History of The Reign of Philip The Second King of Spain History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain Part 72

[816] But the Almighty, to quote the words of a contemporary, jealous of his own honor, took signal vengeance afterwards on all those towns and villages whose inhabitants had stood tamely by, and seen the profanation of his temples.--"Dios que es justo y zelador de su honra por caminos y formas incomprehensibles, lo ha vengado despues cruelmente, por que todos esos lugares donde esas cosas han acontecido ban sido tomados, saqueados, despojados y arruinados por guerra, pillage, peste y incomodidades, en que, asi los males y culpados, como los buenos por su sufrimiento y connivencia, han conocido y confesado que Dios ha sido corrido contra ellos." Renom de Francia, Alborotos de Flandes, MS.

[817] Strada, De Bello Belgico, tom. I. p. 259.

[818] "En tous ces monasteres et cloistres, ils abattent touttes sepultures des comtes et comtesses de Flandres et aultres."

Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, p. 183.

[819] "Hic psittaco sacrosanctum Domini corpus porrigerent: Hic ex ordine collocatis imaginibus ignem subijeerent, cadentibus insultarent: Hic statuis arma induerent, in armatos depugnarent, deiectos, Viuant Geusij clamare imperarent, ut ad scopum sic ad Christi imaginem iaculaturi collimarent, libros bibliothecarum butiro inunctos in ignem conijcerent, sacris vestibus summo ludibrio per vicos palam vterentur."

Vander Haer, De Initiis Tumultuum, p. 238.

[820] Hopper, Recueil et Memorial, p. 98.

[821] Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, p. 182.

[822] Strada, De Bello Belgico, tom. I. p. 260.

[823] "Y de lo que venia del saco de la plateria y cosas sagradas de la yglesia (que algunos ministros y los del consistorio juntavan en una) distribuyendo a los fieles reformados algunos frutos de su reformacion, para contentar a los hambrientos." Renom de Francia, Alborotos de Flandes, MS.

[824] "Haciendoles pagar el precio de los azotes con que fueron azotados." Ibid.

[825] "Il repondit que la premiere chose a faire etait de conserver l'Etat; que, ensuite on s'occuperait des choses de la religion. Elle repliqua, non sans humeur, qu'il lui paraissait plus necessaire de pourvoir d'abord a ce qu'exigeait le service de Dieu, parce que la ruine de la religion serait un plus grand mal, que la perte du pays."

Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. p. 449.

[826] "Il repart.i.t que tous ceux qui avaient quelque chose a perdre, ne l'entendaient pas de cette maniere." Ibid., p. 450.

[827] Vide ante, p. 265.

[828] "Et me disoient..... que les sectaires voulloient venir tuer, en ma presence, tous les prestres, gens d'eglise et catholicques."

Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, p. 188.

[829] "La d.u.c.h.esse se trouve sans conseil ni a.s.sistance, pressee par l'ennemi au dedans et au dehors." Correspondance de Philippe II., tom.

I. p. 455.

[830] "Non.o.bstant touttes ces raisons et remonstrances, par plusieurs et divers jours, je n'y ay voullu entendre, donnant par plusieurs fois soupirs et signe de douleur et angoisse de cur, jusques a la que, par aulcuns jours, la fiebvre m'a detenue, et ay pa.s.se plusieurs nuiets sans repos." Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, p. 194.

[831] Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. p. 454.

[832] "Egmont a tenu le meme langage, en ajoutant qu'on leverait 40,000 hommes, pour aller a.s.sieger Mons." Ibid., ubi supra.

[833] Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, p. 196.--Strada, De Bello Belgico tom. I. p. 266.--Vita Viglii, p. 48.--Hopper, Recueil et Memorial, p. 99.

[834] At Margaret's command, a detailed account of the circ.u.mstances under which these concessions were extorted from her was drawn up by the secretary Berty. This doc.u.ment is given by Gachard, Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. II., Appendix, p. 588.

[835] The particulars of the agreement are given by Meteren, Hist. des Pays-Bas, fol. 45. See also Brandt, Reformation in the Low Countries, vol. I. p. 204.--Correspondance de Guillaume le Taciturne, tom. II. pp.

455, 459.--Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. p. cxliv.

[836] "Elle le supplie d'y venir promptement, a main armee, afin de le conquerir de nouveau." Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. p. 453.

[837] Raumer, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, vol. II. p. 177.

[838] Correspondance de Guillaume le Taciturne, tom. II. pp. 220, 223, 231, 233; Preface, pp. lxii.-lxiv.

[839] The doc.u.ment is given entire by Groen, Archives de la Maison d'Orange-Na.s.sau, tom. II. p. 429 et seq.

[840] Tiepolo, the Venetian minister at the court of Castile at this time, in his report made on his return, expressly acquits the French n.o.bles of what had been often imputed to them, having a hand in these troubles. Their desire for reform only extended to certain crying abuses; but, in the words of his metaphor, the stream which they would have turned to the irrigation of the ground soon swelled to a terrible inundation.--"Contra l'opinion de'princ.i.p.ali della lega, che volevano indur timore et non tanto danno.... Dico che questo fu perche essi non hebbero mai intentione di ribellarsi dal suo sigre ma solamente con questi mezzi di timore impedir che non si introducesse in quei stati il tribunal dell'Inquisitione." Relatione di M. A. Tiepolo, 1567, MS.

[841] "En supposant que le Roi voulut admettre deux religions (ce qu'elle ne pouvait croire), elle ne voulait pas, elle, etre l'executrice d'une semblable determination; qu'elle se laisserait plutot mettre en pieces." Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. p. 453.

[842] The report of this curious dialogue, somewhat more extended than in these pages, is to be found in the Vita Viglii, p. 47.

[843] "En paroles et en faits, ils se sont declares contre Dieu et contre le Roi." Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. p. 453.

[844] Ibid., ubi supra.

[845] "Le president, qu'on menace de tous cotes d'a.s.sommer et de mettre en pieces, est devenu d'une timidite incroyable." Ibid., p. 460.

Viglius, in his "Life," confirms this account of the dangers with which he was threatened by the people, but takes much more credit to himself for presence of mind than the d.u.c.h.ess seems willing to allow. Vita Viglii, p. 48.

[846] Correspondance de Philippe II., tom. I. pp. 255, 260.

[847] "Disant n'avoir aulcun d'elle, mais bien de Vostre Majeste, laquelle n'avoit este content me laisser en ma maison, mais m'avoit commande me trouver a Bruxelles vers Son Altesse, ou avoie receu tant de facheries." Supplement a Strada, tom. II. p. 505.

[848] "Ne me samblant debvoir traicter affaires de honneur avecq Dames."

Ibid., ubi supra.

[849] "They tell me," writes Morillon to Granvelle, "it is quite incredible how old and gray Egmont has become. He does not venture to sleep at night without his sword and pistols by his bedside!" (Archives de la Maison d'Orange-Na.s.sau, Supplement, p. 36.) But there was no pretence that at this time Egmont's life was in danger. Morillon, in his eagerness to cater for the cardinal's appet.i.te for gossip, did not always stick at the improbable.

[850] "Il leur en coutera cher (s'ecria-t-il en se tirant la barbe), il leur en coutera cher; j'en jure par l'ame de mon pere." Gachard, a.n.a.lectes Belgiques, p. 254.

[851] "De tout cela (disje) ne se perdit un seul moment en ce temps, non obstant la dicte maladie de Sa Majte, la quelle se monstra semblablement selon son bon naturel, en tous ces negoces et actions tousjours tant modeste, et temperee et constante en iceulx affaires, quelques extremes qu'ilz fussent, que jamais l'on n'a veu en icelle signal, ou de pa.s.sion contre les personnes d'une part, ou de relasche en ses negoces de l'aultre." Hopper, Recueil et Memorial, p. 104.

[852] At this period stops the "Recueil et Memorial des Troubles des Pays-Bas" of Joachim Hopper, which covers a hundred quarto pages of the second volume (part second) of Hoynck van Papendrecht's "a.n.a.lecta Belgica." Hopper was a jurist, a man of learning and integrity. In 1566 he was called to Madrid, raised to the post of keeper of the seals for the affairs of the Netherlands, and made a member of the council of state. He never seems to have enjoyed the confidence of Philip in anything like the degree which Granvelle and some other ministers could boast; for Hopper was a Fleming. Yet his situation in the cabinet made him acquainted with the tone of sentiment as well as the general policy of the court; while, as a native of Flanders, he could comprehend, better than a Spaniard, the bearing this policy would have on his countrymen. His work, therefore, is of great importance as far as it goes. It is difficult to say why it should have stopped _in mediis_, for Hopper remained still in office, and died at Madrid ten years after the period to which he brings his narrative. He may have been discouraged by the remarks of Viglius, who intimates, in a letter to his friend, that the chronicler should wait to allow time to disclose the secret springs of action. See the Epistolae ad Hopperum, p. 419.

[853] Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche, p. 206.

[854] "Questo e il nuvolo che minaccia ora i nostri paesi; e n'uscira la tempesta forse prima che non si pensa. Chi la prevede ne da l'avviso; e chi n'e avvisato, o con intrepidezza l'incontri, o con avvedimento la sfugga." Bentivoglio, Guerra di Fiandra, p. 118.

[855] "Nullum prodire e Regis ore verb.u.m seu private seu publice, quin ad ejus aures in Belgium fideliter afferatur." Strada, De Bello Belgico, tom. I. p. 281.

[856] An abstract of the letter is given by Gachard, Correspondance de Philippe II. tom. I. p. 485.

[857] "Sa Ma^te et ceulx du Conseil seront bien aise que sur le pretext de la religion ils pourront parvenir a leur pretendu, de mestre le pais, nous aultres, et nous enfans en la plus miserable servitude qu'on n'auroit jamais veu, et come on ast tousjours craint cela plus que chose que soit." Archives de la Maison d'Orange-Na.s.sau, tom. II. p. 324.

[858] Egmont's deposition at his trial confirms the account given in the text--that propositions for resistance, though made at the meeting, were rejected. Hoorne in his "Justification," refers the failure to Egmont.

Neither one nor the other throws light on the course of discussion.

Bentivoglio, in his account of the interview, shows no such reserve; and he gives two long and elaborate speeches from Orange and Egmont, in as good set phrase as if they had been expressly reported by the parties themselves for publication. The Italian historian affects a degree of familiarity with the proceedings of this secret conclave by no means calculated to secure our confidence. Guerra di Fiandra, pp. 123-128.

[859] "Siesse qu'elle jure que s'et la plus grande vilagnerie du monde..... et que s'et ung vray pasquil fameulx et qui doit ettre forge pardecha, et beaucoup de chozes semblables." Archives de la Maison d'Orange-Na.s.sau, tom. II. p. 400.