THE RISE OF "THE BEGGARS." (Schiller's Revolt of the Netherlands.) 1566. THE League had begun with ban- | appellation, and the toast of Vivent quets, and a banquet brought it to les Gueux! was followed by an a head. On the day when their unanimous shout of applause. second petition was presented, When the cloth had been taken Count Brederode was entertaining away, Brederode came in with a the confederates at the Culemberg wallet over his shoulder, like that mansion. Three hundred guests carried by the vagrant pilgrims were present; carousing gave them and begging fraternities of the day; courage, and their boldness waxed and after thanking them all for in proportion to their numbers. their support of the League, and In the course of the conversation boldly declaring that he was ready one of them happened to say that to risk life or limb for every one he had heard Count de Barlaimont of them, he drank to the health whisper in French to the regent, of the whole company out of a who was observed to turn pale wooden bowl. The bowl went when the petitions were presented, round, and each man, as he put it to "that she need not be afraid of a his lips, took the same vow. Then, band of beggars" (Gueux)—indeed, one after another, all took the most of them had only too truly beggar's wallet, and put it on. The earned the name by their extrava- shouts and uproar caused by this gance. Now, a title for their as- joke drew the attention of the sociation being the very thing Prince of Orange, and Counts which had been their greatest Egmont and Horn, who happened difficulty, this phrase was eagerly to be passing just then, and, havcaught up, as hiding the boldness ing entered the house, were warmly of their ends under an appearance pressed by Brederode, the host, to of humility, while it was also stay and drink a cup with them. suitable to their character as peti- The arrival of three such important tioners. Immediately they began persons revived the merriment of to drink to one another by this the party; and their festivity soon purse). This was the origin of the name Gueux, which came to be used in the Netherlands by all who protested against popery and took arms against the king. passed the bounds of moderation. | words, jusques à porter la besace Many were intoxicated; guests (even to carrying the beggar's and servants mixed together without distinction of rank; things serious and ludicrous, drunken whims and political affairs, were also joined together in an absurd medley; and the debates on the troubles of their country passed into the mad uproar of a bacchanalian revel. But this was not the end of it. What these men had determined when drunk, they endeavoured to put into action when sober. It was desirable to take some striking way of showing the people that they were not without protectors, as well as to excite the zeal of the party by some visible token of membership. For this purpose what could be better than to adopt formally this name of Gueux, and borrow from it the badges of the association? In a few days the whole town of Brussels was full of grey gowns, such as were the usual dress of mendicants and penitents. Every member of the League put his family and his servants into this costume. Some carried wooden bowls and cups, plated with silver, and wooden knives; in short, the whole equipment of the beggar fraternity, which they wore either round their hats, or hanging at their girdles. Round their necks they hung a gold or silver coin, afterwards known as Gueux penny," one side of which bore the king's head, with the motto, Fideles au roi (true to the king); on the other side were two hands grasping a wallet, with the * * * * Most of the magistrates were at heart hostile to the Inquisition and the tyranny of Spain; many, indeed, were secretly inclined to one or other of the religious sects; even the others did not like to punish their countrymen at the bidding of the Spaniards, their sworn foes. So all of them took care to misunderstand the regent's orders, and let the Inquisition and the edicts become almost entirely obsolete. This leniency on the part of the authorities, along with the enthusiasm of the Gueux, drew forth into open daylight the Protestants, who, indeed, had now grown too powerful to remain any longer in obscurity. As yet they had been confined to secret meetings by night; now they found themselves so numerous and influential that they did not fear to hold these meetings publicly. This the bold step was first taken in country between Oudenarde and Ghent, and the example soon spread through the rest of Flanders. A certain Hermann Strycker of Overyssel, an apostate monk, and "the a daring enthusiast, a man of talent, eloquence, and imposing appearance, was the first who gathered the people together to hear a sermon in the open air. The novelty of this attracted a crowd of about seven thousand persons. A magistrate of the place, showing more boldness than prudence, rushed into the assemblage with his sword drawn, and would have arrested the preacher, but had to beg to get off with his life, so ill was he treated by the crowd, who, in the absence of other weapons, took up stones and knocked him down. The success of this first attempt encouraged another. Near Aalst the people assembled in still greater numbers; and this time they brought with them swords, firearms, and halberds, placed sentries at all points of approach, and fortified themselves by barricades of carts and carriages. Every one who passed by was forced, willing or unwilling, to join the service, and for this purpose scouts were placed at regular distances round the place of meeting. Booksellers stood at the entrances of the enclosure, hawking Protestant catechisms, religious tracts, and satires on the bishops. The preacher, Hermann Strycker, occupied a platform roughly made for the occasion with carts and trees. A canvas awning above sheltered him from sun and rain; he was so placed that the wind should not carry away from the hearers any part of his discourse, which chiefly consisted of revilings against popery. The sacraments were also administered in the Calvinistic fashion, and water was brought from the nearest river to baptize children without ceremony, according to the practice of the primitive church as they said. Couples were married; others were divorced. Half the inhabitants of Ghent had gone out to be present at this meeting. Their example was soon imitated in other places, and before long it had gone through the whole of East Flanders. Peter Dathen, another ex-monk from Poperingen, stirred up West Flanders in the same way; as many as fifteen thousand persons at a time attended his sermons. Their num bers emboldened them, and they broke into the prisons, where some Anabaptists were being reserved for execution, In Tournay the Protestants were excited to a similar audacity by Ambrose Wille, a French Calvinist. They demanded that the prisoners belonging to their party should be released, and declared that they would give over the town to the French if their wishes were not agreed to. The town was unprotected, for the governor, fearing treason, had withdrawn the garrison into the citadel, and the soldiers themselves had refused to fight against their fellow-countrymen. The Protestants pushed their boldness to such a pitch as to require that one of the town churches should be appropriated to their service; and when this was refused they made a league with Valenciennes and Antwerp, that all three should use open force, like other towns, to gain legal sanction for their worship. These three towns acted in concert with each other, and the Protestants were equally strong in each of them. None would * * * break the law alone, but it was agreed that they should all together begin by holding public preachings at the same time. The attack on images first took place in West Flanders and Artois, in the districts lying between Lys and the sea. A wild mob of labourers, sailors, countrymen, mixed with prostitutes, beggars, vagabonds, and thieves, about three hundred in number, provided with clubs, axes, hammers, ladders, and cords-very few were armed with regular weaponsthrew themselves furiously into the villages and hamlets near St. Omer, and breaking down the gates of all churches and monasteries which were not opened to them, everywhere overturned the altars, broke the images of the saints to pieces, and trampled the fragments under foot. Reinforced by new comers, and their excitement increasing as it found play, they hurried on to Ypres, where they reckoned on the support of a strong party of Calvinists. Without opposition they broke into the cathedral, and mounting by ladders, tore the pictures to pieces, hewed down the pulpit and stalls with their axes, stripped the altars of their decorations, and stole the sacred vessels. Their example was soon followed in Menin, Comines, Verrich, Lille, and Oudenarde; in a few days the same madness spread throughout Flanders. When the news of these proceedings first reached Antwerp, it was swarming with a crowd of homeless people, brought together into that city by the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin, Even the presence of the Prince of Orange could scarcely restrain the licentious mob, who were eager to imitate the example of their countrymen at St. Omer; moreover, an order from the court summoning him to Brussels, where the regent was assembling the Council of State in order to communicate to them the king's letters, obliged him to leave Antwerp exposed to the violence of the populace. His departure gave the signal for the outbreak. Fearing the lawless disposition which the crowd had shown by jests and sneers on the very first day of the festival, the priests, after carrying the image of the Virgin in procession for a short time, brought it back into the choir for safety, and did not, as had formerly been the custom, set it up in the middle of the cathedral. This tempted some mischievous lads among the people to go up to it there, and cry contemptuously, "Little Mary, why art thou frightened so soon? Hast thou flown to thy nest so early? Beware, Mayken, thy hour is coming!" Others got into the pulpit, imitated the preachers, and were challenging the Papists to a dispute. A Roman Catholic sailor, indignant at this scurrility, tried to pull them down, and a struggle took place in the pulpit itself. On the following evening there were scenes of the same kind. The numbers of the mob were increased, and many came provid ed with suspicious looking instru- | ed, and the half-decayed corpses ments, and concealed weapons. torn up and trampled on. All At last it occurred to one of them this was done with as much conto shout "Vivent les Gueux!" | cert and order, as if each one had In an instant the whole crowd had his share assigned to him took up the cry, and called upon beforehand; every one worked in the Virgin's image to join it also. agreement with his fellows; no The few Romanists who were one was hurt, dangerous as these there, and who could not hope to operations were in the middle of make any effectual opposition to darkness, only made more visible these furious men, abandoned the by the altar-lights, with heavy church, locking all the doors but objects falling on all sides, and one. As soon as the people found men on the tops of ladders strugthem gone, some one proposed to gling which should be the first to sing one of the psalms in the new destroy, no one suffered the least version, which was prohibited by injury. Though the candles were the government. Before the held below, to light them in their psalm was ended, they all simul- work, not a single one of them taneously rushed upon the image was recognised. The work was acof the Virgin, piercing it with complished with incredible rapidswords and daggers, and cutting ity; a temple with seventy altars, off its head. Men and women of except St. Peter's at Rome perhaps the most degraded character tore the largest and most magnificent the wax lights from the altar, to in Christendom, was in a few hours give light for the work of destruc- despoiled by a body of men, tion. The beautiful organ of the bering a hundred at the most. church, a masterpiece of the art of that age, was broken down, all the pictures were destroyed, and the stone images smashed to pieces. A life-size crucifix, set up between the two thieves, over against the high altar, a very old and valuable work of art, was pulled down by ropes, and hacked to pieces, while the images of the two thieves were spared, as from respect. The holy wafers were strewed on the ground and trampled under foot; the toast of "The Gueux!" was drunk in the wine used for the communion; and they rubbed the consecrated oil on their shoes. The tombs themselves were open num The devastation of the cathedral was not enough; with torches and tapers, that were part of its spoil, they set out at midnight to make the same havoc in all other churches, cloisters, and chapels. The destroying crowds grew greater at every new deed of violence. Thieves were attracted by the opportunity of plunder, who carried away all the valuable articles they could find, church plate, altar cloths, money, and vestments; they got drunk in the cellars of the monasteries, and, to escape worse usage, the monks and nuns gave up everything to their fury. The confused noise of these |