From "The History of the United Netherlands," by John Lothrop Motley, who
was born in 1814, at Dorchester, Mass. He graduated at Harvard in 1831,
and afterwards lived many years In Europe, writing the histories which
made him famous. He died in 1877.
1. On the evening of the 10th of August, 1589, there was a wedding feast
in one of the splendid mansions of the stately city. The festivities were
prolonged until deep in the midsummer's night, and harp and viol were
still inspiring the feet of the dancers, when on a sudden, in the midst of
the holiday groups, appeared the grim visage of Martin Schenk, the man who
never smiled.
2. Clad in no wedding garment, but in armor of proof, with morion on head,
and sword in hand, the great freebooter strode heavily through the
ballroom, followed by a party of those terrible musketeers who never gave
or asked for quarter, while the affrighted revelers fluttered away before
them.
3. Taking advantage of a dark night, he had just dropped down the river
from his castle, with five and twenty barges, had landed with his most
trusted soldiers in the foremost vessels, had battered down the gate of
St. Anthony, and surprised and slain the guard.
4. Without waiting for the rest of his boats, he had then stolen with his
comrades through the silent streets, and torn away the latticework, and
other slight defenses on the rear of the house which they had now entered,
and through which they intended to possess themselves of the market place.
5. Martin had long since selected this mansion as a proper position for
his enterprise, but he had not been bidden to the wedding, and was
somewhat disconcerted when he found himself on the festive scene which he
had so grimly interrupted.
6. Some of the merrymakers escaped from the house, and proceeded to alarm
the town; while Schenk hastily fortified his position, and took possession
of the square. But the burghers and garrison were soon on foot, and he was
driven back into the house.
7. Three times he recovered the square by main strength of his own arm,
seconded by the handful of men whom he had brought with him, and three
times he was beaten back by overwhelming numbers into the wedding mansion.
8. The arrival of the greater part of his followers, with whose assistance
he could easily have mastered the city in the first moments of surprise,
was mysteriously delayed. He could not account for their prolonged
absence, and was meanwhile supported only by those who had arrived with
him in the foremost barges.
9. The truth--of which he was ignorant--was, that the remainder of the
flotilla, borne along by the strong and deep current of the Waal, then in
a state of freshet, had shot past the landing place, and had ever since
been vainly struggling against wind and tide to force their way back to
the necessary point.
10. Meantime Schenk and his followers fought desperately in the market
place, and desperately in the house which he had seized. But a whole
garrison, and a town full of citizens in arms proved too much for him, and
he was now hotly besieged in the mansion, and at last driven forth into
the streets.
11. By this time day was dawning, the whole population, soldiers and
burghers, men, women, and children, were thronging about the little band
of marauders, and assailing them with every weapon and every missile to be
found. Schenk fought with his usual ferocity, but at last the musketeers,
in spite of his indignant commands, began rapidly to retreat toward the
quay.
12. In vain Martin stormed and cursed, in vain with his own hand he struck
more than one of his soldiers dead. He was swept along with the
panic-stricken band, and when, shouting and gnashing his teeth with
frenzy, he reached the quay at last, he saw at a glance why his great
enterprise had failed.
13. The few empty barges of his own party were moored at the steps; the
rest were half a mile off, contending hopelessly against the swollen and
rapid Waal. Schenk, desperately wounded, was left almost alone upon the
wharf, for his routed followers had plunged helter-skelter into the boats,
several of which, overladen in the panic, sank at once, leaving the
soldiers to drown or struggle with the waves.
14. The game was lost. Nothing was left the freebooter but retreat.
Reluctantly turning his back on his enemies, now in full cry close behind
him, Schenk sprang into the last remaining boat just pushing from the
quay. Already overladen, it foundered with his additional weight, and
Martin Schenk, encumbered with his heavy armor, sank at once to the bottom
of the Waal.
15. Some of the fugitives succeeded in swimming down the stream, and were
picked up by their comrades in the barges below the town, and so made
their escape. Many were drowned with their captain. A few days afterward,
the inhabitants of Nymwegen fished up the body of the famous partisan. He
was easily recognized by his armor, and by his truculent face, still
wearing the scowl with which he had last rebuked his followers.
DEFINITIONS.--2. Mo'ri-on, a kind of helmet. Free'boot-er, one who
plunders. Mus-ket-eer', a soldier armed with a musket. Quar'ter, mercy. 6.
Burgh'ers, inhabitants of a town. Gar'ri-son, troops stationed in a fort
or town. 9. Flo-til'la, a fleet of small vessels. 11. Ma-raud'ers,
plunderers. Quay (pro. ke), a wharf 14. Foun'dered, sank. En-cum'bered,
weighed down. 15. Par'ti-san, a commander of a body of roving troops.
Tru'cu-lent, fierce.