mployed his leisure in
studying the historical antiquities of his own country. At the
suggestion of Coblentz, prime minister of Maria Theresa, he
compiled his work on the Troubles of the Netherlands. It was
designed for the instruction of the younger branches of the
imperial family, and six copies only of it were at first printed,
in 1765. Since the author's death, which took place in 1779, when
he had reached the great age of eighty-eight, the work has been
repeatedly published.

As Vandervynckt had the national archives thrown open to his
inspection, he had access to the most authentic sources of
information. He was a man of science and discernment, fair-minded,
and temperate in his opinions, which gives value to a book that
contains, moreover, much interesting anecdote, not elsewhere to be
found. The work, though making only four volumes, covers a large
space of historical ground,--from the marriage of Philip the Fair,
in 1495, to the peace of Westphalia, in 1648. Its literary
execution is by no means equal to its other merits. The work is
written in French; but Vandervynckt, unfortunately, while he both
wrote and spoke Flemish, and even Latin, with facility, was but
indifferently acquainted with French.

CHAPTER III.

PROTESTANTISM IN SPAIN.

Philip's Arrival in Spain.--The Reformed Doctrines.--Their
Suppression.--Autos da Fe.--Prosecution of Carranza.--Extinction of
Heresy.--Fanaticism of the Spaniards.

1559.

The voyage of King Philip was a short and prosperous one. On the
twenty-ninth of August, 1559, he arrived off the port of Laredo. But
while he was in sight of land, the weather, which had been so
propitious, suddenly changed. A furious tempest arose, which scattered
his little navy. Nine of the vessels foundered, and though the monarch
had the good fortune, under the care of an experienced pilot, to make
his escape in a boat, and reach the shore in safety, he had the
mortification to see the ship which had borne him go down with the rest,
and with her the inestimable cargo he had brought from the Low
Countries. It consisted of curious furniture, tapestries, gems, pieces
of sculpture, and paintings,--the rich productions of Flemish and
Italian art, which his father, the emperor, had been employed many years
of his life in collecting. Truly was it said of Charles, that "he had
sacked the land on