t was in the
month of August following that St. Aldegonde and other deputies
waited on the duke at the chateau of Plessis-le-Tours, when he
accepted the offered sovereignty on the proposed conditions,
which set narrow bounds to his authority, and gave ample security
to the United Provinces. The articles were formally signed on the
29th day of September; and the duke not only promised quickly
to lead a numerous army to the Netherlands, but he obtained a
letter from his brother, Henry III., dated December 26th, by
which the king pledged himself to give further aid, as soon as
he might succeed in quieting his own disturbed and unfortunate
country. The states-general, assembled at Delft, ratified the
treaty on the 30th of December; and the year which was about to
open seemed to promise the consolidation of freedom and internal
peace.

CHAPTER XII

TO THE MURDER OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE

A.D. 1580--1584

Philip might be well excused the utmost violence of resentment on
this occasion, had it been bounded by fair and honorable efforts
for the maintenance of his authority. But every general principle
seemed lost in the base inveteracy of private hatred. The ruin
of the Prince of Orange was his main object, and his industry
and ingenuity were taxed to the utmost to procure his murder.
Existing documents prove that he first wished to accomplish this
in such a way as that the responsibility and odium of the act
might rest on the prince of Parma; but the mind of the prince
was at that period too magnanimous to allow of a participation
in the crime. The correspondence on the subject is preserved
in the archives, and the date of Philip's first letter (30th
of November, 1579) proves that even before the final disavowal
of his authority by the United Provinces he had harbored his
diabolical design. The prince remonstrated, but with no effect.
It even appears that Philip's anxiety would not admit of the
delay necessary for the prince's reply. The infamous edict of
proscription against William bears date the 15th of March; and
the most pressing letters commanded the prince of Parma to make
it public. It was not, however, till the 15th of June that he
sent forth the fatal ban.

This edict, under Philip's own signature, is a tissue of invective
and virulence. The illustrious object of its abuse is accused of
having engaged the heretics to profane the churches and break the
images; of having persecuted and massacred the Catho