Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/461

 EGRET 453 with Granvelle as minister, Egmont and the prince of Orange were made members of the state council. Important affairs of state hav- ing been transacted by the regent and Gran- velle without consultation with the council, Egmont in 1561 and 1563 joined in letters of remonstrance to the king. His opposition to Granvelle finally forced him to give up his po- sition and leave the country. In 1565 he was sent as envoy to the court of Spain for the pur- pose of making the condition of the Nether- lands better understood. The king made him many promises, but the government did not relent in its severity toward the provinces. On the contrary, nine inquisitors were sent thither to reestablish the inquisition. Egmont was indignant, and permitted the assembling of the nobles (1566), who declared that they would never submit to the inquisition and founded the league of the Gueux. During the iconoclastic risings which broke out soon after, Egmont obtained from the regent favorable terms for the insurgents who belonged in the provinces over which he was stadtholder. These terms having been ratified by the king, Egmont's confidence in the royal favor was strengthened. He restored the Catholics to the possession of their churches, and restrained and punished the excesses of the Protestants. He aided the royal troops in besieging Valen- ciennes, renewed his oath of allegiance to the regent, and finally broke off his connection with the prince of Orange and the Gueux. When Philip II. in 1567 sent the duke of Alva with a strong army to take the place of Mar- garet of Parma, the prince of Orange and other leaders of the people left the country; but Egmont, relying upon his interest at court, re- mained to look after his estates. He went out to meet the duke of Alva as he approached Brussels, and made him a present ; but he was treacherously arrested, Sept. 9, together with the count of Horn. They were tried by the "council of blood," and adjudged guilty of treason. Egmont met his death with calmness, and was regarded by the people as a martyr in the cause of liberty. One of Goethe's tragedies is founded upon his history. See Prescott's "History of Philip II.;" Le comte d? Egmont et le comte deHorne, by Juste (Brussels, 1862) ; and Motley's " Rise of the Dutch Republic." EGRET, a name given to those species of white herons which have the feathers of the lower part of the back elongated and their webs disunited, reaching beyond or to the tail, at certain seasons; their forms are also more graceful than those of common herons. They belong to the old genus ardea (Linn.), of the order grallatores, since divided into many sub- genera. The great American egret (A. [hero- dias] egretta, Gmel.) is about 37 in. long to end of tail, 49 to end of claws, with an extent of wings of 55 in. ; bill 4 in., tail 6, tarsus 6 ; anterior toes 2-f, 4, and 3| in., with the claws, , f, and f- of an inch respectively ; the hind toe 1, and its claw 1-Jr in. long ; weight about 2|- Ibs. ; the female is somewhat smaller. The bill is straight, tapering to an acute tip ; the head compressed and oblong; neck long and slender; body compressed; feet, tarsus, and tibia long, the latter bare in its lower half. The space between bill and eye, and around the latter, is bare; the plumage is soft and blended ; head not crested, though its feathers are elongated, as are those on the lower neck in front; from between the shoulders arises a tuft of long, decurved, and delicate disunited feathers, extending about 10 in. beyond the tail; the wings are moderate, and the tail short, of 12 weak feathers ; the bill is bright yellow, feet and claws black, and the* plumage white, in some parts slightly tinged with yellow. This elegant bird breeds from Florida to New York, and along the shores of the gulf of Mex- ico to Texas, and probably further ; it is rarely seen in Massachusetts, and does not appear more than 50 miles inland, unless along the courses of large rivers ; it generally breeds in Great American Egret (Ardea egretta). low marshy places, dismal swamps, and the margins of lakes and ponds; the nests are sometimes made on low bushes, and occasion- ally on sandy islands near the coast, but gener- ally on high trees. The long, silky filaments of the back are hardly to be seen except in the love season, which varies from early spring to midsummer, according to latitude ; both sexes possess them, and many are shot during the breeding season to obtain these feathers for ornamental purposes. It feeds by day, on small fishes, Crustacea, and reptiles, which it catches in the shallows and marshes ; its flight is well sustained, and its gait and movements are graceful. The nest is made of loose sticks, overhanging the water, and is used for years by the same birds, which annually repair it; the eggs, two or three in number, are 2 in. long, when freshly laid smooth and pale blue, becoming afterward rough and whitish. The egret is shy and difficult to obtain, except in the breeding season; many of the young are destroyed by crows and turkey buzzards. The European egret (A. alba, Gmel.) is about 3 ft. 5 in. long, with pure white plumage. Accord-