The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1582-84 | Page 3

to take

the lives of Orange and Anjou. Salseda, less fortunate, was sent to Paris,
where he was found guilty, and executed. by being torn to pieces by
four horses. Sad to relate, Lamoral Egmont, younger son and namesake
of the great general, was intimate with Salseda, and implicated in this
base design. His mother, on her death-bed, had especially
recommended the youth to the kindly care of Orange. The Prince had
ever recognized the claim, manifesting uniform tenderness for the son
of his ill-started friend; and now the youthful Lamoral--as if the name
of Egmont had not been sufficiently contaminated by the elder brother's
treason at Brussels--had become the comrade of hired conspirators
against his guardian's life. The affair was hushed up, but the story was
current and generally believed that Egmont had himself undertaken to
destroy the Prince at his own table by means of poison which he kept
concealed in a ring. Saint Aldegonde was to have been taken off in the
same way, and a hollow ring filled with poison was said to have been
found in Egmont's lodgings.
The young noble was imprisoned; his guilt was far from doubtful; but
the powerful intercessions of Orange himself, combined with Egmont's
near relationship to the French Queen saved his life, and he was
permitted, after a brief captivity, to take his departure for France.
The Duke of Anjou, a month later, was received with equal pomp, in
the city of Ghent. Here the ceremonies were interrupted in another
manner. The Prince of Parma, at the head of a few regiments of
Walloons, making an attack on a body of troops by which Anjou had
been escorted into Flanders, the troops retreated in good order, and
without much loss, under the walls of Ghent, where a long and sharp
action took place, much to the disadvantage of Parma, The Prince, of
Orange and the Duke; of Anjou were on the city walls during the whole
skirmish giving orders and superintending the movements of their
troops, and at nightfall Parma was forced, to retire, leaving a large
number of dead behind him.
The 15th day of December, in this year was celebrated according to the
new ordinance of Gregory the Thirteenth--as Christmas. It was the
occasion of more than usual merry-making among the Catholics of
Antwerp, who had procured, during the preceding summer, a renewed
right of public worship from Anjou and the estates. Many nobles of
high rank came from France, to pay their homage to the new Duke of

Brabant. They secretly expressed their disgust, however, at the close
constitutional bonds in which they found their own future sovereign
imprisoned by the provinces. They thought it far beneath the dignity of
the "Son of France" to play the secondary part of titular Duke of
Brabant, Count of Flanders, Lord of Friesland, and the like, while the
whole power of government was lodged with the states. They
whispered that it was time to take measures for the incorporation of the
Netherlands into France, and they persuaded the false and fickle Anjou
that there would never be any hope of his royal brother's assistance,
except upon the understanding that the blood and treasure of
Frenchmen were to be spent to increase the power, not of upstart and
independent provinces, but of the French crown.
They struck the basest chords of the Duke's base nature by awakening
his jealousy of Orange. His whole soul vibrated to the appeal. He
already hated the man by whose superior intellect he was overawed,
and by whose pure character he was shamed. He stoutly but secretly
swore that he would assert his own rights; and that he would no longer
serve as a shadow, a statue, a zero, a Matthias. It is needless to add, that
neither in his own judgment nor in that of his mignons, were the
constitutional articles which he had recently sworn to support, or the
solemn treaty which he had signed and sealed at Bordeaux, to furnish
any obstacles to his seizure of unlimited power, whenever the design
could be cleverly accomplished. He rested not, day or night, in the
elaboration of his plan.
Early in January, 1583, he sent one night for several of his intimate
associates, to consult with him after he had retired to bed. He
complained of the insolence of the states, of the importunity of the
council which they had forced upon him, of the insufficient sums which
they furnished both for him and his troops, of the daily insults offered
to the Catholic religion. He protested that he should consider himself
disgraced in the eyes of all Christendom, should he longer consent to
occupy his present ignoble position. But two ways were open to him,
he observed; either to retire altogether from the Nether lands,