The duke had reason to hasten the execution of the sentence. Count

Louis of Nassau had given battle to the Count of Aremberg, near the

monastery of Heiligerlee, in Groningen, and had the good fortune to

defeat him. Immediately after his victory he had advanced against

Groningen, and laid siege to it. The success of his arms had raised the

courage of his faction; and the Prince of Orange, his brother, was close

at hand with an army to support him. These circumstances made the

duke’s presence necessary in those distant provinces; but he could not

venture to leave Brussels before the fate of two such important

prisoners was decided. The whole nation loved them, which was not a

little increased by their unhappy fate. Even the strict papists

disapproved of the execution of these eminent nobles. The slightest

advantage which the arms of the rebels might gain over the duke, or even

the report of a defeat, would cause a revolution in Brussels, which

would immediately set the two counts at liberty. Moreover, the

petitions and intercessions which came to the viceroy, as well as to

the King of Spain, from the German princes, increased daily; nay, the

Emperor, Maximilian II., himself caused the countess to be assured “that

she had nothing to fear for the life of her spouse.” These powerful

applications might at last turn the king’s heart in favor of the

prisoners. The king might, perhaps, in reliance on his viceroy’s usual

dispatch, put on the appearance of yielding to the representations of so

many sovereigns, and rescind the sentence of death under the conviction

that his mercy would come too late. These considerations moved the duke

not to delay the execution of the sentence as soon as it was pronounced.

On the day after the sentence was passed the two counts were brought,

under an escort of three thousand Spaniards, from Ghent to Brussels, and

placed in confinement in the Brodhause, in the great market-place. The

next morning the council of twelve were assembled; the duke, contrary to

his custom, attended in person, and both the sentences, in sealed

envelopes, were opened and publicly read by Secretary Pranz. The two

counts were declared guilty of treason, as having favored and promoted

the abominable conspiracy of the Prince of Orange, protected the

confederated nobles, and been convicted of various misdemeanors against

their king and the church in their governments and other appointments.

Both were sentenced to be publicly beheaded, and their heads were to be

fixed upon pikes and not taken down without the duke’s express command.

All their possessions, fiefs, and rights escheated to the royal

treasury. The sentence was signed only by the duke and the secretary,

Pranz, without asking or caring for the consent of the other members of

the council.

During the night between the 4th and 5th of June the sentences were

brought to the prisoners, after they had already gone to rest. The duke

gave them to the Bishop of Ypres, Martin Rithov, whom he had expressly

summoned to Brussels to prepare the prisoners for death. When the

bishop received this commission he threw himself at the feet of the

duke, and supplicated him with tears in his eyes for mercy, at least for

respite for the prisoners; but he was answered in a rough and angry

voice that he had been sent for from Ypres, not to oppose the sentence,

but by his spiritual consolation to reconcile the unhappy noblemen to

it.

Egmont was the first to whom the bishop communicated the sentence of

death. “That is indeed a severe sentence,” exclaimed the count, turning

pale, and with a faltering voice. “I did not think that I had offended

his majesty so deeply as to deserve such treatment. If, however, it

must be so I submit to my fate with resignation. May this death atone

for my offence, and save my wife and children from suffering. This at

least I think I may claim for my past services. As for death, I will

meet it with composure, since it so pleases God and my king.” He then

pressed the bishop to tell him seriously and candidly if there was no

hope of pardon. Being answered in the negative, he confessed and

received the sacrament from the priest, repeating after him the mass

with great devoutness. He asked what prayer was the best and most

effective to recommend him to God in his last hour. On being told that

no prayer could be more effectual than the one which Christ himself had

taught, he prepared immediately to repeat the Lord’s prayer. The

thoughts of his family interrupted him; he called for pen and ink, and

wrote two letters, one to his wife, the other to the king. The latter

was as follows:

“Sire,--This morning I have heard the sentence which your majesty has

been pleased to pass upon me. Far as I have ever been from attempting

anything against the person or service of your majesty, or against the

true, old, and Catholic religion, I yet submit myself with patience to

the fate which it has pleased God to ordain should suffer. If, during

the past disturbances, I have omitted, advised, or done anything that

seems at variance with my duty, it was most assuredly performed with the

best intentions, or was forced upon me by the pressure of circumstances.

I therefore pray your majesty to forgive me, and, in consideration of my

past services, show mercy to my unhappy wife, my poor children, and

servants. In a firm hope of this, I commend myself--to the infinite

mercy of God.

“Your majesty’s most faithful vassal and servant,

“LAMORAL COUNT EGMONT.

“BRUSSELS, June 5, 1568, near my last moments.”

This letter he placed in the hands of the bishop, with the strongest

injunctions for its safe delivery; and for greater security he sent a

duplicate in his own handwriting to State Counsellor Viglius, the most

upright man in the senate, by whom, there is no doubt, it was actually

delivered to the king. The family of the count were subsequently

reinstated in all his property, fiefs, and rights, which, by virtue of

the sentence, had escheated to the royal treasury.

Meanwhile a scaffold had been erected in the marketplace, before the

town hall, on which two poles were fixed with iron spikes, and the whole

covered with black cloth. Two-and-twenty companies of the Spanish

garrison surrounded the scaffold, a precaution which was by no means

superfluous. Between ten and eleven o’clock the Spanish guard appeared

in the apartment of the count; they were provided with cords to tie his

hands according to custom. He begged that this might be spared him, and

declared that he was willing and ready to die. He himself cut off the

collar from his doublet to facilitate the executioner’s duty. He wore a

robe of red damask, and over that a black Spanish cloak trimmed with

gold lace. In this dress he appeared on the scaffold, and was attended

by Don Julian Romero, maitre-de-camp; Salinas, a Spanish captain; and

the Bishop of Ypres. The grand provost of the court, with a red wand in

his hand, sat on horseback at the foot of the scaffold; the executioner

was concealed beneath.

Egmont had at first shown a desire to address the people from the

scaffold. He desisted, however, on the bishop’s representing to him

that either he would not be heard, or that if he were, he might--such at

present was the dangerous disposition of the people--excite them to acts

of violence, which would only plunge his friends into destruction. For

a few moments he paced the scaffold with noble dignity, and lamented

that it had not been permitted him to die a more honorable death for his

king and his country. Up to the last he seemed unable to persuade

himself that the king was in earnest, and that his severity would be

carried any further than the mere terror of execution. When the

decisive period approached, and he was to receive the extreme unction,

he looked wistfully round, and when there still appeared no prospect of

a reprieve, he turned to Julian Romero, and asked him once more if there

was no hope of pardon for him. Julian Romero shrugged his shoulders,

looked on the ground, and was silent.

He then closely clenched his teeth, threw off his mantle and robe, knelt

upon the cushion, and prepared himself for the last prayer. The bishop

presented him the crucifix to kiss, and administered to him extreme

unction, upon which the count made him a sign to leave him. He drew a

silk cap over his eyes, and awaited the stroke. Over the corpse and the

streaming blood a black cloth was immediately thrown.

All Brussels thronged around the scaffold, and the fatal blow seemed to

fall on every heart. Loud sobs alone broke the appalling silence. The

duke himself, who watched the execution from a window of the townhouse,

wiped his eyes as his victim died.

Shortly afterwards Count Horn advanced on the scaffold. Of a more

violent temperament than his friend, and stimulated by stronger reasons

for hatred against the king, he had received the sentence with less

composure, although in his case, perhaps, it was less unjust. He burst

forth in bitter reproaches against the king, and the bishop with

difficulty prevailed upon him to make a better use of his last moments

than to abuse them in imprecations on his enemies. At last, however, he

became more collected, and made his confession to the bishop, which at

first he was disposed to refuse.

He mounted the scaffold with the same attendants as his friend. In

passing he saluted many of his acquaintances; his hands were, like

Egmont’s, free, and he was dressed in a black doublet and cloak, with a

Milan cap of the same color upon his head. When he had ascended, he

cast his eyes upon the corpse, which lay under the cloth, and asked one

of the bystanders if it was the body of his friend. On being answered

in the affirmative, he said some words in Spanish, threw his cloak from

him, and knelt upon the cushion. All shrieked aloud as he received the

fatal blow.

The heads of both were fixed upon the poles which were set up on the

scaffold, where they remained until past three in the afternoon, when

they were taken down, and, with the two bodies, placed in leaden coffins

and deposited in a vault.

In spite of the number of spies and executioners who surrounded the

scaffold, the citizens of Brussels would not be prevented from dipping

their handkerchiefs in the streaming blood, and carrying home with them

these precious memorials.

SIEGE OF ANTWERP BY THE PRINCE OF PARMA, IN THE YEARS 1584 AND 1585.

It is an interesting spectacle to observe the struggle of man’s

inventive genius in conflict with powerful opposing elements, and to

see the difficulties which are insurmountable to ordinary capacities

overcome by prudence, resolution, and a determined will. Less

attractive, but only the more instructive, perhaps, is the contrary

spectacle, where the absence of those qualities renders all efforts of

genius vain, throws away all the favors of fortune, and where inability

to improve such advantages renders hopeless a success which otherwise

seemed sure and inevitable. Examples of both kinds are afforded by the

celebrated siege of Antwerp by the Spaniards towards the close of the

sixteenth century, by which that flourishing city was forever deprived

of its commercial prosperity, but which, on the other hand, conferred

immortal fame on the general who undertook and accomplished it.

Twelve years had the war continued which the northern provinces of

Belgium had commenced at first in vindication simply of their religious

freedom, and the privileges of their states, from the encroachments of

the Spanish viceroy, but maintained latterly in the hope of establishing

their independence of the Spanish crown. Never completely victors, but

never entirely vanquished, they wearied out the Spanish valor by tedious

operations on an unfavorable soil, and exhausted the wealth of the

sovereign of both the Indies while they themselves were called beggars,

and in a degree actually were so. The league of Ghent, which had united

the whole Netherlands, Roman Catholic and Protestant, in a common and

(could such a confederation have lasted) invincible body, was indeed

dissolved; but in place of this uncertain and unnatural combination the

northern provinces had, in the year 1579, formed among themselves the

closer union of Utrecht, which promised to be more lasting, inasmuch as

it was linked and held together by common political and religious

interests. What the new republic had lost in extent through this

separation from the Roman Catholic provinces it was fully compensated

for by the closeness of alliance, the unity of enterprise, and energy of

execution; and perhaps it was fortunate in thus timely losing what no

exertion probably would ever have enabled it to retain.

The greater part of the Walloon provinces had, in the year 1584, partly

by voluntary submission and partly by force of arms, been again reduced

under the Spanish yoke. The northern districts alone had been able at

all successfully to oppose it. A considerable portion of Brabant and

Flanders still obstinately held out against the arms of the Duke

Alexander of Parma, who at that time administered the civil government

of the provinces, and the supreme command of the army, with equal energy

and prudence, and by a series of splendid victories had revived the

military reputation of Spain. The peculiar formation of the country,

which by its numerous rivers and canals facilitated the connection of

the towns with one another and with the sea, baffled all attempts

effectually to subdue it, and the possession of one place could only be

maintained by the occupation of another. So long as this communication

was kept up Holland and Zealand could with little difficulty assist

their allies, and supply them abundantly by water as well as by land

with all necessaries, so that valor was of no use, and the strength of

the king’s troops was fruitlessly wasted on tedious sieges.

Of all the towns in Brabant Antwerp was the most important, as well

from, its wealth, its population, and its military force, as by its

position on the mouth of the Scheldt. This great and populous town,

which at this date contained more than eighty thousand inhabitants, was

one of the most active members of the national league, and had in the

course of the war distinguished itself above all the towns of Belgium by

an untamable spirit of liberty. As it fostered within its bosom all the

three Christian churches, and owed much of its prosperity to this

unrestricted religious liberty, it had the more cause to dread the

Spanish rule, which threatened to abolish this toleration, and by the

terror of the Inquisition to drive all the Protestant merchants from its

markets. Moreover it had had but too terrible experience of the

brutality of the Spanish garrisons, and it was quite evident that if it

once more suffered this insupportable yoke to be imposed upon it it

would never again during the whole course of the war be able to throw it

off.

But powerful as were the motives which stimulated Antwerp to resistance,

equally strong were the reasons which determined the Spanish general to

make himself master of the place at any cost. On the possession of this

town depended in a great measure that of the whole province of Brabant,

which by this channel chiefly derived its supplies of corn from Zealand,

while the capture of this place would secure to the victor the command

of the Scheldt. It would also deprive the league of Brabant, which held

its meetings in the town, of its principal support; the whole faction of

its dangerous influence, of its example, its counsels, and its money,

while the treasures of its inhabitants would open plentiful supplies for

the military exigencies of the king. Its fall would sooner or later

necessarily draw after it that of all Brabant, and the preponderance of

power in that quarter would decide the whole dispute in favor of the

king. Determined by these grave considerations, the Duke of Parma drew

his forces together in July, 1584, and advanced from his position at

Dornick to the neighborhood of Antwerp, with the intention of investing

it.

But both the natural position and fortifications of the town appeared to

defy attacks. Surrounded on the side of Brabant with insurmountable

works and moats, and towards Flanders covered by the broad and rapid

stream of the Scheldt, it could not be carried by storm; and to blockade

a town of such extent seemed to require a land force three times larger

than that which the duke had, and moreover a fleet, of which he was

utterly destitute. Not only did the river yield the town all necessary

supplies from Ghent, it also opened an easy communication with the

bordering province of Zealand. For, as the tide of the North Sea

extends far up the Scheldt, and ebbs and flows regularly, Antwerp enjoys

the peculiar advantage that the same tide flows past it at different

times in two opposite directions. Besides, the adjacent towns of

Brussels, Malines, Ghent, Dendermonde, and others, were all at this time

in the hands of the league, and could aid the place from the land side

also. To blockade, therefore, the town by land, and to cut off its

communication with Flanders and Brabant, required two different armies,

one on each bank of the river. A sufficient fleet was likewise needed

to guard the passage of the Scheldt, and to prevent all attempts at

relief, which would most certainly be made from Zealand. But by the war

which he had still to carry on in other quarters, and by the numerous

garrisons which he was obliged to leave in the towns and fortified

places, the army of the duke was reduced to ten thousand infantry and

seventeen hundred horse, a force very inadequate for an undertaking of

such magnitude. Moreover, these troops were deficient in the most

necessary supplies, and the long arrears of pay had excited them to

subdued murmurs, which hourly threatened to break out into open mutiny.

If, notwithstanding these difficulties, he should still attempt the

siege, there would be much occasion to fear from the strongholds of the

enemy, which were left in the rear, and from which it would be easy, by

vigorous sallies, to annoy an army distributed over so many places, and

to expose it to want by cutting off its supplies.

All these considerations were brought forward by the council of war,

before which the Duke of Parrna now laid his scheme. However great the

confidence which they placed in themselves, and in the proved abilities

of such a leader, nevertheless the most experienced generals did not

disguise their despair of a fortunate result. Two only were exceptions,

Capizucchi and Mondragone, whose ardent courage placed them above all

apprehensions; the rest concurred in dissuading the duke from attempting

so hazardous an enterprise, by which they ran the risk of forfeiting the

fruit of all their former victories and tarnishing the glory they had

already earned.

But objections, which he had already made to himself and refuted, could

not shake the Duke of Parma in his purpose. Not in ignorance of its

inseparable dangers, not from thoughtless overvaluing his forces had he

taken this bold resolve. But that instinctive genius which leads great

men by paths which inferior minds either never enter upon or never

finish, raised him above the influence of the doubts which a cold and

narrow prudence would oppose to his views; and, without being able to

convince his generals, he felt the correctness of his calculations in a

conviction indistinct, indeed, but not on that account less indubitable.

A succession of fortunate results had raised his confidence, and the

sight of his army, unequalled in Europe for discipline, experience, and

valor, and commanded by a chosen body of the most distinguished

officers, did not permit him to entertain fear for a moment. To those

who objected to the small number of his troops, he answered, that

however long the pike, it is only the point that kills; and that in

military enterprise, the moving power was of more importance than the

mass to be moved. He was aware, indeed, of the discontent of his

troops, but he knew also their obedience; and he thought, moreover, that

the best means to stifle their murmurs was by keeping them employed in

some important undertaking, by stimulating their desire of glory by the

splendor of the enterprise, and their rapacity by hopes of the rich

booty which the capture of so wealthy a town would hold out.

In the plan which he now formed for the conduct of the siege he

endeavored to meet all these difficulties. Famine was the only

instrument by which he could hope to subdue the town; but effectually to

use this formidable weapon, it would be expedient to cut off all its

land and water communications. With this view, the first object was to

stop, or at least to impede, the arrival of supplies from Zealand. It

was, therefore, requisite not only to carry all the outworks, which the

people of Antwerp had built on both shores of the Scheldt for the

protection of their shipping; but also, wherever feasible, to throw up

new batteries which should command the whole course of the river; and to

prevent the place from drawing supplies from the land side, while

efforts were being made to intercept their transmission by sea, all the

adjacent towns of Brabant and Flanders were comprehended in the plan of

the siege, and the fall of Antwerp was based on the destruction of all

those places. A bold and, considering the duke’s scanty force, an

almost extravagant project, which was, however, justified by the genius

of its author, and crowned by fortune with a brilliant result.

As, however, time was required to accomplish a plan of this magnitude,

the Prince of Parma was content, for the present, with the erection of

numerous forts on the canals and rivers which connected Antwerp with

Dendermonde, Ghent, Malines, Brussels, and other places. Spanish

garrisons were quartered in the vicinity, and almost at the very gates

of those towns, which laid waste the open country, and by their

incursions kept the surrounding territory in alarm. Thus, round Ghent

alone were encamped about three thousand men, and proportionate numbers

round the other towns. In this way, and by means of the secret

understanding which he maintained with the Roman Catholic inhabitants of

those towns, the duke hoped, without weakening his own forces, gradually

to exhaust their strength, and by the harassing operations of a petty

but incessant warfare, even without any formal siege, to reduce them at

last to capitulate.

In the meantime the main force was directed against Antwerp, which he

now closely invested. He fixed his headquarters at Bevern in Flanders,

a few miles from Antwerp, where he found a fortified camp. The

protection of the Flemish bank of the Scheldt was entrusted to the

Margrave of Rysburg, general of cavalry; the Brabant bank to the Count

Peter Ernest Von Mansfeld, who was joined by another Spanish leader,

Mondragone. Both the latter succeeded in crossing the Scheldt upon

pontoons, notwithstanding the Flemish admiral’s ship was sent to oppose

them, and, passing Antwerp, took up their position at Stabroek in

Bergen. Detached corps dispersed themselves along the whole Brabant

side, partly to secure the dykes and the roads.

Some miles below Antwerp the Scheldt was guarded by two strong forts, of

which one was situated at Liefkenshoek on the island Doel, in Flanders,

the other at Lillo, exactly opposite the coast of Brabant. The last had

been erected by Mondragone himself, by order of the Duke of Alvaa, when

the latter was still master of Antwerp, and for this very reason the

Duke of Parma now entrusted to him the attack upon it. On the

possession of these two forts the success of the siege seemed wholly to

depend, since all the vessels sailing from Zealand to Antwerp must pass

under their guns. Both forts had a short time before been strengthened

by the besieged, and the former was scarcely finished when the Margrave

of Rysburg attacked it. The celerity with which he went to work

surprised the enemy before they were sufficiently prepared for defence,

and a brisk assault quickly placed Liefkenshoek in the hands of the

Spaniards. The confederates sustained this loss on the same fatal day

that the Prince of Orange fell at Delft by the hands of an assassin.

The other batteries, erected on the island of Doel, were partly

abandoned by their defenders, partly taken by surprise, so that in a

short time the whole Flemish side was cleared of the enemy. But the

fort at Lillo, on the Brabant shore, offered a more vigorous resistance,

since the people of Antwerp had had time to strengthen its

fortifications and to provide it with a strong garrison. Furious

sallies of the besieged, led by Odets von Teligny, supported by the

cannon of the fort, destroyed all the works of the Spaniards, and an

inundation, which was effected by opening the sluices, finally drove

them away from the place after a three weeks’ siege, and with the loss

of nearly two thousand killed. They now retired into their fortified

camp at Stabroek, and contented themselves with taking possession of the

dams which run across the lowlands of Bergen, and oppose a breastwork to

the encroachments of the East Scheldt.

The failure of his attempt upon the fort of Lillo compelled the Prince

of Parma to change his measures. As he could not succeed in stopping

the passage of the Scheldt by his original plan, on which the success of

the siege entirely depended, he determined to effect his purpose by

throwing a bridge across the whole breadth of the river. The thought

was bold, and there were many who held it to be rash. Both the breadth

of the stream, which at this part exceeds twelve hundred paces, as well

as its violence, which is still further augmented by the tides of the

neighboring sea, appeared to render every attempt of this kind

impracticable. Moreover, he had to contend with a deficiency of timber,

vessels, and workmen, as well as with the dangerous position between the

fleets of Antwerp and of Zealand, to which it would necessarily be an

easy task, in combination with a boisterous element, to interrupt so

tedious a work. But the Prince of Parma knew his power, and his settled

resolution would yield to nothing short of absolute impossibility.

After he had caused the breadth as well as the depth of the river to be

measured, and had consulted with two of his most skilful engineers,

Barocci and Plato, it was settled that the bridge should be constructed

between Calloo in Flanders and Ordain in Brabant. This spot was

selected because the river is here narrowest, and bends a little to the

right, and so detains vessels a while by compelling them to tack. To

cover the bridge strong bastions were erected at both ends, of which the

one on the Flanders side was named Fort St. Maria, the other, on the

Brabant side, Fort St. Philip, in honor of the king.

While active preparations were making in the Spanish camp for the

execution of this scheme, and the whole attention of the enemy was

directed to it, the duke made an unexpected attack upon Dendermonde, a

strong town between Ghent and Antwerp, at the confluence of the Dender

and the Scheldt. As long as this important place was in the hands of

the enemy the towns of Ghent and Antwerp could mutually support each

other, and by the facility of their communication frustrate all the

efforts of the besiegers. Its capture would leave the prince free to

act against both towns, and might decide the fate of his undertaking.

The rapidity of his attack left the besieged no time to open their

sluices and lay the country under water. A hot cannonade was opened

upon the chief bastion of the town before the Brussels gate, but was

answered by the fire of the besieged, which made great havoc amongst the

Spaniards. It increased, however, rather than discouraged their ardor,

and the insults of the garrison, who mutilated the statue of a saint

before their eyes, and after treating it with the most contumelious

indignity, hurled it down from the rampart, raised their fury to the

highest pitch. Clamorously they demanded to be led against the bastion

before their fire had made a sufficient breach in it, and the prince, to

avail himself of the first ardor of their impetuosity, gave the signal

for the assault. After a sanguinary contest of two hours the rampart

was mounted, and those who were not sacrificed to the first fury of the

Spaniards threw themselves into the town. The latter was indeed now

more exposed, a fire being directed upon it from the works which had

been carried; but its strong walls and the broad moat which surrounded

it gave reason to expect a protracted resistance. The inventive

resources of the Prince of Parma soon overcame this obstacle also.

While the bombardment was carried on night and day, the troops were

incessantly employed in diverting the course of the Dender, which

supplied the fosse with water, and the besieged were seized with despair

as they saw the water of the trenches, the last defence of the town,

gradually disappear. They hastened to capitulate, and in August, 1584,

received a Spanish garrison. Thus, in the space of eleven days, the

Prince of Parrna accomplished an undertaking which, in the opinion of

competent judges, would require as many weeks.

The town of Ghent, now cut off from Antwerp and the sea, and hard

pressed by the troops of the king, which were encamped in its vicinity,

and without hope of immediate succor, began to despair, as famine, with

all its dreadful train, advanced upon them with rapid steps. The

inhabitants therefore despatched deputies to the Spanish camp at Bevern,

to tender its submission to the king upon the same terms as the prince

had a short time previously offered. The deputies were informed that

the time for treaties was past, and that an unconditional submission

alone could appease the just anger of the monarch whom they had offended

by their rebellion. Nay, they were even given to understand that it

would be only through his great mercy if the same humiliation were not

exacted from them as their rebellious ancestors were forced to undergo

under Charles V., namely, to implore pardon half-naked, and with a cord

round their necks. The deputies returned to Ghent in despair, but three

days afterwards a new deputation was sent to the Spanish camp, which at

last, by the intercession of one of the prince’s friends, who was a

prisoner in Ghent, obtained peace upon moderate terms. The town was to

pay a fine of two hundred thousand florins, recall the banished papists,

and expel the Protestant inhabitants, who, however, were to be allowed

two years for the settlement of their affairs. All the inhabitants

except six, who were reserved for capital punishment (but afterwards

pardoned), were included in a general amnesty, and the garrison, which

amounted to two thousand men, was allowed to evacuate the place with the

honors of war. This treaty was concluded in September of the same year,

at the headquarters at Bevern, and immediately three thousand Spaniards

marched into the town as a garrison.

It was more by the terror of his name and the dread of famine than by

the force of arms that the Prince of Parma had succeeded in reducing

this city to submission, the largest and strongest in the Netherlands,

which was little inferior to Paris within the barriers of its inner

town, consisted of thirty-seven thousand houses, and was built on twenty

islands, connected by ninety-eight stone bridges. The important

privileges which in the course of several centuries this city had

contrived to extort from its rulers fostered in its inhabitants a spirit

of independence, which not unfrequently degenerated into riot and

license, and naturally brought it in collision with the Austrian-Spanish

government. And it was exactly this bold spirit of liberty which

procured for the Reformation the rapid and extensive success it met with

in this town, and the combined incentives of civil and religious freedom

produced all those scenes of violence by which, during the rebellion, it

had unfortunately distinguished itself. Besides the fine levied, the

prince found within the walls a large store of artillery, carriages,

ships, and building materials of all kinds, with numerous workmen and

sailors, who materially aided him in his plans against Antwerp.

Before Ghent surrendered to the king Vilvorden and Herentals had fallen

into the hands of the Spaniards, and the capture of the block-houses

near the village of Willebrock had cut off Antwerp from Brussels and

Malines. The loss of these places within so short a period deprived

Antwerp of all hope of succor from Brabant and Flanders, and limited all

their expectations to the assistance which might be looked for from

Zealand. But to deprive them also of this the Prince of Parma was now

making the most energetic preparations.

The citizens of Antwerp had beheld the first operations of the enemy

against their town with the proud security with which the sight of their

invincible river inspired them. This confidence was also in a degree

justified by the opinion of the Prince of Orange, who, upon the first

intelligence of the design, had said that the Spanish army would

inevitably perish before the walls of Antwerp. That nothing, however,

might be neglected, he sent, a short time before his assassination, for

the burgomaster of Antwerp, Philip Marnix of St. Aldegonde, his intimate

friend, to Delft, where he consulted with him as to the means of

maintaining defensive operations. It was agreed between then that it

would be advisable to demolish forthwith the great dam between Sanvliet

and Lillo called the Blaaugarendyk, so as to allow the waters of the

East Scheldt to inundate, if necessary, the lowlands of Bergen, and

thus, in the event of the Scheldt being closed, to open a passage for

the Zealand vessels to the town across the inundated country. Aldegonde

had, after his return, actually persuaded the magistrate and the

majority of the citizens to agree to this proposal, when it was resisted

by the guild of butchers, who claimed that they would be ruined by such

a measure; for the plain which it was wished to lay under water was a

vast tract of pasture land, upon which about twelve thousand oxen--were

annually put to graze. The objection of the butchers was successful,

and they managed to prevent the execution of this salutary scheme until

the enemy had got possession of the dams as well as the pasture land.

At the suggestion of the burgomaster St. Aldegonde, who, himself a

member of the states of Brabant, was possessed of great authority in

that council, the fortifications on both sides the Scheldt had, a short

time before the arrival of the Spaniards, been placed in repair, and

many new redoubts erected round the town. The dams had been cut through

at Saftingen, and the water of the West Scheldt let out over nearly the

whole country of Waes. In the adjacent Marquisate of Bergen troops had

been enlisted by the Count of Hohenlohe, and a Scotch regiment, under

the command of Colonel Morgan, was already in the pay of the republic,

while fresh reinforcements were daily expected from England and France.

Above all, the states of Holland and Zealand were called upon to hasten

their supplies. But after the enemy had taken strong positions on both

sides of the river, and the fire of their batteries made the navigation

dangerous, when place after place in Brabant fell into their hands, and

their cavalry had cut off all communication on the land side, the

inhabitants of Antwerp began at last to entertain serious apprehensions

for the future. The town then contained eighty-five thousand souls, and

according to calculation three hundred thousand quarters of corn were

annually required for their support. At the beginning of the siege

neither the supply nor the money was wanting for the laying in of such a

store; for in spite of the enemy’s fire the Zealand victualling ships,

taking advantage of the rising tide, contrived to make their way to the

town. All that was requisite was to prevent any of the richer citizens

from buying up these supplies, and, in case of scarcity, raising the

price. To secure his object, one Gianibelli from Mantua, who had

rendered important services in the course of the siege, proposed a

property tax of one penny in every hundred, and the appointment of a

board of respectable persons to purchase corn with this money, and

distribute it weekly. And until the returns of this tax should be

available the richer classes should advance the required sum, holding

the corn purchased, as a deposit, in their own magazines; and were also

to share in the profit. But this plan was unwelcome to the wealthier

citizens, who had resolved to profit by the general distress. They

recommended that every individual should be required to provide himself

with a sufficient supply for two years; a proposition which, however it

might suit their own circumstances, was very unreasonable in regard to

the poorer inhabitants, who, even before the siege, could scarcely find

means to supply themselves for so many months. They obtained indeed

their object, which was to reduce the poor to the necessity of either

quitting the place or becoming entirely their dependents. But when they

afterwards reflected that in the time of need the rights of property

would not be respected, they found it advisable not to be over-hasty in

making their own purchases.

The magistrate, in order to avert an evil that would have pressed upon

individuals only, had recourse to an expedient which endangered the

safety of all. Some enterprising persons in Zealand had freighted a

large fleet with provisions, which succeeded in passing the guns of the

enemy, and discharged its cargo at Antwerp. The hope of a large profit

had tempted the merchants to enter upon this hazardous speculation; in

this, however, they were disappointed, as the magistrate of Antwerp had,

just before their arrival, issued an edict regulating the price of all

the necessaries of life. At the same time to prevent individuals from

buying up the whole cargo and storing it in their magazines with a view

of disposing of it afterwards at a dearer rate, he ordered that the

whole should be publicly sold in any quantities from the vessels. The

speculators, cheated of their hopes of profit by these precautions, set

sail again, and left Antwerp with the greater part of their cargo, which

would have sufficed for the support of the town for several months.

This neglect of the most essential and natural means of preservation can

only be explained by the supposition that the inhabitants considered it

absolutely impossible ever to close the Scheldt completely, and

consequently had not the least apprehension that things would come to

extremity. When the intelligence arrived in Antwerp that the prince

intended to throw a bridge over the Scheldt the idea was universally

ridiculed as chimerical. An arrogant comparison was drawn between the

republic and the stream, and it was said that the one would bear the

Spanish yoke as little as the other. “A river which is twenty-four

hundred feet broad, and, with its own waters alone, above sixty feet

deep, but which with the tide rose twelve feet more--would such a

stream,” it was asked, “submit to be spanned by a miserable piece of

paling? Where were beams to be found high enough to reach to the bottom

and project above the surface? and how was a work of this kind to stand

in winter, when whole islands and mountains of ice, which stone walls

could hardly resist, would be driven by the flood against its weak

timbers, and splinter them to pieces like glass? Or, perhaps, the

prince purposed to construct a bridge of boats; if so, where would he

procure the latter, and how bring them into his intrenchments? They

must necessarily be brought past Antwerp, where a fleet was ready to

capture or sink them.”

But while they were trying to prove the absurdity of the Prince of

Parma’s undertaking he had already completed it. As soon as the forts

St. Maria and St. Philip were erected, and protected the workmen and the

work by their fire, a pier was built out into the stream from both

banks, for which purpose the masts of the largest vessels were employed;

by a skilful arrangement of the timbers they contrived to give the whole

such solidity that, as the result proved, it was able to resist the

violent pressure of the ice. These timbers, which rested firmly and

securely on the bottom of the river, and projected a considerable height

above it, being covered with planks, afforded a commodious roadway. It

was wide enough to allow eight men to cross abreast, and a balustrade

that ran along it on both sides, protected them from the fire of

small-arms from the enemy’s vessels. This “stacade,” as it was called,

ran from the two opposite shores as far as the increasing depth and force

of the stream allowed. It reduced the breadth of the river to about

eleven hundred feet; as, however, the middle and proper current would not

admit of such a barrier, there remained, therefore, between the two

stacades a space of more than six hundred paces through which a whole

fleet of transports could sail with ease. This intervening space the

prince designed to close by a bridge of boats, for which purpose the

craft must be procured from Dunkirk. But, besides that they could not be

obtained in any number at that place, it would be difficult to bring them

past Antwerp without great loss. He was, therefore, obliged to content

himself for the time with having narrowed the stream one-half, and

rendered the passage of the enemy’s vessels so much the more difficult.

Where the stacades terminated in the middle of the stream they spread out

into parallelograms, which were mounted with heavy guns, and served as a

kind of battery on the water. From these a heavy fire was opened on every

vessel that attempted to pass through this narrow channel. Whole fleets,

however, and single vessels still attempted and succeeded in passing this

dangerous strait.

Meanwhile Ghent surrendered, and this unexpected success at once rescued

the prince from his dilemma. He found in this town everything necessary

to complete his bridge of boats; and the only difficulty now was its

safe transport, which was furnished by the enemy themselves. By cutting

the dams at Saftingen a great part of the country of Waes, as far as the

village of Borcht, had been laid under water, so that it was not

difficult to cross it with flat-bottomed boats. The prince, therefore,

ordered his vessels to run out from Ghent, and after passing Dendermonde

and Rupelmonde to pass through the left dyke of the Scheldt, leaving

Antwerp to the right, and sail over the inundated fields in the

direction of Borcht. To protect this passage a fort was erected at the

latter village, which would keep the enemy in check. All succeeded to

his wishes, though not without a sharp action with the enemy’s flotilla,

which was sent out to intercept this convoy. After breaking through a

few more dams on their route, they reached the Spanish quarters at

Calloo, and successfully entered the Scheldt again. The exultation of

the army was greater when they discovered the extent of the danger the

vessels had so narrowly escaped. Scarcely had they got quit of the

enemy’s vessels when a strong reinforcement from Antwerp got under

weigh, commanded by the valiant defender of Lillo, Odets von Teligny.

When this officer saw that the affair was over, and that the enemy had

escaped, he took possession of the dam through which their fleet had

passed, and threw up a fort on the spot in order to stop the passage of

any vessels from Ghent which might attempt to follow them.

By this step the prince was again thrown into embarrassment. He was far

from having as yet a sufficient number of vessels, either for the

construction of the bridge or for its defence, and the passage by which

the former convoy had arrived was now closed by the fort erected by

Teligny. While he was reconnoitring the country to discover a new way

for his, fleets an idea occurred to him which not only put an end to his

present dilemma, but greatly accelerated the success of his whole plan.

Not far from the village of Stecken, in Waes, which is within some five

thousand paces of the commencement of the inundation, flows a small

stream called the Moer, which falls into the Scheldt near Ghent. From

this river he caused a canal to be dug to the spot where the inundations

began, and as the water of these was not everywhere deep enough for the

transit of his boats, the canal between Bevern and Verrebroek was

continued to Calloo, where it was met by the Scheldt. At this work five

hundred pioneers labored without intermission, and in order to cheer the

toil of the soldiers the prince himself took part in it. In this way

did he imitate the example of the two celebrated Romans, Drusus and

Corbulo, who by similar works had united the Rhine with the Zuyder Zee,

and the Maes with the Rhine?

This canal, which the army in honor of its projector called the canal of

Parma, was fourteen thousand paces in length, and was of proportion able

depth and breadth, so as to be navigable for ships of a considerable

burden. It afforded to the vessels from Ghent not only a more secure,

but also a much shorter course to the Spanish quarters, because it was

no longer necessary to follow the many windings of the Scheldt, but

entering the Moer at once near Ghent, and from thence passing close to

Stecken, they could proceed through the canal and across the inundated

country as far as Calloo. As the produce of all Flanders was brought to

the town of Ghent, this canal placed the Spanish camp in communication

with the whole province. Abundance poured into the camp from all

quarters, so that during the whole course of the siege the Spaniards

suffered no scarcity of any kind. But the greatest benefit which the

prince derived from this work was an adequate supply of flat-bottomed

vessels to complete his bridge.

These preparations were overtaken by the arrival of winter, which, as

the Scheldt was filled with drift-ice, occasioned a considerable delay

in the building of the bridge. The prince had contemplated with anxiety

the approach of this season, lest it should prove highly destructive to

the work he had undertaken, and afford the enemy a favorable opportunity

for making a serious attack upon it. But the skill of his engineers

saved him from the one danger, and the strange inaction of the enemy

freed him from the other. It frequently happened, indeed, that at

flood-time large pieces of ice were entangled in the timbers, and shook

them violently, but they stood the assault of the furious element, which

only served to prove their stability.

In Antwerp, meanwhile, important moments had been wasted in futile

deliberations; and in a struggle of factions the general welfare was

neglected. The government of the town was divided among too many heads,

and much too great a share in it was held by the riotous mob to allow

room for calmness of deliberation or firmness of action. Besides the

municipal magistracy itself, in which the burgomaster had only a single

voice, there were in the city a number of guilds, to whom were consigned

the charge of the internal and external defence, the provisioning of the

town, its fortifications, the marine, commerce, etc.; some of whom must

be consulted in every business of importance. By means of this crowd of

speakers, who intruded at pleasure into the council, and managed to

carry by clamor and the number of their adherents what they could not

effect by their arguments, the people obtained a dangerous influence

in the public debates, and the natural struggle of such discordant

interests retarded the execution of every salutary measure.

A government so vacillating and impotent could not command the respect

of unruly sailors and a lawless soldiery. The orders of the state

consequently were but imperfectly obeyed, and the decisive moment was

more than once lost by the negligence, not to say the open mutiny, both

of the land and sea forces. The little harmony in the selection of the

means by which the enemy was to be opposed would not, however, have

proved so injurious had there but existed unanimity as to the end. But

on this very point the wealthy citizens and poorer classes were divided;

so the former, having everything to apprehend from allowing matters to

be carried to extremity, were strongly inclined to treat with the Prince

of Parma. This disposition they did not even attempt to conceal after

the fort of Liefkenshoek had fallen into the enemy’s hands, and serious

fears were entertained for the navigation of the Scheldt. Some of them,

indeed, withdrew entirely from the danger, and left to its fate the

town, whose prosperity they had been ready enough to share, but in whose

adversity they were unwilling to bear a part. From sixty to seventy of

those who remained memorialized the council, advising that terms should

be made with the king. No sooner, however, had the populace got

intelligence of it than their indignation broke out in a violent uproar,

which was with difficulty appeased by the imprisonment and fining of the

petitioners. Tranquillity could only be fully restored by publication

of an edict, which imposed the penalty of death on all who either

publicly or privately should countenance proposals for peace.

The Prince of Parma did not fail to take advantage of these

disturbances; for nothing that transpired within the city escaped his

notice, being well served by the agents with whom he maintained a secret

understanding with Antwerp, as well as the other towns of Brabant and

Flanders. Although he had already made considerable progress in his

measures for distressing the town, still he had many steps to take

before he could actually make himself master of it; and one unlucky

moment might destroy the work of many months. Without, therefore,

neglecting any of his warlike preparations, he determined to make one

more serious attempt to get possession by fair means. With this object

he despatched a letter in November to the great council of Antwerp, in

which he skilfully made use of every topic likely to induce the citizens

to come to terms, or at least to increase their existing dissensions.

He treated them in this letter in the light of persons who had been led

astray, and threw the whole blame of their revolt and refractory conduct

hitherto upon the intriguing spirit of the Prince of Orange, from whose

artifices the retributive justice of heaven had so lately liberated

them. “It was,” he said, “now in their power to awake from their long

infatuation and return to their allegiance to a monarch who was ready

and anxious to be reconciled to his subjects. For this end he gladly

offered himself as mediator, as he had never ceased to love a country in

which he had been born, and where he had spent the happiest days of his

youth. He therefore exhorted them to send plenipotentiaries with whom

he could arrange the conditions of peace, and gave them hopes of

obtaining reasonable terms if they made a timely submission, but also

threatened them with the severest treatment if they pushed matters to

extremity.”

This letter, in which we are glad to recognize a language very different

from that which the Duke of Alva held ten years before on a similar

occasion, was answered by the townspeople in a respectful and dignified

tone. While they did full justice to the personal character of the

prince, and acknowledged his favorable intentions towards them with

gratitude, they lamented the hardness of the times, which placed it out

of his power to treat them in accordance with his character and

disposition. They declared that they would gladly place their fate in

his hands if he were absolute master of his actions, instead of being

obliged to obey the will of another, whose proceedings his own candor

would not allow him to approve of. The unalterable resolution of the

King of Spain, as well as the vow which he had made to the pope, were

only too well known for them to have any hopes in that quarter. They at

the same time defended with a noble warmth the memory of the Prince of

Orange, their benefactor and preserver, while they enumerated the true

cases which had produced this unhappy war, and had caused the provinces

to revolt from the Spanish crown. At the same time they did not

disguise from him that they had hopes of finding a new and a milder

master in the King of France, and that, if only for this reason, they

could not enter into any treaty with the Spanish king without incurring

the charge of the most culpable fickleness and ingratitude.

The united provinces, in fact, dispirited by a succession of reverses,

had at last come to the determination of placing themselves under the

protection and sovereignty of France, and of preserving their existence

and their ancient privileges by the sacrifice of their independence.

With this view an embassy had some time before been despatched to Paris,

and it was the prospect of this powerful assistance which principally

supported the courage of the people of Antwerp. Henry III., King of

France, was personally disposed to accept this offer; but the troubles

which the intrigues of the Spaniards contrived to excite within his own

kingdom compelled him against his will to abandon it. The provinces now

turned for assistance to Queen Elizabeth of England, who sent them some

supplies, which, however, came too late to save Antwerp. While the

people of this city were awaiting the issue of these negotiations, and

expecting aid from foreign powers, they neglected, unfortunately, the

most natural and immediate means of defence; the whole winter was lost,

and while the enemy turned it to greater advantage the more complete was

their indecision and inactivity.

The burgomaster of Antwerp, St. Aldegonde, had, indeed, repeatedly urged

the fleet of Zealand to attack the enemy’s works, which should be

supported on the other side from Antwerp. The long and frequently

stormy nights would favor this attempt, and if at the same time a sally

were made by the garrison at Lillo, it seemed scarcely possible for

the enemy to resist this triple assault. But unfortunately

misunderstandings had arisen between the commander of the fleet, William

von Blois von Treslong, and the admiralty of Zealand, which caused the

equipment of the fleet to be most unaccountably delayed. In order to

quicken their movements Teligny at last resolved to go himself to

Middleburg, were the states of Zealand were assembled; but as the enemy

were in possession of all the roads the attempt cost him his freedom and

the republic its most valiant defender. However, there was no want of

enterprising vessels, which, under the favor of the night and the

floodtide, passing through the still open bridge in spite of the enemy’s

fire, threw provisions into the town and returned with the ebb. But as

many of these vessels fell into the hands of the enemy the council gave

orders that they should never risk the passage unless they amounted to a

certain number; and the result, unfortunately, was that none attempted

it because the required number could not be collected at one time.

Several attacks were also made from Antwerp on the ships of the

Spaniards, which were not entirely unsuccessful; some of the latter were

captured, others sunk, and all that was required was to execute similar

attempts on a grand scale. But however zealously St. Aldegonde urged

this, still not a captain was to be found who would command a vessel for

that purpose.

Amid these delays the winter expired, and scarcely had the ice begun to

disappear when the construction of the bridge of boats was actively

resumed by the besiegers. Between the two piers a space of more than

six hundred paces still remained to be filled up, which was effected in

the following manner: Thirty-two flat-bottomed vessels, each sixty-six

feet long and twenty broad, were fastened together with strong cables

and iron chains, but at a distance from each other of about twenty feet

to allow a free passage to the stream. Each boat, moreover, was moored

with two cables, both up and down the stream, but which, as the water

rose with the tide, or sunk with the ebb, could be slackened or

tightened. Upon the boats great masts were laid which reached from one

to another, and, being covered with planks, formed a regular road,

which, like that along the piers, was protected with a balustrade. This

bridge of boats, of which the two piers formed a continuation, had,

including the latter, a length of twenty-four thousand paces. This

formidable work was so ingeniously constructed, and so richly furnished

with the instruments of destruction, that it seemed almost capable, like

a living creature, of defending itself at the word of command,

scattering death among all who approached. Besides the two forts of St.

Maria and St. Philip, which terminated the bridge on either shore, and

the two wooden bastions on the bridge itself, which were filled with

soldiers and mounted with guns on all sides, each of the two-and-thirty

vessels was manned with thirty soldiers and four sailors, and showed the

cannon’s mouth to the enemy, whether he came up from Zealand or down

from Antwerp. There were in all ninety-seven cannon, which were

distributed beneath and above the bridge, and more than fifteen hundred

men who were posted, partly in the forts, partly in the vessels, and, in

case of necessity, could maintain a terrible fire of small-arms upon the

enemy.

But with all this the prince did not consider his work sufficiently

secure. It was to be expected that the enemy would leave nothing

unattempted to burst by the force of his machines the middle and weakest

part. To guard against this, he erected in a line with the bridge of

boats, but at some distance from it, another distinct defence, intended

to break the force of any attack that might be directed against the

bridge itself. This work consisted of thirty-three vessels of

considerable magnitude, which were moored in a row athwart the stream

and fastened in threes by masts, so that they formed eleven different

groups. Each of these, like a file of pikemen, presented fourteen long

wooden poles with iron heads to the approaching enemy. These vessels

were loaded merely with ballast, and were anchored each by a double but

slack cable, so as to be able to give to the rise and fall of the tide.

As they were in constant motion they got from the soldiers the name of

“swimmers.” The whole bridge of boats and also a part of the piers were

covered by these swimmers, which were stationed above as well as below

the bridge. To all these defensive preparations was added a fleet of

forty men-of-war, which were stationed on both coasts and served as a

protection to the whole.

This astonishing work was finished in March, 1585, the seventh month of

the siege, and the day on which it was completed was kept as a jubilee

by the troops. The great event was announced to the besieged by a grand

_fete de joie_, and the army, as if to enjoy ocular demonstration of its

triumph, extended itself along the whole platform to gaze upon the proud

stream, peacefully and obediently flowing under the yoke which had been

imposed upon it. All the toil they had undergone was forgotten in the

delightful spectacle, and every man who had had a hand in it, however

insignificant he might be, assumed to himself a portion of the honor

which the successful execution of so gigantic an enterprise conferred on

its illustrious projector. On the other hand, nothing could equal the

consternation which seized the citizens of Antwerp when intelligence was

brought them that the Scheldt was now actually closed, and all access

from Zealand cut off. To increase their dismay they learned the fall of

Brussels also, which had at last been compelled by famine to capitulate.

An attempt made by the Count of Hohenlohe about the same time on

Herzogenbusch, with a view to recapture the town, or at least form a

diversion, was equally unsuccessful; and thus the unfortunate city lost

all hope of assistance, both by sea and land.

These evil tidings were brought them by some fugitives who had succeeded

in passing the Spanish videttes, and had made their way into the town;

and a spy, whom the burgomaster had sent out to reconnoitre the enemy’s

works, increased the general alarm by his report. He had been seized

and carried before the Prince of Parma, who commanded him to be

conducted over all the works, and all the defences of the bridge to be

pointed out to him. After this had been done he was again brought

before the general, who dismissed him with these words: “Go,” said he,

“and report what you have seen to those who sent you. And tell them,

too, that it is my firm resolve to bury myself under the ruins of this

bridge or by means of it to pass into your town.”

But the certainty of danger now at last awakened the zeal of the

confederates, and it was no fault of theirs if the former half of the

prince’s vow was not fulfilled. The latter had long viewed with

apprehension the preparations which were making in Zealand for the

relief of the town. He saw clearly that it was from this quarter that

he had to fear the most dangerous blow, and that with all his works he

could not make head against the combined fleets of Zealand and Antwerp

if they were to fall upon him at the same time and at the proper moment.

For a while the delays of the admiral of Zealand, which he had labored

by all the means in his power to prolong, had been his security, but now

the urgent necessity accelerated the expedition, and without waiting for

the admiral the states at Middleburg despatched the Count Justin of

Nassau, with as many ships as they could muster, to the assistance of

the besieged. This fleet took up a position before Liefkenshoek, which

was in possession of the Spaniards, and, supported by a few vessels from

the opposite fort of Lillo, cannonaded it with such success that the

walls were in a short time demolished, and the place carried by storm.

The Walloons who formed the garrison did not display the firmness which

might have been expected from soldiers of the Duke of Parma; they

shamefully surrendered the fort to the enemy, who in a short time were

in possession of the whole island of Doel, with all the redoubts

situated upon it. The loss of these places, which were, however, soon

retaken, incensed the Duke of Parma so much that he tried the officers

by court-martial, and caused the most culpable among them to be

beheaded. Meanwhile this important conquest opened to the Zealanders a

free passage as far as the bridge, and after concerting with the people

of Antwerp the time was fixed for a combined attack on this work. It

was arranged that, while the bridge of boats was blown up by machines

already prepared in Antwerp, the Zealand fleet, with a sufficient supply

of provisions, should be in the vicinity, ready to sail to the town

through the opening.

While the Duke of Parma was engaged in constructing his bridge an

engineer within the walls was already preparing the materials for its

destruction. Frederick Gianibelli was the name of the man whom fate had

destined to be the Archimedes of Antwerp, and to exhaust in its defence

the same ingenuity with the same want of success. He was born in

Mantua, and had formerly visited Madrid for the purpose, it was said,

of offering his services to King Philip in the Belgian war. But wearied

with waiting the offended engineer left the court with the intention of

making the King of Spain sensibly feel the value of talents which he had

so little known how to appreciate. He next sought the service of Queen

Elizabeth of England, the declared enemy of Spain, who, after witnessing

a few specimens of his skill, sent him to Antwerp. He took up his

residence in that town, and in the present extremity devoted to its

defence his knowledge, his energy, and his zeal.

As soon as this artist perceived that the project of erecting the bridge

was seriously intended, and that the work was fast approaching to

completion, he applied to the magistracy for three large vessels, from a

hundred and fifty to five hundred tons, in which he proposed to place

mines. He also demanded sixty boats, which, fastened together with

cables and chains, furnished with projecting grappling-irons, and put in

motion with the ebbing of the tide, were intended to second the

operation of the mine-ships by being directed in a wedgelike form

against the bridge. But he had to deal with men who were quite

incapable of comprehending an idea out of the common way, and even where

the salvation of their country was at stake could not forget the

calculating habits of trade.

His scheme was rejected as too expensive, and with difficulty he at last

obtained the grant of two smaller vessels, from seventy to eighty tons,

with a number of flat-bottomed boats. With these two vessels, one of

which he called the “Fortune” and the other the “Hope,” he proceeded in

the following manner: In the hold of each he built a hollow chamber of

freestone, five feet broad, three and a half high, and forty long. This

magazine he filled with sixty hundredweight of the finest priming powder

of his own compounding, and covered it with as heavy a weight of large

slabs and millstones as the vessels could carry. Over these he further

added a roof of similar stones, which ran up to a point and projected

six feet above the ship’s side. The deck itself was crammed with iron

chains and hooks, knives, nails, and other destructive missiles; the

remaining space, which was not occupied by the magazine, was likewise

filled up with planks. Several small apertures were left in the chamber

for the matches which were to set fire to the mine. For greater

certainty he had also contrived a piece of mechanism which, after the

lapse of a given time, would strike out sparks, and even if the matches

failed would set the ship on fire. To delude the enemy into a belief

that these machines were only intended to set the bridge on fire, a

composition of brimstone and pitch was placed in the top, which could

burn a whole hour. And still further to divert the enemy’s attention

from the proper seat of danger, he also prepared thirty-two flatbottomed

boats, upon which there were only fireworks burning, and whose sole

object was to deceive the enemy. These fire-ships were to be sent down

upon the bridge in four separate squadrons, at intervals of half an

hour, and keep the enemy incessantly engaged for two whole hours, so

that, tired of firing and wearied by vain expectation, they might at

last relax their vigilance before the real fire-ships came. In addition

to all this he also despatched a few vessels in which powder was

concealed in order to blow up the floating work before the bridge, and

to clear a passage for the two principal ships. At the same time he

hoped by this preliminary attack to engage the enemy’s attention, to

draw them out, and expose them to the full deadly effect of the volcano.

The night between the 4th and 5th of April was fixed for the execution

of this great undertaking. An obscure rumor of it had already diffused

itself through the Spanish camp, and particularly from the circumstance

of many divers from Antwerp having been detected endeavoring to cut the

cables of the vessels. They were prepared, therefore, for a serious

attack; they only mistook the real nature of it, and counted on having

to fight rather with man than the elements. In this expectation the

duke caused the guards along the whole bank to be doubled, and drew up

the chief part of his troops in the vicinity of the bridge, where he was

present in person; thus meeting the danger while endeavoring to avoid

it.

No sooner was it dark than three burning vessels were seen to float down

from the city towards the bridge, then three more, and directly after

the same number. They beat to arms throughout the Spanish camp, and the

whole length of the bridge was crowded with soldiers. Meantime the

number of the fire-ships increased, and they came in regular order down

the stream, sometimes two and sometimes three abreast, being at first

steered by sailors on board them. The admiral of the Antwerp fleet,

Jacob Jacobson (whether designedly or through carelessness is not

known), had committed the error of sending off the four squadrons of

fire-ships too quickly one after another, and caused the two large

mine-ships also to follow them too soon, and thus disturbed the intended

order of attack.

The array of vessels kept approaching, and the darkness of night still

further heightened the extraordinary spectacle. As far as the eye could

follow the course of the stream all was fire; the fire-ships burning as

brilliantly as if they were themselves in the flames; the surface of the

water glittered with light; the dykes and the batteries along the shore,

the flags, arms, and accoutrements of the soldiers who lined the rivers

as well as the bridges were clearly distinguishable in the glare. With

a mingled sensation of awe and pleasure the soldiers watched the unusual

sight, which rather resembled a fete than a hostile preparation, but

from the very strangeness of the contrast filled the mind with a

mysterious awe. When the burning fleet had come within two thousand

paces of the bridge those who had the charge of it lighted the matches,

impelled the two mine-vessels into the middle of the stream, and leaving

the others to the guidance of the current of the waves, they hastily

made their escape in boats which had been kept in readiness.

Their course, however, was irregular, and destitute of steersmen they

arrived singly and separately at the floating works, where they

continued hanging or were dashed off sidewise on the shore. The

foremost powder-ships, which were intended to set fire to the floating

works, were cast, by the force of a squall which arose at that instant,

on the Flemish coast. One of the two, the “Fortune,” grounded in its

passage before it reached the bridge, and killed by its explosion some

Spanish soldiers who were at work in a neighboring battery. The other

and larger fire-ship, called the “Hope,” narrowly escaped a similar

fate. The current drove her against the floating defences towards the

Flemish bank, where it remained hanging, and had it taken fire at that

moment the greatest part of its effect would have been lost. Deceived

by the flames which this machine, like the other vessels, emitted, the

Spaniards took it for a common fire-ship, intended to burn the bridge of

boats. And as they had seen them extinguished one after the other

without further effect all fears were dispelled, and the Spaniards began

to ridicule the preparations of the enemy, which had been ushered in

with so much display and now had so absurd an end. Some of the boldest

threw themselves into the stream in order to get a close view of the

fire-ship and extinguish it, when by its weight it suddenly broke

through, burst the floating work which had detained it, and drove with

terrible force on the bridge of boats. All was now in commotion on the

bridge, and the prince called to the sailors to keep the vessel off with

poles, and to extinguish the flames before they caught the timbers.

At this critical moment he was standing at the farthest end of the left

pier, where it formed a bastion in the water and joined the bridge of

boats. By his side stood the Margrave of Rysburg, general of cavalry

and governor of the province of Artois, who had formerly-served the

states, but from a protector of the republic had become its worst enemy;

the Baron of Billy, governor of Friesland and commander of the German

regiments; the Generals Cajetan and Guasto, with several of the

principal officers; all forgetful of their own danger and entirely

occupied with averting the general calamity. At this moment a Spanish

ensign approached the Prince of Parma and conjured him to remove from a

place where his life was in manifest and imminent peril. No attention

being paid to his entreaty he repeated it still more urgently, and at

last fell at his feet and implored him in this one instance to take

advice from his servant. While he said this he had laid hold of the

duke’s coat as though he wished forcibly to draw him away from the spot,

and the latter, surprised rather at the man’s boldness than persuaded by

his arguments, retired at last to the shore, attended by Cajetan and

Guasto. He had scarcely time to reach the fort St. Maria at the end of

the bridge when an explosion took place behind him, just as if the earth

had burst or the vault of heaven given way. The duke and his whole army

fell to the ground as dead, and several minutes elapsed before they

recovered their consciousness.

But then what a sight presented itself! The waters of the Scheldt had

been divided to its lowest depth, and driven with a surge which rose

like a wall above the dam that confined it, so that all the

fortifications on the banks were several feet under water. The earth

shook for three miles round. Nearly the whole left pier, on which the

fire-ship had been driven, with a part of the bridge of boats, had been

burst and shattered to atoms, with all that was upon it; spars, cannon,

and men blown into the air. Even the enormous blocks of stone which had

covered the mine had, by the force of the explosion, been hurled into

the neighboring fields, so that many of them were afterwards dug out of

the ground at a distance of a thousand paces from the bridge. Six

vessels were buried, several had gone to pieces. But still more

terrible was the carnage which the murderous machine had dealt amongst

the soldiers. Five hundred, according to other reports even eight

hundred, were sacrificed to its fury, without reckoning those who

escaped with mutilated or injured bodies. The most opposite kinds of

death were combined in this frightful moment. Some were consumed by the

flames of the explosion, others scalded to death by the boiling water of

the river, others stifled by the poisonous vapor of the brimstone; some

were drowned in the stream, some buried under the hail of falling masses

of rock, many cut to pieces by the knives and hooks, or shattered by the

balls which were poured from the bowels of the machine. Some were found

lifeless without any visible injury, having in all probability been

killed by the mere concussion of the air. The spectacle which presented

itself directly after the firing of the mine was fearful. Men were seen

wedged between the palisades of the bridge, or struggling to release

themselves from beneath ponderous masses of rock, or hanging in the

rigging of the ships; and from all places and quarters the most

heartrending cries for help arose, but as each was absorbed in his own

safety these could only be answered by helpless wailings.

Many had escaped in the most wonderful manner. An officer named Tucci

was carried by the whirlwind like a feather high into the air, where he

was for a moment suspended, and then dropped into the river, where he

saved himself by swimming. Another was taken up by the force of the

blast from the Flanders shore and deposited on that of Brabant,

incurring merely a slight contusion on the shoulder; he felt, as he

afterwards said, during this rapid aerial transit, just as if he had

been fired out of a cannon. The Prince of Parma himself had never been

so near death as at that moment, when half a minute saved his life. He

had scarcely set foot in the fort of St. Maria when he was lifted off

his feet as if by a hurricane, and a beam which struck him on the head

and shoulders stretched him senseless on the earth. For a long time he

was believed to be actually killed, many remembering to have seen him on

the bridge only a few minutes before the fatal explosion. He was found

at last between his attendants, Cajetan and Guasto, raising himself up

with his hand on his sword; and the intelligence stirred the spirits of

the whole army. But vain would be the attempt to depict his feelings

when he surveyed the devastation which a single moment had caused in the

work of so many months. The bridge of boats, upon which all his hopes

rested, was rent asunder; a great part of his army was destroyed;

another portion maimed and rendered ineffective for many days; many of

his best officers were killed; and, as if the present calamity were not

sufficient, he had now to learn the painful intelligence that the

Margrave of Rysburg, whom of all his officers he prized the highest, was

missing. And yet the worst was still to come, for every moment the

fleets of the enemy were to be expected from Antwerp and Lillo, to which

this fearful position of the army would disable him from offering any

effectual resistance. The bridge was entirely destroyed, and nothing

could prevent the fleet from Zealand passing through in full sail; while

the confusion of the troops in this first moment was so great and

general that it would have been impossible to give or obey orders, as

many corps had lost their commanding officers, and many commanders their

corps; and even the places where they had been stationed were no longer

to be recognized amid the general ruin. Add to this that all the

batteries on shore were under water, that several cannon were sunk, that

the matches were wet, and the ammunition damaged. What a moment for the

enemy if they had known how to avail themselves of it!

It will scarcely be believed, however, that this success, which

surpassed all expectation, was lost to Antwerp, simply because nothing

was known of it. St. Aldegonde, indeed, as soon as the explosion of the

mine was heard in the town, had sent out several galleys in the

direction of the bridge, with orders to send up fire-balls and rockets

the moment they had passed it, and then to sail with the intelligence

straight on to Lillo, in order to bring up, without delay, the Zealand

fleet, which had orders to co-operate. At the same time the admiral of

Antwerp was ordered, as soon as the signal was given, to sail out with

his vessels and attack the enemy in their first consternation. But

although a considerable reward was promised to the boatmen sent to

reconnoitre they did not venture near the enemy, but returned without

effecting their purpose, and reported that the bridge of boats was

uninjured, and the fire-ship had had no effect. Even on the following

day also no better measures were taken to learn the true state of the

bridge; and as the fleet at Lillo, in spite of the favorable wind, was

seen to remain inactive, the belief that the fire-ships had accomplished

nothing was confirmed. It did not seem to occur to any one that this

very inactivity of the confederates, which misled the people of Antwerp,

might also keep back the Zealanders at Lille, as in fact it did. So

signal an instance of neglect could only have occurred in a government,

which, without dignity of independence, was guided by the tumultuous

multitude it ought to have governed. The more supine, however, they

were themselves in opposing the enemy, the more violently did their rage

boil against Gianibelli, whom the frantic mob would have torn in pieces

if they could have caught him. For two days the engineer was in the

most imminent danger, until at last, on the third morning, a courier

from Lillo, who had swam under the bridge, brought authentic

intelligence of its having been destroyed, but at the same time

announced that it had been repaired.

This rapid restoration of the bridge was really a miraculous effort of

the Prince of Parma. Scarcely had he recovered from the shock, which

seemed to have overthrown all his plans, when he contrived, with

wonderful presence of mind, to prevent all its evil consequences. The

absence of the enemy’s fleet at this decisive moment revived his hopes.

The ruinous state of the bridge appeared to be a secret to them, and

though it was impossible to repair in a few hours the work of so many

months, yet a great point would be gained if it could be done even in

appearance. All his men were immediately set to work to remove the

ruins, to raise the timbers which had been thrown down, to replace those

which were demolished, and to fill up the chasms with ships. The duke

himself did not refuse to share in the toil, and his example was

followed by all his officers. Stimulated by this popular behavior, the

common soldiers exerted themselves to the utmost; the work was carried

on during the whole night under the constant sounding of drums and

trumpets, which were distributed along the bridge to drown the noise of

the work-people. With dawn of day few traces remained of the night’s

havoc; and although the bridge was restored only in appearance, it

nevertheless deceived the spy, and consequently no attack was made upon

it. In the meantime the prince contrived to make the repairs solid,

nay, even to introduce some essential alterations in the structure. In

order to guard against similar accidents for the future, a part of the

bridge of boats was made movable, so that in case of necessity it could

be taken away and a passage opened to the fire-ships. His loss of men

was supplied from the garrisons of the adjoining places, and by a German

regiment which arrived very opportunely from Gueldres. He filled up the

vacancies of the officers who were killed, and in doing this he did not

forget the Spanish ensign who had saved his life.

The people of Antwerp, after learning the success of their mine-ship,

now did homage to the inventor with as much extravagance as they had a

short time before mistrusted him, and they encouraged his genius to new

attempts. Gianibelli now actually obtained the number of flat-bottomed

vessels which he had at first demanded in vain, and these he equipped in

such a manner that they struck with irresistible force on the bridge,

and a second time also burst and separated it. But this time, the wind

was contrary to the Zealand fleet, so that they could not put out, and

thus the prince obtained once more the necessary respite to repair the

damage. The Archimedes of Antwerp was not deterred by any of these

disappointments. Anew he fitted out two large vessels which were armed

with iron hooks and similar instruments in order to tear asunder the

bridge. But when the moment came for these vessels to get under weigh

no one was found ready to embark in them. The engineer was therefore

obliged to think of a plan for giving to these machines such a

self-impulse that, without being guided by a steersman, they would keep the

middle of the stream, and not, like the former ones, be driven on the

bank by the wind. One of his workmen, a German, here hit upon a strange

invention, if Strada’s description of it is to be credited. He affixed a

sail under the vessel, which was to be acted upon by the water, just as

an ordinary sail is by the wind, and could thus impel the ship with the

whole force of the current. The result proved the correctness of his

calculation; for this vessel, with the position of its sails reversed,

not only kept the centre of the stream, but also ran against the bridge

with such impetuosity that the enemy had not time to open it and was

actually burst asunder. But all these results were of no service to the

town, because the attempts were made at random and were supported by no

adequate force. A new fire-ship, equipped like the former, which had

succeeded so well, and which Gianibelli had filled with four thousand

pounds of the finest powder was not even used; for a new mode of

attempting their deliverance had now occurred to the people of Antwerp.

Terrified by so many futile attempts from endeavoring to clear a

passage for vessels on the river by force, they at last came to the

determination of doing without the stream entirely. They remembered the

example of the town of Leyden, which, when besieged by the Spaniards ten

years before, had saved itself by opportunely inundating the surrounding

country, and it was resolved to imitate this example. Between Lillo and

Stabroek, in the district of Bergen, a wide and somewhat sloping plain

extends as far as Antwerp, being protected by numerous embankments and

counter-embankments against the irruptions of the East Scheldt. Nothing

more was requisite than to break these dams, when the whole plain would

become a sea, navigable by flat-bottomed vessels almost to the very

walls of Antwerp. If this attempt should succeed, the Duke of Parma

might keep the Scheldt guarded with his bridge of boats as long as he

pleased; a new river would be formed, which, in case of necessity, would

be equally serviceable for the time. This was the very plan which the

Prince of Orange had at the commencement of the siege recommended, and

in which he had been strenuously, but unsuccessfully, seconded by St.

Aldegonde, because some of the citizens could not be persuaded to

sacrifice their own fields. In the present emergency they reverted to

this last resource, but circumstances in the meantime had greatly

changed.

The plain in question is intersected by a broad and high dam, which

takes its name from the adjacent Castle of Cowenstein, and extends for

three miles from the village of Stabroek, in Bergen, as far as the

Scheldt, with the great dam of which it unites near Ordam. Beyond this

dam no vessels can proceed, however high the tide, and the sea would be

vainly turned into the fields as long as such an embankment remained in

the way, which would prevent the Zealand vessels from descending into

the plain before Antwerp. The fate of the town would therefore depend

upon the demolition of this Cowenstein dam; but, foreseeing this, the

Prince of Parma had, immediately on commencing the blockade, taken

possession of it, and spared no pains to render it tenable to the last.

At the village of Stabroek, Count Mansfeld was encamped with the

greatest part of his army, and by means of this very Cowenstein dam kept

open the communication with the bridge, the headquarters, and the

Spanish magazines at Calloo. Thus the army formed an uninterrupted line

from Stabroek in Brabant, as far as Bevern in Flanders, intersected

indeed, but not broken by the Scheldt, and which could not be cut off

without a sanguinary conflict. On the dam itself within proper

distances five different batteries had been erected, the command of

which was given to the most valiant officers in the army. Nay, as the

Prince of Parma could not doubt that now the whole fury of the war would

be turned to this point, he entrusted the defence of the bridge to Count

Mansfeld, and resolved to defend this important post himself. The war,

therefore, now assumed a different aspect, and the theatre of it was

entirely changed.

Both above and below Lillo, the Netherlanders had in several places cut

through the dam, which follows the Brabant shore of the Scheldt; and

where a short time before had been green fields, a new element now

presented itself, studded with masts and boats. A Zealand fleet,

commanded by Count Hohenlohe, navigated the inundated fields, and made

repeated movements against the Cowenstein dam, without, however,

attempting a serious attack on it, while another fleet showed itself in

the Scheldt, threatening the two coasts alternately with a landing, and

occasionally the bridge of boats with an attack. For several days this

manoeuvre was practised on the enemy, who, uncertain of the quarter

whence an attack was to be expected, would, it was hoped, be exhausted

by continual watching, and by degrees lulled into security by so many

false alarms. Antwerp had promised Count Hohenlohe to support the

attack on the dam by a flotilla from the town; three beacons on the

principal tower were to be the signal that this was on the way. When,

therefore, on a dark night the expected columns of fire really ascended

above Antwerp, Count Hohenlohe immediately caused five hundred of his

troops to scale the dam between two of the enemy’s redoubts, who

surprised part of the Spanish garrison asleep, and cut down the others

who attempted to defend themselves. In a short time they had gained a

firm footing upon the dam, and were just on the point of disembarking

the remainder of their force, two thousand in number, when the Spaniards

in the adjoining redoubts marched out and, favored by the narrowness of

the ground, made a desperate attack on the crowded Zealanders. The guns

from the neighboring batteries opened upon the approaching fleet, and

thus rendered the landing of the remaining troops impossible; and as

there were no signs of co-operation on the part of the city, the

Zealanders were overpowered after a short conflict and again driven down

from the dam. The victorious Spaniards pursued them through the water

as far as their boats, sunk many of the latter, and compelled the rest

to retreat with heavy loss. Count Hohenlohe threw the blame of this

defeat upon the inhabitants of Antwerp, who had deceived him by a false

signal, and it certainly must be attributed to the bad arrangement of

both parties that the attempt failed of better success.

But at last the allies determined to make a systematic assault on the

enemy with their combined force, and to put an end to the siege by a

grand attack as well on the dam as on the bridge. The 16th of May,

1585, was fixed upon for the execution of this design, and both armies

used their utmost endeavors to make this day decisive. The force of the

Hollanders and Zealanders, united to that of Antwerp, exceeded two

hundred ships, to man which they had stripped their towns and citadels,

and with this force they purposed to attack the Cowenstein dam on both

sides. The bridge over the Scheldt was to be assailed with new machines

of Gianibelli’s invention, and the Duke of Parma thereby hindered from

assisting the defence of the dam.

Alexander, apprised of the danger which threatened him, spared nothing

on his side to meet it with energy. Immediately after getting

possession of the dam he had caused redoubts to be erected at five

different, places, and had given the command of them to the most

experienced officers of the army. The first of these, which was called

the Cross battery, was erected on the spot where the Cowenstein darn

enters the great embankment of the Scheldt, and makes with the latter

the form of a cross; the Spaniard, Mondragone, was appointed to the

command of this battery. A thousand paces farther on, near the castle

of Cowenstein, was posted the battery of St. James, which was entrusted

to the command of Camillo di Monte. At an equal distance from this lay

the battery of St. George, and at a thousand paces from the latter, the

Pile battery, under the command of Gamboa, so called from the pile-work

on which it rested; at the farthest end of the darn, near Stabroek, was

the fifth redoubt, where Count Mansfeld, with Capizuechi, an Italian,

commanded. All these forts the prince now strengthened with artillery

and men; on both sides of the dam, and along its whole extent, he caused

piles to be driven, as well to render the main embankment firmer, as to

impede the labor of the pioneers, who were to dig through it.

Early on the morning of the 16th of May the enemy’s forces were in

motion. With the dusk of dawn there came floating down from Lillo, over

the inundated country, four burning vessels, which so alarmed the guards

upon the dams, who recollected the former terrible explosion, that they

hastily retreated to the next battery. This was exactly what the enemy

desired. In these vessels, which had merely the appearance of

fire-ships, soldiers were concealed, who now suddenly jumped ashore, and

succeeded in mounting the dam at the undefended spot, between the St.

George and Pile batteries. Immediately afterward the whole Zealand

fleet showed itself, consisting of numerous ships-of-war, transports,

and a crowd of smaller craft, which were laden with great sacks of

earth, wool, fascines, gabions, and the like, for throwing up

breastworks wherever necessary, The ships-of-war were furnished with

powerful artillery, and numerously and bravely manned, and a whole army

of pioneers accompanied it in order to dig through the dam as soon as it

should be in their possession.

The Zealanders had scarcely begun on their side to ascend the dam when

the fleet of Antwerp advanced from Osterweel and attacked it on the

other. A high breastwork was hastily thrown up between the two nearest

hostile batteries, so as at once to divide the two garrisons and to

cover the pioneers. The latter, several hundreds in number, now fell to

work with their spades on both sides of the dam, and dug with such

energy that hopes were entertained of soon seeing the two seas united.

But meanwhile the Spaniards also had gained time to hasten to the spot

from the two nearest redoubts, and make a spirited assault, while the

guns from the battery of St. George played incessantly on the enemy’s

fleet. A furious battle now raged in the quarter where they were

cutting through the dike and throwing up the breastworks. The

Zealanders had drawn a strong line of troops round the pioneers to keep

the enemy from interrupting their work, and in this confusion of battle,

in the midst of a storm of bullets from the enemy, often up to the

breast in water, among the dead and dying, the pioneers pursued their

work, under the incessant exhortations of the merchants, who impatiently

waited to see the dam opened and their vessels in safety. The

importance of the result, which it might be said depended entirely upon

their spades, appeared to animate even the common laborers with heroic

courage. Solely intent upon their task, they neither saw nor heard the

work of death which was going on around them, and as fast as the

foremost ranks fell those behind them pressed into their places. Their

operations were greatly impeded by the piles which had been driven in,

but still more by the attacks of the Spaniards, who burst with desperate

courage through the thickest of the enemy, stabbed the pioneers in the

pits where they were digging, and filled up again with dead bodies the

cavities which the living had made. At last, however, when most of

their officers were killed or wounded, and the number of the enemy

constantly increasing, while fresh laborers were supplying the place of

those who had been slain, the courage of these valiant troops began to

give way, and they thought it advisable to retreat to their batteries.

Now, therefore, the confederates saw themselves masters of the whole

extent of the dam, from Fort St. George as far as the Pile battery. As,

however, it seemed too long to wait for the thorough demolition of the

dam, they hastily unloaded a Zealand transport, and brought the cargo

over the dam to a vessel of Antwerp, with which Count Hohenlohe sailed

in triumph to that city. The sight of the provisions at once filled the

inhabitants with joy, and as if the victory was already won, they gave

themselves up to the wildest exultation. The bells were rung, the

cannon discharged, and the inhabitants, transported by their unexpected

success, hurried to the Osterweel gate, to await the store-ships which

were supposed to be at hand.

In fact, fortune had never smiled so favorably on the besieged as at

that moment. The enemy, exhausted and dispirited, had thrown themselves

into their batteries, and, far from being able to struggle with the

victors for the post they had conquered, they found themselves rather

besieged in the places where they had taken refuge. Some companies of

Scots, led by their brave colonel, Balfour, attacked the battery of St.

George, which, however, was relieved, but not without severe loss, by

Camillo di Monte, who hastened thither from St. James’ battery. The

Pile battery was in a much worse condition, it being hotly cannonaded by

the ships, and threatened every moment to crumble to pieces. Gainboa,

who commanded it, lay wounded, and it was unfortunately deficient in

artillery to keep the enemy at a distance. The breastwork, too, which

the Zealanders had thrown up between this battery and that of St.

George cut off all hope of assistance from the Scheldt. If, therefore,

the Belgians had only taken advantage of this weakness and inactivity of

the enemy to proceed with zeal and perseverance in cutting through the

dam, there is no doubt that a passage might have been made, and thus put

an end to the whole siege. But here also the same want of consistent

energy showed itself which had marked the conduct of the people of

Antwerp during the whole course of the siege. The zeal with which the

work had been commenced cooled in proportion to the success which

attended it. It was soon found too tedious to dig through the dyke; it

seemed far easier to transfer the cargoes from the large store-ships

into smaller ones, and carry these to the town with the flood tide. St.

Aldegonde and Hohenlohe, instead of remaining to animate the industry of

the workmen by their personal presence, left the scene of action at the

decisive moment, in order, by sailing to the town with a corn vessel, to

win encomiums on their wisdom and valor.

While both parties were fighting on the dam with the most obstinate fury

the bridge over the Scheldt had been attacked from Antwerp with new

machines, in order to give employment to the prince in that quarter.

But the sound of the firing soon apprised him of what was going on at

the dyke, and as soon as he saw the bridge clear he hastened to support

the defence of the dyke. Followed by two hundred Spanish pikemen, he

flew to the place of attack, and arrived just in time to prevent the

complete defeat of his troops. He hastily posted some guns which he had

brought with him in the two nearest redoubts, and maintained from thence

a heavy fire upon the enemy’s ships. He placed himself at the head of

his men, and, with his sword in one hand and shield in the other, led

them against the enemy. The news of his arrival, which quickly spread

from one end of the dyke to the other, revived the drooping spirits of

his troops, and the conflict recommenced with renewed violence, made

still more murderous by the nature of the ground where it was fought.

Upon the narrow ridge of the dam, which in many places was not more than

nine paces broad, about five thousand combatants were fighting; so

confined was the spot upon which the strength of both armies was

assembled, and which was to decide the whole issue of the siege. With

the Antwerpers the last bulwark of their city was at stake; with the

Spaniards it was to determine the whole success of their undertaking.

Both parties fought with a courage which despair alone could inspire.

From both the extremities of the dam the tide of war rolled itself

towards the centre, where the Zealanders and Antwerpers had the

advantage, and where they had collected their whole strength. The

Italians and Spaniards, inflamed by a noble emulation, pressed on from

Stabroek; and from the Scheldt the Walloons and Spaniards advanced, with

their general at their head. While the former endeavored to relieve the

Pile battery, which was hotly pressed by the enemy, both by sea and

land, the latter threw themselves on the breastwork, between the St.

George and the Pile batteries, with a fury which carried everything

before it. Here the flower of the Belgian troops fought behind a

well-fortified rampart, and the guns of the two fleets covered this

important post. The prince was already pressing forward to attack this

formidable defence with his small army when he received intelligence that

the Italians and Spaniards, under Capizucchi and Aquila, had forced their

way, sword in hand, into the Pile battery, had got possession of it, and

were now likewise advancing from the other side against the enemy’s

breastwork. Before this intrenchment, therefore, the whole force of both

armies was now collected, and both sides used their utmost efforts to

carry and to defend this position. The Netherlanders on board the fleet,

loath to remain idle spectators of the conflict, sprang ashore from their

vessels. Alexander attacked the breastwork on one side, Count Mansfeld on

the other; five assaults were made, and five times they were repulsed.

The Netherlanders in this decisive moment surpassed themselves; never in

the whole course of the war had they fought with such determination. But

it was the Scotch and English in particular who baffled the attempts of

the enemy by their valiant resistance. As no one would advance to the

attack in the quarter where the Scotch fought, the duke himself led on

the troops, with a javelin in his hand, and up to his breast in water. At

last, after a protracted struggle, the forces of Count Mansfeld succeeded

with their halberds and pikes in making a breach in the breastwork, and

by raising themselves on one another’s shoulders scaled the parapet.

Barthelemy Toralva, a Spanish captain, was the first who showed himself

on the top; and almost at the same instant the Italian, Capizucchi,

appeared upon the edge of it; and thus the contest of valor was decided

with equal glory for both nations. It is worth while to notice here the

manner in which the Prince of Parma, who was made arbiter of this emulous

strife, encouraged this delicate sense of honor among his warriors. He

embraced the Italian, Capizucchi, in presence of the troops, and

acknowledged aloud that it was principally to the courage of this officer

that he owed the capture of the breastwork. He caused the Spanish

captain, Toralva, who was dangerously wounded, to be conveyed to his own

quarters at Stabroek, laid on his own bed, and covered with the cloak

which he himself had worn the day before the battle.

After the capture of the breastwork the victory no longer remained

doubtful. The Dutch and Zealand troops, who had disembarked to come to

close action with the enemy, at once lost their courage when they looked

about them and saw the vessels, which were their last refuge, putting

off from the shore.

For the tide had begun to ebb, and the commanders of the fleet, from

fear of being stranded with their heavy transports, and, in case of an

unfortunate issue to the engagement, becoming the prey of the enemy,

retired from the dam, and made for deep water. No sooner did Alexander

perceive this than he pointed out to his troops the flying vessels, and

encouraged them to finish the action with an enemy who already despaired

of their safety. The Dutch auxiliaries were the first that gave way,

and their example was soon followed by the Zealanders. Hastily leaping

from the dam they endeavored to reach the vessels by wading or swimming;

but from their disorderly flight they impeded one another, and fell in

heaps under the swords of the pursuers. Many perished even in the

boats, as each strove to get on board before the other, and several

vessels sank under the weight of the numbers who rushed into them. The

Antwerpers, who fought for their liberty, their hearths, their faith,

were the last who retreated, but this very circumstance augmented their

disaster. Many of their vessels were outstripped by the ebb-tide, and

grounded within reach of the enemy’s cannon, and were consequently

destroyed with all on board. Crowds of fugitives endeavored by swimming

to gain the other transports, which had got into deep water; but such

was the rage and boldness of the Spaniards that they swam after them

with their swords between their teeth, and dragged many even from the

ships. The victory of the king’s troops was complete but bloody; for of

the Spaniards about eight hundred, of the Netherlanders some thousands

(without reckoning those who were drowned), were left on the field, and

on both sides many of the principal nobility perished. More than thirty

vessels, with a large supply of provisions for Antwerp, fell into the

hands of the victors, with one hundred and fifty cannon and other

military stores. The dam, the possession of which had been so dearly

maintained, was pierced in thirteen different places, and the bodies of

those who had cut through it were now used to stop up the openings.

The following day a transport of immense size and singular construction

fell into the hands of the royalists. It formed a floating castle, and

had been destined for the attack on the Cowenstein dam. The people of

Antwerp had built it at an immense expense at the very time when the

engineer Gianibelli’s useful proposals had been rejected on account of

the cost they entailed, and this ridiculous monster was called by the

proud title of “End of the War,” which appellation was afterwards

changed for the more appropriate sobriquet of “Money lost!” When this

vessel was launched it turned out, as every sensible person had

foretold, that on account of its unwieldly size it was utterly

impossible to steer it, and it could hardly be floated by the highest

tide. With great difficulty it was worked as far as Ordain, where,

deserted by the tide, it went aground, and fell a prey to the enemy.

The attack upon the Cowenstein dam was the last attempt which was made

to relieve Antwerp. From this time the courage of the besieged sank,

and the magistracy of the town vainly labored to inspirit with distant

hopes the lower orders, on whom the present distress weighed heaviest.

Hitherto the price of bread had been kept down to a tolerable rate,

although the quality of it continued to deteriorate; by degrees,

however, provisions became so scarce that a famine was evidently near at

hand. Still hopes were entertained of being able to hold out, at least

until the corn between the town and the farthest batteries, which was

already in full ear, could be reaped; but before that could be done the

enemy had carried the last outwork, and had appropriated the whole

harvest to their use. At last the neighboring and confederate town of

Malines fell into the enemy’s hands, and with its fall vanished the only

remaining hope of getting supplies from Brabant. As there was,

therefore, no longer any means of increasing the stock of provisions

nothing was left but to diminish the consumers. All useless persons,

all strangers, nay even the women and children were to be sent away out

of the town, but this proposal was too revolting to humanity to be

carried into execution. Another plan, that of expelling the Catholic

inhabitants, exasperated them so much that it had almost ended in open

mutiny. And thus St. Aldegonde at last saw himself compelled to yield

to the riotous clamors of the populace, and on the 17th of August, 1585,

to make overtures to the Duke of Parma for the surrender of the town.