vast field of plunder. We had hoped that his
Majesty, taking the matter to heart, would have spared his
hereditary provinces from such utter ruin. We have found our hopes
futile. We are unable, by reason of our loyal service due to his
Majesty, and of our true compassion for the faithful lieges, to look
with tranquillity any longer at such murders, robberies, outrages,
and agony. We are, moreover, certain that his Majesty has been
badly informed upon Netherland matters. We take up arms, therefore,
to oppose the violent tyranny of the Spaniards, by the help of the
merciful God, who is the enemy of all bloodthirstiness. Cheerfully
inclined to wager our life and all our worldly wealth on the cause,
we have now, God be thanked, an excellent army of cavalry, infantry,
and artillery, raised all at our own expense. We summon all loyal
subjects of the Netherlands to come and help us. Let them take to
heart the uttermost need of the country, the danger of perpetual
slavery for themselves and their children, and of the entire
overthrow of the Evangelical religion. Only when Alva's blood-
thirstiness shall have been at last overpowered, can the provinces
hope to recover their pure administration of justice, and a
prosperous condition for their commonwealth."

In the "warning" or proclamation to all the inhabitants of the
Netherlands, the Prince expressed similar sentiments. He announced his
intention of expelling the Spaniards forever from the country. To
accomplish the mighty undertaking, money was necessary. He accordingly
called on his countrymen to contribute, the rich out of their abundance,
the poor even out of their poverty, to the furtherance of the cause. To
do this, while it was yet time, he solemnly warned them "before God, the
fatherland, and the world." After the title of this paper were cited the
28th, 29th, and 30th verses of the tenth chapter of Proverbs. The
favorite motto of the Prince, "pro lege, rege, grege," was also affixed
to the document.

These appeals had, however, but little effect. Of three hundred thousand
crowns, promised on behalf of leading nobles and merchants of the
Netherlands by Marcus Perez, but ten or twelve thousand came to hand. The
appeals to the gentlemen who had signed the Compromise, and to many
others who had, in times past, been favorable to the liberal party were
powerless. A poor Anabaptist preacher collected a small sum from