every cross set up upon the highway, every image of the saints that they meet, is a trophy erected over their humiliation, and they all must be removed by their avenging hands. Fanaticism suggests these detestable proceedings, but base passions carry them into execution,

1566. The commencement of the attack on images took place in West Flanders and Artois, in the districts between Lys and the sea. A frantic herd of artisans, boatmen, and peasants, mixed with prostitutes, beggars, vagabonds, and thieves, about 300 in number, furnished with clubs, axes, hammers, ladders, and cords, (a few only were provided with swords or fire-arms,) cast themselves, with fanatical fury, into the villages and hamlets near St. Omer, and breaking open the gates of such churches and cloisters as they find locked, overthrow everywhere the altars, break to pieces the images of the saints, and trample them under foot. With their excitement increased by its indulgence, and reinforced by new comers, they press on, by the direct road, to Ypres, where they can count on the support of a strong body of Calvinists. Unopposed, they break into the cathedral, and mounting on ladders, they hammer to pieces the pictures, hew down with axes the pulpits and pews, despoil the altars of their ornaments, and steal the holy vessels. This example was quickly followed in Menin, Comines, Verrich, Lille, and Oudenard; in a few days, the same fury spreads through the whole of Flanders. At the very time, when the first tidings of this occurrence arrived, Antwerp was swarming with a crowd of houseless people, which the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin had brought together in that city. Even the presence of the Prince of Orange was hardly sufficient to restrain the licentious mob, who burned to imitate the doings of their brethren in St. Omer; but an order from the court, which summoned him to Brussels, where the regent was just assembling her Council of State, in order to lay before them the royal letters, obliged him to abandon Antwerp to the outrages of this band. His departure was the signal for tumult. Apprehensive of the lawless violence, of which, on the very first day of the festival, the mob had given indications in derisory allusions, the priests, after carrying about the image of the Virgin for a short time, brought it for safety to the choir, without, as

66

A

formerly, setting it up in the middle of the church. Thi incited some mischievous boys from among the people, t pay it a visit there, and jokingly inquire, why she had s soon absented herself from among them? Others mountin the pulpit mimicked the preacher, and challenged the Papist to a dispute. A Roman Catholic waterman, indignant at thi jest, attempted to pull them down, and blows were exchange in the preacher's seat. Similar scenes occurred on the follow ing evening. The numbers increased, and many came already provided with suspicious implements and secret weapons. last it came into the head of one of them to cry, Long live the Gueux!" immediately the whole band took up the cry and the image of the Virgin was called upon to do the same. The few Roman Catholics who were present, and who had given up the hope of effecting anything against these despera does, left the church, after locking all the doors except one. So soon as they found themselves alone, it was proposed to sing one of the psalms in the new version, which was prohibited by the government. While they were yet singing, they all, as at a given signal, rushed furiously upon the image of the Virgin, piercing it with swords and daggers, and striking off its head; thieves and prostitutes tore the great wax-lights from the altar, and lighted them to the work. The beautiful organ of the church, a masterpiece of the art of that period, was broken to pieces, all the paintings were effaced, the statues smashed to atoms. A crucifix, the size of life, which was set up between the two thieves opposite the high altar, an ancient and highly valued piece of workmanship, was pulled to the ground with cords, and cut to pieces with axes, while the two malefactors at its side were respectfully spared. The holy wafers were strewed on the ground and trodden under foot; in the wine used for the Lord's Supper, which was accidentally found there. the health of the Gueux was drunk; while with the holy oil they rubbed their shoes. The very tombs were opened, and the half-decayed corpses torn up and trampled on. All this was done with as much wonderful regularity, as if each had previously had his part assigned to him; every one worked into his neighbour's hands; no one, dangerous as the work was, met with injury; in the midst of thick darkness, which the tapers only served to render more sensible, with heavy masses falling on all sides, and though on the very topmost

steps of the ladders, they scuffled with each other for the honours of demolition-yet no one suffered the least injury. In spite of the many tapers which lighted them below in their villanous work, not a single individual was recognised. With incredible rapidity was the dark deed accomplished; a number of men, at most a hundred, despoiled in a few hours a temple of seventy altars-after St. Peter's at Rome, perhaps, the largest and most magnificent in Christendom.

The devastation of the cathedral did not content them: with torches and tapers purloined from it, they set out at midnight to perform a similar work of havoc on the remain ing churches, cloisters, and chapels. The destructive hordes increased with every fresh exploit of infamy, and thieves were allured by the opportunity. They carried away whatever they found of value, the consecrated vessels, altar-cloths, money, and vestments; in the cellars of the cloisters they drank to intoxication; to escape greater indignities, the monks and nuns abandoned every thing to them. The confused noises of these riotous acts had startled the citizens from their first sleep; but night made the danger appear more alarming than it really was, and instead of hastening to defend their churches, the citizens fortified themselves in their houses, and in terror and anxiety awaited the dawn of morning. The rising sun at length revealed the devastation which had been going on during the night; but the havoc did not terminate with the darkSome churches and cloisters still remained uninjured; the same fate soon overtook them also. The work of destruction lasted three whole days. Alarmed at last, lest the frantic mob, when it could no longer find anything sacred to destroy, should make a similar attack on lay property, and plunder their warehouses; and encouraged, too, by discovering how small was the number of the depredators, the wealthier citizens ventured to show themselves in arms at the doors of their houses. All the gates of the town were locked but one, through which the Iconoclasts brake forth to renew the same atrocities in the rural districts. On one occasion only, during all this time, did the municipal officers venture to exert their authority; so strongly were they held in awe by the superior power of the Calvinists, by whom, as it was believed, this mob of miscreants was hired. The injury inflicted by this work of devastation was incalculable. In the church of the Virgin, it

ness.

was estimated at not less than 400,000 gold florins. Many precious works of art were destroyed; many valuable manu scripts; many monuments of importance to history and to di plomacy were thereby lost. The city magistrate ordered the plundered articles to be restored on pain of death; in enforc ing this restitution, he was effectually assisted by the preachers of the Reformers, who blushed for their followers. Much was in this manner recovered, and the ringleaders of the mob. less animated, perhaps, by the desire of plunder, than by fanaticism and revenge, or perhaps being ruled by some unseen head, resolved, for the future, to guard against these excesses, and to make their attacks in regular bands and in better order.

Mean

The town of Ghent, meanwhile, trembled for a like destiny. Immediately on the first news of the outbreak of the Iconoclasts in Antwerp, the magistrate of the latter town, with the most eminent citizens, had bound themselves to repel by force the church-spoilers; when this oath was proposed to the commonalty also, the voices were divided, and many declared openly, that they were by no means disposed to hinder so devout a work. In this state of affairs, the Roman Catholic clergy found it advisable to deposit in the citadel the most precious moveables of their churches, and private families were permitted, in like manner, to provide for the safety of offerings which had been made by their ancestors. while, all the services were discontinued, the courts of justice were closed; and like a town in momentary danger of being stormed by the enemy, men trembled in expectation of what was to come. At last, an insane band of rioters ventured to send delegates to the governor, with this impudent message: They were ordered," they said, by their chiefs, to take the images out of the churches, as had been done in the other towns. If they were not opposed, it should be done quietly, and with as little injury as possible, but otherwise they would storm the churches;" nay, they went so far in their audacity, as to ask the aid of the officers of justice therein. At first, the magistrate was astounded at this demand; upon reflection, however, and in the hope that the presence of the officers of law would perhaps restrain their excesses, he did not scruple to grant their request.

In Tournay, the churches were despoiled of their ornaments

within sight of the garrison, who could not be induced to march against the Iconoclasts. As the latter had been told that the gold and silver vessels, and other ornaments of the church, were buried underground, they turned up the whole floor, and exposed, among others, the body of the Duke Adolph of Gueldres, who fell in battle at the head of the rebellious burghers of Ghent, and had been buried here in Tournay. This Adolph had waged war against his father, and had dragged the vanquished old man some miles barefoot to prison-an indignity which Charles the Bold afterwards retaliated on him. And now, again, after more than half a century, fate avenged a crime against nature by another against religion; fanaticism was to desecrate that which was holy, in order to expose once more to execration the bones of a parricide. Other Iconoclasts from Valenciennes united themselves with those of Tournay, to despoil all the cloisters of the surrounding district, during which a valuable library, the accumulation of centuries, was destroyed by fire The evil soon penetrated into Brabant, also Malines, Herzogenbusch, Breda, and Bergen-op-Zoom experienced the same fate. The provinces Namur and Luxemburg, with a part of Artois and of Hainault, had alone the good fortune to escape the contagion of these outrages. In the short period of four or five days, 400 cloisters were plundered in Brabant and Flanders alone. The northern Netherlands were soon seized with the same mania which had raged so violently through the southern. The Dutch towns, Amsterdam, Leyden, and Gravenhaag, had the alternative of either voluntarily stripping their churches of their ornaments, or of seeing them violently torn from them; the determination of their magistrates saved Delft, Haarlem, Gouda, and Rotterdam from the devastation. The same acts of violence were practised also in the islands of Zealand; the town of Utrecht, and many places in Overyssel and Gröningen suffered the same storms. Friesland was protected by the Count of Aremberg, and Gueldres by the Count of Megen from a like fate.

An exaggerated report of these disturbances which came in from the provinces, spread the alarm to Brussels, where the regent had just made preparations for an extraordinary session of the Council of State. Swarms of Iconoclasts already penetrated into Brabant; and the metropolis, where they were cer