History of Protestantism in the Netherlands - James Aitken Wylie

The duchess gave her answer next day. She
promised to send an envoy to Spain to lay the
petition of the Confederates before Philip. She had
no power, she said, to suspend the Inquisition,
nevertheless she would issue orders to the
inquisitors to proceed with discretion. The
discretion of an inquisitor! Much the Beggars
marvelled what that might mean. The new project
shortly afterwards enlightened them. As elaborated,
and published in fifty-three articles, that project
amounted to this: that heretics, instead of being
burned, were to be beheaded or hanged; but they
were to be admitted to this remarkable clemency
only if they did not stir up riots and tumults. The
people appear to have been but little thankful for
this uncommon "moderation," and nicknamed it
"murderation." It would appear that few were
deemed worthy of the Government's mercy, for not
only did blood continue to flow by the axe, but the
stake blazed nearly as frequently as before. About
this time, four martyrs were burned at Lille.
"They all four," says Brandt, "sung as with one
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