ished at Egmont's infatuation.
Nevertheless, he had disregarded their admonitions, and had gone forth to
meet the Duke at Tirlemont. Even then he might have seen, in the coldness
of his first reception, and in the disrespectful manner of the Spanish
soldiers, who not only did not at first salute him, but who murmured
audibly that he was a Lutheran and traitor, that he was not so great a
favorite with the government at Madrid as he desired to be.

After the first few moments, however, Alva's manner had changed, while
Chiappin Vitelli, Gabriel de Serbelloni, and other principal officers,
received the Count with great courtesy, even upon his first appearance.
The grand prior, Ferdinando de Toledo, natural son of the Duke, and
already a distinguished soldier, seems to have felt a warm and unaffected
friendship for Egmont, whose brilliant exploits in the field had excited
his youthful admiration, and of whose destruction he was, nevertheless,
compelled to be the unwilling instrument. For a few days, accordingly,
after the arrival of the new Governor-General all seemed to be going
smoothly. The grand prior and Egmont became exceedingly intimate, passing
their time together in banquets, masquerades, and play, as joyously as if
the merry days which had succeeded the treaty of Cateau Cambreais were
returned. The Duke, too, manifested the most friendly dispositions,
taking care to send him large presents of Spanish and Italian fruits,
received frequently by the government couriers.

Lapped in this fatal security, Egmont not only forgot his fears, but
unfortunately succeeded in inspiring Count Horn with a portion of his
confidence. That gentleman had still remained in his solitary mansion at
Weert, notwithstanding the artful means which had been used to lure him
from that "desert." It is singular that the very same person who,
according to a well-informed Catholic contemporary, had been most eager
to warn Egmont of his danger, had also been the foremost instrument for
effecting the capture of the Admiral. The Seigneur de Billy, on the day
after his arrival from Madrid, had written to Horn, telling him that the
King was highly pleased with his services and character. De Billy also
stated that he had been commissioned by Philip to express distinctly the
royal gratitude for the Count's conduct, adding that his Majesty was
about to visit the Netherlands in August, and would probably be preceded
or accompanied by Baron Montigny.

Alv