Be the reasons what they may, liberty owes much to little lands and confined peoples. Go back to any age and continent, place side by side a little nation and a large one, and if the first has made for liberty and progress, the second has often made for bondage1 and superstition2. For the beginnings of morals and religion we go back, not to that widely extended state named Babylon, but to little Palestine, shut in between the desert and the deep sea. For the beginnings of art and culture we go not to the vast, rich plains of Asia Minor3, but to that little rocky land named Greece. For the beginnings of the republic we go not to the sunny plains of Italy, but to the narrow valleys between the Alpine4 Mountains. What great contribution to civilization has Russia made to the world? But the little Swiss Republic has given us the international postal5 system, international arbitration6 and the referendum. Commerce owes a great debt to little Venice. Modern banking[Pg 56] owes a great debt to little Scotland. Asia and Africa owe a great debt to little England. And though Holland was a narrow strip of land but twenty miles wide and one hundred miles long, yet the world can never repay the debt it owes to this mother of republics.
For lovers of liberty the most sacred spot in modern Europe is the square of the Binnenhof at The Hague. A tablet there records the words with which William the Silent challenged Philip II—words that were first made the foundation of the Dutch Republic, words that our pilgrim fathers took as the basis of their New England institutions.
"We declare to you that you have no right to interfere7 with the conscience of any one so long as he has done nothing to work injury to another person or public scandal."
We can never forget that Holland gave the founders8 of our Republic their shelter, with safety and leisure for working out their dreams and visions of self-government. But a full century before the Pilgrim Fathers set foot in Leyden, Holland had become a shelter to foreign exiles, and her citizens had pledged themselves to a deathless hatred9 of all forms of tyranny. To the cities of Holland had fled those men who were denied liberty of thought[Pg 57] in Paris and Nuremburg. To Holland had come the victims of oppression in Venice and Florence. It was in Holland that the great Humanist had lived and died, that scholar and philosopher Erasmus, who wrought10 as powerfully for reform in religion as Huss and Savonarola. It was Erasmus who forged the intellectual weapons used by Luther in Germany, and Calvin in Geneva. It was Erasmus who first made a correct text for the Greek Testament12. It was Erasmus who put the Bible into the common languages of Europe. And it was a group of Dutchmen who first demanded the separation of Church and State. Two generations before William Bradford gathered his little band in Leyden, William the Silent stood forth13 to challenge the divine right of kings.
John Ruskin once called attention to the fact that as every great art-age has been a reaction from an era of unendurable ugliness, so every movement for liberty has been a reaction precipitated14 by unwonted tyranny. Certain it is that as Oliver Cromwell represented a rebound15 from feudalism, and Abraham Lincoln a reaction from the cruelty of slavery, so William the Silent represented a thrilling protest against the crime of a foreign usurper16. His career is as romantic and many-coloured[Pg 58] as the career of David, the fugitive17, fleeing from Saul, or that of Robert Bruce, hiding in caves and dens18 from the pursuers who threatened his life. In youth he was the companion of kings, but he became the champion of the people against their king, the idol19 of his followers20, and the hero of a lost cause. Like David, he knew the weariness and painfulness of the exile's lot. Like Lincoln, he had a face furrowed21 with anxiety, and fell a victim to the assassin's bullet. Reared in luxury, the heir to titles and vast estates, the head of a dynasty, whose blood still flows in the veins22 of Europe's rulers, for the cause of liberty he resigned his rank, that he might serve the poor and oppressed. He was a statesman, and had the foresight23 that organizes out of defeat, and is unconquerable because it never knows when it is defeated. He was a reformer, and attacked injustice24 and despotism in an era when of necessity his labours were fruitless. He was a soldier, and had the personal daring and the strong arm that count for more than strategic skill. He was a hero, and though daily the hired poisoners sought entrance to his palace, and assassins ever dogged his steps upon the streets, despite the six attempts upon his life, he maintained his courage and his boundless25 hope. In an age[Pg 59] when society had not yet doubted the divine right of kings, William of Orange fronted Philip II with a denial of this citadel26 of tyranny and injustice, affirmed the principle that the creed27 of a nation and the creed of individuals is a matter of their own choice and their own conscience.
Our libraries hold no more instructive volumes than Motley's story of the Netherlands, their rise to material prosperity and their struggle for liberty under the leadership of this man known as William the Silent. The tale of their slow growth as a maritime28 nation is an epic29 of indomitable courage in the face of every conceivable form of obstacle. We see these people for the sake of liberty retreating from the rich plains of central Europe into the morass30 that the Roman historian said was "neither land nor water." With infinite labour they built barriers and dikes against the North Sea, developed a system of veins and arteries31 through which they compelled the ocean to fertilize32 their fields, and constructed watery33 highways for carrying their commerce into distant lands. At length a region outcast of earth and ocean alike "wrestled34 from both domains35 their richest treasure." Brave cities floated mermaid-like upon the bosom36 of the sea. Standing[Pg 60] upon the canal boats, travellers looked down upon cattle grazing below the level of the ocean, beheld38 orchards40 and gardens whose tree-tops scarcely reached the level of the waves. Unconsciously this race that had struggled so long and victoriously41 over storms and seas was educating itself of the struggle with the still more savage43 despotism of man.
With intelligence and enterprise came the development of trade, and in the fifteenth century the Hollanders became the carriers of the world's commerce. Their ships and their sailors made their way around into the Baltic, to the ports of all northern Europe, to the ports of France and Spain, of Genoa and Naples and Venice, to Constantinople and Alexandria, and from thence south into all countries and continents. As bees flitting from orchard39 to orchard fertilize the fruit, so these ships passing from port to port and continent to continent fertilized44 the minds of men. Returning home they brought bulbs, roots and seeds that soon made Holland the gayest flower-garden in Europe and the home of modern floriculture and horticulture. From the Far East they brought the suggestion of movable types. The bleached45 linens46, the tapestries48 and woollen goods of Holland won fame throughout the world. The homes[Pg 61] of her burghers were models of comfort and even luxury. Small merchants of Amsterdam and Leyden and Rotterdam became merchant princes. Weavers49 and spinners of linen47 and silk, workers in iron, as well as silver and gold, left the other lands of Europe and settled in the Dutch seaports50.
In that little strip of land were inclosed 208 walled cities and 6,300 villages guarded by a belt of sixty fortresses52. Little wonder that Spain looked longingly53 toward this people and meditated54 plans for breaking down its fortresses, subjugating55 its peoples and transferring its accumulated treasure from the chests of the burghers to the vaults56 of the Spanish dons and cavaliers. And when at length it began to look as if the scepter of the sea might pass from Spain to Holland, King Philip and his soldiers, under Bloody57 Alva, resolved to draw a circle of fire around little Holland and rob her of the treasure she had so slowly earned.
Fully11 to understand the heroic struggle of the Hollanders under William of Orange, we must know the immediate58 cause of the controversy59 and the source of the tyranny they opposed. That cause was the Inquisition and the tyranny was that of Spain's ambitious rulers. At the moment of the outbreak, Spain[Pg 62] was the richest and the most powerful nation in Europe. Victorious42 in Africa and Italy, her emperor had carried war into France and now reigned60 over Germany as well as those provinces now known as Belgium and Holland. If we ask from whence Spain derived61 the money for these wars of conquest the answer is found in the vast treasure she acquired in the New World. Prescott tells us that when the Spanish soldiers captured the capital of Peru, the soldiers spent days in melting down the golden vessels62 which they found in the vaults of temples and palaces. In that era, when the yellow metal was worth so much, a single ship carried to Spain $15,500,000 in gold, besides vast treasures of silver and jewels. When Cortez approached the palace of Montezuma the king's messengers met the general bearing gifts from their lord. These gifts included 200 pounds (avoirdupois) of gold for the leader and two pounds of gold for each soldier. The full value of the treasure that Spain carried from the cities and states of the New World will, doubtless, never be known.
But it must be remembered that the Spanish soldiers who went into Mexico and Peru turned those two countries into a wilderness63. For a full half-century these brutal64 soldiers,[Pg 63] burning with avarice65, went everywhither, looting towns, pillaging66 cities, butchering the people, lifting the torch upon cottage and palace alike. The awful anguish67 and suffering that Spain wrought upon the helpless people of Mexico and Peru is one of the bloodiest68 chapters in history. The eagle pouncing69 upon the dove, the panther leaping upon the young fawn70, but faintly interpret to us the savage cruelty of the Spaniard as he raged through the new world. And when the Spanish ships came home, laden71 with gold and silver the Emperor found means to prosecute72 his plans for military conquest. Spanish armies were soon marching into northern Italy, into Austria and Germany, into France and finally into Holland. Flushed with victory and greedy of Holland's treasures, Philip determined74 to punish these people for their refusal to vote supplies to his army, by establishing there the Inquisition by the sword.
The Inquisition, that medi?val instrument for the detection of punishment of disbelievers in the established Church, had existed in all its horrible malignity75 for two hundred and fifty years. But it remained for Philip of Spain to make its name forever a byword and a hissing76 in the mouth of history. He had[Pg 64] begun by employing it against the wealthy Jews and Moors77, who made up the richest, the most intelligent and prosperous classes in Spain. During the first few years after its institution the Spanish population fell from 10,000,000 to 7,000,000. In eighteen years Torquemada burned 10,220 persons and confiscated78 the property of 97,321 others. Primarily, the Inquisition was a machine to search men's secret thoughts. It arrested on suspicion, "tortured for confession79 and then punished with fire." One witness brought a victim to the rack, and two to the flames.
The trial took place at midnight in a gloomy dungeon80 dimly lighted by torches. Lea tells us "the Grand Inquisitor was enveloped81 in a black robe with eyes glaring at his victim through holes cut in the hood82." Preparatory to examination, the victim, whether man, maiden83 or matron, was stripped and stretched upon a bench, after which all the weights, pulleys, and screws by which "tendons could be strained without cracking, bones crushed without breaking, body tortured without dying, were put into operation." When condemnation84 was pronounced the tongue was mutilated so that the victim could neither speak nor swallow. When the morning came, a breakfast with rare delicacies85 was[Pg 65] placed before the sufferer and with ironical86 invitation he was urged to satisfy his hunger. Then a procession was formed, headed by the magistrates87, prelates and nobility, and the prisoner was led to the public square, where an address was given, lauding88 the Inquisition, condemning89 heresy90 and warning the people against want of subjection to the Pope and the Emperor. Then while hymns92 were sung, blazing fagots were piled about the prisoner until his body was reduced to a heap of ashes.
Such was the devilish institution Philip of Spain determined to set up in Holland as a means of accomplishing his twofold aim, the punishment of "disbelievers" and the despoiling93 of the Dutch burghers' treasure-chests. Little wonder that even this sturdy folk drew back from the thought in horror. They were not a people to submit to such barbarities as they had already proved, by giving shelter to foreign exiles. When the Inquisition was first inaugurated in Spain, and men first stretched upon the rack as heretics, Holland had opened her doors to the fugitives94, who fled alike from the wrath95 of kings and priests. All over the world, with its darkness and superstition, its cruelty, its flames, its racks and thumbscrews, men of independent minds had secretly turned their[Pg 66] thoughts toward little Holland, and their steps toward the seaports where the Dutch merchants bought and sold the treasures of the sea. So, now, there developed in the Netherlands a united protest, representing tens of thousands of people, who deserted96 the churches ruled by the officials of the Inquisition. These protestors went into the open air beyond the city walls where they sang songs, and listened to the preaching of the reformed ministers. Soon the Roman Catholics under the guidance of the Spanish army, and the Protestants under William of Orange, stood over against one another like two castles with cannon97 shotted to the muzzle98. And finally the storm broke, and the protestors went into the churches their own hands had built, and covered the floor with rubbish of broken statues, effigies99, and images, cleansing100 the walls with axe101 and hammer and broom, and leaving only the pulpit for the teacher, and the plain pews for the worshippers.
The spark which finally set aflame the powder-magazine of men's hearts was the entrance into Holland, in 1567, of the Duke of Alva, at the head of twenty thousand of Spain's finest troops. Bloody Alva was the most accomplished102 and capable general in Europe. He had been victorious in campaigns[Pg 67] in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. He has been called the most bloodthirsty man who ever led troops to battle, and he was sent to Holland to satiate his wolfish instincts. His army included 6,000 horsemen, notorious for the cruelty with which they had butchered their captives in the Italian campaigns. Alva promised to turn these human wolves loose upon the sheep of Holland. Having arrived in Antwerp and established himself in the citadel, his first act was to organize the "Bloody Council." This monster, whose cruelty was never equalled by any savage beast, announced that if in the Roman era the Emperor contented103 himself with the heads of a few leaders, leaving the multitude in safety, he would order the death of the multitude, naming a few who were to be permitted to live. Soon the streets were filled with dead bodies. Not content with hanging, burning, and beheading the leaders, Alva hung the corpses104 beside the road as a warning against free-thinking.
In seven brief years this man brought charges of heresy, treason and insubordination against 30,000 inhabitants. He boasted that he had executed 18,600, while the number of those who had perished by battle, siege, starvation and butchery defied all computation.[Pg 68] And the more the people rebelled, the more cruel were the methods he devised to torment106 them. To the gallows107 he added the stake and the sword. Men were beheaded, roasted before slow fires, pitched to death with hot tongs108, broken on the wheel, flayed109 alive. On one occasion the skins of leaders were stripped from the living bodies and stretched upon drums for beating at the funeral march of their brethren to the gallows. The barbarities committed during the sacking of starving villages, Motley tells us are beyond belief. "Unborn infants were torn from the living bodies of their mothers; women and children were violated by thousands; whole populations burned and hacked110 to pieces by soldiers, and every mode which cruelty in its wanton ingenuity111 could desire."
Such was the administration of the man of whom it was said: "He possessed112 no virtues113, while the few vices114 he had were colossal115." To Philip, Bloody Alva explained his failure to subdue116 the Hollanders by the statement that his "rule had been too merciful."
Over against this human monster, with his implacable hatreds117 and his bestial118 cruelties, stands William of Orange, the champion of liberty and the saviour119 of the Netherlands. By a strange coincidence, the first vivid[Pg 69] picture we have of this prince who gave up a life of ease and luxury to defend the rights of his fellow men, is the scene at the abdication120 of Charles V, when, in the presence of a great multitude at Brussels, that ruler turned over the sovereignty of the Netherlands to his son, young Philip II of Spain. William of Orange was then a youth of twenty-two, a stadtholder, or imperial governor, of three rich provinces, and the commander of the official army on the French frontier.
"Arrayed in armour121 inlaid with gold," says the historian, "with a steel helmet under his left arm, he looked the picture of noble manhood." Beside him, as he fronted the assemblage, stood young Philip, a youth of twenty-eight, dressed in velvet122 and gold, but physically123 ill-shapen and already an object of dislike and distrust. Impressive indeed the contrast between these two young men, destined124 in a few short years to be pitted against each other like gladiators in the long struggle for liberty. "The one had a genius for government, the other possessed a talent for misgovernment. William of Orange had a passion for toleration; Philip II had a passion for crushing every form of toleration." Sovereign at twenty-eight, Philip was already a prey125 to that consuming ambition which, with[Pg 70] his fierce bigotry126, was soon to win him universal hatred.
How different this young prince William, with his godlike physique, his perfect balance of heart and intellect, his conscience that could not endure the thought of tyranny. Little wonder that men loved him. In person most elegant, in manners most accomplished, he had been educated by his mother, Juliana of Stolberg, a woman of rare abilities and deeply religious character. As a grand seigneur, with great estates and a brilliant retinue127, he had known every temptation of wealth and luxury. But neither the flattery of his friends nor the adulation of his followers had sapped his manhood. He was already a seasoned soldier, and almost at once he was to win fame as a diplomatist. We see him serving at the head of his troops throughout one more campaign; then, at the age of twenty-six, acting129 as one of the three plenipotentiaries at the treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. Sent to France as hostage for the fulfillment of this treaty, we find him the cynosure130 of all men's eyes at the greatest and most brilliant court of the day. Little here to warn those arch-plotters, Henry of France and Philip of Spain, that he was soon to become their deadliest foe131. Yet already he was meditating132 rebellion[Pg 71] against the horrors they were planning. And soon he was to give up all thoughts of court distinction, and go forth to organize peasants and rebels into an army, besieging133 his own castle in the cause of liberty.
It was while he was still at the French court that the incident took place which gave him his title of William the Silent. The peace between Henry and Philip had just been concluded, with one purpose in view as advised by cardinals134 and priests. "Both sovereigns were to massacre135 the Protestants in their dominions136, and in the Netherlands the Spanish troops were to be employed for this special purpose." The Duke of Alva was in the secret, and King Henry supposed that William of Orange was also. One day while hunting, with William riding at his side, Henry of France unfolded the horrible scheme. The young prince heard him without a word. He had not been told of the project, but he betrayed his ignorance by no sign of speech or gesture. Henry assumed that he approved of the awful butchery. No man was ever more grievously in error. From that moment William of Orange knew that his call had come, from that hour he meditated his withdrawal137 from the political parties of the guilty leaders. And when at length the martyr138 fires were[Pg 72] kindled139 in Holland, and the Inquisition, under Bloody Alva, began its hellish tasks of "Church discipline" William of Orange sold his plate and jewels, abandoned the great estates he had inherited, and throwing in his lot with the common people, went to the defense140 of the Netherlands in the struggle for liberty of thought.
William had already intervened, at the risk of his life, on more than one occasion of strife141 and bloodshed. But the harshness with which the laws against heretics were now carried out, the presence of Spanish troops, the filling up of ministerial offices by Spaniards and other foreigners was stirring the whole country, and presently his own son, studying at the University of Louvain, was seized and carried off to Spain. William himself was outlawed142 and his property confiscated. Finding that he had been for years the real head of the movement for liberty, Alva, as Governor-General, now set a price upon his head. It was the darkest hour of the long struggle. In constant danger of assassination143, in constant fear of betrayal, unable to convince his own people that the contest could never be won, William wandered from place to place, a fugitive and an exile.
But he never once lost heart or capitulated[Pg 73] to despair. In that hour he seemed to have the strength of ten. He was at once general, statesman, diplomat128, financier and saviour of his people. Like David, he went through the forest collecting outlaws144 and men who had grievances145; he organized a score of bands to prey upon the Spanish army; he developed a system of secret service by which he kept spies in Alva's citadel and informed his people of the enemy plans. He raised a little army—saw it defeated—raised another, and saw the crafty146 Alva refuse to fight until he was forced to allow it to disband. In seven years he organized four such armies, only to be overwhelmed again and again by force of numbers. With peasants armed with pikes and pistols he fought veterans who had guns, cannons147 and 6,000 horses. Attempt after attempt was a failure, but he would not confess defeat. When all seemed lost, he wrote to his brother, "With God's help, I am determined to go on." And at length, in the face of defeat on land, he turned to the sea and, organizing his little fleet of "Beggars," became a terror to the Spanish galleons148.
Fascinating the story of how this term, "the Beggars," came to be the watchword of the Hollanders' revolt. One day when the clouds were at their blackest, the nobles of Brussels[Pg 74] rode in a body to the Duchess Margaret to beseech149 the withdrawal of the Spanish troops. They came plainly dressed and unarmed, and marching four abreast150 into the council chamber151, petitioned her to suspend the Inquisition. While Margaret, deeply touched, shed tears over the piteous appeal, one of her counsellors, named Berlaymont, spoke152 scornfully of the petitioners153 as "a troop of beggars." The dropping of that single word was like the dropping of a spark into a powder-magazine. That night a banquet was held, with three hundred nobles present, and "Long live the Beggars!" rose on every side. Born of a jibe154, the name "Beggars" caught the imagination of the people; the revolt spread like wild-fire, and henceforth the phrase became a battle-cry, which was to ring out on every bloody field of the long struggle.
But the battle was only begun. Though the spring of 1572 brought hope, the hope was quickly dashed by the news of the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew in France. Charles IX had aligned155 himself with Philip of Spain and was seeking to exterminate156 the Protestants. And Bloody Alva now redoubled his cruelties in Holland. With incredible ferocity, he attacked and captured the city of Naarden, butchering every man, woman,[Pg 75] and child, and razing37 every building to the ground. Haarlem was next marked for destruction. The garrison157, numbering less than two thousand men, was reinforced by Catherine van Hasselaar and her corps105 of three hundred women, who handled spade and pick, hot water and blazing hoops158 of tar73 during the assaults. Alkmaar came next. Sixteen thousand Spaniards under Don Frederic, Alva's son, began the siege, expecting the town to fall as Haarlem had. But the hated foreigners were met in the breaches159 by women, boys and girls, who fought with pick, stones, fire and hot water for a full month.
When the brutal Spanish troops threatened to beat the patriots160 down by sheer force of numbers, the peasants cut their dikes, flooded their own fields and homes and renewed the attack upon the Spaniards from the branches of their orchards and the tops of their houses. Clinging to the dikes by their finger-tips, these people fought their way back into the marshes162, where the ground was more solid beneath their feet. No pen can describe and no brush can paint the scenes of this and the other sieges that followed. The history of heroism163 holds no more impressive spectacle than the sight of these patriots who, in the hour when the siege was suddenly lifted, left[Pg 76] their dead in the streets and went staggering toward the church to give thanks to God and swear anew their hatred of tyranny before their lips had even tasted bread.
The struggle went on for a score of years. Driven out of their homes, with no shelter of tent or stable, fleeing constantly from the enemy, hiding under the slough164 grass and digging holes in the frozen sand, the patriots perished by the thousands. In winter, when the frost was bitter, and Alva looked out upon ice on every side, he ordered thousands of pairs of skates, that his men might the more easily hunt down the fugitives. At the climax165 of the struggle William the Silent, worn with excessive labours, his health undermined by weeks and months spent in the swamps and in the dikes, was stricken with fever and all but died. When the illness was at its height and he was only a skeleton, too weak to hold his pen in his hand, able only to whisper dispatches to his messengers, came the news that Leyden, already besieged166 for months, and now plague-stricken, was about to surrender.
The Spaniards were determined to win this defiant167 city, for it was the very heart of Holland and the most beautiful city in the Netherlands. It lay below the level of the ocean, protected by great dikes, and its[Pg 77] canals, shaded on either side by lime trees, poplars, and willows168, were crossed by one hundred and forty-five bridges. Its houses were beautiful, its public square spacious169, its churches imposing170. The Spanish commander had built sixty-six forts around the city and so severe was the blockade that no succour by land was possible. There were no troops in the town, save a small corps of freebooters and five companies of the burgher guards. "The sole reliance of the city was on the stout171 hearts of its inhabitants within the walls, and on the sleepless172 energy of William the Silent without." William, assuring them of deliverance, had implored173 them to hold out at least three months, and they had "relied on his calm and unflinching soul as on a rock of adamant174." They were unaware175 of his illness, for he had said nothing of it in his messages, knowing that it would cast a deeper shadow on the city.
When the word reached him that the besieged could hold out no longer, he decided176 once more to call in the aid of the sea. Leyden lay fifteen miles from the ocean, but the ocean could be brought to Leyden, and though he had no army with which to overwhelm the besiegers he still had his veteran "Beggars" and a tiny fleet of vessels. He determined to[Pg 78] sacrifice the neighbouring countryside, with its houses and villages, its fields and flocks, if only he might save the heroic city and its defenders177. On a day in August, the great sluices178 were opened and the ocean began to pour in over the land. While he still lay desperately179 ill, waiting for the rising of the waters, his agents were busy assembling a fleet of flat-bottomed boats laden with herring and bread for the starving people.
Meanwhile, within the city all was silence and death. Pestilence180 stalked everywhere and the inhabitants fell like grass beneath the scythe181. The only communication was by carrier pigeons, and only the messages from William kept up the hearts of the defenders. The scenes of tragedy within the walls are not to be described. And by a stroke of evil fate the wind, blowing steadily182 in the wrong direction, delayed the rising of the waters.
Even in its despair, the city was sublime183. At the climax of its sufferings, a committee waited on the burgomaster to advise surrender. He was a tall, haggard, imposing figure, with dark visage and commanding eyes. He waved his broad-leafed hat for silence, and then, to use Motley's words, gave answer, "What would ye, my friends, why do[Pg 79] ye murmur184, that we do not break our vows185, and surrender the city to the Spaniards—a fate more terrible than the agony which she now endures? I tell you I have made an oath before the city, and may God give me strength to keep my oath! I can die but once; whether by your hands, the enemy's, or by the hand of God. My own fate is indifferent to me; not so that of the city entrusted186 to my care. I know that I shall starve, if not soon relieved, but starvation is preferable to the dishonourable death which is the only alternative. Your menaces move me not; my life is at your disposal; here is my sword, plunge187 it into my breast; and divide my flesh among you. Take my body to appease188 your hunger, but expect no surrender so long as I remain alive."
Then came a gale189 from the northwest, and when the waters were piled up in huge waves, the ocean swept across the ruined dikes. The flotilla of the "Beggars," that had waited outside, unable to advance, a painted fleet upon a painted ocean, now surged forward in a wild rush to save the city. Spaniards by the hundreds sank beneath the deepening and treacherous190 flood. The fortress51 of Alva was destroyed. At midnight the enemy deserted their redoubts and fled, and at daybreak the[Pg 80] ships of William the Silent came through the canals. Soldiers threw bread to the starving citizens, and two hours later every living person who could walk made his way to the church to sing a hymn91 of deliverance, during which the multitude broke down and wept like children. The day following, the wind shifted to the east, and blew a tempest. "It was," says the historian, "as if the waters having done their work of redemption, had been rolled back by an omnipotent191 hand, and when four days had passed the land was bare again, and the reconstruction192 of the dikes well advanced."
Such was the spirit of William the Silent, and his followers. The eventual193 outcome was inevitable194. At length the Spaniards came to see that victory could be bought at one price and one price alone—extermination. From Spain came overtures195 to William of Orange. His reply is historic: "Peace only upon three conditions: (1) Freedom of worship, (2) A land dedicated196 to liberty, (3) All Spaniards in civil and military employment to be withdrawn197 forever." In April, 1576, an act of union was agreed and signed at Delft, by which supreme198 authority was conferred upon him. In September of that year William entered Brussels in triumph, as the acknowledged[Pg 81] leader of all the Netherlands, Catholic and Protestant alike. And at length, at Utrecht, a federal republic was established, with a written constitution—that republic which was to exist for two hundred years under the motto "by concord199 little things become great." William's struggle was over and the battle won.
But, all unconsciously, the architect of the new republic was moving toward his end. Like Moses, if he had led the people out of the wilderness it was not given him to see the promised land. For years his steps had been dogged by hired assassins. There had scarcely been an hour during his long warfare200 when bribes201 and gold were not offered for his death. It was a miracle that he had escaped the dagger202, the club and the cup of poison. He was now fifty-one years of age. His portraits exhibit him as a man whose lips were locked with iron, whose face was furrowed with care, his look alert and strained, his air that "of a man at bay, having staked his life and life's work." And yet he was one of the most charming of companions, brilliant of address, of so winning a manner that it was said "every time he took off his hat he won a subject from the King of Spain."
One morning, while writing at his desk, a[Pg 82] young Spaniard who had forged the seals obtained access to the Prince's writing room. Because he had been searched by the guard the visitor was without weapon. But having delivered his forged letter, he asked the Prince for a Bible and the loan of a few crowns. He received a gift of twelve pieces of silver, and went into the courtyard, where, with the Prince's own money, he purchased a pistol from the guard. Thence he returned to find a hiding place in the dark passageway, and to empty three shots into the Prince's breast.
With the death of William the Silent the Netherlands lost their noblest hero, their most sublime patriot161, and one of the greatest leaders of all time. Few are the names worthy203 to be ranked with that of this Prince of the blood who gave his wealth, his strength and finally his life for the cause of liberty. Ruling with a strong hand, he was not a despot; brave, he was not reckless; giant, he was also gentle; warring against the Inquisition, with its thumbscrews and fagots, he held himself back from bloodthirstiness and revenge. The victim of every kind of attack that hate could devise or malignity invent, he never degraded himself by meeting hate with hate or crime with crime. When the long struggle for liberty which he began was brought to an issue,[Pg 83] Spain had buried 350,000 of her sons and allies in Holland, spent untold204 millions for the destroying of freedom, and sunk from the ranks of the first power in Europe to the level of a fourth-rate country—stagnant in ideas, cruel in government, superstitious205 in religion. But brave little Holland had emerged to serve forever as a rock against tyranny and a refuge from oppression.
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bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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alpine
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| adj.高山的；n.高山植物 | |
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5
postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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6
arbitration
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| n.调停，仲裁 | |
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7
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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8
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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9
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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10
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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11
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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12
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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13
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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14
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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15
rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 | |
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16
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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17
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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18
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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19
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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20
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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21
furrowed
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| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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23
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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24
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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25
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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26
citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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27
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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28
maritime
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| adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的 | |
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29
epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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30
morass
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| n.沼泽，困境 | |
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31
arteries
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| n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道 | |
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32
fertilize
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| v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃 | |
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33
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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34
wrestled
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|
| v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤 | |
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35
domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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36
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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37
razing
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| v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的现在分词 ) | |
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38
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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39
orchard
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| n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场 | |
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40
orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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41
victoriously
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| adv.获胜地，胜利地 | |
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42
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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43
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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44
Fertilized
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| v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
bleached
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| 漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的 | |
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46
linens
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| n.亚麻布( linen的名词复数 )；家庭日用织品 | |
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47
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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48
tapestries
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|
| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
weavers
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| 织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 ) | |
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50
seaports
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| n.海港( seaport的名词复数 ) | |
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51
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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52
fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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53
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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54
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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55
subjugating
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| v.征服，降伏( subjugate的现在分词 ) | |
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56
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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57
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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58
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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59
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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60
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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61
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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62
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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63
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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64
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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65
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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66
pillaging
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|
| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 ) | |
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67
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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68
bloodiest
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| adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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69
pouncing
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|
| v.突然袭击( pounce的现在分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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70
fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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71
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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72
prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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73
tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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74
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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75
malignity
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|
| n.极度的恶意，恶毒；（病的）恶性 | |
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76
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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77
moors
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|
| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78
confiscated
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| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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79
confession
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|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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80
dungeon
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|
| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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81
enveloped
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|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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83
maiden
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|
| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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84
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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85
delicacies
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|
| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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86
ironical
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|
| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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87
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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88
lauding
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| v.称赞，赞美( laud的现在分词 ) | |
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89
condemning
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|
| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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90
heresy
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|
| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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91
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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92
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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93
despoiling
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的现在分词 ) | |
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94
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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95
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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96
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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97
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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98
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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99
effigies
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| n.（人的）雕像，模拟像，肖像( effigy的名词复数 ) | |
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100
cleansing
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| n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词 | |
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101
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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102
accomplished
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|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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103
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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104
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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105
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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106
torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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107
gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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108
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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109
flayed
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| v.痛打( flay的过去式和过去分词 )；把…打得皮开肉绽；剥（通常指动物）的皮；严厉批评 | |
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110
hacked
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| 生气 | |
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111
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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112
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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113
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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114
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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115
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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116
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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117
hatreds
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| n.仇恨，憎恶( hatred的名词复数 )；厌恶的事 | |
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118
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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119
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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120
abdication
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| n.辞职；退位 | |
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121
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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122
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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123
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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124
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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125
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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126
bigotry
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| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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127
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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128
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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129
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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130
cynosure
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| n.焦点 | |
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131
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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132
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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133
besieging
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的现在分词 ) | |
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134
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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135
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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136
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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137
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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138
martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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139
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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140
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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141
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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142
outlawed
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| 宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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143
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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144
outlaws
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| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
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145
grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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146
crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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147
cannons
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| n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 ) | |
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148
galleons
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| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
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149
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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150
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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151
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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152
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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153
petitioners
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| n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告 | |
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154
jibe
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| v.嘲笑，与...一致，使转向；n.嘲笑，嘲弄 | |
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155
aligned
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| adj.对齐的，均衡的 | |
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156
exterminate
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| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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157
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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158
hoops
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| n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓 | |
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159
breaches
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| 破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背 | |
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160
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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161
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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162
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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163
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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164
slough
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| v.蜕皮，脱落，抛弃 | |
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165
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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166
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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167
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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168
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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169
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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170
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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172
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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173
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
adamant
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| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
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175
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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176
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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177
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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178
sluices
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| n.水闸( sluice的名词复数 )；（用水闸控制的）水；有闸人工水道；漂洗处v.冲洗( sluice的第三人称单数 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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179
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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180
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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181
scythe
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| n. 长柄的大镰刀，战车镰； v. 以大镰刀割 | |
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182
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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183
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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184
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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185
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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186
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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187
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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188
appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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189
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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190
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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191
omnipotent
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| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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192
reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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193
eventual
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| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
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194
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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195
overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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196
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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197
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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198
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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199
concord
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| n.和谐；协调 | |
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200
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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201
bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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202
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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203
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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204
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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205
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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