Orange entred into Brabant But the Duke who would not stake the Netherlands upon the Success of a Battle against a fresh Army and stronger than his own having fortifyed all the Towns and covering himself with Rivers and posting himself very advantageously laughed at the Prince of Orange who presented him Battle every day For after the Prince had made Twenty nine Incampments without being able to draw the Duke to an Engagement being received into no City contrary to his hopes and pressed by Famine in a little Country uncapable of supplying longer so numerous an Army and his Souldiers mutinying and demanding their Pay in one of which Mutinies some Officers were killed in his sight and he himself had been shot if the Pistol bullet had not lighted on the Pommel of his Sword he was forced to disband his Army which refused to follow him into France to the Assistance of the Huguenots the greatest part of the Officers telling him That they promised to serve only against Spain not France He paid the Army with the little ready Money he had with his Plate and the Money which the Sale of his Artillery and his Baggage yielded him engaging to the principal Commanders his Principality of Orange and his other Lordships for the Security of what he ow'd them The extraordinary prudence and firmness of the Duke of Alva can never be enough admired who found out an excellent way of beating his Enemies without fighting whereas other Victories are usually won by bloody and hazardous Battles He swore to the Messenger who came from his eldest Son Frederick de Toledo and Chiapin Vitelli Marquess of Celone his Mareschal de Camp to press him to give the Enemies Battle That 't was a strange thing they would not suffer him to manage the War as he pleased and that if any durst talk to him of fighting again he should never return alive This Marquess of Vitelli was a brave Captain and had done such great Services to the Duke of Tuscany in his Wars that King Philip demanded him of the Duke to Command his Army under the Duke of Alva He behaved himself extreamly well in Flanders and died in the time of the Commendador de Requisons who succeeded the Duke of Alva in the Government of the Low Countries He was so prodigiously Fat that he was forced to gird up his Belly to be able to walk As he was a great Eater and reckoned an Atheist after his Death the Gueux made this Epitaph on him O Deus omnipotens crassi miserere Vitelli Quem Mors praeveniens non sinit esse bovem Corpus in Italiâ est tenet intestina Brabantus Ast animam nemo cur quia non habuit The Prince of Orange disbanded his Army in Strasbourg where he arrived from the Netherlands through the Frontiers of Picardy Champagne and Lorrain Between le Quesnoy and Cambray the Prince cut off Eighteen Companies of Foot and three hundred Horse and made almost all the Officers Prisoners Don Rufillé Henriquus Son to the Duke of Alva with many others were killed upon the place which was some satisfaction to him for the Blow he had received in Brabant where Count Hochstrate received a mortal Wound and died not long after very much regretted by the Prince of Orange for his Valour and unmovable Fidelity to his Party Philip de Morbais Lord of Louverval was taken Prisoner in the same Action and afterwards beheaded at Brussels The Prince out of this great Army reserved to himself only a Body of Twelve hundred Horse and with his Brothers Count Lodowick and Henry joyned the Prince Palatine Wolfgang Duke of Deuxponts whom he found ready to enter France to the Succours of the Huguenots He was present at the taking of la Charité which was very happy for that Party for if the Germans had not made themselves Masters of a passage over the River Loire they could never have joyned the Admiral He was afterwards in the Battle of Roche la ville D' Avila observes that the Prince of Orange on this occasion Commanded the main Battle of the Huguenots Army with the Count de Rochefoucaut and that Count Lodowick of Nassau his Brother signalized himself in the Vanguard against Philip Strozzi Colonel of the French Infantry who advancing too forward was made Prisoner by the Huguenots The same Author assures us that 't was at Roche la ville where the King of Navarre afterwards Henry the Great began to give Proofs of the Courage which he has since made appear on so many dangerous occasions He was afterwards at the Siege of Poictiers which was fatal to the Huguenots for when they had ruined their Army before the place they were forced to raise the Siege to relieve Chatelleraut At last he quitted the Camp at Foy la Binese near Richelieu disguised like a Peasant with four Men in his Company and after having crossed Tourrain and Berry with great difficulty he arrived at la Charité and then Montbeliard from whence he retired into his County of Nassau to raise new Forces His Brother Count Lodowick was afterwards at the Battle of Moncountour whence he saved himself in Company of the Admiral de Chatillon and a Body of the Huguenot Horse This year the Admiral advised the Prince of Orange to give out Commissions for Commands at Sea to several Persons of Quality who had been driven out of the Low Countries by the Duke of Alva who after having put to Death a vast number of Men forced all People to pay the Tenth penny for the Sale of their Moveables the Twentieth for immoveables and the Hundreth penny for all they possessed The Admiral assured the Prince that if he could once set Footing in Holland or in Zealand Countries very strongly situated 't would be difficult to force him out because he was so well beloved by the People who would never fail him at his need William Lord of Lumay descended from the Count de la Mare was the chief of these Refugees He and his Associates were called the Sea Gueux by way of distinction from the Land Gueux This advice of the Admiral was very useful to the Prince of Orange and was a sort of Prophecy of his Establishment in those Provinces for by this means he possessed himself of all Holland and Zealand and was as Successful and Victorious at Sea as he had been unfortunate at Land for 't was observed that in Ten years continual War the Spaniards were always beaten by the Hollanders at Sea In the Year 1570. Peace being concluded with the Huguenots the Court of France the better to amuse and over-reach the Huguenots made a shew of employing them against the Netherlands under the conduct of the Duke of Alenzon Admiral Colligny and Count Lodowick of Nassau The Court pretended to be dissatisfied with the King of Spain for poysoning Isabella of France his Wife whose Death the French gave out they would revenge and the Murders of the French that had been
Council of Troubles and by his Enemies The Council of Blood By the Establishment of this Council which was a supream Court of Judicature the Duke of Alva deprived all the other Councils of the Netherlands of their Power and Jurisdiction For all men without Exception were denied the Liberty of appealing even the Knights of the Golden Fleece who by the Statutes of their Order were to be tryed by their Peers alone in the Presence of the King Which was contrary to all Privileges The Judges of the Country were forbid to take cognizance of the last Troubles and all the Councils of the Provinces were to Answer before this Tribunal A rich Burgher was condemned to Death his hands being tyed behind his Back being bound to the Tail of a Horse and mercilesly dragged to the place of Execution The First and second Days of Iune Eighteen Lords and Gentlemen were barbarously executed at Brussels among the rest the two Barons of Battembourg Brothers Iohn de Montigny Lord of Villiers and the Lord de Huy a Bastard of the Counts of Namur Drums beating all the time of their Execution that their dying Speeches might not be heard nor the People stirred up to Compassion by hearing them complain of the Injustice which had been done to them The Fifth of Iune following were publickly executed at Brussels Count Egmont and Count Horn several Regiments of Native Spaniards being drawn up in the great Square to guard the Execution I may say that the Death of these two Lords cost the Spanish King the Low Countries so universally were they loved and esteemed The First won the Battle of St. Quintins and Gravelins The French Resident at Brussels writ to Court that he had seen that Head cut off which had twice made France tremble Cardinal Granville never feared any of the great Lords of the Netherlands but the Prince of Orange for the rest were not capable of forming or maintaining a Party and when the News was brought to Rome in general that the Duke of Alva had seized on all the great Lords of the Low Countries he asked whether Silence was taken meaning the Prince of Orange and when they told him No he replyed The Duke had done nothing The Prince of Orange who had put himself into a place of Security was Summoned to appear before the supream Council who condemned him for not obeying For he appeal'd to the States of Brabant his natural Judges and the King himself because he was Knight of the Golden Fleece and consequently could not be tryed by subdeligate and suspected Judges and his professed Enemies but by the King himself assisted by his Peers the Knights Which he represented at large in publick Manifesto's to the Emperour Maximilian and the German Princes who approved his Reasons and condemned the violence of the Council of Spain which went so far as to seize on his eldest Son William Count de Buren who was arrested in the College of Louvain at the Age of thirteen contrary to the privileges of the University and the Country of Brabant and afterwards carried Prisoner into Spain This hard usage made the Prince resolve to pass the Rubicon and hazard all as Caesar did and endeavour to do himself Justice and have satisfaction for his Injuries by way of Arms. He raised an Army in Germany and sent it into Friezland under the Command of Count Lodowick his Brother who made a happy beginning of the Compaign by the entire defeat of Iohn de Ligny Count of Aremberg Governour of the Province a famous Captain who the year before was sent General of a considerable Army into France to the Assistance of Charles the Ninth against the Huguenots who had the boldness to besiege him in Paris after having missed of surprizing him at Meaux This Count of Aremberg died upon the place But 't is said he revenged his Death by that of Count Adolphus of Nassau Brother to William Prince of Orange and Count Lodowick who remained Master of the Field of Battle of the Baggage and Artillery of the Spanish Army But Count Lodowick did not long enjoy the pleasure of this Victory for the Duke of Alva fell upon him in the same Country with old Disciplin'd Troops at a time when the Germans instead of preparing for a vigorous defence against so powerful an Enemy mutinied and demanded their Pay and routed his Army the most part of which were drown'd in the River Ems which lay behind them Count Lodowick with great difficulty saved his Life which he had certainly lost if he had not met with a little Boat and crossed the River which is very wide as it falling into the Seas leaving all his Baggage and Artillery in the hands of the Spaniards The Prince of Orange a man of a steady and unshaken Courage in all his misfortunes without being startled at this Blow raises another Army of Twenty four thousand German Horse and Foot which he joyned with a Body of Four thousand French Commanded by Francis de Hangest Lord of Genlis Before he entred into the Netherlands he published a Manifesto in which he lays open the Reasons he had to take up Arms clears himself of the Crimes he was charged with excepts against the Bloody Council and the Duke of Alva who pretended to be his Judge He owns that he had quitted the Church of Rome for a Religion which he thought more agreeable to the Holy Scripture declares that he was forced to make War for the preservation of his Country and to free it from the Slavery the Spaniards were preparing for it as in Duty bound being one of the great Lords of the Netherlands He hopes that King Philip whose good Inclinations were obstructed by the ill Counsels of the Spaniards will one day better consider the Fidelity of the Provinces and the Oath he publickly took of preserving their Privileges He says that the Laws of the Dutchy of Brabant dispense with the Subjects from paying that obedience to the Errors and Mistakes of their Princes which they only owe to their lawful Commands which ought to be conformable to the Customs of the Province He added that the Brabantines never suffered any Prince to take Possession of the Government before they had agreed with him That if the Prince breaks the Laws and the Constitutions of the Dutchy the Subjects shall be absolved from their Oath of Allegiance till their Injuries are redressed After this the Prince having passed the Rhine crossed the Meuse happily between Ruremonde and Mastreicht though the Duke of Alva was on the other side of the River to dispute the passage with him He passed his Foot over at a Ford whilst the Horse who stood above broke the force of the River in the same manner as Caesar passed the River Segre near Lerida in Catalonia The Duke of Alva would not believe the Count of Barlaymont who brought him the first News of it but asked him whether the Prince of Orange's Army were Birds Thus the Prince of
Canon But this proved a long and a bloody Siege having lasted from December 1572. to Iuly 1573. The Spaniards lost above Four thousand Men before it among others the Sieur Crossonier Great Master of the Artillery and Bartholomew Campi de Besoro an excellent Engineer There was so great a Famine in the City that a little Child Three years old was dug up by its Parents some days after it was buried to prolong their miserable Life During this Siege Don Frederick tired with its length and despairing of good Success talked of returning into Brabant but the Duke of Alva blaming his impatience sent him word that if he resolved to raise the Siege he himself would come in Person sick as he was to carry it on But if his Indisposition hindred him he would send into Spain for his Mother to supply the place of her Son This reproach made Don Frederick resolve to continue the Siege In the heat of the Siege the Spaniards having thrown into the City the Head of a Man with this Inscription The Head of Philip Konigs id est King who came to relieve Harlem with an Army of Two thousand Men and aftewards another with this Inscription The Head of Anthony le Peintre who betrayed Mons to the French The Inhabitants of Harlem put to Death eleven Spanish Prisoners and put their Heads into a Barrel which by Night they rolled into the Enemies Camp With this Inscription The Citizens of Harlem pay the Duke of Alva ten Heads that he may no longer make Waer upon them for the Payment of the Tenth penny which they have not yet paid and for Interest they give him the Eleventh Head As they had hopes that the Siege would be raised they suffered themselves to be transported to prophane Mockeries making the Images of Priests Monks Cardinals and Popes and then tumbled them down from the top of the Walls after they had stabbed them in a hundred places At last the City being reduced to the greatest extremity by an unheard of Famine which swept away above Thirteen thousand Persons and all hopes of relief being vanished by the defeat of the Succours which the Count de la Mark and the Baron de Balemberg were bringing to the City they were obliged to surrender at Discretion by the Crys of the Women and Children for the Men had resolved to Sally out in a Body and cut out an honourable passage with their Swords through the Enemies Army The Spaniards forced the Citizens to pay a great Summ of Money to hinder the entire Destruction of the place and hang'd and drown'd above Two thousand Persons in some few days among others all the Ministers the principal Men of the City and the Officers of the Troops Wibald Riperda Governour and Lancelot a Bastard Son to Brederode were both beheaded The Cruelty of the Spaniards at Harlem instead of doing their Cause Service ruin'd it and made the People resolve rather to suffer the last Miseries than submit to so Cruel and Tyrannical a Government Thus the little City of Alkmar bravely repulsed all their Attacks and the Prince of Orange surprized Gertrudemberg which belonged to him in his own Right and which covered Dordrecht About the same time Maximilian de Henin Count de Bossut a famous Captain and very much valued by the Duke of Alva who was made Governour of Holland was taken in the Zuider-Zee which is the Sea of Amsterdam and his Fleet defeated by that of the Prince of Orange His great Ship was also taken which he called the Inquisition to reproach the Dutch with the principal Cause of their revolt This Count was carried to Horn where he remained Prisoner Four years till the Pacification of Ghent The Spaniards having taken Prisoner at the Hague Philip de Marnix Sieur de St. Aldegonde Minister of State to the Prince of Orange he assured the Duke of Alva that he would treat the Count de Bossut in the same manner as he did St. Aldegonde The Prince of Orange can never be enough commended for his good Nature in treating the Count with so much Kindness and Civility though not long before he had corrupted a Burgomaster of Delft and prevailed upon him to betray the Prince and deliver him into his hands whilst he was walking out of the City But the Conspiracy was discovered by a Letter intercepted from the Count to the Burgomaster About that time the Duke of Alva and his Son were recalled into Spain King Philip having found out too late that their Cruelty confirmed the Low-Countries in their Rebellion Lewis de Requesens great Commander of the Order of St. Iames in Castile and Governour of Milan who had a great share in the famous Victory of Lepanto succeeded the Duke of Alva in the Government of the Netherlands The Duke at his Departure boasted that he had put to Death by the hands of the Hangman above Eighteen thousand Men yet cruel Vargas who returned into Spain with him cryed at parting that his Clemency and Gentleness had lost the King the Netherlands A. D. 1574. Middleburg the Capital City of Zealand having been a long time defended by that renowned Captain Christopher de Mondragon and endured a great Famine and after the defeat of the Spanish Fleets who attempted in vain to relieâ—…e it was reunited to the rest of the Province This Siege lasted two years and the Spaniards spent above Seven Millions in the several Fleets they set out to Succour it The Prince of Orange so successful at Sea had always ill Luck at Land For the fourth Army which Count Lodowick of Nassau brought him out of Germany to assist him in driving out the Spaniards from the rest of Holland was defeated near Nimeguen by Sancho D'Avila a General of great Experience who from a private Souldier had advanced himself through all the Degrees and Employments of War to that great Command The Germans of Count Lodowicks Army instead of providing for their own and their General 's Defences fell to Mutiny according to their usual Custom and demand their Pay In this Action Count Lodowick and his Brother Count Henry of Nassau and Christopher Count Palatine were all three killed D'Avila remained Master of the Field of Battel of Sixteen pieces of Canon and all the Baggage This Battel was fought in the beginning of the Government of Requesens The Prince of Orange who loved his Brothers tenderly was sensibly afflicted with this loss But he abated nothing of his Constancy and Courage A. D. 1575. the Spaniards encouraged by the defeat and death of the two Brothers of the Prince of Orange laid Siege to the City of Leyden which after a long and unparallell'd Famine was miraculously saved by breaking down the Banks which drowned a great many Spaniards and by the Succours which was conveyed into the City by an infinite number of Boats that swam on the Lands that were overflown When the Prince represented to the States the Damage which the breaking down the Dikes
nothing left to preserve the Memory of the Spaniards but their Bones and their Graves As for the Address which they make a Crime of he thinks it as advantageous to his own Credit and Honour as to the King's Service and the Interest of the Provinces to have advised the presenting it as a certain method to divert the Deluge of these infinite Disorders which afterwards happened And as for the Protestant Sermons he advised Madam de Parma to permit them things being in such a posture that they could not be hindered without a manifest danger of the entire Subversion of the Government When the King says that the Care and Providence of Madam de Parma was so great that he was obliged to quit the Netherlands he owns that the Charge would be true if his Treachery and Disloyalty had been the Cause of it but that a year before he would willingly have retired and surrendred all his Employments When he saw that Monsieur de Bergues and Montigny had lost their Lives in Spain and Gibbets were erected and Fires kindled all over the Country he thought it high time to put himself in a place of Security without trusting to the King's Lerters full of fair Promises and Offers the better to deceive him That they had fallen upon his Person and Estate That neither the Consideration of the Privileges of the University of Louvain nor the Province of Brabant could hinder them from carrying his Son Prisoner into Spain And that by so rigorous and unjust a Treatment he was absolved from all his Oaths and had good Ground to make War upon his Enemy which was objected to him as a Crime That the King laid nothing to his Charge but what his Predecessor Henry of Castile had been guilty of who tho' a Bastard rebell'd against his lawful Prince Don Pedro King of Castile and Leon and kill'd him with his ownhand If the King answers that Don Pedro was a Tyrant and that he possessed Castile only by that Title wherefore says the Prince should not the King of Spain be used in the same manner for there never was a Tyrant who subverted the Laws and Constitutions of the Country with more Arrogance or broke his Oath with more Impudence than King Philip. And that at least Don Pedro was neither guilty of Incest nor a Parricide nor a Murtherer of his Wife And though he was born the King's Subject and should take up Arms against him 't was no more than Albert the first Duke of Austria formerly Count of Hapsburg his Predecessor had done against the Emperor Adolphus of Nassaw his Lord one of the Prince's Ancestors The Prince affirms that there is an origiginal mutual Contract between the Dukes of Brabant and their Vassals that they owe Obedience to their Prince who on his side is bound to preserve their Privileges the chief of which are That the Dukes cannot change the Constitution of the Province by any Decree That they are to be satisfied with their ordinary Revenue That they can lay no new Impositions nor bring any Troops into the Province without the Consent of the States nor alter the Price of Money nor imprison any man without the Information of the Magistrate of the place nor send him out of the Country The Lords of the Provinces are obliged by their Oath to maintain and assert these Privileges because by their Prerogative they have the Charge of the Militia and the Arms of the Province and not doing it they are to be accounted Perjur'd and Enemies of their Country That the King has not violated only one of these Privileges but all and many times over He has seiz'd upon his Estates his Dignities and his Son contrary to his Immunities That for this Reason he was absolved from his Oath of Allegiance and by Consequence had a right to defend himself by Force of Arms and above all because the King would never redress and make Amends for his Faults having rejected the Intercessions of the Emperor Maximilian and the Petitions of his Subjects who deputed to him the principal Lords of the Netherlands which he put to Death by the Hands of the Hangman against the Law of Nations as he had served all others whom he could seize on by his Artifices and who were too credulous in believing his false Promises This abundantly justifies the Prince for taking up Arms for his own and his Country's Preservation and if he could not take footing in the Netherlands at his first Entry as the King reproaches to him 't was no more than what had happened to the greatest Generals and to the King himself who has often invaded Holland and Zealand and been driven shamefully out without being able to make himself Master of one Inch of Ground And in regard by his Oath he dispenses with his Subjects from obeying him if he acts contrary to the Laws why is he so impudent to say that the Prince has taken up Arms against him unjustly To that Article in which the King says he returned into Holland and Zealand by Bribery and Corrupting the Inhabitants he makes answer that he went there at the Instance and Sollicitation of the principal Men of the Province which he is able to make appear by their Letters When the King accuses him of having persecuted the Church-men driven out the Catholicks and banished that Religion he replies That all this had been done by a common Consent to preserve their Lives and Privileges against Men who had taken an Oath to the Pope and were setting all Engines a work to subvert their Liberties and the newly established Religion Which was represented at the Treaty of Peace at Breda where this Article of Religion was confirmed by the Decree and Seal of all the Cities and that 't was not fair to impute that to him which was done by an unanimous consent of the whole Country When he reproaches him for granting Liberty of Conscience he answers that he had always been as averse to the Burning so many Men as the Duke had taken pleasure in it and that he was of Opinion to put a Stop to all Persecutions He ingenuously owns that the King before the holding of the States at Ghent and his Departure into Spain had commanded him to put to Death many good Men suspected to favour the new Religion but he never put these cruel Orders in Execution but gave them notice of it not being able to do it with a safe Conscience and chusing rather to obey God than Man He says that they do him Wrong in laying the Murther of some Ecclesiasticks to his Charge for he punished the Criminals with Death and those who were of an illustrious Family as the Count de la Mark convicted of those Outrages were condemned only to Imprisonment and loss of their Employments in Consideration of their great Alliances To that Head wherein the King declares that he did not command the Duke of Alva to establish the Imposition of the 10th and 20th
which heretofore was a Chappel for the Counts of Holland and often at my Fathers whither he used to come either to eat or play at Chess which was his chief diversion for during the Truce when he was not busy in war he often plaid at it and for that reason look'd upon such as did so H ehad a great affection for Mr. de la Caze a brave Captain of Bearn whose Son served in the Troops of Holland and played very well at it This Mr. de la Caze had no Revenue more certain than what he won of the Prince at this Play scarce ever parting from him without 9 or 10 Crowns of Gold which was worth more to him than his Company They never plaid for above one at a time without ever doubling but la Caze that he might not dishearten the Prince would let him win one Game in three or four This Monsieur de la Caze has told my Father that the Prince would be very much vexed when he lost which happens even to the greatest Men and the reason is evident because it is their own fault if they lose for this Game does not depend at all upon chance but good conduct and 't is very provoking to see ones self surpassed by others in Knowledge or Judgment Monsieur de la Caze said that when the Prince had lost and it was late before they gave over Play the wax Lights being almost burnt out he would pull his Hat down over his Eyes without rising from his Seat or bidding him good Night but at such times as la Caze had let him win the Prince would be very pleasant conduct him on his way and command his Pages to light and wait upon him to his Lodgings Such particulars as these show the temper of People and that the greatest Men are not without their weaknesses In relation to Chess Prince Philip of Orange told my Father that he had heard for certain in Spain when he was there a Prisoner that an old Spanish Lord having been winner all the Evening at this Play and continuing so good part of the Night with King Philip the 2d without being so complaisant as to let him carry one Game and having remarked much disturbance in the Kings Countenance he told his Children upon his return home that he must depart the day following and never think of coming back to Court where there was nothing to be done or hoped for either for himself or them because he had beat the King at Chess all that Night and should never be forgiven for it Prince Maurice used to make himself very merry with us Frenchmen who to cloath themselves after the Fashion of those times wore slasht Doublets with one single Shirt which made those freeze that look'd upon them being so thin cloathed and shivering in the midst of Winter which is very long and sharp in Holland and as he was jesting one day upon them in a great Company one of these Gentlemen told him he had a way to deceive People for he had two Shirts on and that nothing was so warm as two Shirts the Prince was pleasant cried Lay a wager upon it to which the other replying That he knew nothing warmer than two Shirts Prince Maurice answered That undoubtedly three were warmer than two and that the weather was cold enough for him to make use of them Prince Maurice related to my Father that one Winter at the Hague when there was a great many German Princes of his Kindred there they met one day at one of the chief Inns to divert themselves where after having drank till scarce any of them could see one of the Company proposed the putting out the Lights and throwing Stools at one another all night long which being done one of these soveraign Princes found his Arm broke another his Knee out of joynt another his Skull crackt and those that came off best had horrible Bruises and black Eyes after this they were all forced to go to Bed and consider what to do with themselves This Story the Prince learnt from Monsieur Luc his Surgeon a Frenchman very expert in his Profession who was called to their help upon this occasion Prince Maurice smilingly ask'd my Father if this was not a very fine and agreeable diversion for the Princes his Relations and whether they had not extraordinary reason to boast of their Pastime Prince Maurice loved Mathematicians and Engineers very well and amongst others of that age he very much esteemed Monsieur Alcome one excellent in the profession to whom he gave a large Pension though he had a very good one from the King but there was no body could teach the Prince in that Science he having contrived several fine Inventions for the passage of Rivers and fiege of places so that in his Age he served for a Pattern to Engineers as well as Captains He would not suffer his Troopers to wear straight Boots saying great inconveniencies might arise from thence being often in haste to get on Horseback ridiculing us Frenchmen for affecting to have fine Legs so that they would be whole hours in getting their Boots off or on and to set them an example he had his own Boots so large that he could almost leap into them He did not approve those Italian Grooms who taught their Horses to prance which he said was very dangerous and had been the death of several People he had no People to manage his Horses and was content if they would only turn to the right and left During the Truce the King of France sent him a magnificent Present of Spanish Horses by Monsieur de Pluvenelle Querry to his Majesty who had the honor to teach the King to ride being a person of great Reputation and the most famous Man of his time in that Art The Prince though he was very vigilant and laborious yet had so great a Quietness of Mind that so soon as ever he was in Bed and his Head laid upon the Pillow he fell into so sound a Sleep that it was a difficult matter to wake him but knowing his own infirmity that he might not be surprized in time of War as his Father who was of the same Complexion was like to have been in his Tent near Malines after having given necessary orders he made two Men watch by turns every hour with command to wake him if any accident should happen Marquess Spinola was of a humor quite contrary to the Prince and could never sleep if he had the least business upon his Spirits the Marquess was very lean the Prince very fat and their Tempers very different the one being dry and choleric the other plump and sanguine Prince Maurice being one day in a good humor told my Father That Elizabeth Queen of England by a weakness common to her Sex had so extraordinary a desire to be thought handsom that when the States General had sent her a magnificent Embassy which consisted of the principal persons of their Country
established and to make him more odious The Count de Bossut Governor of Holland for the Spaniards made a fruitless attempt to drive them out of the Brill Many other Cities of Holland viz Horn Alkmar Edam Goude Oudewater Leyden Gorcum Harlem and all Zealand except Middleburg following the Example of the Brill abandoned the Duke of Alva and declared for the Prince of Orange Flushing a considerable City and Port of Zealand was one of the first that revolted by the perswasion of the Priest who on Easter-day as he was saying Mass exhorted the People to recover their Liberty This Air of sedition having blown the People into a flame they immediately went to their Arms and forced the Spanish Garrison to leave the place But they arrested Alvarez Pacheco a Spaniard and Relation of the Duke of Alva who was superintendant of the Fortifications of the Cittadel which was building at Flushing He was immediately hanged by order of Treton who revenged on him the death of his brother who had been beheaded by the Duke of Alva at Brussels 4 years before Pacheco in vain represented that he was a Gentleman and desired the favour to be beheaded but he was hanged publickly on a Gibbet I wonder at the variety of opinions I have met with in the most famous Historians of the Netherlands concerning this Pacheco Grotius says he was a Savoyard though Benlivoglio Strada Meursius and Emanuel de Metteren do all agree he was a Spaniard Cardinal Bentivoglio says he was beheaded and others write that he was hanged on the other side Meursius calls this Gentleman who was executed a Relation of the Duke of Alva Pacioli although the others call him Pacheco confounding this Pacheco with Francis Paciotti of Urbin Count de Montefabre so famous for his skill in fortifications and other engines of War that when he had built the Cittadel at Antwerp his name was given to one of the Bastions by order of the Duke of Alva the four others were called the Duke Ferdinand Toledo and Alva not one by the name of the King his Master But to return to this Pacheco Emanuel de Metteren though a very exact Historian names him Pierre Pacheco though Famianus Strada who was better informed names him Alvarez Which shows that the greatest men are liable to mistakes The Sea Gueux in requital of the Duke of Alva's cruelty hanged all the Prisoners they made without distinction but the Spaniards they tyed by couples back to back and threw them into the Sea As soon as the Prince of Orange arrived in Holland and Zealand he made the Sieur Diederic or Theoderick de Sonoy a Friezland Gentleman his Lieutenant in North-Holland otherwise called Westfrise and Charles Bâ—…issol Governor of Flushing and his Brother Lewis Boissol Admiral These two Gentlemen were of Brussles and being condemned by the Duke of Alva follow'd the â—…ortunes of the Prince of Orange About that time the States of Holland and Zealand met at Dordrecht where they acknowledg'd the Prince of Orange for their Governour though he was absent and obliged themselves by oath never to abandon him and the Prince in like manner swore by his proxy Philip de Marnix Sieur de St. Aldegonde to continue inviolably devoted to their interests 'T was observed in this Assembly that St. Aldegonde gave his hand to all the Deputies of the States and they to him in token of their mutual confidence and fidelity William Count de la Mark then present was declared Lieutenant of the Prince of Orange but rebelling some time after against the Prince with his confidentt Bertel Entens as rash as himself they were both seized on and they would have proceeded to the Trial of the Count if the consideration of his alliances and great services had not pleaded for him for he had been guilty of great cruelties to some good Ecclesiasticks which deserved a severe punishment After he was out of Prison he retired to Leige where he died of the bite of one of his mad dogs The Prince did all things in the Name of the States though he had all the Power of the Government in his own hands such an intire confidence had the People in him There were anciently but six Cities in Holland that had right to vote in the States viz Dordrecht Harlem Leyden Delft Amsterdam and Goude the Prince added twelve others to these six viz Rotterdam Gorcum Schedam Sconen la Brille Alkmar Horn Enkhusen Edam Munikedam Medimblet and Purmerend that he might engage these Cities in his interest by the honour he had done them and that they might be the better affected to him in the assembly of the States and ease the publick miseries and grievances the more effectually by being acquainted with them He had the absolute disposal of all Employments and charges but refused the name of King and contented himself with the Power At that time he banished all the Romish Ceremonies out of the Churches that this difference of Religion might out off all means of an accommodation with the Spaniards who were sworn Enemies to the new opinions A. D. 1572 the Duke of Alva after the recovery of Mons being very much indisposed sent his Son Don Frederick de Toledo to take the Cities of Holland and Guelderland that had revolted from him Don Frederick resolved to make Malines an Example for opening its Gates to the Prince of Orange He did not think it enough to pillage the Town for several days together but permitted his Souldiers to commit all sorts of Cruelties and Barbarities even to ravish the Women without excepting the Nuns After this he marched against the Marquess of Bergues routed him and possessed himself of all the Towns he had won among the rest of Zutphen which he mercilesly gave up to the Plunder of his Army He retook Narden and intirely destroyed it cutting off the Innocent and Guilty without distinction of Age or Sex and contrary to the Promise which Iulian Romero a Spanish Colonel had made to the Burghers of saving their Lives He burnt the Houses razed the Walls let the dead Bodies lie Three whole Weeks in the Streets without Burial An excess of Barbarity which was considered by the most Cruel rather as a detestable Villainy than a just Punishment for their revolts This made Harlem take a Resolution to hold out to the last Extremity having to do with so Merciless a Conqueror The Dutch Historians write that the Art of Printing was begun at Harlem A. D. 1440. by Laurence le Contre and Thomas Pieterson his Son-in-Law but that their Factor Iohn Faustus betraying them carried away the Letters to Amsterdam then to Cologne and from thence to Mayence where he stopt and where Iohn Guttemburg a German Gentleman who is commonly reckoned the Inventor of Printing improved it very much Wibald Riperda a Friezland Gentleman Commanded in the City of Harlem and Don Frederick declared that he would make use of no other Keys to enter the City than his
been defeated by the Suisses he sent the Seigneur de Contay his Favorite to Louis the XI at Lyons to court his Friendship in the most humble and submissive Terms imaginable contrary to his usual Custom upon which Philip de Comines says these very Words If a Prince would take my Advice he should behave himself with so much Moderation in Prosperity that he should never be forced to change his Language in Adversity He adds that the Seigneur de Contay as he pass'd through Lyons had the Mortification to hear Songs sung in honour of the victorious Suisses and to the disgrace of his Master whom they had routed But most Princes and Ministers display all their Sails to the favourable Gales of good Fortune without thinking of contrary Winds which often shipwrack them Since we have been talking of the Sieur Beuningen or Boudin in French I make this Observation that at the Beginning of the War the principal Officers and Ministers of Holland had very odd pleasant Names Their great manager of Business was the Sieur de Boudin in English Pudding their Mareschal de Camp the Sieur Urst dead lately at Hamburgh he was of Holstein of mean Birth and raised his Reputation by defending Cracovia so long time for the Swedes against the Imperialists Urst in Dutch signifies Hogs Guts season'd their other General that defended Groeningen and retook Grave was the Sieur de Rabenhaupt which is Ravens-Head and one of their Colonels was Paen Bread and Vin Wine who had his Head cut off 'T was observed also that the Swedish Ministers and Commanders had strange Names Oxenstiern signifies Ox-forehead One of their most Famous Colonels was called Douffell which is Devil who was killed at the Battle of Leipsick and another Sthtang a Serpent and Colonel Wolfe who defended Stetin so bravely I am of Opinion these Digressions will not be disagreeable to the Reader which serve to divert and refresh him after he has been tir'd with Narrations all of the same Nature This has been practised by Herodotus and others with general Approbation But to return to our principal Subject the Affairs of the Low Countries Don Iohn of Austria natural Son to Charles the V. Famous for the Victory of Lepanto succeeded the Commander de Requesens in the Government of the Netherlands and arrived at Luxemburg the very day that Antwerp was sack'd He went Incognito through France and passed for an Attendant of Octavio de Gonzague and saw Henry the III. at Dinner and at Paris he was informed of the State of the Low Countries by Don Diego de Zunega the Spanish Embassador Don Iohn of Austria despised the Dutch and thought them very easy to be imposed upon as did the Duke of Alva who used to say he would stifle the Hollanders in their Butter But these heavy stupid Men as he thought them having more Solidity and good Sense than florid Wit easily discovered that he had a design to deceive them by fair Words and affected Civilities He was at that time thirty years old a man of high and ambitious Thoughts He had formed a Project of making himself King of Tunis by the Assistance of the Pope but King Philip would never hearken to it Afterwards being made Governour of the Low-Countries he had a design to depose Queen Elizabeth and rescue Mary Queen of Scots whom he pretended to marry by the Favour of the Guises her Relations who encouraged him to this Attempt for their own private Interests These vast Designs gave great Jealousy to King Philip who was apprehensive with Reason left a war-like Prince as he was and who had won so much Reputation over all Europe by gaining the Battle of Lepanto by this new Accession of Power suffering himself to be hurried away with his Ambition and the natural desire of Empire should one day endeavour to make himself Master of his Dominions to the prejudice of his Children These Thoughts frightned him extreamly with Reflection on the old Example of Iugurtha who though a Bastard possessed himself of the Kingdom of Masinissa by the Murder of the lawful Heir and the fresher Instance in his own Family of Henry the Bastard his Predecessor who dispossessed and put to death Pedro the Cruel the lawful King of Castile King Philip who to rid himself of the like Fears had not spared his own Son Don Carlos had more Wit than to suffer any longer the just Grounds of Suspicion which his bastard Brother gave him he resolved to set himself at ease of that side Iohn d' Estovedo Secretary to Don Iohn who was accused of inspiring his Master with these ambitious Designs being dispatched into Spain about some Affairs of consequence he was privately assassinated by Antonio Perez Secretary of State and Favorite to King Philip by his Orders whose death made all the World believe that Iohn's which happened not long after had been hastned Upon Iohn's arrival into the Netherlands his favouring the Spaniards who were declared publick Enemies made a Rupture between him and the States who took up Arms against him by the Advice of the Prince of Orange He earnestly exhorted them not to suffer themselves to be deceived by the false Hopes which Don Iohn gave them from the Part of the King of Spain representing to them that angry Princes dissemble for some time but they never forget an Injury but when 't is out of their Power to revenge it and that they are sparing of no Words nor Promises to conceal their Resentments quoting that Maxim of the Roman Emperours that They who had offended their Princes ought to be numbered among the dead In fine the perpetual Edict was concluded between the States on one side and Don Iohn on the other in the Name of the King by the Mediation of the Emperour Rodolphus and the Duke of Cleves and Iuliers on the 17th of Febr. An. Dom. 1577. By this the Treaty of Ghent was ratified a general Amnesty granted and the holding of the States The Departure of the Spaniards and Germans out of the Low-Countries was agreed to and that they should leave behind them all the Provisions Ammunitions and Atillery which were in their Garrisons The Spaniards promised to punish the Soldiers who had been guilty of so many Outrages and to set at Liberty the Count de Burin Prisoner in Spain But the Prince of Orange and the States of Holland and Zealand entered their Protestation against the Edict maintaining That a great many things particularly those which related to Religion had not been sufficiently explained In pursuance of this perpetual Edict the Spaniards went out of the Castle of Antwerp and Philip de Croy Duke of Arschoite was made Governour of it who took an Oath publickly bare-headed to Iohn Escovedo that he would keep the Castle of Antwerp for King Philip his Master and deliver it up to no Man but Himself or his Successors but by his express Command to which Escovedo replyed If you perform what you promise God will
that he had four Wives His first Wife was Anne D' Egmont Daughter to Maximilian D' Egmont Count of Burem and Leerdam a great Heiress whom he married by the Favour of Charles V. and had by her a Son and Daughter The Son was Philip William Prince of Orange of whom more hereafter and the Daughter Mary de Nassaw who was married to Philip Count de Hohenlo commonly called de Holac a great General who after the unexpected Death of the Prince of Orange which put the United Provinces into a strange Consternation generously resisted all the Efforts of the Spaniards and taught the first Rudiments of War to Prince Maurice his Brother in Law who was at the College at the time of this unhappy Accident His second Wife was Anne of Saxony Daughter to the Great Maurice Elector of Saxony who made head against the Emperor Charles the V. by whom he had the Famous Maurice of whom we shall give a very large Relation and a Daughter named Emilia de Nassau who married Emanuel King of Portugal Son to King Anthony of Portugal who was dispossessed by King Philip the II. This Prince Emmanuel won so much on the Princess by his Civility Courtship and Addresses that she chose him for her Husband as poor as he was and of a contrary Religion and tho' Prince Maurice opposed the Match as advantageous to neither They had two Sons whom I knew in my youth one of whom left a Son among other Children who went lately into Holland to demand of the Prince of Orange the Remainder of his Grandmother's Fortune and many Daughters some of whom were married to Persons of a very unsuitable Quality She was a very good Princess but about the end of her Life having fallen out with the Prince of Orange her Brother she retired to Geneva An. Dom. 1623. and died shortly after of Melancholy leaving six Daughters whom I saw at Geneva An. Dom. 1624. She was Godmother to one of my Sisters and gave her Her Name Emilia who is still alive and is married to the Seigneur de Montrevil near Menetoon in Champagne Her Godfather was the Count de Culembourg Son to Florent de Pallant Count de Culembourg whose House at Brussels was pulled down by Order of the Duke of Alva and who having done nothing after the Address of the Nobility retired into Holland and lived so privately that he died unknown to those of his own Party The third Wife of William Prince of Orange was Charlotte de Bourbon of the House of Montpensier whom I have declared before to have been a Religieuse or Abbess of Iouarre But the Love of Liberty which is an invaluable Blessing prevailed over all the Vows she had made in her youth which she pleaded she had been forced to and had made several Protestations against She died of a Pleurisy at Antwerp A. D. 1582. leaving six Daughters behind her The eldest Lovise Iulienne de Nassau was married to Frederick the IV. Elector Palatine Father to Frederick the V. Elected King of Bohemia who by the Princess Elizabeth of England Sister to Charles the I. King of Great Britain had many Princes and Princesses The eldest Henry Frederick Design'd King of Bohemia with his Father A. D. 1620. was a very handsom and hopeful Prince He studied at Leyden and Our Tutor Benjamin Prioleau Author of the Latin History of the last Regency carried us duely every Sunday after Dinner to play with this young Prince who loved us extreamly which made us the more regret his Death when we afterwards heard of it He perished unhappily in the Sea of Haerlem going in Company with the King his Father to see the Spanish Galleons laden with an inestimable Booty which had been taken by Peter Hain the Dutch Admiral near the Island of Cuba A Vessel by Night sailing full Speed having fall'n soul on his split it in two thus the Prince and all that were in it were drowned except the King his Father who by great Fortune having caught hold of a Rope that was thrown out to him from the Ship was miraculously drawn aboard The Second is the present Elector Palatine who has several Children by the Princess of Hesse among others Madam the Dutchess of Orleans a Princess of great Wit and Judgment who has already Children who are the first Princes of the Blood in France The third is the Famous Prince Robert who has won so much Reputation by Sea and Land having not deceived the hopes which he had given in his Infancy by the Martial and Manly Look which was then taken notice of The fourth was called Edward who lived a long time in France where turning Catholick he married the Princess Anne de Gonzague Daughter to the late Duke of Mantua Montferrat and Lions and Sister to Maria Louise Q. of Poland and Wife to two Brothers Uladislaus and Casimir Kings of Poland She was celebrated for her Beauty under the Name of the Princess Maria. Concerning whom I add this by the way that having been designed Queen of Poland and understanding that I was very well acquainted with the State of that Kingdom where I had been twice she desired me by the Duke de Noailles to give her some Instructions of it which I did several Afternoons and in Token of her Acknowledgment she would be Godmother to my eldest Daughter with Monsieur the Coadjutor of Paris then Archbishop of Corinth who is the famous Cardinal de Retz the learnedst Prelate in the Kingdom But to return to the Prince Palatine Edward He left three Daughters by the Princess Anne of Mantua the eldest of whom is Madam the Dutchess of Enguien already the Mother of several Princes and Princesses of the Blood The other married the Duke of Brunswick Hanouer who had only Daughters and the third the Prince of Solme who was made prisoner at the Battle of Seneff If I well remember for I write all this by my memory which is very good without the Assistance of any Book there was another Son of the King of Bohemia a very handsom Man Godson to Prince Maurice of Nassau called Maurice I saw another Son of his called Philip who retired to Venice for an Action which 't is better to pass over in Silence than mention Another Son was called Louis who died young whom my Father named so for the late King who was his Godfather by an Order of his Majesty which follows Monsieur de Maurier BEing acquainted with the Desire my Cousin the Count Palatine of the Rhine has to invite me to be Godfather to the last Son which God has given him I shall be extreamly glad to pay him this Testimony of my Friendship and good Affection and that you should perform this Office in my Name when the time is first informing him of the Charge I have given you and renewing the Assurances of my Affection to him Referring this to your Care I desire God Monsieur Maurier to keep and preserve you Written at Paris
Barneveldt she took part with the latter and used all her Endeavours to save his Life having founded her good Opinion of him upon his having been one of the chiefest Confidents of the Prince her Husband This Princess was my Father's greatest Support in his Long Embassy and rendred him always agreeable to the House of Orange This was a Favour which at that time he stood mightily in need of for the Court would suffer no person there but one that stood fair in the Opinion of that Family This Protection was so much the more advantageous and necessary to him because there were several Persons of Quality in France that were Brothers-in-Law or Cousins to Prince Maurice who used all their Endeavours to render him suspected and to have him recalled from that Employment which was the most considerable that could be hoped for from France in that Conjuncture All Europe was then in a profound Peace so all Embassies at other Courts lay dead and had no Action stirring that was considerable That of Holland only was of Importance by reason of the War which on their part was managed under the Conduct of that Famous Captain Count Maurice and in Flanders by the great General Ambrose Spinola a Genoese The English Scotch Danes Swedes the Germans those that were Protestants and the French went thither to learn the Rudiments of War under the Count and the Germans the Italians the Sicilians the Polanders and the Spaniards that were Catholicks did the same under the Marquess so it seemed as if all the whole Christian World was met in this little Corner of the Earth to learn how to fight against one another France then maintaining divers Companies of Foot and some Troops of Horse in that Countrey being very much interested in what concerned the Good of the United Provinces who then Employed the Arms of the Spaniards their ancient Enemies and having likewise very often an Occasion for the Assistance of the Dutch Men of War the Embassador had continually some matter of Importance to write to Court and to dispatch his Couriers thither Besides the King every year gave large Sums to the Hollanders for the Payment of the French Troops and the Embassador besides the Allowance for his Employment and his Pensions from Court had moreover fourscore thousand Livres a year as Treasurer in Holland and all the Money went through his Hand Besides the great Profit of this Employment there was likewise much Honour and Pleasure in the Service for all the French Nobility when they came from the University went to learn the Art of War under Prince Maurice as heretofore they had done in Piedmont under the great Mareschal Brisac In Winter the Hague was full of French Lords and Gentlemen who to honour their King and the Person of his Minister used to accompany him to his Audience of the States-General and it not being possible to provide Coaches for two or three hundred Gentlemen and Officers that sometimes came together the Embassador himself used to march on Foot at the Head of so splendid a Company and his Coach to follow after empty I shall spend no more time upon the Concerns of my Fathers Embassy or his Obligations to the Princess Louise of Orange but return to my principal Matter and relate what I know concerning Philip Prince of Orange eldest Son to William of Nassau by his first Wife Anne of Egmont PHILLIP WILLIAM Prince of Orange Philip William of Nassau Prince of Orange and Eleanor of Bourbon his Wife THis Prince was Godson to King Philip the Second and when Prince William his Father was forced to take Arms in his own Defence he studied in the Colledge of Lovaine where amongst other priviledges it is not permitted to arrest any person upon what account soever Notwithstanding this Iohn Vargas a Spaniard accompanied with several Souldiers of the same Nation took him thence by force pursuant to an Order from the Duke of Alva in spite of all the clamours of the Rector of the University who complaining vehemently and in good Latin that their Priviledges were violated was answered by Vargas very incongâ—…uously in this Barbarous expression Non curamus Privilegios vestros The Prince of Orange his Father complained of it by Publick Manifesto's which set forth the Cruelty of the Spaniards and proved that there were neither Laws nor Priviledges nor Innocence of Age that could exempt any person from their Tyranny This poor Child was carried Prisoner into Spain at 13 years old and shut up in a Castle in the Country where he could have no Education and where he pass'd the greatest part of his time in playing at Chess which the Governour of the Castle had taught him Towards the end of his Imprisonment which was about 30 years they allow'd him a little more Liberty This Prince was naturally Complaisant his Body sat and wore a very large Beard Being carried young into Spain he continued a Catholick so the Spaniards to justifie this unjust detention said they had brought him thither only to preserve him from the poyson of Heresie and to keep him in security from it During his stay in Spain the Captain who guarded him having spoke much to the disadvantage of Prince William his Father this generous Son push'd on by affection for his Father which animated him to resentment took him about the middle threw him out of the Window and broke his Neck He thought that so bold an action would bring him into trouble and indeed upon this occasion there were different advices given in King Philips Council but at last it was resolved to use mildness and indulgence in this encounter Gabriel Osorio a young Gentleman who was present at the action having reported it in favour of the Prince said the Governour had been wanting in his respect towards him so this death was allowed to his just resentment The Prince thought himself so obliged to Osorio for this favorable representation which he had made of him that he ever after kept him near his Person and bestow'd on him a great many favours At last King Philip II. either moved by so long a Captivity or weary of punishing the pretended Iniquity of the Father upon the Son that was Innocent or rather hoping that his deliverance would raise jealousies and divisions amongst the Brothers of the House of Orange as the escape of Monsieur de Guise from the Castle of Tours had caused amongst the heads of the League resolved to release him after so long an Imprisonment Then Count Maurice shewed upon this occasion that he had a Soul that was wholly disinterested and let him enjoy all the Estates which were then in his Possession as Breda and other places and Madam the Countess of Holoc his Sister by Father and Mother used him very generously making him a Thousand fair Offers and rich Presents upon his arrival in the Low Countries where they two met at Cleves but Count Maurice for fear of being suspected satisfied himself with
accompanied by a great many young Gentlemen of the United Provinces a Hollander who was in the Ambassadors Train at their first Audience having looked earnestly upon the Queen told an English Gentleman with whom he had been acquainted in Holland that he saw no reason why the Queens Beauty should be generally spoke of to so much disadvantage that he thought People much to blame for doing it that to him she seemed very agreeable and that if he durst he would let her see what passions she was able to raise in a young Gentleman with several other such like discourses often looking upon the Queen and then applying himself to the Englishman The Queen who took more exact notice of the private persons than the Ambassadors as soon as the Audience was ended sent for the Englishman and commanded him on pain of her displeasure to tell her what his discourse was with the Hollander being certain that it was concerning her as was evident by their mein and behavior The Gentleman made a great many excuses saying it was not worth her Majesties knowledge at last the Queen being very urgent he was forced to declare the whole matter and confess the extream passion which the Hollander had testified for her Royal person The event of the affair was this that the Ambassadors were each of them presented with a Chain of Gold worth 800 Crowns and every one of their Retinue with one of 100 Crowns but the Hollander who thought the Queen so handsom had a Chain of 1600 Crowns which he wore about his Neck as long as he lived This Queen who had a Thousand great qualities had still the vanity of being thought handsom by all the world and I have heard my Father say upon this occasion that being sent to her in every Audience that he had she would pull her Glove off a hundred times to show her hands which were very white and handsom But to return to the character of Prince Maurice he was naturally good and just and died with the reputation of an exemplary Honesty to show that he deserved this character I need only relate the following Story Two of his Domestics who were Frenchmen one called Iohn de Paris who waited upon him in his Chamber the other one of his Halberdeers named Iohn de la Vigne having assassinated a Jeweller of Amsterdam who had Stones of a great Value which he would have sold the Prince he was so far from protecting them as several Persons of Quality would have thought it concerned their Honor to do that on the contrary he himself prosecuted the Actors of so inhumane a Butchery and made them both be broke alive upon the Wheel If this great and just character of Prince Maurice might be any way in the least sullied in the opinion of some persons it was occasioned by his contests with Monsieur Barnevelt who had been one of the principal Ministers and Confidents of Prince William his Father and who after his Death got the soveraign Command both by Sea and Land to be put into the hands of Prince Maurice for People being in a terrible confusion after that disaster and several seeing themselves deprived of their principal support being desirous to have recourse to the Amnesty which King Philip offered them he said publicly that matters were not in so desperate a condition that they ought to take courage they had indeed lost a real support by the Death of the Father but that he had left a Son then studying at Leyden who was capable to fill his place and gave very great Testimonies of his inclination to Vertue so by the Perswasion and Authority of this great Man Prince Maurice was no sooner come out of the Colledg but he was placed as Commander at the Head of Armies upon this account the Prince looked upon him as his Benefactor till time made him think he had reason to alter his opinion and use other measures towards him Whilst Monsieur de Barnevelt was for the continuance of the War which the Prince desired to uphold his Authority they kept a very fair Correspondence as likewise in the year 1598 when he met King Henry IV. in Brittain to diswade him from making the Peace of Vervins But when Barnevelt shew'd himself inclinable to a Truce after a War of 40 years which had so exhausted the State that it was impossible by reason of the prodigious number of Debts to have the War continue any longer it was then that this Prince who thought the Truce would give a mortal blow to his Glory and his Interests could no longer conceal his resentment but fell openly at variance with Monsieur de Barnevelt even in publick Conferences so far as to give him the Lye and one time to lift up his hand against him Prince Maurice used all imaginable endeavours to perswade King Henry IV. to break the design of the Truce as inconsistent with the welfare of France since the Spaniards being no longer engaged against the United Provinces would without all doubt turn their whole Forces against his Kingdom He spread several Papers which accused those who were for the Truce of being Traytors and holding aCorrespondence with the Spaniards but Monsieur de Barnevelt made it be represented to the King by such Ambassadors as had their dependance upon himself what he had several times before told to Mr. Buzanval his Ambassador and Monsieur the President Iavin who had been dispatched Extraordinary Envoy into Holland That it was necessary for the United Provinces to use the King in the same method that sick and wounded persons do their Physicians or their Chyrurgions That is to discover plainly their Wounds and Infirmities whereby his Majesty may see if it lay in his power to afford them such remedies as would heal them That their State was charged with excessive Debts whose Interest was to be paid to private persons that had lent their Money to the Public and had scarce any thing else remaining for their own subsistence and that except that Interest was exactly paid the greatest part of them must be left to starve That the several Imposts which were established to maintain the charges of the War were not sufficient for its continuance and that 13 or 14 Hundred Thousand Crowns were over and above necessary to pay the Interest of their Debts and the Troops which were then in their Service but that if his Majesty would supply them with what was necessary for their continuance of the War with Spain they would pursue it more vigorously now than ever The King whose Treasure was exhausted seeing that he would be obliged to furnish them every year with at least 4 Millions of Livres consented to the proposal of the Truce which was concluded by his Authority notwithstanding the perpetual opposition which Prince Maurice made to it by his Creatures So the Truce being concluded in the year 1609 by Monsieur Barnevelt's perswasions it is not to be admired if the Prince of Orange
their own bounds which was so true that when the States of the 17 Provinces assembled at Brussels having instantly demanded of Prince William of Orange that the Roman Catholic Religion might be exercised in his Governments returned answer That this depended only upon the States of Holland and Zealand That they appealed from these Judges as incompetent and visibly suspected of being their Enemies to such Judges as were natural and proper to their cause At the same time Prince Maurice with the States General called a National Synod in the Town of Dort and several Divines of Foreign Countries were invited thither in this Assembly the Opinion of Arminius was declared to be Heretical scandalous and tending to the Re establishment of Popery in the United Provinces and in pursuance of this decree Utembaugarts and all the other Ministers and Doctors suspected to be of that Opinion were dismissed from their Cures and banished the Country and forbid to return under pain of severe punishment After this Monsieur Barnevelt and the other Prisoners were tried before Judges nominated by the States General these Judges Condemned Monsieur Barnevelt to death upon the 12th of May 1619. My Father had several times interceeded for him in the Name of the French King and Monsieur de Boissise had been twice sent Envoy Extraordinary into Holland to exhort the States to consult their proper welfare and treat their Prisoners with moderation Pursuant to the Sentence he was executed in the Court of the Castle at the Hague being 66 years old where the Scaffold was raised against his Chamber Window opposite to the Prince's Apartment who was said to have beheld this Execution from his window by the help of a prospective upon which some people made their Reflections Prince Maurice and the States had less regard to the Intercession of France because the King of England was in their Interest as being perswaded that Monsieur Barnevelt was none of his Friends and that he had done him a sensible displeasure by causing the English Garrisons to retire from the Town of Flushing the Brill and the Castle of Ramekius which the English held for a security of those Sums which Queen Elizabeth had lent to the States General Monsieur Barnevelt being the chief of a very splendid Embassy made great Instances to the King to recall his Forces from their Towns King Iames promised him publickly and solemnly that he would do it provided they paid the Money due to him thinking he had imposed an impossible condition upon them considering how the Provinces had been exhausted by their Taxes but Monsieur Barnevelt having got the Kings word applyed himself with so much diligence to the collecting of the Money and by his Credit the people bled so freely that in a little time these vast Sums were carried into England which King Iames tho' very much surprized at was obliged to receive and consequently to recall his Garrisons and the remembrance of it stuck so close that he had always a great aversion for Monsieur Barnevelt Prince Maurice had another reason to make him have less regard to the intercession of France which was because he was not in the least afraid of their resentments Lewis the 13th was then come out of his Minority and a new Favorite was absolute Master of Affairs who had more regard to the raising of himself and two Brothers than to meddle with the Affairs of other Countries which appeared in the business of the Elector Palatine King of Bohemia for though by reasons of State he should have been maintained to weaken the House of Austria which at that time was become formidable and because this Elector was one of our principal Allies who might always have so divided Germany as that one of the Parties should have assisted us when we had occasion yet Monsieur de Luynes promised the Marquess de Mirabel the Spanish Ambassador then at Paris to ruin the Affairs of the Palatinate upon condition that Monsieur de Cadenet his Brother should marry Mademoiselle de Pecquigny and Chaulnâ—…s one of the most noble most beautiful and richest Heiresses of her time who was educated at Bruxels in the Family of the Infanta Isabella Upon these hopes which were not ill grounded for the Spaniards had given him their word Monsieur de Luynes sent a splendid Embassy into Germany consisting of Monsieurs d' Angouleme de Bethune and de Chateau-neuf who deceived the Protestant Princes that were armed for the defence of the Palatinate for it was concluded by the Treaty of Ulme where all the Princes of both Parties were assembled to hearken to the propositions of France That both Catholics and Protestants should lay down their Arms and the Quarrel be decided by the King of Bohemia and the Emperor only The Protestant Princes suffered themselves to be abused and did perform the Treaty honestly so that the Marquess of Ansbatch the General of their Forces had orders to disband them but the Duke of Bavaria and the other Catholic Princes of the same Parties sent their Troops by the Danube to the Emperor who overthrew the Prince Palatine at the battel of Prague After this Monsieur de Luynes having thus sufficiently raised his Family began to consider what might be for the Interest of the Kingdom and thereupon councelled the King to weaken the Hugonots who as he told his Majesty had the Insolence to make a distinct State within themselves and had hitherto been held invincible hereupon Monsieur de Luynes seized upon all their important places except Montauban from Saumur to the Pyreneans and after his death in the year 1622 pursuant to his Maxims Montpelier was taken and at last some time after Cardinal Richelieu counselled the King to attack Rochel which he gained and razed immediately and having in that destroyed the principal strength of the Hugonot Party their entire ruin soon followed upon the Duke of Rohans retreat to Venice who had a long time upheld them by his Valor and Industry Prince Maurice was sufficiently informed of this condition of France by the Dukes of Bovillon and dela Trimoille who had married his Sisters besides these he had a great many Friends in Germany where several of the Soveraign Princes were related to him either by his own side or his Mothers who was Daughter to Maurice Duke of Saxony The Elector Palatine was his Nephew likewise and he afterwards was chose King of Bohemia which he accepted as 't is said upon the advice of Prince Maurice and the persuasions of the Princess his Lady though contrary to the Counsels of King Iames his Father in-law who thought a young Prince was not capable to manage an Affair of such Importance and resist the power of the House of Austria protesting that he would neither succor him with men nor money except he quitted this design which would infallibly become his ruin but the Duke of Bovillon perswaded the Elector Palatine to the contrary as having some power over the young
Prince who was his Nephew and had been bred up with him at Sedan and the Duke discovered some Ambition to have his Nephew a King when he wrote to some Friends at Paris that whilst Lewis was making Knights at Fountainbleau he was making Kings in Germany But this Royalty did not continue above 6 months so that his Enemies called him a King of Snow because the single battle of Prague in the beginning of the year 1621 lost him all Bohemia Silesia Lusatia Moravia with the adjoyning Provinces and the year following the Spanish Forces marching from the Low Countries deprived him of the Palatinate itself in which he was not re-established but by Adolphus's Descent into Germany Charles Duke of Lorrain who died many years after one of the oldest Captains of the age signalized himself very much at the Battle of Pragne where Count Harcourt was likewise tho very young But to return to Prince Maurice France being so apparently inclined to the Interests of Barnevelt's Party its Ministers which were then in Holland used to say that Prince Maurice would have pretended to the Soveraignty of the United Provinces but that such People who in the beginning had been hottest against Mr. Barnevelt and most devoted to the Prince yet when they fathom'd his designs became averse to them notwithstanding their former obligations besides the Exile Death and Imprisonment of persons who had been so considerable in the State and had likewise a great many Friends and Dependants wrought a mighty change in the Peoples affections to the Prince which appeared very visibly for whereas before when he went through the Towns of Holland every body came out of their houses praying for him with extraordinary Acclamations now as he was one day going through the Market-place at Gorcum which was full of people there was scarce a single man that pull'd his Hat off to him For the common people were so variable that the very Writings which heretofore had made Mr. Barnevelt become suspected by them were now produced as so many motives for their pity and compassion towards him To this they added that the assistance which probably he might have hop'd for from the Elector Palatine was since the loss of the battle of Prague no longer to be expected and the Emperor Ferdinand the 2d having by the happy success of his Generals Count Tilly and Wallestein made himself absolute Master of all Germany even to the Baltick Sea where he established an Admiralty at Wismar reduced all the Princes and Imperial Towns under his Obedience Prince Maurice could no longer expect Succors from Germany whatever Friends he might heretofore have had there But those who adhered to the Interests of Prince Maurice and the House of Orange acquitted him of a Design so prejudicial to the good of the United Provinces by maintaining that it was a perfect Artifice of his Enemies to make him become odious to the People of the Low Countries for said they what probability was there that Prince Maurice ever had it in his thoughts to become Soveraign of his Country since after the extirpation of Barnevelt and his party he never made one step towards it which he might have done having then no farther obstacles Prince Maurice did not long survive a great Conspiracy which the Sieur de Stautemburg youngest Son of Mr. Barnevelt had laid against his Life which being happily discovered some hours before its execution obliged him to punish a great number of the Conspirators throughout the pincipal Towns of Holland The Prince was never married but had several Natural Children the most considerable of them all was Mousieur de Beververt a man very well made and very brave he was Governor of Bolduc after whose death the Prince of Tarentum had that Government and was succeeded by Collonel Fitz Patrick a Scotchman Prince Maurice died in the Spring of the Year 1625 when the Marquess Spinola besieged the Town of Breda And as some pretended it was for grief that he did not succeed in the Soveraignty so others said that it was because he could not relieve that place which was his own propriety and had been surprized by him 34 years before FREDERICK HENRY Prince of Orange Henry Frederick of Nassau Prince of Orange and his Posterity THis Prince was born the 28th of February 1584. He was of a good mein and of a strong make and his parts were as eminent as his person was agreeable He was a very great Captain and equall'd the Glory of his Brother Maurice who taught him the Art of War and lead him into the most dangerous Adventures and amongst others at the battle of Newport where though he was very young he contributed much by his Valor to the gaining that great Victory in a conjuncture where the Army of the States General had before them a powerful body of men commanded by Albert the Arch-duke in person and the Sea behind them so that it was absolutely necessary either to make themselves Conquerors or to perish When Prince Maurice died in the year 1625 he advised his Brother Henry Frederick his chief Heir to marry Madam de Solmes who was come into Holland with the Queen of Bohemia whose Beauty and good Carriage were accompanied with a great deal of Modesty and Prudence she died a little while ago being very antient and her Name was Amelia Daughter to Iohn Albert Count de Solmes This Prince had one Son and four Daughters the eldest of these Ladies married Frederick William the Elector of Brandenburg by whom she had several Children This Prince has the greatest Territories in all Germany they reaching from the Low Countries to Poland and Curland The 2d Daughter Henrietta Emilia married the Count de Nassau The 3d Henrietta Catherina married Iohn George Prince of Anhalt and the 4th married the Duke of Simeren the youngest Son of the House Palatine who died a little while ago The Son was called William was born in 1626 and died the 6th of November 1650 after the business of Amsterdam He was a Prince naturally ambitious and of great Courage so that his Enemies reported of him that though he was so young yet he aimed at the execution of that design which had been laid to Prince Maurice's charge by Barnevelt and his Adherents His sudden death changed the whole face of affairs in the Low Countries He had great prospects from his alliance of England having married Princess Mary Daughter of Charles the first King of Great Britain by whom he left Prince William Henry of Nassau now King of England c. who was born the 14th of November 1650 some days after the death of his Father This young Prince William was very remarkable in his Infancy for his reservedness and moderation his Prudence increased as he grew up and such people as were nice observers of merit and took great notice of him have affirmed that never Prince gave greater hopes than he even in the most tender years He suffered with an admirable temper
recruits on that side sent three fresh Battalions to support his own as likewise to guard the plain that was behind the Hedges But the two first Regiments basely quitted their Post upon the first approach of the Enemy so that the other three Regiments that were sent to their assistance having not sufficient time to adjust themselves and seeing the two first Battalions run away betook themselves to their Heels and breaking into their own Squadrons that stood there to cover them occasioned an extraordinary confusion Upon this the French Cavalry coming to advance and being supported by the Infantry that made perpetual firing the Prince's Squadrons were beaten back but they did not go far and soon rallied again and poured so vigorously upon the French that they made them fly in their their turn In the mean time the Enemy's Foot being advanced above and having possessed the Hedges where the Prince's men were posted before they cou'd not possibly make a long resistance nor hinder the rest of the Foot from being attacked in the Flank as well as the Front So that the Foot after they had done their duty extremely well saw themselves obliged to quit their post and the Prince repassing the Rivet retir'd in very good order to Steenword and from thence to Poperdingue the Enemy having been so rudely handled by Count Waldeck who commanded the Prince's Right Wing that they had no desire to pursue him And this was the issue of the battel at Mont cassel The Prince having retired in this manner as we have related it the French King pursued the Siege of the Cittadel of Cambray with all imaginable vigor and it fell out very unfortunately for the besieged that a Bomb set fire on one of their Magazines where the Granadoes and other warlike Provisions lay and utterly consumed it However the besieged continued to defend themselves bravely and recompenced their loss in some manner by the death of the Marquess de Renel one of the French King's Lieutenant Generals who was slain by a Cannon-shot from the Castle But at last the French having made several breaches and the Governour of the Cittadel being wounded they were constrained to yield to the great number and continual attacks of the Enemy and to surrender the Castle which was done on very honorable conditions To return to the Duke of Orleans altho victorious he was so afraid lest the Prince should once more attempt to throw relief into St Omers that he durst not quit the field where the battle was fought but kept himself upon his guard for eight days successively But when he received the News that his Highness had passed the Canal of Ghent with all his Forces he returned before the Town which he besieged with his whole Army and after a gallant resistance which cost him several of his best Officers they were forced against their will to surrender upon good terms After the taking of these places the French heat began to be somewhat abated and those that were so forward to attack others were now content to act on the defensive all the rest of the Summer and durst never put it to the hazard of a battle altho it was often presented to them So that after several tedious marches and counter-marches on both sides and the Confederates ineffectual laying Siege to Charleroy which for several weighty considerations they thought expedient to raise the Prince returned to the Hague being accompanied by the Earl of Ossory Don Carlos the Duke of Albemarle and several other Persons of Quality After he had given the States General an account of the last Campaign with the reasons that obliged him to raise the Siege of Charleroy and not to attack the Enemy who were not only superior to him in number but posted to the greatest advantage Their High and Mightinesses thanked him for his conduct and indefatigable pains humbly beseeching him still to continue his zeal for the public Interest A little after his return to the Hague several of the English Nobility arrived at the Prince's Court who in an Assembly of the States General gave them to understand that his Unkle the King of Great Britain earnestly desired him to make a Voyage into England in hopes that his presence there would not a little contribute to the Peace then in agitation which would be of such mighty advantage to the Republic Thus his Highness took his leave of the States and of all theColledges on the 17th of October and being accompany'd by the Earl of Ossory Monsieur d' Odyk the Count de Nassau and several other persons of condition he embarqued at Hellevoetsluys in one of his Majesties Yatchs and arrived at Harwich on the 19th about ten in the morning where the Duke of Albemarle and the Master of the Ceremonies attended him in the King's Coaches and conducted him the same evening to the King and his Royal Highness at Ipswich who received him with all the testimonies of a particular kindness and affection On the 23d he arrived with the two Royal Brothers at Whitehall and was lodged in the Duke of York's apartment who retired to St. Iames's What was at first nothing but a bare surmize was soon after confirmed by the King himself For on the first of November his Majesty acquainted the Council with his design to marry the Prince of Orange to his Royal Highness's eldest Daughter declaring that he hoped this Alliance would facilitate the accomplishment of a General Peace which his Majesty was resolved to advance as far as the Interest of his Kingdoms did engage him After this the whole Council went in a body to compliment the Princess and afterwards the Prince the rest of the Nobility did the same after their example The Prince of Orange acquainted the States with it by an Express giving them to understand that after he had maturely weigh'd the reasons which might incline him to marry he thought he could not make a better choice than the Princess Mary that he had already demanded her in Marriage of the King and his Royal Highness her Father who immediately gave their consent that he judged it advisable to inform them of it expecting their approbation of the Match with all speed that he might the sooner repair to them for the service of his Country Hereupon the States General were assembled and seriously considering the reasons of State upon which this Marriage was founded with the great advantages it might produce as for instance a confirmation of that strict Union that was between the King of Great Britain and the States of the United Provinces the establishment of the ancient House of Orange and the conclusion of the Peace so earnestly desired I say after they had seriously considered all this but especially the happy choice his Highness had made of a Princess who besides her natural sweetness possessed all the virtues that a Husband could desire testified their approbation by a public Edict in terms full of joy and satisfaction declaring
Massacre'd in Florida by the Spaniards They promised to the Prince of Orange by Count Lodowick his Brother whom they had loaded with Honours and Caresses a considerable supply of Men and Money and the Sovereignty of Zealand Utrecht and Friezland and that they would joyn the other Provinces to France The Prince of Orange upon these great hopes and appearances which proved false refused a very advantageous and secure Treaty which the Emperour offered him from the part of the King of Spain and sent Forces under the Command of his Brother-in-Law the Count de Bergues to make an Attempt upon Gueldres and Over-Yssel The Count took Zutphen and several other places His Brother Count Lodowick was to make a considerable effort on the side of Hainault where he surprized Mons the Capital of that Province which diversion hindred the Duke of Alva from retaking the Cities of Holland and Zealand that had newly declared against him and which he might easily have done at a time when they were unprovided of forces and necessaries for their defence But nothing incensed the Duke of Alva so much as the surprizing of Mons which he resolved to recover at any rate leaving every thing else to apply himself wholly to this seige which gave time to the revolted Cities to draw breath and furnish themselves at Leisure with Men and Ammunition The brave Defence of Count Lodowick assisted by Mounsieur de la Nove bras de fer and many of the French Nobility made the Siege of Mons very long and difficult The Spaniards fired above 20000 Canon-shot against it In the mean time the Prince of Orange who had retired into Germany had raised a greater Army than his first to enter into Brabant where the Cruelty and Exactions of the Duke of Alva made him hope for better Success than he had in his first Invasion This Army was to be paid with the money the French Court had promised to supply him with Thus the Prince believed with reason that the Spanish Forces would not be able to defend the Low-Countries attack'd on so many sides by Land whilest by Sea they were gauled by the Counts de la Mark Sonoy Treton the Brothers Boisols and Bertel Entens his Lieutenants in Holland and Zealand where they had great Success as I shall afterwards declare The Spaniards were never in so great danger of losing the Netherlands as at that Conjuncture The hopes of the Prince were not groundless and in all probability the Spaniards had been quite driven out of the Low-Countries if France had made good its promises Thus this great Man who had so many Strings to his Bow parted from Germany with a great Army to enter into the Low-Countries when he found all People driven to despair by the Tyranny of the Duke of Alva and ready to receive him with open arms First he was received into Ruremonde where he passed his Army over the Bridge into Brabant Louvain gave him a sum of money and Malines opened its Gates to him which cost that poor City very dear The Duke of Alva was absent at the Siege of Mons which he resolved to take and the Prince designed to relieve as well to save so important a Place as to deliver his brother Lodowick from the danger he was in But Mr. de Genlis who marched from France to the relief of the place with 7000 Horse and Foot having been defeated and taken Prisoner by Frederick de Toledo who had gone out to meet him upon the secret intelligence which he received from the Court of France of his marching towards Mons and the condition of his Forces The Prince having attempted in vain to raise the Siege for the Duke of Alva had intrenched himself so strongly that 't was impossible to force his lines and at the same time understanding by the discharging of the great Guns and other signs of rejoycing in the Camp of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew where Admiral de Chatillon and all his principal friends had been kill'd and having no hopes from the French who had deceived him but on the contrary having all the reason in the world to be apprehensive of so great a Kingdom which had declared against his party and religion he advised his brother Lodowick to make an honourable Composition which was granted him and he himself retired by small Marches towards the Rhine In this retreat he was in great danger of being kill'd by the Enemies and his own Soldiers For the German officers talked of arresting him to secure the payment of their arrears which they were promised should be paid at their arrival in Brabant where he expected to receive the money the French had promised him But this eloquent and engaging Prince appeas'd the mutiny by assuring them 't was not his fault and satisfied them with promises and the little ready money he had On the other side he was in great danger of his Life at Malines 800 Spanish Horse who had chosen men mounted behind them entered into his Camp by night and pierced as far as his tent and would have killed him as he slept if a little dog who lay in his Bed had not waked him by scratching his face with his claws the greatest part of the Spaniards being cut off he marched strait on to the Rhine where he disbanded his Army at Orsay and went through Over-Yssell to Utrecht and thence to Holland and Zealand which had declared for him all except Middleburg and Amsterdam in the following manner Whilest the Prince of Orange was a Refugee in France and Germany and wandring from Province to Province William de la Mark Boissols Siegneurs de Lumay Sonoy Treton the Boissols Entens and others who acted under the Orders of the Prince turned Pirates and practised the trade a long time with great Success till having no longer a retreat in the Ports of England which Queen Elizabeth denied them at the instance of the Duke of Alva and for Fear of making the Spaniards her Enemies the Count de la Mark and the rest designing to seize a Port in North-Holland or Friezland were obliged by the contrary Winds to put in for shelter with 30 great and Small Ships into the Isle of Vorn in Holland where the Brill is which they took by surprize having found it without a Garrison which was sent to punish Utrecht for refusing to pay the tenth penny This Count de la Mark was a rash and a cruel man He swore never to shave his Beard nor Head till he had revenged the death of Count Egmont and Horn. When he had surprized the Brill which signifies Spectacles in the Flemish Tongue he had himself painted in a large piece with the Duke of Alva behind whom he stood and put Spectacles on his Nose by way of Derision it being a term of Contempt in Holland to say a man wants light He put ten pieces of Money in his colours in hatred of the Imposition which the Duke of Alva had