The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1578 part 1 | Page 7

his deserting the states to fight again
under Spanish colours. These suspicions were probably unjust. Bossu's
truth of character had been as universally recognized as was his signal

bravery. If he refused upon this occasion a general battle, those who
reflected upon the usual results to the patriot banner of such
engagements, might confess, perhaps, that one disaster the more had
been avoided. Don John, finding it impossible to accomplish his
purpose, and to achieve another Gemblours victory, fell back again to
the neighbourhood of Namur.
The states' forces remained waiting for the long-promised succor of
John Casimir. It was the 26th of August, however, before the Duke led
his twelve thousand men to the neighbourhood of Mechlin, where
Bossu was encamped. This young prince possessed neither the ability
nor the generosity which were requisite for the heroic part which he
was ambitious to perform in the Netherland drama. He was inspired by
a vague idea of personal aggrandizement, although he professed at the
same time the utmost deference to William of Orange. He expressed
the hope that he and the Prince "should be but two heads under one
hat;" but he would have done well to ask himself whether his own
contribution to this partnership of brains would very much enrich the
silent statesman. Orange himself regarded him with respectful
contempt, and considered his interference with Netherland matters but
as an additional element of mischief. The Duke's right hand man,
however, Peter Peutterich, the "equestrian doctor"--as Sir Philip
Sydney called him--equally skilful with the sword as with the pen, had
succeeded, while on a mission to England, in acquiring the Queen's
favor for his master. To Casimir, therefore, had been entrusted the
command of the levies, and the principal expenditure of the subsidies
which she had placed at the disposition of the states. Upon Casimir she
relied, as a counterweight to the Duke of Alencon, who, as she knew,
had already entered the provinces at the secret solicitation of a large
faction among the nobles. She had as much confidence as ever in
Orange, but she imagined herself to be strengthening his cause by
providing him with such a lieutenant. Casimir's immediate friends had
but little respect for his abilities. His father-in-law, Augustus of Saxony,
did not approve his expedition. The Landgrave William, to whom he
wrote for counsel, answered, in his quaint manner, that it was always
difficult for one friend to advise another in three matters--to wit, in
taking a wife, going to sea, and going to war; but that, nevertheless,
despite the ancient proverb, he would assume the responsibility of

warning Casimir not to plunge into what he was pleased to call the
"'confusum chaos' of Netherland politics." The Duke felt no inclination,
however, to take the advice which he had solicited. He had been stung
by the sarcasm which Alva had once uttered, that the German
potentates carried plenty of lions, dragons, eagles, and griffins on their
shields; but that these ferocious animals were not given to biting or
scratching. He was therefore disposed, once for all, to show that the
teeth and claws of German princes could still be dangerous.
Unfortunately, he was destined to add a fresh element of confusion to
the chaos, and to furnish rather a proof than a refutation of the
correctness of Alva's gibe.
This was the hero who was now thrust, head and shoulders as it were,
into the entangled affairs of the Netherlanders, and it was Elizabeth of
England, more than ever alarmed at the schemes of Alencon, who had
pushed forward this Protestant champion, notwithstanding the
disinclination of Orange.
The Queen was right in her uneasiness respecting the French prince.
The Catholic nobles, relying upon the strong feeling still rife
throughout the Walloon country against the Reformed religion, and
inflamed more than ever by their repugnance to Orange, whose genius
threw them so completely into the shade, had already drawn closer to
the Duke. The same influences were at work to introduce Alencon,
which had formerly been employed to bring Matthias from Vienna.
Now that the Archduke, who was to have been the rival, had become
the dependent of William, they turned their attention to the son of
Catherine de Medici, Orange himself having always kept the Duke in
reserve, as an instrument to overcome the political coquetry of
Elizabeth. That great Princess never manifested less greatness than in
her earlier and most tormenting connexion with the Netherlands.
Having allured them for years with bright but changeful face, she still
looked coldly down upon the desolate sea where they were drifting She
had promised much; her performance had been nothing. Her jealousy of
French influence had at length been turned to account; a subsidy and a
levy extorted from her fears. Her ministers and prominent advisers
were one