ate interests and opposite
views; while the fanatic violence of the people of Ghent sapped
the foundations of the pacification to which the town had given
its name. The Walloon provinces, deep-rooted in their attachment
to religious bigotry, which they loved still better than political
freedom, gradually withdrew from the common cause; and without yet
openly becoming reconciled with Spain, they adopted a neutrality
which was tantamount to it. Don John was, however, deprived of
all chance of reaping any advantage from these unfortunate
dissensions. He was suddenly taken ill in his camp at Bougy;
and died, after a fortnight's suffering, on the 1st of October,
1578, in the thirty-third year of his age.

This unlooked-for close to a career which had been so brilliant,
and to a life from which so much was yet to be expected, makes
us pause to consider for a moment the different opinions of his
times and of history on the fate of a personage so remarkable.
The contemporary Flemish memoirs say that he died of the plague;
those of Spain call his disorder the purple fever. The examination
of his corpse caused an almost general belief that he was poisoned.
"He lost his life," says one author, "with great suspicion of
poison." "Acabo su vida, con gran sospecho de veneno."--Herrera.
Another speaks of the suspicious state of his intestines, but
without any direct opinion. An English historian states the fact
of his being poisoned, without any reserve. Flemish writers do
not hesitate to attribute his murder to the jealousy of Philip
II., who, they assert, had discovered a secret treaty of marriage
about to be concluded between Don John and Elizabeth of England,
securing them the joint sovereignty of the Netherlands. An Italian
historian of credit asserts that this ambitious design was attributed
to the prince; and admits that his death was not considered as
having arisen from natural causes. "E quindi nacque l'opinione
dispersa allora, ch'egli mancasse di morte aiutata piu tosto
che naturale."--Bentivoglio. It was also believed that Escovedo,
his confidential secretary, being immediately called back to
Spain, was secretly assassinated by Antonio Perez, Philip's
celebrated minister, and by the special orders of the king. Time
has, however, covered the affair with impenetrable mystery; and
the death of Don John was of little importance to the affairs
of the country he governed so briefly and so ingloriously, if
it be not that it add