who here present themselves before your highness, wish
in their own name, and of many others besides, who are shortly to
arrive, to present to you a petition, of whose importance, as well as of
their own humility, this solemn procession must convince you. I, as
speaker of this body, entreat you to receive our petition, which
contains nothing but what is in unison with the laws of our country and
the honor of the King."

"Never"--so ran the petition, which, according to some, was drawn up by
the celebrated Balduin--"never had they failed in their loyalty to their
King, and nothing now could be further from their hearts; but they would
rather run the risk of incurring the displeasure of their sovereign than
allow him to remain longer in ignorance of the evils with which their
native country was menaced, by the forcible introduction of the
Inquisition, and the continued enforcement of the edicts. They had long
remained consoling themselves with the expectation that a general
assembly of the states would be summoned to remedy these grievances; but
now that even this hope was extinguished, they held it to be their duty
to give timely warning to the Regent. They, therefore, entreated her
highness to send to Madrid an envoy, well disposed, and fully acquainted
with the state and temper of the times, who should endeavor to persuade
the King to comply with the demands of the whole nation, and abolish the
Inquisition, to revoke the edicts, and in their stead cause new and more
humane ones to be drawn up at a general assembly of the states. But, in
the mean while, until they could learn the King's decision, they prayed
that the edicts and the operations of the Inquisition be suspended."
"If," they concluded, "no attention should be paid to their humble
request, they took God, the King, the Regent and all her counsellors to
witness that they had done their part, and were not responsible for any
unfortunate result that might happen."

The following day the confederates, marching in the same order of
procession, but in still greater numbers--Counts Bergen and Kuilemberg
having in the interim joined them with their adherents--appeared before
the Regent in order to receive her answer. It was written on the margin
of the petition, and was to the effect "that entirely to suspend the
Inquisition and the edicts, even temporarily, was beyond her powers; but
in compliance with the wishes of the confederates, she was ready to
despatch one of