of William the Silent. The next
military event of the year was a mad combat, undertaken by formal cartel,
between Breaute, a young Norman noble in the service of the republic, and
twenty comrades, with an equal number of Flemish warriors from the
obedient provinces, under Grobbendonck. About one half of the whole
number were killed, including the leaders, but the encounter, although
exciting much interest at the time, had of course no permanent
importance.

There was much negotiation, informal and secret, between Brussels and
London during this and a portion of the following year. Elizabeth,
naturally enough, was weary of the war, but she felt, after all, as did
the Government of France, that a peace between the United Netherlands and
Spain would have for its result the restoration of the authority of his
most Catholic Majesty over all the provinces. The statesmen of France and
England, like most of the politicians of Europe, had but slender belief
in the possibility of a popular government, and doubted therefore the
continued existence of the newly-organized republic. Therefore they
really deprecated the idea of a peace which should include the States,
notwithstanding that from time to time the queen or some of her
counsellors had so vehemently reproached the Netherlanders with their
unwillingness to negotiate. "At the first recognition that these people
should make of the mere shadow of a prince," said Buzanval, the keenly
observing and experienced French envoy at the Hague, "they lose the form
they have. All the blood of the body would flow to the head, and the game
would be who should best play the valet. . . . The house of Nassau
would lose its credit within a month in case of peace." As such statesmen
could not imagine a republic, they ever dreaded the restoration in the
United Provinces of the subverted authority of Spain.

France and England were jealous of each other, and both were jealous of
Spain. Therefore even if the republican element, the strength and
endurance of which was so little suspected, had been as trifling a factor
in the problem, as was supposed, still it would have been difficult for
any one of these powers to absorb the United Netherlands. As for France,
she hardly coveted their possession. "We ought not to flatter ourselves,"
said Buzanval, "that these maritime peoples will cast themselves one day
into our nets, nor do I know that it would be advisable to pull in the
net if they should throw