all lengths inobedience to the Lord. "I have chosen in this matter, " he said, "to makethe sacrifice to God of my own flesh and blood, and to prefer His serviceand the universal welfare to all other human considerations. " Wheneverthe letter to Pius V. Sees the light, it will appear whether thesacrifice which the monarch thus made to his God proceeded beyond theimprisonment and condemnation of his son, or was completed by the actualimmolation of the victim. 

With regard to the Prince himself, it is very certain that, if he hadlived, the realms of the Spanish Crown would have numbered one tyrantmore. Carlos from his earliest youth, was remarkable for the ferocity ofhis character. The Emperor Charles was highly pleased with him, thenabout fourteen years of age, upon their first interview after theabdication. He flattered himself that the lad had inherited his ownmartial genius together with his name. Carlos took much interest in hisgrandfather's account of his various battles, but when the flight fromInnspruck was narrated, he repeated many times, with much vehemence, thathe never would have fled; to which position he adhered, notwithstandingall the arguments of the Emperor, and very much to his amusement. Theyoung Prince was always fond of soldiers, and listened eagerly todiscourses of war. He was in the habit also of recording the names of anymilitary persons who, according to custom, frequently made offers oftheir services to the heir apparent, and of causing them to take a solemnoath to keep their engagements. No other indications of warlike talent, however, have been preserved concerning him. "He was crafty, ambitious, cruel, violent, " says the envoy Suriano, "a hater of buffoons, a lover ofsoldiers. " His natural cruelty seems to have been remarkable from hisboyhood. After his return from the chase, he was in the habit of cuttingthe throats of hares and other animals, and of amusing himself with theirdying convulsions. He also frequently took pleasure in roasting themalive. He once received a present of a very large snake from some personwho seemed to understand how to please this remarkable young prince. After a time, however, the favorite reptile allowed itself to bite itsmaster's finger, whereupon Don Carlos immediately retaliated by bitingoff its head. 

He was excessively angry at the suggestion that the prince who wasexpected to spring from his father's marriage with the English queen, would one day reign over the Netherlands, and swore he would challengehim to mortal combat in order to prevent such an infringement of hisrights. His father and grandfather were both highly diverted with thismanifestation of spirit, but it was not decreed that the world shouldwitness the execution of these fraternal intentions against the babewhich was never to be born. 

Ferocity, in short, seems to have been the leading characteristic of theunhappy Carlos. His preceptor, a man of learning and merit, who wascalled "the honorable John", tried to mitigate this excessive ardor oftemperament by a course of Cicero de Officiis, which he read to himdaily. Neither the eloquence of Tully, however, nor the precepts of thehonorable John made the least impression upon this very savage nature. Ashe grew older he did not grow wiser nor more gentle. He was prematurelyand grossly licentious. All the money which as a boy, he was allowed, hespent upon women of low character, and when he was penniless, he gavethem his chains, his medals, even the clothes from his back. He tookpleasure in affronting respectable females when he met them in thestreets, insulting them by the coarsest language and gestures. Beingcruel, cunning, fierce and licentious, he seemed to combine many of theworst qualities of a lunatic. That he probably was one is the bestdefence which can be offered for his conduct. In attempting to offerviolence to a female, while he was at the university of Alcala, he felldown a stone staircase, from which cause he was laid up for a long timewith a severely wounded head, and was supposed to have injured his brain. 

The traits of ferocity recorded of him during his short life are sonumerous that humanity can hardly desire that it should have beenprolonged. A few drops of water having once fallen upon his head from awindow, as he passed through the street, he gave peremptory orders to hisguard to burn the house to the ground, and to put every one of itsinhabitants to the sword. The soldiers went forthwith to execute theorder, but more humane than their master, returned with the excuse thatthe Holy Sacrament of the Viaticum had that moment been carried into thehouse. This appeal to the superstition of the Prince successfullysuspended the execution of the crimes which his inconceivable malignityhad contemplated. On another occasion, a nobleman, who slept near hischamber, failed to answer his bell on the instant. Springing upon hisdilatory attendant, as soon as he made his appearance, the Prince seizedhim in his arms and was about to throw him from the window, when thecries of the unfortunate chamberlain attracted attention, and procured arescue. 

The Cardinal Espinoza had once accidentally detained at his palace anactor who was to perform a favorite part by express command of DonCarlos. Furious at this detention, the Prince took the priest by thethroat as soon as he presented himself at the palace, and plucking hisdagger from its sheath, swore, by the soul of his father, that he wouldtake his life on the spot. The grand inquisitor fell on his knees andbegged for mercy, but it is probable that the entrance of the King alonesaved his life. 

There was often something ludicrous mingled with the atrocious in theseungovernable explosions of wrath. Don Pedro Manuel, his chamberlain, hadonce, by his command, ordered a pair of boots to be made for the Prince. When brought home, they were, unfortunately, too tight. The Prince aftervainly endeavouring to pull them on, fell into a blazing passion. Heswore that it was the fault of Don Pedro, who always wore tight bootshimself, but he at the same time protested that his father was really atthe bottom of the affair. He gave the young nobleman a box on the ear forthus conspiring with the King against his comfort, and then ordered theboots to be chopped into little pieces, stewed and seasoned. Then sendingfor the culprit shoemaker, he ordered him to eat his own boots, thusconverted into a pottage; and with this punishment the unfortunatemechanic, who had thought his life forfeited, was sufficiently glad tocomply. 

Even the puissant Alva could not escape his violence. Like all the men inwhom his father reposed confidence, the Duke was odious to the heirapparent. Don Carlos detested him with the whole force of his littlesoul. He hated him as only a virtuous person deserved to be hated by sucha ruffian. The heir apparent had taken the Netherlands under hispatronage. He had even formed the design of repairing secretly to theprovinces, and could not, therefore, disguise his wrath at theappointment of the Duke. It is doubtful whether the country would havebenefited by the gratification of his wishes. It is possible that thepranks of so malignant an ape might have been even more mischievous thanthe concentrated and vigorous tyranny of an Alva. When the newCaptain-general called, before his departure, to pay his respects to theInfante, the Duke seemed, to his surprise, to have suddenly entered theden of a wild beast. Don Carlos sprang upon him with a howl of fury, brandishing a dagger in his hand. He uttered reproaches at having beendefrauded of the Netherland government. He swore that Alva should neveraccomplish his mission, nor leave his presence alive. He was proceedingto make good the threat with his poniard, when the Duke closed with him. A violent struggle succeeded. Both rolled together on the ground, thePrince biting and striking like a demoniac, the Duke defending himself aswell as he was able, without attempting his adversary's life. Before thecombat was decided, the approach of many persons put an end to thedisgraceful scene. As decent a veil as possible was thrown over thetransaction, and the Duke departed on his mission. Before the end of theyear, the Prince was in the prison whence he never came forth alive. 

The figure of Don Carlos was as misshapen as his mind. His head wasdisproportionately large, his limbs were rickety, one shoulder washigher, one leg longer than the other. With features resembling those ofhis father, but with a swarthy instead of a fair complexion, with anexpression of countenance both fierce and foolish, and with a charactersuch as we have sketched it, upon the evidence of those who knew himwell, it is indeed strange that he should ever have been transformed bythe magic of poetry into a romantic hero. As cruel and cunning as hisfather, as mad as his great-grandmother, he has left a name, which noteven his dark and mysterious fate can render interesting. 

1568 [CHAPTER IV. ]

 Continued and excessive barbarity of the government--Execution of Antony van Straalen, of "Red--Rod" Spelle--The Prince of Orange advised by his German friends to remain quiet--Heroic sentiments of Orange--His religious opinions--His efforts in favor of toleration-- His fervent piety--His public correspondence with the Emperor--His "Justification, " his "Warning, " and other papers characterized--The Prince, with a considerable army, crosses the Rhine--Passage of the Meuse at Stochem--He offers battle to Alva--Determination of the Duke to avoid an engagement--Comparison of his present situation with his previous position in Friesland--Masterly tactics of the Duke--Skirmish on the Geta--Defeat of the Orangists--Death of Hoogstraaten--Junction with Genlis--Adherence of Alva to his original plan--The Prince crosses the frontier of France-- Correspondence between Charles IX. And Orange--The patriot army disbanded at Strasburg--Comments by Granvelle upon the position of the Prince--Triumphant attitude of Alva--Festivities at Brussels-- Colossal statue of Alva erected by himself in Antwerp citadel-- Intercession of the Emperor with Philip--Memorial of six Electors to the Emperor--Mission of the Archduke Charles to Spain--His negotiations with Philip--Public and private correspondence between the King and Emperor--Duplicity of Maximilian--Abrupt conclusion to the intervention--Granvelle's suggestions to Philip concerning the treaty of Passau. 

The Duke having thus crushed the project of Count Bouts, and quelled theinsurrection in Friesland, returned in triumph to Brussels. Far fromsoftened by the success of his arms, he renewed with fresh energy thebutchery which, for a brief season, had been suspended during hisbrilliant campaign in the north. The altars again smoked with victims;the hanging, burning, drowning, beheading, seemed destined to be theperpetual course of his administration, so long as human bodies remainedon which his fanatical vengeance could be wreaked. Four men of eminencewere executed soon after his return to the capital. They had previouslysuffered such intense punishment on the rack, that it was necessary tocarry them to the scaffold and bind them upon chairs, that they might bebeheaded. These four sufferers were a Frisian nobleman, named Galena, thesecretaries of Egmont and Horn, Bakkerzeel and La Loo, and thedistinguished burgomaster of Antwerp, Antony Van Straalen. The arrest ofthe three last-mentioned individuals, simultaneously with that of the twoCounts, has been related in a previous chapter. In the case of VanStraalen, the services rendered by him to the provinces during his longand honorable career, had been so remarkable, that even theBlood-Council, in sending his case to Alva for his sentence, wereinspired by a humane feeling. They felt so much compunction at theimpending fate of a man who, among other meritorious acts, had furnishednearly all the funds for the brilliant campaign in Picardy, by which theopening years of Philip's reign had been illustrated, as to hint at thepropriety of a pardon. But the recommendation to mercy, though it camefrom the lips of tigers, dripping with human blood, fell unheeded on thetyrant's ear. It seemed meet that the man who had supplied the nerves ofwar in that unforgiven series of triumphs, should share the fate of thehero who had won the laurels. 

 [Bor, Cappella, Hoofd, ubi sup. The last words of the Burgomaster as he bowed his neck to the executioner's stroke were, "Voor wel gedaan, kwaclyk beloud, "--"For faithful service, evil recompense. " --Cappella, 232. ]

Hundreds of obscure martyrs now followed in the same path to anotherworld, where surely they deserved to find their recompense, if steadfastadherence to their faith, and a tranquil trust in God amid tortures anddeath too horrible to be related, had ever found favor above. The"Red-Rod, " as the provost of Brabant was popularly designated, was neveridle. He flew from village to village throughout the province, executingthe bloody behests of his masters with congenial alacrity. Neverthelesshis career was soon destined to close upon the same scaffold where he hadso long officiated. Partly from caprice, partly from an uncompromisingand fantastic sense of justice, his master now hanged the executionerwhose industry had been so untiring. The sentence which was affixed tohis breast, as he suffered, stated that he had been guilty of muchmalpractice; that he had executed many persons without a warrant, and hadsuffered many guilty persons for a bribe, to escape their doom. Thereader can judge which of the two clauses constituted the most sufficientreason. 

During all these triumphs of Alva, the Prince of Orange had not lost hisself-possession. One after another, each of his bold, skilfully-conceivedand carefully-prepared plans had failed. Villers had been entirelydiscomfited at Dalhena, Cocqueville had been cut to pieces in Picardy, and now the valiant and experienced Louis had met with an entireoverthrow in Friesland. The brief success of the patriots at Heiliger Zeehad been washed out in the blood-torrents of Jemmingen. Tyranny was moretriumphant, the provinces more timidly crouching, than ever. The friendson whom William of Orange relied in Germany, never enthusiastic in hiscause, although many of them true-hearted and liberal, now grew cold andanxious. For months long, his most faithful and affectionate allies, suchmen as the Elector of Hesse and the Duke of Wirtemberg, as well as theless trustworthy Augustus of Saxony, had earnestly expressed theiropinion that, under the circumstances, his best course was to sit stilland watch the course of events. 

It was known that the Emperor had written an urgent letter to Philip onthe subject of his policy in the Netherlands in general, and concerningthe position of Orange in particular. All persons, from the Emperor downto the pettiest potentate, seemed now of opinion that the Prince hadbetter pause; that he was, indeed, bound to wait the issue of thatremonstrance. "Your highness must sit still, " said Landgrave William. "Your highness must sit still, " said Augustus of Saxony. "You must moveneither hand nor foot in the cause of the perishing provinces, " said theEmperor. "Not a soldier-horse, foot, or dragoon-shall be levied withinthe Empire. If you violate the peace of the realm, and embroil us withour excellent brother and cousin Philip, it is at your own peril. Youhave nothing to do but to keep quiet and await his answer to our letter. "But the Prince knew how much effect his sitting still would produce uponthe cause of liberty and religion. He knew how much effect the Emperor'sletter was like to have upon the heart of Philip. He knew that the moreimpenetrable the darkness now gathering over that land of doom which hehad devoted his life to defend, the more urgently was he forbidden toturn his face away from it in its affliction. He knew that thousands ofhuman souls, nigh to perishing, were daily turning towards him as theironly hope on earth, and he was resolved, so long as he could dispense asingle ray of light, that his countenance should never be averted. It isdifficult to contemplate his character, at this period, without beinginfected with a perhaps dangerous enthusiasm. It is not an easy taskcoldly to analyse a nature which contained so much of theself-sacrificing and the heroic, as well as of the adroit and the subtle;and it is almost impossible to give utterance to the emotions whichnaturally swell the heart at the contemplation of so much active virtue, without rendering oneself liable to the charge of excessive admiration. Through the mists of adversity, a human form may dilate into proportionswhich are colossal and deceptive. Our judgment may thus, perhaps, be ledcaptive, but at any rate the sentiment excited is more healthful thanthat inspired by the mere shedder of blood, by the merely selfishconqueror. When the cause of the champion is that of human right againsttyranny, of political ind religious freedom against an all-engrossing andabsolute bigotry, it is still more difficult to restrain venerationwithin legitimate bounds. To liberate the souls and bodies of millions, to maintain for a generous people, who had well-nigh lost their all, those free institutions which their ancestors had bequeathed, was a nobletask for any man. But here stood a Prince of ancient race, vastpossessions, imperial blood, one of the great ones of the earth, whosepathway along the beaten track would have been smooth and successful, butwho was ready to pour out his wealth like water, and to coin his heart'sblood, drop by drop, in this virtuous but almost desperate cause. He feltthat of a man to whom so much had been entrusted, much was to be asked. God had endowed him with an incisive and comprehensive genius, unfaltering fortitude, and with the rank and fortune which enable a manto employ his faculties, to the injury or the happiness of his fellows, on the widest scale. The Prince felt the responsibility, and the worldwas to learn the result. 

It was about this time that a deep change came over his mind. Hitherto, although nominally attached to the communion of the ancient Church, hiscourse of life and habits of mind had not led him to deal very earnestlywith things beyond the world. The severe duties, the grave character ofthe cause to which his days were henceforth to be devoted, had alreadyled him to a closer inspection of the essential attributes ofChristianity. He was now enrolled for life as a soldier of theReformation. The Reformation was henceforth his fatherland, the sphere, of his duty and his affection. The religious Reformers became hisbrethren, whether in France, Germany, the Netherlands, or England. Yethis mind had taken a higher flight than that of the most eminentReformers. His goal was not a new doctrine, but religious liberty. In anage when to think was a crime, and when bigotry and a persecuting spiritcharacterized Romanists and Lutherans, Calvinists and Zwinglians, he haddared to announce freedom of conscience as the great object for whichnoble natures should strive. In an age when toleration was a vice, he hadthe manhood to cultivate it as a virtue. His parting advice to theReformers of the Netherlands, when he left them for a season in thespring of 1567, was to sink all lesser differences in religious union. Those of the Augsburg Confession and those of the Calvinistic Church, intheir own opinion as incapable of commingling as oil and water, were, inhis judgment, capable of friendly amalgamation. He appealed eloquently tothe good and influential of all parties to unite in one common causeagainst oppression. Even while favoring daily more and more the cause ofthe purified Church, and becoming daily more alive to the corruption ofRome, he was yet willing to tolerate all forms of worship, and to leavereason to combat error. 

Without a particle of cant or fanaticism, he had become a deeplyreligious man. Hitherto he had been only a man of the world and astatesman, but from this time forth he began calmly to rely upon God'sprovidence in all the emergencies of his eventful life. His letterswritten to his most confidential friends, to be read only by themselves, and which have been gazed upon by no other eyes until after the lapse ofnearly three centuries, abundantly prove his sincere and simple trust. This sentiment was not assumed for effect to delude others, but cherishedas a secret support for himself. His religion was not a cloak to hisdesigns, but a consolation in his disasters. In his letter of instructionto his most confidential agent, John Bazius, while he declared himselffrankly in favor of the Protestant principles, he expressed his extremerepugnance to the persecution of Catholics. "Should we obtain power overany city or cities, " he wrote, "let the communities of papists be as muchrespected and protected as possible. Let them be overcome, not byviolence, but with gentle-mindedness and virtuous treatment. " After theterrible disaster at Jemmingen, he had written to Louis, consoling him, in the most affectionate language, for the unfortunate result of hiscampaign. Not a word of reproach escaped from him, although his brotherhad conducted the operations in Friesland, after the battle of HeiligerLee, in a manner quite contrary to his own advice. He had counselledagainst a battle, and had foretold a defeat; but after the battle hadbeen fought and a crushing defeat sustained, his language breathed onlyunwavering submission to the will of God, and continued confidence in hisown courage. "You may be well assured, my brother, " he wrote, "that Ihave never felt anything more keenly than the pitiable misfortune whichhas happened to you, for many reasons which you can easily imagine. Moreover, it hinders us much in the levy which we are making, and hasgreatly chilled the hearts of those who otherwise would have been readyto give us assistance. Nevertheless, since it has thus pleased God, it isnecessary to have patience and to lose not courage; conforming ourselvesto His divine will, as for my part I have determined to do in everythingwhich may happen, still proceeding onward in our work with his Almightyaid. 'Soevis tranquillus in undis', he was never more placid than whenthe storm was wildest and the night darkest. He drew his consolations andrefreshed his courage at the never-failing fountains of Divine mercy. 

"I go to-morrow, " he wrote to the unworthy Anne of Saxony; "but when Ishall return, or when I shall see you, I cannot, on my honor, tell youwith certainty. I have resolved to place myself in the hands of theAlmighty, that he may guide me whither it is His good pleasure that Ishould go. I see well enough that I am destined to pass this life inmisery and labor, with which I am well content, since it thus pleases theOmnipotent, for I know that I have merited still greater chastisement. Ionly implore Him graciously to send me strength to endure with patience. "

Such language, in letters the most private, never meant to be seen byother eyes than those to which they were addressed, gives touchingtestimony to the sincere piety of his character. No man was ever moredevoted to a high purpose, no man had ever more right to imagine himself, or less inclination to pronounce himself, entrusted with a divinemission. There was nothing of the charlatan in his character. His naturewas true and steadfast. No narrow-minded usurper was ever more loyal tohis own aggrandisement than this large-hearted man to the cause ofoppressed humanity. Yet it was inevitable that baser minds should fail torecognise his purity. While he exhausted his life for the emancipation ofa people, it was easy to ascribe all his struggles to the hope offounding a dynasty. It was natural for grovelling natures to search inthe gross soil of self-interest for the sustaining roots of the treebeneath whose branches a nation found its shelter. What could theycomprehend of living fountains and of heavenly dews?

In May, 1568, the Emperor Maximilian had formally issued a requisition tothe Prince of Orange to lay down his arms, and to desist from all leviesand machinations against the King of Spain and the peace of the realm. This summons he was commanded to obey on pain of forfeiting all rights, fiefs, privileges and endowments bestowed by imperial hands on himself orhis predecessors, and of incurring the heaviest disgrace, punishment, andpenalties of the Empire. 

To this document the Prince replied in August, having paid in themeantime but little heed to its precepts. Now that the Emperor, who atfirst was benignant, had begun to frown on his undertaking, he did notslacken in his own endeavours to set his army on foot. One by one, thoseamong the princes of the empire who had been most stanch in his cause, and were still most friendly to his person, grew colder as tyranny becamestronger; but the ardor of the Prince was not more chilled by theirdespair than by the overthrow at Jemmingen, which had been its cause. InAugust, he answered the letter of the Emperor, respectfully but warmly. He still denounced the tyranny of Alva and the arts of Granvelle withthat vigorous eloquence which was always at his command, while, as usual, he maintained a show of almost exaggerated respect for their monarch. Itwas not to be presumed, he said, that his Majesty, "a king debonair andbountiful, " had ever intended such cruelties as those which had beenrapidly retraced in the letter, but it was certain that the Duke of Alvahad committed them all of his own authority. He trusted, moreover, thatthe Emperor, after he had read the "Justification" which the Prince hadrecently published, would appreciate the reason for his taking up arms. He hoped that his Majesty would now consider the resistance just, Christian, and conformable to the public peace. He expressed the beliefthat rather than interpose any hindrance, his Majesty would thenceforthrather render assistance "to the poor and desolate Christians, " even asit was his Majesty's office and authority to be the last refuge of theinjured. 

The "Justification against the false blame of his calumniators by thePrince of Orange, " to which the Prince thus referred, has been mentionedin a previous chapter. This remarkable paper had been drawn up at theadvice of his friends, Landgrave William and Elector Augustus, but it wasnot the only document which the Prince caused to be published at thisimportant epoch. He issued a formal declaration of war against the Dukeof Alva; he addressed a solemn and eloquent warning or proclamation toall the inhabitants of the Netherlands. These documents are all extremelyimportant and interesting. Their phraseology shows the intentions and thespirit by which the Prince was actuated on first engaging in thestruggle. Without the Prince and his efforts--at this juncture, therewould probably have never been a free Netherland commonwealth. It iscertain, likewise, that without an enthusiastic passion for civil andreligious liberty throughout the masses of the Netherland people, therewould have been no successful effort on the part of the Prince. He knewhis countrymen; while they, from highest to humblest, recognised in himtheir saviour. There was, however, no pretence of a revolutionarymovement. The Prince came to maintain, not to overthrow. The freedomwhich had been enjoyed in the provinces until the accession of theBurgundian dynasty, it was his purpose to restore. The attitude which henow assumed was a peculiar one in history. This defender of a people'scause set up no revolutionary standard. In all his documents he paidapparent reverence to the authority of the King. By a fiction, which wasnot unphilosophical, he assumed that the monarch was incapable of thecrimes which he charged upon the Viceroy. Thus he did not assume thecharacter of a rebel in arms against his prince, but in his own capacityof sovereign he levied troops and waged war against a satrap whom hechose to consider false to his master's orders. In the interest ofPhilip, assumed to be identical with the welfare of his people, he tookup arms against the tyrant who was sacrificing both. This mask of loyaltywould never save his head from the block, as he well knew, but somespirits lofty as his own, might perhaps be influenced by a noblesophistry, which sought to strengthen the cause of the people byattributing virtue to the King. 

And thus did the sovereign of an insignificant little principality standboldly forth to do battle with the most powerful monarch in the world. Athis own expense, and by almost superhuman exertions, he had assemblednearly thirty thousand men. He now boldly proclaimed to the world, andespecially to the inhabitants of the provinces, his motives, hispurposes, and his hopes. 

 "We, by God's grace Prince of Orange, " said his declaration of 31st August, 1568, "salute all faithful subjects of his Majesty. To few people is it unknown that the Spaniards have for a long time sought to govern the land according to their pleasure. Abusing his Majesty's goodness, they have persuaded him to decree the introduction of the inquisition into the Netherlands. They well understood, that in case the Netherlanders could be made to tolerate its exercise, they would lose all protection to their liberty; that if they opposed its introduction, they would open those rich provinces as a vast field of plunder. We had hoped that his Majesty, taking the matter to heart, would have spared his hereditary provinces from such utter ruin. We have found our hopes futile. We are unable, by reason of our loyal service due to his Majesty, and of our true compassion for the faithful lieges, to look with tranquillity any longer at such murders, robberies, outrages, and agony. We are, moreover, certain that his Majesty has been badly informed upon Netherland matters. We take up arms, therefore, to oppose the violent tyranny of the Spaniards, by the help of the merciful God, who is the enemy of all bloodthirstiness. Cheerfully inclined to wager our life and all our worldly wealth on the cause, we have now, God be thanked, an excellent army of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, raised all at our own expense. We summon all loyal subjects of the Netherlands to come and help us. Let them take to heart the uttermost need of the country, the danger of perpetual slavery for themselves and their children, and of the entire overthrow of the Evangelical religion. Only when Alva's blood- thirstiness shall have been at last overpowered, can the provinces hope to recover their pure administration of justice, and a prosperous condition for their commonwealth. "

In the "warning" or proclamation to all the inhabitants of theNetherlands, the Prince expressed similar sentiments. He announced hisintention of expelling the Spaniards forever from the country. Toaccomplish the mighty undertaking, money was necessary. He accordinglycalled on his countrymen to contribute, the rich out of their abundance, the poor even out of their poverty, to the furtherance of the cause. Todo this, while it was yet time, he solemnly warned them "before God, thefatherland, and the world. " After the title of this paper were cited the28th, 29th, and 30th verses of the tenth chapter of Proverbs. Thefavorite motto of the Prince, "pro lege, rege, grege, " was also affixedto the document. 

These appeals had, however, but little effect. Of three hundred thousandcrowns, promised on behalf of leading nobles and merchants of theNetherlands by Marcus Perez, but ten or twelve thousand came to hand. Theappeals to the gentlemen who had signed the Compromise, and to manyothers who had, in times past, been favorable to the liberal party werepowerless. A poor Anabaptist preacher collected a small sum from arefugee congregation on the outskirts of Holland, and brought it, at theperil of his life, into the Prince's camp. It came from people, he said, whose will was better than the gift. They never wished to be repaid, hesaid, except by kindness, when the cause of reform should be triumphantin the Netherlands. The Prince signed a receipt for the money, expressinghimself touched by this sympathy from these poor outcasts. In the courseof time, other contributions from similar sources, principally collectedby dissenting preachers, starving and persecuted church communities, werereceived. The poverty-stricken exiles contributed far more, inproportion, for the establishment of civil and religious liberty, thanthe wealthy merchants or the haughty nobles. 

Late in September, the Prince mustered his army in the province ofTreves, near the monastery of Romersdorf. His force amounted to nearlythirty thousand men, of whom nine thousand were cavalry. Lumey, Count dela Marek, now joined him at the head of a picked band of troopers; abold, ferocious partisan, descended from the celebrated Wild Boar ofArdennes. Like Civilis, the ancient Batavian hero, he had sworn to leavehair and beard unshorn till the liberation of the country was achieved, or at least till the death of Egmont, whose blood relation he was, hadbeen avenged. It is probable that the fierce conduct of this chieftain, and particularly the cruelties exercised upon monks and papists by histroops, dishonored the cause more than their valor could advance it. Butin those stormy times such rude but incisive instruments were scarcely tobe neglected, and the name of Lumey was to be forever associated withimportant triumphs of the liberal cause. 

It was fated, however, that but few laurels should be won by the patriotsin this campaign. The Prince crossed the Rhine at Saint Feit, a villagebelonging to himself. He descended along the banks as far as theneighbourhood of Cologne. Then, after hovering in apparent uncertaintyabout the territories of Juliers and Limburg, he suddenly, on a brightmoonlight night, crossed the Meuse with his whole army, in theneighbourhood of Stochem. The operation was brilliantly effected. Acompact body of cavalry, according to the plan which had been more thanonce adopted by Julius Caesar, was placed in the midst of the current, under which shelter the whole army successfully forded the river. TheMeuse was more shallow than usual, but the water was as high as thesoldiers' necks. This feat was accomplished on the night and morning ofthe 4th and 5th of October. It was considered so bold an achievement thatits fame spread far and wide. The Spaniards began to tremble at theprowess of a Prince whom they had affected to despise. The very fact ofthe passage was flatly contradicted. An unfortunate burgher at Amsterdamwas scourged at the whipping-post, because he mentioned it as matter ofcommon report. The Duke of Alva refused to credit the tale when it wasannounced to him. "Is the army of the Prince of Orange a flock of wildgeese, " he asked, "that it can fly over rivers like the Meuse?"Nevertheless it was true. The outlawed, exiled Prince stood once more onthe borders of Brabant, with an army of disciplined troops at his back. His banners bore patriotic inscriptions. "Pro Lege, Rege, Grege, " wasemblazoned upon some. A pelican tearing her breast to nourish her youngwith her life-blood was the pathetic emblem of others. It was hisdetermination to force or entice the Duke of Alva into a generalengagement. He was desirous to wipe out the disgrace of Jemmingen. Couldhe plant his victorious standard thus in the very heart of the country, he felt that thousands would rally around it. The country would risealmost to a man, could he achieve a victory over the tyrant, flushed ashe was with victory, and sated with blood. 

With banners flying, drums beating, trumpets sounding, with all the pompand defiance which an already victorious general could assume, Orangemarched into Brabant, and took up a position within six thousand paces ofAlva's encampment. His plan was at every hazard to dare or to decoy hisadversary into the chances of a stricken field. The Governor wasentrenched at a place called Keiserslager, which Julius Caesar had onceoccupied. The city of Maestricht was in his immediate neighbourhood, which was thus completely under his protection, while it furnished himwith supplies. The Prince sent to the Duke a herald, who was to proposethat all prisoners who might be taken in the coming campaign should beexchanged instead of being executed. The herald, booted and spurred, evenas he had dismounted from his horse, was instantly hanged. This was thesignificant answer to the mission of mercy. Alva held no parley withrebels before a battle, nor gave quarter afterwards. 

In the meantime, the Duke had carefully studied the whole position ofaffairs, and had arrived at his conclusion. He was determined not tofight. It was obvious that the Prince would offer battle eagerly, ostentatiously, frequently, but the Governor was resolved never to acceptthe combat. Once taken, his resolution was unalterable. He recognized theimportant difference between his own attitude at present, and that inwhich he had found himself during the past summer in Friesland. There abattle had been necessary, now it was more expedient to overcome hisenemy by delay. In Friesland, the rebels had just achieved a victory overthe choice troops of Spain. Here they were suffering from the stigma of acrushing defeat. Then, the army of Louis Nassau was swelling daily byrecruits, who poured in from all the country round. Now, neither peasantnor noble dared lift a finger for the Prince. The army of Louis had beensustained by the one which his brother was known to be preparing. Iftheir movements had not been checked, a junction would have beeneffected. The armed revolt would then have assumed so formidable anaspect, that rebellion would seem, even for the timid, a safer choicethan loyalty. The army of the Prince, on the contrary, was now the lasthope of the patriots: The three by which it had been preceded had beensuccessively and signally vanquished. 

Friesland, again, was on the outskirts of the country. A defeat sustainedby the government there did not necessarily imperil the possession of theprovinces. Brabant, on the contrary, was the heart of the Netherlands. Should the Prince achieve a decisive triumph then and there, he would bemaster of the nation's fate. The Viceroy knew himself to be odious, andhe reigned by terror. The Prince was the object of the people's idolatry, and they would rally round him if they dared. A victory gained by theliberator over the tyrant, would destroy the terrible talisman ofinvincibility by which Alva governed. The Duke had sufficientlydemonstrated his audacity in the tremendous chastisement which he hadinflicted upon the rebels under Louis. He could now afford to play thatscientific game of which he was so profound a master, without risking anyloss of respect or authority. He was no enthusiast. Although he doubtlessfelt sufficiently confident of overcoming the Prince in a pitched battle, he had not sufficient relish for the joys of contest to be willing torisk even a remote possibility of defeat. His force, although composed ofveterans and of the best musketeers and pikemen in Europe, was stillsomewhat inferior in numbers to that of his adversary. Against the twentythousand foot and eight thousand, horse of Orange, he could oppose onlyfifteen or sixteen thousand foot and fifty-five hundred riders. Moreover, the advantage which he had possessed in Friesland, a country onlyfavorable to infantry, in which he had been stronger than his opponent, was now transferred to his new enemy. On the plains of Brabant, thePrince's superiority in cavalry was sure to tell. The season of the year, too, was an important element in the calculation. The winter alone wouldsoon disperse the bands of German mercenaries, whose expenses Orange wasnot able to support, even while in active service. With unpaid wages anddisappointed hopes of plunder, the rebel army would disappear in a fewweeks as totally as if defeated in the open field. In brief, Orange by avictory would gain new life and strength, while his defeat could no morethan anticipate, by a few weeks, the destruction of his army, alreadyinevitable. Alva, on the contrary, might lose the mastery of theNetherlands if unfortunate, and would gain no solid advantage iftriumphant. The Prince had everything to hope, the Duke everything tofear, from the result of a general action. 

The plan, thus deliberately resolved upon, was accomplished withfaultless accuracy. As a work of art, the present campaign of Alvaagainst Orange was a more consummate masterpiece than the, more brilliantand dashing expedition into Friesland. The Duke had resolved to hang uponhis adversary's skirts, to follow him move by move, to check him at everyturn, to harass him in a hundred ways, to foil all his enterprises, toparry all his strokes, and finally to drive him out of the country, aftera totally barren campaign, when, as he felt certain, his ill-paidhirelings would vanish in all directions, and leave their patriot Princea helpless and penniless adventurer. The scheme thus sagaciouslyconceived, his adversary, with all his efforts, was unable to circumvent. 

The campaign lasted little more than a month. Twenty-nine times thePrince changed his encampment, and at every remove the Duke was stillbehind him, as close and seemingly as impalpable as his shadow. Thricethey were within cannon-shot of each other; twice without a single trenchor rampart between them. The country people refused the Prince supplies, for they trembled at the vengeance of the Governor. Alva had caused theirons to be removed from all the mills, so that not a bushel of corncould be ground in the whole province. The country thus afforded butlittle forage for the thirty thousand soldiers of the Prince. The troops, already discontented, were clamorous for pay and plunder. During onemutinous demonstration, the Prince's sword was shot from his side, and itwas with difficulty that a general outbreak was suppressed. The soldierywere maddened and tantalized by the tactics of Alva. They foundthemselves constantly in the presence of an enemy, who seemed to court abattle at one moment and to vanish like a phantom at the next They feltthe winter approaching, and became daily more dissatisfied with theirritating hardships to which they were exposed. Upon the night of the5th and 6th of October the Prince had crossed the Meuse at Stochem. Thence he had proceeded to Tongres, followed closely by the enemy'sforce, who encamped in the immediate neighbourhood. From Tongres he hadmoved to Saint Trond, still pursued and still baffled in the samecautious manner. The skirmishing at the outposts was incessant, but themain body was withdrawn as soon as there seemed a chance of its becominginvolved. 

From Saint Trond, in the neighbourhood of which he had remained severaldays, he advanced in a southerly direction towards Jodoigne. Count deGenlis, with a reinforcement of French Huguenots, for which the Princehad been waiting, had penetrated through the Ardennes, crossed the Meuseat Charlemont, and was now intending a junction with him at Waveron. Theriver Geta flowed between them. The Prince stationed a considerable forceupon a hill near the stream to protect the passage, and then proceededleisurely to send his army across the river. Count Hoogstraaten, with therear-guard, consisting of about three thousand men, were alone left uponthe hither bank, in order to provoke or to tempt the enemy, who, asusual, was encamped very near. Alva refused to attack the main army, butFrederic with a force of four thousand men, were alone left on the hitherbank, in order to provoke or to tempt the enemy, who as usual, wasencamped very near. Alva refused to attack the main army but rapidlydetached his son, Don Fredrick, with a force of four thousand foot andthree thousand horse, to cut off the rear-guard. The movement waseffected in a masterly manner, the hill was taken, the three thousandtroops which had not passed the river were cut to pieces, and Vitellihastily despatched a gentleman named Barberini to implore the Duke toadvance with the main body, cross the river, and, once for all, exterminate the rebels in a general combat. Alva, inflamed, not withardor for an impending triumph, but with rage, that his sagely-conceivedplans could not be comprehended even by his son and by his favoriteofficers, answered the eager messenger with peremptory violence. "Go backto Vitelli, " he cried. "Is he, or am I, to command in this campaign? Tellhim not to suffer a single man to cross the river. Warn him againstsending any more envoys to advise a battle; for should you or any otherman dare to bring me another such message, I swear to you, by the head ofthe King, that you go not hence alive. "

With this decisive answer the messenger had nothing for it but to gallopback with all haste, in order to participate in what might be left of thebutchery of Count Hoogstraaten's force, and to prevent Vitelli and DonFrederic in their ill-timed ardor, from crossing the river. This wasproperly effected, while in the meantime the whole rear-guard of thepatriots had been slaughtered. A hundred or two, the last who remained, had made their escape from the field, and had taken refuge in a house inthe neighbourhood. The Spaniards set the buildings on fire, and standingaround with lifted lances, offered the fugitives the choice of beingconsumed in the flames or of springing out upon their spears. Thusentrapped some chose the one course, some the other. A few, to escape thefury of the fire and the brutality of the Spaniards, stabbed themselveswith their own swords. Others embraced, and then killed each other, theenemies from below looking on, as at a theatrical exhibition; now hissingand now applauding, as the death struggles were more or less to theirtaste. In a few minutes all the fugitives were dead. Nearly threethousand of the patriots were slain in this combat, including thoseburned or butchered after the battle was over. The Sieur de Louverwal wastaken prisoner, and soon afterwards beheaded in Brussels; but thegreatest misfortune sustained by the liberal party upon this occasion wasthe death of Antony de Lalaing, Count of Hoogstraaten. This brave andgenerous nobleman, the tried friend of the Prince of Orange, and hiscolleague during the memorable scenes at Antwerp, was wounded in the footduring the action, by an accidental discharge of his own pistol. Theinjury, although apparently slight, caused his death in a few days. Thereseemed a strange coincidence in his good and evil fortunes. A casualwound in the hand from his own pistol while he was on his way toBrussels, to greet Alva upon his first arrival, had saved him from thescaffold. And now in his first pitched battle with the Duke, thisseemingly trifling injury in the foot was destined to terminate hisexistence. Another peculiar circumstance had marked the event. At a gaysupper in the course of this campaign, Hoogstraaten had teased CountLouis, in a rough, soldierly way, with his disaster at Jemmingen. He hadaffected to believe that the retreat upon that occasion had beenunnecessary. "We have been now many days in the Netherlands;" said he, "and we have seen nothing of the Spaniards but their backs. "--"And whenthe Duke does break loose, " replied Louis, somewhat nettled, "I warrantyou will see their faces soon enough, and remember them for the rest ofyour life. " The half-jesting remark was thus destined to become a gloomyprophecy. 

This was the only important action daring the campaign. Its perfectsuccess did not warp Alva's purpose, and, notwithstanding the murmurs ofmany of his officers, he remained firm in his resolution. After thetermination of the battle on the Geta, and the Duke's obstinate refusalto pursue his advantage, the Baron de Chevreau dashed his pistol to theground, in his presence, exclaiming that the Duke would never fight. TheGovernor smiled at the young man's chagrin, seemed even to approve hisenthusiasm, but reminded him that it was the business of an officer tofight, of a general to conquer. If the victory were bloodless, so muchthe better for all. 

This action was fought on the 20th of October. A few days afterwards, thePrince made his junction with Genlis at Waveren, a place about threeleagues from Louvain and from Brussels. This auxiliary force was, however, insignificant. There were only five hundred cavalry and threethousand foot, but so many women and children, that it seemed rather anemigrating colony than an invading army. They arrived late. If they hadcome earlier, it would have been of little consequence, for it had beenwritten that no laurels were to be gathered in that campaign. Thefraternal spirit which existed between the Reformers in all countries wasall which could be manifested upon the occasion. The Prince wasfrustrated in his hopes of a general battle, still more bitterlydisappointed by the supineness of the country. Not a voice was raised towelcome the deliverer. Not a single city opened its gates. All wascrouching, silent, abject. The rising, which perhaps would have beenuniversal had a brilliant victory been obtained, was, by the masterlytactics of Alva, rendered an almost inconceivable idea. The mutinousdemonstrations in the Prince's camp became incessant; the soldiers werediscontented and weary. What the Duke had foretold was coming to pass, for the Prince's army was already dissolving. 

Genlis and the other French officers were desirous that the Prince shouldabandon the Netherlands for the present, and come to the rescue of theHuguenots, who had again renewed the religious war under Conde andColigny. The German soldiers, however would listen to no such proposal. They had enlisted to fight the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, and wouldnot hear of making war against Charles IX. In France. The Prince wasobliged to countermarch toward the Rhine. He recrossed the Geta, somewhatto Alva's astonishment, and proceeded in the direction of the Meuse. Theautumn rains, however, had much swollen that river since his passage atthe beginning of the month, so that it could no longer be forded. Heapproached the city of Liege, and summoned their Bishop, as he had doneon his entrance into the country, to grant a free passage to his troops. The Bishop who stood in awe of Alva, and who had accepted his protectionagain refused. The Prince had no time to parley. He was again obliged tocountermarch, and took his way along the high-road to France, stillwatched and closely pursued by Alva, between whose troops and his owndaily skirmishes took place. At Le Quesnoy, the Prince gained a triflingadvantage over the Spaniards; at Cateau Cambresis he also obtained aslight and easy-victory; but by the 17th of November the Duke of Alva hadentered Cateau Cambresis, and the Prince had crossed the frontier ofFrance. 

The Marechal de Cosse, who was stationed on the boundary of France andFlanders, now harassed the Prince by very similar tactics to those ofAlva. He was, however, too weak to inflict any serious damage, althoughstrong enough to create perpetual annoyance. He also sent a secretary tothe Prince, with a formal prohibition, in the name of Charles IX. , against his entering the French territory with his troops. 

Besides these negotiations, conducted by Secretary Favelles on the partof Marechal de Cosse, the King, who was excessively alarmed, alsodespatched the Marechal Gaspar de Schomberg on the same service. Thatenvoy accordingly addressed to the Prince a formal remonstrance in thename of his sovereign. Charles IX. , it was represented, found it verystrange that the Prince should thus enter the French territory. The Kingwas not aware that he had ever given him the least cause for hostileproceedings, could not therefore take it in good part that the Princeshould thus enter France with a "large and puissant army;" because nopotentate, however humble, could tolerate such a proceeding, much less agreat and powerful monarch. Orange was therefore summoned to declare hisintentions, but was at the same, time informed, that if he merely desired"to pass amiably through the country, " and would give assurance, andrequest permission to that, effect, under his hand and seal, his Majestywould take all necessary measures to secure that amiable passage. 

The Prince replied by a reference to the statements which he had alreadymade to Marechal de Cosse. He averred that he had not entered France withevil intent, but rather with a desire to render very humble service tohis Majesty, so far as he could do so with a clear conscience. 

Touching the King's inability to remember having given any occasion tohostile proceedings on the part of the Prince, he replied that he wouldpass that matter by. Although he could adduce many, various, and strongreasons for violent measures, he was not so devoid of understanding asnot to recognize the futility of attempting anything, by his own personalmeans, against so great and powerful a King, in comparison with whom hewas "but a petty companion. "

"Since the true religion, " continued Orange, "is a public and generalaffair, which ought to be preferred to all private matters; since thePrince, as a true Christian, is held by his honor and conscience toprocure, with all his strength, its advancement and establishment inevery place whatever; since, on the other hand, according to the edictpublished in September last by his Majesty, attempts have been made toforce in their consciences all those who are of the Christian religion;and since it has been determined to exterminate the pure word of God, andthe entire exercise thereof, and to permit no other religion than theRoman Catholic, a thing very, prejudicial to the neighbouring nationswhere there is a free exercise of the Christian religion, therefore thePrince would put no faith in the assertions of his Majesty, that it wasnot his Majesty's intentions to force the consciences of any one. "

Having given this very deliberate and succinct contradiction to thestatements of the French King, the Prince proceeded to express hissympathy for the oppressed Christians everywhere. He protested that hewould give them all the aid, comfort, counsel, and assistance that he wasable to give them. He asserted his conviction that the men who professedthe religion demanded nothing else than the glory of God and theadvancement of His word, while in all matters of civil polity they wereready to render obedience to his Majesty. He added that all his doingswere governed by a Christian and affectionate regard for the King and hissubjects, whom his Majesty must be desirous of preserving from extremeruin. He averred, moreover, that if he should perceive any indicationthat those of the religion were pursuing any other object than liberty ofconscience and security for life and property, he would not only withdrawhis assistance from them, but would use the whole strength of his army toexterminate them. In conclusion, he begged the King to believe that thework which the Prince had undertaken was a Christian work, and that hisintentions were good and friendly towards his Majesty. 

 [This very eloquently written letter was dated Ciasonne, December 3rd, 1568. It has never been published. It is in the Collection of MSS, Pivoen concernant, etc. , Hague archives. ]

It was, however, in vain that the Prince endeavoured to induce his armyto try the fortunes of the civil war in France. They had enlisted for theNetherlands, the campaign was over, and they insisted upon being led backto Germany. Schomberg, secretly instructed by the King of France, wasactive in fomenting the discontent, and the Prince was forced to yield. He led his army through Champagne and Lorraine to Strasburg, where theywere disbanded. All the money which the Prince had been able to collectwas paid them. He pawned all his camp equipage, his plate, his furniture. 

What he could not pay in money he made up in promises, sacredly to befulfilled, when he should be restored to his possessions. He evensolemnly engaged, should he return from France alive, and be still unableto pay their arrears of wages, to surrender his person to them as ahostage for his debt. 

Thus triumphantly for Alva, thus miserably for Orange, ended thecampaign. Thus hopelessly vanished the army to which so many proud hopeshad attached themselves. Eight thousand teen had been slain in paltryencounters, thirty thousand were dispersed, not easily to be againcollected. All the funds which the Prince could command had been wastedwithout producing a result. For the present, nothing seemed to afford aground of hope for the Netherlands, but the war of freedom had beenrenewed in France. A band of twelve hundred mounted men-at-arms werewilling to follow the fortunes of the Prince. The three brothersaccordingly; William, Louis, and Henry--a lad of eighteen, who hadabandoned his studies at the university to obey the chivalrous instinctsof his race--set forth early in the following spring to join the bannerof Conde. 

Cardinal Granvelle, who had never taken his eyes or thoughts from theprovinces during his residence at Rome, now expressed himself withexultation. He had predicted, with cold malice, the immediate results ofthe campaign, and was sanguine enough to believe the contest over, andthe Prince for ever crushed. In his letters to Philip he had taken duenotice of the compliments paid to him by Orange in his Justification, inhis Declaration, and in his letter to the Emperor. He had declined tomake any answer to the charges, in order to enrage the Prince the more. He had expressed the opinion, however, that this publication of writingswas not the business of brave soldiers, but of cowards. He made the samereflection upon the alleged intrigues by Orange to procure an embassy onhis own behalf from the Emperor to Philip--a mission which was sure toend in smoke, while it would cost the Prince all credit, not only inGermany but the Netherlands. He felt sure, he said, of the results of theimpending campaign. The Duke of Alva was a man upon whose administrativeprudence and military skill his sovereign could implicitly rely, nor wasthere a person in the ranks of the rebels capable of, conducting anenterprise of such moment. Least of all had the Prince of Orangesufficient brains for carrying on such weighty affairs, according to theopinion which he had formed of him during their long intercourse informer days. 

When the campaign had been decided, and the Prince had again become anexile, Granvelle observed that it was now proved how incompetent he andall his companions were to contend in military skill with the Duke ofAlva. With a cold sneer at motives which he assumed, as a matter ofcourse, to be purely selfish, he said that the Prince had not taken theproper road to recover his property, and that he would now be muchembarrassed to satisfy his creditors. Thus must those ever fall, hemoralized, who would fly higher than they ought; adding, that henceforththe Prince would have enough to do in taking care of madam his wife, ifshe did not change soon in humor and character. 

Meantime the Duke of Alva, having despatched from Cateau Cambresis abrief account of the victorious termination of the campaign, returned intriumph to Brussels. He had certainly amply vindicated his claim to beconsidered the first warrior of the age. By his lieutenants he hadsummarily and rapidly destroyed two of the armies sent against him; hehad annihilated in person the third, by a brilliantly successful battle, in which he had lost seven men, and his enemies seven thousand; and hehad now, by consummate strategy, foiled the fourth and last under theidolized champion of the Netherlands, and this so decisively that, without losing a man, he had destroyed eight thousand rebels, andscattered to the four winds the remaining twenty thousand. Such signalresults might well make even a meeker nature proud. Such vast andfortunate efforts to fix for ever an impregnable military tyranny upon aconstitutional country, might cause a more modest despot to exult. It wasnot wonderful that the haughty, and now apparently omnipotent Alva, should almost assume the god. On his return to Brussels he instituted asuccession of triumphant festivals. The people were called upon torejoice and to be exceeding glad, to strew flowers in his path, to singHosannas in his praise who came to them covered with the blood of thosewho had striven in their defence. The holiday was duly called forth;houses, where funeral hatchments for murdered inmates had beenperpetually suspended, were decked with garlands; the bells, which hadhardly once omitted their daily knell for the victims of an incrediblecruelty, now rang their merriest peals; and in the very square where solately Egmont and Horn, besides many other less distinguished martyrs, had suffered an ignominious death, a gay tournament was held, day afterday, with all the insolent pomp which could make the exhibition mostgalling. 

But even these demonstrations of hilarity were not sufficient. Theconqueror and tamer of the Netherlands felt that a more personal andpalpable deification was necessary for his pride. When Germanicus hadachieved his last triumph over the ancient freedom of those generousraces whose descendants, but lately in possession of a better organizedliberty, Alva had been sent by the second and the worse Tiberius toinsult and to crush, the valiant but modest Roman erected his trophy uponthe plains of Idistavisus. "The army of Tiberius Caesar having subduedthe nations between the Rhine and the Elbe, dedicate this monument toMars, to Jupiter, and to Augustus. " So ran the inscription of Germanicus, without a word of allusion to his own name. The Duke of Alva, on hisreturn from the battle-fields of Brabant and Friesland, reared a colossalstatue of himself, and upon its pedestal caused these lines to beengraved: "To Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Governor of theNetherlands under Philip the Second, for having extinguished sedition, chastised rebellion, restored religion, secured justice, establishedpeace; to the King's most faithful minister this monument is erected. "

 [Bor, iv. 257, 258. Meteren, 61. De Thou, v. 471-473, who saw it after it was overthrown, and who was "as much struck by the beauty of the work as by the insane pride of him who ordered it to be made. "]

So pompous a eulogy, even if truthful and merited, would be sufficientlyinflated upon a tombstone raised to a dead chieftain by his bereavedadmirers. What shall we say of such false and fulsome tribute, not to agod, not to the memory of departed greatness, but to a living, mortalman, and offered not by his adorers but by himself? Certainly, self-worship never went farther than in this remarkable monument, erectedin Alva's honor, by Alva's hands. The statue was colossal, and was placedin the citadel of Antwerp. Its bronze was furnished by the cannoncaptured at Jemmingen. It represented the Duke trampling upon a prostratefigure with two heads, four arms, and one body. The two heads wereinterpreted by some to represent Egmont and Horn, by others, the twoNassaus, William and Louis. Others saw in them an allegorical presentmentof the nobles and commons of the Netherlands, or perhaps an impersonationof the Compromise and the Request. Besides the chief inscription on thepedestal, were sculptured various bas-reliefs; and the spectator, whoseadmiration for the Governor-general was not satiated with the colossalstatue itself, was at liberty to find a fresh, personification of thehero, either in a torch-bearing angel or a gentle shepherd. The work, which had considerable esthetic merit, was executed by an artist namedJacob Jongeling. It remained to astonish and disgust the Netherlandersuntil it was thrown down and demolished by Alva's successor, Requesens. 

It has already been observed that many princes of the Empire had, atfirst warmly and afterwards, as the storm darkened around him, with lessearnestness, encouraged the efforts of Orange. They had, both privatelyand officially, urged the subject upon the attention of the Emperor, andhad solicited his intercession with Philip. It was not an interpositionto save the Prince from chastisement, however the artful pen of Granvellemight distort the facts. It was an address in behalf of religious libertyfor the Netherlands, made by those who had achieved it in their ownpersons, and who were at last enjoying immunity from persecution. It wasan appeal which they who made it were bound to make, for the Netherlandcommissioners had assisted at the consultations by which the Peace ofPassau had been wrung from the reluctant hand of Charles. 

These applications, however, to the Emperor, and through him to the Kingof Spain, had been, as we have seen, accompanied by perpetual advice tothe Prince of Orange, that he should "sit still. " The Emperor hadespoused his cause with apparent frankness, so far as friendly mediationwent, but in the meantime had peremptorily commanded him to refrain fromlevying war upon Alva, an injunction which the Prince had as peremptorilydeclined to obey. The Emperor had even sent especial envoys to the Dukeand to the Prince, to induce them to lay down their arms, but withouteffect. Orange knew which course was the more generous to his oppressedcountry; to take up arms, now that hope had been converted into despairby the furious tyranny of Alva, or to "sit still" and await the result ofthe protocols about to be exchanged between king and kaiser. His arms hadbeen unsuccessful indeed, but had he attended the issue of this sluggishdiplomacy, it would have been even worse for the cause of freedom. Thesympathy of his best friends, at first fervent then lukewarm, had, asdisasters thickened around him, grown at last stone-cold. From the grave, too, of Queen Isabella arose the most importunate phantom in his path. The King of Spain was a widower again, and the Emperor among his sixteenchildren had more than one marriageable daughter. To the titles of"beloved cousin and brother-in-law, " with which Philip had always beengreeted in the Imperial proclamations, the nearer and dearer one ofson-in-law was prospectively added. 

The ties of wedlock were sacred in the traditions of the Habsburg house, but still the intervention was nominally made. As early as August, 1568, the Emperor's minister at Madrid had addressed a memorial to the King. Hehad spoken in warm and strong language of the fate of Egmont and Horn, and had reminded Philip that the executions which were constantly takingplace in the provinces were steadily advancing the Prince of Orange'scause. On the 22nd September, 1568, the six electors had addressed aformal memorial to the Emperor. They thanked him for his previousinterposition in favor of the Netherlands, painted in lively colors thecruelty of Alva, and denounced the unheard-of rigor with which he hadmassacred, not only many illustrious seigniors, but people of everydegree. Notwithstanding the repeated assurances given by the King to thecontrary, they reminded the Emperor, that the inquisition, as well as theCouncil of Trent, had now been established in the Netherlands in fullvigor. They maintained that the provinces had been excluded from theAugsburg religious peace, to which their claim was perfect. NetherGermany was entitled to the same privileges as Upper Germany. They beggedthe Emperor to make manifest his sentiments and their own. It was fittingthat his Catholic Majesty should be aware that the princes of the Empirewere united for the conservation of fatherland and of tranquillity. Tothis end they placed in the Emperor's hands their estates, theirfortunes, and their lives. 

Such was the language of that important appeal to the Emperor in behalfof oppressed millions in the Netherlands, an appeal which Granvelle hadcoldly characterized as an intrigue contrived by Orange to bring abouthis own restoration to favor!

The Emperor, in answer, assured the electoral envoys that he had takenthe affair to heart, and had resolved to despatch his own brother, theArchduke Charles, on a special mission to Spain. 

Accordingly, on the 21st October, 1568, the Emperor presented his brotherwith an ample letter of instructions. He was to recal to Philip's memorythe frequent exhortations made by the Emperor concerning the policypursued in the Netherlands. He was to mention the urgent interpellationsmade to him by the electors and princes of the Empire in their recentembassy. He was to state that the Emperor had recently deputedcommissioners to the Prince of Orange and the Duke of Alva, in order tobring about, if possible, a suspension of arms. He was to represent thatthe great number of men raised by the Prince of Orange in Germany, showedthe powerful support which he had found in the country. Under suchcircumstances he was to show that it had been impossible for the Emperorto decree the ban against him, as the Duke of Alva had demanded. TheArchduke was to request the King's consent to the reconciliation ofOrange, on honorable conditions. He was to demand the substitution ofclemency in for severity, and to insist on the recall of the foreignsoldiery from the Netherlands. 

Furnished with this very warm and stringent letter, the Archduke arrivedin Madrid on the 10th December, 1568. A few days later he presented theKing with a copy of the instructions; those brave words upon which thePrince of Orange was expected to rely instead of his own brave heart andthe stout arms of his followers. Philip having examined the letter, expressed his astonishment that such propositions should be made to him, and by the agency, too, of such a personage as the Archduke. He hadalready addressed a letter to the Emperor, expressing his dissatisfactionat the step now taken. He had been disturbed at the honor thus done tothe Prince of Orange, and at this interference with his own rights. Itwas, in his opinion, an unheard-of proceeding thus to address a monarchof his quality upon matters in which he could accept the law from no man. He promised, however, that a written answer should be given to the letterof instructions. 

On the 20th of January, 1569, that answer was placed in the hands of theArchduke. It was intimated that the paper was a public one, fit to belaid by the Emperor, before the electors; but that the King had alsocaused a confidential one to be prepared, in which his motives andprivate griefs were indicated to Maximilian. 

In the more public document, Philip observed that he had never consideredhimself obliged to justify his conduct, in his own affairs, to others. Hethought, however, that his example of severity would have been receivedwith approbation by princes whose subjects he had thus taught obedience. He could not admit that, on account of the treaties which constituted theNetherlands a circle of the Empire, he was obliged to observe withintheir limits the ordinances of the imperial diet. As to the matter ofreligion, his principal solicitude, since his accession to the crown, hadbeen to maintain the Catholic faith throughout all his states. In thingssacred he could admit no compromise. The Church alone had the right toprescribe rules to the faithful. As to the chastisement inflicted by himupon the Netherland rebels, it would be found that he had not used rigor, as had been charged against him, but, on the, contrary, great clemencyand gentleness. He had made no change in the government of the provinces, certainly none in the edicts, the only statutes binding upon princes. Hehad appointed the Duke of Alva to the regency, because it was his royalwill and pleasure so to appoint him. The Spanish soldiery were necessaryfor the thorough chastisement of the rebels, and could not be at presentremoved. As to the Prince of Orange, whose case seemed the principalmotive for this embassy, and in whose interest so much had been urged, his crimes were so notorious that it was impossible even to attempt tojustify them. He had been, in effect, the author of all the conspiracies, tumults, and seditious which had taken place in the Netherlands. All thethefts, sacrileges, violations of temples, and other misdeeds of whichthese provinces had been the theatre, were, with justice, to be imputedto him. He had moreover, levied an army and invaded his Majesty'sterritories. Crimes so enormous had closed the gate to all clemency. Notwithstanding his respect for the intercession made by the Emperor andthe princes of the Empire, the King could not condescend to grant whatwas now asked of him in regard to the Prince of Orange. As to a trucebetween him and the Duke of Alva, his Imperial Majesty ought to reflectupon the difference between a sovereign and his rebellious vassal, andconsider how indecent and how prejudicial to the King's honor such atreaty must be esteemed. 

So far the public letter, of which the Archduke was furnished with acopy, both in Spanish and in Latin. The private memorandum was intendedfor the Emperor's eyes alone and those of his envoy. In this paper theKing expressed himself with more warmth and in more decided language. Hewas astonished, he said, that the Prince of Orange, in levying an armyfor the purpose of invading the states of his natural sovereign, shouldhave received so much aid and comfort in Germany. It seemed incrediblethat this could not have been prevented by imperial authority. He hadbeen pained that commissioners had been sent to the Prince. He regrettedsuch a demonstration in his favor as had now been made by the mission ofthe Archduke to Madrid. That which, however, had caused the King thedeepest sorrow was, that his Imperial Majesty should wish to persuade himin religious matters to proceed with mildness. The Emperor ought to beaware that no human consideration, no regard for his realms, nothing inthe world which could be represented or risked, would cause him to swerveby a single hair's breadth from his path in the matter of religion. Thispath was the same throughout all his kingdoms. He had ever trod in itfaithfully, and he meant to keep in it perpetually. He would admitneither counsel nor persuasion to the contrary, and should take it ill ifcounsel or persuasion should be offered. He could not but consider theterms of the instructions given to the Archduke as exceeding the limitsof amicable suggestion. They in effect amounted to a menace, and he wasastonished that a menace should be employed, because, with princesconstituted like himself, such means could have but little success. 

On the 23rd of January, 1569, the Archduke presented the King with aspirited reply to the public letter. It was couched in the spirit of theinstructions, and therefore need not be analysed at length. He did notbelieve that his Imperial Majesty would admit any justification of thecourse pursued in the Netherlands. The estates of the Empire would neverallow Philip's reasoning concerning the connexion of those countries withthe Empire, nor that they were independent, except in the particulararticles expressed in the treaty of Augsburg. In 1555, when Charles theFifth and King Ferdinand had settled the religious peace, they had beenassisted by envoys from the Netherlands. The princes of the Empire heldthe ground, therefore, that the religious peace, which alone had saved avestige of Romanism in Germany, should of right extend to the provinces. As to the Prince of Orange, the Archduke would have preferred to saynothing more, but the orders of the Emperor did not allow him to besilent. It was now necessary to put an end to this state of things inLower Germany. The princes of the Empire were becoming exasperated. Herecalled the dangers of the Smalcaldian war--the imminent peril in whichthe Emperor had been placed by the act of a single elector. They whobelieved that Flanders could be governed in the same manner as Italy andSpain were greatly mistaken, and Charles the Fifth had always recognisedthat error. 

This was the sum and substance of the Archduke's mission to Madrid, sofar as its immediate objects were concerned. In the course, however, ofthe interview between this personage and Philip, the King took occasionto administer a rebuke to his Imperial Majesty for his general negligencein religious matters. It was a matter which lay at his heart, he said, that the Emperor, although, as he doubted not, a Christian and Catholicprince, was from policy unaccustomed to make those exteriordemonstrations which matters of faith required. He therefore begged theArchduke to urge this matter upon the attention of his Imperial Majesty. 

The Emperor, despite this solemn mission, had become more thanindifferent before his envoy had reached Madrid. For this indifferencethere were more reasons than one. When the instructions had been drawnup, the death of the Queen of Spain had not been known in Vienna. TheArchduke had even been charged to inform Philip of the approachingmarriages of the two Archduchesses, that of Anne with the King of France, and that of Isabella with the King of Portugal. A few days later, however, the envoy received letters from the Emperor, authorizing him tooffer to the bereaved Philip the hand of the Archduchess Anne. 

 [Herrera (lib. Xv. 707) erroneously states that the Archduke was, at the outset, charged with these two commissions by the Emperor; namely, to negotiate the marriage of the Archduchess Anne with Philip, and to arrange the affairs of the Netherlands. On the contrary, he was empowered to offer Anne to the King of France, and had already imparted his instructions to that effect to Philip, before he received letters from Vienna, written after the death of Isabella had become known. At another interview, he presented this new matrimonial proposition to Philip. These facts are important, for they indicate how completely the objects of the embassy, the commencement of which was so pretentious, were cast aside, that a more advantageous marriage for one of the seven Austrian Archduchesses might be secured. --Compare Correspondance de Philippe]

The King replied to the Archduke, when this proposition was made, that ifhe had regard only to his personal satisfaction, he should remain as hewas. As however he had now no son, he was glad that the proposition hadbeen made, and would see how the affair could be arranged with France. 

Thus the ill success of Orange in Brabant, so disheartening to the Germanprinces most inclined to his cause, and still more the widowhood ofPhilip, had brought a change over the views of Maximilian. On the 17th ofJanuary, 1569, three days before his ambassador had entered upon hisnegotiations, he had accordingly addressed an autograph letter to hisCatholic Majesty. In this epistle, by a few, cold lines, he entirelyannihilated any possible effect which might have been produced by theapparent earnestness of his interposition in favor of the Netherlands. Heinformed the King that the Archduke had been sent, not to vex him, but toconvince him of his friendship. He assured Philip that he should besatisfied with his response, whatever it might be. He entreated only thatit might be drawn up in such terms that the princes and electors to whomit must be shown, might not be inspired with suspicion. 

The Archduke left Madrid on the 4th of March, 1569. He retired, wellpleased with the results of his mission, not because its ostensibleobjects had been accomplished, for those had signally failed, but becausethe King had made him a present of one hundred thousand ducats, and hadpromised to espouse the Archduchess Anne. On the 26th of May, 1569, theEmperor addressed a final reply to Philip, in which he expressly approvedthe King's justification of his conduct. It was founded, he thought, inreason and equity. Nevertheless, it could hardly be shown, as it was, tothe princes and electors, and he had therefore modified many points whichhe thought might prove offensive. 

Thus ended "in smoke, " as Granvelle had foretold, the famous mission ofArchduke Charles. The Holy Roman Emperor withdrew from his pompousintervention, abashed by a rebuke, but consoled by a promise. If it weregood to be guardian of religious freedom in Upper and Nether Germany, itwas better to be father-in-law to the King of Spain and both the Indies. Hence the lame and abrupt conclusion. 

Cardinal Granvelle had been very serviceable in this juncture. He hadwritten to Philip to assure him that, in his, opinion, the Netherlandshad no claim, under the transaction of Augsburg, to require theobservance within their territory of the decrees of the Empire. He added, that Charles the Fifth had only agreed to the treaty of Passau to savehis brother Ferdinand from ruin; that he had only consented to it asEmperor, and had neither directly nor indirectly included the Netherlandswithin its provisions. He stated, moreover, that the Emperor had revokedthe treaty by an act which was never published, in consequence of theearnest solicitations of Ferdinand. 

It has been seen that the King had used this opinion of Granvelle in theresponse presented to the Archduke. Although he did not condescend to anargument, he had laid down the fact as if it were indisputable. He wasstill more delighted to find that Charles had revoked the treaty ofPassau, and eagerly wrote to Granvelle to inquire where the secretinstrument was to be found. The Cardinal replied that it was probablyamong his papers at Brussels, but that he doubted whether it would bepossible to find it in his absence. Whether such a document ever existed, it is difficult to say. To perpetrate such a fraud would have been worthyof Charles; to fable its perpetration not unworthy of the Cardinal. Ineither case, the transaction was sufficiently high-handed and exceedinglydisgraceful. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Age when toleration was a vice An age when to think was a crime Business of an officer to fight, of a general to conquer Cruelties exercised upon monks and papists For faithful service, evil recompense Pathetic dying words of Anne Boleyn Seven Spaniards were killed, and seven thousand rebels The calf is fat and must be killed The illness was a convenient one The tragedy of Don Carlos

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 17. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY18551569-70 [CHAPTER V. ]

 Quarrel between Alva and Queen Elizabeth of England--Spanish funds seized by the English government--Non-intercourse between England and the Netherlands--Stringent measures against heresy--Continued persecution--Individual cases--Present of hat and sword to Alva from the Pope--Determination of the Governor--general to establish a system of arbitrary taxation in the provinces--Assembly of estates at Brussels--Alva's decrees laid before them--The hundredth, tenth, and fifth pence--Opposition of Viglius to the project--Estates of various provinces give a reluctant consent--Determined resistance of Utrecht--The city and province cited before the Blood Council-- Sentence of confiscation and disfranchisement against both--Appeal to the King--Difficulty of collecting the new tax--Commutation for two years--Projects for a pardon-general--Growing disfavour of the Duke--His desire to resign his post--Secret hostility between the Governor and Viglius--Altered sentiments of the President--Opinions expressed by Granvelle--The pardon pompously proclaimed by the Duke at Antwerp--Character of the amnesty--Dissatisfaction of the people with the act--Complaints of Alva to the King--Fortunes and fate of Baron Montigny in Spain--His confinement at Segovia--His attempt to escape--Its failure--His mock trial--His wife's appeal to Philip-- His condemnation--His secret assassination determined upon--Its details, as carefully prescribed and superintended by the King-- Terrible inundation throughout the Netherlands--Immense destruction of life and property in Friesland--Lowestein Castle taken by De Ruyter, by stratagem--Recapture of the place by the Spaniards-- Desperate resistance and death of De Ruyter. 

It was very soon after the Duke's return to Brussels that a quarrelbetween himself and the Queen of England took place. It happened thus. Certain vessels, bearing roving commissions from the Prince of Conde, hadchased into the ports of England some merchantmen coming from Spain withsupplies in specie for the Spanish army in the Netherlands. The tradingships remained in harbor, not daring to leave for their destination, while the privateers remained in a neighbouring port ready to pounce uponthem should they put to sea. The commanders of the merchant fleetcomplained to the Spanish ambassador in London. The envoy laid the casebefore the Queen. The Queen promised redress, and, almost as soon as thepromise had been made, seized upon all the specie in the vessels, amounting to about eight hundred thousand dollars--[1885 exchangerate]--and appropriated the whole to her own benefit. The pretext forthis proceeding was twofold. In the first place, she assured theambassador that she had taken the money into her possession in order thatit might be kept safe for her royal brother of Spain. In the secondplace, she affirmed that the money did not belong to the Spanishgovernment at all, but that it was the property of certain Genoesemerchants, from whom, as she had a right to do, she had borrowed it for ashort period. Both these positions could hardly be correct, but eitherfurnished an excellent reason for appropriating the funds to her own use. 

The Duke of Alva being very much in want of money, was furious wheninformed of the circumstance. He immediately despatched Councillord'Assonleville with other commissioners on a special embassy to the Queenof England. His envoys were refused an audience, and the Duke was taxedwith presumption in venturing, as if he had been a sovereign, to send alegation to a crowned head. No satisfaction was given to Alva, but asecret commissioner was despatched to Spain to discuss the subject there. The wrath of Alva was not appeased by this contemptuous treatment. Chagrined at the loss of his funds, and stung to the quick by a rebukewhich his arrogance had merited, he resorted to a high-handed measure. Heissued a proclamation commanding the personal arrest of every Englishmanwithin the territory of the Netherlands, and the seizure of every articleof property which could be found belonging to individuals of that nation. The Queen retaliated by measures of the same severity againstNetherlanders in England. The Duke followed up his blow by a proclamation(of March 31st, 1569), in which the grievance was detailed, and strictnon-intercourse with England enjoined. While the Queen and the Viceroywere thus exchanging blows, the real sufferers were, of course, theunfortunate Netherlanders. Between the upper and nether millstones ofElizabeth's rapacity and Alva's arrogance, the poor remains of Flemishprosperity were well nigh crushed out of existence. Proclamations andcommissions followed hard upon each other, but it was not till April1573, that the matter was definitely arranged. Before that day arrived, the commerce of the Netherlands had suffered, at the lowest computation, a dead loss of two million florins, not a stiver of which was everreimbursed to the sufferers by the Spanish government. 

Meantime, neither in the complacency of his triumph over William ofOrange, nor in the torrent of his wrath against the English Queen, didthe Duke for a moment lose sight of the chief end of his existence in theNetherlands. The gibbet and the stake were loaded with their dailyvictims. The records of the period are foul with the perpetually renewedbarbarities exercised against the new religion. To the magistrates of thedifferent cities were issued fresh instructions, by which all municipalofficers were to be guided in the discharge of their great duty. Theywere especially enjoined by the Duke to take heed that Catholic midwives, and none other, should be provided for every parish, duly sworn to givenotice within twenty-four hours of every birth which occurred, in orderthat the curate might instantly proceed to baptism. They were alsoordered to appoint certain spies who should keep watch at everyadministration of the sacraments, whether public or private, whether atthe altar or at death-beds, and who should report for exemplarypunishment (that is to say, death by fire) all persons who made derisiveor irreverential gestures, or who did not pay suitable honor to the saidSacraments. Furthermore, in order that not even death itself should cheatthe tyrant of his prey, the same spies were to keep watch at the couch ofthe dying, and to give immediate notice to government of all persons whoshould dare to depart this life without previously receiving extremeunction and the holy wafer. The estates of such culprits, it wasordained, should be confiscated, and their bodies dragged to the publicplace of execution. 

An affecting case occurred in the north of Holland, early in this year, which, for its peculiarity, deserves brief mention. A poor Anabaptist, guilty of no crime but his fellowship with a persecuted sect, had beencondemned to death. He had made his escape, closely pursued by an officerof justice, across a frozen lake. It was late in the winter, and the icehad become unsound. It trembled and cracked beneath his footsteps, but hereached the shore in safety. The officer was not so fortunate. The icegave way beneath him, and he sank into the lake, uttering a cry forsuccor. There were none to hear him, except the fugitive whom he had beenhunting. Dirk Willemzoon, for so was the Anabaptist called, instinctivelyobeying the dictates of a generous nature, returned, crossed the quakingand dangerous ice, at the peril of his life, extended his hand to hisenemy, and saved him from certain death. Unfortunately for human nature, it cannot be added that the generosity, of, the action was met by acorresponding heroism. The officer was desirous, it is true, of avoidingthe responsibility of sacrificing the preserver of his life, but theburgomaster of Asperen sternly reminded him to remember his oath. Heaccordingly arrested the fugitive, who, on the 16th of May following, wasburned to death under the most lingering tortures. 

Almost at the same time four clergymen, the eldest seventy years of age, were executed at the Hague, after an imprisonment of three years. Allwere of blameless lives, having committed no crime save that of havingfavored the Reformation. As they were men of some local eminence, it wasdetermined that they should be executed with solemnity. They werecondemned to the flames, and as they were of the ecclesiasticalprofession, it was necessary before execution that their personalsanctity should be removed. Accordingly, on the 27th May, attired in thegorgeous robes of high mass, they were brought before the Bishop of Boisle Duc. The prelate; with a pair of scissors, cut a lock of hair fromeach of their heads. He then scraped their crowns and the tips of theirfingers with a little silver knife very gently, and without inflictingthe least injury. The mystic oil of consecration was thus supposed to besufficiently removed. The prelate then proceeded to disrobe the victims, saying to each one as he did so, "Eximo tibi vestem justitiae, quemvolens abjecisti;" to which the oldest pastor, Arent Dirkzoon, stoutlyreplied, "imo vestem injustitiae. " The bishop having thus completed thesolemn farce of desecration, delivered the prisoners to the BloodCouncil, begging that they might be handled very gently. Three daysafterwards they were all executed at the stake, having, however, receivedthe indulgence of being strangled before being thrown into the flames. 

It was precisely at this moment, while the agents of the Duke'sgovernment were thus zealously enforcing his decrees, that a specialmessenger arrived from the Pope, bringing as a present to Alva a jewelledhat and sword. It was a gift rarely conferred by the Church, and neversave upon the highest dignitaries, or upon those who had merited her mostsignal rewards by the most shining exploits in her defence. The Duke wasrequested, in the autograph letter from his Holiness which accompaniedthe presents, "to remember, when he put the hat upon his head, that hewas guarded with it as with a helmet of righteousness, and with theshield of God's help, indicating the heavenly crown which was ready forall princes who support the Holy Church and the Roman Catholic faith. "The motto on the sword ran as follows, "Accipe sanctum gladium, menus aDeo in quo dejicies adversarios populi mei Israel. "

The Viceroy of Philip, thus stimulated to persevere in his master'sprecepts by the Vicegerent of Christ, was not likely to swerve from hispath, nor to flinch from his work. It was beyond the power of man'singenuity to add any fresh features of horror to the religiouspersecution under which the provinces were groaning, but a new attackcould be made upon the poor remains of their wealth. 

The Duke had been dissatisfied with the results of his financialarrangements. The confiscation of banished and murdered heretics had notproved the inexhaustible mine he had boasted. The stream of gold whichwas to flow perennially into the Spanish coffers, soon ceased to flow atall. This was inevitable. Confiscations must, of necessity, offer but aprecarious supply to any treasury. It was only the frenzy of an Alvawhich could imagine it possible to derive a permanent revenue from such asource. It was, however, not to be expected that this man, whose tyrannyamounted to insanity, could comprehend the intimate connection betweenthe interests of a people and those of its rulers, and he was determinedto exhibit; by still more fierce and ludicrous experiments, how easily agreat soldier may become a very paltry financier. 

He had already informed his royal master that, after a very short time, remittances would no longer be necessary from Spain to support theexpenses of the array and government in the Netherlands. He promised, onthe contrary, that at least two millions yearly should be furnished bythe provinces, over and above the cost of their administration, to enrichthe treasury at home. Another Peru had already been discovered by hisingenuity, and one which was not dependent for its golden fertility onthe continuance of that heresy which it was his mission to extirpate. Hisboast had been much ridiculed in Madrid, where he had more enemies thanfriends, and he was consequently the more eager to convert it intoreality. Nettled by the laughter with which all his schemes of politicaleconomy had been received at home, he was determined to show that hiscreative statesmanship was no less worthy of homage than his indisputablegenius for destruction. 

His scheme was nothing more than the substitution of an arbitrary systemof taxation by the Crown, for the legal and constitutional right of theprovinces to tax themselves. It was not a very original thought, but itwas certainly a bold one. For although a country so prostrate mightsuffer the imposition of any fresh amount of tyranny, yet it was doubtfulwhether she had sufficient strength remaining to bear the weight after ithad been imposed. It was certain, moreover, that the new system wouldcreate a more general outcry than any which had been elicited even by thereligious persecution. There were many inhabitants who were earnest andsincere Catholics, and who therefore considered themselves safe from thehangman's hands, while there were none who could hope to escape the gripeof the new tax-gatherers. Yet the Governor was not the man to be dauntedby the probable unpopularity of the measure. Courage he possessed in morethan mortal proportion. He seemed to have set himself to the task ofascertaining the exact capacity of the country for wretchedness. He wasresolved accurately to gauge its width and its depth; to know how much ofphysical and moral misery might be accumulated within its limits, beforeit should be full to overflowing. Every man, woman, and child in thecountry had been solemnly condemned to death; and arbitrary executions, in pursuance of that sentence, had been daily taking place. Millions ofproperty had been confiscated; while the most fortunate and industrious, as well as the bravest of the Netherlanders, were wandering penniless indistant lands. Still the blows, however recklessly distributed, had notstruck every head. The inhabitants had been decimated, not annihilated, and the productive energy of the country, which for centuries hadpossessed so much vitality, was even yet not totally extinct. In thewreck of their social happiness, in the utter overthrow of theirpolitical freedom, they had still preserved the shadow, at least, of onegreat bulwark against despotism. The king could impose no tax. 

The "Joyeuse Entree" of Brabant, as well as the constitutions ofFlanders, Holland, Utrecht, and all the other provinces, expresslyprescribed the manner in which the requisite funds for government shouldbe raised. The sovereign or his stadholder was to appear before theestates in person, and make his request for money. It was for theestates, after consultation with their constituents, to decide whether ornot this petition (Bede) should be granted, and should a single branchdecline compliance, the monarch was to wait with patience for a morefavorable moment. Such had been the regular practice in the Netherlands, nor had the reigning houses often had occasion to accuse the estates ofparsimony. It was, however, not wonderful that the Duke of Alva should beimpatient at the continued existence of this provincial privilege. Acountry of condemned criminals, a nation whose universal neck might atany moment be laid upon the block without ceremony, seemed hardly fit tohold the purse-strings, and to dispense alms to its monarch. The Viceroywas impatient at this arrogant vestige of constitutional liberty. Moreover, although he had taken from the Netherlanders nearly all theattributes of freemen, he was unwilling that they should enjoy theprincipal privilege of slaves, that of being fed and guarded at theirmaster's expense. He had therefore summoned a general assembly of theprovincial estates in Brussels, and on the 20th of March, 1569, hadcaused the following decrees to be laid before them. 

A tax of the hundredth penny, or one per cent. , was laid upon allproperty, real and personal, to be collected instantly. This impost, however, was not perpetual, but only to be paid once, unless, of course, it should suit the same arbitrary power by which it was assessed torequire it a second time. 

A tax of the twentieth penny; or five per cent. , was laid upon everytransfer of real estate. This imposition was perpetual. 

Thirdly, a tag of the tenth penny, or ten per cent. , was assessed uponevery article of merchandise or personal-property, to be paid as often asit should be sold. This tax was likewise to be perpetual. 

The consternation in the assembly when these enormous propositions wereheard, can be easily imagined. People may differ about religious dogmas. In the most bigoted persecutions there will always be many who, fromconscientious although misguided motives, heartily espouse the cause ofthe bigot. Moreover, although resistance to tyranny in matters of faith, is always the most ardent of struggles, and is supported by the mostsublime principle in our nature, yet all men are not of the sterner stuffof which martyrs are fashioned. In questions relating to the world above;many may be seduced from their convictions by interest, or forced intoapostasy by violence. Human nature is often malleable or fusible, wherereligious interests are concerned, but in affairs material and financialopposition to tyranny is apt to be unanimous. 

The interests of commerce and manufacture, when brought into conflictwith those of religion, had often proved victorious in the Netherlands. This new measure, however--this arbitrary and most prodigious system oftaxation, struck home to every fireside. No individual, however adroit ortime-serving, could parry the blow by which all were crushed. 

It was most unanswerably maintained in the assembly, that this tenth andtwentieth penny would utterly destroy the trade and the manufactures ofthe country. The hundredth penny, or the one per cent. Assessment on allproperty throughout the land, although a severe subsidy, might be bornewith for once. To pay, however, a twentieth part of the full value of ahouse to the government as often as the house was sold, was a mostintolerable imposition. A house might be sold twenty times in a year, andin the course, therefore, of the year be confiscated in its whole value. It amounted either to a prohibition of all transfers of real estate, orto an eventual surrender of its price. 

As to the tenth penny upon articles of merchandise, to be paid by thevendor at every sale, the scheme was monstrous. All trade andmanufactures must, of necessity, expire, at the very first attempt to putit in execution. The same article might be sold ten times in a week, andmight therefore pay one hundred per cent. Weekly. An article, moreover, was frequently compounded of ten, different articles, each of which mightpay one hundred per cent. , and therefore the manufactured article, if tentimes transferred, one thousand per cent. Weekly. Quick transfers andunfettered movements being the nerves and muscles of commerce, it wasimpossible for it long to survive the paralysis of such a tax. The impostcould never be collected, and would only produce an entire prostration ofindustry. It could by no possibility enrich the government. 

The King could not derive wealth from the ruin of his subjects; yet toestablish such a system was the stern and absurd determination of theGovernor-general. The infantine simplicity of the effort seemedincredible. The ignorance was as sublime as the tyranny. The most lucidarguments and the most earnest remonstrances were all in vain. Too opaqueto be illumined by a flood of light, too hard to be melted by a nation'stears, the Viceroy held calmly to his purpose. To the keen and vividrepresentations of Viglius, who repeatedly exhibited all that wasoppressive and all that was impossible in the tax, he answered simplythat it was nothing more nor less than the Spanish "alcabala, " and thathe derived 50, 000 ducats yearly from its imposition in his own city ofAlva. 

Viglius was upon this occasion in opposition to the Duke. It is butjustice to state that the learned jurisconsult manfully and repeatedlyconfronted the wrath of his superior in many a furious discussion incouncil upon the subject. He had never essayed to snatch one brand fromthe burning out of the vast holocaust of religious persecution, but hewas roused at last by the threatened destruction of all the materialinterests of the land. He confronted the tyrant with courage, sustainedperhaps by the knowledge that the proposed plan was not the King's, butthe Governor's. He knew that it was openly ridiculed in Madrid, and thatPhilip, although he would probably never denounce it in terms, wascertainly not eager for its execution. The President enlarged upon thedifference which existed between the condition of a sparsely-peopledcountry of herdsmen and laborers in Spain, and the densely-thronged andbustling cities of the Netherlands. If the Duke collected 50, 000 ducatsyearly from the alcabala in Alva, he could only offer him hiscongratulations, but could not help assuring him that the tax would provean impossibility in the provinces. To his argument, that the impost wouldfall with severity not upon the highest nor the lowest classes ofsociety, neither upon the great nobility and clergy nor on the rusticpopulation, but on the merchants and manufacturers, it was answered bythe President that it was not desirable to rob Saint Peter's altar inorder to build one to Saint Paul. It might have been simpler to suggestthat the consumer would pay the tax, supposing it were ever paid at all, but the axiom was not so familiar three centuries ago as now. 

Meantime, the report of the deputies to the assembly on their return totheir constituents had created the most intense excitement and alarm. Petition after petition, report after report, poured in upon thegovernment. There was a cry of despair, and almost of defiance, which hadnot been elicited by former agonies. To induce, however, a more favorabledisposition on the part of the Duke, the hundredth penny, once for all, was conceded by the estates. The tenth and twentieth occasioned--severeand protracted struggles, until the various assemblies of the patrimonialprovinces, one after another, exhausted, frightened, and hoping that noserious effort would be made to collect the tax, consented, under certainrestrictions, to its imposition. --The principal conditions were a protestagainst the legality of the proceeding, and the provision that theconsent of no province should be valid until that of all had beenobtained. Holland, too, was induced to give in its adhesion, although thecity of Amsterdam long withheld its consent; but the city and province ofUtrecht were inexorable. They offered a handsome sum in commutation, increasing the sum first proposed from 70, 000 to 200, 000 florins, butthey resolutely refused to be saddled with this permanent tax. Theirstout resistance was destined to cost them dear. In the course of a fewmonths Alva, finding them still resolute in their refusal, quartered theregiment of Lombardy upon them, and employed other coercive measures tobring them to reason. The rude, insolent, unpaid and thereforeinsubordinate soldiery were billeted in every house in the city, so thatthe insults which the population were made to suffer by the intrusion ofthese ruffians at their firesides would soon, it was thought, compel theassent of the province to the tax. It was not so, however. The city andthe province remained stanch in their opposition. Accordingly, at theclose of the year (15th. December, 1569) the estates were summoned toappear within fourteen days before the Blood Council. At the appointedtime the procureur-general was ready with an act of accusation, accompanied, as was usually the case, with a simultaneous sentence ofcondemnation. The indictment revived and recapitulated all previousoffences committed in the city and the province, particularly during thetroubles of 1566, and at the epoch of the treaty with Duchess Margaret. The inhabitants and the magistrates, both in their individual and publiccapacities, were condemned for heresy, rebellion, and misprision. Thecity and province were accordingly pronounced guilty of high treason, were deprived of all their charters, laws, privileges, freedoms, andcustoms, and were declared to have forfeited all their property, real andpersonal, together with all tolls, rents, excises, and imposts, the wholebeing confiscated to the benefit of his Majesty. 

The immediate execution of the sentence was, however, suspended, to allowthe estates opportunity to reply. An enormous mass of pleadings, replies, replications, rejoinders, and apostilles was the result, which few eyeswere destined to read, and least of all those to whom they were nominallyaddressed. They were of benefit to none save in the shape of fees whichthey engendered to the gentlemen of the robe. It was six months, however, before the case was closed. As there was no blood to be shed, a summaryprocess was not considered necessary. At last, on the 14th July, thevoluminous pile of documents was placed before Vargas. It was the firsttime he had laid eyes upon them, and they were, moreover, written in alanguage of which he did not understand a word. Such, however, was hiscapacity for affairs, that a glance only at the outside of the caseenabled him to form his decision. Within half an hour afterwards, bootedand spurred, he was saying mass in the church of Saint Gudule, on his wayto pronounce sentence at Antwerp. That judgment was rendered the sameday, and confirmed the preceding act of condemnation. Vargas went to histask as cheerfully as if it had been murder. The act of outlawry andbeggary was fulminated against the city and province, and a handsomeamount of misery for others, and of plunder for himself, was the resultof his promptness. Many thousand citizens were ruined, many millions ofproperty confiscated. 

Thus was Utrecht deprived of all its ancient liberties, as a punishmentfor having dared to maintain them. The clergy, too, of the province, having invoked the bull "in Coena Domini, " by which clerical property wasdeclared exempt from taxation, had excited the wrath of the Duke. Towield so slight a bulrush against the man who had just been girded withthe consecrated and jewelled sword of the Pope, was indeed but a feebleattempt at defence. Alva treated the Coena Domini with contempt, but heimprisoned the printer who had dared to-republish it at this juncture. Finding, moreover, that it had been put in press by the orders of no lessa person than Secretary La Torre, he threw that officer also into prison, besides suspending him from his functions for a year. 

The estates of the province and the magistracy of the city appealed tohis Majesty from the decision of the Duke. The case did not directlyconcern the interests of religion, for although the heretical troubles of1566 furnished the nominal motives of the condemnation, the resistance tothe tenth and twentieth penny was the real crime for which they weresuffering. The King, therefore, although far from clement, was notextremely rigorous. He refused the object of the appeal, but he did notput the envoys to death by whom it was brought to Madrid. This would havecertainly been the case in matters strictly religious, or even had thecommissioners arrived two years before, but even Philip believed, perhaps, that for the moment almost enough innocent blood had been shed. At any rate he suffered the legates from Utrecht to return, not withtheir petition, granted, but at least with their heads upon theirshoulders. Early in the following year, the provinces still remainingunder martial law, all the Utrecht charters were taken into thepossession of government, and deposited in the castle of Vredenberg. Itwas not till after the departure of Alva, that they were restored;according to royal command, by the new governor, Requesens. 

By the middle of the year 1569, Alva wrote to the King, with greatcheerfulness of tone, announcing that the estates of the provinces hadall consented to the tax. He congratulated his Majesty upon the fact thatthis income might thenceforth be enjoyed in perpetuity, and that it wouldbring at least two millions yearly into his coffers, over and above theexpenses of government. The hundredth penny, as he calculated, wouldamount to at least five millions. 

He was, however, very premature in his triumph, for the estates were notlong in withdrawing a concession which had either been wrung from them byviolence or filched from them by misrepresentation. Taking the groundthat the assent of all had been stipulated before that of any one shouldbe esteemed valid, every province now refused to enforce or to permit thecollection of the tenth or the twentieth penny within their limits. Direwere the threatenings and the wrath of the Viceroy, painfully protractedthe renewed negotiations with the estates. At last, a compromise waseffected, and the final struggle postponed. Late in the summer it wasagreed that the provinces should pay two millions yearly for the twofollowing years, the term to expire in the month of August, 1571. Tillthat period, therefore, there was comparative repose upon the subject. 

The question of a general pardon had been agitated for more than a year, both in Brussels and Madrid. Viglius, who knew his countrymen better thanthe Viceroy knew them, had written frequently to his friend Hopper, onthe propriety of at once proclaiming an amnesty. There had also been manyconferences between himself and the Duke of Alva, and he had furnishedmore than one draught for the proposed measure. The President knew fullwell that the point had been reached beyond which the force of tyrannycould go no further. All additional pressure, he felt sure, could onlyproduce reaction, the effect of which might be to drive the Spaniardsfrom the Netherlands. There might then be another game to play. The headsof those who had so assiduously served the government throughout itsterrible career might, in their turn, be brought to the block, and theirestates be made to enrich the Treasury. Moreover, there were symptomsthat Alva's favor was on the wane. The King had not been remarkablystruck with the merits of the new financial measures, and had expressedmuch, anxiety lest the trade of the country should suffer. The Duke wasknown to be desirous of his recal. His health was broken, he felt that hewas bitterly detested throughout the country, and he was certain that hisenemies at Madrid were fast undermining his credit. He seemed also tohave a dim suspicion that his mission was accomplished in theNetherlands; that as much blood had been shed at present as the landcould easily absorb. He wrote urgently and even piteously to Philip, onthe subject of his return. "Were your Majesty only pleased to take mefrom this country, " he said, "I should esteem it as great a favor as ifyour Majesty had given me life. " He swore "by the soul of the Duchess, "that he "would rather be cut into little pieces" than retire from hispost were his presence necessary, but he expressed the opinion thatthrough his exertions affairs had been placed in such train that theywere sure to roll on smoothly to the end of time. "At present, and forthe future, " he wrote, "your Majesty is and will be more strictly obeyedthan any of your predecessors;" adding, with insane self-complacency, "and all this has been accomplished without violence. " He also assuredhis Majesty as to the prosperous condition of financial affairs. His taxwas to work wonders. He had conversed with capitalists who had offeredhim four millions yearly for the tenth penny, but he had refused, becausehe estimated the product at a much higher figure. The hundredth pennycould not be rated lower than five millions. It was obvious, therefore, that instead of remitting funds to the provinces, his Majesty would, forthe future, derive from them a steady and enormous income. Moreover, heassured the King that there was at present no one to inspire anxiety fromwithin or without. The only great noble of note in the country was theDuke of Aerschot, who was devoted to his Majesty, and who, moreover, "amounted to very little, " as the King well knew. As for the Prince ofOrange, he would have business enough in keeping out of the clutches ofhis creditors. They had nothing to fear from Germany. England would donothing as long as Germany was quiet; and France was sunk too low to befeared at all. 

Such being the sentiments of the Duke, the King was already consideringthe propriety of appointing his successor. All this was known to thePresident. He felt instinctively that more clemency was to be expectedfrom that successor, whoever he might be; and he was satisfied, therefore, that he would at least not be injuring his own position byinclining at this late hour to the side of mercy. His opposition to thetenth and twentieth penny had already established a breach betweenhimself and the Viceroy, but he felt secretly comforted by the reflectionthat the King was probably on the same side with himself. Alva stillspoke of him, to be sure, both in public and private, with approbation;taking occasion to commend him frequently, in his private letters, as aservant upright and zealous, as a living register, without whoseuniversal knowledge of things and persons he should hardly know which wayto turn. The President, however, was growing weary of his own sycophancy. He begged his friend Joachim to take his part, if his Excellency shouldwrite unfavorably about his conduct to the King. He seemed to havechanged his views of the man concerning whose "prudence and gentleness"he could once turn so many fine periods. He even expressed some anxietylest doubts should begin to be entertained as to the perfect clemency ofthe King's character. "Here is so much confiscation and bloodshed goingon, " said he, "that some taint of cruelty or avarice may chance tobespatter the robe of his Majesty. " He also confessed that he hadoccasionally read in history of greater benignity than was now exercisedagainst the poor Netherlanders. Had the learned Frisian arrived at thesehumane conclusions at a somewhat earlier day, it might perhaps have beenbetter for himself and for his fatherland. Had he served his country asfaithfully as he had served Time, and Philip, and Alva, his lands wouldnot have been so broad, nor his dignities so numerous, but he would nothave been obliged, in his old age; to exclaim, with whimsical petulance, that "the faithful servant is always a perpetual ass. "

It was now certain that an act of amnesty was in contemplation by theKing. Viglius had furnished several plans, which, however, had been somuch disfigured by the numerous exceptions suggested by Alva, that thePresident could scarce recognize his work. Granvelle, too, had frequentlyurged the pardon on the attention of Philip. The Cardinal was too astutenot to perceive that the time had arrived when a continued severity couldonly defeat its own work. He felt that the country could not be renderedmore abject, the spirit of patriotism more apparently extinct. A show ofclemency, which would now cost nothing, and would mean nothing, might bemore effective than this profuse and wanton bloodshed. 

He saw plainly that the brutality of Alva had already overshot the mark. Too politic, however, openly to reprove so powerful a functionary, hecontinued to speak of him and of his administration to Philip in terms ofexalted eulogy. He was a "sage seignior, " a prudent governor, one on whomhis Majesty could entirely repose. He was a man of long experience, trained all his life to affairs, and perfectly capable of giving a goodaccount of everything to which he turned his hands. He admitted, however, to other correspondents, that the administration of the sage seignior, onwhom his Majesty could so implicitly rely, had at last "brought thatprovinces into a deplorable condition. "

Four different forms of pardon had been sent from Madrid, toward theclose of 1569. From these four the Duke was to select one, and carefullyto destroy the other three. It was not, however, till July of thefollowing year that the choice was made, and the Viceroy in readiness toannounce the pardon. On the 14th of that month a great festival was heldat Antwerp, for the purpose of solemnly proclaiming the long expectedamnesty. In the morning, the Duke, accompanied by a brilliant staff, andby a long procession of clergy in their gorgeous robes, paraded throughthe streets of the commercial capital, to offer up prayers and hear massin the cathedral. The Bishop of Arras then began a sermon upon theblessings of mercy, with a running commentary upon the royal clemencyabout to be exhibited. In the very outset, however, of his discourse, hewas seized with convulsions, which required his removal from the pulpit;an incident which was not considered of felicitous augury. In theafternoon, the Duke with his suite appeared upon the square in front ofthe Town House. Here a large scaffolding or theatre had been erected. Theplatform and the steps which led to it were covered with scarlet cloth. Athrone, covered with cloth of gold, was arranged in the most elevatedposition for the Duke. On the steps immediately below him were placed twoof the most beautiful women in Antwerp, clad in allegorical garments torepresent righteousness and peace. The staircase and platform were linedwith officers, the square was beset with troops, and filled to its utmostverge with an expectant crowd of citizens. Toward the close of a summer'safternoon, the Duke wearing the famous hat and sword of the Pope, tookhis seat on the throne with all the airs of royalty. After a fewpreliminary ceremonies, a civil functionary, standing between twoheralds; then recited the long-expected act of grace. His reading, however, was so indistinct, that few save the soldiers in the immediatevicinity of the platform could hear a word of the document. 

This effect was, perhaps, intentional. Certainly but little enthusiasmcould be expected from the crowd, had the text of the amnesty been heard. It consisted of three parts--a recitation of the wrongs committed, astatement of the terms of pardon, and a long list of exceptions. All thesins of omission and commission, the heresy, the public preaching, theimage-breaking, the Compromise, the confederacy, the rebellion, werepainted in lively colors. Pardon, however, was offered to all those whohad not rendered themselves liable to positive impeachment, in case theyshould make their peace with the Church before the expiration of twomonths, and by confession and repentance obtain their absolution. Theexceptions, however, occupied the greater part of the document. When thegeneral act of condemnation had been fulminated by which allNetherlanders were sentenced to death, the exceptions had been very few, and all the individuals mentioned by name. In the act of pardon, theexceptions comprehended so many classes of inhabitants, that it wasimpossible for any individual to escape a place in, some one of thecategories, whenever it should please the government to take his life. Expressly excluded from the benefit of the act were all ministers, teachers, dogmatizers, and all who had favored and harbored suchdogmatizers and preachers; all those in the least degree implicated inthe image-breaking; all who had ever been individually suspected ofheresy or schism; all who had ever signed or favored the Compromise orthe Petition to the Regent; all those who had taken up arms, contributedmoney, distributed tracts; all those in any manner chargeable withmisprision, or who had failed to denounce those guilty of heresy. Allpersons, however, who were included in any of these classes of exceptionsmight report themselves within six months, when, upon confession of theircrime, they might hope for a favorable consideration of their case. 

Such, in brief, and stripped of its verbiage, was this amnesty for whichthe Netherlands had so long been hoping. By its provisions, not a man orwoman was pardoned who had ever committed a fault. The innocent alonewere forgiven. Even they were not sure of mercy, unless they shouldobtain full absolution from the Pope. More certainly than ever would theaccustomed rigor be dealt to all who had committed any of those positiveacts for which so many had already lost their heads. The clause by whicha possibility of pardon was hinted to such criminals, provided they wouldconfess and surrender, was justly regarded as a trap. No one was deceivedby it. No man, after the experience of the last three years; wouldvoluntarily thrust his head into the lion's mouth, in order to fix itmore firmly upon his shoulders. No man who had effected his escape waslikely to play informer against himself, in hope of obtaining a pardonfrom which all but the most sincere and zealous Catholics were in realityexcepted. 

The murmur and discontent were universal, therefore, as soon as the termsof the act became known. Alva wrote to the King, to be sure, "that thepeople were entirely satisfied, save only the demagogues, who couldtolerate no single exception from the amnesty; but he could neitherdeceive his sovereign nor himself by such statements. " Certainly, Philipwas totally disappointed in the effect which he had anticipated from themeasure. He had thought "it would stop the mouths of many people. " On thecontrary, every mouth in the Netherlands became vociferous to denouncethe hypocrisy by which a new act of condemnation had been promulgatedunder the name of a pardon. Viglius, who had drawn up an instrument ofmuch ampler clemency, was far from satisfied with the measure which hadbeen adopted. "Certainly, " he wrote to his confidant, "a more benignantmeasure was to be expected from so merciful a Prince. After four yearshave past, to reserve for punishment and for execution all those whoduring the tumult did not, through weakness of mind, render as muchservice to government as brave men might have offered, is altogetherunexampled. "

Alva could not long affect to believe in the people's satisfaction. Hesoon wrote to the King, acknowledging that the impression produced by thepardon was far from favorable. He attributed much evil effect to thesevere censure which was openly pronounced upon the act by members of thegovernment, both in Spain and the Netherlands. He complained that Hopperhad written to Viglius, that "the most severe of the four forms of pardontransmitted had been selected;" the fact being, that the most lenient onehad been adopted. If this were so, whose imagination is powerful enoughto portray the three which had been burned, and which, although moresevere than the fierce document promulgated, were still entitled acts ofpardon? The Duke spoke bitterly of the manner in which influentialpersons in Madrid had openly abominated the cruel form of amnesty whichhad been decreed. His authority in the Netherlands was alreadysufficiently weakened, he said, and such censure upon his actions fromhead-quarters did not tend to improve it. "In truth, " he added, almostpathetically, "it is not wonderful that the whole nation should beill-disposed towards me, for I certainly have done nothing to make themlove me. At the same time, such language transmitted from Madrid does notincrease their tenderness. "

In short, viewed as a measure by which government, without disarmingitself of its terrible powers, was to pacify the popular mind, theamnesty was a failure. Viewed as a net, by which fresh victims should beenticed to entangle themselves, who had already made their way into thedistant atmosphere of liberty, it was equally unsuccessful. A few veryobscure individuals made their appearance to claim the benefit of theact, before the six months had expired. With these it was thoughtexpedient to deal gently; but no one was deceived by such clemency. Asthe common people expressed themselves, the net was not spread on thatoccasion for finches. 

The wits of the Netherlands, seeking relief from their wretched conditionin a still more wretched quibble, transposed two letters of the wordPardona, and re-baptized the new measure Pandora. The conceit was notwithout meaning. The amnesty, descending from supernal regions, had beenushered into the presence of mortals as a messenger laden with heavenlygifts. The casket, when opened, had diffused curses instead of blessings. There, however, the classical analogy ended, for it would have puzzledall the pedants of Louvain to discover Hope lurking, under any disguise, within the clauses of the pardon. 

Very soon after the promulgation of this celebrated act, the new bride ofPhilip, Anne of Austria, passed through the Netherlands, on her way toMadrid. During her brief stay in Brussels, she granted an interview tothe Dowager Countess of Horn. That unhappy lady, having seen her eldestson, the head of her illustrious house, so recently perish on thescaffold, wished to make a last effort in behalf of the remaining one, then closely confined in the prison of Segovia. The Archduchess solemnlypromised that his release should be the first boon which she wouldrequest of her royal bridegroom, and the bereaved countess retired almostwith a hope. 

A short digression must here be allowed, to narrate the remainingfortunes of that son, the ill-starred Seigneur de Montigny. His missionto Madrid in company of the Marquis Berghen has been related in aprevious volume. The last and most melancholy scene in the life of hisfellow envoy has been described in a recent chapter. After that ominousevent, Montigny became most anxious to effect his retreat from Spain. Hehad been separated more than a year from his few months' bride. He wasnot imprisoned, but he felt himself under the most rigid although secretinspection. It was utterly impossible for him to obtain leave to return, or to take his departure without permission. On one occasion, having leftthe city accidentally for a ride on horseback to an adjoining village, hefound himself surrounded by an unexpected escort of forty troopers. Still, however, the King retained a smiling mien. To Montigny's repeatedand urgent requests for dismissal, Philip graciously urged his desire fora continuance of his visit. He was requested to remain in order toaccompany his sovereign upon that journey to the Netherlands which wouldnot be much longer delayed. In his impatience anything seemed preferableto the state of suspense in which he was made to linger. He eagerlyoffered, if he were accused or suspected of crime, to surrender himselfto imprisonment if he only could be brought to trial. Soon after Alva'sarrival in the Netherlands, the first part of this offer was accepted. Nosooner were the arrests of Egmont and Horn known in Madrid, than Montignywas deprived of his liberty, and closely confined in the alcazar ofSegovia. Here he remained imprisoned for eight or nine months in a hightower, with no attendant save a young page, Arthur de Munter, who hadaccompanied him from the Netherlands. Eight men-at-arms were expresslyemployed to watch over him and to prevent his escape. 

One day towards the middle of July, 1568, a band of pilgrims, some ofthem in Flemish attire, went through the streets of Segovia. They werechanting, as was customary on such occasions, a low, monotonous song, inwhich Montigny, who happened to be listening, suddenly recognized thelanguage of his fatherland. His surprise was still greater when, uponpaying closer attention, he distinguished the terrible meaning of thesong. The pretended pilgrims, having no other means of communication withthe prisoner, were singing for his information the tragic fates of hisbrother, Count Horn, and of his friend, Count Egmont. Mingled with thestrain were warnings of his own approaching doom; if he were not able toeffect his escape before it should be too late. Thus by this friendlymasquerade did Montigny learn the fate of his brother, which otherwise, in that land of terrible secrecy, might have been concealed from him forever. 

The hint as to his own preservation was not lost upon him; and he at onceset about a plan of escape. He succeeded in gaining over to his interestsone of the eight soldiers by whom he was guarded, and he was thus enabledto communicate with many of his own adherents without the prison walls. His major-domo had previously been permitted to furnish his master'stable with provisions dressed by his own cook. A correspondence was nowcarried on by means of letters concealed within the loaves of bread sentdaily to the prisoner. In the same way files were provided for sawingthrough his window-bars. A very delicate ladder of ropes, by which he wasto effect his escape into the court below, was also transmitted. The planhad been completely arranged. A certain Pole employed in the enterprisewas to be at Hernani, with horses in readiness to convey them to SanSebastian. There a sloop had been engaged, and was waiting their arrival. Montigny, accordingly, in a letter enclosed within a loaf of bread--thelast, as he hoped, which he should break in prison--was instructed, aftercutting off his beard and otherwise disguising his person, to execute hisplan and join his confederates at Hernani. Unfortunately, the major-domoof Montigny was in love. Upon the eve of departure from Spain, hisfarewell interview with his mistress was so much protracted that the careof sending the bread was left to another. The substitute managed sounskilfully that the loaf was brought to the commandant of the castle, and not to the prisoner. The commandant broke the bread, discovered theletter, and became master of the whole plot. All persons engaged in theenterprise were immediately condemned to death, and the Spanish soldierexecuted without delay. The others being considered, on account of theirloyalty to their master as deserving a commutation of punishment, weresent to the galleys. The major-domo, whose ill-timed gallantry had thuscost Montigny his liberty, received two hundred lashes in addition. All, however, were eventually released from imprisonment. 

The unfortunate gentleman was now kept in still closer confinement in hislonely tower. As all his adherents had been disposed of, he could nolonger entertain a hope of escape. In the autumn of this year (1568) itwas thought expedient by Alva to bring his case formally before the BloodCouncil. Montigny had committed no crime, but he was one of that band ofpopular, nobles whose deaths had been long decreed. Letters wereaccordingly sent to Spain, empowering certain functionaries there toinstitute that preliminary examination, which, as usual, was to be theonly trial vouchsafed. A long list of interrogatories was addressed tohim on February 7th, 1569, in his prison at Segovia. A week afterwards, he was again visited by the alcalde, who read over to him the answerswhich he had made on the first occasion, and required him to confirmthem. He was then directed to send his procuration to certain persons inthe Netherlands, whom he might wish to appear in his behalf. Montignycomplied by sending several names, with a clause of substitution. All thepersons thus appointed, however, declined to act, unless they could befurnished with a copy of the procuration, and with a statement of thearticles of accusation. This was positively refused by the Blood Council. Seeing no possibility of rendering service to their friend by performingany part in this mockery of justice, they refused to accept theprocuration. They could not defend a case when not only the testimony, but even the charges against the accused were kept secret. An individualwas accordingly appointed by government to appear in the prisoner'sbehalf. 

Thus the forms of justice were observed, and Montigny, a close prisonerin the tower of Segovia, was put upon trial for his life in Brussels. Certainly nothing could exceed the irony of such a process. The advocatehad never seen his client, thousands of miles away, and was allowed tohold no communication with him by letter. The proceedings were institutedby a summons, addressed by the Duke of Alva to Madame de Montigny inBrussels. That unhappy lady could only appeal to the King. "Convinced, "she said, "that her husband was innocent of the charges brought againsthim, she threw herself, overwhelmed and consumed by tears and misery, athis Majesty's feet. She begged the King to remember the past services ofMontigny, her own youth, and that she had enjoyed his company but fourmonths. By all these considerations, and by the passion of Jesus Christ, she adjured the monarch to pardon any faults which her husband might havecommitted. " The reader can easily judge how much effect such a tenderappeal was like to have upon the heart of Philip. From that rock; thusfeebly smitten, there flowed no fountain of mercy. It was not morecertain that Montigny's answers to the interrogatories addressed to himhad created a triumphant vindication of his course, than that suchvindication would be utterly powerless to save his life. The chargespreferred against him were similar to those which had brought Egmont andHorn to the block, and it certainly created no ground of hope for him, that he could prove himself even more innocent of suspicious conduct thanthey had done. On the 4th March, 1570, accordingly, the Duke of Alvapronounced sentence against him. The sentence declared that his headshould be cut off, and afterwards exposed to public view upon the head ofa pike. Upon the 18th March, 1570, the Duke addressed a requisitoryletter to the alcaldes, corregidors, and other judges of Castile, empowering them to carry the sentence into execution. 

On the arrival of this requisition there was a serious debate before theKing in council. It seemed to be the general opinion that there had beenalmost severity enough in the Netherlands for the present. The spectacleof the public execution of another distinguished personage, it wasthought, might now prove more irritating than salutary. The King was ofthis opinion himself. It certainly did not occur to him or to hisadvisers that this consideration should lead them to spare the life of aninnocent man. The doubts entertained as to the expediency of a freshmurder were not allowed to benefit the prisoner, who, besides being aloyal subject and a communicant of the ancient Church, was also clothedin the white robes of an envoy, claiming not only justice buthospitality, as the deputy of Philip's sister, Margaret of Parma. Theseconsiderations probably never occurred to the mind of His Majesty. Inview, however, of the peculiar circumstances of the case, it wasunanimously agreed that there should be no more blood publicly shed. Mostof the councillors were in favor of slow poison. Montigny's meat anddrink, they said, should be daily drugged, so that he might die by littleand little. Philip, however, terminated these disquisitions by decidingthat the ends of justice would not thus be sufficiently answered. Theprisoner, he had resolved, should be regularly executed, but the deedshould be secret, and it should be publicly announced that he had died ofa fever. 

This point having been settled; the King now set about the arrangement ofhis plan with all that close attention to detail which marked hischaracter. The patient industry which, had God given him a human heartand a love of right, might have made him a useful monarch, he now devotedto a scheme of midnight murder with a tranquil sense of enjoyment whichseems almost incredible. There is no exaggeration in calling the deed amurder, for it certainly was not sanctioned by any law, divine or human, nor justified or excused by any of the circumstances which are supposedto palliate homicide. Nor, when the elaborate and superfluous luxury ofarrangements made by Philip for the accomplishment of his design isconsidered, can it be doubted that he found a positive pleasure in histask. It would almost seem that he had become jealous of Alva'sachievements in the work of slaughter. He appeared willing to prove tothose immediately about him, that however capable might be the Viceroy ofconducting public executions on a grand and terrifying scale, there wasyet a certain delicacy of finish never attained by Alva in such business, and which was all his Majesty's own. The King was resolved to make theassassination of Montigny a masterpiece. 

On the 17th August, 1570, he accordingly directed Don Eugenio de Peralta, concierge of the fortress of Simancas, to repair to Segovia, and thenceto remove the Seigneur Montigny to Simancas. Here he was to be strictlyimmured; yet was to be allowed at times to walk in the corridor adjoininghis chamber. On the 7th October following, the licentiate Don Alonzo deAvellano, alcalde of Valladolid, was furnished with an order addressed bythe King to Don Eugenio de Peralta, requiring him to place the prisonerin the hands of the said licentiate, who was charged with the executionof Alva's sentence. This functionary had, moreover, been provided with aminute letter of instructions, which had been drawn up according to theKing's directions, on the 1st October. In these royal instructions, itwas stated that, although the sentence was for a public execution, yetthe King had decided in favor of a private one within the walls of thefortress. It was to be managed so that no one should suspect thatMontigny had been executed, but so that, on the contrary, it should beuniversally said and believed that he had died a natural death. Very fewpersons, all sworn and threatened into secrecy, were therefore to beemployed. Don Alonzo was to start immediately for Valladolid; which waswithin two short leagues of Simancas. At that place he would communicatewith Don Eugenio, and arrange the mode, day, and hour of execution. Hewould leave Valladolid on the evening before a holiday, late in theafternoon, so as to arrive a little after dark at Simancas. He would takewith him a confidential notary, an executioner, and as few servants aspossible. Immediately upon his entrance to the fortress, he was tocommunicate the sentence of death to Montigny, in presence of Don Eugenioand of one or two other persons. He would then console him, in which taskhe would be assisted by Don Eugenio. He would afterwards leave him withthe religious person who would be appointed for that purpose. That nightand the whole of the following day, which would be a festival, till aftermidnight, would be allotted to Montigny, that he might have time toconfess, to receive the sacraments, to convert himself to God, and torepent. Between one and two o'clock in the morning the execution was totake place, in presence of the ecclesiastic, of Don Eugenio de Peralta, of the notary, and of one or two other persons, who would be needed bythe executioner. The ecclesiastic was to be a wise and prudent person, and to be informed how little confidence Montigny inspired in the articleof faith. If the prisoner should wish to make a will, it could not bepermitted. As all his property had been confiscated, he could dispose ofnothing. Should he, however, desire to make a memorial of the debts whichhe would wish paid; he was to be allowed that liberty. It was, however, to be stipulated that he was to make no allusion, in any memorial orletter which he might write, to the execution which was about to takeplace. He was to use the language of a man seriously ill, and who feelshimself at the point of death. By this infernal ingenuity it was proposedto make the victim an accomplice in the plot, and to place a falseexculpation of his assassins in his dying lips. The execution having beenfulfilled, and the death having been announced with the dissimulationprescribed, the burial was to take place in the church of Saint Saviour, in Simancas. A moderate degree of pomp, such as befitted a person ofMontigny's quality, was to be allowed, and a decent tomb erected. A grandmass was also to be celebrated, with a respectable number, "say sevenhundred, " of lesser masses. As the servants of the defunct were few innumber, continued the frugal King, they might be provided each with asuit of mourning. Having thus personally arranged all the details of thissecret work, from the reading of the sentence to the burial of theprisoner; having settled not only the mode of his departure from life, but of his passage through purgatory, the King despatched the agent onhis mission. 

The royal program was faithfully enacted. Don Alonzo arrived atValladolid; and made his arrangements with Don Eugenio. It was agreedthat a paper, prepared by royal authority, and brought by Don Alonzo fromMadrid, should be thrown into the corridor of Montigny's prison. Thispaper, written in Latin, ran as follows:

 "In the night, as I understand, there will be no chance for your escape. In the daytime there will be many; for you are then in charge of a single gouty guardian, no match in strength or speed for so vigorous a man as you. Make your escape from the 8th to the 12th of October, at any hour you can, and take the road contiguous to the castle gate through which you entered. You will find Robert and John, who will be ready with horses, and with everything necessary. May God favor your undertaking. --R. D. M. "

The letter, thus designedly thrown into the corridor by one confederate, was soon afterwards picked up by the other, who immediately taxedMontigny with an attempt to escape. Notwithstanding the vehementprotestations of innocence naturally made by the prisoner, his pretendedproject was made the pretext for a still closer imprisonment in the"Bishop's Tower. " A letter, written at Madrid, by Philip's orders, hadbeen brought by Don Alonzo to Simancas, narrating by anticipation thesecircumstances, precisely as they had now occurred. It moreover statedthat Montigny, in consequence of his close confinement, had fallengrievously ill, and that he would receive all the attention compatiblewith his safe keeping. This letter, according to previous orders, was nowsigned by Don Eugenio de Peralta, dated 10th October, 1570; and publiclydespatched to Philip. It was thus formally established that Montigny wasseriously ill. A physician, thoroughly instructed and sworn to secrecy, was now ostentatiously admitted to the tower, bringing with him a vastquantity of drugs. He duly circulated among the townspeople, on hisreturn, his opinion that the illustrious prisoner was afflicted with adisorder from which it was almost impossible that he should recover. Thus, thanks to Philip's masterly precautions, not a person in Madrid orSimancas was ignorant that Montigny was dying of a fever, with the singleexception of the patient himself. 

On Saturday, the 14th of October, at nightfall, Don Alonzo de Avellano, accompanied by the prescribed individuals, including Fray Hernando del, Castillo, an ecclesiastic of high reputation, made their appearance atthe prison of Simancas. At ten in the evening the announcement of thesentence was made to Montigny. He was visibly agitated at the suddenintelligence, for it was entirely unexpected by him. He had, on thecontrary, hoped much from the intercession of, the Queen, whose arrivalhe had already learned. He soon recovered himself, however, and requestedto be left alone with the ecclesiastic. All the night and the followingday were passed in holy offices. He conducted himself with greatmoderation, courage, and tranquillity. He protested his entire innocenceof any complicity with the Prince of Orange, or of any disloyal designsor sentiments at any period of his life. He drew up a memorial, expressing his strong attachment to every point of the Catholic faith, from which he had never for an instant swerved. His whole demeanor wasnoble, submissive, and Christian. "In every essential, " said FrayHernando, "he conducted himself so well that we who remain may bear himenvy. " He wrote a paper of instructions concerning his faithful andbereaved dependents. He placed his signet ring, attached to a small goldchain, in the hands of the ecclesiastic, to be by him transmitted to hiswife. Another ring, set with turquois, he sent to his mother-in-law, thePrincess Espinoy, from whom he had received it. About an hour aftermidnight, on the morning, therefore, of the 16th of October, FrayHernando gave notice that the prisoner was ready to die. The alcalde DonAlonzo then entered, accompanied by the executioner and the notary. Thesentence of Alva was now again recited, the alcalde adding that the King, "out of his clemency and benignity, " had substituted a secret for apublic execution. Montigny admitted that the judgment would be just andthe punishment lenient, if it were conceded that the charges against himwere true. His enemies, however, while he had been thus immured, hadpossessed the power to accuse him as they listed. He ceased to speak, andthe executioner then came forward and strangled him. The alcalde, thenotary, and the executioner then immediately started for Valladolid, sothat no person next morning knew that they had been that night atSimancas, nor could guess the dark deed which they had then and thereaccomplished. The terrible, secret they were forbidden, on pain of death, to reveal. 

Montigny, immediately after his death, was clothed in the habit of SaintFrancis, in order to conceal the marks of strangulation. In the course ofthe day the body was deposited, according to the King's previous orders, in the church of Saint Saviour. Don Eugenio de Peralta, who superintendedthe interment, uncovered the face of the defunct to prove his identity, which was instantly recognised by many sorrowing servants. The nextmorning the second letter, prepared by Philip long before, and brought byDon Alonzo de Avellano to Simancas, received the date of 17th October, 1570, together with the signature of Don Eugenio de Peralta, keeper ofSimancas fortress, and was then publicly despatched to the King. Itstated that, notwithstanding the care given to the Seigneur de Montignyin his severe illness by the physicians who had attended him, he hadcontinued to grow worse and worse until the previous morning betweenthree and four o'clock, when he had expired. The Fray Hernando delCastillo, who had accidentally happened to be at Simancas, had performedthe holy offices, at the request of the deceased, who had died in socatholic a frame of mind, that great hopes might be entertained of hissalvation. Although he possessed no property, yet his burial had beenconducted very respectably. 

On the 3rd of November, 1570, these two letters, ostensibly written byDon Eugenio de Peralta, were transmitted by Philip to the Duke of Alva. They were to serve as evidence of the statement which theGovernor-General was now instructed to make, that the Seigneur deMontigny had died a natural death in the fortress of Simancas. By thesame courier, the King likewise forwarded a secret memoir, containing theexact history of the dark transaction, from which memoir the foregoingaccount has been prepared. At the same time the Duke was instructedpublicly to exhibit the lying letters of Don Eugenio de Peralta, ascontaining an authentic statement of the affair. The King observed, moreover, in his letter, that there was not a person in Spain who doubtedthat Montigny had died of a fever. He added that if the sentiments of thedeceased nobleman had been at all in conformity with his externalmanifestations, according to the accounts received of his last moments, it was to be hoped that God would have mercy upon his soul. The secretarywho copied the letter, took the liberty of adding, however, to thisparagraph the suggestion, that "if Montigny were really a heretic, thedevil, who always assists his children in such moments, would hardly havefailed him in his dying hour. " Philip, displeased with this flippancy, caused the passage to be erased. He even gave vent to his royalindignation in a marginal note, to the effect that we should alwaysexpress favorable judgments concerning the dead--a pious sentiment alwaysdearer to writing masters than to historians. It seemed never to haveoccurred however to this remarkable moralist, that it was quite asreprehensible to strangle an innocent man as to speak ill of him afterhis decease. 

Thus perished Baron Montigny, four years after his arrival in Madrid asDuchess Margaret's ambassador, and three years after the death of hisfellow-envoy Marquis Berghen. No apology is necessary for so detailed anaccount of this dark and secret tragedy. The great transactions of areign are sometimes paltry things; great battles and great treaties, after vast consumption of life and of breath, often leave the world wherethey found it. The events which occupy many of the statelier pages ofhistory, and which have most lived in the mouths of men, frequentlycontain but commonplace lessons of philosophy. It is perhaps otherwisewhen, by the resuscitation of secret documents, over which the dust ofthree centuries has gathered, we are enabled to study the internalworking of a system of perfect tyranny. Liberal institutions, republicanor constitutional governments, move in the daylight; we see their mode ofoperation, feel the jar of their wheels, and are often needlessly alarmedat their apparent tendencies. The reverse of the picture is not always soeasily attainable. When, therefore, we find a careful portrait of aconsummate tyrant, painted by his own hand, it is worth our while topause for a moment, that we may carefully peruse the lineaments. Certainly, we shall afterwards not love liberty the less. 

Towards the end of the year 1570, still another and a terrible misfortunedescended upon the Netherlands. It was now the hand of God which smotethe unhappy country, already so tortured by the cruelty of war. Aninundation, more tremendous than any which had yet been recorded in thoseannals so prolific in such catastrophes, now swept the whole coast fromFlanders to Friesland. Not the memorable deluge of the thirteenthcentury, out of which the Zuyder Zee was born; not that in which thewaters of the Dollart had closed for ever over the villages and churchesof Groningen; not one of those perpetually recurring floods by which theinhabitants of the Netherlands, year after year, were recalled to ananxious remembrance of the watery chaos out of which their fatherland hadbeen created, and into which it was in daily danger of resolving itselfagain, had excited so much terror and caused so much destruction. Acontinued and violent gale from the north-west had long been sweeping theAtlantic waters into the North Sea, and had now piled them upon thefragile coasts of the provinces. The dykes, tasked beyond their strength, burst in every direction. The cities of Flanders, to a considerabledistance inland, were suddenly invaded by the waters of the ocean. Thewhole narrow peninsula of North Holland was in imminent danger of beingswept away for ever. Between Amsterdam and Meyden, the great Diemer dykewas broken through in twelve places. The Hand-bos, a bulwark formed ofoaken piles, fastened with metal clamps, moored with iron anchors, andsecured by gravel and granite, was snapped to pieces like packthread. The"Sleeper, " a dyke thus called, because it was usually left in repose bythe elements, except in great emergencies, alone held firm, and preventedthe consummation of the catastrophe. Still the ocean poured in upon theland with terrible fury. Dort, Rotterdam, and many other cities were, fora time, almost submerged. Along the coast, fishing vessels, and evenships of larger size, were floated up into the country, where theyentangled themselves in groves and orchards, or beat to pieces the roofsand walls of houses. The destruction of life and of property was enormousthroughout the maritime provinces, but in Friesland the desolation wascomplete. There nearly all the dykes and sluices were dashed tofragments; the country, far and-wide, converted into an angry sea. Thesteeples and towers of inland cities became islands of the ocean. Thousands of human beings were swept out of existence in a few hours. Whole districts of territory, with all their villages, farms, andchurches, were rent from their places, borne along by the force of thewaves, sometimes to be lodged in another part of the country, sometimesto be entirely engulfed. Multitudes of men, women, children, of horses, oxen, sheep, and every domestic animal, were struggling in the waves inevery direction. Every boat, and every article which could serve as aboat, were eagerly seized upon. Every house was inundated; even thegrave-yards gave up their dead. The living infant in his cradle, and thelong-buried corpse in his coffin, floated side by side. The ancient floodseemed about to be renewed. Everywhere, upon the top of trees, upon thesteeples of churches, human beings were clustered, praying to God formercy, and to their fellow-men for assistance. As the storm at last wassubsiding, boats began to ply in every direction, saving those who werestill struggling in the water, picking fugitives from roofs andtree-tops, and collecting the bodies of those already drowned. ColonelRobles, Seigneur de Billy, formerly much hated for his Spanish orPortuguese blood, made himself very active in this humane work. By hisexertions, and those of the troops belonging to Groningen, many liveswere rescued, and gratitude replaced the ancient animosity. It wasestimated that at least twenty thousand persons were destroyed in theprovince of Friesland alone. Throughout the Netherlands, one hundredthousand persons perished. The damage alone to property, the number ofanimals engulfed in the sea, were almost incalculable. 

These events took place on the 1st and 2nd November, 1570. The formerhappened to be the day of All Saints, and the Spaniards maintained loudlythat the vengeance of Heaven had descended upon the abode of heretics. The Netherlanders looked upon the catastrophe as ominous of still moreterrible misfortunes in store for them. They seemed doomed to destructionby God and man. An overwhelming tyranny had long been chafing againsttheir constitutional bulwarks, only to sweep over them at last; and nowthe resistless ocean, impatient of man's feeble barriers, had at lastrisen to reclaim his prey. Nature, as if disposed to put to the blush thefeeble cruelty of man, had thus wrought more havoc in a few hours, thanbigotry, however active, could effect in many years. 

Nearly at the close of this year (1570) an incident occurred, illustrating the ferocious courage so often engendered in civil contests. On the western verge of the Isle of Bommel, stood the castle ofLowestein. The island is not in the sea. It is the narrow but importantterritory which is enclosed between the Meuse and the Waal. The castle, placed in a slender hook, at the junction of the two rivers, commandedthe two cities of Gorcum and Dorcum, and the whole navigation of thewaters. One evening, towards the end of December, four monks, wearing thecowls and robes of Mendicant Grey Friars, demanded hospitality at thecastle gate. They were at once ushered into the presence of thecommandant, a brother of President Tisnacq. He was standing by the fire, conversing with his wife. The foremost monk approaching him, askedwhether the castle held for the Duke of Alva or the Prince of Orange. Thecastellian replied that he recognized no prince save Philip, King ofSpain. Thereupon the monk, who was no other than Herman de Ruyter, adrover by trade, and a warm partisan of Orange, plucked a pistol frombeneath his robe, and shot the commandant through the head. The others, taking advantage of the sudden panic, overcame all the resistance offeredby the feeble garrison, and made themselves masters of the place. In thecourse of the next day they introduced into the castle four or five andtwenty men, with which force they diligently set themselves to fortifythe place, and secure themselves in its possession. A largerreinforcement which they had reckoned upon, was detained by the floodsand frosts, which, for the moment, had made the roads and fivers alikeimpracticable. 

Don Roderigo de Toledo, governor of Bois le Duc, immediately despatched acertain Captain Perea, at the head of two hundred soldiers, who werejoined on the way by a miscellaneous force of volunteers, to recover thefortress as soon as possible. The castle, bathed on its outward walls bythe Waal and Meuse, and having two redoubts, defended by a doubleinterior foss, would have been difficult to take by assaults had thenumber of the besieged been at all adequate to its defence. As mattersstood, however, the Spaniards, by battering a breach in the wall withtheir cannon on the first day, and then escalading the inner works withremarkable gallantry upon the second, found themselves masters of theplace within eight and forty hours of their first appearance before itsgates. Most of the defenders were either slain or captured alive. DeRuyter alone had betaken himself to an inner hall of the castle, where hestood at bay upon the threshold. Many Spaniards, one after another, asthey attempted to kill or to secure him, fell before his sword, which hewielded with the strength of a giant. At last, overpowered by numbers, and weakened by the loss of blood, he retreated slowly into the hall, followed by many of his antagonists. Here, by an unexpected movement, heapplied a match to a train of powder, which he had previously laid alongthe floor of the apartment. The explosion was instantaneous. The tower, where the contest was taking place, sprang into the air, and De Ruyterwith his enemies shared a common doom. A part of the mangled remains ofthis heroic but ferocious patriot were afterwards dug from the ruins ofthe tower, and with impotent malice nailed upon the gallows at Bois leDuc. Of his surviving companions, some were beheaded, some were broken onthe wheel, some were hung and quartered--all were executed. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Constitutional governments, move in the daylight Consumer would pay the tax, supposing it were ever paid at all Financial opposition to tyranny is apt to be unanimous Great battles often leave the world where they found it Great transactions of a reign are sometimes paltry things The faithful servant is always a perpetual ass

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 18. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY18551570 [CHAPTER VI. ]

 Orange and Count Louis in France--Peace with the Huguenots-- Coligny's memoir, presented by request to Charles IX. , on the subject of invading the Netherlands--Secret correspondence of Orange organized by Paul Buys--Privateering commissions issued by the Prince--Regulations prescribed by him for the fleets thus created-- Impoverished condition of the Prince--His fortitude--His personal sacrifices and privations--His generosity--Renewed contest between the Duke and the Estates on the subject of the tenth and twentieth pence--Violent disputes in the council--Firm opposition of Viglius-- Edict commanding the immediate collection of the tax--Popular tumults--Viglius denounced by Alva--The Duke's fierce complaints to the King--Secret schemes of Philip against Queen Elizabeth of England--The Ridolphi plot to murder Elizabeth countenanced by Philip and Pius V. --The King's orders to Alva to further the plan-- The Duke's remonstrances--Explosion of the plot--Obstinacy of Philip--Renewed complaints of Alva as to the imprudent service required of him--Other attempts of Philip to murder Elizabeth--Don John of Austria in the Levant----Battle of Lepanto--Slothfulness of Selim--Appointment of Medina Celi--Incessant wrangling in Brussels upon the tax--Persevering efforts of Orange--Contempt of Alva for the Prince--Proposed sentence of ignominy against his name--Sonoy's mission to Germany--Remarkable papers issued by the Prince--The "harangue"--Intense hatred for Alva entertained by the highest as well as lower orders--Visit of Francis de Alva to Brussels--His unfavourable report to the King--Querulous language of the Duke-- Deputation to Spain--Universal revolt against the tax--Ferocity of Alva--Execution of eighteen tradesmen secretly ordered--Interrupted by the capture of Brill--Beggars of the sea--The younger Wild Boar of Ardennes--Reconciliation between the English government and that of Alva--The Netherland privateersmen ordered out of English ports-- De la Marck's fleet before Brill--The town summoned to surrender-- Commissioners sent out to the fleet--Flight of the magistrates and townspeople--Capture of the place--Indignation of Alva--Popular exultation in Brussels--Puns and Caricatures--Bossu ordered to recover the town of Brill--His defeat--His perfidious entrance into Rotterdam--Massacre in that city--Flushing revolutionized-- Unsuccessful attempt of Governor de Bourgogne to recal the citizens to their obedience--Expedition under Treslong from Brill to assist the town of Flushing--Murder of Paccheco by the Patriots--Zeraerts appointed Governor of Walcheren by Orange. 

While such had been the domestic events of the Netherlands during theyears 1569 and 1570, the Prince of Orange, although again a wanderer, hadnever allowed himself to despair. During this whole period, the darkesthour for himself and for his country, he was ever watchful. Afterdisbanding his troops at Strasburg, and after making the bestarrangements possible under the circumstances for the eventual payment oftheir wages, he had joined the army which the Duke of Deux Ponts had beenraising in Germany to assist the cause of the Huguenots in France. ThePrince having been forced to acknowledge that, for the moment, all openefforts in the Netherlands were likely to be fruitless, instinctivelyturned his eyes towards the more favorable aspect of the Reformation inFrance. It was inevitable that, while he was thus thrown for the time outof his legitimate employment, he should be led to the battles of freedomin a neighbouring land. The Duke of Deux Ponts, who felt his own militaryskill hardly adequate to the task which he had assumed, was glad, as itwere, to put himself and his army under the orders of Orange. 

Meantime the battle of Jamac had been fought; the Prince of Condo, covered with wounds, and exclaiming that it was sweet to die for Christand country, had fallen from his saddle; the whole Huguenot army had beenrouted by the royal forces under the nominal command of Anjou, and thebody of Conde, tied to the back of a she ass, had been paraded throughthe streets of Jarnap in derision. 

Affairs had already grown almost as black for the cause of freedom inFrance as in the provinces. Shortly afterwards William of Orange, with aband of twelve hundred horsemen, joined the banners of Coligny. His twobrothers accompanied him. Henry, the stripling, had left the universityto follow the fortunes of the Prince. The indomitable Louis, after seventhousand of his army had been slain, had swum naked across the Ems, exclaiming "that his courage, thank God, was as fresh and lively asever, " and had lost not a moment in renewing his hostile schemes againstthe Spanish government. In the meantime he had joined the Huguenots inFrance. The battle of Moncontour had succeeded, Count Peter Mansfeld, with five thousand troops sent by Alva, fighting on the side of theroyalists, and Louis Nassau on that of the Huguenots, atoning by thesteadiness and skill with which he covered the retreat, for hisintemperate courage, which had precipitated the action, and perhaps beenthe main cause of Coligny's overthrow. The Prince of Orange, who had beenperemptorily called to the Netherlands in the beginning of the autumn, was not present at the battle. Disguised as a peasant, with but fiveattendants, and at great peril, he had crossed the enemy's lines, traversed France, and arrived in Germany before the winter. Count Louisremained with the Huguenots. So necessary did he seem to their cause, andso dear had he become to their armies, that during the severe illness ofColigny in the course of the following summer all eyes were turned uponhim as the inevitable successor of that great man, the only remainingpillar of freedom in France. 

Coligny recovered. The deadly peace between the Huguenots and the Courtsucceeded. The Admiral, despite his sagacity and his suspicions, embarkedwith his whole party upon that smooth and treacherous current which ledto the horrible catastrophe of Saint Bartholomew. To occupy hisattention, a formal engagement was made by the government to send succorto the Netherlands. The Admiral was to lead the auxiliaries which were tobe despatched across the frontier to overthrow the tyrannical governmentof Alva. Long and anxious were the colloquies held between Coligny andthe Royalists. The monarch requested a detailed opinion, in writing, fromthe Admiral, on the most advisable plan for invading the Netherlands. Theresult was the preparation of the celebrated memoir, under Coligny'sdirections, by young De Mornay, Seigneur de Plessis. The document wascertainly not a paper of the highest order. It did not appeal to theloftier instincts which kings or common mortals might be supposed topossess. It summoned the monarch to the contest in the Netherlands thatthe ancient injuries committed by Spain might be avenged. It invoked theghost of Isabella of France, foully murdered, as it was thought, byPhilip. It held out the prospect of re-annexing the fair provinces, wrested from the King's ancestors by former Spanish sovereigns. Itpainted the hazardous position of Philip; with the Moorish revolt gnawingat the entrails of his kingdom, with the Turkish war consuming itsextremities, with the canker of rebellion corroding the very heart of theNetherlands. It recalled, with exultation, the melancholy fact that theonly natural and healthy existence of the French was in a state ofwar--that France, if not occupied with foreign campaigns, could not beprevented from plunging its sword into its own vitals. 

It indulged in refreshing reminiscences of those halcyon days, not longgone by, when France, enjoying perfect tranquillity within its ownborders, was calmly and regularly carrying on its long wars beyond thefrontier. 

In spite of this savage spirit, which modern documents, if they did notscorn, would, at least have shrouded, the paper was nevertheless asagacious one; but the request for the memoir, and the many interviews onthe subject of the invasion, were only intended to deceive. They were butthe curtain which concealed the preparations for the dark tragedy whichwas about to be enacted. Equally deceived, and more sanguine than ever, Louis Nassau during this period was indefatigable in his attempts to gainfriends for his cause. He had repeated audiences of the King, to whosecourt he had come in disguise. He made a strong and warm impression uponElizabeth's envoy at the French Court, Walsingham. It is probable that inthe Count's impetuosity to carry his point, he allowed more plausibilityto be given to certain projects for subdividing the Netherlands than hisbrother would ever have sanctioned. The Prince was a total stranger tothese inchoate schemes. His work was to set his country free, and todestroy the tyranny which had grown colossal. That employment wassufficient for a lifetime, and there is no proof to be found that apaltry and personal self-interest had even the lowest place among hismotives. 

Meantime, in the autumn of 1569, Orange had again reached Germany. PaulBuys, Pensionary of Leyden, had kept him constantly informed of the stateof affairs in the provinces. Through his means an extensivecorrespondence was organized and maintained with leading persons in everypart of the Netherlands. The conventional terms by which differentmatters and persons of importance were designated in these letters werefamiliarly known to all friends of the cause, not only in the provinces, but in France, England, Germany, and particularly in the great commercialcities. The Prince, for example, was always designated as MartinWillemzoon, the Duke of Alva as Master Powels van Alblas, the Queen ofEngland as Henry Philipzoon, the King of Denmark as Peter Peterson. Thetwelve signs of the zodiac were used instead of the twelve months, and agreat variety of similar substitutions were adopted. Before his visit toFrance, Orange had, moreover, issued commissions, in his capacity ofsovereign, to various seafaring persons, who were empowered to cruiseagainst Spanish commerce. 

The "beggars of the sea, " as these privateersmen designated themselves, soon acquired as terrible a name as the wild beggars, or the forestbeggars; but the Prince, having had many conversations with AdmiralColigny on the important benefits to be derived from the system, hadfaithfully set himself to effect a reformation of its abuses after hisreturn from France. The Seigneur de Dolhain, who, like many other refugeenobles, had acquired much distinction in this roving corsair life, hadfor a season acted as Admiral for the Prince. He had, however, resolutelydeclined to render any accounts of his various expeditions, and was nowdeprived of his command in consequence. Gillain de Fiennes, Seigneur deLumbres, was appointed to succeed him. At the same time strict orderswere issued by Orange, forbidding all hostile measures against theEmperor or any of the princes of the empire, against Sweden, Denmark, England, or against any potentates who were protectors of the trueChristian religion. The Duke of Alva and his adherents were designated asthe only lawful antagonists. The Prince, moreover, gave minuteinstructions as to the discipline to be observed in his fleet. Thearticles of war were to be strictly enforced. Each commander was tomaintain a minister on board his ship, who was to preach God's word, andto preserve Christian piety among the crew. No one was to exercise anycommand in the fleet save native Netherlanders, unless thereto expresslycommissioned by the Prince of Orange. All prizes were to be divided anddistributed by a prescribed rule. No persons were to be received onboard, either as sailors or soldiers, save "folk of goad name and fame. "No man who had ever been punished of justice was to be admitted. Suchwere the principal features in the organization of that infant navywhich, in course of this and the following centuries, was to achieve somany triumphs, and to which a powerful and adventurous mercantile marinehad already led the way. "Of their ships, " said Cardinal Bentivoglio, "the Hollanders make houses, of their houses schools. Here they are born, here educated, here they learn their profession. Their sailors, flyingfrom one pale to the other, practising their art wherever the sundisplays itself to mortals, become so skilful that they can scarcely beequalled, certainly not surpassed; by any nation in the civilized world. "

The Prince, however, on his return from France, had never been in soforlorn a condition. "Orange is plainly perishing, " said one of thefriends of the cause. Not only had he no funds to organize new levies, but he was daily exposed to the most clamorously-urged claims, growingout of the army which he had been recently obliged to disband. It hadbeen originally reported in the Netherlands that he had fallen in thebattle of Moncontour. "If he have really been taken off, " wrote Viglius, hardly daring to credit the great news, "we shall all of us have lesscause to tremble. " After his actual return, however, lean and beggared, with neither money nor credit, a mere threatening shadow withoutsubstance or power, he seemed to justify the sarcasm of Granvelle. "Vanasine viribus ira, " quoted the Cardinal, and of a verity it seemed thatnot a man was likely to stir in Germany in his behalf, now that so deep agloom had descended upon his cause. The obscure and the oppressedthroughout the provinces and Germany still freely contributed out oftheir weakness and their poverty, and taxed themselves beyond their meansto assist enterprizes for the relief of the Netherlands. The great onesof the earth, however, those on whom the Prince had relied; those to whomhe had given his heart; dukes, princes, and electors, in this fatalchange of his fortunes fell away like water. 

Still his spirit was unbroken. His letters showed a perfect appreciationof his situation, and of that to which his country was reduced; but theynever exhibited a trace of weakness or despair. A modest, but loftycourage; a pious, but unaffected resignation, breathed through--everydocument, public or private, which fell from his pen during this epoch. He wrote to his brother John that he was quite willing to go, toFrankfort, in order to give himself up as a hostage to his troops for thepayment of their arrears. At the same time he begged his brother to moveheaven and earth to raise at least one hundred thousand thalers. If hecould only furnish them with a month's pay, the soldiers would perhaps befor a time contented. He gave directions also concerning the dispositionof what remained of his plate and furniture, the greater part of ithaving been already sold and expended in the cause. He thought it would, on the whole, be better to have the remainder sold, piece by piece, atthe fair. More money would be raised by that course than by a morewholesale arrangement. 

He was now obliged to attend personally to the most minute matters ofdomestic economy. The man who been the mate of emperors, who was himselfa sovereign, had lived his life long in pomp and luxury, surrounded bycountless nobles, pages, men-at-arms, and menials, now calmly acceptedthe position of an outlaw and an exile. He cheerfully fulfilled taskswhich had formerly devolved upon his grooms and valets. There was analmost pathetic simplicity in the homely details of an existence which, for the moment, had become so obscure and so desperate. "Send by thebearer, " he wrote, "the little hackney given me by the Admiral; send alsomy two pair of trunk hose; one pair is at the tailor's to be mended, theother, pair you will please order to be taken from the things which Iwore lately at Dillenburg. They lie on the table with my accoutrements. If the little hackney be not in condition, please send the grey horsewith the cropped ears and tail. "

He was always mindful, however, not only of the great cause to which hehad devoted himself, but of the wants experienced by individuals who haddone him service. He never forgot his friends. In the depth of his ownmisery he remembered favors received from humble persons. "Send a littlecup, worth at least a hundred florins, to Hartmann Wolf, " he wrote to hisbrother; "you can take as much silver out of the coffer, in which thereis still some of my chapel service remaining. "--"You will observe thatAffenstein is wanting a horse, " he wrote on another occasion; "pleaselook him out one, and send it to me with the price. I will send you themoney. Since he has shown himself so willing in the cause, one ought todo something for him. "

The contest between the Duke and the estates, on the subject of the tenthand twentieth penny had been for a season adjusted. The two years' term, however, during which it had been arranged that the tax should becommuted, was to expire in the autumn of 1571. Early therefore in thisyear the disputes were renewed with greater acrimony than ever. Theestates felt satisfied that the King was less eager than the Viceroy. Viglius was satisfied that the power of Alva was upon the wane. While theKing was not likely openly to rebuke his recent measures, it seemed notimprobable that the Governor's reiterated requests to be recalled mightbe granted. Fortified by these considerations, the President, who had solong been the supple tool of the tyrant, suddenly assumed the characterof a popular tribune. The wranglings, the contradictions, thevituperations, the threatenings, now became incessant in the council. TheDuke found that he had exulted prematurely, when he announced to the Kingthe triumphant establishment, in perpetuity, of the lucrative tax. So farfrom all the estates having given their consent, as he had maintained, and as he had written to Philip, it now appeared that not one of thosebodies considered itself bound beyond its quota for the two years. Thiswas formally stated in the council by Berlaymont and other members. Thewrath of the Duke blazed forth at this announcement. He beratedBerlaymont for maintaining, or for allowing it to be maintained, that theconsent of the orders had ever been doubtful. He protested that they hadas unequivocally agreed to the perpetual imposition of the tag as he toits commutation during two years. He declared, however, that he was sickof quotas. The tax should now be collected forthwith, and TreasurerSchetz was ordered to take his measures accordingly. 

At a conference on the 29th May, the Duke asked Viglius for his opinion. The President made a long reply, taking the ground that the consent ofthe orders had been only conditional, and appealing to such members ofthe finance council as were present to confirm his assertion. It wasconfirmed by all. The Duke, in a passion, swore that those who daredmaintain such a statement should be chastised. Viglius replied that ithad always been the custom for councillors to declare their opinion, andthat they had never before been threatened with such consequences. Ifsuch, however, were his Excellency's sentiments, councillors had betterstay at home, hold their tongues, and so avoid chastisement. The Duke, controlling himself a little, apologized for this allusion tochastisement, a menace which he disclaimed having intended with referenceto councillors whom he had always commended to the King, and of whom hisMajesty had so high an opinion. At a subsequent meeting the Duke tookViglius aside, and assured him that he was quite of his own way ofthinking. For certain reasons, however, he expressed himself as unwillingthat the rest of the council should be aware of the change in his views. He wished, he said, to dissemble. The astute President, for a moment, could not imagine the Governor's drift. He afterwards perceived that theobject of this little piece of deception had been to close his mouth. TheDuke obviously conjectured that the President, lulled into security, bythis secret assurance, would be silent; that the other councillors, believing the President to have adopted the Governor's views, would altertheir opinions; and that the opposition of the estates, thus losing itssupport in the council, would likewise very soon be abandoned. ThePresident, however, was not to be entrapped by this falsehood. Heresolutely maintained his hostility to the tax, depending for hissecurity on the royal opinion, the popular feeling, and the judgment ofhis colleagues. 

The daily meetings of the board were almost entirely occupied by thissingle subject. Although since the arrival of Alva the Council of Bloodhad usurped nearly all the functions of the state and finance-councils, yet there now seemed a disposition on the part of Alva to seek thecountenance, even while he spurned the authority, of other functionaries. He found, however, neither sympathy nor obedience. The President stoutlytold him that he was endeavouring to swim against the stream, that thetax was offensive to the people, and that the voice of the people was thevoice of God. On the last day of July, however, the Duke issued an edict, by which summary collection of the tenth and twentieth pence was ordered. The whole country was immediately in uproar. The estates of everyprovince, the assemblies of every city, met and remonstrated. Themerchants suspended all business, the petty dealers shut up their shops. The people congregated together in masses, vowing resistance to theillegal and cruel impost. Not a farthing was collected. The "seven stiverpeople", spies of government, who for that paltry daily stipend wereemployed to listen for treason in every tavern, in every huckster'sbooth, in every alley of every city, were now quite unable to report allthe curses which were hourly heard uttered against the tyranny of theViceroy. Evidently, his power was declining. The councillors resistedhim, the common people almost defied him. A mercer to whom he wasindebted for thirty thousand florins' worth of goods, refused to open hisshop, lest the tax should be collected on his merchandize. The Dukeconfiscated his debt, as the mercer had foreseen, but this being apecuniary sacrifice, seemed preferable to acquiescence in a measure sovague and so boundless that it might easily absorb the whole property ofthe country. 

No man saluted the governor as he passed through the streets. Hardly anattempt was made by the people to disguise their abhorrence of hisperson: Alva, on his side, gave daily exhibitions of ungovernable fury. At a council held on 25th September, 1571, he stated that the King hadordered the immediate enforcement of the edict. Viglius observed thatthere were many objections to its form. He also stoutly denied that theestates had ever given their consent. Alva fiercely asked the Presidentif he had not himself once maintained that the consent had been granted!Viglius replied that he had never made such an assertion. He hadmentioned the conditions and the implied promises on the part ofgovernment, by which a partial consent had been extorted. He never couldhave said that the consent had been accorded, for he had never believedthat it could be obtained. He had not proceeded far in his argument whenhe was interrupted by the Duke--"But you said so, you said so, you saidso, " cried the exasperated Governor, in a towering passion, repeatingmany times this flat contradiction to the President's statements. Vigliusfirmly stood his ground. Alva loudly denounced him for the little respecthe had manifested for his authority. He had hitherto done the Presidentgood offices, he said, with his Majesty, but certainly should not feeljustified in concealing his recent and very unhandsome conduct. 

Viglius replied that he had always reverently cherished the Governor, andhad endeavoured to merit his favor by diligent obsequiousness. He wasbound by his oath, however; to utter in council that which comported withhis own sentiments and his Majesty's interests. He had done thisheretofore in presence of Emperors, Kings, Queens, and Regents, and theyhad not taken offence. He did not, at this hour, tremble for his greyhead, and hoped his Majesty would grant him a hearing beforecondemnation. The firm attitude of the President increased the irritationof the Viceroy. Observing that he knew the proper means of enforcing hisauthority he dismissed the meeting. 

Immediately afterwards, he received the visits of his son, Don Fredericof Vargas, and other familiars. To these he recounted the scene which hadtaken place, raving the while so ferociously against Viglius as to inducethe supposition that something serious was intended against him. Thereport flew from mouth to mouth. The affair became the town talk, sothat, in the words of the President, it was soon discussed by everybarber and old woman in Brussels. His friends became alarmed for hissafety, while, at the same time, the citizens rejoiced that their causehad found so powerful an advocate. Nothing, however, came of thesethreats and these explosions. On the contrary, shortly afterwards theDuke gave orders that the tenth penny should be remitted upon four greatarticles-corn, meat, wine, and beer. It was also not to be levied uponraw materials used in manufactures. Certainly, these were very importantconcessions. Still the constitutional objections remained. Alva could notbe made to understand why the alcabala, which was raised withoutdifficulty in the little town of Alva, should encounter such fierceopposition in the Netherlands. The estates, he informed the King, made agreat deal of trouble. They withheld their consent at command of theirsatrap. The motive which influenced the leading men was not the interestof factories or fisheries, but the fear that for the future they mightnot be able to dictate the law to their sovereign. The people of thatcountry, he observed, had still the same character which had beendescribed by Julius Caesar. 

The Duke, however, did not find much sympathy at Madrid. Courtiers andcouncillors had long derided his schemes. As for the King, his mind wasoccupied with more interesting matters. Philip lived but to enforce whathe chose to consider the will of God. While the duke was fighting thisbattle with the Netherland constitutionalists, his master had engaged athome in a secret but most comprehensive scheme. This was a plot toassassinate Queen Elizabeth of England, and to liberate Mary Queen ofScots, who was to be placed on the throne in her stead. This project, inwhich was of course involved the reduction of England under the dominionof the ancient Church, could not but prove attractive to Philip. Itincluded a conspiracy against a friendly sovereign, immense service tothe Church, and a murder. His passion for intrigue, his love of God, andhis hatred of man, would all be gratified at once. Thus, although theMoorish revolt within the heart of his kingdom had hardly beenterminated--although his legions and his navies were at that instantengaged in a contest of no ordinary importance with the Turkishempire--although the Netherlands, still maintaining their hostility andtheir hatred, required the flower of the Spanish army to compel theirsubmission, he did not hesitate to accept the dark adventure which wasoffered to him by ignoble hands. 

One Ridolfi, a Florentine, long resident in England, had been sent to theNetherlands as secret agent of the Duke of Norfolk. Alva read hischaracter immediately, and denounced him to Philip as a loose, pratingcreature, utterly unfit to be entrusted with affairs of importance. Philip, however, thinking more of the plot than of his fellow-actors, welcomed the agent of the conspiracy to Madrid, listened to hisdisclosures attentively, and, without absolutely committing himself bydirect promises, dismissed him with many expressions of encouragement. 

On the 12th of July, 1571, Philip wrote to the Duke of Alva, giving anaccount of his interview with Roberto Ridolfi. The envoy, after relatingthe sufferings of the Queen of Scotland, had laid before him a plan forher liberation. If the Spanish monarch were willing to assist the Duke ofNorfolk and his friends, it would be easy to put upon Mary's head thecrown of England. She was then to intermarry with Norfolk. The kingdom ofEngland was again to acknowledge the authority of Rome, and the Catholicreligion to be everywhere restored. The most favorable moment for theexecution of the plan would be in August or September. As Queen Elizabethwould at that season quit London for the country, an opportunity would beeasily found for seizing and murdering her. Pius V. , to whom Ridolfi hadopened the whole matter, highly approved the scheme, and warmly urgedPhilip's cooperation. Poor and ruined as he was himself; the Popeprotested that he was ready to sell his chalices, and even his ownvestments, to provide funds for the cause. Philip had replied that fewwords were necessary to persuade him. His desire to see the enterprizesucceed was extreme, notwithstanding the difficulties by which it wassurrounded. He would reflect earnestly upon the subject, in the hope thatGod, whose cause it was, would enlighten and assist him. Thus much he hadstated to Ridolfi, but he had informed his council afterwards that he wasdetermined to carry out the scheme by certain means of which the Dukewould soon be informed. The end proposed was to kill or to captureElizabeth, to set at liberty the Queen of Scotland, and to put upon herhead the crown of England. In this enterprize he instructed the Duke ofAlva secretly to assist, without however resorting to open hostilities inhis own name or in that of his sovereign. He desired to be informed howmany Spaniards the Duke could put at the disposition of the conspirators. They had asked for six thousand arquebusiers for England, two thousandfor Scotland, two thousand for Ireland. Besides these troops, the Viceroywas directed to provide immediately four thousand arquebuses and twothousand corslets. For the expenses of the enterprize Philip wouldimmediately remit two hundred thousand crowns. Alva was instructed tokeep the affair a profound secret from his councillors. Even Hopper atMadrid knew nothing of the matter, while the King had only expressedhimself in general terms to the nuncio and to Ridolfi, then already onhis way to the Netherlands. The King concluded his letter by saying, thatfrom what he had now written with his own hand, the Duke could infer howmuch he had this affair at heart. It was unnecessary for him to say more, persuaded as he was that the Duke would take as profound an interest init as himself. 

Alva perceived all the rashness of the scheme, and felt how impossible itwould be for him to comply with Philip's orders. To send an army from theNetherlands into England for the purpose of dethroning and killing a mostpopular sovereign, and at the same time to preserve the most amicablerelations with the country, was rather a desperate undertaking. A forceof ten thousand Spaniards, under Chiappin Vitelli, and other favoriteofficers of the Duke, would hardly prove a trifle to be overlooked, norwould their operations be susceptible of very friendly explanations. TheGovernor therefore, assured Philip that he "highly applauded his masterfor his plot. He could not help rendering infinite thanks to God forhaving made him vassal to such a Prince. " He praised exceedingly theresolution which his Majesty had taken. After this preamble, however, heproceeded to pour cold water upon his sovereign's ardor. He decidedlyexpressed the opinion that Philip should not proceed in such anundertaking until at any rate the party of the Duke of Norfolk hadobtained possession of Elizabeth's person. Should the King declarehimself prematurely, he might be sure that the Venetians, breaking offtheir alliance with him, would make their peace with the Turk; and thatElizabeth would, perhaps, conclude that marriage with the Duke of Alenconwhich now seemed but a pleasantry. Moreover, he expressed his want ofconfidence in the Duke of Norfolk, whom he considered as a poor creaturewith but little courage. He also expressed his doubts concerning theprudence and capacity of Don Gueran de Espes, his Majesty's ambassador atLondon. 

It was not long before these machinations became known in England. TheQueen of Scots was guarded more closely than ever, the Duke of Norfolkwas arrested; yet Philip, whose share in the conspiracy had remained asecret, was not discouraged by the absolute explosion of the wholeaffair. He still held to an impossible purpose with a tenacity whichresembled fatuity. He avowed that his obligations in the sight of Godwere so strict that he was still determined to proceed in the sacredcause. He remitted, therefore, the promised funds to the Duke of Alva, and urged him to act with proper secrecy and promptness. 

The Viceroy was not a little perplexed by these remarkable instructions. None but lunatics could continue to conspire, after the conspiracy hadbeen exposed and the conspirators arrested. Yet this was what hisCatholic Majesty expected of his Governor-General. Alva complained, notunreasonably, of the contradictory demands to which he was subjected. 

He was to cause no rupture with England, yet he was to send succor to animprisoned traitor; he was to keep all his operations secret from hiscouncil, yet he was to send all his army out of the country, and toorganize an expensive campaign. He sneered: at the flippancy of Ridolfi, who imagined that it was the work of a moment to seize the Queen ofEngland, to liberate the Queen of Scotland, to take possession of theTower of London, and to burn the fleet in the Thames. "Were your Majestyand the Queen of England acting together, " he observed, "it would beimpossible to execute the plan proposed by Ridolfi. " The chief danger tobe apprehended was from France and Germany. Were those countries not tointerfere, he would undertake to make Philip sovereign of England beforethe winter. Their opposition, however, was sufficient to make theenterprise not only difficult, but impossible. He begged his, master notto be precipitate in the; most important affair which had been negotiatedby man since Christ came upon earth. Nothing less, he said, than theexistence of the Christian faith was at stake, for, should his Majestyfail in this undertaking, not one stone of the ancient religion would beleft upon another. He again warned the King of the contemptiblecharacter, of Ridolfi, who had spoken of the affair so freely that it wasa common subject of discussion on the Bourse, at Antwerp, and hereiterated, in all his letters his distrust of the parties prominentlyengaged in the transaction. 

Such was the general, tenor of the long despatches exchanged between theKing and the Duke of Alva upon this iniquitous scheme. The Duke showedhimself reluctant throughout the whole affair, although he certainlynever opposed his master's project by any arguments founded upon goodfaith, Christian charity, or the sense of honor. To kill the Queen ofEngland, subvert the laws of her realm, burn her fleets, and butcher hersubjects, while the mask of amity and entire consideration was sedulouslypreserved--all these projects were admitted to be strictly meritorious inthemselves, although objections were taken as to the time and mode ofexecution. 

Alva never positively refused to accept his share in the enterprise, buthe took care not to lift his finger till the catastrophe in England hadmade all attempts futile. Philip, on the other hand, never positivelywithdrew from the conspiracy, but, after an infinite deal of writing andintriguing, concluded by leaving the whole affair in the hands of Alva. The only sufferer for Philip's participation in the plot was the Spanishenvoy at London, Don Gueran de Espes. This gentleman was formallydismissed by Queen Elizabeth, for having given treacherous and hostileadvice to the Duke of Alva and to Philip; but her Majesty at the sametime expressed the most profound consideration for her brother of Spain. 

Towards the close of the same year, however (December, 1571); Alva senttwo other Italian assassins to England, bribed by the promise of vastrewards, to attempt the life of Elizabeth, quietly, by poison orotherwise. The envoy, Mondoucet, in apprizing the French monarch of thisscheme, added that the Duke was so ulcerated and annoyed by the discoveryof the previous enterprise, that nothing could exceed his rage. Theseruffians were not destined to success, but the attempts of the Duke uponthe Queen's life were renewed from time to time. Eighteen months later(August, 1573), two Scotchmen, pensioners of Philip, came from Spain, with secret orders to consult with Alva. They had accordingly muchnegotiation with the Duke and his secretary, Albornoz. They boasted thatthey could easily capture Elizabeth, but said that the King's purpose wasto kill her. The plan, wrote Mondoucet, was the same as it had beenbefore, namely, to murder the Queen of England, and to give her crown toMary of Scotland, who would thus be in their power, and whose son was tobe seized, and bestowed in marriage in such a way as to make themperpetual masters of both kingdoms. 

It does not belong to this history to discuss the merits, nor to narratethe fortunes, of that bickering and fruitless alliance which had beenentered into at this period by Philip with Venice and the Holy Seeagainst the Turk. The revolt of Granada had at last, after a two years'struggle, been subdued, and the remnants of the romantic race which hadonce swayed the Peninsula been swept into slavery. The Moors hadsustained the unequal conflict with a constancy not to have been expectedof so gentle a people. "If a nation meek as lambs could resist sobravely, " said the Prince of Orange, "what ought not to be expected of ahardy people like the Netherlanders?" Don John of Austria havingconcluded a series of somewhat inglorious forays against women, children, and bed-ridden old men in Andalusia and Granada; had arrived, in Augustof this year, at Naples, to take command of the combined fleet in theLevant. The battle of Lepanto had been fought, but the quarrelsome andcontradictory conduct of the allies had rendered the splendid victory asbarren as the waves: upon which it had been won. It was no less true, however, that the blunders of the infidels had previously enabled Philipto extricate himself with better success from the dangers of the Moorishrevolt than might have been his fortune. Had the rebels succeeded inholding Granada and the mountains of Andalusia, and had they beensupported, as they had a right to expect, by the forces of the Sultan, adifferent aspect might have been given to the conflict, and one far lesstriumphant for Spain. Had a prince of vigorous ambition and comprehensivepolicy governed at that moment the Turkish empire; it would have costPhilip a serious struggle to maintain himself in his hereditarydominions. While he was plotting against the life and throne ofElizabeth, he might have had cause to tremble for his own. Fortunately, however, for his Catholic Majesty, Selim was satisfied to secure himselfin the possession of the Isle of Venus, with its fruitful vineyards. "Toshed the blood" of Cyprian vines, in which he was so enthusiastic aconnoisseur, was to him a more exhilarating occupation than to pursue, amid carnage and hardships, the splendid dream of a re-establishedEastern caliphate. 

On the 25th Sept. 1571, a commission of Governor-General of theNetherlands was at last issued to John de la Cerda, Duke of Medina Coeli. Philip, in compliance with the Duke's repeated requests, and perhaps notentirely satisfied with the recent course of events in the provinces, hadat last, after great hesitation, consented to Alva's resignation. Hissuccessor; however, was not immediately to take his departure, and in themeantime the Duke was instructed to persevere in his faithful services. These services had, for the present, reduced themselves to a perpetualand not very triumphant altercation with his council, with the estates, and with the people, on the subject of his abominable tax. He wasentirely alone. They who had stood unflinchingly at his side when theonly business of the administration was to burn heretics, turned theirbacks upon him now that he had engaged in this desperate conflict with. The whole money power of the country. The King was far from cordial inhis support, the councillors much too crafty to retain their hold uponthe wheel, to which they had only attached themselves in its ascent. Viglius and Berlaymont; Noircarmes and Aerschot, opposed and almostdefied the man they now thought sinking, and kept the King constantlyinformed of the vast distress which the financial measures of the Dukewere causing. 

Quite, at the close of the year, an elaborate petition from the estatesof Brabant was read before the State Council. It contained a strongremonstrance against the tenth penny. Its repeal was strongly urged, uponthe ground that its collection would involve the country in universalruin. Upon this, Alva burst forth in one of the violent explosions ofrage to which he was subject. The prosperity of the, Netherlands, heprotested, was not dearer to the inhabitants than to himself. He swore bythe cross, and by the most holy of holies, preserved in the church ofSaint Gudule, that had he been but a private individual, living in Spain, he would, out of the love he bore the provinces, have rushed to theirdefence had their safety been endangered. He felt therefore deeplywounded that malevolent persons should thus insinuate that he had evenwished to injure the country, or to exercise tyranny over its citizens. The tenth penny, he continued, was necessary to the defence of the land, and was much preferable to quotas. It was highly improper that every manin the rabble should know how much was contributed, because eachindividual, learning the gross amount, would imagine that he, had paid itall himself. In conclusion, he observed that, broken in health andstricken in years as he felt himself, he was now most anxious to return, and was daily looking with eagerness for the arrival of the Duke ofMedina Coeli. 

During the course of this same year, the Prince of Orange had beencontinuing his preparations. He had sent his agents to every place wherea hope was held out to him of obtaining support. Money was what he wasnaturally most anxious to obtain from individuals; open and warlikeassistance what he demanded from governments. His funds, little bylittle, were increasing, owing to the generosity of many obscure persons, and to the daring exploits of the beggars of the sea. His mission, however, to the northern courts had failed. His envoys had been receivedin Sweden and Denmark with barren courtesy. The Duke of Alva, on theother hand, never alluded to the Prince but with contempt; knowing notthat the ruined outlaw was slowly undermining the very ground beneath themonarch's feet; dreaming not that the feeble strokes which he despisedwere the opening blows of a century's conflict; foreseeing not that longbefore its close the chastised province was to expand into a greatrepublic, and that the name of the outlaw was to become almost divine. 

Granvelle had already recommended that the young Count de Buren should beendowed with certain lands in Spain, in exchange for his hereditaryestates, in order that the name and fame of the rebel William should beforever extinguished in the Netherlands. With the same view, a newsentence against the Prince of Orange was now proposed by the Viceroy. This was, to execute him solemnly in effigy, to drag his escutcheonthrough the streets at the tails of horses, and after having broken it inpieces, and thus cancelled his armorial bearings, to declare him and hisdescendants, ignoble, infamous, and incapable of holding property orestates. Could a leaf or two of future history have been unrolled toKing, Cardinal, and Governor, they might have found the destined fortuneof the illustrious rebel's house not exactly in accordance with the planof summary extinction thus laid down. 

Not discouraged, the Prince continued to send his emissaries in everydirection. Diedrich Sonoy, his most trustworthy agent, who had been chiefof the legation to the Northern Courts, was now actively canvassing thegovernments and peoples of, Germany with the same object. Severalremarkable papers from the hand of Orange were used upon this service. Aletter, drawn up and signed by his own hand, recited; in brief andstriking language, the history of his campaign in 1568, and of hissubsequent efforts in the sacred cause. It was now necessary, he said, that others besides himself should partake of his sacrifices. This hestated plainly and eloquently. The document was in truth a letter askingarms for liberty. "For although all things, " said the Prince, "are in thehand of God, and although he has created all things out of nought, yethath he granted to different men different means, whereby, as withvarious instruments, he accomplishes his, almighty purposes. Thereto hathhe endowed some with strength of body, others with worldly wealth, otherswith still different gifts, all of which are to be used by theirpossessors to His honor and glory, if they wish not to incur the curse ofthe unworthy steward, who buried his talent in the earth. . . . . Now yemay easily see, " he continued, "that the Prince cannot carry out thisgreat work alone, having lost land, people, and goods, and having alreadyemployed in the cause all which had remained to him, besides incurringheavy obligations in addition. "

Similar instructions were given to other agents, and a paper called theHarangue, drawn up according to his suggestions, was also extensivelycirculated. This document is important to all who are interested in hishistory and character. He had not before issued a missive so stamped withthe warm, religious impress of the reforming party. Sadly, but withoutdespondency, the Harangue recalled the misfortunes of the past; anddepicted the gloom of the present. Earnestly, but not fanatically, itstimulated hope and solicited aid for the future. "Although the appealsmade to the Prince, " so ran a part of the document, "be of diversenatures, and various in their recommendations, yet do they all tend tothe advancement of God's glory, and to the liberation of the fatherland. This it is which enables him and those who think with him to endurehunger; thirst, cold, heat, and all the misfortunes which Heaven maysend. . . . . . Our enemies spare neither their money nor their labor;will ye be colder and duller than your foes? Let, then, each churchcongregation set an example to the others. We read that King Saul, whenhe would liberate the men of Jabez from the hands of Nahad, the Ammonite, hewed a yoke of oxen in pieces, and sent them as tokens over all Israel, saying, 'Ye who will not follow Saul and Samuel, with them shall be dealteven as with these oxen. And the fear of the Lord came upon the people, they came forth, and the men of Jabez were delivered. ' Ye have here thesame warning, look to it, watch well ye that despise it, lest the wrathof God, which the men of Israel by their speedy obedience escaped, descend upon your heads. Ye may say that ye are banished men. 'Tis true:but thereby are ye not stripped of all faculty of rendering service;moreover, your assistance is asked for one who will restore ye to yourhomes. Ye may say that ye have been robbed of all your goods; yet many ofyou have still something remaining, and of that little ye shouldcontribute, each his mite. Ye say that you have given much already. 'Tistrue, but the enemy is again in the field; fierce for your subjugation, sustained by the largess of his supporters. Will ye be less courageous, less generous, than your foes. "

These urgent appeals did not remain fruitless. The strength of thePrince was slowly but steadily increasing. Meantime the abhorrence with which Alva was universally regarded had nearly reached to frenzy. In the beginning of the year 1572, Don Francis de Alava, Philip'sambassador in France, visited Brussels. He had already been enlightenedas to the consequences of the Duke's course by the immense immigration ofNetherland refugees to France, which he had witnessed with his own eyes. On his journey towards Brussels he had been met near Cambray byNoircarmes. Even that "cruel animal, " as Hoogstraaten had called him, the butcher of Tournay and Valenciennes, had at last been roused toalarm, if not to pity, by the sufferings of the country. "The Duke willnever disabuse his mind of this filthy tenth penny, " said he to Alava. He sprang from his chair with great emotion as the ambassador alluded tothe flight of merchants and artisans from the provinces. "Senor DonFrancis, " cried he, "there are ten thousand more who are on the point ofleaving the country, if the Governor does not pause in his career. Godgrant that no disaster arise beyond human power to remedy. "

The ambassador arrived in Brussels, and took up his lodgings in thepalace. Here he found the Duke just recovering from a fit of the gout, ina state of mind sufficiently savage. He became much excited as DonFrancis began to speak of the emigration, and he assured him that therewas gross deception on the subject. The envoy replied that he could notbe mistaken, for it was a matter which, so to speak, he had touched withhis own fingers, and seen with his own eyes. The Duke, persisting thatDon Francis had been abused and misinformed, turned the conversation toother topics. Next day the ambassador received visits from Berlaymont andhis son, the Seigneur de Hierges. He was taken aside by each of them, separately. "Thank God, you have come hither, " said they, in nearly thesame words, "that you may fully comprehend the condition of theprovinces, and without delay admonish his Majesty of the impendingdanger. " All his visitors expressed the same sentiments. Don Frederic ofToledo furnished the only exception, assuring the envoy that his father'sfinancial measures were opposed by Noircarmes and others, only because itdeprived them of their occupation and their influence. This dutifullanguage, however, was to be expected in one of whom Secretary Albornozhad written, that he was the greatest comfort to his father, and the mostdivine genius ever known. It was unfortunately corroborated by no otherinhabitant of the country. 

On the third day, Don Francis went to take his leave. The Duke begged himto inform his Majesty of the impatience with which he was expecting thearrival of his successor. He then informed his guest that they hadalready begun to collect the tenth penny in Brabant, the most obstinateof all the provinces. "What do you say to that, Don Francis?" he cried, with exultation. Alava replied that he thought, none the less, that thetax would encounter many obstacles, and begged him earnestly to reflect. He assured him, moreover, that he should, without reserve, express hisopinions fully to the King. The Duke used the same language which DonFrederic had held, concerning the motives of those who opposed the tax. "It may be so, " said Don Francis, "but at any rate, all have agreed tosing to the same tune. " A little startled, the Duke rejoined, "Do youdoubt that the cities will keep their promises? Depend upon it, I shallfind the means to compel them. " "God grant it may be so, " said Alava, "but in my poor judgment you will have need of all your prudence and ofall your authority. "

The ambassador did not wait till he could communicate with his sovereignby word of mouth. He forwarded to Spain an ample account of hisobservations and deductions. He painted to Philip in lively colors thehatred entertained by all men for the Duke. The whole nation, he assuredhis Majesty, united in one cry, "Let him begone, let him begone, let himbegone!" As for the imposition of the tenth penny, that, in the opinionof Don Francis, was utterly impossible. He moreover warned his Majestythat Alva was busy in forming secret alliances with the Catholic princesof Europe, which would necessarily lead to defensive leagues among theProtestants. 

While thus, during the earlier part of the year 1572, the Prince ofOrange, discouraged by no defeats, was indefatigable in his exertions tomaintain the cause of liberty, and while at the same time the most stanchsupporters of arbitrary power were unanimous in denouncing to Philip theinsane conduct of his Viceroy, the letters of Alva himself were naturallyfull of complaints and expostulations. It was in vain, he said, for himto look for a confidential councillor, now that matters which he hadwished to be kept so profoundly secret that the very earth should nothear of them, had been proclaimed aloud above the tiles of everyhousetop. Nevertheless, he would be cut into little pieces but hisMajesty should be obeyed, while he remained alive to enforce the royalcommands. There were none who had been ever faithful but Berlaymont, hesaid, and even he had been neutral in the affair of the tax. He hadrendered therein neither good nor bad offices, but, as his Majesty wasaware, Berlaymont was entirely ignorant of business, and "knew nothingmore than to be a good fellow. " That being the case, he recommendedHierges, son of the "good fellow, " as a proper person to be governor ofFriesland. 

The deputations appointed by the different provinces to confer personallywith the King received a reprimand upon their arrival, for having daredto come to Spain without permission. Farther punishment, however, thanthis rebuke was not inflicted. They were assured that the King was highlydispleased with their venturing to bring remonstrances against the tax, but they were comforted with the assurance that his Majesty would takethe subject of their petition into consideration. Thus, the expectationsof Alva were disappointed, for the tenth penny was not formallyconfirmed; and the hopes of the provinces frustrated, because it was notdistinctly disavowed. 

Matters had reached another crisis in the provinces. "Had we money now, "wrote the Prince of Orange, "we should, with the help of God, hope toeffect something. This is a time when, with even small sums, more can beeffected than at other seasons with ampler funds. " The citizens were inopen revolt against the tax. In order that the tenth penny should not belevied upon every sale of goods, the natural but desperate remedy wasadopted--no goods were sold at all. 

Not only the wholesale commerce oh the provinces was suspended, but theminute and indispensable traffic of daily life was entirely at a stand. The shops were all shut. "The brewers, " says a contemporary, "refused tobrew, the bakers to bake, the tapsters to tap. " Multitudes, thrownentirely out of employment, and wholly dependent upon charity, swarmed inevery city. The soldiery, furious for their pay, which Alva had for manymonths neglected to furnish, grew daily more insolent; the citizens, maddened by outrage and hardened by despair, became more and moreobstinate in their resistance; while the Duke, rendered inflexible byopposition and insane by wrath, regarded the ruin which he had causedwith a malignant spirit which had long ceased to be human. "The diseaseis gnawing at our vitals, " wrote Viglius; "everybody is suffering for thewant of the necessaries of life. Multitudes are in extreme and hopelesspoverty. My interest in the welfare of the commonwealth, " he continued, "induces me to send these accounts to Spain. For myself, I fear nothing. Broken by sickness and acute physical suffering, I should leave lifewithout regret. "

The aspect of the capital was that of a city stricken with the plague. Articles of the most absolute necessity could not be obtained. It wasimpossible to buy bread, or meat, or beer. The tyrant, beside himselfwith rage at being thus braved in his very lair, privately sent forMaster Carl, the executioner. In order to exhibit an unexpected andsalutary example, he had determined to hang eighteen of the leadingtradesmen of the city in the doors of their own shops, with the leastpossible delay and without the slightest form of trial. 

Master Carl was ordered, on the very night of his interview with theDuke, to prepare eighteen strong cords, and eighteen ladders twelve feetin length. By this simple arrangement, Alva was disposed to make manifeston the morrow, to the burghers of Brussels, that justice was thenceforthto be carried to every man's door. He supposed that the spectacle of adozen and a half of butchers and bakers suspended in front of the shopswhich they had refused to open, would give a more effective stimulus totrade than any to be expected from argument or proclamation. The hangmanwas making ready his cords and ladders; Don Frederic of Toledo wascloseted with President Viglius, who, somewhat against his will, wasaroused at midnight to draw the warrants for these impromptu executions;Alva was waiting with grim impatience for the dawn upon which the showwas to be exhibited, when an unforeseen event suddenly arrested thehomely tragedy. In the night arrived the intelligence that the town ofBrill had been captured. The Duke, feeling the full gravity of thesituation, postponed the chastisement which he had thus secretly plannedto a more convenient season, in order without an instant's hesitation toavert the consequences of this new movement on the part of the rebels. The seizure of Brill was the Deus ex machina which unexpectedly solvedboth the inextricable knot of the situation and the hangman's noose. 

Allusion has more than once been made to those formidable partisans ofthe patriot cause, the marine outlaws. Cheated of half their birthrightby nature, and now driven forth from their narrow isthmus by tyranny, theexiled Hollanders took to the ocean. Its boundless fields, long arable totheir industry, became fatally fruitful now that oppression wastransforming a peaceful seafaring people into a nation of corsairs. Driven to outlawry and poverty, no doubt many Netherlanders plunged intocrime. The patriot party had long sine laid aside the respectfuldeportment which had provoked the sarcasms of the loyalists. The beggarsof the sea asked their alms through the mouths of their cannon. Unfortunately, they but too often made their demands upon both friend andfoe. Every ruined merchant, every banished lord, every reckless mariner, who was willing to lay the commercial world under contribution to repairhis damaged fortunes, could, without much difficulty, be supplied with avessel and crew at some northern port, under color of cruising againstthe Viceroy's government. Nor was the ostensible motive simply a pretext. To make war upon Alva was the leading object of all these freebooters, and they were usually furnished by the Prince of Orange, in his capacityof sovereign, with letters of marque for that purpose. The Prince, indeed, did his utmost to control and direct an evil which had inevitablygrown out of the horrors of the time. His Admiral, William de la Marck, was however, incapable of comprehending the lofty purposes of hissuperior. A wild, sanguinary, licentious noble, wearing his hair andbeard unshorn, according to ancient Batavian custom, until the death ofhis relative, Egmont, should have been expiated, a worthy descendant ofthe Wild Boar of Ardennes, this hirsute and savage corsair seemed anembodiment of vengeance. He had sworn to wreak upon Alva and upon poperythe deep revenge owed to them by the Netherland nobility, and in thecruelties afterwards practised by him upon monks and priests, the BloodCouncil learned that their example had made at least one ripe scholaramong the rebels. He was lying, at this epoch, with his fleet on thesouthern coast of England, from which advantageous position he was now tobe ejected in a summary manner. 

The negotiations between the Duke of Alva and Queen Elizabeth had alreadyassumed an amicable tone, and were fast ripening to an adjustment. It layby no means in that sovereign's disposition to involve herself at thisjuncture in a war with Philip, and it was urged upon her government byAlva's commissioners, that the continued countenance afforded by theEnglish people to the Netherland cruisers must inevitably lead to thatresult. In the latter days of March, therefore, a sentence of virtualexcommunication was pronounced against De la Marck and his rovers. Aperemptory order of Elizabeth forbade any of her subjects to supply themwith meat, bread, or beer. The command being strictly complied with, their farther stay was rendered impossible. Twenty-four vesselsaccordingly, of various sizes, commanded by De la Marck, Treslong, Adamvan Harem, Brand, and Other distinguished seamen, set sail from Dover inthe very last days of March. Being almost in a state of starvation, theseadventurers were naturally anxious to supply themselves with food. Theydetermined to make a sudden foray upon the coasts of North Holland, andaccordingly steered for Enkbuizen, both because it was a rich sea-portand because it contained many secret partisans of the Prince. On PalmSunday they captured two Spanish merchantmen. Soon afterwards, however, the wind becoming contrary, they were unable to double the Helder or theTexel, and on Tuesday, the 1st of April, having abandoned their originalintention, they dropped down towards Zealand, and entered the broad mouthof the river Meuse. Between the town of Brill, upon the southern lip ofthis estuary, and Naaslandsluis, about half a league distant, upon theopposite aide, the squadron suddenly appeared at about two o'clock of anApril afternoon, to the great astonishment of the inhabitants of bothplaces. It seemed too large a fleet to be a mere collection of tradingvessels, nor did they appear to be Spanish ships. Peter Koppelstok, asagacious ferryman, informed the passengers whom he happened to beconveying across the river, that the strangers were evidently the waterbeggars. The dreaded name filled his hearers with consternation, and theybecame eager to escape from so perilous a vicinity. Having duly landedhis customers, however, who hastened to spread the news of the impendinginvasion, and to prepare for defence or flight, the stout ferryman, whowas secretly favorable to the cause of liberty, rowed boldly out toinquire the destination and purposes of the fleet. 

The vessel which he first hailed was that commanded by William de Blois, Seigneur of Treslong. This adventurous noble, whose brother had beenexecuted by the Duke of Alva in 1568, had himself fought by the side ofCount Louis at Jemmingen, and although covered with wounds, had been oneof the few who escaped alive from that horrible carnage. During theintervening period he had become one of the most famous rebels on theocean, and he had always been well known in Brill, where his father hadbeen governor for the King. He at once recognized Koppelstok, andhastened with him on board the Admiral's ship, assuring De la Marck thatthe ferryman was exactly the man for their purpose. It was absolutelynecessary that a landing should be effected, for the people were withoutthe necessaries of life. Captain Martin Brand had visited the ship ofAdam Van Haren, as soon as they had dropped anchor in the Meuse, beggingfor food. "I gave him a cheese, " said Adam, afterwards relating theoccurrence, "and assured him that it was the last article of food to befound in the ship. " The other vessels were equally destitute. Under thecircumstances, it was necessary to attempt a landing. Treslong, therefore, who was really the hero of this memorable adventure, persuadedDe la Marck to send a message to the city of Brill, demanding itssurrender. This was a bold summons to be made by a handful of men, threeor four hundred at most, who were both metaphorically and literallybeggars. The city of Brill was not populous, but it was well walled andfortified. It was moreover a most commodious port. Treslong gave hissignet ring to the fisherman, Koppelstok, and ordered him, thusaccredited as an envoy, to carry their summons to the magistracy. Koppelstok, nothing loath, instantly rowed ashore, pushed through thecrowd of inhabitants, who overwhelmed him with questions, and made hisappearance in the town-house before the assembled magistrates. Heinformed them that he had been sent by the Admiral of the fleet and byTreslong, who was well known to them, to demand that two commissionersshould be sent out on the part of the city to confer with the patriots. He was bidden, he said, to give assurance that the deputies would becourteously treated. The only object of those who had sent him was tofree the land from the tenth penny, and to overthrow the tyranny of Alvaand his Spaniards. Hereupon he was asked by the magistrates, how large aforce De la Marck had under his command, To this question the ferrymancarelessly replied, that there might be some five thousand in all. Thisenormous falsehood produced its effect upon the magistrates. There wasnow no longer any inclination to resist the invader; the only questiondiscussed being whether to treat with them or to fly. On the whole, itwas decided to do both. With some difficulty, two deputies were foundsufficiently valiant to go forth to negotiate with the beggars, while intheir absence most of the leading burghers and functionaries made theirpreparations for flight. The envoys were assured by De la Marck andTreslong that no injury was intended to the citizens or to privateproperty, but that the overthrow of Alva's government was to be instantlyaccomplished. Two hours were given to the magistrates in which to decidewhether or not they would surrender the town and accept the authority ofDe la Marck as Admiral of the Prince of Orange. They employed the twohours thus granted in making an ignominious escape. Their example wasfollowed by most of the townspeople. When the invaders, at the expirationof the specified term, appeared under the walls of the city, they found afew inhabitants of the lower class gazing at them from above, butreceived no official communication from any source. 

The whole rebel force was now divided into two parties, one of whichunder Treslong made an attack upon the southern gate, while the othercommanded by the Admiral advanced upon the northern. Treslong after ashort struggle succeeded in forcing his entrance, and arrested, in doingso, the governor of the city, just taking his departure. De la Marck andhis men made a bonfire at the northern gate, and then battered down thehalf-burned portal with the end of an old mast. Thus rudely and rapidlydid the Netherland patriots conduct their first successful siege. The twoparties, not more perhaps than two hundred and fifty men in all, metbefore sunset in the centre of the city, and the foundation of the DutchRepublic was laid. The weary spirit of freedom, so long a fugitive overearth and sea, had at last found a resting-place, which rude and evenribald hands had prepared. 

The panic created by the first appearance of the fleet had been soextensive that hardly fifty citizens had remained in the town. The resthad all escaped, with as much property as they could carry away. TheAdmiral, in the name, of the Prince of Orange, as lawful stadholder ofPhilip, took formal possession of an almost deserted city. No indignitywas offered to the inhabitants of either sex, but as soon, as theconquerors were fairly established in the best houses of the place, theinclination to plunder the churches could no longer be restrained. Thealtars and images were all destroyed, the rich furniture and gorgeousvestments appropriated to private use. Adam van Hare appeared on hisvessel's deck attired in a magnificent high mass chasuble. Treslongthenceforth used no drinking cups in his cabin save the golden chalicesof the sacrament. Unfortunately, their hatred to popery was not confinedto such demonstrations. Thirteen unfortunate monks and priests, who hadbeen unable to effect their escape, were arrested and thrown into prison, from whence they were taken a few days later, by order of the ferociousAdmiral, and executed under circumstances of great barbarity. 

The news of this important exploit spread with great rapidity. Alva, surprised at the very moment of venting his rage on the butchers andgrocers of Brussels, deferred this savage design in order to deal withthe new difficulty. He had certainly not expected such a result from theready compliance of queen Elizabeth with his request. His rage wasexcessive; the triumph of the people, by whom he was cordially detested, proportionably great. The punsters of Brussels were sure not to let suchan opportunity escape them, for the name of the captured town wassusceptible of a quibble, and the event had taken place upon All Fools'Day. 

 "On April's Fool's Day, Duke Alva's spectacles were stolen away, "

became a popular couplet. The word spectacles, in Flemish, as well as thename of the suddenly surprised city, being Brill, this allusion to theDuke's loss and implied purblindness was not destitute of ingenuity. Acaricature, too, was extensively circulated, representing De la Marckstealing the Duke's spectacles from his nose, while the Governor wassupposed to be uttering his habitual expression whenever any intelligenceof importance was brought to him: 'No es nada, no es nada--'Tis nothing, 'tis nothing. 

The Duke, however, lost not an instant in attempting to repair thedisaster. Count Bossu, who had acted as stadholder of Holland andZealand, under Alva's authority, since the Prince of Orange had resignedthat office, was ordered at once to recover the conquered sea-port, ifpossible. 

Hastily gathering a force of some ten companies from the garrison ofUtrecht, some of which very troops had recently and unluckily forgovernment, been removed from Brill to that city, the Count crossed theSluis to the island of Voorn upon Easter day, and sent a summons to therebel force to surrender Brill. The patriots being very few in number, were at first afraid to venture outside the gates to attack the muchsuperior force of their invaders. A carpenter, however, who belonged tothe city, but had long been a partisan of Orange, dashed into the waterwith his axe in his hand, and swimming to the Niewland sluice, hacked itopen with a few vigorous strokes. The sea poured in at once, making theapproach to the city upon the north side impossible: Bossu then led hisSpaniards along the Niewland dyke to the southern gate, where they werereceived with a warm discharge of artillery, which completely staggeredthem. Meantime Treslong and Robol had, in the most daring manner, rowedout to the ships which had brought the enemy to the island, cut someadrift, and set others on fire. 

The Spaniards at the southern gate caught sight of their blazing vessels, saw the sea rapidly rising over the dyke, became panic-struck at beingthus enclosed between fire and water, and dashed off in precipitateretreat along the slippery causeway and through the slimy and turbidwaters, which were fast threatening to overwhelm them. Many were drownedor smothered in their flight, but the greater portion of the forceeffected their escape in the vessels which still remained within reach. This danger averted, Admiral de la Marck summoned all the inhabitants, alarge number of whom had returned to the town after the capture had beenfairly established, and required them, as well as all the population ofthe island, to take an oath of allegiance to the Prince of Orange asstadholder for his Majesty. 

The Prince had not been extremely satisfied with the enterprise of De laMarck. He thought-it premature, and doubted whether it would bepracticable to hold the place, as he had not yet completed hisarrangements in Germany, nor assembled the force with which he intendedagain to take the field. More than all, perhaps, he had little confidencein the character of his Admiral. Orange was right in his estimate of Dela Marck. It had not been that rover's design either to take or to holdthe place; and after the descent had been made, the ships victualled, thechurches plundered, the booty secured, and a few monks murdered, he hadgiven orders for the burning of the town, and for the departure of thefleet. The urgent solicitations of Treslong, however, prevailed, withsome difficulty, over De la Marck' original intentions. It is to thatbold and intelligent noble, therefore, more than to any other individual, that the merit of laying this corner-stone of the Batavian commonwealthbelongs. The enterprise itself was an accident, but the quick eye ofTreslong saw the possibility of a permanent conquest, where his superiordreamed of nothing beyond a piratical foray. 

Meantime Bossu, baffled in his attempt upon Brill, took his way towardsRotterdam. It was important that he should at least secure such othercities as the recent success of the rebels might cause to waver in theirallegiance. He found the gates of Rotterdam closed. The authoritiesrefused to comply with his demand to admit a garrison for the King. Professing perfect loyalty, the inhabitants very naturally refused toadmit a band of sanguinary Spaniards to enforce their obedience. Compelled to parley, Bossu resorted to a perfidious stratagem. Herequested permission for his troops to pass through the city withouthalting. This was granted by the magistrates, on condition that only acorporal's command should be admitted at a time. To these terms the Countaffixed his hand and seal. With the admission, however, of the firstdetachment, a violent onset was made upon the gate by the whole Spanishforce. The townspeople, not suspecting treachery, were not prepared tomake effective resistance. A stout smith, confronting the invaders at thegate, almost singly, with his sledge-hammer, was stabbed to the heart byBossu with his own hand. The soldiers having thus gained admittance, rushed through the streets, putting every man to death who offered theslightest resistance. Within a few minutes four hundred citizens weremurdered. The fate of the women, abandoned now to the outrage of a brutalsoldiery, was worse than death. The capture of Rotterdam is infamous forthe same crimes which blacken the record of every Spanish triumph in theNetherlands. 

The important town of Flushing, on the Isle of Walcheren, was first tovibrate with the patriotic impulse given by the success at Brill. TheSeigneur de Herpt, a warm partisan of Orange, excited the burghersassembled in the market-place to drive the small remnant of the Spanishgarrison from the city. A little later upon the same day a considerablereinforcement arrived before the walls. The Duke had determined, althoughtoo late, to complete the fortress which had been commenced long beforeto control the possession of this important position at the mouth of thewestern Scheld. The troops who were to resume this too long intermittedwork arrived just in time to witness the expulsion of their comrades. DeHerpt easily persuaded the burghers that the die was cast, and that theironly hope lay in a resolute resistance. The people warmly acquiesced, while a half-drunken, half-wined fellow in the crowd valiantly proposed, in consideration of a pot of beer, to ascend the ramparts and todischarge a couple of pieces of artillery at the Spanish ships. The offerwas accepted, and the vagabond merrily mounting the height, dischargedthe guns. Strange to relate, the shot thus fired by a lunatic's hand putthe invading ships to flight. A sudden panic seized the Spaniards, thewhole fleet stood away at once in the direction of Middelburg, and weresoon out of sight. 

The next day, however, Antony of Bourgoyne, governor under Alva for theIsland of Walcheren, made his appearance in Flushing. Having a highopinion of his own oratorical powers, he came with the intention ofwinning back with his rhetoric a city which the Spaniards had thus farbeen unable to recover with their cannon. The great bell was rung, thewhole population assembled in the marketplace, and Antony, from the stepsof the town-house, delivered a long oration, assuring the burghers, amongother asseverations, that the King, who was the best natured prince inall Christendom, would forget and forgive their offences if they returnedhonestly to their duties. 

The effect of the Governor's eloquence was much diminished, however, bythe interlocutory remarks, of De Herpt and a group of his adherents. Theyreminded the people of the King's good nature, of his readiness to forgetand to forgive, as exemplified by the fate of Horn and Egmont, of Berghenand Montigny, and by the daily and almost hourly decrees of the BloodCouncil. Each well-rounded period of the Governor was greeted withironical cheers. The oration was unsuccessful. "Oh, citizens, citizens!"cried at last the discomfited Antony, "ye know not what ye do. Your bloodbe upon your own heads; the responsibility be upon your own hearts forthe fires which are to consume your cities and the desolation which is tosweep your land!" The orator at this impressive point was interrupted, and most unceremoniously hustled out of the city. The government remainedin the hands of the patriots. 

The party, however, was not so strong in soldiers as in spirit. Nosooner, therefore, had they established their rebellion to Alva as anincontrovertible fact, than they sent off emissaries to the Prince ofOrange, and to Admiral De la Marek at Brill. Finding that the inhabitantsof Flushing were willing to provide arms and ammunition, De la Marckreadily consented to send a small number of men, bold and experienced inpartisan warfare, of whom he had now collected a larger number than hecould well arm or maintain in his present position. 

The detachment, two hundred in number, in three small vessels, set sailaccordingly from Brill for Flushing; and a wild crew they were, ofreckless adventurers under command of the bold Treslong. The expeditionseemed a fierce but whimsical masquerade. Every man in the little fleetwas attired in the gorgeous vestments of the plundered churches, ingold-embroidered cassocks, glittering mass-garments, or the more sombrecowls, and robes of Capuchin friars. So sped the early standard bearersof that ferocious liberty which had sprung from the fires in which allelse for which men cherish their fatherland had been consumed. So sweptthat resolute but fantastic band along the placid estuaries of Zealand, waking the stagnant waters with their wild beggar songs and cries ofvengeance. 

That vengeance found soon a distinguished object. Pacheco, the chiefengineer of Alva, who had accompanied the Duke in his march from Italy, who had since earned a world-wide reputation as the architect of theAntwerp citadel, had been just despatched in haste to Flushing tocomplete the fortress whose construction had been so long delayed. Toolate for his work, too soon for his safety, the ill-fated engineer hadarrived almost at the same moment with Treslong and his crew. He hadstepped on shore, entirely ignorant of all which had transpired, expecting to be treated with the respect due to the chief commandant ofthe place, and to an officer high in the confidence of theGovernor-General. He found himself surrounded by an indignant andthreatening mob. The unfortunate Italian understood not a word of theopprobrious language addressed to him, but he easily comprehended thatthe authority of the Duke was overthrown. Observing De Ryk, adistinguished partisan officer and privateersman of Amsterdam, whosereputation for bravery and generosity was known, to him, he approachedhim, and drawing a seal ring from his finger, kissed it, and handed it tothe rebel chieftain. By this dumbshow he gave him to understand that herelied upon his honor for the treatment due to a gentleman. De Rykunderstood the appeal, and would willingly have assured him, at least, asoldier's death, but he was powerless to do so. He arrested him, that hemight be protected from the fury of the rabble, but Treslong, who nowcommanded in Flushing, was especially incensed against the founder of theAntwerp citadel, and felt a ferocious desire to avenge his brother'smurder upon the body of his destroyer's favourite. Pacheco was condemnedto be hanged upon the very day of his arrival. Having been brought forthfrom his prison, he begged hard but not abjectly for his life. He offereda heavy ransom, but his enemies were greedy for blood, not for money. Itwas, however, difficult to find an executioner. The city hangman wasabsent, and the prejudice of the country and the age against the vileprofession had assuredly not been diminished during the five horribleyears of Alva's administration. Even a condemned murderer, who lay in thetown-gaol, refused to accept his life in recompence for performing theoffice. It should never be said, he observed, that his mother had givenbirth to a hangman. When told, however, that the intended victim was aSpanish officer, the malefactor consented to the task with alacrity, oncondition that he might afterwards kill any man who taunted him with thedeed. 

Arrived at the foot of the gallows, Pacheco complained bitterly of thedisgraceful death designed for him. He protested loudly that he came of ahouse as noble as that of Egmont or Horn, and was entitled to ashonorable an execution as theirs had been. "The sword! the sword!" hefrantically exclaimed, as he struggled with those who guarded him. Hislanguage was not understood, but the names of Egmont and Horn inflamedstill more highly the rage of the rabble, while his cry for the sword wasfalsely interpreted by a rude fellow who had happened to possess himselfof Pacheco's rapier, at his capture, and who now paraded himself with itat the gallows' foot. "Never fear for your sword, Seilor, " cried thisruffian; "your sword is safe enough, and in good hands. Up the ladderwith you, Senor; you have no further use for your sword. "

Pacheco, thus outraged, submitted to his fate. He mounted the ladder witha steady step, and was hanged between two other Spanish officers. Soperished miserably a brave soldier, and one of the most distinguishedengineers of his time; a man whose character and accomplishments hadcertainly merited for him a better fate. But while we stigmatize as itdeserves the atrocious conduct of a few Netherland partisans, we shouldremember who first unchained the demon of international hatred in thisunhappy land, nor should it ever be forgotten that the great leader ofthe revolt, by word, proclamation, example, by entreaties, threats, andcondign punishment, constantly rebuked, and to a certain extent, restrained the sanguinary spirit by which some of his followers disgracedthe noble cause which they had espoused. 

Treslong did not long remain in command at Flushing. An officer, high inthe confidence of the Prince, Jerome van 't Zeraerts, now arrived atFlushing, with a commission to be Lieutenant-Governor over the whole isleof Walcheren. He was attended by a small band of French infantry, whileat nearly the same time the garrison was further strengthened by thearrival of a large number of volunteers from England. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Beggars of the sea, as these privateersmen designated themselves Hair and beard unshorn, according to ancient Batavian custom Only healthy existence of the French was in a state of war

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 19. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY18551572 [CHAPTER VII. ]

 Municipal revolution throughout Holland and Zealand--Characteristics of the movement in various places--Sonoy commissioned by Orange as governor of North Holland--Theory of the provisional government-- Instructions of the Prince to his officers--Oath prescribed--Clause of toleration--Surprise of Mons by Count Louis--Exertions of Antony Oliver--Details of the capture--Assembly of the citizens--Speeches of Genlis and of Count Louis--Effect of the various movements upon Alva--Don Frederic ordered to invest Mons--The Duke's impatience to retire--Arrival of Medina Coeli--His narrow escape--Capture of the Lisbon fleet--Affectation of cordiality between Alva and Medina-- Concessions by King and Viceroy on the subject of the tenth penny-- Estates of Holland assembled, by summons of Orange, at Dort--Appeals from the Prince to this congress for funds to pay his newly levied army--Theory of the provisional States' assembly--Source and nature of its authority--Speech of St. Aldegonde--Liberality of the estates and the provinces--Pledges exchanged between the Prince's representative and the Congress--Commission to De la Marck ratified --Virtual dictatorship of Orange--Limitation of his power by his own act--Count Louis at Mons--Reinforcements led from France by Genlis-- Rashness of that officer--His total defeat--Orange again in the field--Rocrmond taken--Excesses of the patriot army--Proclamation of Orange, commanding respect to all personal and religious rights--His reply to the Emperor's summons--His progress in the Netherlands-- Hopes entertained from France--Reinforcements under Coligny promised to Orange by Charles IX. --The Massacre of St. Bartholomew--The event characterized--Effect in England, in Rome, and in other parts of Europe--Excessive hilarity of Philip--Extravagant encomium bestowed by him upon Charles IX. --Order sent by Philip to put all French prisoners in the Netherlands to Death--Secret correspondence of Charles IX. With his envoy in the Netherlands--Exultation of the Spaniards before Mons--Alva urged by the French envoy, according to his master's commands, to put all the Frenchmen in Mons, and those already captured, to death--Effect of the massacre upon the Prince of Orange--Alva and Medina in the camp before Mons--Hopelessness of the Prince's scheme to obtain battle from Alva--Romero's encamisada --Narrow escape of the prince--Mutiny and dissolution of his army-- His return to Holland--His steadfastness--Desperate position of Count Louis in Mons--Sentiments of Alva--Capitulation of Mons-- Courteous reception of Count Louis by the Spanish generals-- Hypocrisy of these demonstrations--Nature of the Mons capitulation-- Horrible violation of its terms--Noircarmes at Mons--Establishment of a Blood Council in the city--Wholesale executions--Cruelty and cupidity of Noircarmes--Late discovery of the archives of these crimes--Return of the revolted cities of Brabant and Flanders to obedience--Sack of Mechlin by the Spaniards--Details of that event. 

The example thus set by Brill and Flushing was rapidly followed. Thefirst half of the year 1572 was distinguished by a series of triumphsrendered still more remarkable by the reverses which followed at itsclose. Of a sudden, almost as it were by accident, a small but importantsea-port, the object for which the Prince had so long been hoping, wassecured. Instantly afterward, half the island of Walcheren renounced theyoke of Alva, Next, Enkbuizen, the key to the Zuyder Zee, the principalarsenal, and one of the first commercial cities in the Netherlands, roseagainst the Spanish Admiral, and hung out the banner of Orange on itsramparts. The revolution effected here was purely the work of thepeople--of the mariners and burghers of the city. Moreover, themagistracy was set aside and the government of Alva repudiated withoutshedding one drop of blood, without a single wrong to person or property. By the same spontaneous movement, nearly all the important cities ofHolland and Zealand raised the standard of him in whom they recognizedtheir deliverer. The revolution was accomplished under nearly similarcircumstances everywhere. With one fierce bound of enthusiasm the nationshook off its chain. Oudewater, Dort, Harlem, Leyden, Gorcum, Loewenstein, Gouda, Medenblik, Horn, Alkmaar, Edam, Monnikendam, Purmerende, as well as Flushing, Veer, and Enkbuizen, all rangedthemselves under the government of Orange, as lawful stadholder for theKing. 

Nor was it in Holland and Zealand alone that the beacon fires of freedomwere lighted. City after city in Gelderland, Overyssel, and the See ofUtrecht; all the important towns of Friesland, some sooner, some later, some without a struggle, some after a short siege, some with resistanceby the functionaries of government, some by amicable compromise, acceptedthe garrisons of the Prince, and formally recognized his authority. Outof the chaos which a long and preternatural tyranny had produced, thefirst struggling elements of a new and a better world began to appear. Itwere superfluous to narrate the details which marked the suddenrestoration of liberty in these various groups of cities. Traits ofgenerosity marked the change of government in some, circumstances offerocity, disfigured the revolution in others. The island of Walcheren, equally divided as it was between the two parties, was the scene of muchtruculent and diabolical warfare. It is difficult to say whether themutual hatred of race or the animosity of religious difference proved thedeadlier venom. The combats were perpetual and sanguinary, the prisonerson both sides instantly executed. On more than one occasion; men wereseen assisting to hang with their own hands and in cold blood their ownbrothers, who had been taken prisoners in the enemy's ranks. When thecaptives were too many to be hanged, they were tied back to back, two andtwo, and thus hurled into the sea. The islanders found a fierce pleasurein these acts of cruelty. A Spaniard had ceased to be human in theireyes. On one occasion, a surgeon at Veer cut the heart from a Spanishprisoner, nailed it on a vessel's prow; and invited the townsmen to comeand fasten their teeth in it, which many did with savage satisfaction. 

In other parts of the country the revolution was, on the whole, accomplished with comparative calmness. Even traits of generosity werenot uncommon. The burgomaster of Gonda, long the supple slave of Alva andthe Blood Council, fled for his life as the revolt broke forth in thatcity. He took refuge in the house of a certain widow, and begged for aplace of concealment. The widow led him to a secret closet which servedas a pantry. "Shall I be secure there?" asked the fugitive functionary. "O yes, sir Burgomaster, " replied the widow, "'t was in that very placethat my husband lay concealed when you, accompanied by the officers ofjustice, were searching the house, that you might bring him to thescaffold for his religion. Enter the pantry, your worship; I will beresponsible for your safety. " Thus faithfully did the humble widow of ahunted and murdered Calvinist protect the life of the magistrate who hadbrought desolation to her hearth. 

Not all the conquests thus rapidly achieved in the cause of liberty weredestined to endure, nor were any to be, retained without a struggle. Thelittle northern cluster of republics which had now restored its honor tothe ancient Batavian name was destined, however, for a long and vigorouslife. From that bleak isthmus the light of freedom was to stream throughmany years upon struggling humanity in Europe; a guiding pharos across astormy sea; and Harlem, Leyden, Alkmaar--names hallowed by deeds ofheroism such as have not often illustrated human annals, still breathe astrumpet-tongued and perpetual a defiance to despotism as Marathon, Thermopylae, or Salamis. 

A new board of magistrates had been chosen in all the redeemed cities, bypopular election. They were required to take an oath of fidelity to theKing of Spain, and to the Prince of Orange as his stadholder; to promiseresistance to the Duke of Alva, the tenth penny, and the inquisition; tosupport every man's freedom and the welfare of the country; to protectwidows, orphans, and miserable persons, and to maintain justice andtruth. 

Diedrich Sonoy arrived on the 2nd June at Enkbuizen. He was provided bythe Prince with a commission, appointing him Lieutenant-Governor of NorthHolland or Waterland. Thus, to combat the authority of Alva was set upthe authority of the King. The stadholderate over Holland and Zealand, towhich the Prince had been appointed in 1559, he now reassumed. Upon thisfiction reposed the whole provisional polity of the revolted Netherlands. The government, as it gradually unfolded itself, from this epoch forwarduntil the declaration of independence and the absolute renunciation ofthe Spanish sovereign power, will be sketched in a future chapter. Thepeople at first claimed not an iota more of freedom than was secured byPhilip's coronation oath. There was no pretence that Philip was notsovereign, but there was a pretence and a determination to worship Godaccording to conscience, and to reclaim the ancient political "liberties"of the land. So long as Alva reigned, the Blood Council, the inquisition, and martial law, were the only codes or courts, and every charter slept. To recover this practical liberty and these historical rights, and toshake from their shoulders a most sanguinary government, was the purposeof William and of the people. No revolutionary standard was displayed. 

The written instructions given by the Prince to his Lieutenant Sonoy wereto "see that the Word of God was preached, without, however, sufferingany hindrance to the Roman Church in the exercise of its religion; torestore fugitives and the banished for conscience sake, and to require ofall magistrates and officers of guilds and brotherhoods an oath offidelity. " The Prince likewise prescribed the form of that oath, repeating therein, to his eternal honor, the same strict prohibition ofintolerance. "Likewise, " said the formula, "shall those of 'the religion'offer no let or hindrance to the Roman churches. "

The Prince was still in Germany, engaged in raising troops and providingfunds. He directed; however, the affairs of the insurgent provinces intheir minutest details, by virtue of the dictatorship inevitably forcedupon him both by circumstances and by the people. In the meantime; Louisof Nassau, the Bayard of the Netherlands, performed a most unexpected andbrilliant exploit. He had been long in France, negotiating with theleaders of the Huguenots, and, more secretly, with the court. He wassupposed by all the world to be still in that kingdom, when the startlingintelligence arrived that he had surprised and captured the importantcity of Mons. This town, the capital of Hainault, situate in a fertile, undulating, and beautiful country, protected by lofty walls, a triplemoat, and a strong citadel, was one of the most flourishing and elegantplaces in the Netherlands. It was, moreover, from its vicinity to thefrontiers of France; a most important acquisition to the insurgent party. The capture was thus accomplished. A native of Mons, one Antony Oliver, ageographical painter, had insinuated himself into the confidence of Alva, for whom he had prepared at different times some remarkably well-executedmaps of the country. Having occasion to visit France, he was employed bythe Duke to keep a watch upon the movements of Louis of Nassau, and tomake a report as to the progress of his intrigues with the court ofFrance. The painter, however, was only a spy in disguise, being inreality devoted to the cause of freedom, and a correspondent of Orangeand his family. His communications with Louis, in Paris, had therefore afar different result from the one anticipated by Alva. A large number ofadherents within the city of Mons had already been secured, and a planwas now arranged between Count Louis, Genlis, De la Noue, and otherdistinguished Huguenot chiefs, to be carried out with the assistance ofthe brave and energetic artist. 

On the 23rd of May, Oliver appeared at the gates of Mons, accompanied bythree wagons, ostensibly containing merchandise, but in reality ladenwith arquebusses. These were secretly distributed among his confederatesin the city. In the course of the day Count Louis arrived in theneighbourhood, accompanied by five hundred horsemen and a thousand footsoldiers. This force he stationed in close concealment within the thickforests between Maubeuge and Mons. Towards evening he sent twelve of themost trusty and daring of his followers, disguised as wine merchants, into the city. These individuals proceeded boldly to a public house, ordered their supper, and while conversing with the landlord, carelesslyinquired at what hour next morning the city gates would be opened. Theywere informed that the usual hour was four in the morning, but that atrifling present to the porter would ensure admission, if they desiredit, at an earlier hour. They explained their inquiries by a statementthat they had some casks of wine which they wished to introduce into thecity before sunrise. Having obtained all the information which theyneeded, they soon afterwards left the tavern. The next day they presentedthemselves very early at the gate, which the porter, on promise of ahandsome "drink-penny, " agreed to unlock. No sooner were the boltswithdrawn, however, than he was struck dead, while about fifty dragoonsrode through the gate. The Count and his followers now galloped over thecity in the morning twilight, shouting "France! liberty! the town isours!" "The Prince is coming!" "Down with the tenth penny; down with themurderous Alva!" So soon as a burgher showed his wondering face at thewindow, they shot at him with their carbines. They made as much noise, and conducted themselves as boldly as if they had been at least athousand strong. 

Meantime, however, the streets remained empty; not one of their secretconfederates showing himself. Fifty men could surprise, but were too fewto keep possession of the city. The Count began to suspect a trap. Asdaylight approached the alarm spread; the position of the little band wascritical. In his impetuosity, Louis had far outstripped his army, butthey had been directed to follow hard upon his footsteps, and he wasastonished that their arrival was so long delayed. The suspense becomingintolerable, he rode out of the city in quest of his adherents, and foundthem wandering in the woods, where they had completely lost their way. Ordering each horseman to take a foot soldier on the crupper behind him, he led them rapidly back to Mons. On the way they were encountered by LaNoue, "with the iron arm, " and Genlis, who, meantime, had made anunsuccessful attack to recover Valenciennes, which within a few hours hadbeen won and lost again. As they reached the gates of Mons, they foundthemselves within a hair's breadth of being too late; their adherents hadnot come forth; the citizens had been aroused; the gates were all fastbut one--and there the porter was quarrelling with a French soldier aboutan arquebuss. The drawbridge across the moat was at the moment rising;the last entrance was closing, when Guitoy de Chaumont, a French officer, mounted on a light Spanish barb, sprang upon the bridge as it rose. Hisweight caused it to sink again, the gate was forced, and Louis with allhis men rode triumphantly into the town. 

The citizens were forthwith assembled by sound of bell in themarket-place. The clergy, the magistracy, and the general council wereall present. Genlis made the first speech, in which he disclaimed allintention of making conquests in the interest of France. This pledgehaving been given, Louis of Nassau next addressed the assembly: "Themagistrates, " said he, "have not understoood my intentions. I protestthat I am no rebel to the King; I prove it by asking no new oaths fromany man. Remain bound by your old oaths of allegiance; let themagistrates continue to exercise their functions--to administer justice. I imagine that no person will suspect a brother of the Prince of Orangecapable of any design against the liberties of the country. As to theCatholic religion, I take it under my very particular protection. Youwill ask why I am in Mons at the head of an armed force: are any of youignorant of Alva's cruelties? The overthrow of this tyrant is as much theinterest of the King as of the people, therefore there is nothing in mypresent conduct inconsistent with fidelity to his Majesty. Against Alvaalone I have taken up arms; 'tis to protect you against his fury that Iam here. It is to prevent the continuance of a general rebellion that Imake war upon him. The only proposition which I have to make to you isthis--I demand that you declare Alva de Toledo a traitor to the King, theexecutioner of the people, an enemy to the country, unworthy of thegovernment, and hereby deprived of his authority. "

The magistracy did not dare to accept so bold a proposition; the generalcouncil, composing the more popular branch of the municipal government, were comparatively inclined to favor Nassau, and many of its membersvoted for the downfall of the tyrant. Nevertheless the demands of CountLouis were rejected. His position thus became critical. The civicauthorities refused to, pay for his troops, who were, moreover, too few, in number to resist the inevitable siege. The patriotism of the citizenswas not to be repressed, however, by the authority, of the magistrates;many rich proprietors of the great cloth and silk manufactories, forwhich Mons was famous, raised, and armed companies at their own expense;many volunteer troops were also speedily organized and drilled, and thefortifications were put in order. No attempt was made to force thereformed religion upon the inhabitants, and even Catholics who werediscovered in secret correspondence with the enemy were treated with suchextreme gentleness by Nassau as to bring upon him severe reproaches frommany of his own party. 

A large collection of ecclesiastical plate, jewellery, money, and othervaluables, which had been sent to the city for safe keeping from thechurches and convents of the provinces, was seized, and thus, with littlebloodshed and no violence; was the important city secured for theinsurgents. Three days afterwards, two thousand infantry, chiefly French, arrived in the place. In the early part of the following month Louis wasstill further strengthened by the arrival of thirteen hundred foot andtwelve hundred horsemen, under command of Count Montgomery, thecelebrated officer, whose spear at the tournament had proved fatal toHenry the Second. Thus the Duke of Alva suddenly found himself exposed toa tempest of revolution. One thunderbolt after another seemed descendingaround him in breathless succession. Brill and Flushing had been alreadylost; Middelburg was so closely invested that its fall seemed imminent, and with it would go the whole island of Walcheren, the key to all theNetherlands. In one morning he had heard of the revolt of Enkbuizen andof the whole Waterland; two hours later came the news of the Valenciennesrebellion, and next day the astonishing capture of Mons. One disasterfollowed hard upon another. He could have sworn that the detested Louisof Nassau, who had dealt this last and most fatal stroke, was at thatmoment in Paris, safely watched by government emissaries; and now he had, as it were, suddenly started out of the earth, to deprive him of thisimportant city, and to lay bare the whole frontier to the treacherousattacks of faithless France. He refused to believe the intelligence whenit was first announced to him, and swore that he had certain informationthat Count Louis had been seen playing in the tennis-court at Paris, within so short a period as to make his presence in Hainault at thatmoment impossible. Forced, at last, to admit the truth of the disastrousnews, he dashed his hat upon the ground in a fury, uttering imprecationsupon the Queen Dowager of France, to whose perfidious intrigues heascribed the success of the enterprise, and pledging himself to send herSpanish thistles, enough in return for the Florentine lilies which shehad thus bestowed upon him. 

In the midst of the perplexities thus thickening around him, the Dukepreserved his courage, if not his temper. Blinded, for a brief season, bythe rapid attacks made upon him, he had been uncertain whither to directhis vengeance. This last blow in so vital a quarter determined him atonce. He forthwith despatched Don Frederic to undertake the siege ofMons, and earnestly set about raising large reinforcements to his army. Don Frederic took possession, without much opposition, of the Bethlehemcloister in the immediate vicinity of the city, and with four thousandtroops began the investment in due form. 

Alva had, for a long time, been most impatient to retire from theprovinces. Even he was capable of human emotions. Through the sevenfoldpanoply of his pride he had been pierced by the sharpness of a nation'scurse. He was wearied with the unceasing execrations which assailed hisears. "The hatred which the people bear me, " said he, in a letter toPhilip, "because of the chastisement which it has been necessary for meto inflict, although with all the moderation in the world, make all myefforts vain. A successor will meet more sympathy and prove more useful. "On the 10th June, the Duke of Medina Coeli; with a fleet of more thanforty sail, arrived off Blankenburg, intending to enter the Scheld. Julian Romero, with two thousand Spaniards, was also on board the fleet. Nothing, of course, was known to the new comers of the altered conditionof affairs in the Netherlands, nor of the unwelcome reception which theywere like to meet in Flushing. A few of the lighter craft having beentaken by the patriot cruisers, the alarm was spread through all thefleet. Medina Coeli, with a few transports, was enabled to effect hisescape to Sluys, whence he hastened to Brussels in a much lessceremonious manner than he had originally contemplated. Twelve Biscayanships stood out to sea, descried a large Lisbon fleet, by a singularcoincidence, suddenly heaving in sight, changed their course again, andwith a favoring breeze bore boldly up the Hond; passed Flushing in spiteof a severe cannonade from the forts, and eventually made good theirentrance into Rammekens, whence the soldiery, about one-half of whom hadthus been saved, were transferred at a very critical moment toMiddelburg. 

The great Lisbon fleet followed in the wake of the Biscayans, with muchinferior success. Totally ignorant of the revolution which had occurredin the Ise of Walclieren, it obeyed the summons of the rebel fort to cometo anchor, and, with the exception of three or four, the vessels were alltaken. It was the richest booty which the insurgents had yet acquired bysea or land. The fleet was laden with spices, money, jewellery, and therichest merchandize. Five hundred thousand crowns of gold were taken, andit was calculated that the plunder altogether would suffice to maintainthe war for two years at least. One thousand Spanish soldiers, and a goodamount of ammunition, were also captured. The unexpected condition ofaffairs made a pause natural and almost necessary, before the governmentcould be decorously transferred. Medina Coeli with Spanishgrandiloquence, avowed his willingness to serve as a soldier, under ageneral whom he so much venerated, while Alva ordered that, in allrespects, the same outward marks of respect should be paid to hisappointed successor as to himself. Beneath all this external ceremony, however, much mutual malice was concealed. 

Meantime, the Duke, who was literally "without a single real, " was forcedat last to smother his pride in the matter of the tenth penny. On the24th June, he summoned the estates of Holland to assemble on the 15th ofthe ensuing month. In the missive issued for this purpose, he formallyagreed to abolish the whole tax, on condition that the estates-general ofthe Netherlands would furnish him with a yearly supply of two millions offlorins. Almost at the same moment the King had dismissed the deputies ofthe estates from Madrid, with the public assurance that the tax was to besuspended, and a private intimation that it was not abolished in terms, only in order to save the dignity of the Duke. 

These healing measures came entirely too late. The estates of Hollandmet, indeed, on the appointed day of July; but they assembled not inobedience to Alva, but in consequence of a summons from William ofOrange. They met, too, not at the Hague, but at Dort, to take formalmeasures for renouncing the authority of the Duke. The first congress ofthe Netherland commonwealth still professed loyalty to the Crown, but wasdetermined to accept the policy of Orange without a question. 

The Prince had again assembled an army in Germany, consisting of fifteenthousand foot and seven thousand horse, besides a number ofNetherlanders, mostly Walloons, amounting to nearly three thousand more. Before taking the field, however, it was necessary that he shouldguarantee at least three months' pay to his troops. This he could nolonger do, except by giving bonds endorsed by certain cities of Hollandas his securities. He had accordingly addressed letters in his own nameto all the principal cities, fervently adjuring them to remember, atlast, what was due to him, to the fatherland, and to their own character. "Let not a sum of gold, " said he in one of these letters, "be so dear toyou, that for its sake you will sacrifice your lives, your wives, yourchildren, and all your descendants, to the latest generations; that youwill bring sin and shame upon yourselves, and destruction upon us whohave so heartily striven to assist you. Think what scorn you will incurfrom foreign nations, what a crime you will commit against the. Lord God, what a bloody yoke ye will impose forever upon yourselves and yourchildren, if you now seek for subterfuges; if you now prevent us fromtaking the field with the troops which we have enlisted. On the otherhand, what inexpressible benefits you will confer on your country, if younow help us to rescue that fatherland from the power of Spanish vulturesand wolves. "

This and similar missives, circulated throughout the province of Holland, produced a deep impression. In accordance with his suggestions, thedeputies from the nobility and from twelve cities of that provinceassembled on the 15th July, at Dort. Strictly speaking, the estates orgovernment of Holland, the body which represented the whole people, consisted of the nobler and six great cities. On this occasion, however, Amsterdam being still in the power of the King, could send no deputies, while, on the other hand, all the small towns were invited to send uptheir representatives to the Congress. Eight accepted the proposal; therest declined to appoint delegates, partly from motives of economy, partly from timidity. '

These estates were the legitimate representatives of the people, but theyhad no legislative powers. The people had never pretended to sovereignty, nor did they claim it now. The source from which the government of theNetherlands was supposed to proceed was still the divine mandate. Evennow the estates silently conceded, as they had ever done, the supremelegislative and executive functions to the land's master. Upon Philip ofSpain, as representative of Count Dirk the First of Holland, haddescended, through many tortuous channels, the divine effluenceoriginally supplied by Charles the Simple of France. That supernaturalpower was not contested, but it was now ingeniously turned against thesovereign. The King's authority was invoked against himself in the personof the Prince of Orange, to whom, thirteen years before, a portion ofthat divine right had been delegated. The estates of Holland met at Dorton the 15th July, as representatives of the people; but they weresummoned by Orange, royally commissioned in 1559 as stadholder, andtherefore the supreme legislative and executive officer of certainprovinces. This was the theory of the provisional government. The Princerepresented the royal authority, the nobles represented both themselvesand the people of the open country, while the twelve cities representedthe whole body of burghers. Together, they were supposed to embody allauthority, both divine and human, which a congress could exercise. Thusthe whole movement was directed against Alva and against Count Bossu, appointed stadholder by Alva in the place of Orange. Philip's name wasdestined to figure for a long time, at the head of documents by whichmonies were raised, troops levied, and taxes collected, all to be used indeadly war against himself. 

The estates were convened on the 15th July, when Paul Buys, pensionary ofLeyden, the tried and confidential friend of Orange, was elected Advocateof Holland. The convention was then adjourned till the 18th, when SaintAldegonde made his appearance, with full powers to act provisionally inbehalf of his Highness. 

The distinguished plenipotentiary delivered before the congress a longand very effective harangue. He recalled the sacrifices and efforts ofthe Prince during previous years. He adverted to the disastrous campaignof 1568, in which the Prince had appeared full of high hope, at the headof a gallant army, but had been obliged, after a short period, to retire, because not a city had opened its gates nor a Netherlander lifted hisfinger in the cause. Nevertheless, he had not lost courage nor closed hisheart; and now that, through the blessing of God, the eyes of men hadbeen opened, and so many cities had declared against the tyrant, thePrince had found himself exposed to a bitter struggle. Although his ownfortunes had been ruined in the cause, he had been unable to resist thedaily flood of petitions which called upon him to come forward once more. He had again importuned his relations and powerful friends; he had atlast set on foot a new and well-appointed army. The day of payment hadarrived. Over his own head impended perpetual shame, over the fatherlandperpetual woe, if the congress should now refuse the necessary supplies. "Arouse ye, then, " cried the orator, with fervor, "awaken your own zealand that of your sister cities. Seize Opportunity by the locks, who neverappeared fairer than she does to-day. "

The impassioned eloquence of St. Aldegonde produced a profoundimpression. The men who had obstinately refused the demands of Alva, nowunanimously resolved to pour forth their gold and their blood at the callof Orange. "Truly, " wrote the Duke, a little later, "it almost drives memad to see the difficulty with which your Majesty's supplies arefurnished, and the liberality with which the people place their lives andfortunes at the disposal of this rebel. " It seemed strange to the loyalgovernor that men should support their liberator with greater alacritythan that with which they served their destroyer! It was resolved thatthe requisite amount should be at once raised, partly from the regularimposts and current "requests, " partly by loans from the rich, from theclergy, from the guilds and brotherhoods, partly from superfluous churchornaments and other costly luxuries. It was directed that subscriptionsshould be immediately opened throughout the land, that gold and silverplate, furniture, jewellery, and other expensive articles should bereceived by voluntary contributions, for which inventories and receiptsshould be given by the magistrates of each city, and that upon thesemoney should be raised, either by loan or sale. An enthusiastic andliberal spirit prevailed. All seemed determined rather than pay the tenthto Alva to pay the whole to the Prince. 

The estates, furthermore, by unanimous resolution, declared that theyrecognized the Prince as the King's lawful stadholder over Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and Utrecht, and that they would use their influencewith the other provinces to procure his appointment as Protector of allthe Netherlands during the King's absence. His Highness was requested toappoint an Admiral, on whom, with certain deputies from the Water-cities, the conduct of the maritime war should devolve. 

The conduct of the military operations by land was to be directed byDort, Leyden, and Enkbuizen, in conjunction with the Count de la Marck. Apledge was likewise exchanged between the estates and thepleni-potentiary, that neither party should enter into any treaty withthe King, except by full consent and co-operation of the other. Withregard to religion, it was firmly established, that the public exercisesof divine worship should be permitted not only to the Reformed Church, but to the Roman Catholic--the clergy of both being protected from allmolestation. 

After these proceedings, Count de la Marck made his appearance before theassembly. His commission from Orange was read to the deputies, and bythem ratified. The Prince, in that document, authorized "his dear cousin"to enlist troops, to accept the fealty of cities, to furnish them withgarrisons, to re-establish all the local laws, municipal rights, andancient privileges which had been suppressed. He was to maintain freedomof religion, under penalty of death to those who infringed it; he was torestore all confiscated property; he was, with advice of his council, tocontinue in office such city magistrates as were favorable, and to removethose adverse to the cause. 

The Prince was, in reality, clothed with dictatorial and even regalpowers. This authority had been forced upon him by the prayers of thepeople, but he manifested no eagerness as he partly accepted the onerousstation. He was provisionally the depositary of the whole sovereignty ofthe northern provinces, but he cared much less for theories of governmentthan for ways and means. It was his object to release the country fromthe tyrant who, five years long, had been burning and butchering thepeople. It was his determination to drive out the foreign soldiery. To dothis, he must meet his enemy in the field. So little was he disposed tostrengthen his own individual power, that he voluntarily imposed limitson himself, by an act, supplemental to the proceedings of the Congress ofDort. In this important ordinance made by the Prince of Orange, as aprovisional form of government, he publicly announced "that he would doand ordain nothing except by the advice of the estates, by reason thatthey were best acquainted with the circumstances and the humours of theinhabitants. " He directed the estates to appoint receivers for all publictaxes, and ordained that all military officers should make oath offidelity to him, as stadholder, and to the estates of Holland, to be trueand obedient, in order to liberate the land from the Albanian and Spanishtyranny, for the service of his royal Majesty as Count of Holland. Theprovisional constitution, thus made by a sovereign prince and actualdictator, was certainly as disinterested as it was sagacious. 

Meanwhile the war had opened vigorously in Hainault. Louis of Nassau hadno sooner found himself in possession of Mons than he had despatchedGenlis to France, for those reinforcements which had been promised byroyal lips. On the other hand, Don Frederic held the city closelybeleaguered; sharp combats before the walls were of almost dailyoccurrence, but it was obvious that Louis would be unable to maintain theposition into which he had so chivalrously thrown himself unless heshould soon receive important succor. The necessary reinforcements weresoon upon the way. Genlis had made good speed with his levy, and it wassoon announced that he was advancing into Hainault, with a force ofHuguenots, whose numbers report magnified to ten thousand veterans. Louisdespatched an earnest message to his confederate, to use extreme cautionin his approach. Above all things, he urged him, before attempting tothrow reinforcements into the city, to effect a junction with the Princeof Orange, who had already crossed the Rhine with his new army. 

Genlis, full of overweening confidence, and desirous of acquiring singlythe whole glory of relieving the city, disregarded this advice. Hisrashness proved his ruin, and the temporary prostration of the cause offreedom. Pushing rapidly forward across the French frontier, he arrived, towards the middle of July, within two leagues of Mons. The Spaniardswere aware of his approach, and well prepared to frustrate his project. On the 19th, he found himself upon a circular plain of about a league'sextent, surrounded with coppices and forests, and dotted with farm-housesand kitchen gardens. Here he paused to send out a reconnoitring party. The little detachment was, however, soon driven in, with the informationthat Don Frederic of Toledo, with ten thousand men, was coming instantlyupon them. The Spanish force, in reality, numbered four thousandinfantry, and fifteen hundred cavalry; but three thousand half-armedboors had been engaged by Don Frederic, to swell his apparent force. Thedemonstration produced its effect, and no sooner had the first panic ofthe intelligence been spread, than Noircarmes came charging upon them atthe head of his cavalry. The infantry arrived directly afterwards, andthe Huguenots were routed almost as soon as seen. It was a meeting ratherthan a battle. The slaughter of the French was very great, while but aninsignificant number of the Spaniards fell. Chiappin Vitelli was the heroof the day. It was to his masterly arrangements before the combat, and tohis animated exertions upon the field, that the victory was owing. Havingbeen severely wounded in the thigh but a few days previously, he causedhimself to be carried upon a litter in a recumbent position in front ofhis troops, and was everywhere seen, encouraging their exertions, andexposing himself, crippled as he was, to the whole brunt of the battle. To him the victory nearly proved fatal; to Don Frederic it broughtincreased renown. Vitelli's exertions, in his precarious condition, brought on severe inflammation, under which he nearly succumbed, whilethe son of Alva reaped extensive fame from the total overthrow of theveteran Huguenots, due rather to his lieutenant and to Julian Romero. 

The number of dead left by the French upon the plain amounted to at leasttwelve hundred, but a much larger number was butchered in detail by thepeasantry, among whom they attempted to take refuge, and who had not yetforgotten the barbarities inflicted by their countrymen in the previouswar. Many officers were taken prisoners, among whom was theCommander-in-chief, Genlis. 

That unfortunate gentleman was destined to atone for his rashness andobstinacy with his life. He was carried to the castle of Antwerp, where, sixteen months afterwards, he was secretly strangled by command of Alva, who caused the report to be circulated that he had died a natural death. About one hundred foot soldiers succeeded in making their entrance intoMona, and this was all the succor which Count Louis was destined toreceive from France, upon which country he had built such lofty and suchreasonable hopes. 

While this unfortunate event was occurring, the Prince had already puthis army in motion. On the 7th of July he had crossed the Rhine atDuisburg, with fourteen thousand foot, seven thousand horse, enlisted inGermany, besides a force of three thousand Walloons. On the 23rd of July, he took the city of Roermond, after a sharp cannonade, at which place histroops already began to disgrace the honorable cause in which they wereengaged, by imitating the cruelties and barbarities of their antagonists. The persons and property of the burghers were, with a very fewexceptions, respected; but many priests and monks were put to death bythe soldiery under circumstances of great barbarity. The Prince, incensedat such conduct, but being unable to exercise very stringent authorityover troops whose wages he was not yet able to pay in full, issued aproclamation, denouncing such excesses, and commanding his followers, upon pain of death, to respect the rights of all individuals, whetherPapist or Protestant, and to protect religious exercises both in Catholicand Reformed churches. 

It was hardly to be expected that the troops enlisted by the Prince inthe same great magazine of hireling soldiers, Germany, from whence theDuke also derived his annual supplies, would be likely to differ verymuch in their propensities from those enrolled under Spanish banners; yetthere was a vast contrast between the characters of the two commanders. One leader inculcated the practice of robbery, rape, and murder, as aduty, and issued distinct orders to butcher every mother's son in thecities which he captured; the other restrained every excess to, theutmost of his ability, protecting not only life and property, but eventhe ancient religion. 

The Emperor Maximilian had again issued his injunctions against themilitary operations of Orange. Bound to the monarch of Spain by so manyfamily ties, being at once cousin, brother-in-law, and father-in-law ofPhilip, it was difficult for him to maintain the attitude which becamehim, as chief of that Empire to which the peace of Passau had assuredreligious freedom. It had, however, been sufficiently proved thatremonstrances and intercessions addressed to Philip were but idle breath. It had therefore become an insult to require pacific conduct from thePrince on the ground of any past or future mediation. It was a stillgrosser mockery to call upon him to discontinue hostilities because theNetherlands were included in the Empire, and therefore protected by thetreaties of Passau and Augsburg. Well did the Prince reply to hisImperial Majesty's summons in a temperate but cogent letter, in which headdressed to him from his camp, that all intercessions had provedfruitless, and that the only help for the Netherlands was the sword. 

The Prince had been delayed for a month at Roermonde, because, as heexpressed it; "he had not a single sou, " and because, in consequence, thetroops refused to advance into the Netherlands. Having at last beenfurnished with the requisite guarantees from the Holland cities for threemonths' pay, on the 27th of August, the day of the publication of hisletter to the Emperor, he crossed the Meuse and took his circuitous waythrough Diest, Tirlemont, Sichem, Louvain, Mechlin, Termonde, Oudenarde, Nivelles. Many cities and villages accepted his authority and admittedhis garrisons. Of these Mechlin was the most considerable, in which hestationed a detachment of his troops. Its doom was sealed in that moment. Alva could not forgive this act of patriotism on the part of a town whichhad so recently excluded his own troops. "This is a direct permission ofGod, " he wrote, in the spirit of dire and revengeful prophecy, "for us topunish her as she deserves, for the image-breaking and other misdeedsdone there in the time of Madame de Parma, which our Lord was not willingto pass over without chastisement. "

Meantime the Prince continued his advance. Louvain purchased itsneutrality for the time with sixteen thousand ducats; Brusselsobstinately refused to listen to him, and was too powerful to be forciblyattacked at that juncture; other important cities, convinced by thearguments and won by the eloquence of the various proclamations which hescattered as he advanced, ranged themselves spontaneously and evenenthusiastically upon his side. How different world have been the resultof his campaign but for the unexpected earthquake which at that instantwas to appal Christendom, and to scatter all his well-matured plans andlegitimate hopes. His chief reliance, under Providence and his own strongheart, had been upon French assistance. Although Genlis, by hismisconduct, had sacrificed his army and himself, yet the Prince as stilljustly sanguine as to the policy of the French court. The papers whichhad been found in the possession of Genlis by his conquerors all spokeone language. "You would be struck with stupor, " wrote Alva's secretary, "could you see a letter which is now in my power, addressed by the Kingof France to Louis of Nassau. " In that letter the King had declared hisdetermination to employ all the forces which God had placed in his handsto rescue the Netherlands from the oppression under which they weregroaning. In accordance with the whole spirit and language of the Frenchgovernment, was the tone of Coligny in his correspondence with Orange. The Admiral assured the Prince that there was no doubt as to theearnestness of the royal intentions in behalf of the Netherlands, andrecommending extreme caution, announced his hope within a few days toeffect a junction with him at the head of twelve thousand Frencharquebusiers, and at least three thousand cavalry. Well might the Princeof Orange, strong, and soon to be strengthened, boast that theNetherlands were free, and that Alva was in his power. He had a right tobe sanguine, for nothing less than a miracle could now destroy hisgenerous hopes--and, alas! the miracle took place; a miracle of perfidyand bloodshed such as the world, familiar as it had ever been and wasstill to be with massacre, had not yet witnessed. On the 11th of August, Coligny had written thus hopefully of his movements towards theNetherlands, sanctioned and aided by his King. A fortnight from that dayoccurred the "Paris-wedding;" and the Admiral, with thousands of hisreligious confederates, invited to confidence by superhuman treachery, and lulled into security by the music of august marriage bells, wassuddenly butchered in the streets of Paris by royal and noble hands. 

The Prince proceeded on his march, during which the heavy news had beenbrought to him, but he felt convinced that, with the very arrival of theawful tidings, the fate of that campaign was sealed, and the fall of Monsinevitable. In his own language, he had been struck to the earth "withthe blow of a sledge-hammer, "--nor did the enemy draw a different auguryfrom the great event. 

The crime was not committed with the connivance of the Spanishgovernment. On the contrary, the two courts were at the moment bitterlyhostile to each other. In the beginning of the summer, Charles IX. Andhis advisers were as false to Philip, as at the end of it they weretreacherous to Coligny and Orange. The massacre of the Huguenots had noteven the merit of being a well-contrived and intelligently executedscheme. We have seen how steadily, seven years before, Catharine deMedici had rejected the advances of Alva towards the arrangement of ageneral plan for the extermination of all heretics within France and theNetherlands at the same moment. We have seen the disgust with which Alvaturned from the wretched young King at Bayonne, when he expressed theopinion that to take arms against his own subjects was wholly out of thequestion, and could only be followed by general ruin. "'Tis easy to seethat he has been tutored, " wrote Alva to his master. Unfortunately, thesame mother; who had then instilled those lessons of hypocriticalbenevolence, had now wrought upon her son's cowardly but ferocious naturewith a far different intent. The incomplete assassination of Coligny, thedread of signal vengeance at the hands of the Huguenots, the necessity oftaking the lead in the internecine snuggle; were employed with Mediceanart, and with entire success. The King was lashed into a frenzy. Startingto his feet, with a howl of rage and terror, "I agree to the scheme, " hecried, "provided not one Huguenot be left alive in France to reproach mewith the deed. "

That night the slaughter commenced. The long premeditated crime wasexecuted in a panic, but the work was thoroughly done. The King, who afew days before had written with his own hand to Louis of Nassau, expressing his firm determination to sustain the Protestant cause both inFrance and the Netherlands, who had employed the counsels of Coligny inthe arrangement, of his plans, and who had sent French troops, underGenlis and La None, to assist their Calvinist brethren in Flanders, nowgave the signal for the general massacre of the Protestants, and with hisown hands, from his own palace windows, shot his subjects with hisarquebuss as if they had been wild beasts. 

Between Sunday and Tuesday, according to one of the most moderatecalculations, five thousand Parisians of all ranks were murdered. Withinthe whole kingdom, the number of victims was variously estimated at fromtwenty-five thousand to one hundred thousand. The heart of ProtestantEurope, for an instant, stood still with horror. The Queen of England puton mourning weeds, and spurned the apologies of the French envoy withcontempt. At Rome, on the contrary, the news of the massacre created ajoy beyond description. The Pope, accompanied by his cardinals, wentsolemnly to the church of Saint Mark to render thanks to God for thegrace thus singularly vouchsafed to the Holy See and to all Christendom;and a Te Deum was performed in presence of the same august assemblage. 

But nothing could exceed the satisfaction which the event occasioned inthe mind of Philip the Second. There was an end now of all assistancefrom the French government to the Netherland Protestants. "The news ofthe events upon Saint Bartholomew's day, " wrote the French envoy atMadrid, Saint Goard, to Charles IX. , "arrived on the 7th September. TheKing, on receiving the intelligence, showed, contrary to his naturalcustom, so much gaiety, that he seemed more delighted than with all thegood fortune or happy incidents which had ever before occurred to him. Hecalled all his familiars about him in order to assure them that yourMajesty was his good brother, and that no one else deserved the title ofMost Christian. He sent his secretary Cayas to me with his felicitationsupon the event, and with the information that he was just going to SaintJerome to render thanks to God, and to offer his prayers that yourMajesty might receive Divine support in this great affair. I went to seehim next morning, and as soon as I came into his presence he began tolaugh, and with demonstrations of extreme contentment, to praise yourMajesty as deserving your title of Most Christian, telling me there wasno King worthy to be your Majesty's companion, either for valor orprudence. He praised the steadfast resolution and the long dissimulationof so great an enterprise, which all the world would not be able tocomprehend. "

"I thanked him, " continued the embassador, "and I said that I thanked Godfor enabling your Majesty to prove to his Master that his apprentice hadlearned his trade, and deserved his title of most Christian King. Iadded, that he ought to confess that he owed the preservation of theNetherlands to your Majesty. "

Nothing certainly could, in Philip's apprehension, be more delightfulthan this most unexpected and most opportune intelligence. Charles IX. , whose intrigues in the Netherlands he had long known, had now beensuddenly converted by this stupendous crime into his most powerful ally, while at the same time the Protestants of Europe would learn that therewas still another crowned head in Christendom more deserving ofabhorrence than himself. He wrote immediately to Alva, expressing hissatisfaction that the King of France had disembarrassed himself of suchpernicious men, because he would now be obliged to cultivate thefriendship of Spain, neither the English Queen nor the German Protestantsbeing thenceforth capable of trusting him. He informed the Duke, moreover, that the French envoy, Saint Goard, had been urging him tocommand the immediate execution of Genlis and his companions, who hadbeen made prisoners, as well as all the Frenchmen who would be capturedin Mons; and that he fully concurred in the propriety of the measure. "The sooner, " said Philip, "these noxious plants are extirpated from theearth, the less fear there is that a fresh crop will spring up. " Themonarch therefore added, with his own hand, to the letter, "I desire thatif you have not already disembarrassed the world of them, you will do itimmediately, and inform me thereof, for I see no reason why it should bedeferred. "

This is the demoniacal picture painted by the French ambassador, and byPhilip's own hand, of the Spanish monarch's joy that his "Most Christian"brother had just murdered twenty-five thousand of his own subjects. Inthis cold-blooded way, too, did his Catholic Majesty order the executionof some thousand Huguenots additionally, in order more fully to carry outhis royal brother's plans; yet Philip could write of himself, "that allthe world recognized the gentleness of his nature and the mildness of hisintentions. "

In truth, the advice thus given by Saint Goard on the subject of theFrench prisoners in Alva's possessions, was a natural result of the SaintBartholomew. Here were officers and soldiers whom Charles IX. Had himselfsent into the Netherlands to fight for the Protestant cause againstPhilip and Alva. Already, the papers found upon them had placed him insome embarrassment, and exposed his duplicity to the Spanish government, before the great massacre had made such signal reparation for hisdelinquency. He had ordered Mondoucet, his envoy in the Netherlands, touse dissimulation to an unstinted amount, to continue his intrigues withthe Protestants, and to deny stoutly all proofs of such connivance. "Isee that the papers found upon Genlis;" he wrote twelve days before themassacre, "have been put into the hands of Assonleville, and that theyknow everything done by Genlis to have been committed with my consent. "

 [These remarkable letters exchanged between Charles IX. And Mondoucet have recently been published by M. Emile Gachet (chef du bureau paleographique aux Archives de Belgique) from a manuscript discovered by him in the library at Rheims. --Compte Rendu de la Com. Roy. D'Hist. , iv. 340, sqq. ]

"Nevertheless, you will tell the Duke of Alva that these are liesinvented to excite suspicion against me. You will also give himoccasional information of the enemy's affairs, in order to make himbelieve in your integrity. Even if he does not believe you, my purposewill be answered, provided you do it dexterously. At the same time youmust keep up a constant communication with the Prince of Orange, takinggreat care to prevent discovery of your intelligence with King. "

Were not these masterstrokes of diplomacy worthy of a King whom hismother, from boyhood upwards, had caused to study Macchiavelli's"Prince, " and who had thoroughly taken to heart the maxim, often repeatedin those days, that the "Science of reigning was the science of lying"?

The joy in the Spanish camp before Mons was unbounded. It was as if theonly bulwark between the Netherland rebels and total destruction had beensuddenly withdrawn. With anthems in Saint Gudule, with bonfires, festiveilluminations, roaring artillery, with trumpets also, and with shawms, was the glorious holiday celebrated in court and camp, in honor of thevast murder committed by the Most Christian King upon his Christiansubjects; nor was a moment lost in apprising the Huguenot soldiers shutup with Louis of Nassau in the beleaguered city of the great catastrophewhich was to render all their valor fruitless. "'T was a punishment, "said a Spanish soldier, who fought most courageously before Mons, and whoelaborately described the siege afterwards, "well worthy of a king whosetitle is 'The Most Christian, ' and it was still more honorable to inflictit with his own hands as he did. " Nor was the observation a pithysarcasm, but a frank expression of opinion, from a man celebrated alikefor the skill with which he handled both his sword and his pen. 

The, French envoy in the Netherlands was, of course, immediately informedby his sovereign of the great event: Charles IX. Gave a very pithyaccount of the transaction. "To prevent the success of the enterpriseplanned by the Admiral, " wrote the King on the 26th of August, with handsyet reeking, and while the havoc throughout France was at its height, "Ihave been obliged to permit the said Guises to rush upon the saidAdmiral, --which they have done, the said Admiral having been killed andall his adherents. A very great number of those belonging to the newreligion have also been massacred and cut to pieces. It is probable thatthe fire thus kindled will spread through all the cities of my kingdom, and that all those of the said religion will be made sure of. " Not often, certainly, in history, has a Christian king spoken thus calmly ofbutchering his subjects while the work was proceeding all around him. Itis to be observed, moreover, that the usual excuse for such enormities, religious fanaticism, can not be even suggested on this occasion. Catharine, in times past had favored Huguenots as much as Catholics, while Charles had been, up to the very moment of the crime, in strictalliance with the heretics of both France and Flanders, and furtheringthe schemes of Orange and Nassau. Nay, even at this very moment, and inthis very letter in which he gave the news of the massacre, he chargedhis envoy still to maintain the closest but most secret intelligence withthe Prince of Orange; taking great care that the Duke of Alva should notdiscover these relations. His motives were, of course, to prevent thePrince from abandoning his designs, and from coming to make a disturbancein France. The King, now that the deed was done, was most anxious to reapall the fruits of his crime. "Now, M. De Mondoucet, it is necessary insuch affairs, " he continued, "to have an eye to every possiblecontingency. I know that this news will be most agreeable to the Duke ofAlva, for it is most favorable to his designs. At the same time, I don'tdesire that he alone should gather the fruit. I don't choose that heshould, according to his excellent custom, conduct his affairs in suchwise as to throw the Prince of Orange upon my hands, besides sending backto France Genlis and the other prisoners, as well as the French now shutup in Mons. "

This was a sufficiently plain hint, which Mondoucet could not wellmisunderstand. "Observe the Duke's countenance carefully when you givehim this message, " added the King, "and let me know his reply. " In order, however, that there might be no mistake about the matter, Charles wroteagain to his ambassador, five days afterwards, distinctly stating theregret which he should feel if Alva should not take the city of Mons, orif he should take it by composition. "Tell the Duke, " said he, "that itis most important for the service of his master and of God that thoseFrenchmen and others in Mons should be cut in pieces. " He wrote anotherletter upon the name day, such was his anxiety upon the subject, instructing the envoy to urge upon Alva the necessity of chastising thoserebels to the French crown. "If he tells you, " continued Charles, "thatthis is tacitly requiring him to put to death all the French prisonersnow in hand as well to cut in pieces every man in Mons, you will say tohim that this is exactly what he ought to do, and that he will be guiltyof a great wrong to Christianity if he does otherwise. " Certainly, theDuke, having been thus distinctly ordered, both by his own master and byhis Christian Majesty, to put every one of these Frenchmen to death, hada sufficiency of royal warrant. Nevertheless, he was not able to executeentirely these ferocious instructions. The prisoners already in his powerwere not destined to escape, but the city of Mons, in his own language, "proved to have sharper teeth than he supposed. "

Mondoucet lost no time in placing before Alva the urgent necessity ofaccomplishing the extensive and cold-blooded massacre thus proposed. "TheDuke has replied, " wrote the envoy to his sovereign, "that he isexecuting his prisoners every day, and that he has but a few left. Nevertheless, for some reason which he does not mention, he is reservingthe principal noblemen and chiefs. " He afterwards informed his masterthat Genlis, Jumelles, and the other leaders, had engaged, if Alva wouldgrant them a reasonable ransom, to induce the French in Mons to leave thecity, but that the Duke, although his language was growing lessconfident, still hoped to take the town by assault. "I have urged him, "he added, "to put them all to death, assuring him that he would beresponsible for the consequences of a contrary course. "--"Why does notyour Most Christian master, " asked Alva, "order these Frenchmen in Monsto come to him under oath to make no disturbance? Then my prisoners willbe at my discretion and I shall get my city. "--"Because, " answered theenvoy, "they will not trust his Most Christian Majesty, and will preferto die in Mons. "--[Mondoucet to Charles IX. , 15th September, 1572. ]

This certainly was a most sensible reply, but it is instructive towitness the cynicism with which the envoy accepts this position for hismaster, while coldly recording the results of all these sanguinaryconversations. 

Such was the condition of affairs when the Prince of Orange arrived atPeronne, between Binche and the Duke of Alva's entrenchments. Thebesieging army was rich in notabilities of elevated rank. Don Frederic ofToledo had hitherto commanded, but on the 27th of August, the Dukes ofMedina Coeli and of Alva had arrived in the camp. Directly afterwardscame the warlike Archbishop of Cologne, at the head of two thousandcavalry. There was but one chance for the Prince of Orange, andexperience had taught him, four years before, its slenderness. He mightstill provoke his adversary into a pitched battle, and he relied upon Godfor the result. In his own words, "he trusted ever that the great God ofarmies was with him, and would fight in the midst of his forces. " If solong as Alva remained in his impregnable camp, it was impossible toattack him, or to throw reinforcements into Mons. The Prince soon found, too, that Alva was far too wise to hazard his position by a superfluouscombat. The Duke knew that the cavalry of the Prince was superior to hisown. He expressed himself entirely unwilling to play into the Prince'shands, instead of winning the game which was no longer doubtful. TheHuguenot soldiers within Mons were in despair and mutiny; Louis of Nassaulay in his bed consuming with a dangerous fever; Genlis was a prisoner, and his army cut to pieces; Coligny was murdered, and Protestant Franceparalyzed; the troops of Orange, enlisted but for three months, werealready rebellious, and sure to break into open insubordination when theconsequences of the Paris massacre should become entirely clear to them;and there were, therefore, even more cogent reasons than in 1568, whyAlva should remain perfectly still, and see his enemy's cause founderbefore his eyes. The valiant Archbishop of Cologne was most eager for thefray. He rode daily at the Duke's side, with harness on his back andpistols in his holsters, armed and attired like one of his own troopers, and urging the Duke, with vehemence, to a pitched battle with the Prince. The Duke commended, but did not yield to, the prelate's enthusiasm. "'Tisa fine figure of a man, with his corslet and pistols, " he wrote toPhilip, "and he shows great affection for your Majesty's service. "

The issue of the campaign was inevitable. On the 11th September, DonFrederic, with a force of four thousand picked men, established himselfat Saint Florian, a village near the Havre gate of the city, while thePrince had encamped at Hermigny, within half a league of the same place, whence he attempted to introduce reinforcements into the town. On thenight of the 11th and 12th, Don Frederic hazarded an encamisada upon theenemy's camp, which proved eminently successful, and had nearly resultedin the capture of the Prince himself. A chosen band of six hundredarquebussers, attired, as was customary in these nocturnal expeditions, with their shirts outside their armor, that they might recognize eachother in the darkness, were led by Julian Romero, within the lines of theenemy. The sentinels were cut down, the whole army surprised, and for amoment powerless, while, for two hours long, from one o'clock in themorning until three, the Spaniards butchered their foes, hardly arousedfrom their sleep, ignorant by how small a force they had been thussuddenly surprised, and unable in the confusion to distinguish betweenfriend and foe. The boldest, led by Julian in person, made at once forthe Prince's tent. His guards and himself were in profound sleep, but asmall spaniel, who always passed the night upon his bed, was a morefaithful sentinel. The creature sprang forward, barking furiously at thesound of hostile footsteps, and scratching his master's face with hispaws. --There was but just time for the Prince to mount a horse which wasready saddled, and to effect his escape through the darkness, before hisenemies sprang into the tent. His servants were cut down, his master ofthe horse and two of his secretaries, who gained their saddles a momentlater, all lost their lives, and but for the little dog's watchfulness, William of Orange, upon whose shoulders the whole weight of his country'sfortunes depended, would have been led within a week to an ignominiousdeath. To his dying day, the Prince ever afterwards kept a spaniel of thesame race in his bed-chamber. The midnight slaughter still continued, butthe Spaniards in their fury, set fire to the tents. The glare of theconflagration showed the Orangists by how paltry a force they had beensurprised. Before they could rally, however, Romero led off hisarquebusiers, every one of whom had at least killed his man. Six hundredof the Prince's troops had been put to the sword, while many others wereburned in their beds, or drowned in the little rivulet which flowedoutside their camp. Only sixty Spaniards lost their lives. 

This disaster did not alter the plans of the Prince, for those plans hadalready been frustrated. The whole marrow of his enterprise had beendestroyed in an instant by the massacre of Saint Bartholomew. Heretreated to Wronne and Nivelles, an assassin, named Heist, a German, bybirth, but a French chevalier, following him secretly in his camp, pledged to take his life for a large reward promised by Alva--anenterprise not destined, however, to be successful. The soldiers flatlyrefused to remain an hour longer in the field, or even to furnish anescort for Count Louis, if, by chance, he could be brought out of thetown. The Prince was obliged to inform his brother of the desperate stateof his affairs, and to advise him to capitulate on the best terms whichhe could make. With a heavy heart, he left the chivalrous Louis besiegedin the city which he had so gallantly captured, and took his way acrossthe Meuse towards the Rhine. A furious mutiny broke out among his troops. His life was, with difficulty, saved from the brutal soldiery--infuriatedat his inability to pay them, except in the over-due securities of theHolland cities--by the exertions of the officers who still regarded himwith veneration and affection. Crossing the Rhine at Orsoy, he disbandedhis army and betook himself, almost alone, to Holland. 

Yet even in this hour of distress and defeat, the Prince seemed moreheroic than many a conqueror in his day of triumph. With all his hopesblasted, with the whole fabric of his country's fortunes shattered by thecolossal crime of his royal ally, he never lost his confidence in himselfnor his unfaltering trust in God. All the cities which, but a few weeksbefore, had so eagerly raised his standard, now fell off at once. He wentto Holland, the only province which remained true, and which still lookedup to him as its saviour, but he went thither expecting and prepared toperish. "There I will make my sepulchre, " was his simple and sublimeexpression in a private letter to his brother. 

He had advanced to the rescue of Louis, with city after city opening itsarms to receive him. He had expected to be joined on the march byColigny, at the head of a chosen army, and he was now obliged to leavehis brother to his fate, having the massacre of the Admiral and hisconfederates substituted for their expected army of assistance, and withevery city and every province forsaking his cause as eagerly as they hadso lately embraced it. "It has pleased God, " he said, "to take away everyhope which we could have founded upon man; the King has published thatthe massacre was by his orders, and has forbidden all his subjects, uponpain of death, to assist me; he has, moreover, sent succor to Alva. Hadit not been for this, we had been masters of the Duke, and should havemade him capitulate at our pleasure. " Yet even then he was not cast down. 

Nor was his political sagacity liable to impeachment by the extent towhich he had been thus deceived by the French court. "So far from beingreprehensible that I did not suspect such a crime, " he said, "I shouldrather be chargeable with malignity had I been capable of so sinister asuspicion. 'Tis not an ordinary thing to conceal such enormousdeliberations under the plausible cover of a marriage festival. "

Meanwhile, Count Louis lay confined to his couch with a burning fever. His soldiers refused any longer to hold the city, now that the alteredintentions of Charles IX. Were known and the forces of Orange withdrawn. Alva offered the most honorable conditions, and it was thereforeimpossible for the Count to make longer resistance. The city was soimportant, and time was at that moment so valuable that the Duke waswilling to forego his vengeance upon the rebel whom he so cordiallydetested, and to be satisfied with depriving, him of the prize which hehad seized with such audacity. "It would have afforded me sincerepleasure, " wrote the Duke, "over and above the benefit to God and yourMajesty, to have had the Count of Nassau in my power. I would overleapevery obstacle to seize him, such is the particular hatred which I bearthe man. " Under, the circumstances, however, he acknowledged that theresult of the council of war could only be to grant liberal terms. 

On the 19th September, accordingly, articles of capitulation were signedbetween the distinguished De la None with three others on the one part, and the Seigneur de Noircarmes and three others on the side of Spain. Thetown was given over to Alva, but all the soldiers were to go out withtheir weapons and property. Those of the townspeople who had borne armsagainst his Majesty, and all who still held to the Reformed religion, were to retire with the soldiery. The troops were to pledge themselvesnot to serve in future against the Kings of France or Spain, but fromthis provision Louis, with his English and German soldiers, was expresslyexcepted, the Count indignantly repudiating the idea of such a pledge, orof discontinuing his hostilities for an instant. It was also agreed thatconvoys should be furnished, and hostages exchanged, for the dueobservance of the terms of the treaty. The preliminaries having been thussettled, the patriot forces abandoned the town. 

Count Louis, rising from his sick bed, paid his respects in person to thevictorious generals, at their request. He was received in Alva's campwith an extraordinary show of admiration and esteem. The Duke of MedinaCoeli overwhelmed him with courtesies and "basolomanos, " while DonFrederic assured him, in the high-flown language of Spanish compliment, that there was nothing which he would not do to serve him, and that hewould take a greater pleasure in executing his slightest wish than if hehad been his next of kin. 

As the Count next day, still suffering with fever, and attired in hislong dressing-gown, was taking his departure from the city, he orderedhis carriage to stop at the entrance to Don Frederic's quarters. Thatgeneral, who had been standing incognito near the door, gazing withhonest admiration at the hero of so many a hard-fought field, withdrew ashe approached, that he might not give the invalid the trouble ofalighting. Louis, however, recognising him, addressed him with theSpanish salutation, "Perdone vuestra Senoria la pesedumbre, " and pausedat the gate. Don Frederic, from politeness to his condition, did notpresent himself, but sent an aid-de-camp to express his compliments andgood wishes. Having exchanged these courtesies, Louis left the city, conveyed, as had been agreed upon, by a guard of Spanish troops. Therewas a deep meaning in the respect with which the Spanish generals hadtreated the rebel chieftain. Although the massacre of Saint Bartholomewmet with Alva's entire approbation, yet it was his cue to affect a holyhorror at the event, and he avowed that he would "rather cut off both hishands than be guilty of such a deed"--as if those hangman's hands had theright to protest against any murder, however wholesale. Count Louissuspected at once, and soon afterwards thoroughly understood; the realmotives of the chivalrous treatment which he had received. He well knewthat these very men would have sent him to the scaffold; had he falleninto their power, and he therefore estimated their courtesy at its propervalue. 

It was distinctly stated, in the capitulation of the city, that all thesoldiers, as well as such of the inhabitants as had borne arms, should beallowed to leave the city, with all their property. The rest of thepeople, it was agreed, might remain without molestation to their personsor estates. It has been the general opinion of historians that thearticles of this convention were maintained by the conquerors in goodfaith. Never was a more signal error. The capitulation was made late atnight, on the 20th September, without the provision which Charles IX. Hadhoped for: the massacre, namely, of De la None and his companions. As forGenlis and those who had been taken prisoners at his defeat, their doomhad already been sealed. The city was evacuated on the 21st September:Alva entered it upon the 24th. Most of the volunteers departed with thegarrison, but many who had, most unfortunately, prolonged their farewellsto their families, trusting to the word of the Spanish Captain Molinos, were thrown into prison. Noircarmes the butcher of Valenciennes, now madehis appearance in Mons. As grand bailiff of Hainault, he came to theplace as one in authority, and his deeds were now to complete the infamywhich must for ever surround his name. In brutal violation of the termsupon which the town had surrendered, he now set about the work ofmassacre and pillage. A Commission of Troubles, in close imitation of thefamous Blood Council at Brussels, was established, the members of thetribunal being appointed by Noircarmes, and all being inhabitants of thetown. The council commenced proceedings by condemning all the volunteers, although expressly included . In the capitulation. Their wives andchildren were all banished; their property all confiscated. On the 15thDecember, the executions commenced. The intrepid De Leste, silkmanufacturer, who had commanded a band of volunteers, and sustainedduring the siege the assaults of Alva's troops with remarkable courage ata very critical moment, was one of the earliest victims. In consideration"that he was a gentleman, and not among the most malicious, " he wasexecuted by sword. "In respect that he heard the mass, and made a sweetand Catholic end, " it was allowed that he should be "buried inconsecrated earth. " Many others followed in quick succession. Some werebeheaded, some were hanged, some were burned alive. All who had bornearms or worked at the fortifications were, of course, put to death. Suchas refused to confess and receive the Catholic sacraments perished byfire. A poor wretch, accused of having ridiculed these mysteries, had histongue torn out before being beheaded. A cobbler, named Blaise Bouzet, was hanged for having eaten meat-soup upon Friday. He was also accused ofgoing to the Protestant preachings for the sake of participating in thealms distributed an these occasions, a crime for which many other pauperswere executed. An old man of sixty-two was sent to the scaffold forhaving permitted his son to bear arms among the volunteers. At last, whenall pretexts were wanting to justify executions; the council assigned asmotives for its decrees an adhesion of heart on the part of the victimsto the cause of the insurgents, or to the doctrines of the ReformedChurch. Ten, twelve, twenty persons, were often hanged, burned, orbeheaded in a single day. Gibbets laden with mutilated bodies lined thepublic highways, --while Noircarmes, by frightful expressions ofapprobation, excited without ceasing the fury of his satellites. Thismonster would perhaps, be less worthy of execration had he been governedin these foul proceedings by fanatical bigotry or by political hatred;but his motives were of the most sordid description. It was mainly toacquire gold for himself that he ordained all this carnage. With the samepen which signed the death-sentences of the richest victims, he dreworders to his own benefit on their confiscated property. The lion's shareof the plunder was appropriated by himself. He desired the estate; ofFrancois de Glarges, Seigneur d'Eslesmes. The gentleman had committed nooffence of any kind, and, moreover, lived beyond the French frontier. Nevertheless, in contempt of international law, the neighbouringterritory was invaded, and d'Eslesmes dragged before the blood tribunalof Mons. Noircarmes had drawn up beforehand, in his own handwriting, boththe terms of the accusation and of the sentence. The victim was innocentand a Catholic, but he was rich. He confessed to have been twice at thepreaching, from curiosity, and to have omitted taking the sacrament atthe previous Easter. For these offences he was beheaded, and hisconfiscated estate adjudged at an almost nominal price to the secretaryof Noircarmes, bidding for his master. "You can do me no greaterpleasure, " wrote Noircarmes to the council, "than to make quick work withall these rebels, and to proceed with the confiscation of their estates, real and personal. Don't fail to put all those to the torture out of whomanything can be got. "

Notwithstanding the unexampled docility of the commissioners, they foundit difficult to extract from their redoubted chief a reasonable share inthe wages of blood. They did not scruple, therefore, to display their, own infamy, and to enumerate their own crimes, in order to justify theirdemand for higher salaries. "Consider, " they said, in a petition to thisend, "consider closely, all that is odious in our office, and the greatnumber of banishments and of executions which we have pronounced amongall our own relations and friends. "

It may be added, moreover, as a slight palliation for the enormous crimescommitted by these men, that, becoming at last weary of their business, they urged Noircarmes to desist from the work of proscription. Longehaye, one of the commissioners, even waited upon him personally, with a pleafor mercy in favor of "the poor people, even beggars, who, althoughhaving borne arms during the siege, might then be pardoned. " Noircarmes, in a rage at the proposition, said that "if he did not know thecommissioners to be honest men, he should believe that their palms hadbeen oiled, " and forbade any farther words on the subject. When Longehayestill ventured to speak in favor of certain persons "who were very poorand simple, not charged with duplicity, and good Catholics besides, " hefared no better. "Away with you!" cried Noircarmes in a great fury, adding that he had already written to have execution done upon the wholeof them. "Whereupon, " said poor blood-councillor Longehaye, in his letterto his colleagues, "I retired, I leave you to guess how. "

Thus the work went on day after day, month after month. Till the 27thAugust of the following year (1573) the executioner never rested, andwhen Requesens, successor to Alva, caused the prisons of Mons to beopened, there were found still seventy-five individuals condemned to theblock, and awaiting their fate. 

It is the most dreadful commentary upon the times in which thesetransactions occurred, that they could sink so soon into oblivion. Theculprits took care to hide the records of their guilt, while succeedinghorrors, on a more extensive scale, at other places, effaced the memoryof all these comparatively obscure murders and spoliations. Theprosperity of Mons, one of the most flourishing and wealthy manufacturingtowns in the Netherlands, was annihilated, but there were so many citiesin the same condition that its misery was hardly remarkable. Nevertheless, in our own days, the fall of a mouldering tower in theruined Chateau de Naast at last revealed the archives of all thesecrimes. How the documents came to be placed there remains a mystery, butthey have at last been brought to light. 

The Spaniards had thus recovered Mons, by which event the temporaryrevolution throughout the whole Southern Netherlands was at an end. Thekeys of that city unlocked the gates of every other in Brabant andFlanders. The towns which had so lately embraced the authority of Orangenow hastened to disavow the Prince, and to return to their ancient, hypocritical, and cowardly allegiance. The new oaths of fidelity were ingeneral accepted by Alva, but the beautiful archiepiscopal city ofMechlin was selected for an example and a sacrifice. 

There were heavy arrears due to the Spanish troops. To indemnify them, and to make good his blasphemous prophecy of Divine chastisement for itspast misdeeds, Alva now abandoned this town to the licence of hissoldiery. By his command Don Frederic advanced to the gates and demandedits surrender. He was answered by a few shots from the garrison. Thosecowardly troops, however, having thus plunged the city still more deeplyinto the disgrace which, in Alva's eyes, they had incurred by receivingrebels within their walls after having but just before refused admittanceto the Spanish forces, decamped during the night, and left the placedefenceless. 

Early next morning there issued from the gates a solemn procession ofpriests, with banner and crozier, followed by a long and suppliant throngof citizens, who attempted by this demonstration to avert the wrath ofthe victor. While the penitent psalms were resounding, the soldiers werebusily engaged in heaping dried branches and rubbish into the moat. Before the religious exercises were concluded, thousands had forced thegates or climbed the walls; and entered the city with a celerity whichonly the hope of rapine could inspire. The sack instantly commenced. Theproperty of friend and foe, of Papist and Calvinist, was indiscriminatelyrifled. Everything was dismantled and destroyed. "Hardly a nail, " said aSpaniard, writing soon afterwards from Brussels, "was left standing inthe walls. " The troops seemed to imagine themselves in a Turkish town, and wreaked the Divine vengeance which Alva had denounced upon the citywith an energy which met with his fervent applause. 

Three days long the horrible scene continued, one day for the benefit ofthe Spaniards, two more for that of the Walloons and Germans. All thechurches, monasteries, religious houses of every kind, were completelysacked. Every valuable article which they contained, the ornaments ofaltars, the reliquaries, chalices, embroidered curtains, and carpets ofvelvet or damask, the golden robes of the priests, the repositories ofthe host, the precious vessels of chrism and extreme unction, the richclothing and jewellery adorning the effigies of the Holy Virgin, all wereindiscriminately rifled by the Spanish soldiers. The holy wafers weretrampled underfoot, the sacramental wine was poured upon the ground, and, in brief, all the horrors which had been committed by the iconoclasts intheir wildest moments, and for a thousandth part of which enormitiesheretics had been burned in droves, were now repeated in Mechlin by theespecial soldiers of Christ, by Roman Catholics who had been sent to theNetherlands to avenge the insults offered to the Roman Catholic faith. The motive, too, which inspired the sacrilegious crew was not fanaticism, but the, desire of plunder. The property of Romanists was taken as freelyas that of Calvinists, of which sect there were; indeed, but few in thearchiepiscopal city. Cardinal Granvelle's house was rifled. The pauperfunds deposited in the convents were not respected. The beds were takenfrom beneath sick and dying women, whether lady abbess or hospitalpatient, that the sacking might be torn to pieces in search of hiddentreasure. 

The iconoclasts of 1566 had destroyed millions of property for the sakeof an idea, but they had appropriated nothing. Moreover, they hadscarcely injured a human being; confining their wrath to graven images. The Spaniards at Mechlin spared neither man nor woman. The murders andoutrages would be incredible, were they not attested by most respectableCatholic witnesses. Men were butchered in their houses, in the streets, at the altars. Women were violated by hundreds in churches and ingrave-yards. Moreover, the deed had been as deliberately arranged as itwas thoroughly performed. It was sanctioned by the highest authority. DonFrederic, Son of Alva, and General Noircarmes were both present at thescene, and applications were in vain made to them that the havoc might bestayed. "They were seen whispering to each other in the ear on theirarrival, " says an eye-witness and a Catholic, "and it is well known thatthe affair had been resolved upon the preceding day. The two continuedtogether as long as they remained in the city. " The work was, in truth, fully accomplished. The ultra-Catholic, Jean Richardot, member of theGrand Council, and nephew of the Bishop of Arras, informed the StateCouncil that the sack of Mechlin had been so horrible that the poor andunfortunate mothers had not a single morsel of bread to put in the mouthsof their children, who were dying before their eyes--so insane and cruelhad been the avarice of the plunderers. "He could say more, " he added, "if his hair did not stand on end, not only at recounting, but even atremembering the scene. "

Three days long the city was abandoned to that trinity of furies whichever wait upon War's footsteps--Murder, Lust, and Rapine--under whosepromptings human beings become so much more terrible than the mostferocious beasts. In his letter to his master, the Duke congratulated himupon these foul proceedings as upon a pious deed well accomplished. Hethought it necessary, however; to excuse himself before the public in adocument, which justified the sack of Mechlin by its refusal to accepthis garrison a few months before, and by the shots which had beendischarged at his troops as they approached the city. For these offences, and by his express order, the deed was done. Upon his head must the guiltfor ever rest. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Hanged for having eaten meat-soup upon Friday Provided not one Huguenot be left alive in France Put all those to the torture out of whom anything can be got Saint Bartholomew's day Science of reigning was the science of lying

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 20. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY1855

1572-73 [CHAPTER VIII. ]

 Affairs in Holland and Zealand--Siege of Tergoes by the patriots-- Importance of the place--Difficulty of relieving it--Its position-- Audacious plan for sending succor across the "Drowned Land"-- Brilliant and successful expedition of Mondragon--The siege raised-- Horrible sack of Zutphen--Base conduct of Count Van den Berg-- Refusal of Naarden to surrender--Subsequent unsuccessful deputation to make terms with Don Frederic--Don Frederic before Naarden-- Treachery of Romero--The Spaniards admitted--General massacre of the garrison and burghers--The city burned to the ground--Warm reception of Orange in Holland--Secret negotiations with the Estates-- Desperate character of the struggle between Spain and the provinces --Don Frederic in Amsterdam--Plans for reducing Holland--Skirmish on the ice at Amsterdam--Preparation in Harlem for the expected siege-- Description of the city--Early operations--Complete investment-- Numbers of besiegers and besieged--Mutual barbarities--Determined repulse of the first assault--Failure of Batenburg's expedition-- Cruelties in city and camp--Mining and countermining--Second assault victoriously repelled--Suffering and disease in Harlem--Disposition of Don Frederic to retire--Memorable rebuke by Alva--Efforts of Orange to relieve the place--Sonoy's expedition--Exploit of John Haring--Cruel execution of prisoners on both sides--Quiryn Dirkzoon and his family put to death in the city--Fleets upon the lake-- Defeat of the patriot armada--Dreadful suffering and starvation in the city--Parley with the besiegers--Despair of the city--Appeal to Orange--Expedition under Batenburg to relieve the city--His defeat and death--Desperate condition of Harlem--Its surrender at discretion--Sanguinary executions--General massacre--Expense of the victory in blood and money--Joy of Philip at the news. 

While thus Brabant and Flanders were scourged back to the chains whichthey had so recently broken, the affairs of the Prince of Orange were notimproving in Zealand. Never was a twelvemonth so marked by contradictoryfortune, never were the promises of a spring followed by such blight anddisappointment in autumn than in the memorable year 1572. On the islandof Walcheren, Middelburg and Arnemuyde still held for the King--Campveerand Flushing for the Prince of Orange. On the island of South Bevelaad, the city of Goes or Tergoes was still stoutly defended by a smallgarrison of Spanish troops. As long as the place held out, the city ofMiddelburg could be maintained. Should that important city fall, theSpaniards would lose all hold upon Walcheren and the province of Zealand. 

Jerome de 't Zeraerts, a brave, faithful, but singularly unlucky officer, commanded for the Prince in Walcheren. He had attempted by varioushastily planned expeditions to give employment to his turbulent soldiery, but fortune had refused to smile upon his efforts. He had laid siege toMiddelburg and failed. He had attempted Tergoes and had been compelledingloriously to retreat. The citizens of Flushing, on his return, hadshut the gates of the town in his face, and far several days refused toadmit him or his troops. To retrieve this disgrace, which had sprungrather from the insubordination of his followers and the dislike whichthey bore his person than from any want of courage or conduct on hispart, he now assembled a force of seven thousand men, marched again toTergoes, and upon the 26th of August laid siege to the place in forma. The garrison was very insufficient, and although they conductedthemselves with great bravery, it was soon evident that unless reinforcedthey must yield. With their overthrow it was obvious that the Spaniardswould lose the important maritime province of Zealand, and the Dukeaccordingly ordered D'Avila, who commanded in Antwerp, to throw succorinto Tergoes without delay. Attempts were made, by sea and by land, tothis effect, but were all unsuccessful. The Zealanders commanded thewaters with their fleet, --and were too much at home among those gulfs andshallows not to be more than a match for their enemies. Baffled in theirattempt to relieve the town by water or by land, the Spaniards conceivedan amphibious scheme. Their plan led to one of the most brilliant featsof arms which distinguishes the history of this war. 

The Scheld, flowing past the city of Antwerp and separating the provincesof Flanders and Brabant, opens wide its two arms in nearly oppositedirections, before it joins the sea. Between these two arms lie the islesof Zealand, half floating upon, half submerged by the waves. The town ofTergoes was the chief city of South Beveland, the most important part ofthis archipelago, but South Beveland had not always been an island. Fiftyyears before, a tempest, one of the most violent recorded in the stormyannals of that exposed country, had overthrown all barriers, the watersof the German Ocean, lashed by a succession of north winds, having beendriven upon the low coast of Zealand more rapidly than they could becarried off through the narrow straits of Dover. The dykes of the islandhad burst, the ocean had swept over the land, hundreds of villages hadbeen overwhelmed, and a tract of country torn from the province andburied for ever beneath the sea. This "Drowned Land, " as it is called, now separated the island from the main. At low tide it was, however, possible for experienced pilots to ford the estuary, which had usurpedthe place of the land. The average depth was between four and five feetat low water, while the tide rose and fell at least ten feet; the bottomwas muddy and treacherous, and it was moreover traversed by three livingstreams or channels; always much too deep to be fordable. 

Captain Plomaert, a Fleming of great experience and bravery, warmlyattached to the King's cause, conceived the plan of sendingreinforcements across this drowned district to the city of Tergoes. Accompanied by two peasants of the country, well acquainted with thetrack, he twice accomplished the dangerous and difficult passage; which, from dry land to dry land, was nearly ten English miles in length. Havingthus satisfied himself as to the possibility of the enterprise, he laidhis plan before the Spanish colonel, Mondragon. That courageous veteraneagerly embraced the proposal, examined the ground, and afterconsultation with Sancho Avila, resolved in person to lead an expeditionalong the path suggested by Plomaert. Three thousand picked men, athousand from each nation, --Spaniards, Walloons, and Germans, werespeedily and secretly assembled at Bergen op Zoom, from the neighbourhoodof which city, at a place called Aggier, it was necessary that theexpedition should set forth. A quantity of sacks were provided, in whicha supply of, biscuit and of powder was placed, one to be carried by eachsoldier upon his head. Although it was already late in the autumn, theweather was propitious; the troops, not yet informed: as to the secretenterprise for which they had been selected, were all ready assembled atthe edge of the water, and Mondragon, who, notwithstanding his age, hadresolved upon heading the hazardous expedition, now briefly, on theevening of the 20th October, explained to them the nature of the service. His statement of the dangers which they were about to encounter, ratherinflamed than diminished their ardor. Their enthusiasm became unbounded, as he described the importance of the city which they were about to save, and alluded to the glory which would be won by those who thuscourageously came forward to its rescue. The time of about half ebb-tidehaving arrived, the veteran, --preceded only by the guides and Plomaert, plunged gaily into the waves, followed by his army, almost in singlefile. The water was never lowed khan the breast, often higher than theshoulder. The distance to the island, three and a half leagues at least, was to be accomplished within at most, six hours, or the rising tidewould overwhelm them for ever. And thus, across the quaking and uncertainslime, which often refused them a footing, that adventurous band, fivehours long, pursued their midnight march, sometimes swimming for theirlives, and always struggling with the waves which every instantthreatened to engulph them. 

Before the tide had risen to more than half-flood, before the day haddawned, the army set foot on dry land again, at the village of Irseken. Of the whole three thousand, only nine unlucky individuals had beendrowned; so much had courage and discipline availed in that dark andperilous passage through the very bottom of the sea. The Duke of Alvamight well pronounce it one of the most brilliant and originalachievements in the annals of war. The beacon fires were immediatelylighted upon the shore; as agreed upon, to inform Sancho d'Avila, who wasanxiously awaiting the result at Bergen op Zoom, of the safe arrival ofthe troops. A brief repose was then allowed. At the approach of daylight, they set forth from Irseken, which lay about four leagues from Tergoes. The news that a Spanish army had thus arisen from the depths of the sea, flew before them as they marched. The besieging force commanded the waterwith their fleet, the land with their army; yet had these indomitableSpaniards found a path which was neither land nor water, and had thusstolen upon them in the silence of night. A panic preceded them as theyfell upon a foe much superior in number to their own force. It wasimpossible for 't Zeraerts to induce his soldiers to offer resistance. The patriot army fled precipitately and ignominiously to their ships, hotly pursued by the Spaniards, who overtook and destroyed the whole oftheir rearguard before they could embark. This done, the gallant littlegarrison which had so successfully held the city, was reinforced with thecourageous veterans who had come to their relief his audacious projectthus brilliantly accomplished, the "good old Mondragon, " as his soldierscalled him, returned to the province of Brabant. 

After the capture of Mons and the sack of Mechlin, the Duke of Alva hadtaken his way to Nimwegen, having despatched his son, Don Frederic, toreduce the northern and eastern country, which was only too ready tosubmit to the conqueror. Very little resistance was made by any of thecities which had so recently, and--with such enthusiasm, embraced thecause of Orange. Zutphen attempted a feeble opposition to the entrance ofthe King's troops, and received a dreadful chastisement in consequence. Alva sent orders to his son to leave not a single man alive in the city, and to burn every house to the ground. The Duke's command was almostliterally obeyed. Don Frederic entered Zutphen, and without a moment'swarning put the whole garrison to the sword. The citizens next fell adefenceless, prey; some being, stabbed in the streets, some hanged on thetrees which decorated the city, some stripped stark naked; and turned outinto the fields to freeze to death in the wintry night. As the work ofdeath became too fatiguing for the butchers, five hundred innocentburghers were tied two and two, back to back, and drowned like dogs inthe river Yssel. A few stragglers who had contrived to elude pursuit atfirst, were afterwards taken from their hiding places and hung upon thegallows by the feet, some of which victims suffered four days and nightsof agony before death came to their relief. It is superfluous to add thatthe outrages upon women were no less universal in Zutphen than they hadbeen in every city captured or occupied by the Spanish troops. Thesehorrors continued till scarcely chastity or life remained, throughout themiserable city. 

This attack and massacre had been so suddenly executed, that assistancewould hardly have been possible, even had there been disposition torender it. There was; however, no such disposition. The whole country wasalready cowering again, except the provinces of Holland and Zealand. Noone dared approach, even to learn what had occurred within the walls ofthe town, for days after its doom had been accomplished. "A wail of agonywas heard above Zutphen last Sunday, " wrote Count Nieuwenar, "a sound asof a mighty massacre, but we know not what has taken place. "

Count Van, den Bergh, another brother-in-law of Orange, proved himselfsignally unworthy of the illustrious race to which he was allied. He had, in the earlier part of the year, received the homage of the cities ofGelderland and Overyssel, on behalf of the patriot Prince. He now baselyabandoned the field where he had endeavoured to gather laurels while thesun of success had been shining. Having written from Kampen, whither hehad retired, that he meant to hold the city to the last gasp, heimmediately afterwards fled secretly and precipitately from the country. In his flight he was plundered by his own people, while his wife, Mary ofNassau, then far advanced in pregnancy, was left behind, disguised as apeasant girl, in an obscure village. 

With the flight of Van den Bergh, all the cities which, under hisguidance, had raised the standard of Orange, deserted the cause at once. Friesland too, where Robles obtained a victory over six thousandpatriots, again submitted to the yoke. But if the ancient heart of thefree Frisians was beating thus feebly, there was still spirit left amongtheir brethren on the other side of the Zuyder Zee. It was not whileWilliam of Orange was within her borders, nor while her sister provinceshad proved recreant to him, that Holland would follow their base example. No rebellion being left, except in the north-western extremities of theNetherlands, Don Frederic was ordered to proceed from Zutphen toAmsterdam, thence to undertake the conquest of Holland. The little cityof Naarden, on the coast of the Zuyder Zee, lay in his path, and had notyet formally submitted. On the 22nd of November a company of one hundredtroopers was sent to the city gates to demand its surrender. The smallgarrison which had been left by the Prince was not disposed to resist, but the spirit of the burghers was stouter than, their walls. Theyanswered the summons by a declaration that they had thus far held thecity for the King and the Prince of Orange, and, with God's help, wouldcontinue so to do. As the horsemen departed with this reply, a lunatic, called Adrian Krankhoeft, mounted the ramparts and, discharged aculverine among them. No man was injured, but the words of defiance, andthe shot fired by a madman's hand, were destined to be fearfullyanswered. 

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the place, which was at best far fromstrong, and ill provided with arms, ammunition, or soldiers, despatchedimportunate messages to Sonoy, and to ether patriot generals nearest tothem, soliciting reinforcements. Their messengers came back almost emptyhanded. They brought a little powder and a great many promises, but not asingle man-at-arms, not a ducat, not a piece of artillery. The mostinfluential commanders, moreover, advised an honorable capitulation, ifit were still possible. 

Thus baffled, the burghers of the little city found their proud positionquite untenable. They accordingly, on the 1st of December, despatched theburgomaster and a senator to Amersfoort, to make terms, if possible, withDon Frederic. When these envoys reached the place, they were refusedadmission to the general's presence. The army had already been ordered tomove forward to Naarden, and they were directed to accompany the advanceguard, and to expect their reply at the gates of their own city. Thiscommand was sufficiently ominous. The impression which it made upon themwas confirmed by the warning voices of their friends in Amersfoort, whoentreated them not to return to Naarden. The advice was not lost upon oneof the two envoys. After they had advanced a little distance on theirjourney, the burgomaster Laurentszoon slid privately out of the sledge inwhich they were travelling, leaving his cloak behind him. "Adieu; I thinkI will not venture back to Naarden at present, " said he, calmly, as heabandoned his companion to his fate. The other, who could not so easilydesert his children, his wife, and his fellow-citizens, in the hour ofdanger, went forward as calmly to share in their impending doom. 

The army reached Bussem, half a league distant from Naarden, in theevening. Here Don Frederic established his head quarters, and proceededto invest the city. Senator Gerrit was then directed to return to Naardenand to bring out a more numerous deputation on the following morning, duly empowered to surrender the place. The envoy accordingly returnednext day, accompanied by Lambert Hortensius, rector of a Latin academy, together with four other citizens. Before this deputation had reachedBussem, they were met by Julian Romero, who informed them that he wascommissioned to treat with them on the part of Don Frederic. He demandedthe keys of the city, and gave the deputation a solemn pledge that thelives and property of all the inhabitants should be sacredly respected. To attest this assurance Don Julian gave his hand three several times toLambert Hortensius. A soldier's word thus plighted, the commissioners, without exchanging any written documents, surrendered the keys, andimmediately afterwards accompanied Romero into the city, who was soonfollowed by five or six hundred musketeers. 

To give these guests a hospitable reception, all the housewives of thecity at once set about preparations for a sumptuous feast, to which theSpaniards did ample justice, while the colonel and his officers wereentertained by Senator Gerrit at his own house. As soon as thisconviviality had come to an end, Romero, accompanied by his host, walkedinto the square. The great bell had been meantime ringing, and thecitizens had been summoned to assemble in the Gast Huis Church, then usedas a town hall. In the course of a few minutes five hundred had enteredthe building, and stood quietly awaiting whatever measures might beoffered for their deliberation. Suddenly a priest, who had been pacing toand fro before the church door, entered the building, and bade them allprepare for death; but the announcement, the preparation, and the death, were simultaneous. The door was flung open, and a band of armed Spaniardsrushed across the sacred threshold. They fired a single volley upon thedefenceless herd, and then sprang in upon them with sword and dagger. Ayell of despair arose as the miserable victims saw how hopelessly theywere engaged, and beheld the ferocious faces of their butchers. Thecarnage within that narrow apace was compact and rapid. Within a fewminutes all were despatched, and among them Senator Gerrit, from whosetable the Spanish commander had but just risen. The church was then seton fire, and the dead and dying were consumed to ashes together. 

Inflamed but not satiated, the Spaniards then rushed into the streets, thirsty for fresh horrors. The houses were all rifled of their contents, and men were forced to carry the booty to the camp, who were then struckdead as their reward. The town was then fired in every direction, thatthe skulking citizens might be forced from their hiding-places. As fastas they came forth they were put to death by their impatient foes. Somewere pierced with rapiers, some were chopped to pieces with axes, somewere surrounded in the blazing streets by troops of laughing soldiers, intoxicated, not with wine but with blood, who tossed them to and frowith their lances, and derived a wild amusement from their dying agonies. Those who attempted resistance were crimped alive like fishes, and leftto gasp themselves to death in lingering torture. The soldiers becomingmore and more insane, as the foul work went on, opened the veins of someof their victims, and drank their blood as if it were wine. Some of theburghers were for a time spared, that they might witness the violation oftheir wives and daughters, and were then butchered in company with thesestill more unfortunate victims. Miracles of brutality were accomplished. Neither church nor hearth was sacred: Men were slain, women outraged atthe altars, in the streets, in their blazing homes. The life of LambertHortensius was spared, out of regard to his learning and genius, but hehardly could thank his foes for the boon, for they struck his only sondead, and tore his heart out before his father's eyes. Hardly any man orwoman survived, except by accident. A body of some hundred burghers madetheir escape across the snow into the open country. They were, however, overtaken, stripped stark naked, and hung upon the trees by the feet, tofreeze, or to perish by a more lingering death. Most of them soon died, but twenty, who happened to be wealthy, succeeded, after enduring muchtorture, in purchasing their lives of their inhuman persecutors. Theprincipal burgomaster, Heinrich Lambertszoon, was less fortunate. Knownto be affluent, he was tortured by exposing the soles of his feet to afire until they were almost consumed. On promise that his life should bespared, he then agreed to pay a heavy ransom; but hardly had he furnishedthe stipulated sum when, by express order of Don Frederic himself, he washanged in his own doorway, and his dissevered limbs afterwards nailed tothe gates of the city. 

Nearly all the inhabitants of Naarden, soldiers and citizens, were thusdestroyed; and now Don Frederic issued peremptory orders that no one, onpain of death, should give lodging or food to any fugitive. He likewiseforbade to the dead all that could now be forbidden them--a grave. Threeweeks long did these unburied bodies pollute the streets, nor could thefew wretched women who still cowered within such houses as had escapedthe flames ever wave from their lurking-places without treading upon thefestering remains of what had been their husbands, their fathers, ortheir brethren. Such was the express command of him whom the flattererscalled the "most divine genius ever known. " Shortly afterwards came anorder to dismantle the fortifications, which had certainly provedsufficiently feeble in the hour of need, and to raze what was left of thecity from the surface of the earth. The work was faithfully accomplished, and for a longtime Naarden ceased to exist. 

Alva wrote, with his usual complacency in such cases, to his sovereign, that "they had cut the throats of the burghers and all the garrison, andthat they had not left a mother's son alive. " The statement was almostliterally correct, nor was the cant with which these bloodhoundscommented upon their crimes less odious than their guilt. "It was apermission of God, " said the Duke, "that these people should haveundertaken to defend a city, which was so weak that no other personswould have attempted such a thing. " Nor was the reflection of Mendozaless pious. "The sack of Naarden, " said that really brave andaccomplished cavalier, "was a chastisement which must be believed to havetaken place by express permission of a Divine Providence; a punishmentfor having been the first of the Holland towns in which heresy built itsnest, whence it has taken flight to all the neighboring cities. "

It is not without reluctance, but still with a stern determination, thatthe historian--should faithfully record these transactions. To extenuatewould be base; to exaggerate impossible. It is good that the world shouldnot forget how much wrong has been endured by a single harmless nation atthe hands of despotism, and in the sacred name of God. There have beentongues and pens enough to narrate the excesses of the people, burstingfrom time to time out of slavery into madness. It is good, too, thatthose crimes should be remembered, and freshly pondered; but it isequally wholesome to study the opposite picture. Tyranny, ever young andever old, constantly reproducing herself with the same stony features, with the same imposing mask which she has worn through all the ages, cannever be too minutely examined, especially when she paints her ownportrait, and when the secret history of her guilt is furnished by theconfessions of her lovers. The perusal of her traits will not make uslove popular liberty the less. 

The history of Alva's administration in the Netherlands is one of thosepictures which strike us almost dumb with wonder. Why has the Almightysuffered such crimes to be perpetrated in His sacred name? Was itnecessary that many generations should wade through this blood in orderto acquire for their descendants the blessings of civil and religiousfreedom? Was it necessary that an Alva should ravage a peaceful nationwith sword and flame--that desolation should be spread over a happy land, in order that the pure and heroic character of a William of Orange shouldstand forth more conspicuously, like an antique statue of spotless marbleagainst a stormy sky?

After the army which the Prince had so unsuccessfully led to the reliefof Mons had been disbanded, he had himself repaired to Holland. He hadcome to Kampen shortly before its defection from his cause. Thence he hadbeen escorted across the Zuyder Zee to Eukhuyzen. He came to thatprovince, the only one which through good and ill report remainedentirely faithful to him, not as a conqueror but as an unsuccessful, proscribed man. But there were warm hearts beating within those coldlagunes, and no conqueror returning from a brilliant series of victoriescould have been received with more affectionate respect than William inthat darkest hour of the country's history. He had but seventy horsemenat his back, all which remained of the twenty thousand troops which hehad a second time levied in Germany, and he felt that it would be at thatperiod hopeless for him to attempt the formation of a third army. He hadnow come thither to share the fate of Holland, at least, if he could notaccomplish her liberation. He went from city to city, advising with themagistracies and with the inhabitants, and arranging many matterspertaining both to peace and war. At Harlem the States of the Provinces, according to his request, had been assembled. The assembly begged him tolay before them, if it were possible, any schemes and means which hemight have devised for further resistance to the Duke of Alva. Thussolicited, the Prince, in a very secret session, unfolded his plans, andsatisfied them as to the future prospects of the cause. His speech hasnowhere been preserved. His strict injunctions as to secrecy, doubtless, prevented or effaced any record of the session. It is probable, however, that he entered more fully into the state of his negotiations withEngland, and into the possibility of a resumption by Count Louis of hisprivate intercourse with the French court, than it was safe, publicly, todivulge. 

While the Prince had been thus occupied in preparing the stout-heartedprovince for the last death-struggle with its foe, that mortal combat wasalready fast approaching; for the aspect of the contest in theNetherlands was not that of ordinary warfare. It was an encounter betweentwo principles, in their nature so hostile to each other that theabsolute destruction of one was the only, possible issue. As the fightwent on, each individual combatant seemed inspired by direct personalmalignity, and men found a pleasure in deeds of cruelty, from whichgenerations not educated to slaughter recoil with horror. To murderdefenceless prisoners; to drink, not metaphorically but literally, theheart's blood of an enemy; to exercise a devilish ingenuity in inventionsof mutual torture, became not only a duty but a rapture. The Liberty ofthe Netherlands had now been hunted to its lair. It had taken its lastrefuge among the sands and thickets where its savage infancy had beennurtured, and had now prepared itself to crush its tormentor in a lastembrace, or to die in the struggle. 

After the conclusion of the sack and massacre of Naarden, Don Frederichad hastened to Amsterdam, where the Duke was then quartered, that hemight receive the paternal benediction for his well-accomplished work. The royal approbation was soon afterwards added to the applause of hisparent, and the Duke was warmly congratulated in a letter written byPhilip as soon as the murderous deed was known, that Don Frederic had soplainly shown himself to be his father's son. There was now more work forfather and son. Amsterdam was the only point in Holland which held forAlva, and from that point it was determined to recover the wholeprovince. The Prince of Orange was established in the southern district;Diedrich Sonoy, his lieutenant, was stationed in North Holland. Theimportant city of Harlem lay between the two, at a spot where the wholebreadth of the territory, from sea to sea, was less than an hour's walk. With the fall of that city the province would be cut in twain, therebellious forces utterly dissevered, and all further resistance, it wasthought, rendered impossible. 

The inhabitants of Harlem felt their danger. Bossu, Alva's stadholder forHolland, had formally announced the system hitherto pursued at Mechlin, Zutphen, and Naarden, as the deliberate policy of the government. TheKing's representative had formally proclaimed the extermination of man, woman; and child in every city which opposed his authority, but thepromulgation and practice of such a system had an opposite effect to theone intended. "The hearts of the Hollanders were rather steeled toresistance than awed into submission by the fate of Naarden. " A fortunateevent, too, was accepted as a lucky omen for the coming contest. A littlefleet of armed vessels, belonging to Holland, had been frozen up in theneighbourhood of Amsterdam. Don Frederic on his arrival from Naarden, despatched a body of picked men over the ice to attack the imprisonedvessels. The crews had, however, fortified themselves by digging a widetrench around the whole fleet, which thus became from the moment analmost impregnable fortress. Out of this frozen citadel a strong band ofwell-armed and skilful musketeers sallied forth upon skates as thebesieging force advanced. A rapid, brilliant, and slippery skirmishsucceeded, in which the Hollanders, so accustomed to such sports, easilyvanquished their antagonists, and drove them off the field, with the lossof several hundred left dead upon the ice. 

"'T was a thing never heard of before to-day, " said Alva, "to see a bodyof arquebusiers thus skirmishing upon a frozen sea. " In the course of thenext four-and-twenty hours a flood and a rapid thaw released the vessels, which all escaped to Enkhuyzen, while a frost, immediately and strangelysucceeding, made pursuit impossible. 

The Spaniards were astonished at these novel manoeuvres upon the ice. Itis amusing to read their elaborate descriptions of the wonderfulappendages which had enabled the Hollanders to glide so glibly intobattle with a superior force, and so rapidly to glance away, afterachieving a signal triumph. Nevertheless, the Spaniards could never bedismayed, and were always apt scholars, even if an enemy were theteacher. Alva immediately ordered seven thousand pairs of skates, and hissoldiers soon learned to perform military evolutions with these newaccoutrements as audaciously, if not as adroitly, as the Hollanders. 

A portion of the Harlem magistracy, notwithstanding the spirit whichpervaded the province, began to tremble as danger approached. They werebase enough to enter into secret negotiations with Alva, and to sendthree of their own number to treat with the Duke at Amsterdam. One waswise enough to remain with the enemy. The other two were arrested ontheir return, and condemned, after an impartial trial, to death. For, while these emissaries of a cowardly magistracy were absent, the stoutcommandant of the little garrison, Ripperda, had assembled the citizensand soldiers in the market-place. He warned them of the absolutenecessity to make a last effort for freedom. In startling colors he heldup to them the fate of Mechlin, of Zutphen, of Naarden, as a propheticmirror, in which they might read their own fate should they be baseenough to surrender the city. There was no composition possible, heurged, with foes who were as false as they were sanguinary, and whosefoul passions were stimulated, not slaked, by the horrors with which theyhad already feasted themselves. 

Ripperda addressed men who could sympathize with his bold and loftysentiments. Soldiers and citizens cried out for defence instead ofsurrender, as with one voice, for there were no abject spirits at Harlem, save among the magistracy; and Saint Aldegonde, the faithful minister ofOrange, was soon sent to Harlem by the Prince to make a thorough changein that body. 

Harlem, over whose ruins the Spanish tyranny intended to make itsentrance into Holland, lay in the narrowest part of that narrow isthmuswhich separates the Zuyder Zee from the German Ocean. The distance fromsea to sea is hardly five English miles across. Westerly from the cityextended a slender strip of land, once a morass, then a fruitful meadow;maintained by unflagging fortitude in the very jaws of a stormy ocean. Between the North Sea and the outer edge of this pasture surged thosewild and fantastic downs, heaped up by wind and wave in mimicry ofmountains; the long coils of that rope of sand, by which, plaited intoadditional strength by the slenderest of bulrushes, the waves of theNorth Sea were made to obey the command of man. On the opposite, oreastern aide, Harlem looked towards Amsterdam. That already flourishingcity was distant but ten miles. The two cities were separated by anexpanse of inland water, and united by a slender causeway. The HarlemLake, formed less than a century before by the bursting of four lesser, meres during a storm which had threatened to swallow the whole Peninsula, extended itself on the south and east; a sea of limited dimensions, beingonly fifteen feet in depth with seventy square miles of surface, but, exposed as it lay to all the winds of heaven, often lashed into storms asdangerous as those of the Atlantic. Beyond the lake, towards the north, the waters of the Y nearly swept across the Peninsula. This inlet of theZuyder Zee was only separated from the Harlem mere by a slender thread ofland. Over this ran the causeway between the two sister cities, now sounfortunately in arms against each other. Midway between the two, thedyke was pierced and closed again with a system of sluice-works, whichwhen opened admitted the waters of the lake into those of the estuary, and caused an inundation of the surrounding country. 

The city was one of the largest and most beautiful in the Netherlands. Itwas also one of the weakest. --The walls were of antique construction, turreted, but not strong. The extent and feebleness of the defences madea large garrison necessary, but unfortunately, the garrison was evenweaker than the walls. The city's main reliance was on the stout heartsof the inhabitants. The streets were, for that day, spacious and regular;the canals planted with limes and poplars. The ancient church of SaintBavon, a large imposing structure of brick, stood almost in the centre ofthe place, the most prominent object, not only of the town but of theprovince, visible over leagues of sea and of land more level than thesea, and seeming to gather the whole quiet little city under its sacredand protective wings. Its tall open-work leaden spire was surmounted by acolossal crown, which an exalted imagination might have regarded as theemblematic guerdon of martyrdom held aloft over the city, to reward itsheroism and its agony. 

It was at once obvious that the watery expanse between Harlem andAmsterdam would be the principal theatre of the operations about tocommence. The siege was soon begun. The fugitive burgomaster, De Fries, had the effrontery, with the advice of Alva, to address a letter to thecitizens, urging them to surrender at discretion. The messenger washanged--a cruel but practical answer, which put an end to all furthertraitorous communications. This was in the first week of December. On the10th, Don Frederic, sent a strong detachment to capture the fort andvillage of Sparendam, as an indispensable preliminary to the commencementof the siege. A peasant having shown Zapata, the commander of theexpedition, a secret passage across the flooded and frozen meadows, theSpaniards stormed the place gallantly, routed the whole garrison, killedthree hundred, and took possession of the works and village. Next day, Don Frederic appeared before the walls of Harlem, and proceeded regularlyto invest the place. The misty weather favored his operations, nor did hecease reinforcing himself; until at least thirty thousand men, includingfifteen hundred cavalry, had been encamped around the city. The Germans, under Count Overstein, were stationed in a beautiful and extensive groveof limes and beeches, which spread between the southern walls and theshore of Harlem Lake. Don Frederic, with his Spaniards, took up aposition on the opposite side, at a place called the House of Kleef, theruins of which still remain. The Walloons, and other regiments weredistributed in different places, so as completely to encircle the town. 

 [Pierre Sterlinckx: Eene come Waerachtige Beschryvinghe van alle Geschiedinissen, Anschlagen, Stormen, Schermutsingen oude Schieten voor de vroome Stadt Haerlem in Holland gheschicht, etc. , etc. -- Delft, 1574. --This is by far the best contemporary account of the famous siege. The author was a citizen of Antwerp, who kept a daily journal of the events as they occurred at Harlem. It is a dry, curt register of horrors, jotted down without passion or comment. -- Compare Bor, vi. 422, 423; Meteren, iv. 79; Mendoza, viii. 174, 175; Wagenaer, vad. Hist. , vi. 413, 414. ]

On the edge of the mere the Prince of Orange had already ordered acluster of forts to be erected, by which the command of its frozensurface was at first secured for Harlem. In the course of the siege, however, other forts were erected by Don Frederic, so that the aspect ofthings suffered a change. 

Against this immense force, nearly equal in number to that of the wholepopulation of the city, the garrison within the walls never amounted tomore than four thousand men. In the beginning it was much less numerous. The same circumstances, however, which assisted the initiatory operationsof Don Frederic, were of advantage to the Harlemers. A dense frozen foghung continually over the surface of the lake. Covered by this curtain, large supplies of men, provisions, and ammunition were daily introducedinto the city, notwithstanding all the efforts of the besieging force. Sledges skimming over the ice, men, women, and even children, moving ontheir skates as swiftly as the wind, all brought their contributions inthe course of the short dark days and long nights of December, in whichthe wintry siege was opened. 

The garrison at last numbered about one thousand pioneers or delvers, three thousand fighting men, and about three hundred fighting women. Thelast was a most efficient corps, all females of respectable character, armed with sword, musket, and dagger. Their chief, Kenau Hasselaer, was awidow of distinguished family and unblemished reputation, aboutforty-seven years of age, who, at the head of her amazons, participatedin many of the most fiercely contested actions of the siege, both withinand without the walls. When such a spirit animated the maids and matronsof the city, it might be expected that the men would hardly surrender theplace without a struggle. The Prince had assembled a force of three orfour thousand men at Leyden, which he sent before the middle of Decembertowards the city under the command of De la Marck. These troops were, however, attacked on the way by a strong detachment under Bossu, Noircarmes, and Romero. After a sharp, action in a heavy snow-storm, Dela Marek was completely routed. One thousand of his soldiers were cut topieces, and a large number carried off as prisoners to the gibbets, whichwere already conspicuously erected in the Spanish camp, and which fromthe commencement to the close of the siege were never bare of victims. Among the captives was a gallant officer, Baptist van Trier, for whom Dela Marck in vain offered two thousand crowns and nineteen Spanishprisoners. The proposition was refused with contempt. Van Trier washanged upon the gallows by one leg until he was dead, in return for whichbarbarity the nineteen Spaniards were immediately gibbeted by De laMarck. With this interchange of cruelties the siege may be said to haveopened. 

Don Frederic had stationed himself in a position opposite to the gate ofthe Cross, which was not very strong, but fortified by a ravelin. Intending to make a very short siege of it, he established his batteriesimmediately, and on the 18th, 19th, and 20th December directed a furiouscannonade against the Cross-gate, the St. John's-gate, and the curtainbetween the two. Six hundred and eighty shots were discharged on thefirst, and nearly as many on each of the two succeeding days. The wallswere much shattered, but men, women, and children worked night and daywithin the city, repairing the breaches as fast as made. They broughtbags of sand; blocks of stone, cart-loads of earth from every quarter, and they stripped the churches of all their statues, which they threw byheaps into the gaps. If They sought thus a more practical advantage fromthose sculptured saints than they could have gained by only imploringtheir interposition. The fact, however, excited horror among thebesiegers. Men who were daily butchering their fellow-beings, and hangingtheir prisoners in cold blood, affected to shudder at the enormity of theoffence thus exercised against graven images. 

After three days' cannonade, the assault was ordered, Don Frederic onlyintending a rapid massacre, to crown his achievements at--Zutphen andNaarden. The place, he thought, would fall in a week, and after anotherweek of sacking, killing, and ravishing, he might sweep on to "pasturesnew" until Holland was overwhelmed. Romero advanced to the breach, followed by a numerous storming party, but met with a resistance whichastonished the Spaniards. The church bells rang the alarm throughout thecity, and the whole population swarmed to the walls. The besiegers wereencountered not only with sword and musket, but with every implementwhich the burghers' hands could find. Heavy stones, boiling oil, livecoals, were hurled upon the heads of the soldiers; hoops, smeared withpitch and set on fire, were dexterously thrown upon their necks. EvenSpanish courage and Spanish ferocity were obliged to shrink before thesteady determination of a whole population animated by a single spirit. Romero lost an eye in the conflict, many officers were killed andwounded, and three or four hundred soldiers left dead in the breach, while only three or four of the townsmen lost their lives. The signal ofrecal was reluctantly given, and the Spaniards abandoned the assault. DonFrederic was now aware that Harlem would not fall at his feet at thefirst sound of his trumpet. It was obvious that a siege must precede themassacre. He gave orders therefore that the ravelin should be undermined, and doubted not that, with a few days' delay, the place would be in hishands. 

Meantime, the Prince of Orange, from his head-quarters at Sassenheim, onthe southern extremity of the mere, made a fresh effort to throw succorinto the place. Two thousand men, with seven field-pieces, and manywagon-loads of munitions, were sent forward under Batenburg. This officerhad replaced De la Marck, whom the Prince had at last deprived of hiscommission. The reckless and unprincipled freebooter was no longer toserve a cause which was more sullied by his barbarity than it could beadvanced by his desperate valor. Batenburg's expedition was, however, notmore successful than the one made by his predecessor. The troops, afterreaching the vicinity of the city, lost their way in the thick mists, which almost perpetually enveloped the scene. Cannons were fired, fog-bells were rung, and beacon fires were lighted on the ramparts, butthe party was irretrievably lost. The Spaniards fell upon them beforethey could find their way to the city. Many were put to the sword, othersmade their escape in different directions; a very few succeeded inentering Harlem. Batenburg brought off a remnant of the forces, but allthe provisions so much needed were lost, and the little army entirelydestroyed. 

De Koning, the second in command, was among the prisoners. The Spaniardscut off his head and threw it over the walls into the city, with thisinscription: "This is the head of Captain de Koning, who is on his waywith reinforcements for the good city of Harlem. " The citizens retortedwith a practical jest, which was still more barbarous. They cut off theheads of eleven prisoners and put them into a barrel, which they threwinto the Spanish camp. A Label upon the barrel contained these words:"Deliver these ten heads to Duke Alva in payment of his tenpenny tax, with one additional head for interest. " With such ghastly merriment didbesieged and besiegers vary the monotonous horror of that winter's siege. As the sallies and skirmishes were of daily occurrence, there was aconstant supply of prisoners, upon whom both parties might exercise theiringenuity, so that the gallows in camp or city was perpetually garnished. 

Since the assault of the 21st December, Don Frederic had been making hissubterranean attack by regular approaches. As fast, however, as theSpaniards mined, the citizens countermined. Spaniard and Netherlander metdaily in deadly combat within the bowels of the earth. Desperate andfrequent were the struggles within gangways so narrow that nothing butdaggers could be used, so obscure that the dim lanterns hardly lightedthe death-stroke. They seemed the conflicts, not of men but of evilspirits. Nor were these hand-to-hand battles all. A shower of heads, limbs, mutilated trunks, the mangled remains of hundreds of human beings, often spouted from the earth as if from an invisible volcano. The mineswere sprung with unexampled frequency and determination. Still theSpaniards toiled on with undiminished zeal, and still the besieged, undismayed, delved below their works, and checked their advance by sword, and spear, and horrible explosions. 

The Prince of Orange, meanwhile, encouraged the citizens to persevere, byfrequent promises of assistance. His letters, written on extremely smallbits of paper; were sent into the town by carrier pigeons. On the 28th ofJanuary he despatched a considerable supply of the two necessaries, powder and bread, on one hundred and seventy sledges across the HarlemLake, together with four hundred veteran soldiers. The citizens continuedto contest the approaches to the ravelin before the Cross-gate, but ithad become obvious that they could not hold it long. Secretly, steadfastly, and swiftly they had, therefore, during the long wintrynights, been constructing a half moon of solid masonry on the inside ofthe same portal. Old men, feeble women, tender children, united with theable-bodied to accomplish this work, by which they hoped still tomaintain themselves after the ravelin had fallen:

On the 31st of January, after two or three days' cannonade against thegates of the Cross and of Saint John, and the intervening curtains, DonFrederic ordered a midnight assault. The walls had been much shattered, part of the John's-gate was in ruins; the Spaniards mounted the breach ingreat numbers; the city was almost taken by surprise; while theCommander-in-chief, sure of victory, ordered the whole of his forcesunder arms to cut off the population who were to stream panic-struck fromevery issue. The attack was unexpected, but the forty or fifty sentinelsdefended the walls while they sounded the alarm. The tocsin bells tolled, and the citizens, whose sleep was not-apt to be heavy during thatperilous winter, soon manned the ramparts again. The daylight came uponthem while the fierce struggle was still at its height. The besieged, asbefore, defended themselves with musket and rapier, with melted pitch, with firebrands, with clubs and stones. Meantime, after morning prayersin the Spanish camp, the trumpet for a general assault was sounded. Atremendous onset was made upon the gate of the Cross, and the ravelin wascarried at last. The Spaniards poured into this fort, so long the objectof their attack, expecting instantly to sweep into the city with swordand fire. As they mounted its wall they became for the first time awareof the new and stronger fortification which had been secretly constructedon the inner side. The reason why the ravelin had been at last concededwas revealed. The half moon, whose existence they had not suspected, rosebefore them bristling with cannon. A sharp fire was instantly opened uponthe besiegers, while at the same instant the ravelin, which the citizenshad undermined, blew up with a severe explosion, carrying into the airall the soldiers who had just entered it so triumphantly. This was theturning point. The retreat was sounded, and the Spaniards fled to theircamp, leaving at least three hundred dead beneath the walls. Thus was asecond assault, made by an overwhelming force and led by the mostaccomplished generals of Spain, signally and gloriously repelled by theplain burghers of Harlem. 

It became now almost evident that the city could be taken neither byregular approaches nor by sudden attack. It was therefore resolved thatit should be reduced by famine. Still, as the winter wore on, the immensearmy without the walls were as great sufferers by that scourge as thepopulation within. The soldiers fell in heaps before the diseasesengendered by intense cold and insufficient food, for, as usual in suchsieges, these deaths far outnumbered those inflicted by the enemy's hand. The sufferings inside the city necessarily increased day by day, thewhole population being put on a strict allowance of food. Their supplieswere daily diminishing, and with the approach of the spring and thethawing of the ice on the lake, there was danger that they would beentirely cut off. If the possession of the water were lost, they mustyield or starve; and they doubted whether the Prince would be able toorganize a fleet. The gaunt spectre of Famine already rose before themwith a menace which could not be misunderstood. In their misery theylonged for the assaults of the Spaniards, that they might look in theface of a less formidable foe. They paraded the ramparts daily, withdrums beating, colors flying, taunting the besiegers to renewed attempts. To inflame the religious animosity of their antagonists, they attiredthemselves in the splendid, gold-embroidered vestments of the priests, which they took from the churches, and moved about in mock procession, bearing aloft images bedizened in ecclesiastical finery, relics, andother symbols, sacred in Catholic eyes, which they afterwards hurled fromthe ramparts, or broke, with derisive shouts, into a thousand fragments. 

It was, however, at that season earnestly debated by the enemy whether ornot to raise the siege. Don Frederic was clearly of opinion that enoughhad been done for the honor of the Spanish arms. He was wearied withseeing his men perish helplessly around him, and considered the prize toopaltry for the lives it must cost. His father thought differently. Perhaps he recalled the siege of Metz, and the unceasing regret withwhich, as he believed, his imperial master had remembered the advicereceived from him. At any rate the Duke now sent back Don Bernardino deMendoza, whom Don Frederic had despatched to Nimwegen, soliciting hisfather's permission to raise the siege, with this reply: "Tell DonFrederic, " said Alva, "that if he be not decided to continue the siegetill the town be taken, I shall no longer consider him my son, whatevermy opinion may formerly have been. Should he fall in the siege, I willmyself take the field to maintain it, and when we have both perished, theDuchess, my wife, shall come from Spain to do the same. "

Such language was unequivocal, and hostilities were resumed as fiercelyas before. The besieged welcomed them with rapture, and, as usual, madedaily the most desperate sallies. In one outbreak the Harlemers, undercover of a thick fog, marched up to the enemy's chief battery, andattempted to spike the guns before his face. They were all slain at thecannon's mouth, whither patriotism, not vainglory, had led them, and laydead around the battery, with their hammers and spikes in their hands. The same spirit was daily manifested. As the spring advanced; the kinewent daily out of the gates to their peaceful pasture, notwithstanding, all the turmoil within and around; nor was it possible for the Spaniardsto capture a single one of these creatures, without paying at least adozen soldiers as its price. "These citizens, " wrote Don Frederic, "do asmuch as the best soldiers in the world could do. "

The frost broke up by the end of February. Count Bossu, who had beenbuilding a fleet of small vessels in Amsterdam, soon afterwards succeededin entering the lake with a few gun-boats, through a breach which he hadmade in the Overtoom, about half a league from that city. The possessionof the lake was already imperilled. The Prince, however, had not beenidle, and he, too, was soon ready to send his flotilla to the mere. Atthe same time, the city of Amsterdam was in almost as hazardous aposition as Harlem. As the one on the lake, so did the other depend uponits dyke for its supplies. Should that great artificial road which led toMuyden and Utrecht be cut asunder, Amsterdam might be starved as soon asHarlem. "Since I came into the world, " wrote Alva, "I have never, been insuch anxiety. If they should succeed in cutting off the communicationalong the dykes, we should have to raise the siege of Harlem, tosurrender, hands crossed, or to starve. " Orange was fully aware of theposition of both places, but he was, as usual, sadly deficient in men andmeans. He wrote imploringly to his friends in England, in France, inGermany. He urged his brother Louis to bring a few soldiers, if it werehumanly possible. "The whole country longs for you, " he wrote to Louis, "as if you were the archangel Gabriel. "

The Prince, however, did all that it was possible for man, so hampered, to do. He was himself, while anxiously writing, hoping, and waiting forsupplies of troops from Germany or France, doing his best with suchvolunteers as he could raise. He was still established at Sassenheim, onthe south of the city, while Sonoy with his slender forces was encampedon the north. He now sent that general with as large a party as he couldmuster to attack the Diemerdyk. His men entrenched themselves as stronglyas they could between the Diemer and the Y, at the same time opening thesluices and breaking through the dyke. During the absence of theircommander, who had gone to Edam for reinforcements, they were attacked bya large force from Amsterdam. A fierce amphibious contest took place, partly in boats, partly on the slippery causeway, partly in the water, resembling in character the frequent combats between the ancientBatavians and Romans during the wars of Civilis. The patriots wereeventually overpowered. 

Sonoy, who was on his way to their rescue, was frustrated in his designby the unexpected faint-heartedness of the volunteers whom he hadenlisted at Edam. Braving a thousand perils, he advanced, almostunattended, in his little vessel, but only to witness the overthrow andexpulsion of his band. It was too late for him singly to attempt to rallythe retreating troops. They had fought well, but had been forced to yieldbefore superior numbers, one individual of the little army havingperformed prodigies of valor. John Haring, of Horn, had planted himselfentirely alone upon the dyke, where it was so narrow between the Y on theone side and the Diemer Lake on the other, that two men could hardlystand abreast. Here, armed with sword and shield, he had actually opposedand held in check one thousand of the enemy, during a period long enoughto enable his own men, if they, had been willing, to rally, andeffectively to repel the attack. It was too late, the battle was too farlost to be restored; but still the brave soldier held the post, till, byhis devotion, he had enabled all those of his compatriots who stillremained in the entrenchments to make good their retreat. He then plungedinto the sea, and, untouched by spear or bullet, effected his escape. Hadhe been a Greek or a Roman, an Horatius or a Chabrias, his name wouldhave been famous in history--his statue erected in the market-place; forthe bold Dutchman on his dyke had manifested as much valor in a sacredcause as the most classic heroes of antiquity. 

This unsuccessful attempt to cut off the communication between Amsterdamand the country strengthened the hopes of Alva. Several hundreds of thepatriots were killed or captured, and among the slain was Antony Oliver, the painter, through whose agency Louis of Nassau had been introducedinto Mons. His head was cut off by two ensigns in Alva's service, whoreceived the price which had been set upon it of two thousand caroli. Itwas then labelled with its owner's name, and thrown into the city ofHarlem. At the same time a new gibbet was erected in the Spanish campbefore the city, in a conspicuous situation, upon which all the prisonerswere hanged, some by the neck, some by the heels, in full view of theircountrymen. As usual, this especial act of cruelty excited the emulationof the citizens. Two of the old board of magistrates, belonging to theSpanish party, were still imprisoned at Harlem; together with seven otherpersons, among whom was a priest and a boy of twelve years. They were nowcondemned to the gallows. The wife of one of the ex-burgomasters and hisdaughter, who was a beguin, went by his side as he was led to execution, piously exhorting him to sustain with courage the execrations of thepopulace and his ignominious doom. The rabble, irritated by suchboldness, were not satisfied with wreaking their vengeance on theprincipal victims, but after the execution had taken place they huntedthe wife and daughter into the water, where they both perished. It isright to record these instances of cruelty, sometimes perpetrated by thepatriots as well as by their oppressors--a cruelty rendered almostinevitable by the incredible barbarity of the foreign invader. It was awar of wolfish malignity. In the words of Mendoza, every man within andwithout Harlem "seemed inspired by a spirit of special and personalvengeance. " The innocent blood poured out in Mechlin, Zutphen, Naarden, and upon a thousand scaffolds, had been crying too long from the ground. The Hollanders must have been more or less than men not to be sometimesbetrayed into acts which justice and reason must denounce. [No! It was asevil for one side as the other. D. W. ]

The singular mood which has been recorded of a high-spirited officer ofthe garrison, Captain Corey, illustrated the horror with which suchscenes of carnage were regarded by noble natures. Of a gentle dispositionoriginally, but inflamed almost to insanity by a contemplation of Spanishcruelty, he had taken up the profession of arms, to which he had anatural repugnance. Brave to recklessness, he led his men on every daringoutbreak, on every perilous midnight adventure. Armed only with hisrapier, without defensive armor, he was ever found where the battle ragedmost fiercely, and numerous were the victims who fell before his sword. On returning, however, from such excursions, he invariably shut himselfin his quarters, took to his bed, and lay for days, sick with remorse, and bitterly lamenting all that bloodshed in which he had so deeplyparticipated, and which a cruel fate seemed to render necessary. As thegentle mood subsided, his frenzy would return, and again he would rush tothe field, to seek new havoc and fresh victims for his rage. 

The combats before the walls were of almost daily occurrence. On the 25thMarch, one thousand of the besieged made a brilliant sally, drove in allthe outposts of the enemy, burned three hundred tents, and captured sevencannon, nine standards, and many wagon-loads of provisions, all whichthey succeeded in bringing with them into the city. --Having thusreinforced themselves, in a manner not often practised by the citizens ofa beleaguered town, in the very face of thirty thousand veterans--havingkilled eight hundred of the enemy, which was nearly one for every manengaged, while they lost but four of their own party--the Harlemers, ontheir return, erected a trophy of funereal but exulting aspect. A moundof earth was constructed upon the ramparts, in the form of a colossalgrave, in full view of the enemy's camp, and upon it were planted thecannon and standards so gallantly won in the skirmish, with the tauntinginscription floating from the centre of the mound "Harlem is thegraveyard of the Spaniards. "

Such were the characteristics of this famous siege during the winter andearly spring. Alva might well write to his sovereign, that "it was a warsuch as never before was seen or heard of in any land on earth. " Yet theDuke had known near sixty years of warfare. He informed Philip that"never was a place defended with such skill and bravery as Harlem, eitherby rebels or by men fighting for their lawful Prince. " Certainly his sonhad discovered his mistake in asserting that the city would yield in aweek; while the father, after nearly six years' experience, had foundthis "people of butter" less malleable than even those "iron people" whomhe boasted of having tamed. It was seen that neither the skies of Greeceor Italy, nor the sublime scenery of Switzerland, were necessary toarouse the spirit of defiance to foreign oppression--a spirit which beatas proudly among the wintry mists and the level meadows of Holland as ithad ever done under sunnier atmospheres and in more romantic lands. 

Mendoza had accomplished his mission to Spain, and had returned withsupplies of money within six weeks from the date of his departure. Owingto his representations and Alva's entreaties, Philip had, moreover, ordered Requesens, governor of Milan, to send forward to the Netherlandsthree veteran Spanish regiments, which were now more required at Harlemthan in Italy. While the land force had thus been strengthened, the fleetupon the lake had also been largely increased. The Prince of Orange had, on the other hand, provided more than a hundred sail of variousdescriptions, so that the whole surface of the mere was now alive withships. Seafights and skirmishes took place almost daily, and it wasobvious that the life and death struggle was now to be fought upon thewater. So long as the Hollanders could hold or dispute the possession ofthe lake, it was still possible to succor Harlem from time to time. Should the Spaniards overcome the Prince's fleet, the city mustinevitably starve. 

At last, on the 28th of May, a decisive engagement of the fleets tookplace. The vessels grappled with each other, and there was a long, fierce, hand-to-hand combat. Under Bossu were one hundred vessels; underMartin Brand, admiral of the patriot fleet, nearly one hundred and fifty, but of lesser dimensions. Batenhurg commanded the troops on board theDutch vessels. After a protracted conflict, in which several thousandswere killed, the victory was decided in favor of the Spaniards. Twenty-two of the Prince's vessels being captured, and the rest totallyrouted, Bossu swept across the lake in triumph. The forts belonging tothe patriots were immediately taken, and the Harlemers, with theirfriends, entirely excluded from the lake. 

This was the beginning of the end. Despair took possession of the city. The whole population had been long subsisting upon an allowance of apound of bread to each man, and half-a-pound for each woman; but thebread was now exhausted, the famine had already begun, and with the lossof the lake starvation was close at their doors. They sent urgententreaties to, the Prince to attempt something in their behalf. Threeweeks more they assigned as the longest term during which they couldpossibly hold out. He sent them word by carrier pigeons to endure yet alittle time, for he was assembling a force, and would still succeed infurnishing them with supplies. Meantime, through the month of June thesufferings of the inhabitants increased hourly. Ordinary food had longsince vanished. The population now subsisted on linseed and rape-seed; asthese supplies were exhausted they devoured cats, dogs, rats, and mice, and when at last these unclean animals had been all consumed, they boiledthe hides of horses and oxen; they ate shoe-leather; they plucked thenettles and grass from the graveyards, and the weeds which grew betweenthe stones of the pavement, that with such food they might still supportlife a little longer, till the promised succor should arrive. Men, women, and children fell dead by scores in the streets, perishing of purestarvation, and the survivors had hardly the heart or the strength tobury them out of their sight. They who yet lived seemed to flit likeshadows to and fro, envying those whose sufferings had already beenterminated by death. 

Thus wore away the month of June. On the 1st of July the burghersconsented to a parley. Deputies were sent to confer with the besiegers, but the negotiations were abruptly terminated, for no terms of compromisewere admitted by Don Frederic. On the 3rd a tremendous cannonade wasre-opened upon the city. One thousand and eight balls weredischarged--the most which had ever been thrown in one day, since thecommencement of the siege. The walls were severely shattered, but theassault was not ordered, because the besiegers were assured that it wasphysically impossible for the inhabitants to hold out many days longer. Alast letter, written in blood, was now despatched to the Prince ofOrange, stating the forlorn condition to which they were reduced. At thesame time, with the derision of despair, they flung into the hostile campthe few loaves of bread which yet remained within the city walls. A dayor two later, a second and third parley were held, with no moresatisfactory result than had attended the first. A black flag was nowhoisted on the cathedral tower, the signal of despair to friend and foe, but a pigeon soon afterwards flew into the town with a letter from thePrince, begging them to maintain themselves two days longer, becausesuccor was approaching. 

The Prince had indeed been doing all which, under the circumstances, waspossible. He assembled the citizens of Delft in the market-place, andannounced his intention of marching in person to the relief of the city, in the face of the besieging army, if any troops could be obtained. Soldiers there were none; but there was the deepest sympathy for Harlemthroughout its sister cities, Delft, Rotterdam, Gouda. A numerous mass ofburghers, many of them persons of station, all people of respectability, volunteered to march to the rescue. The Prince highly disapproved of thismiscellaneous army, whose steadfastness he could not trust. As a soldier, he knew that for such a momentous enterprise, enthusiasm could not supplythe place of experience. Nevertheless, as no regular troops could be had, and as the emergency allowed no delay, he drew up a commission, appointing Paulus Buys to be governor during his absence, and provisionalstadholder, should he fall in the expedition. Four thousand armedvolunteers, with six hundred mounted troopers, under Carlo de Noot, hadbeen assembled, and the Prince now placed himself at their head. Therewas, however, a universal cry of remonstrance from the magistracies andburghers of all the towns, and from the troops themselves, at thisproject. They would not consent that a life so precious, so indispensableto the existence of Holland, should be needlessly hazarded. It wasimportant to succor Harlem, but the Prince was of more value than manycities. He at last reluctantly consented, therefore, to abandon thecommand of the expedition to Baron Batenburg, the less willingly from thewant of confidence which he could not help feeling in the character ofthe forces. On the 8th of July, at dusk, the expedition set forth fromSassenheim. It numbered nearly five thousand men, who had with them fourhundred wagon-loads of provisions and seven field-pieces. Among thevolunteers, Oldenbarneveld; afterwards so illustrious in the history ofthe Republic; marched in the ranks, with his musket on his shoulder. Suchwas a sample of the spirit which pervaded the population of the province. 

Batenburg came to a halt in the woods of Nordwyk, on the south aide ofthe city, where he remained till midnight. All seemed still in theenemy's camp. After prayers, he gave orders to push forward, hoping tosteal through the lines of his sleeping adversaries and accomplish therelief by surprise. He was destined to be bitterly disappointed. Hisplans and his numbers were thoroughly known to the Spaniards, two doves, bearing letters which contained the details of the intended expedition, having been shot and brought into Don Frederic's camp. 

The citizens, it appeared, had broken through the curtain work on theside where Batenburg was expected, in order that a sally might be made inco-operation with the relieving force, as soon as it should appear. Signal fires had been agreed upon, by which the besieged were to be madeaware of the approach of their friends. The Spanish Commander accordinglyordered a mass of green branches, pitch, and straw, to be lightedopposite to the gap in the city wall. Behind it he stationed fivethousand picked troops. Five thousand more, with a force of cavalry, wereplaced in the neighbourhood of the downs, with orders to attack thepatriot army on the left. Six regiments, under Romero, were ordered tomove eastward, and assail their right. The dense mass of smoke concealedthe beacon lights displayed by Batenburg from the observation of thetownspeople, and hid the five thousand Spaniards from the advancingHollanders. As Batenburg emerged from the wood, he found himself attackedby a force superior to his own, while a few minutes later he was entirelyenveloped by overwhelming numbers. The whole Spanish army was, indeed;under arms, and had been expecting him for two days. The unfortunatecitizens alone were ignorant of his arrival. The noise of the conflictthey supposed to be a false alarm created by the Spaniards, to draw theminto their camp; and they declined a challenge which they were in nocondition to accept. 

Batenburg was soon slain, and his troops utterly routed. The numberkilled was variously estimated at from six hundred to two and even threethousand. It is, at any rate, certain that the whole force was entirelydestroyed or dispersed, and the attempt to relieve the city completelyfrustrated. The death of Batenburg was the less regretted, because he wasaccused, probably with great injustice, of having been intoxicated at thetime of action, and therefore incapable of properly, conducting theenterprise entrusted to him. 

The Spaniards now cut off the nose and ears of a prisoner and sent himinto the city, to announce the news, while a few heads were also thrownover the walls to confirm the intelligence. When this decisive overthrowbecame known in Delft, there was even an outbreak of indignation againstOrange. According to a statement of Alva, which, however, is to bereceived with great distrust, some of the populace wished to sack thePrince's house, and offered him personal indignities. Certainly, if thesedemonstrations were made, popular anger was never more senseless; but thetale rests entirely, upon a vague assertion of the Duke, and is entirely, at variance with every other contemporaneous account of thesetransactions. It had now become absolutely, necessary, however, for theheroic but wretched town to abandon itself to its fate. It was impossibleto attempt anything more in its behalf. The lake and its forts were inthe hands of the enemy, the best force which could be mustered to makehead against the besieging army had been cut to pieces, and the Prince ofOrange, with a heavy heart, now sent word that the burghers were to makethe best terms they could with the enemy. 

The tidings of despair created a terrible commotion in the starving city. There was no hope either in submission or resistance. Massacre orstarvation was the only alternative. But if there was no hope within thewalls, without there was still a soldier's death. For a moment thegarrison and the able-bodied citizens resolved to advance from the gatesin a solid column, to cut their way through the enemy's camp, or toperish on the field. It was thought that the helpless and the infirm, whowould alone be left in the city, might be treated with indulgence afterthe fighting men had all been slain. At any rate, by remaining the strongcould neither protect nor comfort them. As soon, however, as this resolvewas known, there was such wailing and outcry of women and children aspierced the hearts of the soldiers and burghers, and caused them toforego the project. They felt that it was cowardly not to die in theirpresence. It was then determined to form all the females, the sick, theaged, and the children, into a square, to surround them with all theable-bodied men who still remained, and thus arrayed to fight their wayforth from the gates, and to conquer by the strength of despair, or atleast to perish all together. 

These desperate projects, which the besieged were thought quite capableof executing, were soon known in the Spanish camp. Don Frederic felt, after what he had witnessed in the past seven months, that there wasnothing which the Harlemers could not do or dare. He feared lest theyshould set fire to their city, and consume their houses, themselves, andtheir children, to ashes together; and he was unwilling that the fruitsof his victory, purchased at such a vast expense, should be snatched fromhis hand as he was about to gather them. A letter was accordingly, by hisorder, sent to the magistracy and leading citizens, in the name of CountOverstein, commander of the German forces in the besieging army. Thisdespatch invited a surrender at discretion, but contained the solemnassurance that no punishment should be inflicted except upon those who, in the judgment of the citizens themselves, had deserved it, and promisedample forgiveness if the town should submit without further delay. At themoment of sending this letter, Don Frederic was in possession of strictorders from his father not to leave a man alive of the garrison, excepting only the Germans, and to execute besides a large number of theburghers. These commands he dared not disobey, --even if he had felt anyinclination to do so. In consequence of the semi-official letter ofOverstein, however, the city formally surrendered at discretion on the12th July. 

The great bell was tolled, and orders were issued that all arms in thepossession of the garrison or the inhabitants should be brought to thetown-house. The men were then ordered to assemble in the cloister of Zyl, the women in the cathedral. On the same day, Don Frederic, accompanied byCount Bossu and a numerous staff, rode into the city. The scene which methis view might have moved a heart of stone. Everywhere was evidence ofthe misery which had been so bravely endured during that seven months'siege. The smouldering ruins of houses, which had been set on fire byballs, the shattered fortifications, the felled trunks of trees, upturnedpavements, broken images and other materials for repairing gaps made bythe daily cannonade, strewn around in all directions, the skeletons ofunclean animals from which the flesh had been gnawed, the unburied bodiesof men and women who had fallen dead in the public thoroughfares--morethan all, the gaunt and emaciated forms of those who still survived, theghosts of their former, selves, all might have induced at least a doubtwhether the suffering inflicted already were not a sufficient punishment, even for crimes so deep as heresy and schism. But this was far from beingthe sentiment of Don Frederic. He seemed to read defiance as well asdespair in the sunken eyes which glared upon him as he entered the place, and he took no thought of the pledge which he had informally but sacredlygiven. 

All the officers of the garrison were at once arrested. Some of them hadanticipated the sentence of their conqueror by a voluntary death. CaptainBordet, a French officer of distinction, like Brutus, compelled hisservant to hold the sword upon which he fell, rather than yield himselfalive to the vengeance of the Spaniards. Traits of generosity were notwanting. Instead of Peter Hasselaer, a young officer who had displayedremarkable bravery throughout the siege, the Spaniards by. Mistakearrested his cousin Nicholas. The prisoner was suffering himself to beled away to the inevitable scaffold without remonstrance, when PeterHasselaer pushed his way violently through the ranks of the captors. "Ifyou want Ensign Hasselaer, I am the man. Let this innocent persondepart, " he cried. Before the sun set his head had fallen. All theofficers were taken to the House of Kleef, where they were immediatelyexecuted. --Captain Ripperda, who had so heroically rebuked the cravenconduct of the magistracy, whose eloquence had inflamed the soldiers andcitizens to resistance, and whose skill and courage had sustained thesiege so long, was among the first to suffer. A natural son of CardinalGranvelle, who could have easily saved his life by proclaiming aparentage which he loathed, and Lancelot Brederode, an illegitimate scionof that ancient house, were also among these earliest victims. 

The next day Alva came over to the camp. He rode about the place, examining the condition of the fortifications from the outside, butreturned to Amsterdam without having entered the city. On the followingmorning the massacre commenced. The plunder had been commuted for twohundred and forty thousand guilders, which the citizens bound themselvesto pay in four instalments; but murder was an indispensable accompanimentof victory, and admitted of no compromise. Moreover, Alva had alreadyexpressed the determination to effect a general massacre upon thisoccasion. The garrison, during the siege, had been reduced from fourthousand to eighteen hundred. Of these the Germans, six hundred innumber, were, by Alva's order, dismissed, on a pledge to serve no moreagainst the King. All the rest of the garrison were immediatelybutchered, with at least as many citizens. Drummers went about the citydaily, proclaiming that all who harbored persons having, at any formerperiod, been fugitives, were immediately to give them up, on pain ofbeing instantly hanged themselves in their own doors. Upon these refugeesand upon the soldiery fell the brunt of the slaughter; although, from dayto day, reasons were perpetually discovered for putting to death everyindividual at all distinguished by service, station, wealth, or liberalprinciples; for the carnage could not be accomplished at once, but, withall the industry and heartiness employed, was necessarily protractedthrough several days. Five executioners, with their attendants, were keptconstantly at work; and when at last they were exhausted with fatigue, orperhaps sickened with horror, three hundred wretches were tied two andtwo, back to back, and drowned in the Harlem Lake. 

At last, after twenty-three hundred human creatures had been murdered incold blood, within a city where so many thousands had previously perishedby violent or by lingering deaths; the blasphemous farce of a pardon wasenacted. Fifty-seven of the most prominent burghers of the place were, however, excepted from the act of amnesty, and taken into custody assecurity for the future good conduct of the other citizens. Of thesehostages some were soon executed, some died in prison, and all would havebeen eventually sacrificed, had not the naval defeat of Bossu soonafterwards enabled the Prince of Orange to rescue the remainingprisoners. Ten thousand two hundred and fifty-six shots had beendischarged against the walls during the siege. Twelve thousand of thebesieging army had died of wounds or disease, during the seven months andtwo days, between the, investment and the surrender. In the earlier partof August, after the executions had been satisfactorily accomplished, DonFrederic made his triumphal entry, and the first chapter in the invasionof Holland was closed. Such was the memorable siege of Harlem, an eventin which we are called upon to wonder equally at human capacity toinflict and to endure misery. 

The Spaniards celebrated a victory, while in Utrecht they made an effigyof the Prince of Orange, which they carried about in procession, brokeupon the wheel, and burned. It was, however, obvious, that if thereduction of Harlem were a triumph, it was one which the conquerors mightwell exchange for a defeat. At any rate, it was certain that the Spanishempire was not strong enough to sustain many more such victories. If ithad required thirty thousand choice troops, among which were threeregiments called by Alva respectively, the "Invincibles, " the"Immortals, " and the "None-such, " to conquer the weakest city of Hollandin seven months, and with the loss of twelve thousand men; how many men, how long a time, and how many deaths would it require to reduce the restof that little province? For, as the sack of Naarden had produced thecontrary effect from the one intended, inflaming rather than subduing thespirit of Dutch resistance, so the long and glorious defence of Harlem, notwithstanding its tragical termination, had only served to strain tothe highest pitch the hatred and patriotism of the other cities in theprovince. Even the treasures of the New World were inadequate to pay forthe conquest of that little sand-bank. Within five years, twenty-fivemillions of florins had been sent from Spain for war expenses in theNetherlands. --Yet, this amount, with the addition of large sums annuallyderived from confiscations, of five millions, at which the proceeds ofthe hundredth penny was estimated, and the two millions yearly, for whichthe tenth and twentieth pence had been compounded, was insufficient tosave the treasury from beggary and the unpaid troops from mutiny. 

Nevertheless, for the moment the joy created was intense. Philip waslying dangerously ill at the wood of Segovia, when the happy tidings ofthe reduction of Harlem, with its accompanying butchery, arrived. Theaccount of all this misery, minutely detailed to him by Alva, acted likemagic. The blood of twenty-three hundred of his fellow-creatures--coldlymurdered, by his orders, in a single city--proved for the sanguinarymonarch the elixir of life: he drank and was refreshed. "The principalmedicine which has cured his Majesty, " wrote Secretary Cayas from Madridto Alva, "is the joy caused to him by the good news which you havecommunicated of the surrender of Harlem. " In the height of hisexultation, the King forgot how much dissatisfaction he had recently feltwith the progress of events in the Netherlands; how much treasure hadbeen annually expended with an insufficient result. "Knowing yournecessity, " continued Cayas, "his Majesty instantly sent for DoctorVelasco, and ordered him to provide you with funds, if he had to descendinto the earth to dig for it. " While such was the exultation of theSpaniards, the Prince of Orange was neither dismayed nor despondent. Asusual, he trusted to a higher power than man. "I had hoped to send youbetter news, " he wrote, to Count Louis, "nevertheless, since it hasotherwise pleased the good God, we must conform ourselves to His divinewill. I take the same God to witness that I have done everythingaccording to my means, which was possible, to succor the city. " A fewdays later, writing in the same spirit, he informed his brother that theZealanders had succeeded in capturing the castle of Rammekens, on theisle of Walcheren. "I hope, " he said, "that this will reduce the pride ofour enemies, who, after the surrender of Harlem, have thought that theywere about to swallow us alive. I assure myself, however, that they willfind a very different piece of work from the one which they expect. "

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Enthusiasm could not supply the place of experience Envying those whose sufferings had already been terminated Leave not a single man alive in the city, and to burn every house Not strong enough to sustain many more such victories Oldenbarneveld; afterwards so illustrious Sent them word by carrier pigeons Three hundred fighting women Tyranny, ever young and ever old, constantly reproducing herself Wonder equally at human capacity to inflict and to endure misery

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 21. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY18551573 [CHAPTER IX. ]

 Position of Alva--Hatred entertained for him by elevated personages --Quarrels between him and Medina Coeli--Departure of the latter-- Complaints to the King by each of the other--Attempts at conciliation addressed by government to the people of the Netherlands--Grotesque character of the address--Mutinous demonstration of the Spanish troops--Secret overtures to Orange-- Obedience, with difficulty, restored by Alva--Commencement of the siege of Alkmaar--Sanguinary menaces of the Duke--Encouraging and enthusiastic language of the Prince--Preparations in Alkmaar for defence--The first assault steadily repulsed--Refusal of the soldiers to storm a second time--Expedition of the Carpenter-envoy-- Orders of the Prince to flood the country--The Carpenter's despatches in the enemy's hands--Effect produced upon the Spaniards --The siege raised--Negotiations of Count Louis with France-- Uneasiness and secret correspondence of the Duke--Convention with the English government--Objects pursued by Orange--Cruelty of De la Marck--His dismissal from office and subsequent death--Negotiations with France--Altered tone of the French court with regard to the St. Bartholomew--Ill effects of the crime upon the royal projects-- Hypocrisy of the Spanish government--Letter of Louis to Charles IX. --Complaints of Charles IX. --Secret aspirations of that monarch and of Philip--Intrigues concerning the Polish election--Renewed negotiations between Schomberg and Count Louis, with consent of Orange--Conditions prescribed by the Prince--Articles of secret alliance--Remarkable letter of Count Louis to Charles IX. -- Responsible and isolated situation of Orange--The "Address" and the "Epistle"--Religious sentiments of the Prince--Naval action on the Zuyder Zee--Captivity of Bossu and of Saint Aldegonde--Odious position of Alva--His unceasing cruelty--Execution of Uitenhoove-- Fraud practised by Alva upon his creditors--Arrival of Requesens, the new Governor-General--Departure of Alva--Concluding remarks upon his administration. 

For the sake of continuity in the narrative, the siege of Harlem has beenrelated until its conclusion. This great event constituted, moreover, theprincipal stuff in Netherland, history, up to the middle of the year1573. A few loose threads must be now taken up before we can proceedfarther. 

Alva had for some time felt himself in a false and uncomfortableposition. While he continued to be the object of a popular hatred asintense as ever glowed, he had gradually lost his hold upon those who, atthe outset of his career, had been loudest and lowest in theirdemonstrations of respect. "Believe me, " wrote Secretary Albornoz toSecretary Cayas, "this people abhor our nation worse than they abhor theDevil. As for the Duke of Alva, they foam at the mouth when they hear hisname. " Viglius, although still maintaining smooth relations with theGovernor, had been, in reality, long since estranged from him. EvenAerschot, far whom the Duke had long maintained an intimacy halfaffectionate, half contemptuous, now began to treat him with a contumelywhich it was difficult for so proud a stomach to digest. 

But the main source of discomfort was doubtless the presence of MedinaCoeli. This was the perpetual thorn in his side, which no cunning couldextract. A successor who would not and could not succeed him, yet whoattended him as his shadow and his evil genius--a confidential colleaguewho betrayed his confidence, mocked his projects, derided his authority, and yet complained of ill treatment--a rival who was neither compeer norsubaltern, and who affected to be his censor--a functionary of a purelyanomalous character, sheltering himself under his abnegation of anauthority which he had not dared to assume, and criticising measureswhich he was not competent to grasp;--such was the Duke of Medina Coeliin Alva's estimation. 

The bickering between the two Dukes became unceasing and disgraceful. Ofcourse, each complained to the King, and each, according to his ownaccount, was a martyr to the other's tyranny, but the meekness manifestedby Alva; in all his relations with the new comer, was wonderful, if weare to believe the accounts furnished by himself and by his confidentialsecretary. On the other hand, Medina Coeli wrote to the King, complainingof Alva in most unmitigated strains, and asserting that he was himselfnever allowed to see any despatches, nor to have the slightestinformation as to the policy of the government. He reproached, the Dukewith shrinking from personal participation in military operations, andbegged the royal forgiveness if he withdrew from a scene where he felthimself to be superfluous. 

Accordingly, towards the end of November, he took his departure, withoutpaying his respects. The Governor complained to the King of thisunceremonious proceeding, and assured His Majesty that never werecourtesy and gentleness so ill requited as his had been by this ingrateand cankered Duke. "He told me, " said Alva, "that if I did not stay inthe field, he would not remain with me in peaceful cities, and he askedme if I intended to march into Holland with the troops which were towinter there. I answered, that I should go wherever it was necessary, even should I be obliged to swim through all the canals of Holland. "After giving these details, the Duke added, with great appearance ofcandor and meekness, that he was certain Medina Coeli had only beeninfluenced by extreme zeal for His Majesty's service, and that, finding, so little for him to do in the Netherlands, he had become dissatisfiedwith his position. 

Immediately after the fall of Harlem, another attempt was made by Alva towin back the allegiance of the other cities by proclamations. It hadbecome obvious to the Governor that so determined a resistance on thepart of the first place besieged augured many long campaigns before thewhole province could be subdued. A circular was accordingly issued uponthe 26th July from Utrecht, and published immediately afterwards in allthe cities of the Netherlands. It was a paper of singular character, commingling an affectation of almost ludicrous clemency, with honest andhearty brutality. There was consequently something very grotesque aboutthe document. Philip, in the outset, was made to sustain towards hisundutiful subjects the characters of the brooding hen and the prodigal'sfather; a range of impersonation hardly to be allowed him, even by themost abject flattery. "Ye are well aware, " thus ran the address, "thatthe King has, over and over again, manifested his willingness to receivehis children, in however forlorn a condition the prodigals might return. His Majesty assures you once more that your sins, however black they mayhave been, shall be forgiven and forgotten in the plenitude of royalkindness, if you repent and return in season to his Majesty's embrace. Notwithstanding your manifold crimes, his Majesty still seeks, like a hencalling her chickens, to gather you all under the parental wing. The Kinghereby warns you once more, therefore, to place yourselves in his royalhands, and not to wait for his rage, cruelty, and fury, and the approachof his army. "

The affectionate character of the address, already fading towards the endof the preamble, soon changes to bitterness. The domestic maternal fowldilates into the sanguinary dragon as the address proceeds. "But if, "continues the monarch, "ye disregard these offers of mercy, receivingthem with closed ears, as heretofore, then we warn you that there is norigor, nor cruelty, however great, which you are not to expect by layingwaste, starvation, and the sword, in such manner that nowhere shallremain a relic of that which at present exists, but his Majesty willstrip bare and utterly depopulate the land, and cause it to be inhabitedagain by strangers; since otherwise his Majesty could not believe thatthe will of God and of his Majesty had been accomplished. "

It is almost superfluous to add that this circular remained fruitless. The royal wrath, thus blasphemously identifying itself with divinevengeance, inspired no terror, the royal blandishments no affection. 

The next point of attack was the city of Alkmaar, situate quite at thetermination of the Peninsula, among the lagunes and redeemed prairies ofNorth Holland. The Prince of Orange had already provided it with a smallgarrison. The city had been summoned to surrender by the middle of July, and had returned a bold refusal. --Meantime, the Spaniards had retiredfrom before the walls, while the surrender and chastisement of Harlemoccupied them during the next succeeding weeks. The month of August, moreover, was mainly consumed by Alva in quelling a dangerous andprotracted mutiny, which broke out among the Spanish soldiers atHarlem--between three and four thousand of them having been quarteredupon the ill-fated population of that city. 

Unceasing misery was endured by the inhabitants at the hands of theferocious Spaniards, flushed with victory, mutinous for long arrears ofpay, and greedy for the booty which had been denied. At times, however, the fury of the soldiery was more violently directed against their owncommanders than against the enemy. A project was even formed by themalcontent troops to deliver Harlem into the hands of Orange. A party ofthem, disguised as Baltic merchants, waited upon the Prince at Delft, andwere secretly admitted to his bedside before he had risen. They declaredto him that they were Spanish soldiers, who had compassion on his cause, were dissatisfied with their own government, and were ready, upon receiptof forty thousand guilders, to deliver the city into his hands. ThePrince took the matter into consideration, and promised to accept theoffer if he could raise the required sum. This, however, he found himselfunable to do within the stipulated time, and thus, for want of so paltrya sum, the offer was of necessity declined. 

Various were the excesses committed by the insubordinate troops in everyprovince in the Netherlands upon the long-suffering inhabitants. "Nothing, " wrote Alva, "had given him so much pain during his forty yearsof service. " He avowed his determination to go to Amsterdam in order tooffer himself as a hostage to the soldiery, if by so doing he could quellthe mutiny. He went to Amsterdam accordingly, where by his exertions, ably seconded by those of the Marquis Vitelli, and by the payment ofthirty crowns to each soldier--fourteen on account of arrearages andsixteen as his share in the Harlem compensation money--the rebellion wasappeased, and obedience restored. 

There was now leisure for the General to devote his whole energiesagainst the little city of Alkmaar. On that bank and shoal, the extremeverge of habitable earth, the spirit of Holland's Freedom stood at bay. The grey towers of Egmont Castle and of Egmont Abbey rose between thecity and the sea, and there the troops sent by the Prince of Orange werequartered during the very brief period in which the citizens wavered asto receiving them. The die was soon cast, however, and the Prince'sgarrison admitted. The Spaniards advanced, burned the village of Egmontto the ground as soon as the patriots had left it, and on the 21st ofAugust Don Frederic, appearing before the walls, proceeded formally toinvest Allanaar. In a few days this had been so thoroughly accomplishedthat, in Alva's language, "it was impossible for a sparrow to enter or goout of the city. " The odds were somewhat unequal. Sixteen thousandveteran troops constituted the besieging force. Within the city were agarrison of eight hundred soldiers, together with thirteen hundredburghers, capable of bearing arms. The rest of the population consistedof a very few refugees, besides the women and children. Two thousand onehundred able-bodied men, of whom only about one-third were soldiers, toresist sixteen thousand regulars. 

Nor was there any doubt as to the fate which was reserved for them, should they succumb. The Duke was vociferous at the ingratitude withwhich his clemency had hitherto been requited. He complained bitterly ofthe ill success which had attended his monitory circulars; reproachedhimself with incredible vehemence, for his previous mildness, andprotested that, after having executed only twenty-three hundred personsat the surrender of Harlem, besides a few additional burghers since, hehad met with no correspondent demonstrations of affection. He promisedhimself, however, an ample compensation for all this ingratitude, in thewholesale vengeance which he purposed to wreak upon Alkmaar. Already hegloated in anticipation over the havoc which would soon be let loosewithin those walls. Such ravings, if invented by the pen of fiction, would seem a puerile caricature; proceeding, authentically, from hisown, --they still appear almost too exaggerated for belief. "If I takeAlkmaar, " he wrote to Philip, "I am resolved not to leave a singlecreature alive; the knife shall be put to every throat. Since the exampleof Harlem has proved of no use, perhaps an example of cruelty will bringthe other cities to their senses. "

He took occasion also to read a lecture to the party of conciliation inMadrid, whose counsels, as he believed, his sovereign was beginning toheed. Nothing, he maintained, could be more senseless than the idea ofpardon and clemency. This had been sufficiently proved by recent events. It was easy for people at a distance to talk about gentleness, but thoseupon the spot knew better. Gentleness had produced nothing, so far;violence alone could succeed in future. "Let your Majesty, " he said, "bedisabused of the impression, that with kindness anything can be done withthese people. Already have matters reached such a point that many ofthose born in the country, who have hitherto advocated clemency, are nowundeceived, and acknowledge--their mistake. They are of opinion that nota living soul should be left in Alkmaar, but that every individual shouldbe put to the sword. " At the same time he took occasion, even in theseferocious letters, which seem dripping with blood, to commend his ownnatural benignity of disposition. "Your Majesty may be certain, " he said, "that no man on earth desires the path of clemency more than I do, notwithstanding my particular hatred for heretics and traitors. " It wastherefore with regret that he saw himself obliged to take the oppositecourse, and to stifle all his gentler sentiments. 

Upon Diedrich Sonoy, Lieutenant-Governor for Orange in the province ofNorth Holland, devolved the immediate responsibility of defending thispart of the country. As the storm rolled slowly up from the south, eventhat experienced officer became uneasy at the unequal conflict impending. He despatched a letter to his chief, giving a gloomy picture of hisposition. All looked instinctively towards the Prince, as to a God intheir time of danger; all felt as if upon his genius and fortitudedepended the whole welfare of the fatherland. It was hoped, too, thatsome resource had been provided in a secret foreign alliance. "If yourprincely grace, " wrote Sonoy, "have made a contract for assistance withany powerful potentate, it is of the highest importance that it should beknown to all the cities, in order to put an end to the emigration, and toconsole the people in their affliction. "

The answer, of the Prince was full of lofty enthusiasm. He reprimandedwith gentle but earnest eloquence the despondency and little faith of hislieutenant and other adherents. He had not expected, he said, that theywould have so soon forgotten their manly courage. They seemed to considerthe whole fate of the country attached to the city of Harlem. He took Godto witness that--he had spared no pains, and would willingly have sparedno drop of his blood to save that devoted city. "But as, notwithstandingour efforts, " he continued, "it has pleased God Almighty to dispose ofHarlem according to His divine will, shall we, therefore, deny and derideHis holy word? Has the strong arm of the Lord thereby grown weaker? Hashis Church therefore come to caught? You ask if I have entered into afirm treaty with any great king or potentate, to which I answer, thatbefore I ever took up the cause of the oppressed Christians in theseprovinces, I had entered into a close alliance with the King of kings;and I am firmly convinced that all who put their trust in Him shall besaved by His almighty hand. The God of armies will raise up armies for usto do battle with our enemies sad His own. " In conclusion, he stated hispreparations for attacking the enemy by sea as well as by land, andencouraged his lieutenant and the citizens of the northern quarter tomaintain a bold front before the advancing foe. 

And now, with the dismantled and desolate Harlem before their eyes, aprophetic phantom, perhaps, of their own imminent fate, did the handfulof people shut up within Alkmaar prepare for the worst. Their main hopelay in the friendly sea. The vast sluices called the Zyp, through whichan inundation of the whole northern province could be very soon effected, were but a few miles distant. By opening these gates, and by piercing afew dykes, the ocean might be made to fight for them. To obtain thisresult, however, the consent of the inhabitants was requisite, as thedestruction of all the standing crops would be inevitable. The city wasso closely invested, that it was a matter of life and death to ventureforth, and it was difficult, therefore, to find an envoy for thishazardous mission. At last, a carpenter in the city, Peter Van der Mey byname, undertook the adventure, and was entrusted with letters to Sonoy, to the Prince of Orange, and to the leading personages, in several citiesof the province: These papers were enclosed in a hollow walking-staff, carefully made fast at the top. 

Affairs soon approached a crisis within the beleaguered city. Dailyskirmishes, without decisive result; had taken place outside the walls. At last, on the 18th of September, after a steady cannonade of nearlytwelve hours, Don Frederic, at three in the afternoon, ordered anassault. Notwithstanding his seven months' experience at Harlem, he stillbelieved it certain that he should carry Alkmaar by storm. The attacktook place at once upon the Frisian gate and upon the red tower on theopposite side. Two choice regiments, recently arrived from Lombardy; ledthe onset, rending the air with their shouts, and confident of an easyvictory. They were sustained by what seemed an overwhelming force ofdisciplined troops. Yet never, even in the recent history of Harlem, hadan attack been received by more dauntless breasts. Every living man wason the walls. The storming parties were assailed with cannon, withmusketry, with pistols. Boiling water, pitch and oil, molten lead, andunslaked lime, were poured upon them every moment. Hundreds of tarred andburning hoops were skilfully quoited around the necks of the soldiers, who struggled in vain to extricate themselves from these fiery ruffs, while as fast as any of the invaders planted foot upon the breach, theywere confronted face to face with sword and dagger by the burghers, whohurled them headlong into the moat below. 

Thrice was the attack renewed with ever-increasing rage--thrice repulsedwith unflinching fortitude. The storm continued four hours long. Duringall that period, not one of the defenders left his post, till he droppedfrom it dead or wounded. The women and children, unscared by the ballsflying in every direction, or by the hand-to-hand conflicts on theramparts; passed steadily to and fro from the arsenals to thefortifications, constantly supplying their fathers, husbands, andbrothers with powder and ball. Thus, every human being in the city thatcould walk had become a soldier. At last darkness fell upon the scene. The trumpet of recal was sounded, and the Spaniards, utterly discomfited, retired from the walls, leaving at least one thousand dead in thetrenches, while only thirteen burghers and twenty-four of the garrisonlost their lives. Thus was Alkmaar preserved for a little longer--thus alarge and well-appointed army signally defeated by a handful of menfighting for their firesides and altars. Ensign Solis, who had mountedthe breach for an instant, and miraculously escaped with life, afterhaving been hurled from the battlements, reported that he had seen"neither helmet nor harness, " as he looked down into the city: only someplain-looking people, generally dressed like fishermen. Yet theseplain-looking fishermen had defeated the veterans of Alva. 

The citizens felt encouraged by the results of that day's work. Moreover, they already possessed such information concerning the condition ofaffairs in the camp of the enemy as gave them additional confidence. ASpaniard, named Jeronimo, had been taken prisoner and brought into thecity. On receiving a promise of pardon, he had revealed many secretsconcerning the position and intentions of the besieging army. It ispainful to add that the prisoner, notwithstanding his disclosures and thepromise under which they had been made, was treacherously executed. Hebegged hard for his life as he was led to the gallows, offering freshrevelations, which, however, after the ample communications already made, were esteemed superfluous. Finding this of no avail, he promised hiscaptors, with perfect simplicity, to go down on his knees and worship theDevil precisely as they did, if by so doing he might obtain mercy. It maybe supposed that such a proposition was not likely to gain additionalfavor for him in the eyes of these rigid Calvinists, and the poor wretchwas accordingly hanged. 

The day following the assault, a fresh cannonade was opened upon thecity. Seven hundred shots having been discharged, the attack was ordered. It was in vain: neither threats nor entreaties could induce theSpaniards, hitherto so indomitable, to mount the breach. The place seemedto their imagination protected by more than mortal powers; otherwise howwas it possible that a few half-starved fishermen could already have sotriumphantly overthrown the time-honored legions of Spain. It wasthought, no doubt, that the Devil, whom they worshipped, would continueto protect his children. Neither the entreaties nor the menaces of DonFrederic were of any avail. Several soldiers allowed themselves to be runthrough the body by their own officers, rather than advance to the walls;and the assault was accordingly postponed to an indefinite period. 

Meantime, as Governor Sonoy had opened many of the dykes, the land in theneighbourhood of the camp was becoming plashy, although as yet thethreatened inundation had not taken place. The soldiers were already veryuncomfortable and very refractory. The carpenter-envoy had not been idle, having, upon the 26th September, arrived at Sonoy's quarters, bearingletters from the Prince of Orange. These despatches gave distinctdirections to Sonoy to flood the countlv at all risks; rather than allowAlkmaar to, fall into the enemy's hands. The dykes and sluices were to beprotected by a strong guard, lest the peasants, in order to save theircrops, should repair or close them in the night-time. The letters ofOrange were copied, and, together with fresh communications from Sonoy, delivered to the carpenter. A note on the margin of the Prince's letter, directed the citizens to kindle four beacon fires in specified places, assoon as it should prove necessary to resort to extreme measures. Whenthat moment should arrive, it was solemnly promised that an inundationshould be created which should sweep the whole Spanish army into the sea. The work had, in fact, been commenced. The Zyp and other sluices hadalready been opened, and a vast body of water, driven by a strongnorth-west wind, had rushed in from the ocean. It needed only that twogreat dykes should be pierced to render the deluge and the desolationcomplete. The harvests were doomed to destruction, and a frightful lossof property rendered inevitable, but, at any rate, the Spaniards, if thislast measure were taken, must fly or perish to a man. 

This decisive blow having been thus ordered and promised; the carpenterset forth towards the city. He was, however, not so successful inaccomplishing his entrance unmolested, as he had been in effecting hisdeparture. He narrowly escaped with his life in passing through theenemy's lines, and while occupied in saving himself was so unlucky, or, as it proved, so fortunate, as to lose the stick in which his despatcheswere enclosed. He made good his entrance into the city, where, byword ofmouth, he encouraged his fellow-burghers as to the intentions of thePrince and Sonoy. In the meantime his letters were laid before thegeneral of the besieging army. The resolution taken by Orange, of whichDon Frederic was thus unintentionally made aware, to flood the countryfar and near, rather than fail to protect Alkmaar, made a profoundimpression upon his mind. It was obvious that he was dealing with adetermined leader and with desperate men. His attempt to carry the placeby storm had signally failed, and he could not deceive himself as to thetemper and disposition of his troops ever since that repulse. When itshould become known that they were threatened with submersion in theocean, in addition to all the other horrors of war, he had reason tobelieve that they would retire ignominiously from that remote anddesolate sand hook, where, by remaining, they could only find a waterygrave. These views having been discussed in a council of officers, theresult was reached that sufficient had been already accomplished for theglory of Spanish arms. Neither honor nor loyalty, it was thought, required that sixteen thousand soldiers should be sacrificed in acontest, not with man but with the ocean. 

On the 8th of October, accordingly, the siege, which had lasted sevenweeks, was raised, and Don Frederic rejoined his father in Amsterdam. Ready to die in the last ditch, and to overwhelm both themselves andtheir foes in a common catastrophe the Hollanders had at last compelledtheir haughty enemy to fly from a position which he had so insolentlyassumed. 

These public transactions and military operations were not the onlyimportant events which affected the fate of Holland and its sisterprovinces at this juncture. The secret relations which had already beenrenewed between Louis of Nassau, as plenipotentiary of his brother andthe French court, had for some time excited great uneasiness in the mindof Alva. Count Louis was known to be as skilful a negotiator as he wasvaliant and accomplished as a soldier. His frankness and boldness createdconfidence. The "brave spirit in the loyal breast" inspired all hisdealing; his experience and quick perception of character prevented hisbecoming a dupe of even the most adroit politicians, while his truth ofpurpose made him incapable either of overreaching an ally or of betrayinga trust. His career indicated that diplomacy might be sometimessuccessful, even although founded upon sincerity. 

Alva secretly expressed to his sovereign much suspicion of France. Hereminded him that Charles IX. ; during the early part of the precedingyear, had given the assurance that he was secretly dealing with Louis ofNassau, only that he might induce the Count to pass over to Philip'sservice. At the same time Charles had been doing all he could to succorMoos, and had written the memorable letter which had fallen into Alva'shands on the capture of Genlis, and which expressed such a fixeddetermination to inflict a deadly blow upon the King, whom the writer wasthus endeavouring to cajole. All this the Governor recalled to therecollection of his sovereign. In view of this increasing repugnance ofthe English court, Alva recommended that fair words should be employed;hinting, however, that it would be by no means necessary for his masterto consider himself very strictly bound by any such pledges to Elizabeth, if they should happen to become inconveniently pressing. "A monarch'spromises, " he delicately suggested, "were not to be considered so sacredas those of humbler mortals. Not that the King should directly violatehis word, but at the same time, " continued the Duke, "I have thought allmy life, and I have learned it from the Emperor, your Majesty's father, that the negotiations of kings depend upon different principles fromthose of us private gentlemen who walk the world; and in this manner Ialways observed that your Majesty's father, who was, so great a gentlemanand so powerful a prince, conducted his affairs. " The Governor tookoccasion, likewise, to express his regrets at the awkward manner in whichthe Ridolfi scheme had been managed. Had he been consulted at an earlierday, the affair could have been treated much more delicately; as it was, there could be little doubt but that the discovery of the plot hadprejudiced the mind of Elizabeth against Spain. "From that dust, "concluded the Duke, "has resulted all this dirt. " It could hardly bematter of surprise, either to Philip or his Viceroy, that the discoveryby Elizabeth of a plot upon their parts to take her life and place thecrown upon the head of her hated rival, should have engendered unamiablefeelings in her bosom towards them. For the moment, however, Alva'snegotiations were apparently successful. 

On the first of May, 1573, the articles of convention between England andSpain, with regard to the Netherland difficulty, had been formallypublished in Brussels. The Duke, in communicating the termination ofthese arrangements, quietly recommended his master thenceforth to takethe English ministry into his pay. In particular he advised his Majestyto bestow an annual bribe upon Lord Burleigh, "who held the kingdom inhis hand; for it has always been my opinion, " he continued, "that it wasan excellent practice for princes to give pensions to the ministers ofother potentates, and to keep those at home who took bribes from nobody. "

On the other hand, the negotiations of Orange with the English court werenot yet successful, and he still found it almost impossible to raise therequisite funds for carrying on the war. Certainly, his private lettersshowed that neither he nor his brothers were self-seekers in theirnegotiations. "You know;" said he in a letter to his brothers, "that myintention has never been to seek my private advantage. I have onlyaspired for the liberty of the country, in conscience and in polity, which foreigners have sought to oppress. I have no other articles topropose, save that religion, reformed according to the Word of God, should be permitted, that then the commonwealth should be restored to itsancient liberty, and, to that end, that the Spaniards and other soldieryshould be compelled to retire. "

The restoration of civil and religious liberty, the, establishment of thegreat principle of toleration in matters of conscience, constituted thepurpose to which his days and nights were devoted, his princely fortunesacrificed, his life-blood risked. At the same time, his enforcement oftoleration to both religions excited calumny against him among thebigoted adherents of both. By the Catholics he was accused of havinginstigated the excesses which he had done everything in his power torepress. The enormities of De la Marck, which had inspired the Prince'sindignation, were even laid at the door of him who had risked his life toprevent and to chastise them. De la Marck had, indeed, more thancounterbalanced his great service in the taking of Brill, by hissubsequent cruelties. At last, Father Cornelius Musius, pastor of SaintAgatha, at the age of seventy-two, a man highly esteemed by the Prince ofOrange, had been put to torture and death by this barbarian, undercircumstances of great atrocity. The horrid deed cost the Prince manytears, aroused the indignation of the estates of Holland, and producedthe dismission of the perpetrator from their service. It was consideredexpedient, however, in view of his past services, his powerfulconnexions, and his troublesome character, that he should be inducedpeaceably to leave the country. 

It was long before the Prince and the estates could succeed in riddingthemselves of this encumbrance. He created several riots in differentparts of the province, and boasted, that he had many fine ships of warand three thousand men devoted to him, by whose assistance he could makethe estates "dance after his pipe. " At the beginning of the followingyear (1574), he was at last compelled to leave the provinces, which henever again troubled with his presence. Some years afterwards, he died ofthe bite of a mad dog; an end not inappropriate to a man of so rabid adisposition. 

While the Prince was thus steadily striving for a lofty and generouspurpose, he was, of course, represented by his implacable enemies as aman playing a game which, unfortunately for himself, was a losing one. "That poor prince, " said Granvelle, "has been ill advised. I doubt nowwhether he will ever be able to make his peace, and I think we shallrather try to get rid of him and his brother as if they were Turks. Themarriage with the daughter of Maurice, 'unde mala et quia ipse talis', and his brothers have done him much harm. So have Schwendi and Germanintimacies. I saw it all very plainly, but he did not choose to believeme. "

Ill-starred, worse counselled William of Orange! Had he but taken thefriendly Cardinal's advice, kept his hand from German marriages and hisfeet from conventicles--had he assisted his sovereign in burning hereticsand hunting rebels, it would not then have become necessary "to treat himlike a Turk. " This is unquestionable. It is equally so that there wouldhave been one great lamp the less in that strait and difficult pathwaywhich leads to the temple of true glory. 

The main reliance of Orange was upon the secret negotiations which hisbrother Louis was then renewing with the French government. The Princehad felt an almost insurmountable repugnance towards entertaining anyrelation with that blood-stained court, since the massacre of SaintBartholomew. But a new face had recently been put upon that transaction. Instead of glorying, in their crime, the King and his mother now assumeda tone of compunction, and averred that the deed had been unpremeditated;that it had been the result of a panic or an ecstasy of fear inspired bythe suddenly discovered designs of the Huguenots; and that, in theinstinct of self-preservation, the King, with his family and immediatefriends, had plunged into a crime which they now bitterly lamented. TheFrench envoys at the different courts of Europe were directed to impressthis view upon the minds of the monarchs to whom they were accredited. Itwas certainly a very different instruction from that which they had atfirst received. Their cue had originally been to claim a full meed ofpraise and thanksgiving in behalf of their sovereign for his meritoriousexploit. The salvos of artillery, the illuminations and rejoicings, thesolemn processions and masses by which the auspicious event had beencelebrated, mere yet fresh in the memory of men. The ambassadors weresufficiently embarrassed by the distinct and determined approbation whichthey had recently expressed. Although the King, by formal proclamation, had assumed the whole responsibility, as he had notoriously been one ofthe chief perpetrators of the deed, his agents were now to stultifythemselves and their monarch by representing, as a deplorable act offrenzy, the massacre which they had already extolled to the echo as askilfully executed and entirely commendable achievement. 

To humble the power of Spain, to obtain the hand of Queen Elizabeth forthe Duke d'Alencon, to establish an insidious kind of protectorate overthe Protestant princes of Germany, to obtain the throne of Poland for theDuke of Anjou, and even to obtain the imperial crown for the house ofValois--all these cherished projects seemed dashed to the ground by theParis massacre and the abhorrence which it had created. Charles andCatharine were not slow to discover the false position in which they hadplaced themselves, while the Spanish jocularity at the immense errorcommitted by France was visible enough through the assumed mask of holyhorror. 

Philip and Alva listened with mischievous joy to the howl of execrationwhich swept through Christendom upon every wind. They rejoiced asheartily in the humiliation of the malefactors as they did in theperpetration of the crime. "Your Majesty, " wrote Louis of Nassau, verybluntly, to King Charles, "sees how the Spaniard, your mortal enemy, feasts himself full with the desolation of your affairs; how he laughs, to-split his sides, at your misfortunes. This massacre has enabled him toweaken your Majesty more than he could have done by a war of thirtyyears. "

Before the year had revolved, Charles had become thoroughly convinced ofthe fatal impression produced by the event. Bitter and almost abject werehis whinings at the Catholic King's desertion of his cause. "He knowswell, " wrote Charles to Saint Goard, "that if he can terminate thesetroubles and leave me alone in the dance, he will have leisure and meansto establish his authority, not only in the Netherlands but elsewhere;and that he will render himself more grand and formidable than he hasever been. This is the return they render for the good received from me, which is such as every one knows. "

Gaspar de Schomberg, the adroit and honorable agent of Charles inGermany, had at a very early day warned his royal master of the illeffect of the massacre upon all the schemes which he had been pursuing, and especially upon those which referred to the crowns of the Empire andof Poland. The first project was destined to be soon abandoned. It wasreserved neither for Charles nor Philip to divert the succession inGermany from the numerous offspring of Maximilian; yet it is instructiveto observe the unprincipled avidity with which the prize was sought byboth. Each was willing to effect its purchase by abjuring what weresupposed his most cherished principles. Philip of Spain, whose missionwas to extirpate heresy throughout his realms, and who, in pursuance ofthat mission, had already perpetrated more crimes, and waded more deeplyin the blood of his subjects, than monarch had often done before; Philip, for whom his apologists have never found any defence, save that hebelieved it his duty to God rather to depopulate his territories than topermit a single heretic within their limits--now entered into secretnegotiations with the princes of the Empire. He pledged himself, if theywould confer the crown upon him, that he would withdraw the Spaniardsfrom the Netherlands; that he would tolerate in those provinces theexercise of the Reformed religion; that he would recognize their unionwith the rest of the German Empire, and their consequent claim to thebenefits of the Passau treaty; that he would restore the Prince of Orange"and all his accomplices" to their former possessions, dignities, andcondition; and that he would cause to be observed, throughout every realmincorporated with the Empire, all the edicts and ordinances which hadbeen constructed to secure religious freedom in Germany. In brief, Philipwas willing, in case the crown of Charlemagne should be promised him, toundo the work of his life, to reinstate the arch-rebel whom he had huntedand proscribed, and to bow before that Reformation whose disciples he hadso long burned, and butchered. So much extent and no more had thatreligious, conviction by which he had for years had the effrontery toexcuse the enormities practised in the Netherlands. God would neverforgive him so long as one heretic remained unburned in the provinces;yet give him the Imperial sceptre, and every heretic, without forswearinghis heresy, should be purged with hyssop and become whiter than snow. 

Charles IX. , too, although it was not possible for him to recal to lifethe countless victims of the Parisian wedding, was yet ready to explainthose murders to the satisfaction of every unprejudiced mind. This hadbecome strictly necessary. Although the accession of either his MostChristian or Most Catholic Majesty to the throne of the Caesars was amost improbable event, yet the humbler elective, throne actually vacantwas indirectly in the gift of the same powers. It was possible that thecrown of Poland might be secured for the Duke of Anjou. That key unlocksthe complicated policy of this and the succeeding year. The Polishelection is the clue to the labyrinthian intrigues and royaltergiversations during the period of the interregnum. Sigismund Augustus, last of the Jagellons, had died on the 7th July; 1572. The prominentcandidates to succeed him were the Archduke Ernest, son of the Emperor, and Henry of Anjou. The Prince of Orange was not forgotten. A strongparty were in favor of compassing his election, as the most signaltriumph which Protestantism could gain, but his ambition had not beenexcited by the prospect of such a prize. His own work required all theenergies of all his life. His influence, however, was powerful, andeagerly sought by the partisans of Anjou. The Lutherans and Moravians inPoland were numerous, the Protestant party there and in Germany holdingthe whole balance of the election in their hands. 

It was difficult for the Prince to overcome his repugnance to the veryname of the man whose crime had at once made France desolate, andblighted the fair prospects under which he and his brother had, the yearbefore, entered the Netherlands. Nevertheless; he was willing to listento the statements by which the King and his ministers endeavoured, notentirely without success, to remove from their reputations, if not fromtheir souls; the guilt of deep design. It was something, that themurderers now affected to expiate their offence in sackcloth andashes--it was something that, by favoring the pretensions of Anjou, andby listening with indulgence to the repentance of Charles, the siege ofRochelle could be terminated, the Huguenots restored to freedom ofconscience, and an alliance with a powerful nation established, by aid ofwhich the Netherlands might once more lift their heads. The Frenchgovernment, deeply hostile to Spain, both from passion and policy, wascapable of rendering much assistance to the revolted provinces. "Ientreat you most humbly, my good master, " wrote Schomberg to Charles IX. , "to beware of allowing the electors to take into their heads that you arefavoring the affairs of the King of Spain in any manner whatsoever. Commit against him no act of open hostility, if you think that imprudent;but look sharp! if you do not wish to be thrown clean out of your saddle. I should split with rage if I should see you, in consequence of thewicked calumnies of your enemies, fail to secure the prize. "

Orange was induced, therefore, to accept, however distrustfully, theexpression of a repentance which was to be accompanied with healingmeasures. He allowed his brother Louis to resume negotiations withSchomberg, in Germany. He drew up and transmitted to him the outlines ofa treaty which he was willing to make with Charles. The main conditionsof this arrangement illustrated the disinterested character of the man. He stipulated that the King of France should immediately make peace withhis subjects, declaring expressly that he had been abused by those, who, under pretext of his service, had sought their own profit at the price ofruin to the crown and people. The King should make religion free. Theedict to that effect should be confirmed by all the parliaments andestates of the kingdom, and such confirmations should be distributedwithout reserve or deceit among all the princes of Germany. If hisMajesty were not inclined to make war for the liberation of theNetherlands, he was to furnish the Prince of Orange with one hundredthousand crowns at once, and every three months with another hundredthousand. The Prince was to have liberty to raise one thousand cavalryand seven thousand infantry in France. Every city or town in theprovinces which should be conquered by his arms, except in Holland orZealand, should be placed under the sceptre, and in the hands of the Kingof France. The provinces of Holland and Zealand should also be placedunder his protection, but should be governed by their own gentlemen andcitizens. Perfect religious liberty and maintenance of the ancientconstitutions, privileges, and charters were to be guaranteed "withoutany cavilling whatsoever. " The Prince of Orange, or the estates ofHolland or Zealand, were to reimburse his Christian Majesty for the sumswhich he was to advance. In this last clause was the only mention whichthe Prince made of himself, excepting in the stipulation that he was tobe allowed a levy of troops in France. His only personal claims were toenlist soldiers to fight the battles of freedom, and to pay theirexpense, if it should not be provided for by the estates. At nearly thesame period, he furnished his secret envoys, Luinbres and DoctorTaijaert, who were to proceed to Paris, with similar instructions. 

The indefatigable exertions of Schomberg, and the almost passionateexplanations on the part of the court of France, at length produced theireffect. "You will constantly assure the princes, " wrote the Duke of Anjouto Schomberg, "that the things written, to you concerning that which hadhappened in this kingdom are true; that the events occurred suddenly, without having been in any manner premeditated; that neither the King normyself have ever had any intelligence with, the King of Spain, againstthose of the religion, and that all is utter imposture which is dailysaid on this subject to the princes. "

Count Louis required peremptorily, however, that the royal repentanceshould bring forth the fruit of salvation for the remaining victims. Outof the nettles of these dangerous intrigues his fearless hand plucked the"flower of safety" for his down-trodden cause. He demanded not words, butdeeds, or at least pledges. He maintained with the agents of Charles andwith the monarch himself the same hardy scepticism which was manifestedby the Huguenot deputies in their conferences with Catharine de Medicis. "Is the word of a king, " said the dowager to the commissioners, who wereinsisting upon guarantees, "is the word of a king not sufficient?"--"No, madam, " replied one of them, "by Saint Bartholomew, no!" Count Louis toldSchomberg roundly, and repeated it many times, that he must have in avery few days a categorical response, "not to consist in words alone, butin deeds, and that he could not, and would not, risk for ever the honorof his brother, nor the property; blood, and life of those poor peoplewho favored the cause. "

On the 23rd March, 1573, Schomberg had an interview with Count Louis, which lasted seven or eight hours. In that interview the enterprises ofthe Count, "which, " said Schomberg, "are assuredly grand and beautiful, "were thoroughly discussed, and a series of conditions, drawn up partly inthe hand of one, partly in that of the other negotiator; definitelyagreed upon. These conditions were on the basis of a protectorate overHolland and Zealand for the King of France, with sovereignty over theother places to be acquired in the Netherlands. They were in strictaccordance with the articles furnished by the Prince of Orange. Libertyof worship for those of both religions, sacred preservation of municipalcharters, and stipulation of certain annual subsidies on the part ofFrance, in case his Majesty should not take the field, were the principalfeatures. 

Ten days later, Schomberg wrote to his master that the Count was willingto use all the influence of his family to procure for Anjou the crown ofPoland, while Louis, having thus completed his negotiations with theagent, addressed a long and earnest letter to the royal principal. Thisremarkable despatch was stamped throughout with the impress of thewriter's frank and fearless character. "Thus diddest thou" has rarelybeen addressed to anointed monarch in such unequivocal tones: The letterpainted the favorable position in which the king had been placedpreviously to the fatal summer of 1572. The Queen of England was thenmost amicably disposed towards him, and inclined to a yet closerconnexion with his family. The German princes were desirous to elect himKing of the Romans, a dignity for which his grandfather had sofruitlessly contended. The Netherlanders, driven to despair by thetyranny of their own sovereign, were eager to throw themselves into hisarms. All this had been owing to his edict of religious pacification. Howchanged the picture now! Who now did reverence to a King so criminal andso fallen? "Your Majesty to-day, " said Louis, earnestly and plainly, "isnear to ruin. The State, crumbling on every side and almost abandoned, isa prey to any one who wishes to seize upon it; the more so, because yourMajesty, having, by the late excess and by the wars previously made, endeavoured to force men's consciences, is now so destitute, not only ofnobility and soldiery but of that which constitutes the strongest columnof the throne, the love and good wishes of the lieges, that your Majestyresembles an ancient building propped up, day after, day, with piles, butwhich it will be impossible long to prevent from falling to the earth. "Certainly, here were wholesome truths told in straightforward style. 

The Count proceeded to remind the King of the joy which the "Spaniard, his mortal enemy, " had conceived from the desolation of his affairs, being assured that he should, by the troubles in France, be enabled toaccomplish his own purposes without striking a blow. This, he observed, had been the secret of the courtesy with which the writer himself hadbeen treated by the Duke of Alva at the surrender of Mons. Louis assuredthe King, in continuation, that if he persevered in these oppressivecourses towards his subjects of the new religion, there was no hope forhim, and that his two brothers would, to no purpose, take their departurefor England, and, for Poland, leaving him with a difficult and dangerouswar upon his hands. So long as he maintained a hostile attitude towardsthe Protestants in his own kingdom, his fair words would produce noeffect elsewhere. "We are beginning to be vexed, " said the Count, "withthe manner of negotiation practised by France. Men do not proceed roundlyto business there, but angle with their dissimulation as with a hook. "

He bluntly reminded the King of the deceit which he had practised towardsthe Admiral--a sufficient reason why no reliance could in future beplaced upon his word. Signal vengeance on those concerned in theattempted assassination of that great man had been promised, in the royalletters to the Prince of Orange, just before St. Bartholomew. "Two daysafterwards, " said Louis, "your Majesty took that vengeance, but in ratherill fashion. " It was certain that the King was surrounded by men whodesired to work his ruin, and who, for their own purposes, would causehim to bathe still deeper than he had done before in the blood of hissubjects. This ruin his Majesty could still avert; by making peace in hiskingdom, and by ceasing to torment his poor subjects of the religion. 

In conclusion, the Count, with a few simple but eloquent phrases, alludedto the impossibility of chaining men's thoughts. The soul, beingimmortal, was beyond the reach of kings. Conscience was not to beconquered, nor the religious spirit imprisoned. This had been discoveredby the Emperor Charles, who had taken all the cities and great personagesof Germany captive, but who had nevertheless been unable to take religioncaptive. "That is a sentiment, " said Louis, "deeply rooted in the heartsof men, which is not to be plucked out by force of arms. Let yourmajesty, therefore not be deceived by the flattery of those who, like badphysicians, keep their patients in ignorance of their disease, whencecomes their ruin. "

It would be impossible, without insight into these private and mostimportant transactions, to penetrate the heart of the mystery whichenwrapped at this period the relations of the great powers with eachother. Enough has been seen to silence for ever the plea, often enteredin behalf of religious tyranny, that the tyrant acts in obedience to asincere conviction of duty; that, in performing his deeds of darkness, hebelieves himself to be accomplishing the will of Heaven. Here we haveseen Philip, offering to restore the Prince of Orange, and to establishfreedom of religion in the Netherlands, if by such promises he can layhold of the Imperial diadem. Here also we have Charles IX. And hismother--their hands reeking with the heretic-blood of St. Bartholomew--making formal engagements with heretics to protect heresyeverywhere, if by such pledges the crown of the Jagellons and the hand ofElizabeth can be secured. 

While Louis was thus busily engaged in Germany, Orange was usuallyestablished at Delft. He felt the want of his brother daily, for thesolitude of the Prince, in the midst of such fiery trials, amountedalmost to desolation. Not often have circumstances invested an individualwith so much responsibility and so little power. He was regarded as theprotector and father of the country, but from his own brains and his ownresources he was to furnish himself with the means of fulfilling thosehigh functions. He was anxious thoroughly to discharge the duties of adictatorship without grasping any more of its power than wasindispensable to his purpose. But he was alone on that little isthmus, insingle combat with the great Spanish monarchy. It was to him that alleyes turned, during the infinite horrors of the Harlem sieges and in themore prosperous leaguer of Alkmaar. What he could do he did. He devisedevery possible means to succor Harlem, and was only restrained from goingpersonally to its rescue by the tears of the whole population of Holland. By his decision and the spirit which he diffused through the country, thepeople were lifted to a pitch of heroism by which Alkmaar was saved. Yet, during all this harassing period, he had no one to lean upon but himself. "Our affairs are in pretty good; condition in Holland and Zealand, " hewrote, "if I only had some aid. 'Tis impossible for me to support aloneso many labors, and the weight of such great affairs as come upon mehourly--financial, military, political. I have no one to help me, not asingle man, wherefore I leave you to suppose in what trouble I findmyself. "

For it was not alone the battles and sieges which furnished him withoccupation and filled him with anxiety. Alone, he directed in secret thepolitics of the country, and, powerless and outlawed though he seemed, was in daily correspondence not only with the estates of Holland andZealand, whose deliberations he guided, but with the principalgovernments of Europe. The estates of the Netherlands, moreover, had beenformally assembled by Alva in September, at Brussels, to devise ways andmeans for continuing the struggle. It seemed to the Prince a goodopportunity to make an appeal to the patriotism of the whole country. Hefurnished the province of Holland, accordingly, with the outlines of anaddress which was forthwith despatched in their own and his name, to thegeneral assembly of the Netherlands. The document was a nervous and rapidreview of the course of late events in the provinces, with a cogentstatement of the reasons which should influence them all to unite in thecommon cause against the common enemy. It referred to the old affectionand true-heartedness with which they had formerly regarded each other, and to the certainty that the inquisition would be for ever establishedin the land, upon the ruins of all their ancient institutions, unlessthey now united to overthrow it for ever. It demanded of the people, thusassembled through their representatives, how they could endure thetyranny, murders, and extortions of the Duke of Alva. The princes ofFlanders, Burgundy, Brabant, or Holland, had never made war or peace, coined money, or exacted a stiver from the people without the consent ofthe estates. How could the nation now consent to the daily impositionswhich were practised? Had Amsterdam and Middelburg remained true; hadthose important cities not allowed themselves to be seduced from thecause of freedom, the northern provinces would have been impregnable. "'Tis only by the Netherlands that the Netherlands are crushed, " said theappeal. "Whence has the Duke of Alva the power of which he boasts, butfrom yourselves--from Netherland cities? Whence his ships, supplies, money, weapons, soldiers? From the Netherland people. Why has poorNetherland thus become degenerate and bastard? Whither has fled the noblespirit of our brave forefathers, that never brooked the tyranny offoreign nations, nor suffered a stranger even to hold office within ourborders? If the little province of Holland can thus hold at bay the powerof Spain, what could not all the Netherlands--Brabant, Flanders, Friesland, and the rest united accomplish?" In conclusion, theestates-general were earnestly adjured to come forward like brothers inblood, and join hands with Holland, that together they might rescue thefatherland and restore its ancient prosperity and bloom. 

At almost the same time the Prince drew up and put in circulation one ofthe most vigorous and impassioned productions which ever came from hispen. It was entitled, an "Epistle, in form of supplication, to his royalMajesty of Spain, from the Prince of Orange and the estates of Hollandand Zealand. " The document produced a profound impression throughoutChristendom. It was a loyal appeal to the monarch's loyalty--a demandthat the land-privileges should be restored, and the Duke of Alvaremoved. It contained a startling picture of his atrocities and thenation's misery, and, with a few energetic strokes, demolished thepretence that these sorrows had been caused by the people's guilt. Inthis connexion the Prince alluded to those acts of condemnation which theGovernor-General had promulgated under the name of pardons, and treatedwith scorn the hypothesis that any crimes had been committed for Alva toforgive. "We take God and your Majesty to witness, " said the epistle, "that if we have done such misdeeds as are charged in the pardon, weneither desire nor deserve the pardon. Like the most abject creatureswhich crawl the earth, we will be content to atone for our misdeeds withour lives. We will not murmur, O merciful King, if we be seized one afteranother, and torn limb from limb, if it can be proved that we havecommitted the crimes of which we have been accused. "

After having thus set forth the tyranny of the government and theinnocence of the people, the Prince, in his own name and that of theestates, announced the determination at which they had arrived. "Thetyrant, " he continued, "would rather stain every river and brook with ourblood, and hang our bodies upon every tree in the country, than not feedto the full his vengeance, and steep himself to the lips in our misery. Therefore we have taken up arms against the Duke of Alva and hisadherents, to free ourselves, our wives and children, from hisblood-thirsty hands. If he prove too strong nor us, we will rather die anhonorable death and leave a praiseworthy fame, than bend our necks, andreduce our dear fatherland to such slavery. Herein are all our citiespledged to each other to stand every siege, to dare the utmost, to endureevery possible misery, yea, rather to set fire to all our homes, and beconsumed with them into ashes together, than ever submit to the decreesof this cruel tyrant. "

These were brave words, and destined to be bravely fulfilled, as the lifeand death of the writer and the records of his country proved, fromgeneration unto generation. If we seek for the mainspring of the energywhich thus sustained the Prince in the unequal conflict to which he haddevoted his life, we shall find it in the one pervading principle of hisnature--confidence in God. He was the champion of the political rights ofhis country, but before all he was the defender of its religion. Libertyof conscience for his people was his first object. To establish Luther'saxiom, that thoughts are toll-free, was his determination. The Peace ofPassau, and far more than the Peace of Passau, was the goal for which hewas striving. Freedom of worship for all denominations, toleration forall forms of faith, this was the great good in his philosophy. Forhimself, he had now become a member of the Calvinist, or Reformed Church, having delayed for a time his public adhesion to this communion, in ordernot to give offence to the Lutherans and to the Emperor. He was never adogmatist, however, and he sought in Christianity for that which unitesrather than for that which separates Christians. In the course of Octoberhe publicly joined the church at Dort. 

The happy termination of the siege of Alkmaar was followed, three daysafterwards, by another signal success on the part of the patriots. CountBossu, who had constructed or collected a considerable fleet atAmsterdam, had, early in October, sailed into the Zuyder Zee, notwithstanding the sunken wrecks and other obstructions by which thepatriots had endeavored to render the passage of the Y impracticable. Thepatriots of North Holland had, however, not been idle, and a fleet offive-and-twenty vessels, under Admiral Dirkzoon, was soon cruising in thesame waters. A few skirmishes took place, but Bossu's ships, which werelarger, and provided with heavier cannon, were apparently not inclinedfor the close quarters which the patriots sought. The Spanish Admiral, Hollander as he was, knew the mettle of his countrymen in a closeencounter at sea, and preferred to trust to the calibre of his cannon. Onthe 11th October, however, the whole patriot fleet, favored by a strongeasterly, breeze, bore down upon the Spanish armada, which, numbering nowthirty sail of all denominations, was lying off and on in theneighbourhood of Horn and Enkhuyzen. After a short and generalengagement, nearly all the Spanish fleet retired with precipitation, closely pursued by most of the patriot Dutch vessels. Five of the King'sships were eventually taken, the rest effected their escape. Only theAdmiral remained, who scorned to yield, although his forces had thusbasely deserted him. His ship, the "Inquisition, "--for such was herinsolent appellation, was far the largest and best manned of both thefleets. Most of the enemy had gone in pursuit of the fugitives, but fourvessels of inferior size had attacked the "Inquisition" at thecommencement of the action. Of these, one had soon been silenced, whilethe other three had grappled themselves inextricably to her sides andprow. The four drifted together, before wind and tide, a severe andsavage action going on incessantly, during which the navigation of theships was entirely abandoned. No scientific gunnery, no military or navaltactics were displayed or required in such a conflict. It was alife-and-death combat, such as always occurred when Spaniard andNetherlander met, whether on land or water. Bossu and his men, armed inbullet-proof coats of mail, stood with shield and sword on the deck ofthe "Inquisition, " ready to repel all attempts to board. The Hollander, as usual, attacked with pitch hoops, boiling oil, and molten lead. Repeatedly they effected their entrance to the Admiral's ship, and asoften they were repulsed and slain in heaps, or hurled into the sea. Thebattle began at three in the afternoon, and continued withoutintermission through the whole night. The vessels, drifting together, struck on the shoal called the Nek, near Wydeness. In the heat of theaction the occurrence was hardly heeded. In the morning twilight, JohnHaring, of Horn, the hero who had kept one thousand soldiers at bay uponthe Diemer dyke, clambered on board the "Inquisition" and hauled hercolors down. The gallant but premature achievement cost him his life. Hewas shot through the body and died on the deck of the ship, which was notquite ready to strike her flag. In the course of the forenoon, however, it became obvious to Bossu that further resistance was idle. The shipswere aground near a hostile coast, his own fleet was hopelesslydispersed, three quarters of his crew were dead or disabled, while thevessels with which he was engaged were constantly recruited by boats fromthe shore, which brought fresh men and ammunition, and removed theirkilled and wounded. At eleven o'clock, Admiral Bossu surrendered, andwith three hundred prisoners was carried into Holland. Bossu was himselfimprisoned at Horn, in which city he was received, on his arrival, withgreat demonstrations of popular hatred. The massacre of Rotterdam, due tohis cruelty and treachery, had not yet been forgotten or forgiven. 

This victory, following so hard upon the triumph at Alkmaar, was asgratifying to the patriots as it was galling to Alva. As hisadministration drew to a close, it was marked by disaster and disgrace onland and sea. The brilliant exploits by which he had struck terror intothe heart of the Netherlanders, at Jemmingen and in Brabant, had beeneffaced by the valor of a handful of Hollanders, without discipline orexperience. To the patriots, the opportune capture of so considerable apersonage as the Admiral and Governor of the northern province was ofgreat advantage. Such of the hostages from Harlem as had not yet beenexecuted, now escaped with their lives. Moreover, Saint Aldegonde, theeloquent patriot and confidential friend of Orange, who was takenprisoner a few weeks later, in an action at Maeslands-luis, was preservedfrom inevitable destruction by the same cause. The Prince hastened toassure the Duke of Alva that the same measure would be dealt to Bossu asshould be meted to Saint Aldegonde. It was, therefore, impossible for theGovernor-General to execute his prisoner, and he was obliged to submit tothe vexation of seeing a leading rebel and heretic in his power, whom hedared not strike. Both the distinguished prisoners eventually regainedtheir liberty. 

The Duke was, doubtless, lower sunk in the estimation of all classes thanhe had ever been before, during his long and generally successful life. The reverses sustained by his army, the belief that his master had growncold towards him, the certainty that his career in the Netherlands wasclosing without a satisfactory result, the natural weariness producedupon men's minds by the contemplation of so monotonous and unmitigated atyranny during so many years, all contributed to diminish his reputation. He felt himself odious alike to princes and to plebeians. With hiscabinet councillors he had long been upon unsatisfactory terms. PresidentTisnacq had died early, in the summer, and Viglius, much against hiswill, had been induced, provisionally, to supply his place. But there wasnow hardly a pretence of friendship between the learned Frisian and theGovernor. Each cordially detested the other. Alva was weary of Flemishand Frisian advisers, however subservient, and was anxious to fill thewhole council with Spaniards of the Vargas stamp. He had forced Vigliusonce more into office, only that, by a little delay, he might expel himand every Netherlander at the same moment. "Till this ancient set ofdogmatizers be removed, " he wrote to Philip, "with Viglius, their chief, who teaches them all their lessons, nothing will go right. 'Tis of no useadding one or two Spaniards to fill vacancies; that is only pouring aflask of good wine into a hogshead of vinegar; it changes to vinegarlikewise. Your Majesty will soon be able to reorganize the council at ablow; so that Italians or Spaniards, as you choose, may entirely governthe country. "

Such being his private sentiments with regard to his confidentialadvisers, it may be supposed that his intercourse with his council duringthe year was not like to be amicable. Moreover, he had kept himself, forthe most part, at a distance from the seat of government. During themilitary operations in Holland, his head-quarters had been at Amsterdam. Here, as the year drew to its close, he had become as unpopular as inBrussels. The time-serving and unpatriotic burghers, who, at thebeginning of the spring, set up his bust in their houses, and would givelarge sums for his picture in little, now broke his images and tore hisportraits from their walls, for it was evident that the power of his namewas gone, both with prince and people. Yet, certainly, those fiercedemonstrations which had formerly surrounded his person with such anatmosphere of terror had not slackened or become less frequent thanheretofore. He continued to prove that he could be barbarous, both on agrand and a minute scale. Even as in preceding years, he could ordainwholesale massacres with a breath, and superintend in person theexecutions of individuals. This was illustrated, among other instances, by the cruel fate of Uitenhoove. That unfortunate nobleman, who had beentaken prisoner in the course of the summer, was accused of having beenengaged in the capture of Brill, and was, therefore, condemned by theDuke to be roasted to death before a slow fire. He was accordinglyfastened by a chain, a few feet in length, to a stake, around which thefagots were lighted. Here he was kept in slow torture for a long time, insulted by the gibes of the laughing Spaniards who surrounded him--untilthe executioner and his assistants, more humane than their superior, despatched the victim with their spears--a mitigation of punishment whichwas ill received by Alva. The Governor had, however, no reason to remainlonger in Amsterdam. Harlem had fallen; Alkmaar was relieved; andLeyden--destined in its second siege to furnish so signal a chapter tothe history of the war--was beleaguered, it was true, but, because knownto be imperfectly supplied, was to be reduced by blockade rather than byactive operations. Don Francis Valdez was accordingly left in command ofthe siege, which, however, after no memorable occurrences, was raised, aswill soon be related. 

The Duke had contracted in Amsterdam an enormous amount of debt, bothpublic and private. He accordingly, early in November, caused aproclamation to be made throughout the city by sound of trumpet, that allpersons having demands upon him were to present their claims, in person, upon a specified day. During the night preceding the day so appointed, the Duke and his train very noiselessly took their departure, withoutnotice or beat of drum. By this masterly generalship his unhappycreditors were foiled upon the very eve of their anticipated triumph; theheavy accounts which had been contracted on the faith of the King and theGovernor, remained for the most part unpaid, and many opulent andrespectable families were reduced to beggary. Such was the consequence ofthe unlimited confidence which they had reposed in the honor of theirtyrant. 

On the 17th of November, Don Luis de Requesens y Cuniga, Grand Commanderof Saint Jago, the appointed successor of Alva, arrived in Brussels, where he was received with great rejoicings. The Duke, on the same day, wrote to the King, "kissing his feet" for thus relieving him of hisfunctions. There was, of course, a profuse interchange of courtesybetween the departing and the newly-arrived Governors. Alva was willingto remain a little while, to assist his successor with his advice, butpreferred that the Grand Commander should immediately assume the reins ofoffice. To this Requesens, after much respectful reluctance, at lengthconsented. On the 29th of November he accordingly took the oaths, atBrussels, as Lieutenant-Governor and Captain-General, in presence of theDuke of Aerschot, Baron Berlaymont, the President of the Council, andother functionaries. 

On the 18th of December the Duke of Alva departed from the provinces forever. With his further career this history has no concern, and it is notdesirable to enlarge upon the personal biography of one whose namecertainly never excites pleasing emotions. He had kept his bed for thegreater part of the time during the last few weeks of hisgovernment--partly on account of his gout, partly to avoid being seen inhis humiliation, but mainly, it was said, to escape the pressing demandsof his creditors. He expressed a fear of travelling homeward throughFrance, on the ground that he might very probably receive a shot out of awindow as he went by. He complained pathetically that, after all hislabors, he had not "gained the approbation of the King, " while he hadincurred "the malevolence and universal hatred of every individual in thecountry. " Mondoucet, to whom he made the observation, was of the sameopinion; and informed his master that the Duke "had engendered such anextraordinary hatred in the hearts of all persons in the land, that theywould have fireworks in honor of his departure if they dared. "

On his journey from the Netherlands, he is said to have boasted that hehad caused eighteen thousand six hundred inhabitants of the provinces tobe executed during the period of his government. The number of those whohad perished by battle, siege, starvation, and massacre, defiedcomputation. The Duke was well received by his royal master, and remainedin favor until a new adventure of Don Frederic brought father and soninto disgrace. Having deceived and abandoned a maid of honor, he suddenlyespoused his cousins in order to avoid that reparation by marriage whichwas demanded for his offence. In consequence, both the Duke and DonFrederic were imprisoned and banished, nor was Alva released till ageneral of experience was required for the conquest of Portugal. Thither, as it were with fetters on his legs, he went. After having accomplishedthe military enterprise entrusted to him, he fell into a lingering fever, at the termination of which he was so much reduced that he was only keptalive by milk, which he drank from a woman's breast. Such was the gentlesecond childhood of the man who had almost literally been drinking bloodfor seventy years. He died on the 12th December, 1582. 

The preceding pages have been written in vain, if an elaborate estimatebe now required of his character. His picture has been painted, as far aspossible, by his own hand. His deeds, which are not disputed, and hiswritten words, illustrate his nature more fully than could be done by themost eloquent pen. No attempt has been made to exaggerate his crimes, orto extenuate his superior qualities. Virtues he had none, unless militaryexcellence be deemed, as by the Romans, a virtue. In war, both as ascience and a practical art, he excelled all the generals who wereopposed to him in the Netherlands, and he was inferior to no commander inthe world during the long and belligerent period to which his lifebelonged. Louis of Nassau possessed high reputation throughout Europe asa skilful and daring General. With raw volunteers he had overthrown anarmy of Spanish regulars, led by a Netherland chieftain of fame andexperience; but when Alva took the field in person the scene was totallychanged. The Duke dealt him such a blow at Jemmingen as would havedisheartened for ever a less indomitable champion. Never had a defeatbeen more absolute. The patriot army was dashed out of existence, almostto a man, and its leader, naked and beggared, though not disheartened, sent back into Germany to construct his force and his schemes anew. 

Having thus flashed before the eyes of the country the full terrors ofhis name, and vindicated the ancient military renown of his nation, theDuke was at liberty to employ the consummate tactics, in which he couldhave given instruction to all the world, against his most formidableantagonist. The country, paralyzed with fear, looked anxiously butsupinely upon the scientific combat between the two great champions ofDespotism and Protestantism which succeeded. It was soon evident that theconflict could terminate in but one way. The Prince had considerablemilitary abilities, and enthusiastic courage; he lost none of hiswell-deserved reputation by the unfortunate issue of his campaign; hemeasured himself in arms with the great commander of the age, and defiedhim, day after day, in vain, to mortal combat; but it was equally certainthat the Duke's quiet game was, played in the most masterly manner. Hispositions and his encampments were taken with faultless judgment, hisskirmishes wisely and coldly kept within the prescribed control, whilethe inevitable dissolution of the opposing force took place exactly as hehad foreseen, and within the limits which he had predicted. Nor in thedisastrous commencement of the year 1572 did the Duke less signallymanifest his military genius. Assailed as he was at every point, with thesoil suddenly upheaving all around him, as by an earthquake, he did notlose his firmness nor his perspicacity. Certainly, if he had not been sosoon assisted by that other earthquake, which on Saint Bartholomew's Daycaused all Christendom to tremble, and shattered the recent structure ofProtestant Freedom in the Netherlands, it might have been worse for hisreputation. With Mons safe, the Flemish frontier guarded; Francefaithful, and thirty thousand men under the Prince of Orange in Brabant, the heroic brothers might well believe that the Duke was "at theirmercy. " The treason of Charles IX. "smote them as with a club, " as thePrince exclaimed in the bitterness of his spirit. Under thecircumstances, his second campaign was a predestined failure, and Alvaeasily vanquished him by a renewed application of those dilatory artswhich he so well understood. 

The Duke's military fame was unquestionable when he came to theprovinces, and both in stricken fields and in long campaigns, he showedhow thoroughly it had been deserved; yet he left the Netherlands abaffled man. The Prince might be many times defeated, but he was not tobe conquered. As Alva penetrated into the heart of the ancient Batavianland he found himself overmatched as he had never been before, even bythe most potent generals of his day. More audacious, more inventive, moredesperate than all the commanders of that or any other age, the spirit ofnational freedom, now taught the oppressor that it was invincible; exceptby annihilation. The same lesson had been read in the same thickets bythe Nervii to Julius Caesar, by the Batavians to the legions ofVespasian; and now a loftier and a purer flame than that which inspiredthe national struggles against Rome glowed within the breasts of thedescendants of the same people, and inspired them with the strength whichcomes, from religious enthusiasm. More experienced, more subtle, morepolitic than Hermann; more devoted, more patient, more magnanimous thanCivilis, and equal to either in valor and determination, William ofOrange was a worthy embodiment of the Christian, national resistance ofthe German race to a foreign tyranny. Alva had entered the Netherlands todeal with them as with conquered provinces. He found that the conquestwas still to be made, and he left the land without having accomplishedit. Through the sea of blood, the Hollanders felt that they were passingto the promised land. More royal soldiers fell during the seven months'siege of Harlem than the rebels had lost in the defeat of Jemmingen, andin the famous campaign of Brabant. At Alkmaar the rolling waves ofinsolent conquest were stayed, and the tide then ebbed for ever. 

The accomplished soldier struggled hopelessly, with the wild andpassionate hatred which his tyranny had provoked. Neither his legions norhis consummate strategy availed him against an entirely desperate people. As a military commander, therefore, he gained, upon the whole, noadditional laurels during his long administration of the Netherlands. Ofall the other attributes to be expected in a man appointed to deal with afree country, in a state of incipient rebellion, he manifested a signaldeficiency. As a financier, he exhibited a wonderful ignorance of thefirst principles of political economy. No man before, ever gravelyproposed to establish confiscation as a permanent source of revenue tothe state; yet the annual product from the escheated property ofslaughtered heretics was regularly relied upon, during hisadministration, to replenish the King's treasury, and to support the warof extermination against the King's subjects. Nor did statesman everbefore expect a vast income from the commerce of a nation devoted toalmost universal massacre. During the daily decimation of the people'slives, he thought a daily decimation of their industry possible. Hispersecutions swept the land of those industrious classes which had madeit the rich and prosperous commonwealth it had been so lately; while, atthe same time, he found a "Peruvian mine, " as he pretended, in theimposition of a tenth penny upon every one of its commercialtransactions. He thought that a people, crippled as this had been by theoperations of the Blood Council; could pay ten per cent. , not annuallybut daily; not upon its income, but upon its capital; not once only, butevery time the value constituting the capital changed hands. He hadboasted that he should require no funds from Spain, but that, on thecontrary, he should make annual remittances to the royal treasury athome, from the proceeds of his imposts and confiscations; yet, notwithstanding these resources, and notwithstanding twenty-five millionsof gold in five years, sent by Philip from Madrid, the exchequer of theprovinces was barren and bankrupt when his successor arrived. Requesensfound neither a penny in the public treasury nor the means of raisingone. 

As an administrator of the civil and judicial affairs of the country, Alva at once reduced its institutions to a frightful simplicity. In theplace of the ancient laws of which the Netherlanders were so proud, hesubstituted the Blood Council. This tribunal was even more arbitrary thanthe Inquisition. Never was a simpler apparatus for tyranny devised, thanthis great labor-saving machine. Never was so great a, quantity of murderand robbery achieved with such despatch and regularity. Sentences, executions, and confiscations, to an incredible extent, were turned outdaily with appalling precision. For this invention, Alva is aloneresponsible. The tribunal and its councillors were the work and thecreatures of his hand, and faithfully did they accomplish the darkpurpose of their existence. Nor can it be urged, in extenuation of theGovernor's crimes, that he was but the blind and fanatically loyal slaveof his sovereign. A noble nature could not have contaminated itself withsuch slaughter-house work, but might have sought to mitigate the royalpolicy, without forswearing allegiance. A nature less rigid than iron, would at least have manifested compunction, as it found itself convertedinto a fleshless instrument of massacre. More decided than his master, however, he seemed, by his promptness, to rebuke the dilatory genius ofPhilip. The King seemed, at times, to loiter over his work, teasing andtantalising his appetite for vengeance, before it should be gratified:Alva, rapid and brutal, scorned such epicureanism. He strode withgigantic steps over haughty statutes and popular constitutions; crushingalike the magnates who claimed a bench of monarchs for their jury, andthe ignoble artisans who could appeal only to the laws of their land. From the pompous and theatrical scaffolds of Egmont and Horn, to thenineteen halters prepared by Master Karl, to hang up the chief bakers andbrewers of Brussels on their own thresholds--from the beheading of thetwenty nobles on the Horse-market, in the opening of the Governor'scareer, to the roasting alive of Uitenhoove at its close-from the blockon which fell the honored head of Antony Straalen, to the obscure chairin which the ancient gentlewoman of Amsterdam suffered death for an actof vicarious mercy--from one year's end to another's--from the mostsignal to the most squalid scenes of sacrifice, the eye and hand of thegreat master directed, without weariness, the task imposed by thesovereign. 

No doubt the work of almost indiscriminate massacre had been duly mappedout. Not often in history has a governor arrived to administer theaffairs of a province, where the whole population, three millions strong, had been formally sentenced to death. As time wore on, however, he evensurpassed the bloody instructions which he had received. He waved asidethe recommendations of the Blood Council to mercy; he dissuaded themonarch from attempting the path of clemency, which, for secret reasons, Philip was inclined at one period to attempt. The Governor had, as heassured the King, been using gentleness in vain, and he was nowdetermined to try what a little wholesome severity could effect. Thesewords were written immediately after the massacres at Harlem. 

With all the bloodshed at Mons, and Naarden, and Mechlin, and by theCouncil of Tumults, daily, for six years long, still crying from theground, he taxed himself with a misplaced and foolish tenderness to thepeople. He assured the King that when Alkmaar should be taken, he would, not spare a "living soul among its whole population;" and, as his partingadvice, he recommended that every city in the Netherlands should beburned to the ground, except a few which could he occupied permanently bythe royal troops. On the whole, so finished a picture of a perfect andabsolute tyranny has rarely been presented to mankind by history, as inAlva's administration of the Netherlands. 

The tens of thousands in those miserable provinces who fell victims tothe gallows, the sword, the stake, the living grave, or to livingbanishment, have never been counted; for those statistics of barbarityare often effaced from human record. Enough, however, is known, andenough has been recited in the preceding pages. No mode in which humanbeings have ever caused their fellow-creatures to suffer, was omittedfrom daily practice. Men, women, and children, old and young, nobles andpaupers, opulent burghers, hospital patients, lunatics, dead bodies, allwere indiscriminately made to furnish food for-the scaffold and thestake. Men were tortured, beheaded, hanged by the neck and by the legs, burned before slow fires, pinched to death with red hot tongs, brokenupon the wheel, starved, and flayed alive. Their skins stripped from theliving body, were stretched upon drums, to be beaten in the march oftheir brethren to the gallows. The bodies of many who had died a naturaldeath were exhumed, and their festering remains hanged upon the gibbet, on pretext that they had died without receiving the sacrament, but inreality that their property might become the legitimate prey of thetreasury. Marriages of long standing were dissolved by order ofgovernment, that rich heiresses might be married against their will toforeigners whom they abhorred. Women and children were executed for thecrime of assisting their fugitive husbands and parents with a penny intheir utmost need, and even for consoling them with a letter, in theirexile. Such was the regular course of affairs as administered by theBlood Council. The additional barbarities committed amid the sack andruin of those blazing and starving cities, are almost beyond belief;unborn infants were torn from the living bodies of their mothers; womenand children were violated by thousands; and whole populations burned andhacked to pieces by soldiers in every mode which cruelty, in its wantoningenuity, could devise. Such was the administration, of which Vargasaffirmed, at its close, that too much mercy, "nimia misericordia, " hadbeen its ruin. 

Even Philip, inspired by secret views, became wearied of the Governor, who, at an early period, had already given offence by his arrogance. Tocommemorate his victories, the Viceroy had erected a colossal statue, notto his monarch, but to himself. To proclaim the royal pardon, he hadseated himself upon a golden throne. Such insolent airs could be illforgiven by the absolute King. Too cautious to provoke an open rupture, he allowed the Governor, after he had done all his work, and more thanall his work, to retire without disgrace, but without a triumph. For thesins of that administration, master and servant are in equal measureresponsible. 

The character of the Duke of Alva, so far as the Netherlands areconcerned, seems almost like a caricature. As a creation of fiction, itwould seem grotesque: yet even that hardy, historical scepticism, whichdelights in reversing the judgment of centuries, and in re-establishingreputations long since degraded to the dust, must find it difficult toalter this man's position. No historical decision is final; an appeal toa more remote posterity, founded upon more accurate evidence, is alwaysvalid; but when the verdict has been pronounced upon facts which areundisputed, and upon testimony from the criminal's lips, there is littlechance of a reversal of the sentence. It is an affectation ofphilosophical candor to extenuate vices which are not only avowed, butclaimed as virtues. 

 [The time is past when it could be said that the cruelty of Alva, or the enormities of his administration, have been exaggerated by party violence. Human invention is incapable of outstripping the truth upon this subject. To attempt the defence of either the man or his measures at the present day is to convict oneself of an amount of ignorance or of bigotry against which history and argument are alike powerless. The publication of the Duke's letters in the correspondence of Simancas and in the Besancon papers, together with that compact mass of horror, long before the world under the title of "Sententien van Alva, " in which a portion only of the sentences of death and banishment pronounced by him during his reign, have been copied from the official records--these in themselves would be a sufficient justification of all the charges ever brought by the most bitter contemporary of Holland or Flanders. If the investigator should remain sceptical, however, let him examine the "Registre des Condamnes et Bannia a Cause des Troubles des Pays Bas, " in three, together with the Records of the "Conseil des Troubles, " in forty-three folio volumes, in the Royal Archives at Brussels. After going through all these chronicles of iniquity, the most determined historic, doubter will probably throw up the case. ]

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Advised his Majesty to bestow an annual bribe upon Lord Burleigh Angle with their dissimulation as with a hook Luther's axiom, that thoughts are toll-free Only kept alive by milk, which he drank from a woman's breast Scepticism, which delights in reversing the judgment of centuries So much responsibility and so little power Sometimes successful, even although founded upon sincerity We are beginning to be vexed

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 22. 

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY1855ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRAND COMMANDER

PART IV. 1573-74 [CHAPTER I. ]

 Previous career of Requesens--Philip's passion for detail--Apparent and real purposes of government--Universal desire for peace-- Correspondence of leading royalists with Orange--Bankruptcy of the exchequer at Alva's departures--Expensive nature of the war-- Pretence of mildness on the part of the Commander--His private views--Distress of Mondragon at Middelburg--Crippled condition of Holland--Orange's secret negotiations with France--St. Aldegonde's views in captivity--Expedition to relieve Middelburg--Counter preparations of Orange--Defeat of the expedition--Capitulation of Mondragon--Plans of Orange and his brothers--An army under Count Louis crosses the Rhine--Measures taken by Requesens--Manoeuvres of Avila and of Louis--The two armies in face at Mook--Battle of Mook- heath--Overthrow and death of Count Louis--The phantom battle-- Character of Louis of Nassau--Painful uncertainty as to his fate-- Periodical mutinies of the Spanish troops characterized--Mutiny after the battle of Mook--Antwerp attacked and occupied, --Insolent and oppressive conduct of the mutineers--Offers of Requesens refused--Mutiny in the citadel--Exploits of Salvatierra--Terms of composition--Soldiers' feast on the mere--Successful expedition of Admiral Boisot

The horrors of Alva's administration had caused men to look back withfondness upon the milder and more vacillating tyranny of the DuchessMargaret. From the same cause the advent of the Grand Commander washailed with pleasure and with a momentary gleam of hope. At any rate, itwas a relief that the man in whom an almost impossible perfection ofcruelty seemed embodied was at last to be withdrawn it was certain thathis successor, however ambitious of following in Alva's footsteps, wouldnever be able to rival the intensity and the unswerving directness ofpurpose which it had been permitted to the Duke's nature to attain. Thenew Governor-General was, doubtless, human, and it had been long sincethe Netherlanders imagined anything in common between themselves and thelate Viceroy. 

Apart from this hope, however, there was little encouragement to bederived from anything positively known of the new functionary, or thepolicy which he was to represent. Don Luis de Requesens and Cuniga, GrandCommander of Castile and late Governor of Milan, was a man of mediocreabilities, who possessed a reputation for moderation and sagacity whichhe hardly deserved. His military prowess had been chiefly displayed inthe bloody and barren battle of Lepanto, where his conduct and counselwere supposed to have contributed, in some measure, to the victoriousresult. His administration at Milan had been characterized as firm andmoderate. Nevertheless, his character was regarded with anything butfavorable eyes in the Netherlands. Men told each other of his brokenfaith to the Moors in Granada, and of his unpopularity in Milan, where, notwithstanding his boasted moderation, he had, in reality, so oppressedthe people as to gain their deadly hatred. They complained, too, that itwas an insult to send, as Governor-General of the provinces, not a princeof the blood, as used to be the case, but a simple "gentleman of cloakand sword. "

Any person, however, who represented the royal authority in the provinceswas under historical disadvantage. He was literally no more than anactor, hardly even that. It was Philip's policy and pride to direct allthe machinery of his extensive empire, and to pull every string himself. His puppets, however magnificently attired, moved only in obedience tohis impulse, and spoke no syllable but with his voice. Upon the table inhis cabinet was arranged all the business of his various realms, even tothe most minute particulars. 

Plans, petty or vast, affecting the interests of empires and ages, orbounded within the narrow limits of trivial and evanescent detail, encumbered his memory and consumed his time. His ambition to do all thework of his kingdoms was aided by an inconceivable greediness for labor. He loved the routine of business, as some monarchs have loved war, asothers have loved pleasure. The object, alike paltry and impossible, ofthis ambition, bespoke the narrow mind. His estates were regarded by himas private property; measures affecting the temporal and eternalinterests of millions were regarded as domestic affairs, and the eye ofthe master was considered the only one which could duly superintend theseestates and those interests. Much incapacity to govern was revealed inthis inordinate passion to administer. His mind, constantly fatigued bypetty labors, was never enabled to survey his wide domains from theheight of majesty. 

In Alva, certainly, he had employed an unquestionable reality; but Alva, by a fortunate coincidence of character, had seemed his second self. Hewas now gone, however, and although the royal purpose had not altered, the royal circumstances were changed. The moment had arrived when it wasthought that the mask and cothurn might again be assumed with effect;when a grave and conventional personage might decorously make hisappearance to perform an interlude of clemency and moderation withsatisfactory results. Accordingly, the Great Commander, heralded byrumors of amnesty, was commissioned to assume the government which Alvahad been permitted to resign. 

It had been industriously circulated that a change of policy wasintended. It was even supposed by the more sanguine that the Duke hadretired in disgrace. A show of coldness was manifested towards him on hisreturn by the King, while Vargas, who had accompanied the Governor, wasperemptorily forbidden to appear within five leagues of the court. Themore discerning, however, perceived much affectation in this apparentdispleasure. Saint Goard, the keen observer of Philip's moods andmeasures, wrote to his sovereign that he had narrowly observed thecountenances of both Philip and Alva; that he had informed himself asthoroughly as possible with regard to the course of policy intended; thathe had arrived at the conclusion that the royal chagrin was butdissimulation, intended to dispose the Netherlanders to thoughts of animpossible peace, and that he considered the present merely a breathingtime, in which still more active preparations might be made for crushingthe rebellion. It was now evident to the world that the revolt hadreached a stage in which it could be terminated only by absolute conquestor concession. 

To conquer the people of the provinces, except by extermination, seemeddifficult--to judge by the seven years of execution, sieges andcampaigns, which had now passed without a definite result. It was, therefore, thought expedient to employ concession. The new Governoraccordingly, in case the Netherlanders would abandon every object forwhich they had been so heroically contending, was empowered to concede apardon. It was expressly enjoined upon him, however, that no conciliatorymeasures should be adopted in which the King's absolute supremacy, andthe total prohibition of every form of worship but the Roman Catholic, were not assumed as a basis. Now, as the people had been contending atleast ten years long for constitutional rights against prerogative, andat least seven for liberty of conscience against papistry, it was easy toforetell how much effect any negotiations thus commenced were likely toproduce. 

Yet, no doubt, in the Netherlands there was a most earnest longing forpeace. The Catholic portion of the population were desirous of areconciliation with their brethren of the new religion. The universalvengeance which had descended upon heresy had not struck the hereticsonly. It was difficult to find a fireside, Protestant or Catholic, whichhad not been made desolate by execution, banishment, or confiscation. Thecommon people and the grand seigniors were alike weary of the war. Notonly Aerschot and Viglius, but Noircarmes and Berlaymont, were desirousthat peace should be at last compassed upon liberal terms, and the Princeof Orange fully and unconditionally pardoned. Even the Spanish commandershad become disgusted with the monotonous butchery which had stained theirswords. Julian Romero; the fierce and unscrupulous soldier upon whosehead rested the guilt of the Naarden massacre, addressed several lettersto William of Orange, full of courtesy, and good wishes for a speedytermination of the war, and for an entire reconciliation of the Princewith his sovereign. Noircarmes also opened a correspondence with thegreat leader of the revolt; and offered to do all in his power to restorepeace and prosperity to the country. The Prince answered the courtesy ofthe Spaniard with equal, but barren, courtesy; for it was obvious that nodefinite result could be derived from such informal negotiations. ToNoircarmes he responded in terms of gentle but grave rebuke, expressingdeep regret that a Netherland noble of such eminence, with so many othersof rank and authority, should so long have supported the King in histyranny. He, however, expressed his satisfaction that their eyes, howeverlate, had opened to the enormous iniquity which had been practised in thecountry, and he accepted the offers of friendship as frankly as they hadbeen made. Not long afterwards, the Prince furnished his correspondentwith a proof of his sincerity, by forwarding to him two letters which hadbeen intercepted; from certain agents of government to Alva, in whichNoircarmes and others who had so long supported the King against theirown country, were spoken of in terms of menace and distrust. The Princeaccordingly warned his new correspondent that, in spite of all the proofsof uncompromising loyalty which he had exhibited, he was yet moving upona dark and slippery-pathway, and might, even like Egmont and Horn, find ascaffold-as the end and the reward of his career. So profound was thatabyss of dissimulation which constituted the royal policy, towards theNetherlands, that the most unscrupulous partisans of government couldonly see doubt and danger with regard to their future destiny, and weresometimes only saved by an opportune death from disgrace and thehangman's hands. 

Such, then, were the sentiments of many eminent personages, even amongthe most devoted loyalists. All longed for peace; many even definitelyexpected it, upon the arrival of the Great Commander. Moreover, thatfunctionary discovered, at his first glance into the disorderly state ofthe exchequer, that at least a short respite was desirable beforeproceeding with the interminable measures of hostility against therebellion. If any man had been ever disposed to give Alva credit foradministrative ability, such delusion must have vanished at the spectacleof confusion and bankruptcy which presented, itself at the termination ofhis government. He resolutely declined to give his successor anyinformation whatever as to his financial position. So far from furnishinga detailed statement, such as might naturally be expected upon somomentous an occasion, he informed the Grand Commander that even a sketchwas entirely out of the question, and would require more time and laborthan he could then afford. He took his departure, accordingly, leavingRequesens in profound ignorance as to his past accounts; an ignorance inwhich it is probable that the Duke himself shared to the fullest extent. His enemies stoutly maintained that, however loosely his accounts hadbeen kept, he had been very careful to make no mistakes against himself, and that he had retired full of wealth, if not of honor, from his longand terrible administration. His own letters, on the contrary, accusedthe King of ingratitude, in permitting an old soldier to ruin himself, not only in health but in fortune, for want of proper recompense duringan arduous administration. At any rate it is very certain that therebellion had already been an expensive matter to the Crown. The army inthe Netherlands numbered more than sixty-two thousand men, eight thousandbeing Spaniards, the rest Walloons and Germans. Forty millions of dollarshad already been sunk, and it seemed probable that it would requirenearly the whole annual produce of the American mines to sustain the war. The transatlantic gold and silver, disinterred from the depths where theyhad been buried for ages, were employed, not to expand the current of ahealthy, life-giving commerce, but to be melted into blood. The sweat andthe tortures of the King's pagan subjects in the primeval forests of theNew World, were made subsidiary to the extermination of his Netherlandpeople, and the destruction of an ancient civilization. To this end hadColumbus discovered a hemisphere for Castile and Aragon, and the newIndies revealed their hidden treasures?

Forty millions of ducats had been spent. Six and a half millions ofarrearages were due to the army, while its current expenses were sixhundred thousand a month. The military expenses alone of the Netherlandswere accordingly more than seven millions of dollars yearly, and themines of the New World produced, during the half century of Philip'sreign, an average of only eleven. Against this constantly increasingdeficit, there was not a stiver in the exchequer, nor the means ofraising one. The tenth penny had been long virtually extinct, and wassoon to be formally abolished. Confiscation had ceased to afford apermanent revenue, and the estates obstinately refused to grant a dollar. Such was the condition to which the unrelenting tyranny and the financialexperiments of Alva had reduced the country. 

It was, therefore, obvious to Requesens that it would be useful at themoment to hold out hopes of pardon and reconciliation. He saw, what hehad not at first comprehended, and what few bigoted supporters ofabsolutism in any age have ever comprehended, that national enthusiasm, when profound and general, makes a rebellion more expensive to the despotthan to the insurgents. "Before my arrival, " wrote the Grand Commander tohis sovereign, "I did not understand how the rebels could maintain suchconsiderable fleets, while your Majesty could not support a single one. It appears, however, that men who are fighting for their lives, theirfiresides, their property, and their false religion, for their own cause, in short, are contented to receive rations only, without receiving pay. "The moral which the new Governor drew from his correct diagnosis of theprevailing disorder was, not that this national enthusiasm should berespected, but that it should be deceived. He deceived no one buthimself, however. He censured Noircarmes and Romero for theirintermeddling, but held out hopes of a general pacification. Herepudiated the idea of any reconciliation between the King and the Princeof Orange, but proposed at the same time a settlement of the revolt. Hehad not yet learned that the revolt and William of Orange were one. Although the Prince himself had repeatedly offered to withdraw for everfrom the country, if his absence would expedite a settlement satisfactoryto the provinces, there was not a patriot in the Netherlands who couldcontemplate his departure without despair. Moreover, they all knew betterthan did Requesens, the inevitable result of the pacific measures whichhad been daily foreshadowed. 

The appointment of the Grand Commander was in truth a desperate attemptto deceive the Netherlanders. He approved distinctly and heartily ofAlva's policy, but wrote to the King that it was desirable to amuse thepeople with the idea of another and a milder scheme. He affected tobelieve, and perhaps really did believe, that the nation would accept thedestruction of all their institutions, provided that penitent hereticswere allowed to be reconciled to the Mother Church, and obstinate onespermitted to go into perpetual exile, taking with them a small portion oftheir worldly goods. For being willing to make this last and almostincredible concession, he begged pardon sincerely of the King. Ifcensurable, he ought not, he thought, to be too severely blamed, for hisloyalty was known. The world was aware how often he had risked his lifefor his Majesty, and how gladly and how many more times he was ready torisk it in future. In his opinion, religion had, after all, but verylittle to do with the troubles, and so he confidentially informed hissovereign. Egmont and Horn had died Catholics, the people did not rise toassist the Prince's invasion in 1568, and the new religion was only alever by which a few artful demagogues had attempted to overthrow theKing's authority. 

Such views as these revealed the measures of the new Governor's capacity. The people had really refused to rise in 1568, not because they werewithout sympathy for Orange, but because they were paralyzed by theirfear of Alva. Since those days, however, the new religion had increasedand multiplied everywhere, in the blood which had rained upon it. It wasnow difficult to find a Catholic in Holland and Zealand, who was not agovernment agent. The Prince had been a moderate Catholic, in the openingscenes of the rebellion, while he came forward as the champion of libertyfor all forms of Christianity. He had now become a convert to the newreligion without receding an inch from his position in favor of universaltoleration. The new religion was, therefore, not an instrument devised bya faction, but had expanded into the atmosphere of the people's dailylife. Individuals might be executed for claiming to breathe it, but itwas itself impalpable to the attacks of despotism. Yet the GrandCommander persuaded himself that religion had little or nothing to dowith the state of the Netherlands. Nothing more was necessary, hethought; or affected to think, in order to restore tranquillity, thanonce more to spread the net of a general amnesty. 

The Duke of Alva knew better. That functionary, with whom, before hisdeparture from the provinces, Requesens had been commanded to confer, distinctly stated his opinion that there was no use of talking aboutpardon. Brutally, but candidly, he maintained that there was nothing tobe done but to continue the process of extermination. It was necessary, he said, to reduce the country to a dead level of unresisting misery;before an act of oblivion could be securely laid down as the foundationof a new and permanent order of society. He had already given his adviceto his Majesty, that every town in the country should be burned to theground, except those which could be permanently occupied by the royaltroops. The King, however, in his access of clemency at the appointmentof a new administration, instructed the Grand Commander not to resort tothis measure unless it should become strictly necessary. --Such were theopposite opinions of the old and new governors with regard to the pardon. The learned Viglius sided with Alva, although manifestly against hiswill. "It is both the Duke's opinion and my own, " wrote the Commander, "that Viglius does not dare to express his real opinion, and that he issecretly desirous of an arrangement with the rebels. " With a good deal ofinconsistency, the Governor was offended, not only with those who opposedhis plans, but with those who favored them. He was angry with Viglius, who, at least nominally, disapproved of the pardon, and with Noircarmes, Aerschot, and others, who manifested a wish for a pacification. Of thechief characteristic ascribed to the people by Julius Caesar, namely, that they forgot neither favors nor injuries, the second half only, inthe Grand Commander's opinion, had been retained. Not only did they neverforget injuries, but their memory, said he, was so good, that theyrecollected many which they had never received. 

On the whole, however, in the embarrassed condition of affairs, and whilewaiting for further supplies, the Commander was secretly disposed to trythe effect of a pardon. The object was to deceive the people and to gaintime; for there was no intention of conceding liberty of conscience, ofwithdrawing foreign troops, or of assembling the states-general. It was, however, not possible to apply these hypocritical measures ofconciliation immediately. The war was in full career and could not bearrested even in that wintry season. The patriots held Mondragon closelybesieged in Middelburg, the last point in the Isle of Walcheren whichheld for the King. There was a considerable treasure in money andmerchandise shut up in that city; and, moreover, so deserving anddistinguished an officer as Mondragon could not be abandoned to his fate. At the same time, famine was pressing him sorely, and, by the end of theyear, garrison and townspeople had nothing but rats, mice, dogs, cats, and such repulsive substitutes for food, to support life withal. It wasnecessary to take immediate measures to relieve the place. 

On the other hand, the situation of the patriots was not veryencouraging. Their superiority on the sea was unquestionable, for theHollanders and Zealanders were the best sailors in the world, and theyasked of their country no payment for their blood, but thanks. The landforces, however, were usually mercenaries, who were apt to mutiny at thecommencement of an action if, as was too often the case, their wagescould not be paid. Holland was entirely cut in twain by the loss ofHarlem and the leaguer of Leyden, no communication between the disseveredportions being possible, except with difficulty and danger. The estates, although they had done much for the cause, and were prepared to do muchmore, were too apt to wrangle about economical details. They irritatedthe Prince of Orange by huckstering about subsidies to a degree which hisproud and generous nature could hardly brook. He had strong hopes fromFrance. Louis of Nassau had held secret interviews with the Duke ofAlencon and the Duke of Anjou, now King of Poland, at Blamont. Alenconhad assured him secretly, affectionately, and warmly, that he would be assincere a friend to the cause as were his two royal brothers. The Counthad even received one hundred thousand livres in hand, as an earnest ofthe favorable intentions of France, and was now busily engaged, at theinstance of the Prince, in levying an army in Germany for the relief ofLeyden and the rest of Holland, while William, on his part, was omittingnothing, whether by representations to the estates or by secret foreignmissions and correspondence, to further the cause of the sufferingcountry. 

At the same time, the Prince dreaded the effect--of the promised pardon. He had reason to be distrustful of the general temper of the nation whena man like Saint Aldegonde, the enlightened patriot and his own triedfriend, was influenced, by the discouraging and dangerous position inwhich he found himself, to abandon the high ground upon which they hadboth so long and so firmly stood: Saint Aldegonde had been held a strictprisoner since his capture at Maeslandsluis, at the close of Alva'sadministration. --It was, no doubt, a predicament attended with much keensuffering and positive danger. It had hitherto been the uniform policy ofthe government to kill all prisoners, of whatever rank. Accordingly, somehad been drowned, some had been hanged--some beheaded some poisoned intheir dungeons--all had been murdered. This had been Alva's course. TheGrand Commander also highly approved of the system, but the capture ofCount Bossu by the patriots had necessitated a suspension of such rigor. It was certain that Bossu's head would fall as soon as Saint Aldegonde's, the Prince having expressly warned the government of this inevitableresult. Notwithstanding that security, however, for his eventualrestoration to liberty, a Netherland rebel in a Spanish prison couldhardly feel himself at ease. There were so many foot-marks into the caveand not a single one coming forth. Yet it was not singular, however, thatthe Prince should read with regret the somewhat insincere casuistry withwhich Saint Aldegonde sought to persuade himself and hisfellow-countrymen that a reconciliation with the monarch was desirable, even upon unworthy terms. He was somewhat shocked that so valiant andeloquent a supporter of the Reformation should coolly express his opinionthat the King would probably refuse liberty of conscience to theNetherlanders, but would, no doubt, permit heretics to go intobanishment. "Perhaps, after we have gone into exile, " added SaintAldegonde, almost with baseness, "God may give us an opportunity of doingsuch good service to the King, that he will lend us a more favorable ear, and, peradventure, permit our return to the country. "

Certainly, such language was not becoming the pen which wrote the famousCompromise. The Prince himself was, however, not to be induced, even bythe captivity and the remonstrances of so valued a friend, to swerve fromthe path of duty. He still maintained, in public and private, that thewithdrawal of foreign troops from the provinces, the restoration of theold constitutional privileges, and the entire freedom of conscience inreligious matters, were the indispensable conditions of any pacification. It was plain to him that the Spaniards were not ready to grant theseconditions; but he felt confident that he should accomplish the releaseof Saint Aldegonde without condescending to an ignominious peace. 

The most pressing matter, upon the Great Commander's arrival, wasobviously to relieve the city of Middelburg. Mondragon, after so stanch adefence, would soon be obliged to capitulate, unless he should promptlyreceive supplies. Requesens, accordingly, collected seventy-five ships atBergen op Zoom; which were placed nominally under the command of Admiralde Glimes, but in reality under that of Julian Romero. Another fleet ofthirty vessels had been assembled at Antwerp under Sancho d'Avila. Both, amply freighted with provisions, were destined to make their way toMiddelburg by the two different passages of the Hondo and the EasternScheld. On the other hand, the Prince of Orange had repaired to Flushingto superintend the operations of Admiral Boisot, who already; inobedience to his orders, had got a powerful squadron in readiness at thatplace. Late in January, 1574, d'Avila arrived in the neighbourhood ofFlushing, where he awaited the arrival of Romero's fleet. United, the twoCommanders were to make a determined attempt to reinforce the starvingcity of Middelburg. At the same time, Governor Requesens made hisappearance in person at Bergen op Zoom to expedite the departure of thestronger fleet, but it was not the intention of the Prince of Orange toallow this expedition to save the city. The Spanish generals, howevervaliant, were to learn that their genius was not amphibious, and that theBeggars of the Sea were still invincible on their own element, even iftheir brethren of the land had occasionally quailed. 

Admiral Boisot's fleet had already moved up the Scheld and taken aposition nearly opposite to Bergen op Zoom. On the 20th of January thePrince of Orange, embarking from Zierick Zee, came to make them a visitbefore the impending action. His galley, conspicuous for its elegantdecorations, was exposed for some time to the artillery of the fort, butprovidentially escaped unharmed. He assembled all the officers of hisarmada, and, in brief but eloquent language, reminded them how necessaryit was to the salvation of the whole country that they should prevent thecity of Middelburg--the key to the whole of Zealand, already upon thepoint of falling into the hands of the patriots--from being now wrestedfrom their grasp. On the sea, at least, the Hollanders and Zealanderswere at home. The officers and men, with one accord, rent the air withtheir cheers. They swore that they would shed every drop of blood intheir veins but they would sustain the Prince and the country; and theysolemnly vowed not only to serve, if necessary, without wages, but tosacrifice all that they possessed in the world rather than abandon thecause of their fatherland. Having by his presence and his languagearoused their valor to so high a pitch of enthusiasm, the Prince departedfor Delft, to make arrangements to drive the Spaniards from the siege ofLeyden. 

On the 29th of January, the fleet of Romero sailed from Bergen, disposedin three divisions, each numbering twenty-five vessels of differentsizes. As the Grand Commander stood on the dyke of Schakerloo to witnessthe departure, a general salute was fired by the fleet in his honor, butwith most unfortunate augury. The discharge, by some accident, set fireto the magazines of one of the ships, which blew up with a terribleexplosion, every soul on board perishing. The expedition, nevertheless, continued its way. Opposite Romerswael, the fleet of Boisot awaited them, drawn up in battle array. As an indication of the spirit which animatedthis hardy race, it may be mentioned that Schot, captain of theflag-ship, had been left on shore, dying of a pestilential fever. AdmiralBoisot had appointed a Flushinger, Klaaf Klaafzoon, in his place. Justbefore the action, however, Schot, "scarcely able to blow a feather fromhis mouth, " staggered on board his ship, and claimed the command. 

There was no disputing a precedency which he had risen from his death-bedto vindicate. There was, however, a short discussion, as the enemy'sfleet approached, between these rival captains regarding the manner inwhich the Spaniards should be received. Klaafzoon was of opinion thatmost of the men should go below till after the enemy's first discharge. Schot insisted that all should remain on deck, ready to grapple with theSpanish fleet, and to board them without the least delay. 

The sentiment of Schot prevailed, and all hands stood on deck, ready withboarding-pikes and grappling-irons. 

The first division of Romero came nearer, and delivered its firstbroadside, when Schot and Klaafzoon both fell mortally wounded. AdmiralBoisot lost an eye, and many officers and sailors in the other vesselswere killed or wounded. This was, however, the first and last of thecannonading. As many of Romero's vessels as could be grappled within thenarrow estuary found themselves locked in close embrace with theirenemies. A murderous hand-to-hand conflict succeeded. Battle-axe, boarding-pike, pistol, and dagger were the weapons. Every man who yieldedhimself a prisoner was instantly stabbed and tossed into the sea by theremorseless Zealanders. Fighting only to kill, and not to plunder, theydid not even stop to take the gold chains which many Spaniards wore ontheir necks. It had, however, been obvious from the beginning that theSpanish fleet were not likely to achieve that triumph over the patriotswhich was necessary before they could relieve Middelburg. The battlecontinued a little longer; but after fifteen ships had been taken andtwelve hundred royalists slain, the remainder of the enemy's fleetretreated into Bergen. Romero himself, whose ship had grounded, sprangout of a port-hole and swam ashore, followed by such of his men as wereable to imitate him. He landed at the very feet of the Grand Commander, who, wet and cold, had been standing all day upon the dyke of Schakerloo, in the midst of a pouring rain, only to witness the total defeat of hisarmada at last. 

"I told your Excellency, " said Romero, coolly, as he climbed, alldripping, on the bank, "that I was a land-fighter and not a sailor. Ifyou were to give me the command of a hundred fleets, I believe that noneof them would fare better than this has done. " The Governor and hisdiscomfited, but philosophical lieutenant, then returned to Bergen, andthence to Brussels, acknowledging that the city of Middelburg must fall, while Sancho d'Avila, hearing of the disaster which had befallen hiscountrymen, brought his fleet, with the greatest expedition, back toAntwerp. Thus the gallant Mondragon was abandoned to his fate. 

That fate could no longer be protracted. The city of Middelburg hadreached and passed the starvation point. Still Mondragon was determinednot to yield at discretion, although very willing to capitulate. ThePrince of Orange, after the victory of Bergen, was desirous of anunconditional surrender, believing it to be his right, and knowing thathe could not be supposed capable of practising upon Middelburg thevengeance which had been wreaked on Naarden, Zutfen, and Harlem. Mondragon, however, swore that he would set fire to the city in twentyplaces, and perish with every soldier and burgher in the flames together, rather than abandon himself to the enemy's mercy. The prince knew thatthe brave Spaniard was entirely capable of executing his threat. Hegranted honorable conditions, which, on the 18th February, were drawn upin five articles, and signed. It was agreed that Mondragon and his troopsshould leave the place, with their arms, ammunition, and all theirpersonal property. The citizens who remained were to take oath offidelity to the Prince, as stadholder for his Majesty, and were to paybesides a subsidy of three hundred thousand florins. Mondragon was, furthermore, to procure the discharge of Saint Aldegonde, and of fourother prisoners of rank, or, failing in the attempt, was to return withintwo months, and constitute himself prisoner of war. The Catholic priestswere to take away from the city none of their property but their clothes. In accordance with this capitulation, Mondragon, and those who wished toaccompany him, left the city on the 21st of February, and were conveyedto the Flemish shore at Neuz. It will be seen in the sequel that theGovernor neither granted him the release of the five prisoners, norpermitted him to return, according to his parole. A few days afterwards, the Prince entered the city, re-organized the magistracy, received theallegiance of the inhabitants, restored the ancient constitution, andliberally remitted two-thirds of the sum in which they had been, mulcted. 

The Spaniards had thus been successfully driven from the Isle ofWalcheren, leaving the Hollanders and Zealanders masters of thesea-coast. Since the siege of Alkmaar had been raised, however, the enemyhad remained within the territory of Holland. Leyden was closelyinvested, the country in a desperate condition, and all communicationbetween its different cities nearly suspended. It was comparatively easyfor the Prince of Orange to equip and man his fleets. The genius andhabits of the people made them at home upon the water, and inspired themwith a feeling of superiority to their adversaries. It was not so uponland. Strong to resist, patient to suffer, the Hollanders, althoughterrible in defence; had not the necessary discipline or experience tomeet the veteran legions of Spain, with confidence in the open field. Toraise the siege of Leyden, the main reliance of the Prince was upon CountLouis, who was again in Germany. In the latter days of Alva'sadministration, William had written to his brothers, urging them speedilyto arrange the details of a campaign, of which he forwarded them asketch. As soon as a sufficient force had been levied in Germany, anattempt was to be made upon Maestricht. If that failed, Louis was tocross the Meuse, in the neighbourhood of Stochem, make his way towardsthe Prince's own city of Gertruidenberg, and thence make a junction withhis brother in the neighbourhood of Delft. They were then to take up aposition together between Harlem and Leyden. In that case it seemedprobable that the Spaniards would find themselves obliged to fight at agreat disadvantage, or to abandon the country. "In short, " said thePrince, "if this enterprise be arranged with due diligence anddiscretion, I hold it as the only certain means for putting a speedy endto the war, and for driving these devils of Spaniards out of the country, before the Duke of Alva has time to raise another army to support them. "

In pursuance of this plan, Louis had been actively engaged all theearlier part of the winter in levying troops and raising supplies. He hadbeen assisted by the French princes with considerable sums of money, asan earnest of what he was in future to expect from that source. He hadmade an unsuccessful attempt to effect the capture of Requesens, on hisway to take the government of the Netherlands. He had then passed to thefrontier of France, where he had held his important interview withCatharine de Medici and the Duke of Anjou, then on the point of departureto ascend the throne of Poland. He had received liberal presents, andstill more liberal promises. Anjou had assured him that he would go asfar as any of the German princes in rendering active and sincereassistance to the Protestant cause in the Netherlands. The Ducd'Alencon--soon, in his brother's absence, to succeed to thechieftainship of the new alliance between the "politiques" and theHuguenots--had also pressed his hand, whispering in his ear, as he didso, that the government of France now belonged to him, as it had recentlydone to Anjou, and that the Prince might reckon upon his friendship withentire security. 

These fine words, which cost nothing when whispered in secret, were notdestined to fructify into a very rich harvest, for the mutual jealousy ofFrance and England, lest either should acquire ascendency in theNetherlands, made both governments prodigal of promises, while the commonfear entertained by them of the power of Spain rendered both languid;insincere, and mischievous allies. Count John, however; was indefatigablein arranging the finances of the proposed expedition, and in levyingcontributions among his numerous relatives and allies in Germany, whileLouis had profited by the occasion of Anjou's passage into Poland, toacquire for himself two thousand German and French cavalry, who hadserved to escort that Prince, and who, being now thrown out ofemployment, were glad to have a job offered them by a general who wasthought to be in funds. Another thousand of cavalry and six thousand footwere soon assembled from those ever-swarming nurseries of mercenarywarriors, the smaller German states. With these, towards the end ofFebruary; Louis crossed the Rhine in a heavy snow-storm, and bent hiscourse towards Maestricht. All the three brothers of the Princeaccompanied this little army, besides Duke Christopher, son of theelector Palatine. 

Before the end of the month the army reached the Meuse, and encampedwithin four miles of Maestricht; on the opposite side of the river. Thegarrison, commanded by Montesdoca, was weak, but the news of the warlikepreparations in Germany had preceded the arrival of Count Louis. Requesens, feeling the gravity of the occasion, had issued orders for animmediate levy of eight thousand cavalry in Germany, with a proportionatenumber of infantry. At the same time he had directed Don Bernardino deMendoza, with some companies of cavalry, then stationed in Breda, tothrow himself without delay into Maestricht. Don Sancho d'Avila wasentrusted with the general care of resisting the hostile expedition. Thatgeneral had forthwith collected all the troops which could be spared fromevery town where they were stationed, had strengthened the cities ofAntwerp, Ghent, Nimweben, and Valenciennes, where there were known to bemany secret adherents of Orange; and with the remainder of his forces hadput himself in motion, to oppose the entrance of Louis into Brabant, andhis junction with his brother in Holland. Braccamonte had been despatchedto Leyden, in order instantly to draw off the forces which were besiegingthe city. Thus Louis had already effected something of importance by thevery hews of his approach. 

Meantime the Prince of Orange had raised six thousand infantry, whoserendezvous was the Isle of Bommel. He was disappointed at the paucity ofthe troops which Louis had been able to collect, but he sent messengersimmediately to him; with a statement of his own condition, and withdirections to join him in the Isle of Bommel, as soon as Maestrichtshould be reduced. It was, however, not in the destiny of Louis to reduceMaestricht. His expedition had been marked with disaster from thebeginning. A dark and threatening prophecy had, even before itscommencement, enwrapped Louis, his brethren, and his little army, in afuneral pall. More than a thousand of his men had deserted before hereached the Meuse. When he encamped, apposite Maestricht, he found theriver neither frozen nor open, the ice obstructing the navigation, butbeing too weak for the weight of an army. While he was thus delayed andembarrassed, Mendoza arrived in the city with reinforcements. It seemedalready necessary for Louis to abandon his hopes of Maestricht, but hewas at least desirous of crossing the river in that neighbourhood, inorder to effect his junction with the Prince at the earliest possiblemoment. While the stream was still encumbered with ice, however, theenemy removed all the boats. On, the 3rd of March, Avila arrived with alarge body of troops at Maestricht, and on the 18th Mendoza crossed theriver in the night, giving the patriots so severe an 'encamisada', thatseven hundred were killed, at the expense of only seven of his own party. Harassed, but not dispirited by these disasters, Louis broke up his campon the 21st, and took a position farther down the river, at Fauquemontand Gulpen, castles in the Duchy of Limburg. On the 3rd of April, Braccamonite arrived at Maestricht, with twenty-five companies ofSpaniards and three of cavalry, while, on the same day Mondragon reachedthe scene of action with his sixteen companies of veterans. 

It was now obvious to Louis, not only that he should not take Maestricht, but that his eventual junction with his brother was at least doubtful, every soldier who could possibly be spared seeming in motion to opposehis progress. He was, to be sure, not yet outnumbered, but the enemy wasincreasing, and his own force diminishing daily. Moreover, the Spaniardswere highly disciplined and experienced troops; while his own soldierswere mercenaries, already clamorous and insubordinate. On the 8th ofApril he again shifted his encaampment, and took his course along theright bank of the Meuse, between that river and the Rhine, in thedirection of Nimwegen. Avila promptly decided to follow him upon theopposite bank of the Meuse, intending to throw himself between Louis andthe Prince of Orange, and by a rapid march to give the Count battle, before he could join his brother. On the 8th of April, at early dawn, Louis had left the neighbourhood of Maestricht, and on the 13th heencamped at the village of Mook near the confines of Cleves. Sending outhis scouts, he learned to his vexation, that the enemy had outmarchedhim, and were now within cannonshot. On the 13th, Avila had constructed abridge of boats, over which he had effected the passage of the Meuse withhis whole army, so that on the Count's arrival at Mook, he found theenemy facing him, on the same side of the river, and directly in hispath. It was, therefore, obvious that, in this narrow space between theWaal and the Meuse, where they were now all assembled, Louis must achievea victory, unaided, or abandon his expedition, and leave the Hollandersto despair. He was distressed at the position in which he found himself, for he had hoped to reduce Maestricht, and to join, his brother inHolland. Together, they could, at least, have expelled the Spaniards fromthat territory, in which case it was probable that a large part of thepopulation in the different provinces would have risen. According topresent aspects, the destiny of the country, for some time to come, waslikely to hang upon the issue of a battle which he had not planned, andfor which he was not fully prepared. Still he was not the man to bedisheartened; nor had he ever possessed the courage to refuse a battlewhen: offered. Upon this occasion it would be difficult to retreatwithout disaster and disgrace, but it was equally difficult to achieve avictory. Thrust, as he was, like a wedge into the very heart of a hostilecountry, he was obliged to force his way through, or to remain in hisenemy's power. Moreover, and worst of all, his troops were in a state ofmutiny for their wages. While he talked to them of honor, they howled tohim for money. It was the custom of these mercenaries to mutiny on theeve of battle--of the Spaniards, after it had been fought. By the onecourse, a victory was often lost which might have been achieved; by theother, when won it was rendered fruitless. 

Avila had chosen his place of battle with great skill. On the right bankof the Meuse, upon a narrow plain which spread from the river to a chainof hills within cannon-shot on the north, lay the little village of Mook. The Spanish general knew that his adversary had the superiority incavalry, and that within this compressed apace it would not be possibleto derive much advantage from the circumstance. 

On the 14th, both armies were drawn up in battle array at earliest dawn, Louis having strengthened his position by a deep trench, which extendedfrom Mook, where he had stationed ten companies of infantry, which thusrested on the village and the river. Next came the bulk of his infantry, disposed in a single square. On their right was his cavalry, arranged infour squadrons, as well as the narrow limits of the field would allow. Asmall portion of them, for want of apace, were stationed on the hillside. 

Opposite, the forces of Don Sancho were drawn up in somewhat similarfashion. Twenty-five companies of Spaniards were disposed in four bodiesof pikemen and musketeers; their right resting on the river. On theirleft was the cavalry, disposed by Mendoza in the form of a half moon-thehorns garnished by two small bodies of sharpshooters. In the front ranksof the cavalry were the mounted carabineers of Schenk; behind were theSpanish dancers. The village of Mook lay between the two armies. 

The skirmishing began at early dawn, with an attack upon the trench, andcontinued some hours, without bringing on a general engagement. Towardsten o'clock, Count Louis became impatient. All the trumpets of thepatriots now rang out a challenge to their adversaries, and the Spaniardswere just returning the defiance, and preparing a general onset, when theSeigneur de Hierges and Baron Chevreaux arrived on the field. Theybrought with them a reinforcement of more than a thousand men, and theintelligence that Valdez was on his way with nearly five thousand more. As he might be expected on the following morning, a short deliberationwas held as to the expediency of deferring the action. Count Louis was atthe head of six thousand foot and two thousand cavalry. Avila musteredonly four thousand infantry and not quite a thousand horse. Thisinferiority would be changed on the morrow into an overwhelmingsuperiority. Meantime, it was well to remember the punishment endured byAremberg at Heiliger Lee, for not waiting till Meghen's arrival. Thisprudent counsel was, however, very generally scouted, and by none moreloudly than by Hierges and Chevreaux, who had brought the intelligence. It was thought that at this juncture nothing could be more indiscreetthan discretion. They had a wary and audacious general to deal with. While they were waiting for their reinforcements, he was quite capable ofgiving them the slip. He might thus effect the passage of the stream andthat union with his brother which--had been thus far so successfullyprevented. This reasoning prevailed, and the skirmishing at the trenchwas renewed with redoubled vigour, an additional: force being sentagainst it. After a short and fierce struggle it was carried, and theSpaniards rushed into the village, but were soon dislodged by a largerdetachment of infantry, which Count Louis sent to the rescue. The battlenow became general at this point. 

Nearly all the patriot infantry were employed to defend the post; nearlyall the Spanish infantry were ordered to assail it. The Spaniards, dropping on their knees, according to custom, said a Paternoster and anAve Mary, and then rushed, in mass, to the attack. After a short butsharp conflict, the trench was again carried, and the patriots completelyrouted. Upon this, Count Louis charged with all his cavalry upon theenemy's horse, which had hitherto remained motionless. With the firstshock the mounted arquebusiers of Schenk, constituting the vanguard, werebroken, and fled in all directions. So great was their panic, as Louisdrove them before him, that they never stopped till they had swum or beendrowned in the river; the survivors carrying the news to Grave and toother cities that the royalists had been completely routed. This was, however, very far from the truth. The patriot cavalry, mostlycarabineers, wheeled after the first discharge, and retired to reloadtheir pieces, but before they were ready for another attack, the Spanishlancers and the German black troopers, who had all remained firm, setupon them with great spirit: A fierce, bloody, and confused actionsucceeded, in which the patriots were completely overthrown. 

Count Louis, finding that the day was lost, and his army cut to pieces, rallied around him a little band of troopers, among whom were hisbrother, Count Henry, and Duke Christopher, and together they made afinal and desperate charge. It was the last that was ever seen of them onearth. They all went down together, in the midst of the fight, and werenever heard of more. The battle terminated, as usual in those conflictsof mutual hatred, in a horrible butchery, hardly any of the patriot armybeing left to tell the tale of their disaster. At least four thousandwere killed, including those who were slain on the field, those who weresuffocated in the marshes or the river, and those who were burned in thefarm-houses where they had taken refuge. It was uncertain which of thosevarious modes of death had been the lot of Count Louis, his brother, andhis friend. The mystery was never solved. They had, probably, all died onthe field; but, stripped of their clothing, with their, faces trampledupon by the hoofs of horses, it was not possible to distinguish them fromthe less illustrious dead. It was the opinion of, many that they had beendrowned in the river; of others, that they had been burned. 

 [Meteren, v. 91. Bor, vii. 491, 492. Hoofd, Bentivoglio, ubi sup. The Walloon historian, occasionally cited in these pages, has a more summary manner of accounting for the fate of these distinguished personages. According to his statement, the leaders of the Protestant forces dined and made merry at a convent in the neighbourhood upon Good Friday, five days before the battle, using the sacramental chalices at the banquet, and mixing consecrated wafers with their wine. As a punishment for this sacrilege, the army was utterly overthrown, and the Devil himself flew away with the chieftains, body and soul. ]

There was a vague tale that Louis, bleeding but not killed, had struggledforth from the heap of corpses where he had been thrown, had crept tothe, river-side, and, while washing his wounds, had been surprised andbutchered by a party of rustics. The story was not generally credited, but no man knew, or was destined to learn, the truth. 

A dark and fatal termination to this last enterprise of Count Louis hadbeen anticipated by many. In that superstitious age, when emperors andprinces daily investigated the future, by alchemy, by astrology, and bybooks of fate, filled with formula; as gravely and precisely set forth asalgebraical equations; when men of every class, from monarch to peasant, implicitly believed in supernatural portents and prophecies, it was notsingular that a somewhat striking appearance, observed in the sky someweeks previously to the battle of Mookerheyde, should have inspired manypersons with a shuddering sense of impending evil. 

Early in February five soldiers of the burgher guard at Utrecht, being ontheir midnight watch, beheld in the sky above them the representation ofa furious battle. The sky was extremely dark, except directly over: theirheads; where, for a space equal in extent to the length of the city, andin breadth to that of an ordinary chamber, two armies, in battle array, were seen advancing upon each other. The one moved rapidly up from thenorth-west, with banners waving; spears flashing, trumpets sounding;accompanied by heavy artillery and by squadrons of cavalry. The othercame slowly forward from the southeast; as if from an entrenched camp, toencounter their assailants. There was a fierce action for a few moments, the shouts of the combatants, the heavy discharge of cannon, the rattleof musketry; the tramp of heavy-aimed foot soldiers, the rush of cavalry, being distinctly heard. The firmament trembled with the shock of thecontending hosts, and was lurid with the rapid discharges of theirartillery. After a short, fierce engagement, the north-western army wasbeaten back in disorder, but rallied again, after a breathing-time, formed again into solid column, and again advanced. Their foes, arrayed, as the witnesses affirmed, in a square and closely serried grove ofspears' and muskets, again awaited the attack. Once more the aerialcohorts closed upon each other, all the signs and sounds of a desperateencounter being distinctly recognised by the eager witnesses. Thestruggle seemed but short. The lances of the south-eastern army seemed tosnap "like hemp-stalks, " while their firm columns all went down togetherin mass, beneath the onset of their enemies. The overthrow was complete, victors and vanquished had faded, the clear blue space, surrounded byblack clouds, was empty, when suddenly its whole extent, where theconflict had so lately raged, was streaked with blood, flowing athwartthe sky in broad crimson streams; nor was it till the five witnesses hadfully watched and pondered over these portents that the vision entirelyvanished. 

So impressed were the grave magistrates of Utrecht with the account givennext day by the sentinels, that a formal examination of the circumstanceswas made, the deposition of each witness, under oath, duly recorded, anda vast deal of consultation of soothsayers' books and other auguriesemployed to elucidate the mystery. It was universally considered typicalof the anticipated battle between Count Louis and the Spaniards. When, therefore, it was known that the patriots, moving from the south-east, had arrived at Mookerheyde, and that their adversaries, crossing theMeuse at Grave, had advanced upon them from the north-west, the result ofthe battle was considered inevitable; the phantom battle of Utrecht itsinfallible precursor. 

Thus perished Louis of Nassau in the flower of his manhood, in the midstof a career already crowded with events such as might suffice for acentury of ordinary existence. It is difficult to find in history a morefrank and loyal character. His life was noble; the elements of the heroicand the genial so mixed in him that the imagination contemplates him, after three centuries, with an almost affectionate interest. He was not agreat man. He was far from possessing the subtle genius or the expansiveviews of his brother; but, called as he was to play a prominent part inone of the most complicated and imposing dramas ever enacted by man, he, nevertheless, always acquitted himself with honor. His direct, fearlessand energetic nature commanded alike the respect of friend and foe. As apolitician, a soldier, and a diplomatist, he was busy, bold, and true. He, accomplished by sincerity what many thought could only be compassedby trickery. Dealing often with the most adroit and most treacherous ofprinces and statesmen, he frequently carried his point, and he neverstooped to flattery. From the time when, attended by his "twelvedisciples, " he assumed the most prominent part in the negotiations withMargaret of Parma, through all the various scenes of the revolution, through, all the conferences with Spaniards, Italians, Huguenots. Malcontents, Flemish councillors, or German princes, he was theconsistent and unflinching supporter of religious liberty andconstitutional law. The battle of Heiliger Lee and the capture of Monswere his most signal triumphs, but the fruits of both were annihilated bysubsequent disaster. His headlong courage was his chief foible. TheFrench accused him of losing the battle of Moncontour by his impatienceto engage; yet they acknowledged that to his masterly conduct it wasowing that their retreat was effected in so successful, and even sobrilliant a manner. He was censured for rashness and precipitancy in thislast and fatal enterprise, but the reproach seems entirely withoutfoundation. The expedition as already stated, had been deliberatelyarranged, with the full co-operation of his brother, and had beenpreparing several months. That he was able to set no larger force on footthan that which he led into Gueldres was not his fault. But for thefloating ice which barred his passage of the Meuse, he would havesurprised Maestricht; but for the mutiny, which rendered his mercenarysoldiers cowards, he might have defeated Avila at Mookerheyde. Had hedone so he would have joined his brother in the Isle of Bommel intriumph; the Spaniards would, probably, have been expelled from Holland, and Leyden saved the horrors of that memorable siege which she was sooncalled, upon to endure. These results were not in his destiny. Providencehad decreed that he should perish in the midst of his usefulness; thatthe Prince, in his death, 'should lose the right hand which had been soswift to execute his various plans, and the faithful fraternal heartwhich had always responded so readily to every throb of his own. 

In figure, he was below the middle height, but martial and noble in hisbearing. The expression of his countenance was lively; his manner frankand engaging. All who knew him personally loved him, and he was the idolof his gallant brethren: His mother always addressed him as her dearlybeloved, her heart's-cherished Louis. "You must come soon to me, " shewrote in the last year of his life, "for I have many matters to ask youradvice upon; and I thank you beforehand, for you have loved me as yourmother all the days of your life; for which may God Almighty have you inhis holy keeping. "

It was the doom of this high-born, true-hearted dame to be called upon toweep oftener for her children than is the usual lot of mothers. CountAdolphus had already perished in his youth on the field of Heiliger Lee, and now Louis and his young brother Henry, who had scarcely attained histwenty-sixth year, and whose short life had been passed in that faithfulservice to the cause of freedom which was the instinct of his race, hadboth found a bloody and an unknown grave. Count John, who had alreadydone so much for the cause, was fortunately spared to do much more. Although of the expedition, and expecting to participate in the battle, he had, at the urgent solicitation of all the leaders, left the army fora brief, season, in order to obtain at Cologne a supply of money, for themutinous troops: He had started upon this mission two days before theaction in which he, too, would otherwise have been sacrificed. The youngDuke Christopher, "optimm indolis et magnee spei adolescens, " who hadperished on the same field, was sincerely mourned by the lovers offreedom. His father, the Elector, found his consolation in theScriptures, and in the reflection that his son had died in the bed ofhonor, fighting for the cause of God. "'T was better thus, " said thatstern Calvinist, whose dearest wish was to "Calvinize the world, " than tohave passed his time in idleness, "which is the Devil's pillow. "

Vague rumors of the catastrophe had spread far and wide. It was sooncertain that Louis had been defeated, but, for a long time, conflictingreports were in circulation as to the fate of the leaders. The Prince ofOrange, meanwhile, passed days of intense anxiety, expecting hourly tohear from his brothers, listening to dark rumors, which he refused tocredit and could not contradict, and writing letters, day after day, longafter the eyes which should have read the friendly missives were closed. 

The victory of the King's army at Mookerheyde had been renderedcomparatively barren by the mutiny which broke forth the day after thebattle. Three years' pay were due to the Spanish troops, and it was notsurprising that upon this occasion one of those periodic rebellionsshould break forth, by which the royal cause was frequently so muchweakened, and the royal governors so intolerably perplexed. Thesemutinies were of almost regular occurrence, and attended by as regular aseries of phenomena. The Spanish troops, living so far from their owncountry, but surrounded by their women, and constantly increasing swarmsof children, constituted a locomotive city of considerable population, permanently established on a foreign soil. It was a city walled in bybayonets, and still further isolated from the people around by theimpassable moat of mutual hatred. It was a city obeying the articles ofwar, governed by despotic authority, and yet occasionally revealing, infull force, the irrepressible democratic element. At periods which couldalmost be calculated, the military populace were wont to rise upon theprivileged classes, to deprive them of office and liberty, and to set upin their place commanders of their own election. A governor-in-chief, asergeant-major, a board of councillors and various other functionaries, were chosen by acclamation and universal suffrage. The Eletto, or chiefofficer thus appointed, was clothed with supreme power, but forbidden toexercise it. He was surrounded by councillors, who watched his everymotion, read all his correspondence, and assisted at all his conferences, while the councillors were themselves narrowly watched by the commonalty. These movements were, however, in general, marked by the most exemplaryorder. Anarchy became a system of government; rebellion enacted andenforced the strictest rules of discipline; theft, drunkenness, violenceto women, were severely punished. As soon as the mutiny broke forth, thefirst object was to take possession of the nearest city, where the Elettowas usually established in the town-house, and the soldiery quarteredupon the citizens. Nothing in the shape of food or lodging was too goodfor these marauders. Men who had lived for years on camp rations--coarseknaves who had held the plough till compelled to handle the musket, nowslept in fine linen, and demanded from the trembling burghers thedaintiest viands. They ate the land bare, like a swarm of locusts. "Chickens and partridges, " says the thrifty chronicler of Antwerp, "capons and pheasants, hares and rabbits, two kinds of wines;--forsauces, capers and olives, citrons and oranges, spices and sweetmeats;wheaten bread for their dogs, and even wine, to wash the feet of theirhorses;"--such was the entertainment demanded and obtained by themutinous troops. They were very willing both to enjoy the luxury of thisforage, and to induce the citizens, from weariness of affording compelledhospitality, to submit to a taxation by which the military claims mightbe liquidated. 

A city thus occupied was at the mercy of a foreign soldiery, which hadrenounced all authority but that of self-imposed laws. The King'sofficers were degraded, perhaps murdered; while those chosen to supplytheir places had only a nominal control. The Eletto, day by day, proclaimed from the balcony of the town-house the latest rules andregulations. If satisfactory, there was a clamor of applause; ifobjectionable, they were rejected with a tempest of hisses, withdischarges of musketry; The Eletto did not govern: he was a dictator whocould not dictate, but could only register decrees. If too honest, toofirm, or too dull for his place, he was deprived of his office andsometimes of his life. Another was chosen in his room, often to besucceeded by a series of others, destined to the same fate. Such were themain characteristics of those formidable mutinies, the result of theunthriftiness and dishonesty by which the soldiery engaged in theseinterminable hostilities were deprived of their dearly earned wages. Theexpense of the war was bad enough at best, but when it is remembered thatof three or four dollars sent from Spain, or contributed by the provincesfor the support of the army, hardly one reached the pockets of thesoldier, the frightful expenditure which took place may be imagined. Itwas not surprising that so much peculation should engender revolt. 

The mutiny which broke out after the defeat of Count Louis was markedwith the most pronounced and inflammatory of these symptoms. Three years'pay was due, to the Spaniards, who, having just achieved a signalvictory, were-disposed to reap its fruits, by fair means or by force. Onreceiving nothing but promises, in answer to their clamorous demands, they mutinied to a man, and crossed the Meuse to Grave, whence, afteraccomplishing the usual elections, they took their course to Antwerp. Being in such strong force, they determined to strike at the capital. Rumour flew before them. Champagny, brother of Granvelle, and royalgovernor of the city, wrote in haste to apprise Requesens of theapproaching danger. The Grand Commander, attended only by Vitelli, repaired instantly to Antwerp. Champagny advised throwing up abreastwork with bales of merchandize, upon the esplanade, between thecitadel and the town, for it was at this point, where the connectionbetween the fortifications of the castle and those of the city had neverbeen thoroughly completed, that the invasion might be expected. Requesenshesitated. He trembled at a conflict with his own soldiery. Ifsuccessful, he could only be so by trampling upon the flower of his army. If defeated, what would become of the King's authority, with rebellioustroops triumphant in rebellious provinces? Sorely perplexed, theCommander, could think of no expedient. Not knowing what to do, he didnothing. In the meantime, Champagny, who felt himself odious to thesoldiery, retreated to the Newtown, and barricaded himself, with a fewfollowers, in the house of the Baltic merchants. 

On the 26th of April, the mutinous troops in perfect order, marched intothe city, effecting their entrance precisely at the weak point where theyhad been expected. Numbering at least three thousand, they encamped onthe esplanade, where Requesens appeared before them alone on horseback, and made them an oration. They listened with composure, but answeredbriefly and with one accord, "Dineros y non palabras, " dollars notspeeches. Requesens promised profusely, but the time was past forpromises. Hard Silver dollars would alone content an army which, afterthree years of bloodshed and starvation, had at last taken the law intotheir own hands. Requesens withdrew to consult the Broad Council of thecity. He was without money himself, but he demanded four hundred thousandcrowns of the city. This was at first refused, but the troops knew thestrength of their position, for these mutinies were never repressed, andrarely punished. On this occasion the Commander was afraid to employforce, and the burghers, after the army had been quartered upon them fora time, would gladly pay a heavy ransom to be rid of their odious andexpensive guests. The mutineers foreseeing that the work might last a fewweeks, and determined to proceed leisurely; took possession of the greatsquare. The Eletto, with his staff of councillors, was quartered in thetown-house, while the soldiers distributed themselves among the houses ofthe most opulent citizens, no one escaping a billet who was rich enoughto receive such company: bishop or burgomaster, margrave or merchant. Themost famous kitchens were naturally the most eagerly sought, andsumptuous apartments, luxurious dishes, delicate wines, were dailydemanded. The burghers dared not refuse. 

The six hundred Walloons, who had been previously quartered in the city, were expelled, and for many days, the mutiny reigned paramount. Day afterday the magistracy, the heads of guilds, all the representatives of thecitizens were assembled in the Broad Council. The Governor-Generalinsisted on his demand of four hundred thousand crowns, representing, with great justice, that the mutineers would remain in the city untilthey had eaten and drunk to that amount, and that there would still bethe arrearages; for which the city would be obliged to raise the funds. On the 9th of May, the authorities made an offer, which was dulycommunicated to the Eletto. That functionary stood forth on a window-sillof the town-house, and addressed the soldiery. He informed them that theGrand Commander proposed to pay ten months' arrears in cash, five monthsin silks and woollen cloths, and the balance in promises, to be fulfilledwithin a few days. The terms were not considered satisfactory, and werereceived with groans of derision. The Eletto, on the contrary, declaredthem very liberal, and reminded the soldiers of the perilous condition inwhich they stood, guilty to a man of high treason, with a rope aroundevery neck. It was well worth their while to accept the offer made them, together with the absolute pardon for the past, by which it wasaccompanied. For himself, he washed his hands of the consequences if theoffer were rejected. The soldiers answered by deposing the Eletto andchoosing another in his room. 

Three days after, a mutiny broke out in the citadel--an unexampledoccurrence. The rebels ordered Sancho d'Avila, the commandant, to deliverthe keys of the fortress. He refused to surrender them but with his life. They then contented themselves with compelling his lieutenant to leavethe citadel, and with sending their Eletto to confer with the GrandCommander, as well as with the Eletto of the army. After accomplishinghis mission, he returned, accompanied by Chiappin Vitelli, as envoy ofthe Governor-General. No sooner, however, had the Eletto set foot on thedrawbridge than he was attacked by Ensign Salvatierra of the Spanishgarrison, who stabbed him to the heart and threw him into the moat. Theensign, who was renowned in the army for his ferocious courage, and whowore embroidered upon his trunk hose the inscription, "El castigador delos Flamencos, " then rushed upon the Sergeant-major of the mutineers, despatched him in the same way, and tossed him likewise into the moat. These preliminaries being settled, a satisfactory arrangement wasnegotiated between Vitelli and the rebellious garrison. Pardon for thepast, and payment upon the same terms as those offered in the city, wereaccepted, and the mutiny of the citadel was quelled. It was, however, necessary that Salvatierra should conceal himself for a long time, toescape being torn to pieces by the incensed soldiery. 

Meantime, affairs in the city were more difficult to adjust. Themutineers raised an altar of chests and bales upon the public square, andcelebrated mass under the open sky, solemnly swearing to be true to eachother to the last. The scenes of carousing and merry-making were renewedat the expense of the citizens, who were again exposed to nightly alarmsfrom the boisterous mirth and ceaseless mischief-making of the soldiers. Before the end of the month; the Broad Council, exhausted by the incubuswhich had afflicted them so many weeks, acceded to the demand ofRequesens. The four hundred thousand crowns were furnished, the GrandCommander accepting them as a loan, and giving in return bonds dulysigned and countersigned, together with a mortgage upon all the royaldomains. The citizens received the documents, as a matter of form, butthey had handled such securities before, and valued them but slightly. The mutineers now agreed to settle with the Governor-General, oncondition of receiving all their wages, either in cash or cloth, togetherwith a solemn promise of pardon for all their acts of insubordination. This pledge was formally rendered with appropriate religious ceremonies, by Requesens, in the cathedral. The payments were made directlyafterwards, and a great banquet was held on the same day, by the wholemass of the soldiery, to celebrate the event. The feast took place on theplace of the Meer, and was a scene of furious revelry. The soldiers, morethoughtless than children, had arrayed themselves in extemporaneouscostumes, cut from the cloth which they had at last received in paymentof their sufferings and their blood. Broadcloths, silks, satins, andgold-embroidered brocades, worthy of a queen's wardrobe, were hung infantastic drapery around the sinewy forms and bronzed faces of thesoldiery, who, the day before, had been clothed in rags. The mirth wasfast and furious; and scarce was the banquet finished before everydrum-head became a gaming-table, around which gathered groups eager tosacrifice in a moment their dearly-bought gold. 

The fortunate or the prudent had not yet succeeded in entirely plunderingtheir companions, when the distant booming of cannon was heard from theriver. Instantly, accoutred as they were in their holiday and fantasticcostumes, the soldiers, no longer mutinous, were summoned from banquetand gaming-table, and were ordered forth upon the dykes. The patriotAdmiral Boisot, who had so recently defeated the fleet of Bergen, underthe eyes of the Grand Commander, had unexpectedly sailed up the Scheld, determined to destroy the, fleet of Antwerp, which upon that occasion hadescaped. Between, the forts of Lillo and Callao, he met with twenty-twovessels under the command of Vice-Admiral Haemstede. After a short andsharp action, he was completely victorious. Fourteen of the enemy's shipswere burned or sunk, with all their crews, and Admiral Haemstede wastaken prisoner. The soldiers opened a warm fire of musketry upon Boisotfrom the dyke, to which he responded with his cannon. The distance of thecombatants, however, made the action unimportant; and the patriotsretired down the river, after achieving a complete victory. The GrandCommander was farther than ever from obtaining that foothold on the sea, which as he had informed his sovereign, was the only means by which theNetherlands could be reduced. 

1574 [CHAPTER II. ]

 First siege of Leyden--Commencement of the second--Description of the city--Preparations for defence--Letters of Orange--Act of amnesty issued by Requesens--Its conditions--Its reception by the Hollanders--Correspondence of the Glippers--Sorties and fierce combats beneath the walls of Leyden--Position of the Prince--His project of relief Magnanimity of the people--Breaking of the dykes-- Emotions in the city and the besieging camp--Letter of the Estates of Holland--Dangerous illness of the Prince--The "wild Zealanders"-- Admiral Boisot commences his voyage--Sanguinary combat on the Land-- Scheiding--Occupation of that dyke and of the Green Way--Pauses and Progress of the flotilla--The Prince visits the fleet--Horrible sufferings in the city--Speech of Van der Werf--Heroism of the inhabitants--The Admiral's letters--The storm--Advance of Boisot-- Lammen fortress----An anxious night--Midnight retreat of the Spaniards--The Admiral enters the city--Thanksgiving in the great church The Prince in Leyden--Parting words of Valdez--Mutiny--Leyden University founded--The charter--Inauguration ceremonies. 

The invasion of Louis of Nassau had, as already stated, effected theraising of the first siege of Leyden. That leaguer had lasted from the31st of October, 1573, to the 21st of March, 1574, when the soldiers weresummoned away to defend the frontier. By an extraordinary and culpablecarelessness, the citizens, neglecting the advice of the Prince, had nottaken advantage of the breathing time thus afforded them to victual thecity and strengthen the garrison. They seemed to reckon more confidentlyupon the success of Count Louis than he had even done himself; for it wasvery probable that, in case of his defeat, the siege would be instantlyresumed. This natural result was not long in following the battle ofMookerheyde. 

On the 26th of May, Valdez reappeared before the place, at the head ofeight thousand Walloons and Germans, and Leyden was now destined to passthrough a fiery ordeal. This city was one of the most beautiful in theNetherlands. Placed in the midst of broad and fruitful pastures, whichhad been reclaimed by the hand of industry from the bottom of the sea; itwas fringed with smiling villages, blooming gardens, fruitful Orchards. The ancient and, at last, decrepit Rhine, flowing languidly towards itssandy death-bed, had been multiplied into innumerable artificialcurrents, by which the city was completely interlaced. These waterystreets were shaded by lime trees, poplars, and willows, and crossed byone hundred and forty-five bridges, mostly of hammered stone. The houseswere elegant, the squares and streets spacious, airy and clean, thechurches and public edifices imposing, while the whole aspect, of theplace suggested thrift, industry, and comfort. Upon an artificialelevation, in the centre of the city, rose a ruined tower of unknownantiquity. By some it was considered to be of Roman origin, while otherspreferred to regard it as a work of the Anglo-Saxon Hengist, raised tocommemorate his conquest of England. 

 [Guicciardini, Descript. Holl, et Zelandire. Bor, vii. 502. Bentivoglio, viii. 151

 "Putatur Engistus Britanno Orbe redus posuisse victor, " etc. , etc. 

 according to the celebrated poem of John Von der Does, the accomplished and valiant Commandant of the city. The tower, which is doubtless a Roman one, presents, at the present day, almost precisely the same appearance as that described by the contemporaneous historians of the siege. The verses of the Commandant show the opinion, that the Anglo-Saxon conquerors of Britain went from Holland, to have been a common one in the sixteenth century. ]

Surrounded by fruit trees, and overgrown in the centre with oaks, itafforded, from its mouldering battlements, a charming prospect over awide expanse of level country, with the spires of neighbouring citiesrising in every direction. It was from this commanding height, during thelong and terrible summer days which were approaching, that many an eyewas to be strained anxiously seaward, watching if yet the ocean had begunto roll over the land. 

Valdez lost no time in securing himself in the possession ofMaeslandsluis, Vlaardingen, and the Hague. Five hundred English, undercommand of Colonel Edward Chester, abandoned the fortress of Valkenburg, and fled towards Leyden. Refused admittance by the citizens, who now, with reason, distrusted them, they surrendered to Valdez, and wereafterwards sent back to England. In the course of a few days, Leyden wasthoroughly invested, no less than sixty-two redoubts, some of them havingremained undestroyed from the previous siege, now girdling the city, while the besiegers already numbered nearly eight thousand, a force to bedaily increased. On the other hand, there were no troops in the town, save a small corps of "freebooters, " and five companies of the burgherguard. John Van der Does, Seigneur of Nordwyck, a gentleman ofdistinguished family, but still more distinguished for his learning, hispoetical genius, and his valor, had accepted the office of militarycommandant. 

The main reliance of the city, under God, was on the stout hearts of itsinhabitants within the walls, and on, the sleepless energy of William theSilent without. The Prince, hastening to comfort and encourage thecitizens, although he had been justly irritated by their negligence inhaving omitted to provide more sufficiently against the emergency whilethere had yet been time, now reminded them that they were not about tocontend for themselves alone, but that the fate of their country and ofunborn generations would, in all human probability, depend on the issueabout to be tried. Eternal glory would be their portion if theymanifested a courage worthy of their race and of the sacred cause ofreligion and liberty. He implored them to hold out at least three months, assuring them that he would, within that time, devise the means of theirdeliverance. The citizens responded, courageously and confidently, tothese missives, and assured the Prince of their firm confidence in theirown fortitude and his exertions. 

And truly they had a right to rely on that calm and unflinching soul, ason a rock of adamant. All alone, without a being near him to consult, hisright arm struck from him by the death of Louis, with no brother left tohim but the untiring and faithful John, he prepared without delay for thenew task imposed upon him. France, since the defeat and death of Louis, and the busy intrigues which had followed the accession of Henry III. , had but small sympathy for the Netherlands. The English government, relieved from the fear of France; was more cold and haughty than ever. AnEnglishman employed by Requesens to assassinate the Prince of Orange, hadbeen arrested in Zealand, who impudently pretended that he had undertakento perform the same office for Count John, with the full consent andprivity of Queen Elizabeth. The provinces of Holland and Zealand werestanch and true, but the inequality of the contest between a few bravemen, upon that handsbreadth of territory, and the powerful SpanishEmpire, seemed to render the issue hopeless. 

Moreover, it was now thought expedient to publish the amnesty which hadbeen so long in preparation, and this time the trap was more liberallybaited. The pardon, which had: passed the seals upon the 8th of March, was formally issue: by the Grand Commander on the 6th of June. By theterms of this document the King invited all his erring and repentantsubjects, to return to his arms; and to accept a full forgiveness fortheir past offences, upon the sole condition that they should once morethrow themselves upon the bosom of the Mother Church. There were but fewexceptions to the amnesty, a small number of individuals, all mentionedby name, being alone excluded; but although these terms were ample, theact was liable to a few stern objections. It was easier now for theHollanders to go to their graves than to mass, for the contest, in itsprogress, had now entirely assumed the aspect of a religious war. Insteadof a limited number of heretics in a state which, although constitutionalwas Catholic, there was now hardly a Papist to be found among thenatives. To accept the pardon then was to concede the victory, and theHollanders had not yet discovered that they were conquered. They wereresolved, too, not only to be conquered, but annihilated, before theRoman Church should be re-established on their soil, to the entireexclusion of the Reformed worship. They responded with steadfastenthusiasm to the sentiment expressed by the Prince of Orange, after thesecond siege of Leyden had been commenced; "As long as there is a livingman left in the country, we will contend for our liberty and ourreligion. " The single condition of the amnesty assumed, in a phrase; whatSpain had fruitlessly striven to establish by a hundred battles, and theHollanders had not faced their enemy on land and sea for seven years tosuccumb to a phrase at last. 

Moreover, the pardon came from the wrong direction. The malefactorgravely extended forgiveness to his victims. Although the Hollanders hadnot yet disembarrassed their minds of the supernatural theory ofgovernment, and felt still the reverence of habit for regal divinity, they naturally considered themselves outraged by the trick now playedbefore them. The man who had violated all his oaths, trampled upon alltheir constitutional liberties, burned and sacked their cities, confiscated their wealth, hanged, beheaded, burned, and buried alivetheir innocent brethren, now came forward, not to implore, but to offerforgiveness. Not in sackcloth, but in royal robes; not with ashes, butwith a diadem upon his head, did the murderer present himself vicariouslyupon the scene of his crimes. It may be supposed that, even in thesixteenth century, there were many minds which would revolt at suchblasphemy. Furthermore, even had the people of Holland been weak enoughto accept the pardon, it was impossible to believe that the promise wouldbe fulfilled. It was sufficiently known how much faith was likely to bekept with heretics, notwithstanding that the act was fortified by a papalBull, dated on the 30th of April, by which Gregory XIII. Promisedforgiveness to those Netherland sinners who duly repented and soughtabsolution for their crimes, even although they had sinned more thanseven times seven. 

For a moment the Prince had feared lest the pardon might produce someeffect upon men wearied by interminable suffering, but the event provedhim wrong. It was received with universal and absolute contempt. No mancame forward to take advantage of its conditions, save one brewer inUtrecht, and the son of a refugee peddler from Leyden. With theseexceptions, the only ones recorded, Holland remained deaf to the royalvoice. The city of Leyden was equally cold to the messages of mercy, which were especially addressed to its population by Valdez and hisagents. Certain Netherlanders, belonging to the King's party, andfamiliarly called "Glippers, " despatched from the camp many letters totheir rebellious acquaintances in the city. In these epistles thecitizens of Leyden were urgently and even pathetically exhorted tosubmission by their loyal brethren, and were implored "to take pity upontheir poor old fathers, their daughters, and their wives. " But theburghers of Leyden thought that the best pity which they could show tothose poor old fathers, daughters, and wives, was to keep them from theclutches of the Spanish soldiery; so they made no answer to the Glippers, save by this single line, which they wrote on a sheet of paper, andforwarded, like a letter, to Valdez:

 "Fistula dulce canit, volucrem cum decipit auceps. "

According to the advice early given by the Prince of Orange, the citizenshad taken an account of their provisions of all kinds, including the livestock. By the end of June, the city was placed on a strict allowance offood, all the provisions being purchased by the authorities at anequitable price. Half a pound of meat and half a pound of bread wasallotted to a full grown man, and to the rest, a due proportion. The citybeing strictly invested, no communication, save by carrier pigeons, andby a few swift and skilful messengers called jumpers, was possible. Sorties and fierce combats were, however, of daily occurrence, and ahandsome bounty was offered to any man who brought into the city gatesthe head of a Spaniard. The reward was paid many times, but thepopulation was becoming so excited and so apt, that the authorities feltit dangerous to permit the continuance of these conflicts. Lest the city, little by little, should lose its few disciplined defenders, it was nowproclaimed, by sound of church bell, that in future no man should leavethe gates. 

The Prince had his head-quarters at Delft and at Rotterdam. Between thosetwo cities, an important fortress, called Polderwaert, secured him in thecontrol of the alluvial quadrangle, watered on two sides by the Yssel andthe Meuse. On the 29th June, the Spaniards, feeling its value, had madean unsuccessful effort to carry this fort by storm. They had been beatenoff, with the loss of several hundred men, the Prince remaining inpossession of the position, from which alone he could hope to relieveLeyden. He still held in his hand the keys with which he could unlock theocean gates and let the waters in upon the land, and he had long beenconvinced that nothing could save the city but to break the dykes. Leydenwas not upon the sea, but he could send the sea to. Leyden, although anarmy fit to encounter the besieging force under Valdez could not belevied. The battle of Mookerheyde had, for the, present, quite settledthe question, of land relief, but it was possible to besiege thebesiegers, with the waves of the ocean. The Spaniards occupied the coastfrom the Hague to Vlaardingen, but the dykes along the Meuse and Ysselwere in possession of the Prince. He determined, that these should bepierced, while, at the same time, the great sluices at Rotterdam, Schiedam, and Delftshaven should be opened. The damage to the fields, villages, and growing crops would be enormous, but he felt that no othercourse could rescue Leyden, and with it the whole of Holland fromdestruction. His clear expositions and impassioned eloquence at lastovercame all resistance. By the middle of July the estates consented tohis plan, and its execution was immediately undertaken. "Better a drownedland than a lost land, " cried the patriots, with enthusiasm, as theydevoted their fertile fields to desolation. The enterprise for restoringtheir territory, for a season, to the waves, from which it had been sopatiently rescued, was conducted with as much regularity as if it hadbeen a profitable undertaking. A capital was formally subscribed, forwhich a certain number of bonds were issued, payable at a long date. Inaddition to this preliminary fund, a monthly allowance of forty-fiveguldens was voted by the estates, until the work should be completed, anda large sum was contributed by the ladies of the land, who freelyfurnished their plate, jewellery, and costly furniture to the furtheranceof the scheme. 

Meantime, Valdez, on the 30th July; issued most urgent and ample offersof pardon to the citizens, if they would consent to open their gates andaccept the King's authority, but his Overtures were received with silentcontempt, notwithstanding that the population was already approaching thestarvation point. Although not yet fully informed of the active measurestaken by the Prince, yet they still chose to rely upon his energy andtheir own fortitude, rather than upon the honied words which had formerlybeen heard at the gates of Harlem and of Naarden. On the 3rd of August, the Prince; accompanied by Paul Buys, chief of the commission appointedto execute the enterprise, went in person along the Yssel; as far asKappelle, and superintended the rupture of the dykes in sixteen places. The gates at Schiedam and Rotterdam were, opened, and the ocean began topour over the land. While waiting for the waters to rise, provisions wererapidly, collected, according to an edict of the Prince, in all theprincipal towns of the neighbourhood, and some two hundred vessels, ofvarious sizes, had also been got ready at Rotterdam, Delftshaven, andother ports. 

The citizens of Leyden were, however, already becoming impatient, fortheir bread was gone, and of its substitute malt cake, they had butslender provision. On the 12th of August they received a letter from thePrince, encouraging them to resistance, and assuring them of a speedyrelief, and on the 21st they addressed a despatch to him in reply, stating that they had now fulfilled their original promise, for they hadheld out two months with food, and another month without food. If notsoon assisted, human strength could do no more; their malt cake wouldlast but four days, and after that was gone, there was nothing left butstarvation. Upon the same day, however, they received a letter, dictatedby the Prince, who now lay in bed at Rotterdam with a violent fever, assuring them that the dykes were all pierced, and that the water wasrising upon the "Land-Scheiding, " the great outer barrier which separatedthe city from the sea. He said nothing however of his own illness, whichwould have cast a deep shadow over the joy which now broke forth amongthe burghers. 

The letter was read publicly in the market-place, and to increase thecheerfulness, burgomaster Van der Werf, knowing the sensibility of hiscountrymen to music, ordered the city musicians to perambulate thestreets, playing lively melodies and martial airs. Salvos of cannon werelikewise fired, and the starving city for a brief space put on the aspectof a holiday, much to the astonishment of the besieging forces, who werenot yet aware of the Prince's efforts. They perceived very soon, however, as the water everywhere about Leyden had risen to the depth of teninches, that they stood in a perilous position. It was no trifling dangerto be thus attacked by the waves of the ocean, which seemed about to obeywith docility the command of William the Silent. Valdez became anxiousand uncomfortable at the strange aspect of affairs, for the besiegingarmy was now in its turn beleaguered, and by a stronger power than man's. He consulted with the most experienced of his officers, with the countrypeople, with the most distinguished among the Glippers, and derivedencouragement from their views concerning the Prince's plan. Theypronounced it utterly futile and hopeless: The Glippers knew the countrywell, and ridiculed the desperate project in unmeasured terms. 

Even in the city itself, a dull distrust had succeeded to the first vividgleam of hope, while the few royalists among the population boldlytaunted their fellow-citizens to their faces with the absurd vision ofrelief which they had so fondly welcomed. "Go up to the tower, yeBeggars, " was the frequent and taunting cry, "go up to the tower, andtell us if ye can see the ocean coming over the dry land to yourrelief"--and day after day they did go, up to the ancient tower ofHengist, with heavy heart and anxious eye, watching, hoping, praying, fearing, and at last almost despairing of relief by God or man. On the27th they addressed a desponding letter to the estates, complaining thatthe city had been forgotten in, its utmost need, and on the same day aprompt and warm-hearted reply was received, in which the citizens wereassured that every human effort was to be made for their relief. "Rather, " said the estates, "will we see our whole land and all ourpossessions perish in the waves, than forsake thee, Leyden. We know fullwell, moreover, that with Leyden, all Holland must perish also. " Theyexcused themselves for not having more frequently written, upon the, ground that the whole management of the measures for their relief hadbeen entrusted to the Prince, by whom alone all the details had beenadministered, and all the correspondence conducted. 

The fever of the Prince had, meanwhile, reached its height. He lay atRotterdam, utterly prostrate in body, and with mind agitated nearly todelirium, by the perpetual and almost unassisted schemes which he wasconstructing. Relief, not only for Leyden, but for the whole country, nowapparently sinking into the abyss, was the vision which he pursued as hetossed upon his restless couch. Never was illness more unseasonable. Hisattendants were in despair, for it was necessary that his mind should fora time be spared the agitation of business. The physicians who attendedhim agreed, as to his disorder, only in this, that it was the result ofmental fatigue and melancholy, and could be cured only by removing alldistressing and perplexing subjects from his thoughts, but all thephysicians in the world could not have succeeded in turning his attentionfor an instant from the great cause of his country. Leyden lay, as itwere, anxious and despairing at his feet, and it was impossible for himto close his ears to her cry. Therefore, from his sick bed he continuedto dictate; words of counsel and encouragement to the city; to AdmiralBoisot, commanding, the fleet, minute directions and precautions. Towardsthe end of August a vague report had found its way into his sick chamberthat Leyden had fallen, and although he refused to credit the tale, yetit served to harass his mind, and to heighten fever. Cornelius VanMierop, Receiver General of Holland, had occasion to visit him atRotterdam, and strange to relate, found the house almost deserted. Penetrating, unattended, to the Prince's bed-chamber, he found him lyingquite alone. Inquiring what had become, of all his attendants, he wasanswered by the Prince, in a very feeble voice, that he had sent them allaway. The Receiver-General seems, from this, to have rather hastilyarrived at the conclusion that the Prince's disorder was the pest, andthat his servants and friends had all deserted him from cowardice. 

This was very far from being the case. His private secretary and hismaitre d'hotel watched, day and night, by his couch, and the bestphysicians of the city were in constant attendance. By a singularaccident; all had been despatched on different errands, at the expressdesire of their master, but there had never been a suspicion that hisdisorder was the pest, or pestilential. Nerves of steel, and a frame ofadamant could alone have resisted the constant anxiety and the consumingfatigue to which he had so long been exposed. His illness had beenaggravated by the, rumor of Leyden's fall, a fiction which CorneliusMierop was now enabled flatly to contradict. The Prince began to mendfrom that hour. By the end of the first week of September, he wrote alongletter to his brother, assuring him of his convalescence, and expressing, as usual; a calm confidence in the divine decrees--"God will ordain forme, " said he, "all which is necessary for my good and my salvation. Hewill load me with no more afflictions than the fragility of this naturecan sustain. "

The preparations for the relief of Leyden, which, notwithstanding hisexertions, had grown slack during his sickness, were now vigorouslyresumed. On the 1st of September, Admiral Boisot arrived out of Zealandwith a small number of vessels, and with eight hundred veteran sailors. Awild and ferocious crew were those eight hundred Zealanders. Scarred, hacked, and even maimed, in the unceasing conflicts in which their liveshad passed; wearing crescents in their caps, with the inscription, "Rather Turkish than Popish;" renowned far and wide, as much for theirferocity as for their nautical skill; the appearance of these wildest ofthe "Sea-beggars" was both eccentric and terrific. They were known neverto give nor to take quarter, for they went to mortal combat only, and hadsworn to spare neither noble nor simple, neither king, kaiser, nor pope, should they fall into their power. 

More than two hundred-vessels had been assembled, carrying generally tenpieces of cannon, with from ten to eighteen oars, and manned withtwenty-five hundred veterans, experienced both on land and water. Thework was now undertaken in earnest. The distance from Leyden to the outerdyke, over whose ruins the ocean had already been admitted, was nearlyfifteen miles. This reclaimed territory, however, was not maintainedagainst the sea by these external barriers alone. The flotilla made itsway with ease to the Land-Scheiding, a strong dyke within five miles ofLeyden, but here its progress was arrested. The approach to the city wassurrounded by many strong ramparts, one within the other, by which it wasdefended against its ancient enemy, the ocean, precisely like thecircumvallations by means of which it was now assailed by its more recentenemy, the Spaniard. To enable the fleet, however, to sail over the land;it was necessary to break through this two fold series of defences. Between the Land-Scheiding and Leyden were several dykes, which kept outthe water; upon the level, were many villages, together with a chain ofsixty-two forts, which completely occupied the land. All these Villagesand fortresses were held by the veteran, troops of the King; thebesieging force, being about four times as strong as that which wascoming to the rescue. 

The Prince had given orders that the Land-Scheiding, which was stillone-and-a-half foot above water, should be taken possession of; at everyhazard. On the night of the 10th and 11th of September this wasaccomplished; by surprise; and in a masterly manner. The few Spaniardswho had been stationed upon the dyke were all, despatched or driven off, and the patriots fortified themselves upon it, without the loss of a man. As the day dawned the Spaniards saw the fatal error which they hadcommitted in leaving thus bulwark so feebly defended, and from twovillages which stood close to the dyke, the troops now rushedinconsiderable force to recover what they had lost. A hot actionsucceeded, but the patriots had too securely established themselves. Theycompletely defeated the enemy, who retired, leaving hundreds of dead onthe field, and the patriots in complete possession of the Land-scheiding. This first action was sanguinary and desperate. It gave a earnest of whatthese people, who came to relieve; their brethren, by sacrificing their, property and their lives; were determined to effect. It gave a revoltingproof, too, of the intense hatred which nerved their arms. A Zealander;having struck down a Spaniard on the dyke, knelt on his bleeding enemy, tore his heart from his bosom; fastened his teeth in it for an instant, and then threw it to a dog, with the exclamation, "'Tis too bitter. " TheSpanish heart was, however, rescued, and kept for years, with the marksof the soldier's teeth upon it, a sad testimonial of the ferocityengendered by this war for national existence. 

The great dyke having been thus occupied, no time was lost in breaking itthrough in several places, a work which was accomplished under the veryeyes of the enemy. The fleet sailed through the gaps, but, after theirpassage had been effected in good order, the Admiral found, to hissurprise, that it was not the only rampart to be carried. The Prince hadbeen informed, by those who claimed to know, the country, that, when oncethe Land-scheiding had been passed, the water would flood the country asfar as Leyden, but the "Green-way, " another long dyke three-quarters of amile farther inward, now rose at least a foot above the water, to opposetheir further progress. Fortunately, by, a second and still more culpablecarelessness, this dyke had been left by the Spaniards in as unprotecteda state as the first had been, Promptly and audaciously Admiral Boisottook possession of this barrier also, levelled it in many places, andbrought his flotilla, in triumph, over its ruins. Again, however, he wasdoomed to disappointment. A large mere, called the Freshwater Lake, wasknown to extend itself directly in his path about midway between theLand-scheiding and the city. To this piece of water, into which heexpected to have instantly floated, his only passage lay through one deepcanal. The sea which had thus far borne him on, now diffusing itself overa very wide surface, and under the influence of an adverse wind, hadbecome too shallow for his ships. The canal alone was deep enough, but itled directly towards a bridge, strongly occupied by the enemy. Hostiletroops, moreover, to the amount of three thousand occupied both sides ofthe canal. The bold Boisot, nevertheless, determined to force hispassage, if possible. Selecting a few of his strongest vessels, hisheaviest artillery, and his bravest sailors, he led the van himself, in adesperate attempt to make his way to the mere. He opened a hot fire uponthe bridge, then converted into a fortress, while his men engaged inhand-to-hand combat with a succession of skirmishers from the troopsalong the canal. After losing a few men, and ascertaining the impregnableposition of the enemy, he was obliged to withdraw, defeated, and almostdespairing. 

A week had elapsed since the great dyke had been pierced, and theflotilla now lay motionless--in shallow water, having accomplished lessthan two miles. The wind, too, was easterly, causing the sea rather tosink than to rise. Everything wore a gloomy aspect, when, fortunately, onthe 18th, the wind shifted to the north-west, and for three days blew agale. The waters rose rapidly, and before the second day was closed thearmada was afloat again. Some fugitives from Zoetermeer village nowarrived, and informed the Admiral that, by making a detour to the right, he could completely circumvent the bridge and the mere. They guided him, accordingly, to a comparatively low dyke, which led between the villagesof Zoetermeer and Benthuyzen: A strong force of Spaniards was stationedin each place, but, seized with a panic, instead of sallying to defendthe barrier, they fled inwardly towards Leyden, and halted at the villageof North Aa. It was natural that they should be amazed. Nothing is moreappalling to the imagination than the rising ocean tide, when man feelshimself within its power; and here were the waters, hourly deepening andclosing around them, devouring the earth beneath their feet, while on thewaves rode a flotilla, manned by a determined race; whose courage andferocity were known throughout the world. The Spanish soldiers, brave asthey were on land, were not sailors, and in the naval contests which hadtaken place between them and the Hollanders had been almost invariablydefeated. It was not surprising, in these amphibious skirmishes, wherediscipline was of little avail, and habitual audacity faltered at thevague dangers which encompassed them, that the foreign troops should losetheir presence of mind. 

Three barriers, one within the other, had now been passed, and theflotilla, advancing with the advancing waves, and driving the enemysteadily before it, was drawing nearer to the beleaguered city. As onecircle after another was passed, the besieging army found itselfcompressed within a constantly contracting field. The "Ark of Delft, " anenormous vessel, with shot-proof bulwarks, and moved by paddle-wheelsturned by a crank, now arrived at Zoetermeer, and was soon followed bythe whole fleet. After a brief delay, sufficient to allow the fewremaining villagers to escape, both Zoetermeer and Benthuyzen, with thefortifications, were set on fire, and abandoned to their fate. The blazelighted up the desolate and watery waste around, and was seen at Leyden, where it was hailed as the beacon of hope. Without further impediment, the armada proceeded to North Aa; the enemy retreating from this positionalso, and flying to Zoeterwoude, a strongly fortified village but a mileand three quarters from the city walls. It was now swarming with troops, for the bulk of the besieging army had gradually been driven into anarrow circle of forts, within the immediate neighbourhood of Leyden. Besides Zoeterwoude, the two posts where they were principallyestablished were Lammen and Leyderdorp, each within three hundred rods ofthe town. At Leyderdorp were the head-quarters of Valdez; Colonel Borgiacommanded in the very strong fortress of Lammen. 

The fleet was, however, delayed at North Aa by another barrier, calledthe "Kirk-way. " The waters, too, spreading once more over a wider space, and diminishing under an east wind, which had again arisen, no longerpermitted their progress, so that very soon the whole armada was strandedanew. The, waters fell to the depth of nine inches; while the vesselsrequired eighteen and twenty. Day after day the fleet lay motionlessupon the shallow sea. Orange, rising from his sick bed as soon as hecould stand, now came on board the fleet. His presence diffused universaljoy; his words inspired his desponding army with fresh hope. He rebukedthe impatient spirits who, weary of their compulsory idleness, had shownsymptoms of ill-timed ferocity, and those eight hundred mad Zealanders, so frantic in their hatred to the foreigners, who had so long profanedtheir land, were as docile as children to the Prince. He reconnoitred thewhole ground, and issued orders for the immediate destruction of theKirkway, the last important barrier which separated the fleet fromLeyden. Then, after a long conference with Admiral Boisot, he returned toDelft. 

Meantime, the besieged city was at its last gasp. The burghers had beenin a state of uncertainty for many days; being aware that the fleet hadset forth for their relief, but knowing full well the thousand obstacleswhich it, had to surmount. They had guessed its progress by theillumination from, the blazing villages; they had heard its salvos ofartillery, on its arrival at North Aa; but since then, all had been darkand mournful again, hope and fear, in sickening alternation, distractingevery breast. They knew that the wind was unfavorable, and at the dawn ofeach day every eye was turned wistfully to the vanes of the, steeples. Solong as the easterly breeze prevailed, they felt, as they anxiously stoodon towers and housetops; that they must look in vain for the welcomeocean. Yet, while thus patiently waiting, they were literally starving;for even the misery endured at Harlem had not reached that depth andintensity of agony to which Leyden was now reduced. Bread, malt-cake, horseflesh, had entirely disappeared; dogs, cats, rats, and other vermin, were esteemed luxuries: A small number of cows, kept as long as possible, for their milk, still remained; but a few were killed from day to day;and distributed in minute proportions, hardly sufficient to support lifeamong the famishing population. Starving wretches swarmed daily aroundthe shambles where these cattle were slaughtered, contending for anymorsel which might fall, and lapping eagerly the blood as it ran alongthe pavement; while the hides; chopped and boiled, were greedilydevoured. Women and children, all day long, were seen searching guttersand dunghills for morsels of food, which they disputed fiercely with thefamishing dogs. The green leaves were stripped from the trees, everyliving herb was converted into human food, but these expedients could notavert starvation. The daily mortality was frightful infants starved todeath on the maternal breasts, which famine had parched and withered;mothers dropped dead in the streets, with their dead children in theirarms. In many a house the watchmen, in their rounds, found a whole familyof corpses, father, mother, and children, side by side, for a disordercalled the plague, naturally engendered of hardship and famine, now came, as if in kindness, to abridge the agony of the people. The pestilencestalked at noonday through the city, and the doomed inhabitants fell likegrass beneath its scythe. From six thousand to eight thousand humanbeings sank before this scourge alone, yet the people resolutely heldout--women and men mutually encouraging each other to resist the entranceof their foreign foe--an evil more horrible than pest or famine. 

The missives from Valdez, who saw more vividly than the besieged coulddo, the uncertainty of his own position, now poured daily into the city, the enemy becoming more prodigal of his vows, as he felt that the oceanmight yet save the victims from his grasp. The inhabitants, in theirignorance, had gradually abandoned their hopes of relief, but theyspurned the summons to surrender. Leyden was sublime in its despair. Afew murmurs were, however, occasionally heard at the steadfastness of themagistrates, and a dead body was placed at the door of the burgomaster, as a silent witness against his inflexibility. A party of the morefaint-hearted even assailed the heroic Adrian Van der Werf with threatsand reproaches as he passed through the streets. A crowd had gatheredaround him, as he reached a triangular place in the centre of the town, into which many of the principal streets emptied themselves, and upon oneside of which stood the church of Saint Pancras, with its high bricktower surmounted by two pointed turrets, and with two ancient lime treesat its entrance. There stood the burgomaster, a tall, haggard, imposingfigure, with dark visage, and a tranquil but commanding eye. He waved hisbroadleaved felt hat for silence, and then exclaimed, in language whichhas been almost literally preserved, What would ye, my friends? Why do yemurmur that we do not break our vows and surrender the city to theSpaniards? a fate more horrible than the agony which she now endures. Itell you I have made an oath to hold the city, and may God give mestrength to keep my oath! I can die but once; whether by your hands, theenemy's, or by the hand of God. My own fate is indifferent to me, not sothat of the city intrusted to my care. I know that we shall starve if notsoon relieved; but starvation is preferable to the dishonored death whichis the only alternative. Your menaces move me not; my life is at yourdisposal; here is my sword, plunge it into my breast, and divide my fleshamong you. Take my body to appease your hunger, but expect no surrender, so long as I remain alive. 

The words of the stout burgomaster inspired a new courage in the heartsof those who heard him, and a shout of applause and defiance arose fromthe famishing but enthusiastic crowd. They left the place, afterexchanging new vows of fidelity with their magistrate, and again ascendedtower and battlement to watch for the coming fleet. From the rampartsthey hurled renewed defiance at the enemy. "Ye call us rat-eaters anddog-eaters, " they cried, "and it is true. So long, then, as ye hear dogbark or cat mew within the walls, ye may know that the city holds out. And when all has perished but ourselves, be sure that we will each devourour left arms, retaining our right to defend our women, our liberty, andour religion, against the foreign tyrant. Should God, in his wrath, doomus to destruction, and deny us all relief, even then will we maintainourselves for ever against your entrance. When the last hour has come, with our own hands we will set fire to the city and perish, men, women, and children together in the flames, rather than suffer our homes to bepolluted and our liberties to be crushed. " Such words of defiance, thundered daily from the battlements, sufficiently informed Valdez as tohis chance of conquering the city, either by force or fraud, but at thesame time, he felt comparatively relieved by the inactivity of Boisot'sfleet, which still lay stranded at North Aa. "As well, " shouted theSpaniards, derisively, to the citizens, "as well can the Prince of Orangepluck the stars from the sky as bring the ocean to the walls of Leydenfor your relief. "

On the 28th of September, a dove flew into the city, bringing a letterfrom Admiral Boisot. In this despatch, the position of the fleet at NorthAa was described in encouraging terms, and the inhabitants were assuredthat, in a very few days at furthest, the long-expected relief wouldenter their gates. The letter was read publicly upon the market-place, and the bells were rung for joy. Nevertheless, on the morrow, the vanespointed to the east, the waters, so far from rising, continued to sink, and Admiral Boisot was almost in despair. He wrote to the Prince, that ifthe spring-tide, now to be expected, should not, together with a strongand favorable wind, come immediately to their relief, it would be in painto attempt anything further, and that the expedition would, of necessity, be abandoned. The tempest came to their relief. A violent equinoctialgale, on the night of the 1st and 2nd of October, came storming from thenorth-west, shifting after a few hours full eight points, and thenblowing still more violently from the south-west. The waters of the NorthSea were piled in vast masses upon the southern coast of Holland, andthen dashed furiously landward, the ocean rising over the earth, andsweeping with unrestrained power across the ruined dykes. 

In the course of twenty-four hours, the fleet at North Aa, instead ofnine inches, had more than two feet of water. No time was lost. TheKirk-way, which had been broken through according to the Prince'sinstructions, was now completely overflowed, and the fleet sailed atmidnight, in the midst of the storm and darkness. A few sentinel vesselsof the enemy challenged them as they steadily rowed towards Zoeterwoude. The answer was a flash from Boisot's cannon; lighting up the black wasteof waters. There was a fierce naval midnight battle; a strange spectacleamong the branches of those quiet orchards, and with the chimney stacksof half-submerged farmhouses rising around the contending vessels. Theneighboring village of Zoeterwoude shook with the discharges of theZealanders' cannon, and the Spaniards assembled in that fortress knewthat the rebel Admiral was at last, afloat and on his course. The enemy'svessels were soon sunk, their crews hurled into the waves. On went thefleet, sweeping over the broad waters which lay between Zoeterwoude andZwieten. As they approached some shallows, which led into the great mere, the Zealanders dashed into the sea, and with sheer strength shoulderedevery vessel through. Two obstacles lay still in their path--the forts ofZoeterwoude and Lammen, distant from the city five hundred and twohundred and fifty yards respectively. Strong redoubts, both well suppliedwith troops and artillery, they were likely to give a rough reception tothe light flotilla, but the panic; which had hitherto driven their foesbefore the advancing patriots; had reached Zoeterwoude. Hardly was thefleet in sight when the Spaniards in the early morning, poured out fromthe fortress, and fled precipitately to the left, along a road which ledin a westerly direction towards the Hague. Their narrow path was rapidlyvanishing in the waves, and hundreds sank beneath the constantlydeepening and treacherous flood. The wild Zealanders, too, sprang fromtheir vessels upon the crumbling dyke and drove their retreating foesinto the sea. They hurled their harpoons at them, with an accuracyacquired in many a polar chase; they plunged into the waves in the keenpursuit, attacking them with boat-hook and dagger. The numbers who thusfell beneath these corsairs, who neither gave nor took quarter, werenever counted, but probably not less than a thousand perished. The resteffected their escape to the Hague. 

The first fortress was thus seized, dismantled, set on fire, and passed, and a few strokes of the oars brought the whole fleet close to Lammen. This last obstacle rose formidable and frowning directly across theirpath. Swarming as it was with soldiers, and bristling with artillery, itseemed to defy the armada either to carry it by storm or to pass underits guns into the city. It appeared that the enterprise was, after all, to founder within sight of the long expecting and expected haven. Boisotanchored his fleet within a respectful distance, and spent what remainedof the day in carefully reconnoitring the fort, which seemed only toostrong. In conjunction with Leyderdorp, the head-quarters of Valdez, amile and a half distant on the right, and within a mile of the city, itseemed so insuperable an impediment that Boisot wrote in despondent toneto the Prince of Orange. He announced his intention of carrying the fort, if it were possible, on the following morning, but if obliged to retreat, he observed, with something like despair, that there would be nothing forit but to wait for another gale of wind. If the waters should risesufficiently to enable them to make a wide detour, it might be possible, if, in the meantime, Leyden did not starve or surrender, to enter itsgates from the opposite side. 

Meantime, the citizens had grown wild with expectation. A dove had beendespatched by Boisot, informing them of his precise position, and anumber of citizens accompanied the burgomaster, at nightfall, toward thetower of Hengist. Yonder, cried the magistrate, stretching out his handtowards Lammen, "yonder, behind that fort, are bread and meat, andbrethren in thousands. Shall all this be destroyed by the Spanish guns, or shall we rush to the rescue of our friends?"--"We will tear thefortress to fragments with our teeth and nails, " was the reply, "beforethe relief, so long expected, shall be wrested from us. " It was resolvedthat a sortie, in conjunction with the operations of Boisot, should bemade against Lammen with the earliest dawn. Night descended upon thescene, a pitch dark night, full of anxiety to the Spaniards, to thearmada, to Leyden. Strange sights and sounds occurred at differentmoments to bewilder the anxious sentinels. A long procession of lightsissuing from the fort was seen to flit across the black face of thewaters, in the dead of night, and the whole of the city wall, between theCow-gate and the Tower of Burgundy, fell with a loud crash. Thehorror-struck citizens thought that the Spaniards were upon them at last;the Spaniards imagined the noise to indicate, a desperate sortie of thecitizens. Everything was vague and mysterious. 

Day dawned, at length, after the feverish, night, and, the Admiralprepared for the assault. Within the fortress reigned a death-likestillness, which inspired a sickening suspicion. Had the city, indeed, been carried in the night; had the massacre already commenced; had allthis labor and audacity been expended in vain? Suddenly a man wasdescried, wading breast-high through the water from Lammen towards thefleet, while at the same time, one solitary boy was seen to wave his capfrom the summit of the fort. After a moment of doubt, the happy mysterywas solved. The Spaniards had fled, panic struck, during the darkness. Their position would still have enabled them, with firmness, to frustratethe enterprise of the patriots, but the hand of God, which had sent theocean and the tempest to the deliverance of Leyden, had struck herenemies with terror likewise. The lights which had been seen movingduring the night were the lanterns of the retreating Spaniards, and theboy who was now waving his triumphant signal from the battlements hadalone witnessed the spectacle. So confident was he in the conclusion towhich it led him, that he had volunteered at daybreak to go thither allalone. The magistrates, fearing a trap, hesitated for a moment to believethe truth, which soon, however, became quite evident. Valdez, flyinghimself from Leyderdorp, had ordered Colonel Borgia to retire with allhis troops from Lammen. Thus, the Spaniards had retreated at the verymoment that an extraordinary accident had laid bare a whole side of thecity for their entrance. The noise of the wall, as it fell, only inspiredthem with fresh alarm for they believed that the citizens had salliedforth in the darkness, to aid the advancing flood in the work ofdestruction. All obstacles being now removed, the fleet of Boisot sweptby Lammen, and entered the city on the morning of the 3rd of October. Leyden was relieved. 

The quays were lined with the famishing population, as the fleet rowedthrough the canals, every human being who could stand, coming forth togreet the preservers of the city. Bread was thrown from every vesselamong the crowd. The poor creatures who, for two months had tasted nowholesome human food, and who had literally been living within the jawsof death, snatched eagerly the blessed gift, at last too liberallybestowed. Many choked themselves to death, in the greediness with whichthey devoured their bread; others became ill with the effects of plentythus suddenly succeeding starvation; but these were isolated cases, arepetition of which was prevented. The Admiral, stepping ashore, waswelcomed by the magistracy, and a solemn procession was immediatelyformed. Magistrates and citizens, wild Zealanders, emaciated burgherguards, sailors, soldiers, women, children, nearly every living personwithin the walls, all repaired without delay to the great church, stoutAdmiral Boisot leading the way. The starving and heroic city, which hadbeen so firm in its resistance to an earthly king, now bent itself inhumble gratitude before the King of kings. After prayers, the whole vastcongregation joined in the thanksgiving hymn. Thousands of voices raisedthe-song, but few were able to carry it to its conclusion, for theuniversal emotion, deepened by the music, became too full for utterance. The hymn was abruptly suspended, while the multitude wept like children. This scene of honest pathos terminated; the necessary measures fordistributing the food and for relieving the sick were taken by themagistracy. A note dispatched to the Prince of Orange, was received byhim at two o'clock, as he sat in church at Delft. It was of a somewhatdifferent purport from that of the letter which he had received early inthe same day from Boisot; the letter in which the admiral had, informedhim that the success of the enterprise depended; after-all, upon thedesperate assault upon a nearly impregnable fort. The joy of the Princemay be easily imagined, and so soon as the sermon was concluded; hehanded the letter just received to the minister, to be read to thecongregation. Thus, all participated in his joy, and united with him inthanksgiving. 

The next day, notwithstanding the urgent entreaties of his friends, whowere anxious lest his life should be endangered by breathing, in hisscarcely convalescent state; the air of the city where so many thousandshad been dying of the pestilence, the Prince repaired to Leyden. He, atleast, had never doubted his own or his country's fortitude. They could, therefore, most sincerely congratulate each other, now that the victoryhad been achieved. "If we are doomed to perish, " he had said a littlebefore the commencement of the siege, "in the name of God, be it so! Atany rate, we shall have the honor to have done what no nation ever, didbefore us, that of having defended and maintained ourselves, unaided, inso small a country, against the tremendous efforts of such powerfulenemies. So long as the poor inhabitants here, though deserted by all theworld, hold firm, it will still cost the Spaniards the half of Spain, inmoney and in men, before they can make an end of us. "

The termination of the terrible siege of Leyden was a convincing proof tothe Spaniards that they had not yet made an end of the Hollanders. Itfurnished, also, a sufficient presumption that until they had made an endof them, even unto the last Hollander, there would never be an end of thestruggle in which they were engaged. It was a slender consolation to theGovernor-General, that his troops had been vanquished, not by the enemy, but by the ocean. An enemy whom the ocean obeyed with such docility mightwell be deemed invincible by man. In the head-quarters of Valdez, atLeyderdorp, many plans of Leyden and the neighbourhood were found lyingin confusion about the room. Upon the table was a hurried farewell ofthat General to the scenes of his, discomfiture, written in a Latinworthy of Juan Vargas: "Vale civitas, valete castelli parvi, qui relictiestis propter aquam et non per vim inimicorum!" In his precipitateretreat before the advancing rebels, the Commander had but just foundtime for this elegant effusion, and, for his parting instructions toColonel Borgia that the fortress of Lammen was to be forthwith abandoned. These having been reduced to writing, Valdez had fled so speedily as togive rise to much censure and more scandal. He was even accused of havingbeen bribed by the Hollanders to desert his post, a tale which manyrepeated, and a few believed. On the 4th of October, the day followingthat on which the relief of the city was effected, the wind shifted tothe north-east, and again blew a tempest. It was as if the waters, havingnow done their work, had been rolled back to the ocean by an Omnipotenthand, for in the course of a few days, the land was bare again, and thework of reconstructing the dykes commenced. 

After a brief interval of repose, Leyden had regained its formerposition. The Prince, with advice of the estates, had granted the city, as a reward for its sufferings, a ten days' annual fair, without tolls ortaxes, and as a further manifestation of the gratitude entertained by thepeople of Holland and Zealand for the heroism of the citizens, it wasresolved that an academy or university should be forthwith establishedwithin their walls. The University of Leyden, afterwards so illustrious, was thus founded in the very darkest period of the country's struggle. 

The university was endowed with a handsome revenue, principally derivedfrom the ancient abbey of Egmont, and was provided with a number ofprofessors, selected for their genius, learning, and piety among all themost distinguished scholars of the Netherlands. The document by which theinstitution was founded was certainly a masterpiece of ponderous irony, for as the fiction of the King's sovereignty was still maintained, Philipwas gravely made to establish the university, as a reward to Leyden forrebellion to himself. "Considering, " said this wonderful charter, "thatduring these present wearisome wars within our provinces of Holland andZealand, all good instruction of youth in the sciences and liberal artsis likely to come into entire oblivion. . . . . Considering thedifferences of religion--considering that we are inclined to gratify ourcity of Leyden, with its burghers, on account of the heavy burthenssustained by them during this war with such faithfulness--we haveresolved, after ripely deliberating with our dear cousin, William, Princeof Orange, stadholder, to erect a free public school and university, "etc. , etc. , etc. So ran the document establishing this famous academy, all needful regulations for the government and police of the institutionbeing entrusted by Philip to his "above-mentioned dear cousin of Orange. "

The university having been founded, endowed, and supplied with its, teachers, it was solemnly consecrated in the following winter, and it isagreeable to contemplate this scene of harmless pedantry, interposed, asit was, between the acts of the longest and dreariest tragedy of moderntime. On the 5th of February, 1575, the city of Leyden, so lately thevictim of famine and pestilence, had crowned itself with flowers. Atseven in the morning, after a solemn religious celebration in the Churchof St. Peter, a grand procession was formed. It was preceded by amilitary escort, consisting of the burgher militia and the five companiesof infantry stationed in the city. Then came, drawn by four horses, asplendid triumphal chariot, on which sat a female figure, arrayed insnow-white garments. This was the Holy Gospel. She was attended by theFour Evangelists, who walked on foot at each side of her chariot. Nextfollowed Justice, with sword and scales, mounted; blindfold, upon aunicorn, while those learned doctors, Julian, Papinian, Ulpian, andTribonian, rode on either side, attended by two lackeys and four men atarms. After these came Medicine, on horseback, holding in one hand atreatise of the healing art, in the other a garland of drugs. Thecurative goddess rode between the four eminent physicians, Hippocrates, Galen, Dioscorides, and Theophrastus, and was attended by two footmen andfour pike-bearers. Last of the allegorical personages came Minerva, prancing in complete steel, with lance in rest, and bearing her Medusashield. Aristotle and Plato, Cicero and Virgil, all on horseback, withattendants in antique armor at their back, surrounded the daughter ofJupiter, while the city band, discoursing eloquent music from hautboy andviol, came upon the heels of the allegory. Then followed the mace-bearersand other officials, escorting the orator of the day, the newly-appointedprofessors and doctors, the magistrates and dignitaries, and the body ofthe citizens generally completing the procession. 

Marshalled in this order, through triumphal arches, and over a pavementstrewed with flowers, the procession moved slowly up and down thedifferent streets, and along the quiet canals of the city. As it reachedthe Nuns' Bridge, a barge of triumph, gorgeously decorated, came floatingslowly down the sluggish Rhine. Upon its deck, under a canopy enwreathedwith laurels and oranges, and adorned with tapestry, sat Apollo, attendedby the Nine Muses, all in classical costume; at the helm stood Neptunewith his trident. The Muses executed some beautiful concerted pieces;Apollo twanged his lute. Having reached the landing-place, thisdeputation from Parnassus stepped on shore, and stood awaiting thearrival of the procession. Each professor, as he advanced, was gravelyembraced and kissed by Apollo and all the Nine Muses in turn, who greetedtheir arrival besides with the recitation of an elegant Latin poem. Thisclassical ceremony terminated, the whole procession marched together tothe cloister of Saint Barbara, the place prepared for the new university, where they listened to an eloquent oration by the Rev. Caspar Kolhas, after which they partook of a magnificent banquet. With this memorablefeast, in the place where famine had so lately reigned, the ceremonieswere concluded. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 Crescents in their caps: Rather Turkish than Popish Ever-swarming nurseries of mercenary warriors Weep oftener for her children than is the usual lot of mothers

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC 1566-74, Complete

 1566, the last year of peace Advised his Majesty to bestow an annual bribe upon Lord Burleigh Age when toleration was a vice An age when to think was a crime Angle with their dissimulation as with a hook Beggars of the sea, as these privateersmen designated themselves Business of an officer to fight, of a general to conquer Conde and Coligny Constitutional governments, move in the daylight Consumer would pay the tax, supposing it were ever paid at all Crescents in their caps: Rather Turkish than Popish Cruelties exercised upon monks and papists Deeply criminal in the eyes of all religious parties Dissenters were as bigoted as the orthodox Enthusiasm could not supply the place of experience Envying those whose sufferings had already been terminated Ever-swarming nurseries of mercenary warriors Financial opposition to tyranny is apt to be unanimous For faithful service, evil recompense Furnished, in addition, with a force of two thousand prostitutes God Save the King! It was the last time Great transactions of a reign are sometimes paltry things Great battles often leave the world where they found it Hair and beard unshorn, according to ancient Batavian custom Hanged for having eaten meat-soup upon Friday Having conjugated his paradigm conscientiously He had omitted to execute heretics He came as a conqueror not as a mediator Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the Netherlands Hope deferred, suddenly changing to despair If he had little, he could live upon little Incur the risk of being charged with forwardness than neglect Indignant that heretics had been suffered to hang Insane cruelty, both in the cause of the Wrong and the Right Leave not a single man alive in the city, and to burn every house Luther's axiom, that thoughts are toll-free Meantime the second civil war in France had broken out Not for a new doctrine, but for liberty of conscience Not to let the grass grow under their feet Not strong enough to sustain many more such victories Oldenbarneveld; afterwards so illustrious Only kept alive by milk, which he drank from a woman's breast Only healthy existence of the French was in a state of war Pathetic dying words of Anne Boleyn Provided not one Huguenot be left alive in France Put all those to the torture out of whom anything can be got Questioning nothing, doubting nothing, fearing nothing Saint Bartholomew's day Scepticism, which delights in reversing the judgment of centuries Science of reigning was the science of lying Sent them word by carrier pigeons Seven Spaniards were killed, and seven thousand rebels Sick and wounded wretches were burned over slow fires Slender stock of platitudes So much responsibility and so little power Sometimes successful, even although founded upon sincerity Spendthrift of time, he was an economist of blood The time for reasoning had passed The calf is fat and must be killed The perpetual reproductions of history The greatest crime, however, was to be rich The faithful servant is always a perpetual ass The tragedy of Don Carlos The illness was a convenient one Three hundred fighting women Time and myself are two Tyranny, ever young and ever old, constantly reproducing herself We are beginning to be vexed Wealth was an unpardonable sin Weep oftener for her children than is the usual lot of mothers Who loved their possessions better than their creed Wonder equally at human capacity to inflict and to endure misery

MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, VOLUME III. 

By John Lothrop Motley

1855

1574-1576 [CHAPTER III. ]

 Latter days of the Blood Council--Informal and insincere negotiations for peace--Characteristics of the negotiators and of their diplomatic correspondence--Dr. Junius--Secret conferences between Dr. Leoninus and Orange--Steadfastness of the Prince-- Changes in the internal government of the northern provinces-- Generosity and increasing power of the municipalities--Incipient jealousy in regard to Orange rebuked--His offer of resignation refused by the Estates--His elevation to almost unlimited power-- Renewed mediation of Maximilian--Views and positions of the parties --Advice of Orange--Opening of negotiations at Breda--Propositions and counter-propositions--Adroitness of the plenipotentiaries on both sides--Insincere diplomacy and unsatisfactory results--Union of Holland and Zealand under the Prince of Orange--Act defining his powers--Charlotte de Bourbon--Character, fortunes, and fate of Anna of Saxony--Marriage of Orange with Mademoiselle de Bourbon-- Indignation thereby excited--Horrible tortures inflicted upon Papists by Sonoy in North Holland--Oudewater and Schoonoven taken by Hierges--The isles of Zealand--A submarine expedition projected-- Details of the adventure--Its entire success--Death of Chiappin Vitelli--Deliberations in Holland and Zealand concerning the renunciation of Philip's authority--Declaration at Delft--Doubts as to which of the Great Powers the sovereignty should be offered-- Secret international relations--Mission to England--Unsatisfactory negotiations with Elizabeth--Position of the Grand Commander--Siege of Zieriekzee--Generosity of Count John--Desperate project of the Prince--Death and character of Requesens. 

The Council of Troubles, or, as it will be for ever denominated inhistory, the Council of Blood, still existed, although the GrandCommander, upon his arrival in the Netherlands, had advised his sovereignto consent to the immediate abolition of so odious an institution. Philipaccepting the advice of his governor and his cabinet, had accordinglyauthorized him by a letter of the 10th of March, 1574, to take that stepif he continued to believe it advisable. 

Requesens had made use of this permission to extort money from theobedient portion of the provinces. An assembly of deputies was held atBrussels on the 7th of June, 1574, and there was a tedious interchange ofprotocols, reports, and remonstrances. The estates, not satisfied withthe extinction of a tribunal which had at last worn itself out by its ownviolence, and had become inactive through lack of victims, insisted ongreater concessions. They demanded the departure of the Spanish troops, the establishment of a council of Netherlanders in Spain for Netherlandaffairs, the restoration to offices in the provinces of natives andnatives only; for these drawers of documents thought it possible, at thatepoch, to recover by pedantry what their brethren of Holland and Zealandwere maintaining with the sword. It was not the moment for historicaldisquisition, citations from Solomon, nor chopping of logic; yet withsuch lucubrations were reams of paper filled, and days and weeksoccupied. The result was what might have been expected. The GrandCommander obtained but little money; the estates obtained none of theirdemands; and the Blood Council remained, as it were, suspended inmid-air. It continued to transact business at intervals during theadministration of Requesens, and at last, after nine years of existence, was destroyed by the violent imprisonment of the Council of State atBrussels. This event, however, belongs to a subsequent page of thishistory. 

Noircarmes had argued, from the tenor of Saint Aldegonde's letters, thatthe Prince would be ready to accept his pardon upon almost any terms. Noircarmes was now dead, but Saint Aldegonde still remained in prison, very anxious for his release, and as well disposed as ever to renderservices in any secret negotiation. It will be recollected that, at thecapitulation of Middelburg, it had been distinctly stipulated by thePrince that Colonel Mondragon should at once effect the liberation ofSaint Aldegonde, with certain other prisoners, or himself return intoconfinement. He had done neither the one nor the other. The patriotsstill languished in prison, some of them being subjected to exceedinglyharsh treatment, but Mondragon, although repeatedly summoned as anofficer and a gentleman, by the Prince, to return to captivity, had beenforbidden by the Grand Commander to redeem his pledge. 

Saint Aldegonde was now released from prison upon parole, and despatchedon a secret mission to the Prince and estates. As before, he wasinstructed that two points were to be left untouched--the authority ofthe King and the question of religion. Nothing could be more preposterousthan to commence a negotiation from which the two important points werethus carefully eliminated. The King's authority and the question ofreligion covered the whole ground upon which the Spaniards and theHollanders had been battling for six years, and were destined to battlefor three-quarters of a century longer. Yet, although other affairs mightbe discussed, those two points were to be reserved for the moreconclusive arbitration of gunpowder. The result of negotiations upon sucha basis was easily to be foreseen. Breath, time, and paper were profuselywasted and nothing gained. The Prince assured his friend, as he had donesecret agents previously sent to him, that he was himself ready to leavethe land, if by so doing he could confer upon it the blessing of peace;but that all hopes of reaching a reasonable conclusion from the premisesestablished was futile. The envoy treated also with the estates, andreceived from them in return an elaborate report, which was addressedimmediately to the King. The style of this paper was bold and blunt, itssubstance bitter and indigestible. It informed Philip what he had heardoften enough before, that the Spaniards must go and the exiles come back, the inquisition be abolished and the ancient privileges restored, theRoman Catholic religion renounce its supremacy, and the Reformed religionreceive permission to exist unmolested, before he could call himselfmaster of that little hook of sand in the North Sea. With this paper, which was entrusted to Saint Aldegonde, by him to be delivered to theGrand Commander, who was, after reading it, to forward it to itsdestination, the negotiator returned to his prison. Thence he did notemerge again till the course of events released him, upon the 15th ofOctober, 1574. 

This report was far from agreeable to the Governor, and it became theobject of a fresh correspondence between his confidential agent, Champagny, and the learned and astute Junius de Jonge, representative ofthe Prince of Orange and Governor of Yeere. The communication of De Jongeconsisted of a brief note and a long discourse. The note was sharp andstinging, the discourse elaborate and somewhat pedantic. Unnecessarilyhistorical and unmercifully extended, it was yet bold, bitter, andeloquent: The presence of foreigners was proved to have been, from thebeginning of Philip's reign, the curse of the country. Doctor Sonnius, with his batch of bishops, had sowed the seed of the first disorder. Aprince, ruling in the Netherlands, had no right to turn a deaf ear to thepetitions of his subjects. If he did so, the Hollanders would tell him, as the old woman had told the Emperor Adrian, that the potentate who hadno time to attend to the interests of his subjects, had not leisureenough to be a sovereign. While Holland refused to bow its neck to theInquisition, the King of Spain dreaded the thunder and lightning of thePope. The Hollanders would, with pleasure, emancipate Philip from his ownthraldom, but it was absurd that he, who was himself a slave to anotherpotentate, should affect unlimited control over a free people. It wasPhilip's councillors, not the Hollanders, who were his real enemies; forit was they who held him in the subjection by which his power wasneutralized and his crown degraded. 

It may be supposed that many long pages, conceived in this spirit andexpressed with great vigor, would hardly smooth the way for the moreofficial negotiations which were soon to take place, yet Doctor Juniusfairly and faithfully represented the sentiment of his nation. 

Towards the close of the year, Doctor Elbertus Leoninus, professor ofLouvain, together with Hugo Bonte, ex-pensionary of Middelburg, wascommissioned by the Grand Commander to treat secretly with the Prince. Hewas, however, not found very tractable when the commissioners opened thesubject of his own pardon and reconciliation with the King, and heabsolutely refused to treat at all except with the cooperation of theestates. He, moreover, objected to the use of the word "pardon" on theground that he had never done anything requiring his Majesty'sforgiveness. If adversity should visit him, he cared but little for it;he had lived long enough, he said, and should die with some glory, regretting the disorders and oppressions which had taken place, butconscious that it had not been in his power to remedy them. When remindedby the commissioners of the King's power, he replied that he knew hisMajesty to be very mighty, but that there was a King more powerfulstill--even God the Creator, who, as he humbly hoped, was upon his Side. 

At a subsequent interview with Hugo Bonte, the Prince declared it almostimpossible for himself or the estates to hold any formal communicationwith the Spanish government, as such communications were not safe. Notrust could be reposed either in safe conducts or hostages. Faith hadbeen too often broken by the administration. The promise made by theDuchess of Parma to the nobles, and afterwards violated, the recenttreachery of Mondragon, the return of three exchanged prisoners from theHague, who died next day of poison administered before their release, thefrequent attempts upon his own life--all such constantly recurring crimesmade it doubtful, in the opinion of the Prince, whether it would bepossible to find commissioners to treat with his Majesty's government. All would fear assassination, afterwards to be disavowed by the King andpardoned by the Pope. After much conversation in this vein, the Princegave the Spanish agents warning that he might eventually be obliged toseek the protection of some foreign power for the provinces. In thisconnection he made use of the memorable metaphor, so often repeatedafterwards, that "the country was a beautiful damsel, who certainly didnot lack suitors able and willing to accept her and defend her againstthe world. " As to the matter of religion, he said he was willing to leaveit to be settled by the estates-general; but doubted whether anythingshort of entire liberty of worship would ever satisfy the people. 

Subsequently there were held other conferences, between the Prince andDoctor Leoninus, with a similar result, all attempts proving fruitless toinduce him to abandon his position upon the subject of religion, or toaccept a pardon on any terms save the departure of the foreign troops, the assembling of the estates-general, and entire freedom of religion. Even if he were willing to concede the religious question himself, heobserved that it was idle to hope either from the estates or people ahand's-breadth of concession upon that point. Leoninus was subsequentlyadmitted to a secret conferenc with the estates of Holland, where hisrepresentations were firmly met by the same arguments as those alreadyused by the Prince. 

These proceedings on the part of Saint Aldegonde, Champagny, Junius, andElbertus Leoninus extended through the whole summer and autumn of 1574, and were not terminated until January of the following year. 

Changes fast becoming necessary in the internal government of theprovinces, were also undertaken during this year. Hitherto the Prince hadexercised his power under the convenient fiction of the King's authority, systematically conducting the rebellion in the name of his Majesty, andas his Majesty's stadholder. By this process an immense power was lodgedin his hands; nothing less, indeed, than the supreme executive andlegislative functions of the land; while since the revolt had become, asit were, perpetual, ample but anomalous functions had been additionallythrust upon him by the estates and by the general voice of the people. 

The two provinces, even while deprived of Harlem and Amsterdam, nowraised two hundred and ten thousand florins monthly, whereas Alva hadnever been able to extract from Holland more than two hundred andseventy-one thousand florins yearly. They paid all rather than pay atenth. In consequence of this liberality, the cities insensibly acquireda greater influence in the government. The coming contest between thecentrifugal aristocratic principle, represented by these corporations, and the central popular authority of the stadholder, was alreadyforeshadowed, but at first the estates were in perfect harmony with thePrince. They even urged upon him more power than he desired, and declinedfunctions which he wished them to exercise. On the 7th of September, 1573, it had been formally proposed by the general council to confer aregular and unlimited dictatorship upon him, but in the course of a yearfrom that time, the cities had begun to feel their increasing importance. Moreover, while growing more ambitious, they became less liberal. 

The Prince, dissatisfied with the conduct of the cities, brought thewhole subject before an assembly of the estates of Holland on the 20thOctober, 1574. He stated the inconveniences produced by the anomalouscondition of the government. He complained that the common people hadoften fallen into the error that the money raised for public purposes hadbeen levied for his benefit only, and that they had, therefore, been lesswilling to contribute to the taxes. As the only remedy for these evils, he tendered his resignation of all the powers with which he was clothed, so that the estates might then take the government, which they couldexercise without conflict or control. For himself, he had never desiredpower, except as a means of being useful to his country, and he did notoffer his resignation from unwillingness to stand by the cause, but froma hearty desire to save it from disputes among its friends. He was ready, now as ever, to shed the last drop of his blood to maintain the freedomof the land. 

This straightforward language produced an instantaneous effect. Theestates knew that they were dealing with a man whose life was governed bylofty principles, and they felt that they were in danger of losing himthrough their own selfishness and low ambition. They were embarrassed, for they did not like to, relinquish the authority which they had begunto relish, nor to accept the resignation of a man who was indispensable. They felt that to give up William of Orange at that time was to acceptthe Spanish yoke for ever. At an assembly held at Delft on the 12th ofNovember, 1574, they accordingly requested him "to continue in hisblessed government, with the council established near him, " and for thisend, they formally offered to him, "under the name of Governor or Regent, "absolute power, authority, and sovereign command. In particular, theyconferred on him the entire control of all the ships of war, hithertoreserved to the different cities, together with the right to dispose ofall prizes and all monies raised for the support of fleets. They gave himalso unlimited power over the domains; they agreed that all magistracies, militia bands, guilds, and communities, should make solemn oath tocontribute taxes and to receive garrisons, exactly as the Prince, withhis council, should ordain; but they made it a condition that the estatesshould be convened and consulted upon requests, impositions, and upon allchanges in the governing body. It was also stipulated that the judges ofthe supreme court and of the exchequer, with other high officers, shouldbe appointed by and with the consent of the estates. 

The Prince expressed himself willing to accept the government upon theseterms. He, however, demanded an allowance of forty-five thousand florinsmonthly for the army expenses and other current outlays. Here, however, the estates refused their consent. In a mercantile spirit, unworthy theoccasion and the man with whom they were dealing, they endeavoured tochaffer where they should have been only too willing to comply, and theyattempted to reduce the reasonable demand of the Prince to thirtythousand florins. The Prince, who had poured out his own wealth solavishly in the cause--who, together with his brothers, particularly thegenerous John of Nassau, had contributed all which they could raise bymortgage, sales of jewellery and furniture, and by extensive loans, subjecting themselves to constant embarrassment, and almost to penury, felt himself outraged by the paltriness of this conduct. He expressed hisindignation, and denounced the niggardliness of the estates in thestrongest language, and declared that he would rather leave the countryfor ever, with the maintenance of his own honor, than accept thegovernment upon such disgraceful terms. The estates, disturbed by hisvehemence, and struck with its justice, instantly, and without furtherdeliberation, consented to his demand. They granted the forty-fivethousand florins monthly, and the Prince assumed the government, thusremodelled. 

During the autumn and early winter of the year 1574, the EmperorMaximilian had been actively exerting himself to bring about apacification of the Netherlands. He was certainly sincere, for anexcellent reason. "The Emperor maintains, " said Saint Goard, Frenchambassador at Madrid, "that if peace is not made with the Beggars, theEmpire will depart from the house of Austria, and that such is thedetermination of the electors. " On the other hand, if Philip were notweary of the war, at any rate his means for carrying it on werediminishing daily. Requesens could raise no money in the Netherlands; hissecretary wrote to Spain, that the exchequer was at its last gasp, andthe cabinet of Madrid was at its wits' end, and almost incapable ofraising ways and means. The peace party was obtaining the upper hand; thefierce policy of Alva regarded with increasing disfavor. "The peoplehere, " wrote Saint Goard from Madrid, "are completely desperate, whateverpains they take to put a good face on the matter. They desire mostearnestly to treat, without losing their character. " It seemed, nevertheless, impossible for Philip to bend his neck. The hope of wearingthe Imperial crown had alone made his bigotry feasible. To less potentinfluences it was adamant; and even now, with an impoverished exchequer, and, after seven years of unsuccessful warfare, his purpose was not lessrigid than at first. "The Hollanders demand liberty of conscience, " saidSaint Goard, "to which the King will never consent, or I am muchmistaken. "

As for Orange, he was sincerely in favor of peace--but not a dishonorablepeace, in which should be renounced all the objects of the war. He wasfar from sanguine on the subject, for he read the signs of the times andthe character of Philip too accurately to believe much more in thesuccess of the present than in that of the past efforts of Maximilian. Hewas pleased that his brother-in-law, Count Schwartzburg, had beenselected as the Emperor's agent in the affair, but expressed his doubtswhether much good would come of the proposed negotiations. Rememberingthe many traps which in times past had been set by Philip and his father, he feared that the present transaction might likewise prove a snare. "Wehave not forgotten the words I 'ewig' and 'einig' in the treaty withLandgrave Philip, " he wrote; "at the same time we beg to assure hisImperial Majesty that we desire nothing more than a good peace, tendingto the glory of God, the service of the King of Spain, and the prosperityof his subjects. "

This was his language to his brother, in a letter which was meant to beshown to the Emperor. In another, written on the same day, he explainedhimself with more clearness, and stated his distrust with more energy. There were no papists left, except a few ecclesiastics, he said; so muchhad the number of the Reformers been augmented, through the singulargrace of God. It was out of the question to suppose, therefore, that ameasure, dooming all who were not Catholics to exile, could beentertained. None would change their religion, and none would consent, voluntarily, to abandon for ever their homes, friends, and property. "Such a peace, " he said, "would be poor and pitiable indeed. "

These, then, were the sentiments of the party now about to negotiate. Themediator was anxious for a settlement, because the interests of theImperial house required it. The King of Spain was desirous of peace, butwas unwilling to concede a hair. The Prince of Orange was equally anxiousto terminate the war, but was determined not to abandon the objects forwhich it had been undertaken. A favorable result, therefore, seemedhardly possible. A whole people claimed the liberty to stay at home andpractice the Protestant religion, while their King asserted the right tobanish them for ever, or to burn them if they remained. The partiesseemed too far apart to be brought together by the most elasticcompromise. The Prince addressed an earnest appeal to the assembly ofHolland, then in session at Dort, reminding them that, although peace wasdesirable, it might be more dangerous than war, and entreating them, therefore, to conclude no treaty which should be inconsistent with theprivileges of the country and their duty to God. 

It was now resolved that all the votes of the assembly should consist offive: one for the nobles and large cities of Holland, one for the estatesof Zealand, one for the small cities of Holland, one for the citiesBommel and Buren, and the fifth for William of Orange. The Prince thuseffectually held in his hands three votes: his own, that of the smallcities, which through his means only had been admitted to the assembly, and thirdly, that of Buren, the capital of his son's earldom. He thusexercised a controlling influence over the coming deliberations. The tencommissioners, who were appointed by the estates for the peacenegotiations, were all his friends. Among them were Saint Aldegonde, PaulBuis, Charles Boisot, and Doctor Junius. The plenipotentiaries of theSpanish government were Leoninus, the Seigneur de Rassinghem, CorneliusSuis, and Arnold Sasbout. 

The proceedings were opened at Breda upon the 3rd of March, 1575. Theroyal commissioners took the initiative, requesting to be informed whatcomplaints the estates had to make, and offering to remove, if possible, all grievances which they might be suffering. The states' commissionersreplied that they desired nothing, in the first place, but an answer tothe petition which they had already presented to the King. This was thepaper placed in the hands of Saint Aldegonde during the informalnegotiations of the preceding year. An answer was accordingly given, butcouched in such vague and general language as to be quite withoutmeaning. The estates then demanded a categorical reply to the twoprincipal demands in the petition, namely, the departure of the foreigntroops and the assembling of the states-general. They, were asked whatthey understood by foreigners and by the assembly of states-general. Theyreplied that by foreigners they meant those who were not natives, andparticularly the Spaniards. By the estates-general they meant the samebody before which, in 1555, Charles had resigned his sovereignty toPhilip. The royal commissioners made an extremely unsatisfactory answer, concluding with a request that all cities, fortresses, and castles, thenin the power of the estates, together with all their artillery andvessels of war, should be delivered to the King. The Roman Catholicworship, it was also distinctly stated, was to be re-established at onceexclusively throughout the Netherlands; those of the Reformed religionreceiving permission, for that time only, to convert their property intocash within a certain time, and to depart the country. 

Orange and the estates made answer on the 21st March. It could not becalled hard, they said, to require the withdrawal of the Spanish troops, for this had been granted in 1559, for less imperious reasons. Theestates had, indeed, themselves made use of foreigners, but thoseforeigners had never been allowed to participate in the government. Withregard to the assembly of the states-general, that body had alwaysenjoyed the right of advising with the Sovereign on the condition of thecountry, and on general measures of government. Now it was only thoughtnecessary to summon them, in order that they might give their consent tothe King's "requests. " Touching the delivery of cities and citadels, artillery and ships, the proposition was, pronounced to resemble thatmade by the wolves to the sheep, in the fable--that the dogs should bedelivered up, as a preliminary to a lasting peace. It was unreasonable torequest the Hollanders to abandon their religion or their country. Thereproach of heresy was unjust, for they still held to the CatholicApostolic Church, wishing only to purify, it of its abuses. Moreover, itwas certainly more cruel to expel a whole population than to dismissthree or four thousand Spaniards who for seven long years had been eatingtheir fill at the expense of the provinces. It would be impossible forthe exiles to dispose of their property, for all would, by the proposedmeasure, be sellers, while there would be no purchasers. 

The royal plenipotentiaries, making answer to this communication upon the1st of April, signified a willingness that the Spanish soldiers shoulddepart, if the states would consent to disband their own foreign troops. They were likewise in favor of assembling the states-general, but couldnot permit any change in the religion of the country. His Majesty hadsworn to maintain the true worship at the moment of assuming thesovereignty. The dissenters might, however, be allowed a period of sixmonths in which to leave the land, and eight or ten years for the sale oftheir property. After the heretics had all departed, his Majesty did notdoubt that trade and manufactures would flourish again, along with theold religion. As for the Spanish inquisition, there was not, and therenever had been, any intention of establishing it in the Netherlands. 

No doubt there was something specious in this paper. It appeared tocontain considerable concessions. The Prince and estates had claimed thedeparture of the Spaniards. It was now promised that they should depart. They had demanded the assembling of the states-general. It was nowpromised that they should assemble. They had denounced the inquisition. It was now averred that the Spanish inquisition was not to beestablished. 

Nevertheless, the commissioners of the Prince were not deceived by suchartifices. There was no parity between the cases of the Spanish soldieryand of the troops in service of the estates. To assemble theestates-general was idle, if they were to be forbidden the settlement ofthe great question at issue. With regard to the Spanish inquisition, itmattered little whether the slaughter-house were called Spanish orFlemish, or simply the Blood-Council. It was, however, necessary for thestates' commissioners to consider their reply very carefully; for theroyal plenipotentiaries had placed themselves upon specious grounds. Itwas not enough to feel that the King's government was paltering withthem; it was likewise necessary for the states' agents to impress thisfact upon the people. 

There was a pause in the deliberations. Meantime, Count Schwartzburg, reluctantly accepting the conviction that the religious question was aninsurmountable obstacle to a peace, left the provinces for Germany. Thelast propositions of the government plenipotentiaries had been discussedin the councils of the various cities, so that the reply of the Prince, and estates was delayed until the 1st of June. They admitted, in thiscommunication, that the offer to restore ancient privileges had anagreeable sound; but regretted that if the whole population were to bebanished, there would be but few to derive advantage from therestoration. If the King would put an end to religious persecution, hewould find as much loyalty in the provinces as his forefathers had found. It was out of the question, they said, for the states to disarm and todeliver up their strong places, before the Spanish soldiery had retired, and before peace had been established. It was their wish to leave thequestion of religion, together with all other disputed matters, to thedecision of the assembly. Were it possible, in the meantime, to deviseany effectual method for restraining hostilities, it would gladly beembraced. 

On the 8th of July, the royal commissioners inquired what guarantee thestates would be willing to give, that the decision of the generalassembly, whatever it might be, should be obeyed. The demand was answeredby another, in which the King's agents were questioned as to their ownguarantees. Hereupon it was stated that his Majesty would give his wordand sign manual, together with the word and signature of the Emperor intothe bargain. In exchange for these promises, the Prince and estates wereexpected to give their own oaths and seals, together with a number ofhostages. Over and above this, they were requested to deliver up thecities of Brill and Enkhuizen, Flushing and Arnemuyde. The disparity ofsuch guarantees was ridiculous. The royal word, even when strengthened bythe imperial promise, and confirmed by the autographs of Philip andMaximilian, was not so solid a security, in the opinion of Netherlanders, as to outweigh four cities in Holland and Zealand, with all theirpopulation and wealth. To give collateral pledges and hostages upon oneside, while the King offered none, was to assign a superiority to theroyal word, over that of the Prince and the estates which there was nodisposition to recognize. Moreover, it was very cogently urged that togive up the cities was to give as security for the contract, some of theprincipal contracting parties. 

This closed the negotiations. The provincial plenipotentiaries took theirleave by a paper dated 13th July, 1575, which recapitulated the mainincidents of the conference. They expressed their deep regret that hisMajesty should insist so firmly on the banishment of the Reformers, forit was unjust to reserve the provinces to the sole use of a small numberof Catholics. They lamented that the proposition which had been made, torefer the religious question to the estates, had neither been loyallyaccepted, nor candidly refused. They inferred, therefore, that the objectof the royal government had, been to amuse the states, while tine wasthus gained for reducing the country into a slavery more abject than anywhich had yet existed. On the other hand, the royal commissioners assolemnly averred that the whole responsibility for the failure of thenegotiations belonged to the, estates. 

It was the general opinion in the insurgent provinces that the governmenthad been insincere from the beginning, and had neither expected nordesired to conclude a peace. It is probable, however, that Philip wassincere; so far as it could be called sincerity to be willing to concludea peace, if the provinces would abandon the main objects of the war. Withhis impoverished exchequer, and ruin threatening his whole empire, ifthis mortal combat should be continued many years longer, he could haveno motive for further bloodshed, provided all heretics should consent toabandon the country. As usual, however, he left his agents in the dark asto his real intentions. Even Requesens was as much in doubt as to theKing's secret purposes as Margaret of Parma had ever been in formertimes. 

 [Compare the remarks of Groen v. Prinst. , Archives, etc. , v 259- 262; Bor, viii. 606, 615; Meteren, v. 100; Hoofd, g. 410. --Count John of Nassau was distrustful and disdainful from the beginning. Against his brother's loyalty and the straightforward intentions of the estates, he felt that the whole force of the Macchiavelli system of policy would be brought to bear with great effect. He felt that the object of the King's party was to temporize, to confuse, and to deceive. He did not believe them capable of conceding the real object in dispute, but he feared lest they might obscure the judgment of the plain and well meaning people with whom they had to deal. Alluding to the constant attempts made to poison himself and his brother, he likens the pretended negotiations to Venetian drugs, by which eyesight, hearing, feeling, and intellect were destroyed. Under this pernicious influence, the luckless people would not perceive the fire burning around them, but would shrink at a rustling leaf. Not comprehending then the tendency of their own acts, they would "lay bare their own backs to the rod, and bring faggots for their own funeral pile. "-Archives, etc. , v. 131-137. ]

Moreover, the Grand Commander and the government had, after all, made agreat mistake in their diplomacy. The estates of Brabant, althoughstrongly desirous that the Spanish troops should be withdrawn, wereequally stanch for the maintenance of the Catholic religion, and many ofthe southern provinces entertained the same sentiments. Had the Governor, therefore, taken the states' commissioners at their word, and left thedecision of the religious question to the general assembly, he mightperhaps have found the vote in his favor. In this case, it is certainthat the Prince of Orange and his party would have been placed in a veryawkward position. 

The internal government of the insurgent provinces had remained upon thefooting which we have seen established in the autumn of 1574, but in thecourse of this summer (1575), however, the foundation was laid for theunion of Holland and Zealand, under the authority of Orange. The selfishprinciple of municipal aristocracy, which had tended to keep asunderthese various groups of cities, was now repressed by the energy of thePrince and the strong determination of the people. 

In April, 1575, certain articles of union between Holland and Zealandwere proposed, and six commissioners appointed to draw up an ordinancefor the government of the two provinces. This ordinance was accepted ingeneral assembly of both. It was in twenty articles. It declared that, during the war the Prince as sovereign, should have absolute power in allmatters concerning the defence of the country. He was to appoint militaryofficers, high and low, establish and remove garrisons, punish offendersagainst the laws of war. He was to regulate the expenditure of all moneyvoted by the estates. He was to maintain the law, in the King's name, asCount of Holland, and to appoint all judicial officers upon nominationsby the estates. He was, at the usual times, to appoint and renew themagistracies of the cities, according to their constitutions. He was toprotect the exercise of the Evangelical Reformed religion, and tosuppress the exercise of the Roman religion, without permitting, however, that search should be made into the creed of any person. A deliberativeand executive council, by which the jealousy of the corporations hadintended to hamper his government, did not come into more than nominalexistence. 

The articles of union having been agreed upon, the Prince, desiring anunfettered expression of the national will, wished the ordinance to belaid before the people in their primary assemblies. The estates, however, were opposed to this democratic proceeding. They represented that it hadbeen customary to consult; after the city magistracies, only the captainsof companies and the deans of guilds on matters of government. ThePrince, yielding the point, the captains of companies and deans of guildsaccordingly alone united with the aristocratic boards in ratifying theinstrument by which his authority over the two united provinces wasestablished. On the 4th of June this first union was solemnized. 

Upon the 11th of July, the Prince formally accepted the government. He, however, made an essential change in a very important clause of theordinance. In place of the words, the "Roman religion, " he insisted thatthe words, "religion at variance with the Gospel, " should be substitutedin the article by which he was enjoined to prohibit the exercise of suchreligion. This alteration rebuked the bigotry which had already grown outof the successful resistance to bigotry, and left the door open for ageneral religious toleration. 

Early in this year the Prince had despatched Saint Aldegonde on a privatemission to the Elector Palatine. During some of his visits to thatpotentate he had seen at Heidelberg the Princess Charlotte of Bourbon. That lady was daughter of the Due de Montpensier, the most ardent of theCatholic Princes of France, and the one who at the conferences of Bayonnehad been most indignant at the Queen Dowager's hesitation to uniteheartily with the, schemes of Alva and Philip for the extermination ofthe Huguenots. His daughter, a woman of beauty, intelligence, and virtue, forced before the canonical age to take the religious vows, had beenplaced in the convent of Joliarrs, of which she had become Abbess. Alwayssecretly inclined to the Reformed religion, she had fled secretly fromher cloister, in the year of horrors 1572, and had found refuge at thecourt of the Elector Palatine, after which step her father refused toreceive her letters, to contribute a farthing to her support, or even toacknowledge her claims upon him by a single line or message of affection. 

Under these circumstances the outcast princess, who had arrived at theyears of maturity, might be considered her own mistress, and she wasneither morally nor legally bound, when her hand was sought in marriageby the great champion of the Reformation, to ask the consent of a parentwho loathed her religion and denied her existence. The legality of thedivorce from Anne of Saxony had been settled by a full expression of theecclesiastical authority which she most respected;

 [Acte de, cinq Ministres du St. Evangile par lequel ils declarent le mariage du Prince d'Orange etre legitime. --Archives, etc. , v. 216- 226. ]

the facts upon which the divorce had been founded having been provedbeyond peradventure. 

Nothing, in truth, could well be more unfortunate in its results than thefamous Saxon marriage, the arrangements for which had occasioned so muchpondering to Philip, and so much diplomatic correspondence on the part ofhigh personages in Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. Certainly, it wasof but little consequence to what church the unhappy Princess belonged, and they must be lightly versed in history or in human nature who canimagine these nuptials to have exercised any effect upon the religious orpolitical sentiments of Orange. The Princess was of a stormy, ill-regulated nature; almost a lunatic from the beginning. The dislikewhich succeeded to her fantastic fondness for the Prince, as well as hergeneral eccentricity, had soon become the talk of all the court atBrussels. She would pass week after week without emerging from herchamber, keeping the shutters closed and candles burning, day and night. She quarrelled violently, with Countess Egmont for precedence, so thatthe ludicrous contentions of the two ladies in antechambers and doorwayswere the theme and the amusement of society. Her insolence, not only inprivate but in public, towards her husband became intolerable: "I couldnot do otherwise than bear it with sadness and patience, " said thePrince, with great magnanimity, "hoping that with age would comeimprovement. " Nevertheless, upon one occasion, at a supper party, she hadused such language in the presence of Count Horn and many other nobles, "that all wondered that he could endure the abusive terms which sheapplied to him. "

When the clouds gathered about him, when he had become an exile and awanderer, her reproaches and her violence increased. The sacrifice oftheir wealth, the mortgages and sales which he effected of his estates, plate, jewels, and furniture, to raise money for the struggling country, excited her bitter resentment. She separated herself from him by degrees, and at last abandoned him altogether. Her temper became violent toferocity. She beat her servants with her hands and with clubs; shethreatened the lives of herself, of her attendants, of Count John ofNassau, with knives and daggers, and indulged in habitual profanity andblasphemy, uttering frightful curses upon all around. Her originaltendency to intemperance had so much increased, that she was often unableto stand on her feet. A bottle of wine, holding more than a quart, in themorning, and another in the evening, together with a pound of sugar, washer usual allowance. She addressed letters to Alva complaining that herhusband had impoverished himself "in his good-for-nothing Beggar war, "and begging the Duke to furnish her with a little ready money and withthe means of arriving at the possession of her dower. 

An illicit connexion with a certain John Rubens, an exiled magistrate ofAntwerp, and father of the celebrated painter, completed the list of herdelinquencies, and justified the marriage of the Prince with Charlotte deBourbon. It was therefore determined by the Elector of Saxony and theLandgrave William to remove her from the custody of the Nassaus. Thistook place with infinite difficulty, at the close of the year 1575. Already, in 1572; Augustus had proposed to the Landgrave that she shouldbe kept in solitary confinement, and that a minister should preach to herdaily through the grated aperture by which her, food was to be admitted. The Landgrave remonstrated at so inhuman a proposition, which was, however, carried into effect. The wretched Princess, now completely alunatic, was imprisoned in the electoral palace, in a chamber where thewindows were walled up and a small grating let into the upper part of thedoor. Through this wicket came her food, as well as the words of the holyman appointed to preach daily for her edification. 

Two years long, she endured this terrible punishment, and died mad, onthe 18th of December, 1577. On the following day, she was buried in theelectoral tomb at Meissen; a pompous procession of "school children, clergy, magistrates, nobility, and citizens" conducting her to that restof which she could no longer be deprived by the cruelty of man nor herown violent temperament. 

 [It can certainly be considered no violation of the sanctity of archives to make these slender allusions to a tale, the main features of which have already been published, not only by MM. Groan v. Prinsterer and Bakhuyzen, in Holland, but by the Saxon Professor Bottiger, in Germany. It is impossible to understand the character and career of Orange, and his relations with Germany, without a complete view of the Saxon marriage. The extracts from the "geomantic letters" of Elector Augustus, however, given in Bottiger (Hist. Taschenb. 1836, p. 169-173), with their furious attacks upon the Prince and upon Charlotte of Bourbon, seem to us too obscene to be admitted, even in a note to these pages, and in a foreign language. ]

So far, therefore, as the character of Mademoiselle de Bourbon and thelegitimacy of her future offspring were concerned, she received ampleguarantees. For the rest, the Prince, in a simple letter, informed herthat he was already past his prime, having reached his forty-second year, and that his fortune was encumbered not only with settlements for his, children by previous marriages, but by debts contracted in the cause ofhis oppressed country. A convention of doctors and bishops of France;summoned by the Duc de Montpensier, afterwards confirmed the opinion thatthe conventual vows of the Princess Charlotte had been conformableneither to the laws of France nor to the canons of the Trent Council. Shewas conducted to Brill by Saint Aldegonde, where she was received by herbridegroom, to whom she was united on the 12th of June. The weddingfestival was held at Dort with much revelry and holiday making, "butwithout dancing. "

In this connexion, no doubt the Prince consulted his inclination only. Eminently domestic in his habits, he required the relief of companionshipat home to the exhausting affairs which made up his life abroad. Foryears he had never enjoyed social converse, except at long intervals, with man or woman; it was natural, therefore, that he should contractthis marriage. It was equally natural that he should make many enemies byso impolitic a match. The Elector Palatine, who was in place of guardianto the bride, decidedly disapproved, although he was suspected offavoring the alliance. The Landgrave of Hesse for a time was furious; theElector of Saxony absolutely delirious with rage. The Diet of the Empirewas to be held within a few weeks at Frankfort, where it was very certainthat the outraged and influential Elector would make his appearance, overflowing with anger, and determined to revenge upon the cause of theNetherland Reformation the injury which he had personally received. Eventhe wise, considerate, affectionate brother, John of Nassau, consideredthe marriage an act of madness. He did what he could, by argument andentreaty, to dissuade the Prince from its completion; although heafterwards voluntarily confessed that the Princess Charlotte had beendeeply calumniated, and was an inestimable treasure to his brother. TheFrench government made use of the circumstance to justify itself in astill further alienation from the cause of the Prince than it hadhitherto manifested, but this was rather pretence than reality. 

It was not in the nature of things, however, that the Saxon and Hessianindignation could be easily allayed. The Landgrave was extremely violent. "Truly, I cannot imagine, " he wrote to the Elector of Saxony, "quoconsilio that wiseacre of an Aldegonde, and whosoever else has beenaiding and abetting, have undertaken this affair. Nam si pietatemrespicias, it is to be feared that, considering she is a Frenchwoman, anun, and moreover a fugitive nun, about whose chastity there has beenconsiderable question, the Prince has got out of the frying-pan into thefire. Si formam it is not to be supposed that it was her beauty whichcharmed him, since, without doubt, he must be rather frightened thandelighted, when he looks upon her. Si spem prolis, the Prince hascertainly only too many heirs already, and ought to wish that he hadneither wife nor children. Si amicitiam, it is not to be supposed, whileher father expresses himself in such threatening language with regard toher, that there will be much cordiality of friendship on his part. Letthem look to it, then, lest it fare with them no better than with theAdmiral, at his Paris wedding; for those gentlemen can hardly forgivesuch injuries, sine mercurio et arsenico sublimato. "

The Elector of Saxony was frantic with choler, and almost ludicrous inthe vehemence of its expression. Count John was unceasing in hisexhortations to his brother to respect the sensitiveness of theseimportant personages, and to remember how much good and how much evil itwas in their power to compass, with regard to himself and to the greatcause of the Protestant religion. He reminded him, too, that the divorcehad not been, and would not be considered impregnable as to form, andthat much discomfort and detriment was likely to grow out of the wholeproceeding, for himself and his family. The Prince, however, wasimmovable in his resolution, and from the whole tone of hiscorrespondence and deportment it was obvious that his marriage was onerather of inclination than of policy. "I can assure you, my brother, " hewrote to Count John, "that my character has always tended to this--tocare neither for words nor menaces in any matter where I can act with aclear conscience, and without doing injury to my neighbour. Truly, if Ihad paid regard to the threats of princes, I should never have embarkedin so many dangerous affairs, contrary to the will of the King, mymaster, in times past, and even to the advice of many of my relatives andfriends. "

The evil consequences which had been foreseen were not slow to manifestthemselves. There was much discussion of the Prince's marriage at theDiet of Frankfort, and there was even a proposition, formally to declarethe Calvinists excluded in Germany from the benefits of the Peace ofPassau. The Archduke Rudolph was soon afterwards elected King of theRomans and of Bohemia, although hitherto, according to the policy of thePrince of Orange, and in the expectation of benefit to the cause of theReformation in Germany and the Netherlands, there has been a strongdisposition to hold out hopes to Henry the Third, and to excite the fearsof Maximilian. 

While these important affairs, public and private, had been occurring inthe south of Holland and in Germany, a very nefarious transaction haddisgraced the cause of the patriot party in the northern quarter. Diedrich Sonoy, governor of that portion of Holland, a man of greatbravery but of extreme ferocity of character, had discovered an extensiveconspiracy among certain of the inhabitants, in aid of an approachingSpanish invasion. Bands of land-loupers had been employed, according tothe intimation which he had received or affected to have received, to setfire to villages and towns in every direction, to set up beacons, and toconduct a series of signals by which the expeditions about to beorganized were to be furthered in their objects. The Governor, determinedto show that the Duke of Alva could not be more prompt nor more terriblethan himself, improvised, of his own authority, a tribunal in imitationof the infamous Blood-Council. Fortunately for the character of thecountry, Sonoy was not a Hollander, nor was the jurisdiction of thisnewly established court allowed to extend beyond very narrow limits. Eight vagabonds were, however, arrested and doomed to tortures the mosthorrible, in order to extort from them confessions implicating persons ofhigher position in the land than themselves. Seven, after a few turns ofthe pulley and the screw, confessed all which they were expected toconfess, and accused all whom they were requested to accuse. The eighthwas firmer, and refused to testify to the guilt of certain respectablehouseholders, whose names he had, perhaps, never heard, and against whomthere was no shadow of evidence. He was, however, reduced by three hoursand a half of sharp torture to confess, entirely according to theirorders, so that accusations and evidence were thus obtained againstcertain influential gentlemen of the province, whose only crime was asecret adherence to the Catholic Faith. 

The eight wretches who had been induced by promises of unconditionalpardon upon one hand, and by savage torture on the other, to bear thisfalse witness, were condemned to be burned alive, and on their way to thestake, they all retracted the statements which had only been extortedfrom them by the rack. Nevertheless, the individuals who had been thusdesignated, were arrested. Charged with plotting a general conflagrationof the villages and farmhouses, in conjunction with an invasion byHierges and other Papist generals, they indignantly protested theirinnocence; but two of them, a certain Kopp Corneliszoon, and his son, Nanning Koppezoon, were selected to undergo the most cruel torture whichhad yet been practised in the Netherlands. Sonoy, to his eternal shame, was disposed to prove that human ingenuity to inflict human misery hadnot been exhausted in the chambers of the Blood Council, for it was to beshown that Reformers were capable of giving a lesson even to inquisitorsin this diabolical science. Kopp, a man advanced in years, was torturedduring a whole day. On the following morning he was again brought to therack, but the old man was too weak to endure all the agony which histormentors had provided for him. Hardly had he been placed upon the bedof torture than he calmly expired, to the great indignation of thetribunal. "The Devil has broken his neck and carried him off to hell, "cried they ferociously. "Nevertheless, that shall not prevent him frombeing hung and quartered. " This decree of impotent vengeance wasaccordingly executed. The son of Kopp, however, Nanning Koppezoon, was aman in the full vigor of his years. He bore with perfect fortitude aseries of incredible tortures, after which, with his body singed fromhead to heel, and his feet almost entirely flayed, he was left for sixweeks to crawl about his dungeon on his knees. He was then brought backto the torture-room, and again stretched upon the rack, while a largeearthen vessel, made for the purpose, was placed, inverted, upon hisnaked body. A number of rats were introduced under this cover, and hotcoals were heaped upon the vessel, till the rats, rendered furious by theheat, gnawed into the very bowels of the victim, in their agony toescape. 

 [Bor (viii. 628) conscientiously furnishes diagrams of the machinery by aid of which this devilish cruelty was inflicted. The rats were sent by the Governor himself. --Vide Letter of the Commissioners to Sonoy, apud Bor, viii. 640, 641. The whole letter is a wonderful monument of barbarity. The incredible tortures to which the poor creatures had been subjected are detailed in a business-like manner, as though the transactions were quite regular and laudable, The Commissioners conclude with pious wishes for the Governor's welfare: "Noble, wise, virtuous, and very discreet sir, " they say, "we have wished to apprise you of the foregoing, and we now pray that God Almighty may spare you in a happy, healthy and long-continued government"--It will be seen, however, that the wise, virtuous, and very discreet Governor, who thus caused his fellow- citizens bowels to be gnawed by rats, was not allowed to remain much longer in his "happy and healthy government"]

The holes thus torn in his bleeding flesh were filled with red-hot coals. He was afterwards subjected to other tortures too foul to relate; nor wasit till he had endured all this agony, with a fortitude which seemedsupernatural, that he was at last discovered to be human. Scorched;bitten, dislocated in every joint, sleepless, starving, perishing withthirst, he was at last crushed into a false confession, by a promise ofabsolute forgiveness. He admitted everything which was brought to hischarge, confessing a catalogue of contemplated burnings and beaconfirings of which he had never dreamed, and avowing himself in league withother desperate Papists, still more dangerous than himself. 

Notwithstanding the promises of pardon, Nanning was then condemned todeath. The sentence ordained that his heart should be torn from hisliving bosom, and thrown in his face, after which his head was to betaken off and exposed on the church steeple of his native village. Hisbody was then to be cut in four, and a quarter fastened upon differenttowers of the city of Alkmaar, for it was that city, recently so famousfor its heroic resistance to the Spanish army, which was now sullied byall this cold-blooded atrocity. When led to execution, the victimrecanted indignantly the confessions forced from him by weakness of body, and exonerated the persons whom he had falsely accused. A certainclergyman, named Jurian Epeszoon, endeavored by loud praying to drown hisvoice, that the people might not rise with indignation, and the dyingprisoner with his last breath solemnly summoned this unworthy pastor ofChrist Jo meet him within three days before the judgment-seat of God. Itis a remarkable and authentic fact, that the clergyman thus summoned, went home pensively from the place of execution, sickened immediately anddied upon the appointed day. 

Notwithstanding this solemn recantation, the, persons accused werearrested, and in their turn subjected to torture, but the affair nowreached the ears of Orange. His peremptory orders, with the universalexcitement produced in the neighbourhood, at last checked the course ofthe outrage, and the accused persons were remanded to prison, where theyremained till liberated by the Pacification of Ghent. After their releasethey commenced legal proceedings against Sonoy, with a view ofestablishing their own innocence, and of bringing the inhuman functionaryto justice. The process languished, however, and was finally abandoned, for the powerful Governor had rendered such eminent service in the causeof liberty, that it was thought unwise to push him to extremity. It is noimpeachment upon the character of the Prince that these horrible crimeswere not prevented. It was impossible for him to be omnipresent. Neitheris it just to consider the tortures and death thus inflicted uponinnocent men an indelible stain upon the cause of liberty. They were thecrimes of an individual who had been useful, but who, like the Count Dela Marck, had now contaminated his hand with the blood of the guiltless. The new tribunal never took root, and was abolished as soon as itsinitiatory horrors were known. 

On the 19th of July, Oudewater, entirely unprepared for such an event, was besieged by Hierges, but the garrison and the population, althoughweak, were brave. The town resisted eighteen days, and on the 7th ofAugust was carried by assault, after which the usual horrors were fullypractised, after which the garrison was put to the sword, and thetownspeople fared little better. Men, women, and children were murderedin cold blood, or obliged to purchase their lives by heavy ransoms, whilematrons and maids were sold by auction to the soldiers at two or threedollars each. Almost every house in the city was burned to the ground, and these horrible but very customary scenes having been enacted, thearmy of Hierges took its way to Schoonhoven. That city, not defendingitself, secured tolerable terms of capitulation, and surrendered on the24th of August. 

The Grand Commander had not yet given up the hope of naval assistancefrom Spain, notwithstanding the abrupt termination to the last expeditionwhich had been organized. It was, however, necessary that a footholdshould be recovered upon the seaboard, before a descent from withoutcould be met with proper co-operation from the land forces withal; and hewas most anxious, therefore, to effect the reconquest of some portion ofZealand. The island of Tholen was still Spanish, and had been so sincethe memorable expedition of Mondragon to South Beveland. From thisinterior portion of the archipelago the Governor now determined toattempt an expedition against the outer and more important territory. Thethree principal islands were Tholen; Duiveland, and Sehouwen. Tholen wasthe first which detached itself from the continent. Neat, and separatedfrom it by a bay two leagues in width, was Duiveland, or the Isle ofDoves. Beyond, and parted by a narrower frith, was Schouwen, frontingdirectly upon the ocean, fortified by its strong capital city;Zieriekzee, and containing other villages of inferior consequence. 

Requesens had been long revolving in his mind the means of possessinghimself of this important, island. He had caused to be constructed, anumerous armada of boats and light vessels of various dimensions, and henow came to Tholew to organize the expedition. His prospects were atfirst not flattering, for the gulfs and estuaries swarmed with Zealandvessels, manned by crews celebrated for their skill and audacity. Traitors, however, from Zealand itself now came forward to teach theSpanish Commander how to strike at the heart of their own country. Theserefugees explained to Requesens that a narrow flat extended under the seafrom Philipsland, a small and uninhabited islet situate close to Tholen, as far as the shore of Duiveland. Upon this submerged tongue of land thewater, during ebb-tide, was sufficiently shallow to be waded, and itwould therefore be possible for a determined band, under cover of thenight, to make the perilous passage. Once arrived at Duiveland, theycould more easily cross the intervening creek to Schouwen, which was notso deep and only half as wide, so that a force thus, sent through thesedangerous shallows, might take possession of Duiveland and lay siege toZierickzee, in the very teeth of the Zealand fleet, which would be unableto sail near enough to intercept their passage. 

The Commander determined that the enterprise should be attempted. It wasnot a novelty, because Mondragon, as we have seen, had already mostbrilliantly conducted a very similar expedition. The present was, however, a much more daring scheme. The other exploit, althoughsufficiently hazardous, and entirely, successful, had been a victorygained over the sea alone. It had been a surprise, and had been effectedwithout any opposition from human enemies. Here, however, they were todeal, not only with the ocean and darkness, but with a watchful anddetermined foe. The Zealanders were aware that the enterprise was incontemplation, and their vessels lay about the contiguous waters inconsiderable force. Nevertheless, the determination of the GrandCommander was hailed with enthusiasm by his troops. Having satisfiedhimself by personal experiment that the enterprise was possible, and thattherefore his brave soldiers could accomplish it, he decided that theglory of the achievement should be fairly shared, as before, among thedifferent nations which served the King. 

After completing his preparations, Requesens came to Tholen, at whichrendezvous were assembled three thousand infantry, partly Spaniards, partly Germans, partly Walloons. Besides these, a picked corps of twohundred sappers and miners was to accompany the expedition, in order thatno time might be lost in fortifying themselves as soon as they had seizedpossession of Schouwen. Four hundred mounted troopers were, moreover, stationed in the town of Tholen, while the little fleet, which had beenprepared at Antwerp; lay near that city ready to co-operate with the landforce as soon as they, should complete their enterprise. The GrandCommander now divided the whole force into two parts: One half was toremain in the boats, under the command of Mondragon; the other half, accompanied by the two hundred pioneers, were to wade through the seafrom Philipsland to Duiveland and Schouwen. Each soldier of thisdetachment was provided with a pair of shoes, two pounds of powder, andrations for three days in a canvas bag suspended at his neck. The leaderof this expedition was Don Osorio d'Ulloa, an officer distinguished forhis experience and bravery. 

On the night selected for the enterprise, that of the 27th September, themoon was a day old in its fourth quarter, and rose a little beforetwelve. It was low water at between four and five in the morning. TheGrand Commander, at the appointed hour of midnight, crossed toPhilipsland, and stood on the shore to watch the setting forth of thelittle army. He addressed a short harangue to them, in which heskillfully struck the chords of Spanish chivalry, and the national loveof glory, and was answered with loud and enthusiastic cheers. Don Osoriod'Ulloa then stripped and plunged into the sea immediately after theguides. He was followed by the Spaniards, after whom came the Germans andthen the Walloons. The two hundred sappers and miners came next, and DonGabriel Peralta, with his Spanish company; brought up the rear. It was awild night. Incessant lightning, alternately revealed and obscured theprogress of the midnight march through the black waters, as the anxiousCommander watched the expedition from the shore, but the soldiers werequickly swallowed up in the gloom. As they advanced cautiously, two bytwo, the daring adventurers found themselves soon nearly up to theirnecks in the waves, while so narrow was the submerged bank along whichthey were marching, that a misstep to the right or left was fatal. Luckless individuals repeatedly sank to rise no more. Meantime, as thesickly light, of the waning moon came forth at intervals through thestormy clouds the soldiers could plainly perceive the files of Zealandvessels through which they were to march, and which were anchored asclose to the flat as the water would allow. Some had recklessly strandedthemselves, in their eagerness to interrupt the passage, of the troops, and the artillery played unceasingly from the larger vessels. Dischargesof musketry came continually from all, but the fitful lightning renderedthe aim difficult and the fire comparatively harmless while the Spaniardswere, moreover, protected, as to a large part of their bodies, by thewater in which they were immersed. 

At times; they halted for breath, or to engage in fierce skirmishes withtheir nearest assailants. Standing breast-high in the waves, andsurrounded at intervals by total darkness, they were yet able to pour anoccasional well-directed volley into the hostile ranks. The Zealanders, however, did, not assail them with fire-arms alone. They transfixed somewith their fatal harpoons; they dragged others from the path withboathooks; they beat out the brains of others with heavy flails. Manywere the mortal duels thus fought in the darkness, and, as it were, inthe bottom of the sea; many were the deeds of audacity which no eye wasto mark save those by whom they were achieved. Still, in spite of allimpediments and losses, the Spaniards steadily advanced. If other armsproved less available, they were attached by the fierce taunts andinvectives of their often invisible foes who reviled them as water-dogs, fetching and carrying for a master who despised them; as mercenaries whocoined their blood for gold, and were employed by tyrants for the basestuses. If stung by these mocking voices, they turned in the darkness tochastise their unseen tormentors, they were certain to be trampled uponby their comrades, and to be pushed from their narrow pathway into thedepths of the sea. Thus many perished. 

The night wore on, and the adventurers still fought it out manfully, butvery slowly, the main body of Spaniards, Germans, and Walloons, soonafter daylight, reaching the opposite shore, having sustainedconsiderable losses, but in perfect order. The pioneers were not sofortunate. The tide rose over them before they could effect theirpassage, and swept nearly every one away. The rearguard, under Peralta, not surprised, like the pioneers, in the middle of their passage, by therising tide, but prevented, before it was too late; from advancing farbeyond the shore from which they had departed were fortunately enabled toretrace their steps. 

Don Osorio, at the head of the successful adventurers, now effected hislanding upon Duiveland. Reposing themselves but for an instant after thisunparalleled march through the water, of more than six hours, they took aslight refreshment, prayed to the Virgin Mary and to Saint James, andthen prepared to meet their new enemies on land. Ten companies of French, Scotch, and English auxiliaries lay in Duiveland, under the command ofCharles Van Boisot. Strange to relate, by an inexplicable accident, or bytreason, that general was slain by his own soldiers, at the moment whenthe royal troops landed. The panic created by this event became intense, as the enemy rose suddenly, as it were, out of the depths of the ocean toattack them. They magnified the numbers of their assailants, and fledterror-stricken in every direction. Same swam to the Zealand vesselswhich lay in the neighbourhood; others took refuge in the forts which hadbeen constructed on the island; but these were soon carried by theSpaniards, and the conquest of Duiveland was effected. 

The enterprise was not yet completed, but the remainder was lessdifficult and not nearly so hazardous, for the creek which separatedDuiveland from Schouwen was much narrower than the estuary which they hadjust traversed. It was less than a league in width, but so encumbered byrushes and briers that, although difficult to wade, it was not navigablefor vessels of any kind. This part of the expedition was accomplishedwith equal resolution, so that, after a few hours' delay, the soldiersstood upon the much-coveted island of Schouwen. Five companies of states'troops, placed to oppose their landing, fled in the most cowardly mannerat the first discharge of the Spanish muskets, and took refuge in thecity of Zierickzee, which was soon afterwards beleaguered. 

The troops has been disembarked upon Duiveland from the armada, which hadmade its way to the scene of action, after having received, by signal, information that the expedition through the water had been successful. Brouwershaven, on the northern side of Schouwen, was immediately reduced, but Bommenede resisted till the 25th of October, when it was at lastcarried by assault, and delivered over to fire and sword. Of the wholepopulation and garrison not twenty were left alive. Siege was then laidto Zierickzee, and Colonel Mondragon was left in charge of theoperations. Requesens himself came to Schouwen to give directionsconcerning this important enterprise. 

Chiapin Vitelli also came thither in the middle of the winter, and was somuch injured by a fall from his litter, while making the tour of theisland, that he died on shipboard during his return to Antwerp. Thisofficer had gained his laurels upon more than one occasion, his conductin the important action near Mons, in which the Huguenot force underGenlis was defeated, having been particularly creditable. He was of adistinguished Umbrian family, and had passed his life in camps, few ofthe generals who had accompanied Alva to the Netherlands being betterknown or more odious to the inhabitants. He was equally distinguished forhis courage, his cruelty, and his corpulence. The last characteristic wasso remarkable that he was almost monstrous in his personal appearance. His protuberant stomach was always supported in a bandage suspended fromhis neck, yet in spite of this enormous impediment, he was personallyactive on the battle-field, and performed more service, not only as acommander but as a subaltern, than many a younger and lighter man. 

The siege of Zierickzee was protracted till the following June, the cityholding out with firmness. Want of funds caused the operations to be, conducted with languor, but the same cause prevented the Prince fromaccomplishing its relief. Thus the expedition from Philipsland, the mostbrilliant military exploit of the whole war, was attended with importantresults. The communication between Walcheren and the rest of Zealand wasinterrupted; the province cut in two; a foothold on the ocean; for abrief interval at least, acquired by Spain. The Prince was inexpressiblychagrined by these circumstances, and felt that the moment had arrivedwhen all honorable means were to be employed to obtain foreignassistance. The Hollanders and Zealanders had fought the battles offreedom alone hitherto, and had fought them well, but poverty was fastrendering them incapable of sustaining much longer the unequal conflict. Offers of men, whose wages the states were to furnish, were refused; asworse than fruitless. Henry of Navarre, who perhaps deemed it possible toacquire the sovereignty of the provinces by so barren a benefit, waswilling to send two or three thousand men, but not at his own expense. The proposition was respectfully declined. 

The Prince and his little country, were all alone. "Even if we should notonly see ourselves deserted by all the world, but also all the worldagainst us, " he said, "we should not cease to defend ourselves even tothe last man. Knowing the justice of our cause, we repose, entirely inthe mercy of God. " He determined, however, once more to have recourse tothe powerful of the earth, being disposed to test the truth of hiscelebrated observation, that "there would be no lack of suitors for thebride that he had to bestow. " It was necessary, in short, to look thegreat question of formally renouncing Philip directly in the face. 

Hitherto the fiction of allegiance had been preserved, and, even by theenemies of the Prince, it, was admitted: that it had been retained withno disloyal intent. The time however, had come when it was necessary tothrow off allegiance, provided another could be found strong enough andfrank enough to accept the authority which Philip had forfeited. Thequestion was, naturally, between France and England; unless the provincescould effect their re-admission into the body of the Germanic Empire. Already in June the Prince had laid the proposition formally before thestates, "whether they should not negotiate with the Empire on the subjectof their admission, with maintenance of their own constitutions, " but itwas understood that this plan was not to be carried out, if theprotection of the Empire could be obtained under easier conditions. 

Nothing came of the proposition at that time. The nobles and the deputiesof South Holland now voted, in the beginning of the ensuing month, "thatit was their duty to abandon the King, as a tyrant who sought to oppressand destroy his subjects; and that it behooved them to seek anotherprotector. " This was while the Breda negotiations were still pending, butwhen their inevitable result was very visible. There was still areluctance at taking the last and decisive step in the rebellion, so thatthe semblance of loyalty was still retained; that ancient scabbard, inwhich the sword might yet one day be sheathed. The proposition was notadopted at the diet. A committee of nine was merely appointed todeliberate with the Prince upon the "means of obtaining foreignassistance, without accepting foreign authority, or severing theirconnexion with his Majesty. " The estates were, however, summoned a fewmonths later, by the Prince, to deliberate on this important matter atRotterdam. On the 1st of October he then formally proposed, either tomake terms with their enemy, and that the sooner the better, or else, once for all, to separate entirely from the King of Spain, and to changetheir sovereign, in order, with the assistance and under protection ofanother Christian potentate, to maintain the provinces against theirenemies. Orange, moreover, expressed the opinion that upon so important asubject it was decidedly incumbent upon them all to take the sense of thecity governments. The members for the various municipalities acquiescedin the propriety of this suggestion, and resolved to consult theirconstituents, while the deputies of the nobility also desired to consultwith their whole body. After an adjournment of a few days, the diet againassembled at Delft, and it was then unanimously resolved by the noblesand the cities, "that they would forsake the King and seek foreignassistance; referring the choice to the Prince, who, in regard to thegovernment, was to take the opinion of the estates. "

Thus, the great step was taken, by which two little provinces declaredthemselves independent of their ancient master. That declaration, although taken in the midst of doubt and darkness, was not destined to becancelled, and the germ of a new and powerful commonwealth was planted. So little, however, did these republican fathers foresee their comingrepublic, that the resolution to renounce one king was combined with aproposition to ask for the authority of another. It was not imagined thatthose two slender columns, which were all that had yet been raised ofthe future stately peristyle, would be strong enough to stand alone. Thequestion now arose, to what foreign power application should be made. Butlittle hope was to be entertained from Germany, a state which existedonly in name, and France was still in a condition of religious andintestine discord. The attitude of revolt maintained by the Duc d'Alenconseemed to make it difficult and dangerous to enter into negotiations witha country where the civil wars had assumed so complicated a character, that loyal and useful alliance could hardly be made with any party. TheQueen of England, on the other hand; dreaded the wrath of Philip, bywhich her perpetual dangers from the side of Scotland would beaggravated, while she feared equally the extension of French authority inthe Netherlands, by which increase her neighbour would acquire anovershadowing power. She was also ashamed openly to abandon the provincesto their fate, for her realm was supposed to be a bulwark of theProtestant religion. Afraid to affront Philip, afraid to refuse the suitof the Netherlands, afraid to concede as aggrandizement to France, whatcourse was open to the English Queen. That which, politically andpersonally, she loved the best--a course of barren coquetry. This thePrince of Orange foresaw; and although not disposed to leave a stoneunturned in his efforts to find assistance for his country, he on thewhole rather inclined for France. He, however, better than any man, knewhow little cause there was for sanguine expectation from either source. 

It was determined, in the name of his Highness and the estates, first tosend a mission to England, but there had already been negotiations thisyear of an unpleasant character with that power. At the request of theSpanish envoy, the foremost Netherland rebels, in number about fifty, including by name the Prince of Orange, the Counts of Berg and Culemburg, with Saint Aldegonde, Boisot, Junius, and others, had been formallyforbidden by Queen Elizabeth to enter her realm. The Prince had, inconsequence, sent Aldegonde and Junius on a secret mission to France, andthe Queen; jealous and anxious, had thereupon sent Daniel Rogers secretlyto the Prince. At the same tine she had sent an envoy to the GrandCommander, counselling, conciliatory measures; and promising to send aspecial mission to Spain with the offer of her mediation, but it wassuspected by those most in the confidence of the Spanish government atBrussels, that there was a great deal of deception in these proceedings. A truce for six months having now been established between the Ducd'Alencon and his brother, it was supposed, that an alliance betweenFrance and England, and perhaps between Alencon and Elizabeth, was on thecarpet, and that a kingdom of the Netherlands was to be the weddingpresent of the bride to her husband. These fantasies derived additionalcolor from the fact that, while the Queen was expressing the mostamicable intentions towards Spain, and the greatest jealousy of France, the English residents at Antwerp and other cities of the Netherlands, hadreceived private instructions to sell out their property as fast aspossible, and to retire from the country. On the whole, there was littleprospect either of a final answer, or of substantial assistance from theQueen. 

The envoys to England were Advocate Buis and Doctor Francis Maalzon, nominated by the estates, and Saint Aldegonde, chief of the mission, appointed by the Prince. They arrived in England at Christmas-tide. Having represented to the Queen the result of the Breda negotiations, they stated that the Prince and the estates, in despair of a securepeace, had addressed themselves to her as an upright protector of theFaith, and as a princess descended from the blood of Holland. Thisallusion to the intermarriage of Edward III. Of England with Philippa, daughter of Count William III. Of Hainault and Holland, would not, it washoped, be in vain. They furthermore offered to her Majesty, in case shewere willing powerfully to assist the states, the sovereignty overHolland and Zealand, under certain conditions. 

The Queen listened graciously to the envoys, and appointed commissionersto treat with them on the subject. Meantime, Requesens sent Champagny toEngland, to counteract the effect of this embassy of the estates, and tobeg the Queen to give no heed to the prayers of the rebels, to enter intono negotiations with them, and to expel them at once from her kingdom. 

The Queen gravely assured Champagny "that the envoys were no rebels, butfaithful subjects of his Majesty. " There was certainly some effrontery insuch a statement, considering the solemn offer which had just been madeby the envoys. If to renounce allegiance to Philip and to propose thesovereignty to Elizabeth did not constitute rebellion, it would bedifficult to define or to discover rebellion anywhere. The statement wasas honest, however, as the diplomatic grimace with which Champagny hadreminded Elizabeth of the ancient and unbroken friendship which hadalways, existed between herself and his Catholic Majesty. The attempt ofPhilip to procure her dethronement and assassination but a few yearsbefore was, no doubt, thought too trifling a circumstance to have for amoment interrupted those harmonious relations. Nothing came of thenegotiations on either side. The Queen coquetted, as was her custom. Shecould not accept the offer of the estates; she could not say them nay. She would not offend Philip; she would not abandon the provinces; shewould therefore negotiate--thus there was an infinite deal of diplomaticnothing spun and unravelled, but the result was both to abandon theprovinces and to offend Philip. 

In the first answer given by her commissioners to the states' envoys, itwas declared, "that her Majesty considered it too expensive to assume theprotection of both provinces. " She was willing to protect them in name, but she should confer the advantage exclusively on Walcheren in reality. The defence of Holland must be maintained at the expense of the Princeand the estates. 

This was certainly not munificent, and the envoys insisted upon moreample and liberal terms. The Queen declined, however, committing herselfbeyond this niggardly and inadmissible offer. The states were not willingto exchange the sovereignty over their country for so paltry aconcession. The Queen declared herself indisposed to go further, at leastbefore consulting parliament. The commissioners waited for the assemblingof parliament. She then refused to lay the matter before that body, andforbade the Hollanders taking any steps for that purpose. It was evidentthat she was disposed to trifle with the provinces, and had no idea ofencountering the open hostility of Philip. The envoys accordingly beggedfor their passports. These were granted in April, 1576, with theassurance on the part of her Majesty that "she would think more of theoffer made to her after she had done all in her power to bring about anarrangement between the provinces and Philip. "

After the result of the negotiations of Breda, it is difficult to imaginewhat method she was likely to devise for accomplishing such a purpose. The King was not more disposed than during the preceding summer to grantliberty of religion, nor were the Hollanders more ready than they hadbeen before to renounce either their faith or their fatherland. Theenvoys, on parting, made a strenuous effort to negotiate a loan, but thefrugal Queen considered the proposition quite inadmissible. She grantedthem liberty to purchase arms and ammunition, and to levy a few soldierswith their own money, and this was accordingly done to a limited extent. As it was not difficult to hire soldiers or to buy gunpowder anywhere, inthat warlike age, provided the money were ready, the states had hardlyreason to consider themselves under deep obligation for this concession. Yet this was the whole result of the embassy. Plenty of fine words had, been bestowed, which might or might not have meaning, according to theturns taken by coming events. Besides these cheap and empty civilities, they received permission to defend Holland at their own expense; with theprivilege, of surrendering its sovereignty, if they liked, to QueenElizabeth-and this was all. 

On the 19th of April, the envoys returned to their country, and laidbefore the estates the meagre result of their negotiations. Very soonafterwards, upon an informal suggestion from Henry III. And the QueenMother, that a more favorable result might be expected, if the sameapplications were made to the Duc d'Alencon which had been received in sounsatisfactory a manner by Elizabeth, commissioners were appointed toFrance. It proved impossible, however, at that juncture, to proceed withthe negotiations, in consequence of the troubles occasioned by theattitude of the Duke. The provinces were still, even as they had beenfrom the beginning, entirely alone. 

Requesens was more than ever straitened for funds, wringing, withincreasing difficulty, a slender subsidy, from time to time, out of thereluctant estates of Brabant, Flanders, and the other obedient provinces. While he was still at Duiveland, the estates-general sent him a longremonstrance against the misconduct of the soldiery, in answer to hisdemand for supplies. "Oh, these estates! these estates!" cried the GrandCommander, on receiving such vehement reproaches instead of his money;"may the Lord deliver me from these estates!" Meantime, the importantsiege of Zierickzee continued, and it was evident that the city mustfall. There was no money at the disposal of the Prince. Count John, whowas seriously embarrassed by reason of the great obligations in moneywhich he, with the rest of his family, had incurred on behalf of theestates, had recently made application to the Prince for his influencetowards procuring him relief. He had forwarded an account of the greatadvances made by himself and his brethren in money, plate, furniture, andendorsements of various kinds, for which a partial reimbursement wasalmost indispensable to save him from serious difficulties. The Prince, however, unable to procure him any assistance, had been obliged him oncemore to entreat him to display the generosity and the self-denial whichthe country had never found wanting at his hands or at those of hiskindred. The appeal had not been, in vain, but the Count was obviouslynot in a condition to effect anything more at that moment to relieve thefinancial distress of the states. The exchequer was crippled. 

 [The contributions of Holland and Zealand for war expenses amounted to one hundred and fifty thousand florins monthly. The pay of a captain was eighty florins monthly; that of a lieutenant, forty; that of a corporal, fifteen; that of a drummer, fifer, or Minister, twelve; that of a common soldier, seven and a half. A captain had also one hundred and fifty florins each month to distribute among the most meritorious of his company. Each soldier was likewise furnished with food; bedding, fire, light, and washing. --Renom de France MS, vol. Ii. C. 46, ]

Holland and Zealand were cut in twain by the occupation of Schouwen andthe approaching fall of its capital. Germany, England, France; allrefused to stretch out their hands to save the heroic but exhaustlesslittle provinces. It was at this moment that a desperate but sublimeresolution took possession of the Prince's mind. There seemed but one wayleft to exclude the Spaniards for ever from Holland and Zealand, and torescue the inhabitants from impending ruin. The Prince had long broodedover the scheme, and the hour seemed to have struck for its fulfilment. His project was to collect all the vessels, of every description, whichcould be obtained throughout the Netherlands. The whole population of thetwo provinces, men, women, and children, together with all the moveableproperty of the country, were then to be embarked on board this numerousfleet, and to seek a new home beyond the seas. The windmills were then tobe burned, the dykes pierced, the sluices opened in every direction, andthe country restored for ever to the ocean, from which it had sprung. 

It is difficult to say whether the resolution, if Providence hadpermitted its fulfilment, would have been, on the whole, better or worsefor humanity and civilization. The ships which would have borne theheroic Prince and his fortunes might have taken the direction of thenewly-discovered Western hemisphere. A religious colony, planted by acommercial and liberty-loving race, in a virgin soil, and directed bypatrician but self-denying hands, might have preceded, by half a century, the colony which a kindred race, impelled by similar motives, and undersomewhat similar circumstances and conditions, was destined to plant uponthe stern shores of New England. Had they directed their course to thewarm and fragrant islands of the East, an independent Christiancommonwealth might have arisen among those prolific regions, superior inimportance to any subsequent colony of Holland, cramped from its birth byabsolute subjection to a far distant metropolis. 

The unexpected death of Requesens suddenly dispelled these schemes. Thesiege of Zierickzee had occupied much of the Governor's attention, but hehad recently written to his sovereign, that its reduction was nowcertain. He had added an urgent request for money, with a sufficientsupply of which he assured Philip that he should be able to bring the warto an immediate conclusion. While waiting for these supplies, he had, contrary to all law or reason, made an unsuccessful attempt to conquerthe post of Embden, in Germany. A mutiny had at about the same time, broken out among his troops in Harlem, and he had furnished the citizenswith arms to defend themselves, giving free permission to use themagainst the insurgent troops. By this means the mutiny had been quelled, but a dangerous precedent established. Anxiety concerning this rebellionis supposed to have hastened the Grand Commander's death. A violent feverseized him on the 1st, and terminated his existence on the 5th of March, in the fifty-first year of his life. 

It is not necessary to review elaborately his career, the chief incidentsof which have been sufficiently described. Requesens was a man of highposition by birth and office, but a thoroughly commonplace personage. Histalents either for war or for civil employments were not abovemediocrity. His friends disputed whether he were greater in the field orin the council, but it is certain that he was great in neither. Hisbigotry was equal to that of Alva, but it was impossible to rival theDuke in cruelty. Moreover, the condition of the country, after sevenyears of torture under his predecessor, made it difficult for him, at thetime of his arrival, to imitate the severity which had made the name ofAlva infamous. The Blood Council had been retained throughout hisadministration, but its occupation was gone, for want of food for itsferocity. The obedient provinces had been purged of Protestants; whilecrippled, too, by confiscation, they offered no field for furtherextortion. From Holland and Zealand, whence Catholicism had been nearlyexcluded, the King of Spain was nearly excluded also. The Blood Councilwhich, if set up in that country, would have executed every livingcreature of its population, could only gaze from a distance at those whowould have been its victims. Requesens had been previously distinguishedin two fields of action: the Granada massacres and the carnage ofLepanto. Upon both occasions he had been the military tutor of Don Johnof Austria, by whom he was soon to be succeeded in the government of theNetherlands. To the imperial bastard had been assigned the pre-eminence, but it was thought that the Grand Commander had been entitled to a morethan equal share of the glory. 

We have seen how much additional reputation was acquired by Requesens inthe provinces. The expedition against Duiveland and Schouwen, was, on thewhole, the most brilliant feat of arms during the war, and its successreflects an undying lustre on the hardihood and discipline of theSpanish, German, and Walloon soldiery. As an act of individual audacityin a bad cause, it has rarely been equalled. It can hardly be said, however, that the Grand Commander was entitled to any large measure ofpraise for the success of the expedition. The plan was laid by Zealandtraitors. It was carried into execution by the devotion of the Spanish, Walloon, and German troops; while Requesens was only a spectator of thetransaction. His sudden death arrested, for a moment, the ebb-tide in theaffairs of the Netherlands, which was fast leaving the country bare anddesolate, and was followed by a train of unforeseen transactions, whichit is now our duty to describe. 

 ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

 As the old woman had told the Emperor Adrian Beautiful damsel, who certainly did not lack suitors Breath, time, and paper were profusely wasted and nothing gained Care neither for words nor menaces in any matter Distinguished for his courage, his cruelty, and his corpulence He had never enjoyed social converse, except at long intervals Human ingenuity to inflict human misery Peace was desirable, it might be more dangerous than war Proposition made by the wolves to the sheep, in the fable Rebuked the bigotry which had already grown Reformers were capable of giving a lesson even to inquisitors Result was both to abandon the provinces and to offend Philip Suppress the exercise of the Roman religion The more conclusive arbitration of gunpowder