Alarmed by these unequivocal symptoms of general revolt, Philip dispatched the Duke of Alva from Spain, at the head of 10,000 men, to enforce obedience, and avenge the opposition already shown to his mandates, The Duchess of Parma was glad to retire from the storm, which, in contrasting Alva's character with the circumstances of the state, she saw clearly to be ap proaching ; and Alva was appointed governor in hcr stead. His entrance upon office was the signal for uni versal despair. Bigotted in his creed, immoveable in his determinations, savage in his temper, he hated the Flemings for the favour shown them in the former reign; and the country soon groaned under the weight of his resentment. With his council of twelve, nominated by himself, and entirely at his discretion, he proceeded strongly in the work of destruction ; and the scaffolds soon reeked with the blood of thousands, guilty or inno cent, as they happened to incur his displeasure. The people were driven to madness ; they wanted but a leader to rise in open rebellion, and brave the very ut most of their tyrant's fury. A leader was soon present ed to them ; and one fitted for the crisis beyond any other person of his tirne.
William, Prince of Orange, was the representative of the noble family of Nassau, which had once given an emperor to Germany, and for many ages had occupied an honourable rank among the chiefs of that country. Early taken under the protection of Charles V., he had lived constantly at court, enjoying the intimate fami liarity of that monarch, and participating in all his se crets. William's circumspect demeanour procured him the surname of silent ; but under this cold exterior, he concealed a busy, far-sighted intellect, and a generous, upright, daring heart. He had extensive possessions in the Netherlands ; and had been employed there by Charles in various important duties, in the discharge of which, his talents, his integrity, his manners, had procured him universal confidence and respect. Dis appointed in his expectation of the regency under Phi lip, who hated and feared him, he had continued to act with the same calm stedfastness, equally resisting the arbitrary measures of government, and repressing the rash attempts of the harassed people. On Alva's ap proach he retired to Germany ; and the fate of Count Egmont, who shared the national favour with him, and had perished on the scaffold at Antwerp for no other crime but sliming it, soon showed how prudent this step had been. The tribunal which had condemned his friend, now summoned William to appear likewise ; and as he naturally refused to comply, they proceeded to confis cate his property, and brand him as a traitor. William was not of a humour to brook such treatment tamely : and patriotism combined with ambition to strengthen his purpose of finding redress. Having formed an alliance with several pi mces of Germany, and eellected a body or troops, which multitudes of Flemish exiles were rapidly augmenting, he formally renounced his alle giance to the governor, and entered Friesland at the head of an army (1569.) His beginning was unsuccessful. Alva hastened to meet him ; the raw soldier could not stand against the Neteran ; William retired into Germany once 17101'C ; and the Spaniard returned in triumph to Brussels.
But his triumph was not long undisturbed. He had erected a statue of himself in the citadel of Antwerp ; lie had represented it as treading under foot two smaller statues emblematic of thc States of the Netherlands ; and was proceeding quickly to demonstrate the cor rectness of this allegorical device, by levying thc most oppressive taxes, of his own authority, and massacting, with every circumstance of ignominy and savageness, all such as refused to comply with his requisitions,—when his bloody career was interrupted by intelligence that the town of Brille was taken, and the whole island ready to revolt. He hastened thither to quell the tumult, and crush the Gueux patriots, or pirates as Ile called them, who had caused it. But the infamy of his conduct pre ceded him ; William of Orange, under whose instruc tions the conquerors of Mlle had acted, was advancing from the east with a fresh army ; and the entire pro vinces of Zealand and Ilolland simultaneously threw off the Spanish yoke. Alva made vast efforts ; but they were fruitless. He took Naerden and Haarlem, and butchered their inhabitants; but lie failed before Ale maar ; a fleet which he put to sea with great exertion was defeated and destroyed by the Zealanders ; and on Philip's order he returned to Spain, to boast that in five years he had delivered 18,000 heretics into the hands of the executioner, and to meet the reward which such a servant of such a prince unfottunately does not always meet—the suspicion and hatred of a master for whom he had sacrificed honour and humanity, and condemned himse If to permanent and univers-11 detestation.
Requesens succeeded Alva. He was a milder and a better man ; but the time for mildness was gone by. Some years before, a governor like Requesens might have retained the Netherlands under Philip ; but the horrors of Alva's regency, the massacre of St. Bartho lomew in France, had put to flight " respective lenity," and "fire-eyed fury" was their conduct now. It is dan gerous to drive even the feeblest of creatures to despair ; and Philip found he had calculated too far on the phleg matic patience of his northern subjects. The dull per severance of their ordinary character was now changed into a grim and adamantine fixedness of purpose to suf fer all, to dare all, but never to submit. " Talk not of surrender," replied they to Valdez, the general of Re quesens, at the siege of Leyden, when famine was alrea dy carrying them in hundreds to the grave : " Our pro visions are not exhausted, and if they were, if all else should fail, we would eat our left arms and fight with our right, that we might die fighting against our ty rants." Their firmness, on this occasion, was rewarded. The sluices were opened, the country was laid under water ; a strong sonth-west wind rendered fruitless eve ry attempt to drain it ; and the Spaniard made a fright ful retreat, leaving the flower of his army buried in the marshes, or hewn to pieces by the Flushing boatmen, who hung. upon his skirts, with fury and revenge in their hearts—their harsh countenances rendered harsher by scars sustained from the same enemy in former broils, and their caps surmounted each by a crescent, having the inscription, 7'urks before Papists.