onquest
of Peru" in 1847, and "Philip II" in 1855-58.

I

THE FATE OF EGMONT AND HOORNE[67]

On the second of June, 1568, a body of three thousand men was ordered
to Ghent to escort the Counts Egmont and Hoorne to Brussels. No
resistance was offered, altho the presence of the Spaniards caused a
great sensation among the inhabitants of the place, who too well
foreboded the fate of their beloved lord.

[Footnote 67: From Book III, Chapter V, of the "History of the Reign
of Philip II, King of Spain."]

The nobles, each accompanied by two officers, were put into separate
chariots. They were guarded by twenty companies of pikemen and
arquebusiers; and a detachment of lancers, among whom was a body of
the duke's own horse, rode in the van, while another of equal strength
protected the rear. Under this strong escort they moved slowly toward
Brussels. One night they halted at Dendermonde, and toward evening, on
the fourth of the month, entered the capital. As the martial array
defiled through its streets, there was no one, however stout-hearted
he might be, says an eye-witness, who could behold the funeral pomp of
the procession, and listen to the strains of melancholy music without
a feeling of sickness at his heart.

The prisoners were at once conducted to the _Brod-huys_, or
"Bread-house," usually known as the _Maison du Roi_--that venerable
pile in the market-place of Brussels, still visited by every traveler
for its curious architecture, and yet more as the last resting-place
of the Flemish lords. Here they were lodged in separate rooms, small,
dark, and uncomfortable, and scantily provided with furniture. Nearly
the whole of the force which had escorted them to Brussels was
established in the great square, to defeat any attempt at a rescue.
But none was made; and the night passed away without disturbance,
except what was occasioned by the sound of busy workmen employed in
constructing a scaffold for the scene of execution on the following
day.

On the afternoon of the fourth, the Duke of Alva[68] had sent for
Martin Rithovius, bishop of Ypres; and, communicating to him the
sentence of the nobles, he requested the prelate to visit the
prisoners, acquaint them with their fate, and prepare them for their
execution on the following day. The bishop, an excellent man, and the
personal friend of Egmont, was astounded by the tidings. He threw
himself at Alva's feet, imploring mercy for the prisoners, and if