It must be admitted, however, that the letter which Maurice wrote on the
same morning to his cousin William Lewis does not show much pathos.

"After the judges," he said, "have been busy here with the sentence
against the Advocate Barneveld for several days, at last it has been
pronounced, and this morning, between nine o'clock and half past, carried
into execution with the sword, in the Binnenhof before the great hall.

"The reasons they had for this you will see from the sentence, which will
doubtless be printed, and which I will send you.

"The wife of the aforesaid Barneveld and also some of his sons and sons-
in-law or other friends have never presented any supplication for his
pardon, but till now have vehemently demanded that law and justice should
be done to him, and have daily let the report run through the people that
he would soon come out. They also planted a may-pole before their house
adorned with garlands and ribbands, and practised other jollities and
impertinences, while they ought to have conducted themselves in a humble
and lowly fashion. This is no proper manner of behaving, and moreover
not a practical one to move the judges to any favour even if they had
been thereto inclined."

The sentence was printed and sent to the separate provinces. It was
accompanied by a declaration of the States-General that they had received
information from the judges of various points, not mentioned in the
sentence, which had been laid to the charge of the late Advocate, and
which gave much reason to doubt whether he had not perhaps turned his
eyes toward the enemy. They could not however legally give judgment to
that effect without a sharper investigation, which on account of his
great age and for other reasons it was thought best to spare him.