History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain Part 39 (1/2)
CHAPTER VI.
SECRET EXECUTION OF MONTIGNY.
Bergen and Montigny.--Their Situation in Spain.--Death of Bergen.--Arrest of Montigny.--Plot for his Escape.--His Process.--Removal to Simancas.--Closer Confinement.--Midnight Execution.
1567-1570.
Before bidding a long adieu to the Netherlands, it will be well to lay before the reader an account of a transaction which has proved a fruitful theme of speculation to the historian, but which, until the present time, has been shrouded in impenetrable mystery.
It may be remembered that, in the year 1566, two n.o.ble Flemings, the marquis of Bergen and the baron of Montigny, were sent on a mission to the court of Madrid, to lay before the king the critical state of affairs, imperatively demanding some change in the policy of the government. The two lords went on the mission; but they never returned.
Many conjectures were made respecting their fate; and historians have concluded that Bergen possibly,[1217] and certainly Montigny, came to their end by violence.[1218] But, in the want of evidence, it was only conjecture, while the greatest discrepancy has prevailed in regard to details. It is not till very recently that the veil has been withdrawn through the access that has been given to the Archives of Simancas, that dread repository, in which the secrets of the Castilian kings have been buried for ages. Independently of the interest attaching to the circ.u.mstances of the present narrative, it is of great importance for the light it throws on the dark, unscrupulous policy of Philip the Second. It has, moreover, the merit of resting on the most authentic grounds of the correspondence of the king and his ministers.
[Sidenote: BERGEN AND MONTIGNY.]
Both envoys were men of the highest consideration. The marquis of Bergen, by his rank and fortune, was in the first cla.s.s of the Flemish aristocracy.[1219] Montigny was of the ancient house of the Montmorencys, being a younger brother of the unfortunate Count Hoorne.
At the time of Charles the Fifth's abdication he had the honor of being selected by the emperor as one of those Flemish n.o.bles who were to escort him to his monastic residence in Spain. He occupied several important posts,--among others, that of governor of Tournay,--and, like Bergen, was a knight of the Golden Fleece. In the political disturbances of the time, although not placed in the front of disaffection, the two lords had taken part with the discontented faction, had joined in the war upon Granvelle, and had very generally disapproved of the policy of the crown. They had, especially, raised their voices against the system of religious persecution, with a manly independence which had secured for them--it seems undeservedly--the reputation of being the advocates of religious reform. This was particularly the case with Bergen, who, to one that asked how heretics should be dealt with, replied, ”If they were willing to be converted, I would not trouble them. If they refused, still I would not take their lives, as they might hereafter be converted.” This saying, duly reported to the ears of Philip, was doubtless treasured up against the man who had the courage to utter it.[1220]
The purpose of their emba.s.sy was to urge on the king the necessity of a more liberal and lenient policy, to which Margaret, who had not yet broken with the n.o.bles, was herself inclined. It was not strange that the two lords should have felt the utmost reluctance to undertake a mission which was to bring them so directly within the power of the monarch whom they knew they had offended, and who, as they also knew, was not apt to forgive an offence. True, Egmont had gone on a similar mission to Madrid, and returned uninjured to Brussels. But it was at an earlier period, when the aspect of things was not so dangerous. His time had not yet come.
It was not till after much delay that the other n.o.bles, with the regent, prevailed on Bergen and Montigny to accept the trust, by urging on them its absolute importance for a.s.suring the tranquillity of the country.
Even then, an injury which confined the marquis some weeks to his house furnished him with a plausible excuse for not performing his engagement, of which he would gladly have availed himself. But his scruples again vanished before the arguments and entreaties of his friends; and he consented to follow, as he could not accompany, Montigny.
The latter reached Madrid towards the middle of June, 1566, was graciously received by the king, and was admitted to repeated audiences, at which he did not fail to urge the remedial measures countenanced by Margaret. Philip appeared to listen with complacency; but declined giving an answer till the arrival of the other amba.s.sador, who, having already set out on his journey, was attacked, on his way through France, by a fever. There Bergen halted, and again thought of abandoning the expedition. His good genius seemed ever willing to interpose to save him. But his evil genius, in the shape of Philip, who wrote to him, in the most condescending terms, to hasten his journey, beckoned him to Madrid.[1221]
Besides the two envoys there was another person of consequence from the Low Countries at that time in the capital,--Simon Renard, once Charles's minister at the English court, the inexorable foe of Granvelle. He had been persuaded by Philip to come to Spain, although to do so, he knew, was to put himself on trial for his manifold offences against the government. He was arrested; proceedings were commenced against him; and he was released only by an illness which terminated in his death. There seems to have been a mysterious fascination possessed by Philip, that he could thus draw within his reach the very men whom every motive of self-preservation should have kept at an immeasurable distance.
The arrival of the marquis did not expedite the business of the mission.
Unfortunately, about that period news came to Madrid of the outbreak of the iconoclasts, exciting not merely in Spain, but throughout Christendom, feelings of horror and indignation. There was no longer a question as to a more temperate policy. The only thought now was of vengeance. It was in vain that the Flemish envoys interposed to mitigate the king's anger, and turn him from those violent measures which must bring ruin on the country. Their remonstrances were unheeded. They found access to his person by no means so easy a thing as before. They felt that somewhat of the odium of the late transactions attached to them.
Even the courtiers, with the ready instinct that detects a sovereign's frown, grew cold in their deportment. The situation of the envoys became every day more uncomfortable. Their mission was obviously at an end, and all they now asked was leave to return to the Netherlands.
But the king had no mind to grant it. He had been long since advised by Granvelle, and others in whom he trusted, that both the n.o.bles had taken a decided part in fostering the troubles of the country.[1222] To that country they were never to return. Philip told them he had need of their presence for some time longer, to advise with him on the critical state of affairs in Flanders. So thin a veil could not impose on them, and they were idled with the most serious apprehensions. They wrote to Margaret, begging her to request the king to dismiss them; otherwise they should have good cause to complain both of her and of the n.o.bles, who had sent them on a mission from which they would gladly have been excused.[1223] But Margaret had already written to her brother to keep them in Spain until the troubles in Flanders should be ended.[1224] On the reception of the letter of her envoys, however, she replied that she had already written to the king to request leave for them to return.[1225] I have found no record of such a letter.
In the spring of 1567, the duke of Alva was sent to take command of the Netherlands. Such an appointment, at such a crisis, plainly intimated the course to be pursued, and the host of evils it would soon bring on the devoted country. The conviction of this was too much for Bergen, heightened as his distress was by his separation, at such a moment, from all that was most dear to him on earth. He fell ill of a fever, and grew rapidly worse, till at length, it was reported to Philip that there was no chance for his recovery unless he were allowed to return to his native land.[1226]
[Sidenote: DEATH OF BERGEN.]
This placed the king in a perplexing dilemma. He was not disposed to let the marquis escape from his hands even by the way of a natural death. He was still less inclined to a.s.sent to his return to Flanders. In this emergency he directed Ruy Gomez, the prince of Eboli, to visit the sick n.o.bleman, who was his personal friend. In case Gomez found the marquis so ill that his recovery was next to impossible, he was to give him the king's permission to return home. If, however, there seemed a prospect of his recovery, he was only to hold out the hope of such a permission.[1227] In case of the sick man's death, Gomez was to take care to have his obsequies performed in such a manner as to show the sorrow of the king and his ministers at his loss, and their respect for the lords of the Low Countries![1228] He was, moreover, in that event, to take means to have the marquis's property in the Netherlands sequestered, as, should rebellion be proved against him, it would be forfeited to the crown.--This curious, and, as it must be allowed, highly confidential epistle, was written with the king's own hand. The address ran, ”Ruy Gomez--to his hands. Not to be opened nor read in the presence of the bearer.”
Which part of the royal instruction the minister thought best to follow for the cure of the patient,--whether he gave him an unconditional permission to return, or only held out the hope that he would do so,--we are not informed. It matters little, however. The marquis, it is probable, had already learned not to put his trust in princes. At all events, the promises of the king did as little for the patient as the prescriptions of the doctor. On the twenty-first of May he died,--justifying the melancholy presentiment with which he had entered on his mission.
Montigny was the only victim that now remained to Philip; and he caused him to be guarded with redoubled vigilance. He directed Ruy Gomez to keep an eye on all his movements, and to write to the governors of Navarre, Catalonia, and other frontier places, to take precautions to intercept the Flemish lord, in case of his attempting to fly the country.[1229] Montigny was in fact a prisoner, with Madrid for the limits of his prison. Yet, after this, the regent could write to him from Brussels, that she was pleased to learn from her brother that he was soon to give him his _conge_.[1230]--If the king said this, he had a bitter meaning in his words, beyond what the d.u.c.h.ess apprehended.
It was not long, however, that Montigny was allowed to retain even this degree of liberty. In September, 1567, arrived the tidings of the arrest of the Counts Egmont and Hoorne. Orders were instantly issued for the arrest of Montigny. He was seized by a detachment of the royal guard, and borne off to the alcazar of Segovia.[1231] He was not to be allowed to leave the fortress day or night; but as much indulgence was shown to him as was compatible with this strict confinement; and he was permitted to take with him the various retainers who composed his household, and to maintain his establishment in prison. But what indulgence could soften the bitterness of a captivity far from kindred and country, with the consciousness, moreover, that the only avenue from his prison conducted to the scaffold!
In his extremity, Montigny looked around for the means of effecting his own escape; and he nearly succeeded. One, if not more, of the Spaniards on guard, together with his own servants, were in the plot. It was arranged that the prisoner should file through the bars of a window in his apartment, and lower himself to the ground by means of a rope ladder. Relays of horses were provided to take him rapidly on to the seaport of Santander, in the north, whence he was to be transported in a shallop to St. Jean de Luz. The materials for executing his part of the work were conveyed to Montigny in the loaves of bread daily sent to him by his baker. Everything seemed to promise success. The bars of the window were removed.[1232] They waited only for a day when the alcayde of the castle would not be likely to visit it. At this juncture the plot was discovered through the carelessness of the _maitre d'hotel_.
This person neglected to send one of the loaves to his master, which contained a paper giving sundry directions respecting the mode of escape, and mentioning the names of several of the parties. The loaf fell into the hands of a soldier.[1233] On breaking it, the paper was discovered, and taken by him to the captain of the guard. The plot was laid open; the parties were arrested, and sentenced to death or the galleys. The king allowed the sentence to take effect in regard to the Spaniards. He granted a reprieve to the Flemings, saying that what they had done was in some sort excusable, as being for the service of their master. Besides, they might be of use hereafter, in furnis.h.i.+ng testimony in the prosecution of Montigny.[1234] On this compound principle their lives were spared. After languis.h.i.+ng some time in prison, they were allowed to return to the Low Countries, bearing with them letters from Montigny, requesting his friends to provide for them in consideration of their sacrifices for him. But they were provided for in a much more summary manner by Alva, who, on their landing, caused them to be immediately arrested, and banished them all from the country, under pain of death if they returned to it![1235]
The greatest sympathy was felt for Montigny in the Netherlands, where the n.o.bles were filled with indignation at the unworthy treatment their envoy had received from Philip. His step-mother, the dowager-countess of Hoorne, was as untiring in her efforts for him as she had been for his unfortunate brother. These were warmly seconded by his wife, a daughter of the prince of Epinoy, to whom Montigny had been married but a short time before his mission to Spain. This lady wrote a letter in the most humble tone of supplication to Philip. She touched on the blight brought on her domestic happiness, spoke with a strong conviction of the innocence of Montigny, and with tears and lamentations implored the king, by the consideration of his past services, by the pa.s.sion of the blessed Saviour, to show mercy to her husband.[1236]