D. John of Austria wished to make up for his delay in starting by the
haste with which he accomplished the journey, and so rapidly did he make
it, and so arduous was it, that with his usual good humour he could with
reason write to his great friends the Conde de Orgaz and D. Rodrigo de
Mendoza, "Octavio is very stiff, and the same would your lordships have
been, if you had slept as little, hurried as much, and gone through all
that we have, which made us often call out, Ah! D. Rodrigo! Ah! Conde de
Orgaz!"
On the 20th of October he wrote to the King from Ventosa; and again on
the 24th from Irun, to announce that he was crossing the frontier alone
with Octavio Gonzaga, as he had left Honorato de Silva ill at
Fuenterrabia. On the 31st, at six in the morning, he wrote from Paris,
complaining of the dreadful roads and bad horses, and of having
journeyed two days with a French merchant, who had given him his trunk
to carry for three stages, being quite taken in by his disguise of
servant. On the 3rd of November they at last reached Luxemburg at night,
from where he wrote first to the Council in Brussels, which held the
temporary Government, representing the Senate, and afterwards to the
Spanish soldiers, notifying them of his arrival and the command he
brought from the King. He wrote also to D. Philip, telling him of the
dreadful disorder of these provinces, of the complete isolation of his
servants, friends and partisans, and the difficulties which offered
themselves with regard to handing over the command to him.
In truth, the arrival of D. John could not have been at a more difficult
or dangerous time. On the 3rd of November, the day he first trod Flemish
soil, Antwerp was taken, and its horrible sack by the Spanish and German
troops took place. These furious and mutinous men then took in a cruel
and evil way the pay which the Council of Brussels maliciously held back
from them. The Council, terrified, authorised all citizens to arm
themselves, and ordered the expulsion of all foreign troops from the
States. At this juncture D. John's letters reached the Council in
Brussels and the victorious and mutinous troops at Antwerp. These obeyed
at once, laying down their arms as their beloved and respected General
ordered, and there was great rejoicing among them that he had come as
Governor and Captain-General. But the Council was divided within itself,
some refusing to hand over the command to D. John; others feared such
disobedience against the authority of the King, and they were only
agreed in asking the advice of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, the
oracle and shrewd instigator of all these more or less disguised rebels.
The answer of Orange was precise: liberty bought at the price of so much
blood could not be given up by making over the command to D. John of
Austria; and if the Council lacked the courage to retain it, they were
first "with pride and arrogance" to exact from D. John that he would
confirm on oath the "Pacification of Ghent," one of whose articles was
the expulsion of all foreign troops from Flemish soil. This
"Pacification of Ghent" was in itself an act of rebellion and
independence, for it was resolved upon at a peace conference between the
Prince of Orange and the Council of Brussels, as provisional Government,
in the name of the King, but without the knowledge or authority of
Philip II.
The Council agreed to the latter part of Orange's answer, not having the
courage to oppose D. John openly, and sent it to him by the senator
Iskio; but couched in such haughty and insolent language that the
ambassador was in difficulties, not knowing which to fear the more—the
wrath of the Senate, if he refused to take it, or the anger of D. John,
if he did. He took counsel of a guest in his house, who said, "Take my
advice, Iskio, for this Gordian knot use the sword of Alexander: when
you are alone with the Austrian, draw the steel with dexterity, and bury
it in the body of this man who is fraudulent and baneful to Flanders. By
his death you will free yourself from his annoyance, and will be certain
of the thanks of the States." Iskio understood with horror that this was
the general wish in Flanders, and resolved to take the message to D.
John on his own account, softening its terms as much as possible. But
such was the dignity and politeness of D. John in giving his refusal,
and such the graciousness of his reception of Iskio, understanding his
good intentions, that the messenger, completely subjugated and full of
enthusiasm, warmly praised D. John to the Senate when he returned to
Brussels, which brought him insults and bad treatment from many, and,
over-excited by such conflicting emotions, in a few days he went mad.
His arguments, however, had impressed the Council, and they decided to
send D. John a second message by John Funk, this time a very respectful
and courteous one, begging him to deign to ratify the "Peace of Ghent."
D. John answered with equal politeness that he must have time to think
it over and to study thoroughly the eighteen articles of the said
convention: he suspected that there might be something against the
Catholic religion, and wished to submit it to the opinion of
theologians. D. John was also very perplexed about the expulsion of the
Spanish troops, and on this subject asked the opinion of the only two
confidential advisers he had there, Octavia Gonzaga and Juan de
Escovedo.
Gonzaga replied at once without hesitation, as a man full of an idea who
takes the opportunity of displaying it, that he thought that it was
neither prudent nor seemly to send away the Spanish regiments; it was
not seemly, as the Governor was the King's representative, and he should
submit to no conditions save those imposed by the King; it was not
prudent, because once the soldiers had left Flanders, the royal
authority and the person of D. John, who represented it, would be
helpless, alone and without support in this country of shameless rebels,
secret enemies and lukewarm friends who could, with impunity, laugh at
the one and ruin the other whenever they wished. Escovedo, on the other
hand, thought that the Spanish regiments should leave Flanders as soon
as possible, because the King wished for peace at all costs, giving in
to everything which was not against religion or the royal authority; and
the expulsion of the Spaniards was against neither the one nor the
other, and was necessary to obtain peace in the actual state of affairs.
It also seemed to him that the noble confidence with which D. John
placed himself in the hands of the Flemings would oblige them the more
to act loyally, and in the opposite case that Gonzaga imagined, they
were not so badly off for German troops that they would not be able to
resist, nor the Spaniards so far off that they could not return there in
time. Escovedo also urged secretly, and pressed D. John with this other
argument; if, as the Council believed, the expulsion of the Spanish
regiments would assure the peace of Flanders, they could at once
undertake the expedition to England and use these famous and dreaded
troops, as Philip II remarked in a letter written from the Pardo which
D. John received from him just then.
D. John pondered over and weighed these arguments. He could clearly see
that Gonzaga was thinking of the dignity of Spain and Escovedo of his
own golden dream, the expedition to England, and he did not dare to
decide for himself, fearing lest his own wish and feelings should carry
him away, so he loyally submitted it for Philip II to decide. At the
same time he sent the opinions of four Bishops, twelve Abbots, fourteen
theologians eminent in offices and dignities, nine doctors and
professors, and five jurists of Louvain, that there was nothing
prejudicial to religion or the royal authority in the eighteen articles
of the "Peace of Ghent."
Meanwhile deputations of the clergy and nobility of those parts, who
publicly acknowledged themselves loyal to Spain and Philip II, came to
welcome D. John in Luxemburg, and these also urged that the Spanish
troops should be dismissed as soon as possible, adding arguments and
proposals, warnings, and presumptuous, even rude advice, which clearly
showed to what an extent the very name of Spain was distasteful and even
hated in Flanders. On one of these deputations came the Bishop of Arras,
with the Baron of Liquerque and the Marquis de Havré, who was brother to
the Duke of Arschot and had been to Spain several times, and to whom
Philip had shown much favour and proof of confidence. When the Marquis
saw that his companions were amusing themselves or pretending to do so
at the end of the room, he took D. John apart to the opposite end, and
there point-blank, without fear of God or respect for himself, proposed
that _he (D. John) should rise with all and rule over the States, and
they would help him_. The shame and anger which showed in D. John's face
cut the speech short, and mechanically he put his hand to his dagger,
according to what Vander Hammen and Porreño say, referring to this deed
of D. John's, "That, not being able to suffer this blow, which touched
his fidelity to the quick, he drew out his dagger and wounded him with
great indignation."
D. John was more heroic than this, as, from prudence and loyalty to the
King, he was silent and swallowed the affront; and thus Escovedo refers
to it in a letter to the King, written on the 21st of January, 1577:
"And to advise Y.M. that Y.M. should see what good and loyal vassals
Y.M. has here, and how much they love you. Know that the Marquis de
Havré, on his own part and that of others, tempted the Lord D. John,
offering all this for himself, and that he should not lose the chance,
and although he tried to change the subject, pretending not to
understand, he was so bold and shameless that he repeated it. He
answered that God save Y.M., that they had a very good King, and that it
would not be well for them to alter, and he swore to me that he was
moved to box his ears, and that he would have done so, if it would not
have done harm to the main business."
D. John speaks of the matter in a very veiled way in one of his letters
to D. Rodrigo de Mendoza:
"Lately came a deputation and embassy from the States, among
others the Marquis de Havré, strangely without shame and respect
even, since he openly spoke of everything, trusting everything
and everybody without any respect, as I say."
At last Philip's reply arrived, ordering D. John to sign, without demur,
the "Pacification of Ghent," and to send the Spanish regiments at once
away from Flanders. D. John felt greatly humiliated and discouraged,
because before sending away the regiments it was necessary to pay them,
and D. Philip did not mention this or send any money whatever.