Harangue, drawn up according to his suggestions, was also extensively
circulated. This document is important to all who are interested in his
history and character. He had not before issued a missive so stamped
with the warm, religious impress of the reforming party. Sadly, but
without despondency, the Harangue recalled the misfortunes of the past;
and depicted the gloom of the present. Earnestly, but not fanatically,
it stimulated hope and solicited aid for the future. "Although the
appeals made to the Prince," so ran a part of the document, "be of
diverse natures, and various in their recommendations, yet do they all
tend to the 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
endure hunger; thirst, cold, heat, and all the misfortunes which Heaven
may send. . . . . . Our enemies spare neither their money nor their
labor; will ye be colder and duller than your foes? Let, then, each
church congregation set an example to the others. We read that King
Saul, when he 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 dealt even 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 the same warning, look to it, watch well ye
that despise it, lest the wrath of 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 your homes. Ye may say that ye have been robbed of
all your goods; yet many of you have still something remaining, and of
that little ye should contribute, each his mite. Ye say that you have
given much already. 'Tis true, 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 the
Prince 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's
ambassador in France, visited Brussels. He had already been enlightened
as to the consequences of the Duke's course by the immense immigration of
Netherland refugees to France, which he had witnessed with his own eyes.
On his journey towards Brussels he had been met near Cambray by
Noircarmes. Even that "cruel animal," as Hoogstraaten had called him,
the butcher of Tournay and Valenciennes, had at last been roused to
alarm, if not to pity, by the sufferings of the country. "The Duke will
never disabuse his mind of this filthy tenth penny," said he to Alava.
He sprang from his chair with great emotion as the ambassador alluded to
the flight of merchants and artisans from the provinces. "Senor Don
Francis," cried he, "there are ten thousand more who are on the point of
leaving the country, if the Governor does not pause in his career. God
grant that no disaster arise beyond human power to remedy."
The ambassador arrived in Brussels, and took up his lodgings in the
palace. Here he found the Duke just recovering from a fit of the gout,
in a state of mind sufficiently savage. He became much excited as Don
Francis began to speak of the emigration, and he assured him that there
was gross deception on the subject. The envoy replied that he could not
be mistaken, for it was a matter which, so to speak, he had touched with
his own fingers, and seen with his own eyes. The Duke, persisting that
Don Francis had been abused and misinformed, turned the conversation to
other topics. Next day the ambassador received visits from Berlaymont
and his son, the Seigneur de Hierges. He was taken aside by each of
them, separately. "Thank God, you have come hither," said they, in
nearly the same words, "that you may fully comprehend the condition of
the provinces, and without delay admonish his Majesty of the impending
danger." All his visitors expressed the same sentiments. Don Frederic
of Toledo furnished the only exception, assuring the envoy that his
father's financial measures were opposed by Noircarmes and others, only
because it deprived them of their occupation and their influence. This
dutiful language, however, was to be expected in one of whom Secretary
Albornoz had written, that he was the greatest comfort to his father, and
the most divine genius ever known. It was unfortunately corroborated by
no other inhabitant of the country.
On the third day, Don Francis went to take his leave. The Duke begged
him to inform his Majesty of the impatience with which he was expecting
the arrival of his successor. He then informed his guest that they had
already begun to collect the tenth penny in Brabant, the most obstinate
of all the provinces. "What do you say to that, Don Francis?" he cried,
with exultation. Alava replied that he thought, none the less, that the
tax would encounter many obstacles, and begged him earnestly to reflect.
He assured him, moreover, that he should, without reserve, express his
opinions fully to the King. The Duke used the same language which Don
Frederic 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 to
sing to the same tune." A little startled, the Duke rejoined, "Do you
doubt that the cities will keep their promises? Depend upon it, I shall
find 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 of
all your authority."
The ambassador did not wait till he could communicate with his sovereign
by word of mouth. He forwarded to Spain an ample account of his
observations and deductions. He painted to Philip in lively colors the
hatred entertained by all men for the Duke. The whole nation, he assured
his Majesty, united in one cry, "Let him begone, let him begone, let him
begone!" As for the imposition of the tenth penny, that, in the opinion
of Don Francis, was utterly impossible. He moreover warned his Majesty
that Alva was busy in forming secret alliances with the Catholic princes
of Europe, which would necessarily lead to defensive leagues among the
Protestants.
While thus, during the earlier part of the year 1572, the Prince of
Orange, discouraged by no defeats, was indefatigable in his exertions to
maintain the cause of liberty, and while at the same time the most stanch
supporters of arbitrary power were unanimous in denouncing to Philip the
insane conduct of his Viceroy, the letters of Alva himself were naturally
full of complaints and expostulations. It was in vain, he said, for him
to look for a confidential councillor, now that matters which he had
wished to be kept so profoundly secret that the very earth should not
hear of them, had been proclaimed aloud above the tiles of every
housetop. Nevertheless, he would be cut into little pieces but his
Majesty should be obeyed, while he remained alive to enforce the royal
commands. There were none who had been ever faithful but Berlaymont,
he said, and even he had been neutral in the affair of the tax. He had
rendered therein neither good nor bad offices, but, as his Majesty was
aware, Berlaymont was entirely ignorant of business, and "knew nothing
more than to be a good fellow." That being the case, he recommended
Hierges, son of the "good fellow," as a proper person to be governor of
Friesland.
The deputations appointed by the different provinces to confer personally
with the King received a reprimand upon their arrival, for having dared
to come to Spain without permission. Farther punishment, however, than
this rebuke was not inflicted. They were assured that the King was
highly displeased with their venturing to bring remonstrances against the
tax, but they were comforted with the assurance that his Majesty would
take the subject of their petition into consideration. Thus, the
expectations of Alva were disappointed, for the tenth penny was not
formally confirmed; and the hopes of the provinces frustrated, because
it was not distinctly 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 to
effect something. This is a time when, with even small sums, more can be
effected than at other seasons with ampler funds." The citizens were in
open revolt against the tax. In order that the tenth penny should not be
levied upon every sale of goods, the natural but desperate remedy was
adopted--no goods were sold at all.
Not only the wholesale commerce oh the provinces was suspended, but the
minute and indispensable traffic of daily life was entirely at a stand.
The shops were all shut. "The brewers," says a contemporary, "refused to
brew, the bakers to bake, the tapsters to tap." Multitudes, thrown
entirely out of employment, and wholly dependent upon charity, swarmed in
every city. The soldiery, furious for their pay, which Alva had for many
months neglected to furnish, grew daily more insolent; the citizens,
maddened by outrage and hardened by despair, became more and more
obstinate in their resistance; while the Duke, rendered inflexible by
opposition and insane by wrath, regarded the ruin which he had caused
with a malignant spirit which had long ceased to be human. "The disease
is gnawing at our vitals," wrote Viglius; "everybody is suffering for the
want of the necessaries of life. Multitudes are in extreme and hopeless
poverty. 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 life
without 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 was
impossible to buy bread, or meat, or beer. The tyrant, beside himself
with rage at being thus braved in his very lair, privately sent for
Master Carl, the executioner. In order to exhibit an unexpected and
salutary example, he had determined to hang eighteen of the leading
tradesmen of the city in the doors of their own shops, with the least
possible delay and without the slightest form of trial.
Master Carl was ordered, on the very night of his interview with the
Duke, to prepare eighteen strong cords, and eighteen ladders twelve feet
in length. By this simple arrangement, Alva was disposed to make
manifest on the morrow, to the burghers of Brussels, that justice was
thenceforth to be carried to every man's door. He supposed that the
spectacle of a dozen and a half of butchers and bakers suspended in front
of the shops which they had refused to open, would give a more effective
stimulus to trade than any to be expected from argument or proclamation.
The hangman was making ready his cords and ladders; Don Frederic of
Toledo was closeted with President Viglius, who, somewhat against his
will, was aroused at midnight to draw the warrants for these impromptu
executions; Alva was waiting with grim impatience for the dawn upon which
the show was to be exhibited, when an unforeseen event suddenly arrested
the homely tragedy. In the night arrived the intelligence that the town
of Brill had been captured. The Duke, feeling the full gravity of the
situation, postponed the chastisement which he had thus secretly planned
to a more convenient season, in order without an instant's hesitation to
avert the consequences of this new movement on the part of the rebels.
The seizure of Brill was the Deus ex machina which unexpectedly solved
both the inextricable knot of the situation and the hangman's noose.
Allusion has more than once been made to those formidable partisans of
the patriot cause, the marine outlaws. Cheated of half their birthright
by nature, and now driven forth from their narrow isthmus by tyranny, the
exiled Hollanders took to the ocean. Its boundless fields, long arable
to their industry, became fatally fruitful now that oppression was
transforming a peaceful seafaring people into a nation of corsairs.
Driven to outlawry and poverty, no doubt many Netherlanders plunged
into crime. The patriot party had long sine laid aside the respectful
deportment which had provoked the sarcasms of the loyalists. The
beggars of the sea asked their alms through the mouths of their cannon.
Unfortunately, they but too often made their demands upon both friend and
foe. Every ruined merchant, every banished lord, every reckless mariner,
who was willing to lay the commercial world under contribution to repair
his damaged fortunes, could, without much difficulty, be supplied with a
vessel and crew at some northern port, under color of cruising against
the 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 capacity of sovereign, with letters of marque for that purpose.
The Prince, indeed, did his utmost to control and direct an evil which
had inevitably grown out of the horrors of the time. His Admiral,
William de la Marck, was however, incapable of comprehending the lofty
purposes of his superior. A wild, sanguinary, licentious noble, wearing
his hair and beard unshorn, according to ancient Batavian custom, until
the death of his relative, Egmont, should have been expiated, a worthy
descendant of the Wild Boar of Ardennes, this hirsute and savage corsair
seemed an embodiment of vengeance. He had sworn to wreak upon Alva and
upon popery the deep revenge owed to them by the Netherland nobility, and
in the cruelties afterwards practised by him upon monks and priests, the
Blood Council learned that their example had made at least one ripe
scholar among the rebels. He was lying, at this epoch, with his fleet on
the southern coast of England, from which advantageous position he was
now to be ejected in a summary manner.
The negotiations between the Duke of Alva and Queen Elizabeth had already
assumed an amicable tone, and were fast ripening to an adjustment. It
lay by no means in that sovereign's disposition to involve herself at
this juncture in a war with Philip, and it was urged upon her government
by Alva's commissioners, that the continued countenance afforded by the
English people to the Netherland cruisers must inevitably lead to that
result. In the latter days of March, therefore, a sentence of virtual
excommunication was pronounced against De la Marck and his rovers. A
peremptory order of Elizabeth forbade any of her subjects to supply them
with meat, bread, or beer. The command being strictly complied with,
their farther stay was rendered impossible. Twenty-four vessels
accordingly, of various sizes, commanded by De la Marck, Treslong, Adam
van Harem, Brand, and Other distinguished seamen, set sail from Dover in
the very last days of March. Being almost in a state of starvation,
these adventurers were naturally anxious to supply themselves with food.
They determined to make a sudden foray upon the coasts of North Holland,
and accordingly steered for Enkbuizen, both because it was a rich sea-
port and because it contained many secret partisans of the Prince. On
Palm Sunday they captured two Spanish merchantmen. Soon afterwards,
however, the wind becoming contrary, they were unable to double the
Helder or the Texel, and on Tuesday, the 1st of April, having abandoned
their original intention, they dropped down towards Zealand, and entered
the broad mouth of the river Meuse. Between the town of Brill, upon the
southern lip of this estuary, and Naaslandsluis, about half a league
distant, upon the opposite aide, the squadron suddenly appeared at about
two o'clock of an April afternoon, to the great astonishment of the
inhabitants of both places. It seemed too large a fleet to be a mere
collection of trading vessels, nor did they appear to be Spanish ships.
Peter Koppelstok, a sagacious ferryman, informed the passengers whom he
happened to be conveying across the river, that the strangers were
evidently the water beggars. The dreaded name filled his hearers with
consternation, and they became eager to escape from so perilous a
vicinity. Having duly landed his customers, however, who hastened to
spread the news of the impending invasion, and to prepare for defence or
flight, the stout ferryman, who was secretly favorable to the cause of
liberty, rowed boldly out to inquire 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 been
executed by the Duke of Alva in 1568, had himself fought by the side of
Count Louis at Jemmingen, and although covered with wounds, had been one
of the few who escaped alive from that horrible carnage. During the
intervening period he had become one of the most famous rebels on the
ocean, and he had always been well known in Brill, where his father had
been governor for the King. He at once recognized Koppelstok, and
hastened with him on board the Admiral's ship, assuring De la Marck that
the ferryman was exactly the man for their purpose. It was absolutely
necessary that a landing should be effected, for the people were without
the necessaries of life. Captain Martin Brand had visited the ship of
Adam Van Haren, as soon as they had dropped anchor in the Meuse, begging
for food. "I gave him a cheese," said Adam, afterwards relating the
occurrence," and assured him that it was the last article of food to
be found in the ship." The other vessels were equally destitute. Under
the circumstances, it was necessary to attempt a landing. Treslong,
therefore, who was really the hero of this memorable adventure, persuaded
De la Marck to send a message to the city of Brill, demanding its
surrender. This was a bold summons to be made by a handful of men, three
or four hundred at most, who were both metaphorically and literally
beggars. The city of Brill was not populous, but it was well walled and
fortified. It was moreover a most commodious port. Treslong gave his
signet ring to the fisherman, Koppelstok, and ordered him, thus
accredited as an envoy, to carry their summons to the magistracy.
Koppelstok, nothing loath, instantly rowed ashore, pushed through the
crowd of inhabitants, who overwhelmed him with questions, and made his
appearance in the town-house before the assembled magistrates. He
informed them that he had been sent by the Admiral of the fleet and by
Treslong, who was well known to them, to demand that two commissioners
should 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 be
courteously treated. The only object of those who had sent him was to
free the land from the tenth penny, and to overthrow the tyranny of Alva
and his Spaniards. Hereupon he was asked by the magistrates, how large a
force De la Marck had under his command, To this question the ferryman
carelessly replied, that there might be some five thousand in all. This
enormous falsehood produced its effect upon the magistrates. There was
now no longer any inclination to resist the invader; the only question
discussed being whether to treat with them or to fly. On the whole, it
was decided to do both. With some difficulty, two deputies were found
sufficiently valiant to go forth to negotiate with the beggars, while in
their absence most of the leading burghers and functionaries made their
preparations for flight. The envoys were assured by De la Marck and
Treslong that no injury was intended to the citizens or to private
property, but that the overthrow of Alva's government was to be instantly
accomplished. Two hours were given to the magistrates in which to decide
whether or not they would surrender the town and accept the authority of
De la Marck as Admiral of the Prince of Orange. They employed the two
hours thus granted in making an ignominious escape. Their example was
followed by most of the townspeople. When the invaders, at the
expiration of the specified term, appeared under the walls of the city,
they found a few inhabitants of the lower class gazing at them from
above, but received no official communication from any source.
The whole rebel force was now divided into two parties, one of which
under Treslong made an attack upon the southern gate, while the other
commanded by the Admiral advanced upon the northern. Treslong after a
short struggle succeeded in forcing his entrance, and arrested, in doing
so, the governor of the city, just taking his departure. De la Marck and
his men made a bonfire at the northern gate, and then battered down the
half-burned portal with the end of an old mast. Thus rudely and rapidly
did the Netherland patriots conduct their first successful siege. The
two parties, not more perhaps than two hundred and fifty men in all, met
before sunset in the centre of the city, and the foundation of the Dutch
Republic was laid. The weary spirit of freedom, so long a fugitive over
earth and sea, had at last found a resting-place, which rude and even
ribald hands had prepared.
The panic created by the first appearance of the fleet had been so
extensive that hardly fifty citizens had remained in the town. The rest
had all escaped, with as much property as they could carry away. The
Admiral, in the name, of the Prince of Orange, as lawful stadholder of
Philip, took formal possession of an almost deserted city. No indignity
was offered to the inhabitants of either sex, but as soon, as the
conquerors were fairly established in the best houses of the place,
the inclination to plunder the churches could no longer be restrained.
The altars and images were all destroyed, the rich furniture and gorgeous
vestments appropriated to private use. Adam van Hare appeared on his
vessel's deck attired in a magnificent high mass chasuble. Treslong
thenceforth used no drinking cups in his cabin save the golden chalices
of the sacrament. Unfortunately, their hatred to popery was not confined
to such demonstrations. Thirteen unfortunate monks and priests, who had
been unable to effect their escape, were arrested and thrown into prison,
from whence they were taken a few days later, by order of the ferocious
Admiral, 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 and
grocers of Brussels, deferred this savage design in order to deal with
the new difficulty. He had certainly not expected such a result from
the ready compliance of queen Elizabeth with his request. His rage was
excessive; the triumph of the people, by whom he was cordially detested,
proportionably great. The punsters of Brussels were sure not to let such
an opportunity escape them, for the name of the captured town was
susceptible 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
the name of the suddenly surprised city, being Brill, this allusion to
the Duke's loss and implied purblindness was not destitute of ingenuity.
A caricature, too, was extensively circulated, representing De la Marck
stealing the Duke's spectacles from his nose, while the Governor was
supposed to be uttering his habitual expression whenever any intelligence
of 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 the
disaster. Count Bossu, who had acted as stadholder of Holland and
Zealand, under Alva's authority, since the Prince of Orange had resigned
that office, was ordered at once to recover the conquered sea-port, if
possible.
Hastily gathering a force of some ten companies from the garrison of
Utrecht, some of which very troops had recently and unluckily for
government, been removed from Brill to that city, the Count crossed the
Sluis to the island of Voorn upon Easter day, and sent a summons to the
rebel force to surrender Brill. The patriots being very few in number,
were at first afraid to venture outside the gates to attack the much
superior force of their invaders. A carpenter, however, who belonged to
the city, but had long been a partisan of Orange, dashed into the water
with his axe in his hand, and swimming to the Niewland sluice, hacked it
open with a few vigorous strokes. The sea poured in at once, making the
approach to the city upon the north side impossible: Bossu then led his
Spaniards along the Niewland dyke to the southern gate, where they were
received with a warm discharge of artillery, which completely staggered
them. Meantime Treslong and Robol had, in the most daring manner, rowed
out to the ships which had brought the enemy to the island, cut some
adrift, and set others on fire.