William the Silent went in the way by God appointed. As for the two
Counts, they had already given themselves up to the Duke of Alba, who
offered pardon to William as well if only he would appear before him.
At this news Ulenspiegel said to Lamme:
"My good friend, what do you think now? The Duke has sent out a summons
through Dubois, the Attorney-General, by which the Prince of Orange,
Ludwig his brother, de Hoogstraeten, Van den Bergh, Culembourg,
de Brederode, and other friends of the Prince are cited to appear
before him within forty days; and if they do this they are assured of
justice and mercy. But listen, Lamme, and I will tell you a story. One
day there was a Jew of Amsterdam who summoned one of his enemies to
come down and join him in the street, for the Jew was standing on the
pavement, but his enemy was looking out of a window just above. 'Come
down at once,' said the Jew, 'and I will give you such a blow on the
head as will squash it down into your chest, so that your two eyes
will look out from your sides like the eyes of a thief from betwixt
prison-bars.' But the other answered: 'Even if you promised me a
hundred times as much, still I would not come down.' Even so may the
Prince of Orange and his friends make reply to him that summons them!"
And so they did, refusing point-blank to appear before the Duke. But
the Counts d'Egmont and de Hoorn were not of this mind. And their
failure to do their duty brought them nearer to their doom.