THE SIEGE OF LEYDEN
The Spaniards had no sooner appeared before Leyden than they set
to work to surround it with a cordon of redoubts. No less than
sixty-two, including those left standing since the last siege, were
erected and garrisoned, and the town was therefore cut off from
all communication from without. Its defenders were few in number,
there being no troops in the town save a small corps composed
of exiles from other cities, and five companies of burgher guard.
The walls, however, were strong, and it was famine rather than the
foe that the citizens feared. They trusted to the courage of the
burghers to hold the walls, and to the energy of the Prince of
Orange to relieve them.
The prince, although justly irritated by their folly in neglecting
to carry out his orders, sent a message by a pigeon to them,
encouraging them to hold out, and reminding them that the fate of
their country depended upon the issue of this siege. He implored
them to hold out for at least three months, assuring them that
he would within that time devise means for their deliverance. The
citizens replied, assuring the prince of their firm confidence in
their own fortitude and his exertions. On the 6th of June the Grand
Commander issued what was called a pardon, signed and sealed by
the king. In it he invited all his erring and repentant subjects
to return to his arms, and accept a full forgiveness for their past
offense upon the sole condition that they should once more enter
the Catholic Church. A few individuals mentioned by name were alone
excluded from this amnesty. But all Holland was now Protestant, and
its inhabitants were resolved that they must not only be conquered
but annihilated before the Roman Church should be re-established on
their soil. In the whole province but two men came forward to take
advantage of the amnesty. Many Netherlanders belonging to the king's
party sent letters from the camp to their acquaintances in the
city exhorting them to submission, and imploring them "to take pity
upon their poor old fathers, their daughters, and their wives;"
but the citizens of Leyden thought the best they could do for these
relatives was to keep them out of the clutches of the Spaniards.
At the commencement of the siege the citizens gathered all their
food into the magazines, and at the end of June the daily allowance
to each full grown man was half a pound of meat and half a pound
of bread, women and children receiving less.
The prince had his headquarters at Delft and Rotterdam, and an
important fortress called the Polderwaert between these two cities
secured him the control of the district watered by the rivers Yssel
and Maas. On the 29th of June the Spaniards attacked this fort, but
were beaten off with a loss of 700 men. The prince was now occupied
in endeavouring to persuade the Dutch authorities to permit the
great sluices at Rotterdam, Schiedam, and Delft Haven to be opened.
The damage to the country would be enormous; but there was no other
course to rescue Leyden, and with it the whole of Holland, from
destruction.
It was not until the middle of July that his eloquent appeals
and arguments prevailed, and the estates consented to his plan.
Subscriptions were opened in all the Dutch towns for maintaining
the inhabitants of the district that was to be submerged until
it could be again restored, and a large sum was raised, the women
contributing their plate and jewellery to the furtherance of the
scheme. On the 3rd of August all was ready, and the prince himself
superintended the breaking down of the dykes in sixteen places,
while at the same time the sluices at Schiedam and Rotterdam were
opened and the water began to pour over the land.
While waiting for the water to rise, stores of provisions were
collected in all the principal towns, and 200 vessels of small
draught of water gathered in readiness. Unfortunately no sooner
had the work been done than the prince was attacked by a violent
fever, brought on by anxiety and exertion.
On the 21st of August a letter was received from the town saying
that they had now fulfilled their original promise, for they had
held out two months with food and another month without food. Their
bread had long been gone, and their last food, some malt cake, would
last but four days. After that was gone there was nothing left but
starvation.
Upon the same day they received a letter from the prince, assuring
them that the dykes were all pierced and the water rising upon the
great dyke that separated the city from the sea. The letter was
read publicly in the marketplace, and excited the liveliest joy
among the inhabitants. Bands of music played in the streets, and
salvos of cannon were fired. The Spaniards became uneasy at seeing
the country beyond them gradually becoming covered with water,
and consulted the country people and the royalists in their camp,
all of whom assured them that the enterprise of the prince was an
impossibility, and that the water would never reach the walls.
The hopes of the besieged fell again, however, as day after day
passed without change; and it was not until the 1st of September,
when the prince began to recover from his fever, and was personally
able to superintend the operations, that these began in earnest.
The distance from Leyden to the outer dyke was fifteen miles; ten
of these were already flooded, and the flotilla, which consisted of
more than 200 vessels, manned in all with 2500 veterans, including
800 of the wild sea beggars of Zeeland, renowned as much for their
ferocity as for nautical skill, started on their way, and reached
without difficulty the great dyke called the Land Scheiding. Between
this town and Leyden were several other dykes, all of which would
have to be taken. All these, besides the 62 forts, were defended
by the Spanish troops, four times the number of the relieving force.
Ned had been in close attendance upon the prince during his
illness, and when the fleet was ready to start requested that he
might be allowed to accompany it. This the prince at once granted,
and introduced him to Admiral Boisot.
"I shall be glad if you will take Captain Martin in your own ship,"
he said. "Young as he is he has seen much service, and is full of
resource and invention. You will, I am sure, find him of use; and
he can act as messenger to convey your orders from ship to ship."
The prince had given orders that the Land Scheiding, whose top was
still a foot and a half above water, should be taken possession of
at all hazard, and this was accomplished by surprise on the night
of the 10th. The Spaniards stationed there were either killed or
driven off, and the Dutch fortified themselves upon it. At daybreak
the Spaniards stationed in two large villages close by advanced to
recover the important position, but the Dutch, fighting desperately,
drove them back with the loss of some hundreds of men. The dyke
was at once cut through and the fleet sailed through the gap.
The admiral had believed that the Land Scheiding once cut, the
water would flood the country as far as Leyden, but another dyke,
the Greenway, rose a foot above water three-quarters of a mile
inside the Land Scheiding. As soon as the water had risen over the
land sufficiently to float the ships, the fleet advanced, seized the
Greenway, and cut it. But as the water extended in all directions,
it grew also shallower, and the admiral found that the only way by
which he could advance was by a deep canal leading to a large mere
called the Fresh Water Lake.
This canal was crossed by a bridge, and its sides were occupied
by 3000 Spanish soldiers. Boisot endeavoured to force the way but
found it impossible to do so, and was obliged to withdraw. He was
now almost despairing. He had accomplished but two miles, the water
was sinking rather than rising owing to a long continued east wind,
and many of his ships were already aground. On the 18th, however,
the wind shifted to the northwest, and for three days blew a gale.
The water rose rapidly, and at the end of the second day the ships
were all afloat again.
Hearing from a peasant of a comparatively low dyke between two
villages Boisot at once sailed in that direction. There was a strong
Spanish force stationed here; but these were seized with a panic
and fled, their courage unhinged by the constantly rising waters,
the appearance of the numerous fleet, and their knowledge of the
reckless daring of the wild sailors. The dyke was cut, the two
villages with their fortifications burned, and the fleet moved on
to North Aa. The enemy abandoned this position also, and fled to
Zoetermeer, a strongly fortified village a mile and a quarter from
the city walls. Gradually the Spanish army had been concentrated
round the city as the water drove them back, and they were principally
stationed at this village and the two strong forts of Lammen and
Leyderdorp, each within a few hundred yards of the town.
At the last named post Valdez had his headquarters, and Colonel
Borgia commanded at Lammen. The fleet was delayed at North Aa by
another dyke, called the Kirkway. The waters, too, spreading again
over a wider space, and diminished from the east wind again setting
in, sank rapidly, and very soon the whole fleet was aground; for
there were but nine inches of water, and they required twenty to
float them. Day after day they lay motionless. The Prince of Orange,
who had again been laid up with the fever, rose from his sickbed
and visited the fleet. He encouraged the dispirited sailors, rebuked
their impatience, and after reconnoitering the ground issued orders
for immediate destruction of the Kirkway, and then returned to
Delft.
All this time Leyden was suffering horribly. The burghers were
aware that the fleet had set forth to their relief, but they knew
better than those on board the obstacles that opposed its progress.
The flames of the burning villages and the sound of artillery told
them of its progress until it reached North Aa, then there was a
long silence, and hope almost deserted them. They knew well that
so long as the east wind continued to blow there could be no rise
in the level of the water, and anxiously they looked from the
walls and the old tower for signs of a change. They were literally
starving, and their misery far exceeded even that of the citizens
of Haarlem.
A small number of cows only remained, and of these few were killed
every day, and tiny morsels of meat distributed, the hides and
bones being chopped up and boiled. The green leaves were stripped
from the trees, and every herb gathered and eaten. The mortality
was frightful, and whole families died together in their houses
from famine and plague; for pestilence had now broken out, and from
six to eight thousand people died from this alone. Leyden abandoned
all hope, and yet they spurned the repeated summonses of Valdez
to surrender. They were fully resolved to die rather than to yield
to the Spaniards. From time to time, however, murmurs arose among
the suffering people, and the heroic burgomaster, Adrian Van der
Werf, was once surrounded by a crowd and assailed by reproaches.
He took off his hat and calmly replied to them: "I tell you I have
made an oath to hold the city, and may God give me strength to
keep it. I can die but once--either by your hands, the enemy's,
or by the hand of God. My own fate is indifferent to me; not so that
of the city intrusted to my care. I know that we shall all starve
if not soon relieved; but starvation is preferable to the dishonoured
death which is the only alternative. Your menaces move me not.
My life is at your disposal. Here is my sword; plunge it into by
breast and divide my flesh among you. Take my body to appease your
hunger; but expect no surrender so long as I remain alive."
Still the east wind continued, until stout admiral Boisot himself
almost despaired. But on the night of the 1st of October a violent
gale burst from the northwest, and then shifting, blew more strongly
from the southwest. The water was piled up high upon the southern
coast of Holland, and sweeping furiously inland poured through the
ruined dykes, and in twenty-four hours the fleet was afloat again.
At midnight they advanced in the midst of the storm and darkness.
Some Spanish vessels that had been brought up to aid the defenders
were swept aside and sunk.
The fleet, sweeping on past half submerged stacks and farm houses,
made its way to the fresh water mere. Some shallows checked it for
a time, but the crews sprang overboard into the water, and by main
strength hoisted their vessels across them. Two obstacles alone
stood between them and the city--the forts of Zoeterwoude and
Lammen, the one five hundred, and the other but two hundred and
fifty yards from the city. Both were strong and well supplied with
troops and artillery, but the panic which had seized the Spaniards
extended to Zoeterwoude. Hardly was the fleet in sight in the
gray light of the morning when the Spaniards poured out from the
fortress, and spread along a road on the dyke leading in a westerly
direction towards the Hague.
The waves, driven by the wind, were beating on the dyke, and it
was crumbling rapidly away, and hundreds sank beneath the flood.
The Zeelanders drove their vessels up alongside, and pierced them
with their harpoons, or, plunging into the waves, attacked them
with sword and dagger. The numbers killed amounted to not less than
a thousand; the rest effected their escape to the Hague. Zoeterwoude
was captured and set on fire, but Lammen still barred their path.
Bristling with guns, it seemed to defy them either to capture or
pass it on their way to the city.
Leyderdorp, where Valdez with his main force lay, was a mile and a
half distant on the right, and within a mile of the city, and the
guns of the two forts seemed to render it next to impossible for
the fleet to pass on. Boisot, after reconnoitering the position,
wrote despondently to the prince that he intended if possible on
the following morning to carry the fort, but if unable to do so,
he said, there would be nothing for it but to wait for another gale
of wind to still further raise the water, and enable him to make
a wide circuit and enter Leyden on the opposite side. A pigeon had
been despatched by Boisot in the morning informing the citizens of
his exact position, and at nightfall the burgomaster and a number
of citizens gathered at the watchtower.
"Yonder," cried the magistrate, pointing to Lammen, "behind that
fort, are bread and meat and brethren in thousands. Shall all this
be destroyed by Spanish guns, or shall we rush to the aid of our
friends?"
"We will tear the fortress first to fragments with our teeth and
nails," was the reply; and it was resolved that a sortie should
be made against Lammen at daybreak, when Boisot attacked it on the
other side. A pitch dark night set in, a night full of anxiety to
the Spaniards, to the fleet, and to Leyden. The sentries on the walls
saw lights flitting across the waters, and in the dead of night the
whole of the city wall between two of the gates fell with a loud
crash. The citizens armed themselves and rushed to the breach,
believing that the Spaniards were on them at last; but no foe made
his appearance.
In the morning the fleet prepared for the assault. All was still
and quiet in the fortress, and the dreadful suspicion that the city
had been carried at night, and that all their labour was in vain,
seized those on board. Suddenly a man was seen wading out from the
fort, while at the same time a boy waved his cap wildly from its
summit. The mystery was solved. The Spaniards had fled panic stricken
in the darkness. Had they remained they could have frustrated the
enterprise, and Leyden must have fallen; but the events of the
two preceding days had shaken their courage. Valdez retired from
Leyderdorp and ordered Colonel Borgia to evacuate Lammen.
Thus they had retreated at the very moment that the fall of the wall
sapped by the flood laid bare a whole side of the city for their
entrance. They heard the crash in the darkness, and it but added
to their fears, for they thought that the citizens were sallying
out to take some measures which would further add to the height
of the flood. Their retreat was discovered by the boy, who, having
noticed the procession of lights in the darkness, became convinced
that the Spaniards had retired, and persuaded the magistrates to
allow him to make his way out to the fort to reconnoitre. As soon
as the truth was known the fleet advanced, passed the fort, and
drew up alongside the quays.
These were lined by the famishing people, every man, woman,
and child having strength to stand having come out to greet their
deliverers. Bread was thrown from all the vessels among the crowd
as they came up, and many died from too eagerly devouring the food
after their long fast. Then the admiral stepped ashore, followed
by the whole of those on board the ships. Magistrates and citizens,
sailors and soldiers, women and children, all repaired to the great
church and returned thanks to God for the deliverance of the city.
The work of distributing food and relieving the sick was then
undertaken. The next day the prince, in defiance of the urgent
entreaties of his friends, who were afraid of the effects of the
pestilential air of the city upon his constitution enfeebled by
sickness, repaired to the town.
Shortly afterwards, with the advice of the States, he granted the
city as a reward for its suffering a ten days' annual fair, without
tolls or taxes, and it was further resolved that a university should,
as a manifestation of the gratitude of the people of Holland, be
established within its walls. The fiction of the authority of Philip
was still maintained, and the charter granted to the university
was, under the circumstances, a wonderful production. It was drawn
up in the name of the king, and he was gravely made to establish
the university as a reward to Leyden for rebellion against himself.
"Considering," it said, "that during these present wearisome wars
within our provinces of Holland and Zeeland, all good instruction
of youth in the sciences and literary arts is likely to come into
entire oblivion; considering the difference of religion; considering
that we are inclined to gratify our city of Leyden, with its
burghers, on account of the heavy burden sustained by them during
this war with such faithfulness, we have resolved--after ripely
deliberating with our dear cousin William Prince of Orange,
stadtholder--to erect a free public school, and university," &c. So ran
the document establishing this famous university, all needful regulations
for its government being intrusted by Philip to his above mentioned
dear cousin of Orange.
Ned Martin was not one of those who entered Leyden with Boisot's
relieving fleet. His long watching and anxiety by the bedside of
the prince had told upon him, and he felt strangely unlike himself
when he started with the fleet. So long as it was fighting its way
forward the excitement kept him up; but the long delay near the
village of Aa, and the deep despondency caused by the probable
failure of their hopes of rescuing the starving city, again brought
on an attack of the fever that had already seized him before starting,
and when the Prince of Orange paid his visit to the fleet Boisot
told him the young officer he had recommended to him was down with
fever, which was, he believed, similar to that from which the prince
himself was but just recovering.
The prince at once ordered him to be carried on board his own
galley, and took him with him back to Delft. Here he lay for a
month completely prostrated. The prince several times visited him
personally, and, as soon as he became in some degree convalescent,
said to him:
"I think we have taxed you too severely, and have worked you in
proportion to your zeal rather than to your strength. The surgeon
says that you must have rest for awhile, and that it will be well
for you to get away from our marshes for a time. For two years you
have done good and faithful service, and even had it not been for
this fever you would have a right to rest, and I think that your
native air is best for you at present. With the letters that came
to me from Flushing this morning is one from your good father,
asking for news of you. His ship arrived there yesterday, and he has
heard from one of those who were with Boisot that you have fallen
ill; therefore, if it be to your liking, I will send you in one of
my galleys to Flushing."
"I thank your excellency much," Ned said. "Indeed for the last
few days I have been thinking much of home and longing to be back.
I fear that I shall be a long time before I shall be fit for hard
work again here."
"You will feel a different man when you have
been a few hours at sea," the prince said kindly. "I hope to see
you with me again some day. There are many of your countrymen, who,
like yourself, have volunteered in our ranks and served us well
without pay or reward, but none of them have rendered better service
than you have done. And now farewell. I will order a galley to be
got in readiness at once. I leave myself for Leyden in half an hour.
Take this, my young friend, in remembrance of the Prince of Orange;
and I trust that you may live to hand it down to your descendants
as a proof that I appreciated your good services on behalf of a
people struggling to be free.
So saying he took off his watch and laid it on the table by Ned's
bedside, pressed the lad's hand, and retired. He felt it really a
sacrifice to allow this young Englishman to depart. He had for years
been a lonely man, with few confidants and no domestic pleasures.
He lived in an atmosphere of trouble, doubt, and suspicion. He
had struggled alone against the might of Philip, the apathy of the
western provinces, the coldness and often treachery of the nobles,
the jealousies and niggardliness of the Estates, representing cities
each of which thought rather of itself and its privileges than of
the general good; and the company of this young Englishman, with
his frank utterances, his readiness to work at all times, and his
freedom from all ambitions or self interested designs, had been
a pleasure and relief to him, and he frequently talked to him far
more freely than even to his most trusted counsellors.
Ever since the relief of Alkmaar Ned had been constantly with him,
save when despatched on missions to various towns, or to see that
the naval preparations were being pushed on with all speed; and his
illness had made a real blank in his little circle. However, the
doctors had spoken strongly as to the necessity for Ned's getting
away from the damp atmosphere of the half submerged land, and he at
once decided to send him back to England, and seized the opportunity
directly the receipt of Captain Martin's letter informed him that
the ship was at Flushing.
An hour later four men entered with a litter; the servants had
already packed Ned's mails, and he was carried down and placed on
board one of the prince's vessels. They rowed down into the Maas,
and then hoisting sail proceeded down the river, kept outside
the island to Walcheren, and then up the estuary of the Scheldt
to Flushing. It was early morning when they arrived in port. Ned
was carried upon deck, and soon made out the Good Venture lying a
quarter of a mile away. He was at once placed in the boat and rowed
alongside. An exclamation from Peters, as he looked over the side
and saw Ned lying in the stern of the boat, called Captain Martin
out from his cabin.
"Why, Ned, my dear boy!" he exclaimed, as he looked over the side;
"you seem in grievous state indeed."
"There is not much the matter with me, father. I have had fever,
but am getting over it, and it will need but a day or two at sea
to put me on my feet again. I have done with the war at present,
and the prince has been good enough to send me in one of his own
galleys to you."
"We will soon get you round again, never fear, Master Ned," Peters
said as he jumped down into the boat to aid in hoisting him on
board. "No wonder the damp airs of this country have got into your
bones at last. I never can keep myself warm when we are once in
these canals. If it wasn't for their schiedam I don't believe the
Dutchmen could stand it themselves."
Ned was soon lifted on board, and carried into the cabin aft. The
Good Venture had already discharged her cargo, and, as there was
no chance of filling up again at Flushing, sail was made an hour
after he was on board, and the vessel put out to sea. It was now
early in November, but although the air was cold the day was fine
and bright, and as soon as the vessel was under weigh Ned was
wrapped up in cloaks and laid on a mattress on deck, with his head
well propped up with pillows.
"One seems to breathe in fresh life here, father," he said. "It is
pleasant to feel the motion and the shock of the waves after being
so long on land. I feel stronger already, while so long as I was
at Delft I did not seem to gain from one day to the other. I hope
we sha'n't make too rapid a voyage; I don't want to come home as
an invalid."
"We shall not make a fast run of it unless the wind changes, Ned.
It blows steadily from the west at present, and we shall be lucky
if we cast anchor under a week in the Pool."
"All the better, father. In a week I shall be on my legs again
unless I am greatly mistaken."
Ned's convalescence was indeed, rapid, and by the time they entered
the mouth of the Thames he was able to walk from side to side of
the vessel, and as the wind still held from the west it was another
four days before they dropped anchor near London Bridge. Ned would
have gone ashore in his old attire; but upon putting it on the
first day he was able to get about, he found he had so completely
outgrown it that he was obliged to return to the garments he had
worn in Holland.
He was now more than eighteen years of age, and nearly six feet in
height. He had broadened out greatly, and the position he had for
the last year held as an officer charged with authority by the
prince had given him a manner of decision and authority altogether
beyond his years. As he could not wear his sailor dress he chose
one of the handsomest of those he possessed. It consisted of maroon
doublet and trunks, slashed with white, with a short mantle of dark
green, and hose of the same colour; his cap was maroon in colour,
with small white and orange plumes, and he wore a ruff round his
neck. Captain Martin saluted him with a bow of reverence as he came
on deck.
"Why, Ned, they will think that I am bringing a court gallant with
me. Your mother and the girls will be quite abashed at all this
finery."
"I felt strange in it myself at first," Ned laughed; "but of
course I am accustomed to it now. The prince is not one who cares
for state himself, but as one of his officers I was obliged to be
well dressed; and, indeed, this dress and the others I wear were
made by his orders and presented to me. Indeed I think I am very
moderate in not decking myself out with the two gold chains I
have--the one a present from his highness, the other from the city
of Alkmaar--to say nothing of the watch set with jewels that the
prince gave me on leaving."
Ned's mother and the girls were on the lookout, for the Good Venture
had been noticed as she passed. Ned had at his father's suggestion
kept below in order that he might give them a surprise on his
arrival.
"I verily believe they won't know you," he said as they approached
the gate. "You have grown four inches since they saw you last, and
your cheeks are thin and pale instead of being round and sunburnt.
This, with your attire, has made such a difference that I am sure
anyone would pass you in the street without knowing you."
Ned hung a little behind while his mother and the girls met his
father at the gate. As soon as the embraces were over Captain Martin
turned to Ned and said to his wife:
"My dear, I have to introduce an officer of the prince who has come
over for his health to stay awhile with us. This is Captain Martin."
Dame Martin gave a start of astonishment, looked incredulously for
a moment at Ned, and then with a cry of delight threw herself into
his arms.
"It really seems impossible that this can be Ned," she said, as,
after kissing his sisters, he turned to her. "Why, husband, it is
a man!"
"And a very fine one too, wife. He tops me by two inches; and as to
his attire, I feel that we must all smarten up to be fit companions
to such a splendid bird. Why, the girls look quite awed by him!"
"But you look terribly pale, Ned, and thin," his mother said; "and
you were so healthy and strong."
"I shall soon be healthy and strong again, mother. When I have got
out of these fine clothes, which I only put on because I could not
get into my old ones, and you have fed me up for a week on good
English beef, you will see that there is no such great change in
me after all."
"And now let us go inside," Captain Martin said; "there is a
surprise for you there." Ned entered, and was indeed surprised at
seeing his Aunt Elizabeth sitting by the fire, while his cousins
were engaged upon their needlework at the window. They, too, looked
for a moment doubtful as he entered; for the fifteen months since
they had last seen him, when he left them at the surrender of
Haarlem, had changed him much, and his dress at that time had been
very different to that he now wore. It was not until he exclaimed
"Well, aunt, this is indeed a surprise!" that they were sure of his
identity, and they welcomed him with a warmth scarcely less than
his mother and sisters had shown.
Elizabeth Plomaert was not of a demonstrative nature; but although
she had said little at the time, she had felt deeply the care and
devotion which Ned had exhibited to her and her daughters during
the siege, and knew that had it not been for the supplies of food,
scanty as they were, that he nightly brought in, she herself, and
probably the girls, would have succumbed to hunger.
"When did you arrive, aunt?" Ned asked, when the greetings were
over.
"Four months ago, Ned. Life was intolerable in Haarlem owing to the
brutal conduct of the Spanish soldiers. I was a long time bringing
myself to move. Had it not been for the girls I should never have
done so. But things became intolerable; and when most of the troops
were removed at the time Count Louis advanced, we managed to leave
the town and make our way north. It was a terrible journey to
Enkhuizen; but we accomplished it, and after being there a fortnight
took passage in a ship for England, and, as you see, here we are."