After this they cried as loud as ever, and demanded the young constable, and also the Bailiff and the members of the court. And as the servants were in a story of the tower below the one occupied by the lords of the court, they told the rioters aloud that the lords and the constable had already left the city hall. Deeper silence could not have reigned in a convent, than prevailed at this time among the lords; for though some did not make an outward manifestation of the regret which they felt in their hearts, he that had sharp eyes, could read it in their face. And though it was past noon, and no one had eaten much that day, yet I believe, if there had been an abundance of the most tempting viands, none would have made very great inroads upon them.
But at last, God be praised for it, the tumult and uproar ceased; so that through the faithfulness of Adriaen Jacobs Tromper, councilor of said city, who had left the ark, but returned with an olive twig, and informed the lords of the court, in their anxiety, that the uproar had subsided, and that the rioters had all gone away. Thus, about two o’clock in the afternoon, the lords left the tower; but the city was still in great commotion, and Jan Hendricks, the prisoner that had been cut down, was brought into the house of one Kers Goverts Brouwer, near the city hall, where he remained until about five or six o’clock in the evening, when he was openly put into a boat, and taken out of the city, and it is said that he is still living.
That evening the arquebusiers were ordered on guard. The next day, the 29th of March, a delegation went in behalf of the city to the Hague, to the lords of the council, where they reported the matter, presented an excuse in behalf of the city, and requested that commissioners be sent to inquire into the matter, that the city might be exculpated from the uproar. Next day, Sir Guiljand Zeegers, Lord van Wassenhoven, and Sir Christian de Waert, Procurator-General, arrived here, and made some inquiries concerning the crime, and reported the information obtained to the council. His Royal Majesty, having been informed that full control had been gained over the city, speedily dispatched (since my lord the margrave van Veere was sick) the count of Boussu and my lord of Cruyningen, who passed through here secretly, on Easter eve, on their way to the Hague, where they, on Easter-day, convened the whole council. They wrote to the Bailiff, to close the gates and bars, and to fetch those who had been designated and reported, from their beds, in the night; which was done after the close of Easter-day, and there was apprehended in the night, with the assistance of the arquebusiers, and in presence of the burgomasters, one Chiele Pot. On the following day, the second Easter-day, there arrived in the city the Count of Boussu, my lord of Cruyningen, Sir Gerrit van Assendelft, President of the Council, Guiljand Zeegers, lord of Wassenhoven, Sir Cornelis Zuys, Aernoult Sasbout, Cornelis van Weldam, and Dominicus Boot.
_On the 21st of April, 1558, after Easter._
Whereas Jacob Theunis, _alias_ Mosselman, born at Rotterdam, at present a prisoner, has confessed, without torture and iron bonds, before the count of Boussu, Knight of the order of the Golden Fleece, the lord of Cruyningen, as commissaries from his Royal Majesty, and the court of Holland; that he, the prisoner, after the tumult and uproar in this city of Rotterdam had taken place, went to the city hall, to see what was going on there, and that as he ascended the steps of the city hall, a crutch was thrown at his neck, whereupon he picked it up, went with it into the city hall, where the servants were still in the tower, and threw it up from below at the servants; all of which are things of bad example, and must not go uncorrected, but must be punished, as a warning example unto others; therefore, the aforesaid court, after mature deliberation, in the name of the King of Spain, of England, of France, etc., as Count of Holland, Zeeland and Vriesland, has condemned and does sentence by these presents, the aforesaid prisoner Jacob Theunis, to appear in audience, and there to ask, with uncovered head, on his knees, the forgiveness of the court, on behalf of his Royal Majesty and justice, and to declare that he is sincerely sorry that he threw the crutch at the servants, in the city hall: and that after this is done, he is to be brought upon the scaffold erected in front of the city hall of this city, and to remain standing there until after the execution of the rioters. Done at Rotterdam by Sir Geraerdt van Assendelft, Emskerk, etc., first President of the council, Guiljand Zeegers, lord of Wassenhoven, etc., Knight, Sir Cornelis Zuys, Aernout Sassebout, Cornelis van Weldam, Dominicus Boot, Damas van Drogendijk, Quintijn Weytszoon, and Aernout Nicolai, Councilors of Holland, and pronounced on the 21st of April, 1558, after Easter.