ART. V.-MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC. (CONCLUDED.)

The Rise of the Dutch Republic. A History. BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D. C. L. 3 Vols. 8vo. New York: 1859.

BUT, although Granvella was gone, and quiet seemed restored, it proved but a momentary calm. The Council of Trent closed its sessions, and its decrees produced an universal outcry. They were not even acceptable to all the Roman Catholics. France, and several of the German States, rejected them. In the Council of State at Brussels, they met a most determined opposition. The Prince of Orange declared, that "the nation neither would nor could acknowledge them, since they were, for the most part, opposed to the fundamental principles of their Constitution; and for similar reasons they had been rejected by several Roman Catholic princes." The King enforced the Tridentine Decrees in all his other dominions; he had ordered the Regent to enforce them in the Netherlands. The Council was greatly perplexed. It was resolved to send an envoy to Madrid to confer with the King on the subject. For this mission Egmont was selected. His instructions were drawn up by Viglius, the President of the Council; but they were too vague to meet the wishes of Orange and his followers. "The President's statement of our grievances," said Orange, "comes very far short of the truth. How can the King apply the suitable remedies, if we conceal from him the full extent of the evil? Let us not represent the number of the heretics inferior to what it really is. Let us candidly acknowledge, that they swarm in every province and in every hamlet, however small. Nor let us disguise from him the truth, that they despise the penal statutes, and entertain but little reverence for the govern-ment. What good can come of this concealment ?" Egmont, on his arrival, was received by Philip with a cordiality that charmed him. Nothing of delicate attention and open flattery was wanting. Egmont was spell-bound by the condescending affability of royalty. He returned to give his coun40*

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trymen a glowing description of the kindness of the King, and held out hopes of a speedy redress of grievances. But the letters of instruction which he presented, showed that Philip was resolved to yield nothing. The Decrees of the Council of Trent were ordered to be rigidly enforced, and the inquisitors were exhorted to prosecute their work with zeal. The news of the King's obstinacy aroused anew the exasperation of the people. Egmont, who saw that he had been duped, was betrayed into unguarded expressions of indignation, which were duly reported to the King and treasured up against the day of wrath. The popular rage was of so menacing a character that the Council feared to obey the orders of the King. Viglius, a faithful servant of the crown, asserted that it would be madness to attempt it in the existing frenzy of the people. But Orange, who saw that the great crisis had come, asserted, to the amazement of both friends and foes, that the orders of the King were too positive to be disobeyed. He knew that "there is a tide in the affairs of men," and that the Netherlands must either seize the sword, or perish by the sword. After such an opinion from the Prince of Orange, no one could venture to recommend a disobedience of the royal decree. The Council was silent. The Regent decided that the royal orders must be obeyed, and Orange exclaimed exultingly,-" Now will soon be performed a great tragedy." From that moment the war began. The heart of the Netherlands stood still; commerce was stopped; the foreign residents fled the country, and both parties prepared to decide the contest by an appeal to arms.

At this juncture, some of the nobles formed a League, by which they bound themselves to oppose, with all their power, the introduction of the dreaded Inquisition, and to defend each other against all attacks. The members of the I eague drew up a solemn petition, which they presented to the Regent. Barlaimont, who regarded their proceedings with contempt, told the trembling Regent that she need not fear such a band of beggars. The expression was repeated at a banquet at Kinlemberg House which the members of the League attended, and they immediately adopted the name. The cry of "Long live the beggars" arose, and was a rallying cry throughout the entire

war. The Regent found herself constrained to notice the petitions of the League, whose strength and attitude had now become imposing. The executions of the heretics were, in a measure stayed, and both parties agreed that another embassy should be sent to the King. The Marquis of Berghen and the Lord of Montigny were ordered to repair to Spain, and they left on their mission, never to return. Meanwhile, the mitigation of Inquisitorial rigor gave some courage to the Protestants. They assembled, in immense numbers, to attend field preaching. At these assemblies, they took the precaution of stationing armed men, to prevent interruption. Brederode, one of the foremost of the Leaguers, repaired to Antwerp and harangued the citizens, thus raising still higher the courage of the Protestants. A vast crowd collected near Antwerp to hear the Protestant preachers, who loaded the Church of Rome with every epithet of coarse invective. The Regent sent the Prince of Orange to Antwerp, to pour oil on the troubled waters. To add to the confusion, a general assembly of the League was called. The Regent trembled at the danger. She sent Orange and Egmont to protest against the unlawful assemblage. The reply of the Confederates was respectful, but bold and firm. In the meantime, Berghen and Montigny arrived in Spain. The King referred their letter of instructions to the Council, who advised him to recall the Spanish Inquisition, to moderate the edicts, and to give the Regent the power of pardoning any but notorious offenders. But, while the Council was deliberating, a new phase of events occurred which disconcerted all their plans. The Iconoclasts had begun their work!

This startling expression of the popular rage shows the boldness to which the rebels had now attained. The Cathedral of Ypres was the first victim of their fury; but the sacrilegious madness spread, like magic, through the provinces. The Churches of the country were, for the most part, magnificent. They blazed with gold and silver and costly gems; they were decorated with paintings by the best masters, and crowded with statues of the Saints. The Cathedral of Antwerp was one of the most gorgeous in Europe. It had been originally founded by that hero of the Gierusalamme Liberata who led

the hosts of Europe to the sepulchre of Christ. We cannot resist the temptation of giving our readers Mr. Motley's description-we might say picture-of this glorious triumph of Christian art.

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"The exquisite and daring spire, the gigantic stem upon which the consummate flower of this architectural creation was to be at last unfolded, was a plant of a whole century's growth. Rising to a height of nearly five hundred feet, over a church of as many feet in length, it worthily represented the upward tendency of Gothic architecture. Externally and internally, the Cathedral was a true expression of the Christian principle of devotion. Amid its vast accumulation of imagery, its endless ornaments, its multiplicity of episodes, its infinite variety of details, the central, maternal principle was ever visible. Everything pointed upwards, from the spire in the clouds to the arch which enshrined the smallest sculptured saint in the chapels below. *Through the perpetual twilight, tall, columnar trunks in thick profusion grew from a floor checkered with prismatic lights and sepulchral shadows. Each shaft of the petrified forest rose to a preternatural height, their many branches intermingling in the space above, to form an impenetrable canopy. Foliage, flowers, and fruit of colossal luxuriance, strange birds, beasts, griffins, and chimeras in endless multitudes, the rank vegetation and the fantastic zoology of a fresher or fabulous world, seemed to decorate and to animate the serried trunks and pendant branches, while the shattering symphonies or dying murmurs of the organ suggested the rushing of the wind through the forest-now the full diapason of the storm, and now the gentle cadence of the evening breeze. Internally, the whole church was rich beyond expression. All that opulent devotion and inventive ingenuity could devise in wood, bronze, marble, silver, gold, precious jewelry, or blazing sacramental furniture, had been profusely lavished. The penitential tears of centuries had incrusted the whole interior with their glittering stalactites. Divided into five naves, with external rows of chapels, but separated by no screens or partitions, the great temple formed an imposing whole, the effect was the more impressive, the vistas almost infinite in appearance. The wealthy citizens, the twenty-seven guilds, the six military associations, the rhythmical colleges, besides many other secular or religious sodalities had each their own chapels and altars. Tombs adorned with the effigies of mailed crusaders and pious dames covered the floor, tattered banners hung in the air, the escutcheons of the Golden Fleece, an order typical of Flemish industry, but of which Emperors and Kings were proud to be the chevaliers, decorated the columus. The vast and beautifully painted windows glowed with scriptural scenes, antique portraits, homely allegories, painted in those brilliant and forgotten colors which Art has not ceased to deplore. The daylight melting into gloom or colored with fantastic brilliancy, priests in effulgent robes chaunting in unknown language, the sublime breathing of choral music, the suffocating odors of myrrh and spikenard, suggestive of the oriental scenery and imagery of Holy Writ, all combined to bewilder and exalt the senses."

This Church, one of the finest Gothic structures in the world, was one of the first victims of Iconoclastic rage. A crowd of men and women of the lowest rank repaired to the Church.

The magistrates seem to have been paralyzed by fear. The intruders went to work systematically. They profanely sang a hymn and then rushed to the work of spoliation which they did not leave until nothing more remained to be destroyed. The interior of the Cathedral was a complete wreck, the organ, windows, pictures, statues, tombs, the elaborate and exquisite carvings were shivered to pieces with hammers, or utterly defaced. But the Iconoclasts were not content with sacking one Church, however splendid. All the Churches in and around Antwerp shared the same fate. The Churches that were similarly treated throughout the provinces might be counted by hundreds. The feelings of Philip, when these outrages were announced to him, may be conjectured. He tore his beard, and swore by the soul of his father, "it should cost them dear." So terrified was the Regent, that she resolved to flee from Brussels, and was with difficulty induced to remain. In her letters to the King, she attributed the troubles in the provinces to the adroit maneuvers of Orange and his followers. But Orange was, at this very time, doing his best to allay the excitement. Egmont repaired to Flanders, where he persecuted the heretics with the greatest rigor. Events were now marching rapidly to a scene of blood. Horn was recalled from Tournay, which was subjugated by Noircarmes. Marnix of Thoulouse raised the standard of revolt, but his army was cut to pieces by De Beauvoir within sight of Antwerp, where Orange was. The Protestants of Antwerp, who saw their brethren slaughtered before their eyes, were filled with frenzy. A tremendous insurrection occurred in the city. Forty thousand men, Calvinists, Lutherans, and Roman Catholics, arrayed themselves in three armies, to slaughter each other in the streets of Antwerp. Orange with difficulty succeeded in appeasing their fury. Valenciennes, which had revolted, was taken by Noircarmes. The rebellious spirit of the people seemed to be subdued. Orange now left the country and took up his residence as an exile in Germany. Before leaving, he used the most earnest entreaties to induce Egmont to follow his example. But Egmont was not to be persuaded that there was danger in his remaining. He had just received a most