was formally stated in the council by Berlaymont and other members.  The wrath of the Duke blazed forth at this announcement.  He berated Berlaymont for maintaining, or for allowing it to be maintained, that the consent of the orders had ever been doubtful.  He protested that they had as unequivocally agreed to the perpetual imposition of the tag as he to its commutation during two years.  He declared, however, that he was sick of quotas.  The tax should now be collected forthwith, and Treasurer Schetz was ordered to take his measures accordingly.

At a conference on the 29th May, the Duke asked Viglius for his opinion.  The President made a long reply, taking the ground that the consent of the orders had been only conditional, and appealing to such members of the finance council as were present to confirm his assertion.  It was confirmed by all.  The Duke, in a passion, swore that those who dared maintain such a statement should be chastised.  Viglius replied that it had always been the custom for councillors to declare their opinion, and that they had never before been threatened with such consequences.  If such, however, were his Excellency’s sentiments, councillors had better stay at home, hold their tongues, and so avoid chastisement.  The Duke, controlling himself a little, apologized for this allusion to chastisement, a menace which he disclaimed having intended with reference to councillors whom he had always commended to the King, and of whom his Majesty had so high an opinion.  At a subsequent meeting the Duke took Viglius aside, and assured him that he was quite of his own way of thinking.  For certain reasons, however, he expressed himself as unwilling that the rest of the council should be aware of the change in his views.  He wished, he said, to dissemble.  The astute President, for a moment, could not imagine the Governor’s drift.  He afterwards perceived that the object of this little piece of deception had been to close his mouth.  The Duke obviously conjectured that the President, lulled into security, by this secret assurance, would be silent; that the other councillors, believing the President to have adopted the Governor’s views, would alter their opinions; and that the opposition of the estates, thus losing its support in the council, would likewise very soon be abandoned.  The President, however, was not to be entrapped by this falsehood.  He resolutely maintained his hostility to the tax, depending for his security on the royal opinion, the popular feeling, and the judgment of his colleagues.

The daily meetings of the board were almost entirely occupied by this single subject.  Although since the arrival of Alva the Council of Blood had usurped nearly all the functions of the state and finance-councils, yet there now seemed a disposition on the part of Alva to seek the countenance, even while he spurned the authority, of other functionaries.  He found, however, neither sympathy nor obedience.  The President