of many of those brilliant qualities which mark men as worthy of distinction in times of peril.  Educated at Geneva, he was passionately attached to the reformed religion, and identified in his hatred the Catholic Church and the tyranny of Spain.  Brave and impetuous, he was, to his elder brother, but as an adventurous partisan compared with a sagacious general.  He loved William as well as he did their common cause, and his life was devoted to both.

Henry de Brederode, lord of Vienen and marquis of Utrecht, was descended from the ancient counts of Holland.  This illustrious origin, which in his own eyes formed a high claim to distinction, had not procured him any of those employments or dignities which he considered his due.  He was presumptuous and rash, and rather a fluent speaker than an eloquent orator.  Louis of Nassau was thoroughly inspired by the justice of the cause he espoused; De Brederode espoused it for the glory of becoming its champion.  The first only wished for action; the latter longed for distinction.  But neither the enthusiasm of Nassau, nor the vanity of De Brederode, was allied with those superior attributes required to form a hero.

The confederation acquired its perfect organization in the month of February, 1566, on the tenth of which month its celebrated manifesto was signed by its numerous adherents.  The first name affixed to this document was that of Philip de Marnix, lord of St. Aldegonde, from whose pen it emanated; a man of great talents both as soldier and writer.  Numbers of the nobility followed him on this muster-roll of patriotism, and many of the most zealous royalists were among them.  This remarkable proclamation of general feeling consisted chiefly in a powerful reprehension of the illegal establishment of the Inquisition in the Low Countries, and a solemn obligation on the members of the confederacy to unite in the common cause against this detested nuisance.  Men of all ranks and classes offered their signatures, and several Catholic priests among the rest.  The Prince of Orange, and the Counts Egmont, Horn, and Meghem, declined becoming actual parties to this bold measure; and when the question was debated as to the most appropriate way of presenting an address to the stadtholderess these noblemen advised the mildest and most respectful demeanor on the part of the purposed deputation.

At the first intelligence of these proceedings, the duchess of Parma, absorbed by terror, had no resource but to assemble hastily such members of the council of state as were at Brussels; and she entreated, by the most pressing letters, the Prince of Orange and Count Horn to resume their places at this council.  But three courses of conduct seemed applicable to the emergency:  to take up arms; to grant the demands of the confederates; or to temporize and to amuse them with a feint of moderation, until the orders of the king might be obtained from Spain.  It was not, however, till after a lapse of four months that