n secretly introduced into Amsterdam, where, as
before noticed, he was busy in rousing a spirit of resistance in the
citizens, already well prepared for it by their Protestant preachers.
The magistrates, sorely annoyed, would gladly have rid themselves of
Brederode's presence, but he had too strong a hold on the people. Yet,
as hour after hour brought fresh tidings of the disasters of his party,
the chief himself became aware that all hopes of successful resistance
must be deferred to another day. Quitting the city by night, he
contrived, with the aid of his friends, to make his escape into Germany.
Some months he passed in Westphalia, occupied with raising forces for a
meditated invasion of the Netherlands, when, in the summer of 1568, he
was carried off by a fever, brought on, it is said, by his careless,
intemperate way of life.[912]

Brederode was a person of a free and fearless temper,--with the defects,
and the merits too, that attach to that sort of character. The
friendship with which he seems to have been regarded by some of the most
estimable persons of his party--Louis of Nassau, especially--speaks well
for his heart. The reckless audacity of the man is shown in his
correspondence; and the free manner in which he deals with persons and
events makes his letters no less interesting than important for the
light they throw on these troubled times. Yet it cannot be denied that,
after all, Brederode is indebted much more to the circumstances of his
situation than to his own character for the space he occupies in the
pages of history.[913]

[Sidenote: CRUEL REPRISALS.]

Thus left without a leader, the little army which Brederode had gathered
under his banner soon fell to pieces. Detachments, scattering over the
country, committed various depredations, plundering the religious houses
and engaging in encounters with the royal troops under Megen and
Aremberg, in which the insurgents fared the worst. Thus broken on all
sides, those who did not fall into the enemy's hands, or on the field,
were too glad to make their escape into Germany. One vessel, containing
a great number of fugitives, was wrecked, and all on board were made
prisoners. Among them were two brothers, of the name of Battenberg; they
were of a noble family, and prominent members of the league. They were
at once, with their principal followers, thrown into prison, to await
their doom from the bloody tribunal of Alva.

Deprived of all support from witho