a Clara, and that of Hoorne to
the ancient church of Ste. Gudule. To these places, especially to
Santa Clara, the people now flocked as to the shrine of a martyr. They
threw themselves on the coffin, kissing it and bedewing it with their
tears, as if it had contained the relics of some murdered saint; while
many of them, taking little heed of the presence of informers,
breathed vows of vengeance, some even swearing not to trim either hair
or beard till these vows were executed. The government seems to have
thought it prudent to take no notice of this burst of popular feeling.
But a funeral hatchment, blazoned with the arms of Egmont, which, as
usual after the master's death, had been fixt by his domestics on the
gates of his mansion, was ordered to be instantly removed--no doubt,
as tending to keep alive the popular excitement. The bodies were not
allowed to remain long in their temporary places of deposit, but were
transported to the family residences of the two lords in the country,
and laid in the vaults of their ancestors.

Thus by the hand of the common executioner perished these two
unfortunate noblemen, who, by their rank, possessions, and personal
characters, were the most illustrious victims that could have been
selected in the Netherlands. Both had early enjoyed the favor of
Charles the Fifth, and both had been entrusted by Philip with some of
the highest offices in the state. Philip de Montmorency, Count Hoorne,
the elder of the two, came of the ancient house of Montmorency in
France. Besides filling the high post of Admiral of the Low Countries,
he was made governor of the provinces of Guelders and Zutphen, was a
councilor of state, and was created by the Emperor a knight of the
Golden Fleece. His fortune was greatly inferior to that of Count
Egmont; yet its confiscation afforded a supply by no means unwelcome
to the needy exchequer of the Duke of Alva.

However nearly on a footing they might be in many respects, Hoorne was
altogether eclipsed by his friend in military renown.

II

THE GENESIS OF "DON QUIXOTE"[69]

The age of chivalry, as depicted in romances, could never, of course,
have had any real existence; but the sentiments which are described as
animating that age have been found more or less operative in different
countries and different periods of society. In Spain, especially, this
influence is to be discerned from a very early date. Its inhabitants
may be said to have lived in a rom