d subservient enough to the will of Alva.
He created, therefore, a new tribunal, with extraordinary powers, for
the sole purpose of investigating the causes of the late disorders, and
for bringing the authors to punishment. It was called originally the
"Council of his Excellency." The name was soon changed for that of the
"Council of Tumults." But the tribunal is better known in history by the
terrible name it received from the people, of the "_Council of
Blood_."[1003]

[Sidenote: THE COUNCIL OF BLOOD.]

It was composed of twelve judges, "the most learned, upright men, and of
the purest lives"--if we may take the duke's word for it--that were to
be found in the country.[1004] Among them were Noircarmes and
Barlaimont, both members of the council of state. The latter was a proud
noble, of one of the most ancient families in the land, inflexible in
his character, and stanch in his devotion to the crown. Besides these
there were the presidents of the councils of Artois and Flanders, the
chancellor of Gueldres, and several jurists of repute in the country.
But the persons of most consideration in the body were two lawyers who
had come in the duke's train from Castile. One of these, the doctor Del
Rio, though born in Bruges, was of Spanish extraction. His most
prominent trait seems to have been unlimited subserviency to the will of
his employer.[1005] The other, Juan de Vargas, was to play the most
conspicuous part in the bloody drama that followed. He was a Spaniard,
and had held a place in the council of the Indies. His character was
infamous; and he was said to have defrauded an orphan ward of her
patrimony.[1006] When he left Spain, two criminal prosecutions are
reported to have been hanging over him. This only made him the more
dependent on Alva's protection. He was a man of great energy of
character, unwearied in application to business, unscrupulous in the
service of his employer, ready at any price to sacrifice to his own
interest, not only every generous impulse, but the common feelings of
humanity. Such, at least, are the dark colors in which he is portrayed
by the writers of a nation which held him in detestation. Yet his very
vices made him so convenient to the duke, that the latter soon bestowed
on him more of his confidence than on any other of his followers;[1007]
and in his correspondence with Philip we perpetually find him commending
Vargas to the monarch's favor, and contrasting his "activity, altogether