would occasion they replyed that a Country spoiled was worth more than a Country lost But in regard this was a very memorable Siege I think fit to say in general that they had built two hundred flat bottomed Boats with Twelve thirteen fourteen sixteen and eighteen Oars The greatest carried two pieces of Canon before and two on the sides they sent for Eight hundred Seamen from Zealand who had all little pieces of Paper in their Hats with this Inscription Rather serve the Turk than the Pope and Spaniard upbraiding them with the violence they used to their Bodies and Consciences This Fleet was Commanded by the Admiral Louis Bossut One of the Seamen having plucked out the Heart of a Spaniard eat it publickly all raw and bloody so violent is the Aversion and Passion of these Country-men They had no Bread in the City for Seven weeks and their daily allowance to a Man was half a Pound of Horse-flesh or Beef but by good Fortune to the City that very day the Spaniards drew off Twenty six Fathoms of the Wall fell down and a North wind dryed up the greatest part of the Water and they must unavoidably have fallen into the power of the Spaniards if they had stayed only one day longer Such an Accident happened at Rochelle for a little after the surrender a tempest broke down a great part of the Bank In this Siege they made Paper Money with this Inscription Haec libertatis imago They Coyned Tin Money at Alkmar and had Five hundred Rix dollars for Five thousand pieces of that Coin Before the Relief of Leyden Ferdinand de la Hoy the new Governour of Holland and the Sieur de Liques Governour of Harlem sollicited the Citizens of Leyden to surrender flatterring them with a good and favourable Treatment They answered him only with this Latin Verse Fistula dulce canit voluerem dum decipit anceps Continuing to perswade them by Letter to a Surrender they replyed That they would defend themselves to the last Extremity and that if they hadspent all their Provisions and had eaten their left hands they should have still their right hands remaining to guard themselves from the Tyranny of the Spaniards and that they remembred the Cruelties which had been committed at Malines Zutphen Harden and Harlem The Prince of Orange after the relief of Leyden was received into the City as a God He preserved and embalmed seven Pigeons in the Town-house in token of his perpetual Acknowledgement of the Service they did him in carrying the Letters of the besieged to him and his Answers back again At that time he founded the University of Leyden setled annual Revenues upon it and endow'd it with great Privileges The Year before the Prince having lost his second Wife Anne of Saxe married Charlotte de Bourbon Daughter to the Duke of Montpensier who had retired to the Court of Frederick the Third Elector Palatine The Marriage was celebrated at the Brill where she was conducted from Heydelberg by the Siegneur de St. Aldegonde She had been a Nun formerly and Abbess of Iouarre The Father a zealous Catholick demanded his Daughter of the Elector by Monsieur the President de Thou and after that by Monsieur D'Aumont The Elector offered to restore her to the King provided she might be allowed the free exercise of her Religion but Mr. de Montpensier choosing rather to have his Daughter live at a distance from him than see her before his Eyes make profession of a Religion which was so much his Aversion gave at last his Consent to the Marriage and gave her a Fortune After the Siege of Leyden a Treaty of Peace was set a foot at Breda but it did not take effect The States of Holland and Zealand demanded the departure of the Spaniards out of the Netherlands the meeting of the States General and the liberty and exercise of their Religion Requesens on the contrary offered to withdraw the Spaniards and a general Act of Oblivion of all things passed and the Re establishment of their Privileges but added that the King of Spain would never tolerate any other Religion in his Dominions than the Roman Catholick The Treaty of Peace being broken of the States Coyned Money on one Side of which was stamped the Lyon of Holland holding a naked Sword with this Motto Securius bellum pace dubiâ War is safer than a doubtful Peace About the same time the Commander Requesens made himself Master of Zirczee in Zealand by the incomparable Gallantry of Christopher de Mondragon who waded over several Leagues of the Sea to the Amazement of all the World and the great hazard of his Troops But Requesens dying not long after the Spanish and German Soldiers mutinyed for want of Pay and fell to ravage all the Country They sack'd Maestritcht and Antwerp it self where the loss was computed at Twenty four Millions in Money and other moveables and in the Destruction of houses The plundering of this great City lasted several days and was called the fury of the Spaniards many of whom made their Guards of their Swords and Corselets of pure Gold but the Goldsmiths of Antwerp mixed Copper with it The Spaniards made Prisoners in Antwerp Count Egmont the Seigneur de Goignie and the Baron de Capres This last making a low Bow to Hieronimo Rhode chief of the Muniteers who sate in an Elbow Chair at the entrance of the Citadel received a kick in the Belly from this insolent Spaniard who told him by way of Scorn that he had nothing to do with his reverence The Spanish and German Troops after the taking of Antwerp living with insupportable Licentiousness and committing great Barbarities the Provinces who continued firm to the obedience of the King of Spain called in the Prince of Orange to their assistance for they lay exposed to all the Robberies and Insolence of those Mutineers and declared the Spaniards Enemies to the King and Country At that time all the Provinces of the Low Countries except Luxemburg which is divided from the rest united for their common defence and made the famous Treaty of Peace at Ghent A. D. 1576. containing Twenty five Articles the principal of which were That there should be a general Amnesty of all that was past That all things should continue in the same posture they were in at that time They took a solemn Oath to mutually assist each other to free the Country from the Yoke of the Spaniards and other Foreigners That all Placarts and Condemnations which were made upon the Account of the late Troubles should be suspended till the meeting of the States General That all Prisoners particularly the Count de Boissut should be set at Liberty That the Pillars Trophies and Statues with Inscriptions which had been Erected by the Duke of Alva should be pluck'd down particularly that which was set up in the Court of Antwerp and the Pyramid he had raised in the place where the Hotel de Culembourg stood which he
the ordinary Souldiers but even the Guards of the deceased Prince should take an Oath of Fidelity to the States of Holland This was unanimously carry'd notwithstanding all the representations made by the Princess his Mother who ineffectually labored to preserve him in those Offices which her Husband possessed and before him the other Princes of Orange the Royal Family of Great Britain from whom principally she could expect any assistance being at that time under an Eclipse through the wicked Machinations of those execrable Parricides who after they had barbarously Murder'd their lawful Soveraing King Charles I. of Blessed Memory by a train of Hypocrisy and other Villanies peculiar to their Party shared the Soveraignty between themselves Our Prince who like Hercules was to encounter Snakes in his Cradle suffer'd a great deal from the intreagues and contrivances of Barnevelt's Party now re-established in the Persons of the Messieurs De Witt. But he bore all with incredible moderation still waiting for a favorable opportunity to be restor'd to those dignities and great Employments he had been deprived of by a publick decree obtained by a predominant Faction immediately after the death of his Father It must be confessed that France in some measure contributed to his re-establishment altho without the least design to favour the Prince Heaven so ordering it that that mighty Monarch should ravage and almost destroy this flourishing Republic to convince the world at the same time that only the Family of the Founders of this Republic was capable to repair its Ruines and restore it to its former Grandeur The Reader can scarce imagine with what a prodigions torrent the King of France over-ran and surprized all the United Provinces obliging the greatest part of the Frontier Towns and other Capital Cities to surrender themselves Amongst the rest Utrecht and Zutphen open'd their Gates at the first approach of the Enemy for altho there were large Garrisons in both those places yet being composed of Burghers and commanded by Officers of little or no experience they were frighted at the sight of a well disciplin'd couragious army that knew how to make the best advantage of the victory and the fright they had put their enemies in These calamities which had been foreseen long before by some of the most prudent persons of these Provinces as they occasioned a general consternation so they gave the people subject to complain of the ill conduct of the Mrs de Wit who at that time had all the authority of the Government in their hands and by this means furnished the friends of the House of Nassau with a favourable opportunity to speak their thoughts upon what passed at that time Which they did by way of advice to the People giving them to understand that the Princes of Orange were probably the only Persons that were able to support their tottering State and to defend them against their most puissant Enemies Adding that as these illustrious Princes had formerly deliver'd them from the tyranny of the Spaniards so they alone could stop the fury and career of the French The Princess Dowager Grand mother to his Highness a Lady of incomparable prudence and of a courage above her Sex did not contribute a little by her address to awaken those Persons that were in her interests and who were not inconsiderable for their number These at last not being able to see themselves any longer despised or that all the great Offices of State shou'd be thrown away upon Persons that were not worthy of them and at the same time making use of the fury of the people who justly alarm'd to see a victorious Army in the bowels of their Country spoke of nothing but Sacrificing the De Witts managed their affairs so dexterouslâ—… that they attained their designs for after the Prince had made a Journey towards the beginning of the Year 1672 to visit the fortifications of some Places the States of Holland and West-Frizeland being assembled it was unanimously agreed that he should be chose General of their Army which was notified next day to the States General and on the 24th of February the Prince having accepted their offer took the Oaths before them with the accustomed Ceremonies It is very remarkable that the Peasants of West-Frizeland who make excellent Souldiers wou'd not take up Arms but with this condition that they should swear to be true to the Republic and to obey the States and his Highness the Prince of Orange The immoderate ambition of some Persons had formerly occasion'd two fatal Factions who to fortify their own particular interests weakned the Nerves of the public security which made those who had the greatest Credit with the People commit the greatest Solecism's in matter of Policy that any Party can be guilty of For these short-sighted Statesmen imagining that after the Peace of Munster there was nothing left them to fear and that no body cou'd hurt them in their Pretensions but the too great power of the House of Nassau by reason of its Alliances with France and particularly with England they casheer'd their Troops composed of old Soldiers and experienced Captains who had preserved the Country but were looked upon to be intirely devoted to the Prince of Orange and at the same time gave the greatest Posts in their Army and in their Garrisons to the Sons of Burgher Masters and Deputies of Cities People who however brave they might be in their own Persons were for the most part of little or no experience as having never seen a Battle and this was the reason that when they came to be surprized by a vigorous Enemy whole Cities altho they had in Garrison five thousand Foot and eight hundred Horse surrendred at discretion without discharging one Gun at the first sight and appearance of the Enemy Thus Faction and Interest that are commonly the destruction of the most flourishing Kingdoms having reduced the States General to the brink of despair they were constrained to have recourse to their last Asylum the Prince of Orange in order to avoid their approaching ruine and to place the little hope that was remaining in the hands of one person whom the prevailing party had formerly rejected with a great deal of ingratitude and who indeed did not deserve such a hard destiny for in fine Children ought not to be responsible for the actions of their Fathers when they have by no means justified them The Prince had no sooner accepted the high Charge of General of the Armies which was presented to him from the part of the States by Monsieur de Beverning Iohn de Wit and Gaspar Fagel but he immediately repaired to the Army which was then posted near Nieu Rop where all he couâ—…d do against the united forces of the French commanded by the King in person was to keep his post And this he performed with so much conduct that the Enemy as powerful as he was cou'd have no advantage over him on that side On the other hand thinking
different interests and parties demanded to be satisfied was not to be so speedily concluded as those persons who impatiently wished for it did imagine The very preliminaries of this numerous Assembly at Nimeguen cou'd not be regulated in the compass of one winter and notwithstanding all the instances and application of the King of Great Britain those that reasoned solidly saw well enough that the Peace was in no great readiness Nor were their conjectures vain for no sooner was the year 1677 begun but tho it was the depth of winter the French marched directly into the Spanish Netherlands so that in a short time all the places about Valenciennes Cambray and St. Omers were covered with the Enemies Troops and these three Cities were in a manner blocked up at a distance The French openly boasting that they wou'd make themselves Masters of two important places before the Spaniards were in a condition to take the Field Valenciennes was the first place that was invested with a Army of 50 or 60 thousand men under the command of the Duke of Luxemburg and the Count de Montal and four days after the King himself arrived in person in the Camp There was in the City a Garrison of 2000 Spanish Walloon and Italian Foot with about 1000 Horse and Dragoons commanded by the Marquis de Risburg Brother to Prince d'Epinoy TheKing after his arrival view'd the posts gave orders for the Trenches to be opened and set up Batteries In fine the siege was so vigorously pushed on in a few days that the French were advanced as far as the Glacis of the Counterscrap and a Horn work that was one of the best defences the City had But the King not being willing to lose time in taking all the Out-works regularly order'd an Assault to be made on the Horn-work in four different places all at once by eight in the morning and to facilitate this enterprize alarmed the Besieged all the night with throwing of Bombs Granadoes and Carcasses which had the desired effect For after a short dispute the French enter'd the Town losing no more in this expedition than only Count de Barlemont a Collonel of the Regiment of Picardy three Musqueteers six Granadiers and some Souldiers The King having thus carried Valenciennes sate down before Cambray with part of his Army commanded by the Duke of Luxemburg and order'd the Mareschal d'Humieres to invest St. Omers with another part Cambray is one of the oldest Cities in the Low Countries built ever since the time of Servius Hostilius but the Castle was built by Charles the Fifth upon which account the Spaniards took great care to preserve it There were in Garrison fourteen hundred Horse four Regiments of Foot besides two Companies of old Spanish Souldiers under the command of Don Pedro de Laval the Governour The Cathedral was in so great veneration for the beauty of the structure that the Canons came out of the Town and presented a Petition to the King wherein they requested him not to fire at the Church which he freely granted The lines of Circumvallation were no sooner finished but the King commanded an Assault to be made on the two Half-moons on the Castle side which the French having soon made themselves Masters of they immediately began to undermine the Ramparts this put the Besieged into such a consternation that they desired to Capitulate and surrendred the Town on very honourable Conditions But tho the Town was lost the Castle held â—…ut still for the Governour taking advantage of the Cessation of Arms gave orders in the mean time to have some Cannon and other necessary provisions got ready commanded all the Horses to be slain only reserving ten for each Company and thus retired into the Castle with all his Souldiers before the French had the least suspicion of it being resolved to sell the Castle dearer than he had done the City The King was obliged to cease for some time not only because the French Pioneers were repulsed by the Besieged in a Sally they had made to prevent their approach but also because he was informed that the Prince of Orange was marching to the relief of St. Omers he sent the Duke of Luxemburg with a great part of his Army to reinforce his Brother the Duke of Orleance who had set Siege to that City and had already finished his Batteries For the news of the great success which the French King had at Valenciennes and Cambray and the Siege of St. Omers had so mightily alarmed the United Provinces that the Prince of Orange was forced to take the Field before the rest of the Confederates were ready to joyn him He assigned Ipres for the general Rendezvous of his Army which was composed of Dutch and some other Troops drawn out of the Spanish Garrisons and began his March on the 7th of April and on the 9th arrived at St. Mary Capel where he was informed that the D. of Orleans lay encamped on the great road to St. Omers and had only left a few Regiments in the Trenches to keep the City blocked up The straitness of the ways which he was to pass made his March very tedious so that after he had marched all the next day he advanced no farther than a small River called Pene on the other side of which he perceived the Enemy drawn up in battle The Prince having consulted his Guides and those that knew the Country they all assured him that there was no other passage than this to go to Bacque which they looked upon to be the only place by which St. Omers might be reliev'd Upon this consideration he resolved to pass the River and set upon the Enemy and having ordered some new Bridges to be made and repaired those that the French had broke down he accordingly passed it on the 11th of April by break of day so that all were got over before the Enemy was aware of them But when he had passed it with his Troops he was very much surprized to find that there was another River still between the French and him encumbred with Trees and Hedges altho those that were acquainted with the Country had assured him of the contrary so that he found himself strangely embarass'd as not having in the least expcteed this second Obstacle But this did not hinder him from making himself Master of the Abby de Pienes but in the mean time the Enemy having received a reinforcement of fifteen Thousand men came to attack the Abby where the Prince's Dragoons were posted who being supported by some Regiments of Foot received them so warmly that they were forced to retire After this the Prince set fire to the Abby least the Enemy should post themselves there At the same time the French advanced slowly with the right Wing of their Army to charge the Prince's left Wing in the Flank which was covered with abundance of Hedges where were likewise posted two Battalions The Prince perceiving that the Enemy had received some new
Canon But this proved a long and a bloody Siege having lasted from December 1572. to Iuly 1573. The Spaniards lost above Four thousand Men before it among others the Sieur Crossonier Great Master of the Artillery and Bartholomew Campi de Besoro an excellent Engineer There was so great a Famine in the City that a little Child Three years old was dug up by its Parents some days after it was buried to prolong their miserable Life During this Siege Don Frederick tired with its length and despairing of good Success talked of returning into Brabant but the Duke of Alva blaming his impatience sent him word that if he resolved to raise the Siege he himself would come in Person sick as he was to carry it on But if his Indisposition hindred him he would send into Spain for his Mother to supply the place of her Son This reproach made Don Frederick resolve to continue the Siege In the heat of the Siege the Spaniards having thrown into the City the Head of a Man with this Inscription The Head of Philip Konigs id est King who came to relieve Harlem with an Army of Two thousand Men and aftewards another with this Inscription The Head of Anthony le Peintre who betrayed Mons to the French The Inhabitants of Harlem put to Death eleven Spanish Prisoners and put their Heads into a Barrel which by Night they rolled into the Enemies Camp With this Inscription The Citizens of Harlem pay the Duke of Alva ten Heads that he may no longer make Waer upon them for the Payment of the Tenth penny which they have not yet paid and for Interest they give him the Eleventh Head As they had hopes that the Siege would be raised they suffered themselves to be transported to prophane Mockeries making the Images of Priests Monks Cardinals and Popes and then tumbled them down from the top of the Walls after they had stabbed them in a hundred places At last the City being reduced to the greatest extremity by an unheard of Famine which swept away above Thirteen thousand Persons and all hopes of relief being vanished by the defeat of the Succours which the Count de la Mark and the Baron de Balemberg were bringing to the City they were obliged to surrender at Discretion by the Crys of the Women and Children for the Men had resolved to Sally out in a Body and cut out an honourable passage with their Swords through the Enemies Army The Spaniards forced the Citizens to pay a great Summ of Money to hinder the entire Destruction of the place and hang'd and drown'd above Two thousand Persons in some few days among others all the Ministers the principal Men of the City and the Officers of the Troops Wibald Riperda Governour and Lancelot a Bastard Son to Brederode were both beheaded The Cruelty of the Spaniards at Harlem instead of doing their Cause Service ruin'd it and made the People resolve rather to suffer the last Miseries than submit to so Cruel and Tyrannical a Government Thus the little City of Alkmar bravely repulsed all their Attacks and the Prince of Orange surprized Gertrudemberg which belonged to him in his own Right and which covered Dordrecht About the same time Maximilian de Henin Count de Bossut a famous Captain and very much valued by the Duke of Alva who was made Governour of Holland was taken in the Zuider-Zee which is the Sea of Amsterdam and his Fleet defeated by that of the Prince of Orange His great Ship was also taken which he called the Inquisition to reproach the Dutch with the principal Cause of their revolt This Count was carried to Horn where he remained Prisoner Four years till the Pacification of Ghent The Spaniards having taken Prisoner at the Hague Philip de Marnix Sieur de St. Aldegonde Minister of State to the Prince of Orange he assured the Duke of Alva that he would treat the Count de Bossut in the same manner as he did St. Aldegonde The Prince of Orange can never be enough commended for his good Nature in treating the Count with so much Kindness and Civility though not long before he had corrupted a Burgomaster of Delft and prevailed upon him to betray the Prince and deliver him into his hands whilst he was walking out of the City But the Conspiracy was discovered by a Letter intercepted from the Count to the Burgomaster About that time the Duke of Alva and his Son were recalled into Spain King Philip having found out too late that their Cruelty confirmed the Low-Countries in their Rebellion Lewis de Requesens great Commander of the Order of St. Iames in Castile and Governour of Milan who had a great share in the famous Victory of Lepanto succeeded the Duke of Alva in the Government of the Netherlands The Duke at his Departure boasted that he had put to Death by the hands of the Hangman above Eighteen thousand Men yet cruel Vargas who returned into Spain with him cryed at parting that his Clemency and Gentleness had lost the King the Netherlands A. D. 1574. Middleburg the Capital City of Zealand having been a long time defended by that renowned Captain Christopher de Mondragon and endured a great Famine and after the defeat of the Spanish Fleets who attempted in vain to relieâ—…e it was reunited to the rest of the Province This Siege lasted two years and the Spaniards spent above Seven Millions in the several Fleets they set out to Succour it The Prince of Orange so successful at Sea had always ill Luck at Land For the fourth Army which Count Lodowick of Nassau brought him out of Germany to assist him in driving out the Spaniards from the rest of Holland was defeated near Nimeguen by Sancho D'Avila a General of great Experience who from a private Souldier had advanced himself through all the Degrees and Employments of War to that great Command The Germans of Count Lodowicks Army instead of providing for their own and their General 's Defences fell to Mutiny according to their usual Custom and demand their Pay In this Action Count Lodowick and his Brother Count Henry of Nassau and Christopher Count Palatine were all three killed D'Avila remained Master of the Field of Battel of Sixteen pieces of Canon and all the Baggage This Battel was fought in the beginning of the Government of Requesens The Prince of Orange who loved his Brothers tenderly was sensibly afflicted with this loss But he abated nothing of his Constancy and Courage A. D. 1575. the Spaniards encouraged by the defeat and death of the two Brothers of the Prince of Orange laid Siege to the City of Leyden which after a long and unparallell'd Famine was miraculously saved by breaking down the Banks which drowned a great many Spaniards and by the Succours which was conveyed into the City by an infinite number of Boats that swam on the Lands that were overflown When the Prince represented to the States the Damage which the breaking down the Dikes
should never see them more The Merchant carried them immediately to Iersey and Guernsey No one knew what became of the Daughters but the Foreign Merchant having more good Nature than the Mother in Law took pity of the Boy and brought him with him to London where he bred him up and taught him the Trade of a Shoomaker This Boy when he was grown up travelling up and down the Country happened to be in Flanders at the time that Monsieur de la Nove commanded the Army of the States and bringing him some Shooes Monsieur de la Hove having narrowly view'd him told those that were about him that this young Lad had much of the Air Stature and Mien of his Brother in Law de Vezins Though he was exposed at the Age of 4 or 5 years he still retained some memory of his Name his Country and what he was and told him that his Name was Vezins and that he was a French Man by Birth But the great Business of Monsieur de la Nove hinder'd him from making further Enquiry into the Matter at that time Some years after being released from his Imprisonment at Limburg and retiring to Geneva this same young Man who travelled over the World as Apprentices do once more meeting him when he had no Affairs after having very well examined him and besides the general Resemblance discovered some particular Marks which those of the Family de Vezins bore he resolved to make him be acknowledged Heir of that House and in order to it contrary to his own Interest made all the necessary Proceedings in Anjou at the Council and Parliament for the recovery of the Estate but being kill'd at Lambette in Bretaigne with a Musquet Ball before the Affair was compleated his Son Odel de la Nove whom I have seen in my youth Embassador extraordinary into Holland a Man that pursued the generous Example of his Father put an end to the Process and by a famous Decree made him be declared Heir of the House of Vezins which the Children of his cruel Mother in Law had so long usurped These Heroick Actions of the Father and Son can never be sufficiently praised which the curious Reader will be glad to learn and the Example of so rare a Vertue may Spâ—…r on a generous Mind to an Emulation of such noble Performances In this time the Prince of Orange who had been made Governour of Flanders was at Ghent where he altered the Magistrates of the City erected contrary to their Privileges by the Violence of Iohn Imbese a turbulent daring Fellow who had at that time the chief Authority of the City Imbese retired into Germany to Prince Casimir Palatine who had formerly brought such a great Body of Horse to the Assistance of the States that they had much more been harass'd and inconvenienc'd by them than relieved or defended But he returned again to Ghent and domineered there for some time with a Guard of 30 Halberdiers who still accompanied him but in the end a contrary Faction setting up against him as nothing is more changeable than the Affections of the People he was arrested tryed and beheaded An. Dom. 1580. the Prince of Orange represented to the States-General that Considering the Desertion of some Provinces and the Falling off of a great many Men who quitted their Party to reconcile themselves to Spain by the means of the Duke of Parma they could no longer defend themselves against so powerful an Enemy and that they were obliged either to make an Accommodation with Spain which he would never advise them to do when they could have no Security for their Lives or Religion or else to chuse some neighbouring Prince for their Lord and that he could think of none more proper than the Duke of Anjou and Alencon only Brother to Henry the III. King of France Which Resolution the States approving of they sent Deputies into France the most considerable of whom was Philip de Mornix Seigneur de S. Aldegonde who made a Treaty with him in September An. Dom. 1580. at the Castle of Plessis les tours The Heads of which were That the States of Holland Brabant Flanders Zealand Utrecht and Friezland would acknowledge him for their Sovereign Prince and his Posterity after him upon Condition that he should leave Matters of Religion in the same Posture they were in at that time and preserve the Privileges of the Provinces That he should hold an Assembly of the States-General every year who nevertheless should have power to meet when they pleased That he should put no Man into any Employment Place or Government of the Provinces without their Consent And that if he invaded their Privileges and broke the Treaty he should forfeit his Right and that they should be absolved from their Oath of Fidelity and have power to elect a new Prince The Archduke seeing that there was no further Occasion for his Presence in the Netherlands and that they were looking out for a more powerful Protection withdrew after having received Thanks and many Presents according to their Abilities and the Times leaving behind him the Reputation of a good and moderate Prince But his Enemies in the End made him suspected of holding Intelligence with the Spaniards The Prince of Orange with all his Power sollicited the coming of the Duke of Alencon to support himself and his Country with so considerable a Prince but more particularly because in Iune 1580. the King had published a terrible Proscription against him in which he upbraids him with the Favours he had received from the Emperor among others for having secured to him the Succession of Renè de Nassaw and de Chalon Prince of Orange That he had made him Governour of Holland Zealand Utrecht and Burgundy Knight of the Golden-Fleece and Councellor of State That though he was a Stranger he had loaded him with Honours and Riches for which he made him very ungrateful Returns That by his Instigation the Nobility had presented the Address against the Inquisition That he had introduced the New Religion into the Low-Countries and disturb'd the Catholick Religion by the breaking of Images and demolishing Altars That he had made War upon his Lord That he had opposed all the Pacifications even that of Ghent and broken the perpetual Edict that in short he declared him an ungrateful Man a Rebel a Disturber of the publick Peace a Heretick a Hypocrite a Cain a Iudas one that had a hardned Conscience a profane Wretch who had taken a Nun out of the Cloister to marry her and had Children by her a wicked and perjur'd man the Head of the Troubles of the Netherlands the Plague of Christendom the common Enemy of Mankind That he out-law'd him and gave his Life his Body and Estate to him that could seize on it and to free the World from his Tyranny he promis'd upon the Word of a King and as a Servant of God Almighty to give 25000 Crowns to any man that should bring
that the Affront they had put upon him in refusing to give him Audience was designed only to lessen his Authority that nothing but a publick satisfaction would make him amends for this Affront which he demanded earnestly of the States The Deputies of Amsterdam and other Cities answered this Remonstrance by a long Manifesto wherein they alledged the Reasons that induced them to make the Prince that Request this touched him to the quick and made him continue more obstinate against disbanding the Souldiers and transported him so much that he Arrested six of the principal Magistrates and sent them Prisoners immediately after into the Castle of Lovestein This violent proceeding of the Prince alarm'd all Holland The people were generally apprehensive that he aspired to the Soveraignty of the United Provinces and that he opposed the disbanding the Troops for no other reason All Europe said something and tho probably the Prince had no such design the attempt that he made upon Amsterdam confirmed the suspicions all men had entertained of him that he was too arrogant to obey the orders of a popular Government But those who judge impartially of this action are of opinion that he never aim'd at making himself King and that he had no other prospect in besieging Amsterdam but to revenge some private affronts and support his authority and credit by humbling such a powerful City Whatever his reasons were he resolved to besiege it and actually perform'd it on the 30th of Iuly 1650 he narrowly miss'd of surprizing it for the Citizens had not the least apprehension of such a design The Troops appointed for this enterprize put their orders so punctually in execution and met so exactly at their rendezvous that the City must unavoidably have fallen into the Prince's hands but for the Hamburgh Courier who passed through the Prince's Army without being perceived and gave timely notice of it to the Magistrates The City immediately took the alarm the Council of Thirty six met the Burghers run to their Arms the Bridges were drawn up the Cannon mounted upon the Ramparts and the City put in a posture of defence Deputies were dispatched to the Prince with proposals which took up all the next day which was done to gain time for the opening of their Sluces The Prince seeing all the Country under water and the impossibility of continuing a long Siege and the firm resolution of the Burghers hearkened to a Treaty of accommodation which was concluded three days after very much to his advantage The Prince was sensible the States would resent this attempt and the better to make his peace with them he released the Prisoners out of the Castle of Lovestein upon condition that they should be for ever unqualified for any public employments or places and at the same time presented a Memorial to the States with a particular account of the motives he had to form this Siege The States sent it back without opening it assuring him that there needed no justification since the difference had been so soon adjusted About a month after the Prince assisted at a particular Assembly in the Dutchy of Guelders where by his prudence and good conduct he entirely quieted all the jealousies they had entertained of him He returned to the Hague about the beginning of November and went to bed very weary with his Journey He had been observed to be melancholy ever since the miscarriage of his design upon Amsterdam for which reason the Court was not alarm'd with this little indisposition He was let blood the next day and the day after the Small Pox appeared and proved so violent that the Physicians believed him in danger he died the 6th day in the Twenty fourth year of his age on the 6th of November 1650. There wanted but three things to make his memory immortal viz. The Continuation of the War which he passionately desired a longer Life and a little more Deference to the State whom he treated with too much authority for he was Master of a great many good qualities and eminently possessed the advantages of body and mind He was a great General and would have been as renowned for all civil and military vertues as the Heroes of his Family He had a vast comprehensive Genius and learned in his Youth the Mathematics and spoke English French Italian Spanish and High Dutch as readily and fluently as his Mother Tongue He was buried at Delf in the magnificent Tomb of the Princes of Orange in great state He married Mary Stuart eldest Daughter to Charles I. King of Great Britain An Illustrious Birth Interest of State and Glory are the three ordinary motives which sway Princes in the choice of their alliances and all three concur in the making this match for the Glory of the immortal actions of his Father Frederick were spread over all Europe William his Son had given a Thousand proofs that he did not degenerate from the Valour and Vertue of his Ancestors and the Family of Nassau had given five Electors to Cologne and Ments and an Emperor to Germany The proposals were no sooner made but they were accepted and the Marriage was celebrated at London with great magnificence From this Marriage was born William III. whose History we are now entring upon WILLIAM III. KING of ENGLAND Prince of Orange etc. THE HISTORY OF WILLIAM III. Prince of Orange AND King of GREAT BRITAIN Out of the French by Mr. Brown THe sudden and unexpected death of William II. who died in the 24th year of his age threw the Court and Friends of the House of Nassau into such a consternation as is not easie to be exprest But to moderate their grief the Princess Royal within eight days after was delivered of William Henry a Prince in whom the valour and all the other qualities of his glorious ancestors revived and who may justly be stiled the Restorer of that flourishing Republick whereof his Fathers were the Architects and Founders He was born on the fourteenth of November 1650 and had for his Godfathers the States of Holland and of Zealand the Cities of Delf Leiden and Amsterdam As it was his misfortune to be born at a calamitous conjuncture when his enemies were furnished with a plausible pretence to deprive him of those Dignities which his Ancestors had enjoy'd the States General finding themselves now at liberty by the death of William II. and concluding from the enterprize of Amsterdam what they might expect from a single Governour resolved to remedy all inconveniences that might for the future happen upon this occasion and so appointed a General Assembly to meet at the Hague This Assembly began on the eighteenth of Ianuary 1651 and did not end till the month of August the same year In the first Session it was resolved That since the Country was now without a Governour by the death of the Prince the choice of all Officers and Magistrates for the time to come should be in the disposal of the Cities and that not only
them who finding themselves by this means exposed to a much greater number were forced to yield up the place This same Castle in the year 1642 had been besieged by the entire army of the Duke de Weimar and the Landgrave of Hesse under the command of the Counts de Guebriant and d' Eberstein and for six weeks together was battered with extraordinary fury But after all their efforts they were constrained to raise the Siege All this while the Mareschal de Turenne kept himself at a distance for altho he received the news that Bonne was besieged by the Confederates and had a mighty desire to attempt the raising of the Siege yet knowing that the Duke of Lorrain lay upon the banks of the Moselle to observe him he moved up and down in the Electorate of Ments mightily complaining that he was no sooner informed of the joyning of the Confederates The mighty multitudes of the French were by this time reduced to so inconsiderable a number and all through their prodigal ill-managed effusion of blood that they were not in a condition to keep the field without draining their Garrisons This necessity obliged them to abandon the greatest part of their conquests in the Low Countries and draw out their men from thence rather than suffer so powerful an Army as that of the Confederates was to retake without any manner of resistance the Cities upon the Rhine the Meuse and the Moselle Woerden was the first place they quitted as it was the first that suffered under their Tyranny the Governor having received orders from the Duke of Luxemburg to demolish the Ramparts and to carry away with him all the Ammunition and heavy Canonn But as in the bodies of persons possessed the Devil before he departs leaves terrible marks of his rage behind him so after the same manner the Governor of this Town before he left it sent for the Magistrates and demanded twenty Thousand Livres of them to save themselves from plunder and fire alledging that he had orders from the King and Duke of Luxemburg to pillage and reduce the place to ashes unless they gave him the above mentioned Summ. The Magistrates repaired to Utrecht but notwithstanding all the Remonstrances and Submissions they made to the Duke of Luxemburg were obliged to comply with what he demanded of them nay and more than that to save their Castle their Gates and their Fortifications which ohterwise they threatned to lay level with the ground and were forced to leave Hostages till the summ was paid The malice and perfidy of the French was such that they had min'd the Castle and one of the Bastions and had insallibly destroy'd them if the Swissers that werein the place had not discovered their treacherous intention Harderwick was intirely dismantled yet for all that they had the good manners to demand twelve Thousand Livres of the Inhabitants but the richest Burghers having long before quitted the Town they were forced to go without it The Fort of Crevecâ—…ur was utterly demolish'd nevertheless the French made an offer to save the Church and the Governor's House for the summ of three Thousand Pistols to be paid by the Inhabitants of Boisleduc but this proposal being rejected they neither spared the House nor the Church Bommel a Fortress of great importance upon the Fortifications of which place the King of France had expended the summ of Sixscore Thousand Livres was deserted at the same time the Inhabitants giving a dozen Hostages for the payment of two Thousand Crowns to preserve their Houses from being pillaged Utrecht where the French had always in Garrison between six and seven Thousand men at least and which place consequently was a mighty expence to them was likewise abandoned Nevertheless this City was obliged to give Hostages for the payment of 100 Thousand Crowns The French leaving it all on the same day the Burgher-masters were absolved from the Oath they had taken against the re-establishment of the Pr. of Orange and sent their Deputies to him to acknowledge him for their Stadt-holder in the name of all the Province which change was very agreeable to the People Elburgh upon the South Sea Campen on the Overyssel and Hattem were likewise quitted by the French and Steenwick and Weppel by the Munsterians In consideration of so unexpected a change which was intirely owing to the prudent conduct and great courage of the Prince of Orange the States confirmed him in the Office of Stadt-holder to testify how sensible they were of the services he had done the Republic and not content with this entailed this Dignity upon the Heirs of his body born in lawful Wedlock in an instrument dated Febr. 2d. 1674. The same day the States of Zealand conferr'd the same administration upon his Royal Highness and declared him chief Nobleman of their Province It was high time now to deliver these States from those consusions and disorders which the French had occasioned in the Government And the Prince very wellknowing that it was no less glorious for a good Governour to reform and correct what was amiss at home than to make Conquests abroad went to Utrecht to settle the Government of that Province upon the antient Foot To effect this he conven'd immediately after his arrival an Assembly of the States where it was resolved that new members should be chose to compose the body of the Nobility and Magistracy which was put in execution in the very same manner he had projected For having given them to understand that at the request of several of the Burghers he had drawn up a Scheme of certain Orders for the better government of the Province for the time to come but yet wou'd by no means impose any thing upon them without the advice and consent of those that were present at last after a mature deliberation they all unanimously submitted to the Ordinances proposed by his Highness which were That the Government of the Province should be in the hands of three distinct Societies as it anciently had been viz. the Councellors elect the body of the Nobility and the Deputies of Towns that the Councellors elect should be continued three years and no longer that after that time was expired which they were to acquaint the Governour General with three months before he should have power to continue them or else to make new alterations as he should see convenient provided he nominated none but those that were of the Reformed Religion and that amongst these Councellors Elect there were four Burghers and four Gentlemen moreover that the Governour General should have the disposal of the vacant places of the Provosts as also of the Revenues of the Vicaridges belonging to the Provosts Deans and Chapters of Monks as soon as they fell and employ this for the maintenance of poor Ministers and other pious uses in the Province that to avoid all disputes relating to the Nobility the Governour alone should have the power after the death of one or more of that
to retire in some disorder The Prince had Castrau before his right Wing which the Duke had gained in great precipitation and it was happy for him that this place was as hard to be got to as the other he quitted In the mean time his Highness whom these difficulties did not discourage had no sooner drawn out his Army to battel but he was resolved to beat the Enemy out of his new post and sending for his Artillery ordered it to play upon the French who were posted a little higher on one side of a Cloister near St. Denys which the Duke of Luxemburg thought he might defend well enough with his Cannon But it was impossible for them to sustain the shock of the Confederate Dragoons who beat them from this Post and made themselves Masters of the Cloister while General Collier advanced on the side of the Abby and seconded by General Delwick broke through the narrow ways and mounting these horrible precipices with an invincible courage routed the Enemiy who for some time made a vigorous resistance in their lines In the midst of this engagement the Prince accompanied by the Duke of Monmouth who fought by his side all the day and encouraged with his good success cried out follow me follow me to encourage those Regimens that were to second the first Both sides were very liberal of their Powder and Ball and all the Regiments of the left Wing seconded one another till night with the same vigour and resolution Count Horn on his side approached nearer with his Cannon and ordered it to play on the French Battalions in the Valley where he caused a terrible slaughter From thence his Highness advanced with speed to Castrau which was attack'd by the Spaniards on the side of the right Wing where the Prince's Regiment of Guards led the Van under the command of Count Solmes who being seconded by the Duke of Holstein's Regiment and by the English forced the Enemies at last to quit the place The Regiment of Foot Guards continued in action with the French for the space of five hours and pursued them a quarter of a League through fields and precipices 'T is certainly a thing hardly to be believ'd that men should be capable of making such brave efforts in places so extremely disadvantageous and several persons who have viewed and examined them since say there are few places in the world naturally so strong The Earl of Ossory did wonders with his English at a small distance from the Foot Guards where the French lost abundance of Men. But the Prince in the heat of the Action advanced so far that he was in great danger of being lost had not Monsieur Onwerkerk come seasonably to his relief and killed an adventurous Captain that was just going to let fly a Pistol at him The Cavalry did nothing all this while by reason of the uneven scituation of the place so that all the execution lay upon the Infantry and Dragoons Night put an end to the dispute by the favour of which the Duke of Luxemburg made his retreat without noise and retired towards Mons and covered himself with a Wood on one side and a River on the other leaving to his Highness as marks of Victory the Field where the Battle was fought the greatest part of the wounded abundance of Tents and Baggage with a world of Powder and other Warlike Ammunition The States General receiving the News of so great a Success sent Commissioners to the Prince to congratulate him for the victory he had gained with so much Glory and Reputation and for the signal Actions by him performed in this last Battle to the great hazard of his life And to testify what a value they set upon his preservation they presented Monsieur Onwerkerk who had so generously opposed himself to the danger that threatned his Highness with a Sword whose handle was of massy gold a pair of Pistols set with gold and a whole Horse Furniture of the same metal The Prince of Orange having thus obliged the Duke of Luxemburg to retire had without question pushed his point and thrown relief into the Town but as he was consulting how to effect it word was brought him that the King of France and the States General had accommodated all differences The success of this Battle hasten'd the conclusion of the Treaty between Spain and France which was signed on the 17th of September to the great praise of the King of England who having joyn'd the terrour of his Arms to the authority of his Mediation had for his recompence the satisfaction to see the peace and general welfare of Europe given as a Portion with his Neice while the two great Alliances between France and Holland and between Spain and France were the and happy effects of the conjugal Alliance between his Highness and the Princess Mary of England The war being thus ended between France and the United Provinces his Highness had time now to breath himself after the fatigues and hurries of the last Campaigns for after the Ratification of the Peace and the Restitution of Mastricht to the States the King of France no more disturbed the Low Countries with the terrour of his Arms so that when his Highness had reformed all those innovations that had been introduced by the French when they were Masters of the Country the people began to enjoy the repose and tranquillity they had so long desired But matters were not so soon adjusted between the Kings of France and Spain By the Treaty concluded between the two Crowns it was agreed that Commissioners should meet at Cambray to regulate any disputes that might happen about the limits This was in the Year 1679. But after several tedious contests occasioned by the excessive pretentions of the French who demanded whole Provinces in the nature of dependances to be delivered into their hands the war was like to have kindled afresh till at last by the unwearied Mediation of the States General a Treaty was signed at the Hague on the 29th of Iune 1684 after which his most Christian Majesty having accommodated all differences with the Emperour by some other Articles of the same Nature a Truce of twenty years was agreed upon which being ratified tho not without some delays on the side of the Spaniards all those devastations and ravages that for the course of several years had ruin'd the finest Country in Europe began to cease In the midst of all these negotiations which the States seldom or never treated of but in the presence of the Prince of Orange whom they still consulted in the most difficult affairs his Highness show'd an extraordinary generosity for when every one was minding his particular Interests he neglected his own and preferr'd the peace and welfare of his Country to that reparation he might justly expect for the great losses he sustain'd in his own Demains For while the King of France burnt and ravaged the Low Countries in order to force the Spaniards to accept his offers a great part of the Prince's patrimony in Brabant underwent the common calamities The same thing happen'd when Luxemburg and the Franche-Comte came to change their Masters Prince d'Isenguyn supported by the authority of France exposed to Sale by sound of Trumpet all the Lands Furniture and Goods of his Highness as having been adjudged to him by a formal Decree of the Parliament of that Country The Provinces of Gueldres Zealand and Utrecht made great complaints in his Highnesses name but were not able to get satisfaction done him Nor suffer'd he less injustice in the Principality of Orange where the Walls of his Capital City were demolished the University disfranchized the Inhabitants barbarously plundered forced to send the young Students home to their Parents and forbidden to educate any of the Reformed Religion for the future all which was directly contrary to the Faith of the late Treaty But when the States represented the great injustice of this procedure the Court of France return'd them no other answer save only this viz. That they had good reasons for what they did As soon as the Truce was confirmed the States were of opinion they might now disband their supernumerary forces and the Deputies of Amsterdam wou'd without any further delay reform the recruits they had made the year before but all the members coming to this conclusion that nothing ought to be done without the advice of the Prince of Orange his Highness upon the mention of this proposal assured them that no one more earnestly desired the ease of the people than himself but however he wou'd never consent till their affairs both at home and abroad were in a better posture of security to leave the Country naked and defenceless The States were soon perswaded to follow this advice and accordingly resolved to keep their Troops as long as the necessity of their affairs demanded it And now from the conclusion of the Peace till the year 1688 when his Highness made his wonderful Expedition into England we have nothing remarkable in this Prince's History What was the success of that prodigious Descent and by what means the ensuing Revolution was carried on which has occasioned so mighty an alteration in this Western part of the World as it is sufficiently known to every English Reader So a just narration of all the surprizing incidents requires a person of more leisure and greater abilities than my self FINIS ☞ Excuse the man and don 't pronounce his doom Poor Soul he left his Calepine at Rome * According to the new Stile which I have all along followed with my Author * A great and stately City upon the Scheld built as 't is commonly pretended by the Emperour Valentinian * Sir W. Temple in his Memoirs represents this matter otherwise for there we are told that K. Ch. the 2d was so far from courting the Prince to come to visit him that he was apprehensive of his arrival
Battle of Senef p. 256. C. COligny Gaspor de His Character p. 3. Coeverden lost p. 231 retaken p. 232. Coligny Lovise de Her Life p. 137. Cambray besieged and surrendred p. 280. D. DOn Iohn of Austria made Governour of the Low Countreys p. 57. His Story p. 58 59 c. Surprises the Castle of Namur and Charlemont p. 61. Defeats the Army of the States at Gemblours p. 65. Dies of Grief p. 67. E. COunts Egmont and Horn Executed p. 20. Q. Elizabeth loved to be thought handsome p. 153 c. F. FRench King almost over-runs the United Provinces p. 214. G. CArdinal Granville his Character and Story p. 14 15 c. Name of Gueux or Beggars whence the Rise p. 17. Grave besieged p. 265. and taken p. 269. Ghent taken p. 291. H. HAerlem taken by Famine p. 42. Henry Frederick born p. 114. His Life p. 177 c. His Children p. 178. I. INquisition declares those guilty of High-Treason who had not opposed the Hereticks of the Netherlands p. 19. Ipres taken p. 291. L. COunt Lodovick c. presents a Petition to the Governess of the Low Countreys against the Inquisition New Bishops c. which at first is slighted p. 17 18 c. Lewis de Requesens made Governour in the place of the Duke of Alva p. 44. Leyden relieved by breaking down the Dykes p. 45 46. and the University settled there p. 47. M. MArgaret of Austria made absolute Governess of the Low Countreys with Orders to Establish the Spanish Inquisition and several new Bishopricks in the Netherlands p. 14. Mons surprised p. 32. and retaken by the Spaniards p. 34. Count de la Mark takes the Brill with several other Cities p. 36. Middburg taken by the Spaniards p. 44. Maurier traduced at the French Court c. p. 120 121 122. Maurice Prince of Orange his Character p. 125. raises the Siege of Berghen ap Zoom p. 129 and 140. takes Breda p. 130. and Sluise p. 134. defeats Arch Duke Albert p. 135. and the Lord de Balancon p. 138. his Description p. 148 149 150 c. Maestricht besieged by the French p. 235. and taken p. 236. Mansfeld's Story and Character p. 141 142 c. N. NArses the Eunuch his Story p. 8. House of Nassau their Genealogy p. 9 10 c. The Netherlands demanded to have all the ' Spanish Forces drawn out of the Low Countreys p. 14. Nimighen Treaty p. 273. O. OStend taken by the Spaniards p. 134. St. Omers surrendred to the French p. 285. P. KIng Philip the Cause of the Disorders in the Low Countreys p. 8. His Description p 13 14 c. Perpetual Edict concluded between the States and Don Iohn of Austria p. 60. Prince of Parma made Governour of the Low Countreys p. 68. King Philip published a Prescription against the Prince of Orange p. 74. Philip William of Nassau his Life p. 115. taken by force out of the Colledge of Lovaine by King Philip p. 115. shut up in a Castle in Spain at 13 Years Old p. 116. released and sent to bring the Infanta Isabella into the Low Countreys p. 117. marries Eleanor of Bourbon p. 118. S. STates General Consent to a Toleration of both Religions p. 66. Request the Duke of Anjou and Alemon to be their Lord and Protector p. 73. T. Treaty of Peace set on foot at Breda p. 48. Treaty of Peace at Ghent p. 50 51 â— Treaty of Peace at Nimighen concluded p. 297. V. MArquess Vitelli his Character and Epitaph p. 28. Valenciennes taken by the French p. 279. W. WIlliam the First of Nassau his Birth p. 3. the Favours show'd him by Charles 5th p. 4. made Generalissimo at 22 Years Old p. 5. builds Charlemont and Philipville p. 5. supports the Emperour at the Resignation of his Empire and is recommended by him to the King of Spain p. 6. his Description p. 12. Retires into Germany p. 19. Raises an Army there which is defeated near the River Ems p. 24. Raises another of Twenty Four Thousand German Horse and Foot p. 25. which refusing to follow him into France to assist the Hugonots he disbands p. 27. Enters the Low Countreys with a great Army and is received into Ruremond Malines c. p. 33. Acknowledg'd Governour of Holland Zealand c. by the States p. 38. banishes the Romish Ceremonies out of the Church p. 39. received into Brussels in great Triumph p. 62. lays the Common-Wealth of the United Provinces p. 68. publishes his Apology against King Philip's Prescription p. 75 76 77 c. Marries Lovise de Coligny p. 113. killed at Delft p. 115. his Funeral p. 119. William Count de Buren Eldest Son to Prince William seized at the Colledge of Lovain and carried Prisoner to Spain p. 23. William Henry of Nassau his Birth p. 211. deprived of the Offices belonging to his Family p. 212. chose General of the Army p. 215. and restored to all the other Commands belonging to him which Cornelius de Witt opposes p. 220. Prince William takes Naerden p. 237. falls sick of the Small-pox and recovers p. 270. besieges Maestricht p. 275. and raises it p. 277. Marries the Princess Mary p. 288. Attacks and almost Routs Luxemburgh near Mons p. 298. Cornelius de Witt and his Brother killed p. 224. William the Second born p. 203. besieges Amsterdam p. 206. dies of the Small-pox 208. THE Author's Preface THE Reader whoever he is must not expest in these Memoirs to find a gay or rather an impertinent Discourse fillâ—d with New Terms which some presumptuous little Authors who mind nothing but bare words call fine Language These people are to understand that I was never bred at a Colledge and that the little Skill I have in Languages I receiv'd from Masters at home or from common use in Conversation I never read one single Line of Priscian or of any other Grammarian Their Lexicons and their Syntaxes which my Father was used to call The Plague of Youth are as much unknown to me as the Isle of Pines I never was able to comprehend what a Gerund or a Supin meant and though perhaps I use them upon occasion I neither know how to define or describe them I have not without a great deal of pleasure read the Quintus Curtius of Monsieur de Vaugclas whose solid Vertue and extraordinary Sweetness as well as his inviolable Fidelity to his Friends I esteem although I was never able to edify much by his Remarks upon our Language And what is more than all this having had the misfortune to debauch my own Natural Language during my long abode in Forreign Countries where I was bred as also by my long stay at Mayne where their Language is extreamly vitious and thinking it not worth the while to spend money to no purpose at Court and to feed my self with Vain Expectations my Reader ought not to be surpris'd if he meets in this Work some terms and manners of speaking that have not receiv'd the
Massacre'd in Florida by the Spaniards They promised to the Prince of Orange by Count Lodowick his Brother whom they had loaded with Honours and Caresses a considerable supply of Men and Money and the Sovereignty of Zealand Utrecht and Friezland and that they would joyn the other Provinces to France The Prince of Orange upon these great hopes and appearances which proved false refused a very advantageous and secure Treaty which the Emperour offered him from the part of the King of Spain and sent Forces under the Command of his Brother-in-Law the Count de Bergues to make an Attempt upon Gueldres and Over-Yssel The Count took Zutphen and several other places His Brother Count Lodowick was to make a considerable effort on the side of Hainault where he surprized Mons the Capital of that Province which diversion hindred the Duke of Alva from retaking the Cities of Holland and Zealand that had newly declared against him and which he might easily have done at a time when they were unprovided of forces and necessaries for their defence But nothing incensed the Duke of Alva so much as the surprizing of Mons which he resolved to recover at any rate leaving every thing else to apply himself wholly to this seige which gave time to the revolted Cities to draw breath and furnish themselves at Leisure with Men and Ammunition The brave Defence of Count Lodowick assisted by Mounsieur de la Nove bras de fer and many of the French Nobility made the Siege of Mons very long and difficult The Spaniards fired above 20000 Canon-shot against it In the mean time the Prince of Orange who had retired into Germany had raised a greater Army than his first to enter into Brabant where the Cruelty and Exactions of the Duke of Alva made him hope for better Success than he had in his first Invasion This Army was to be paid with the money the French Court had promised to supply him with Thus the Prince believed with reason that the Spanish Forces would not be able to defend the Low-Countries attack'd on so many sides by Land whilest by Sea they were gauled by the Counts de la Mark Sonoy Treton the Brothers Boisols and Bertel Entens his Lieutenants in Holland and Zealand where they had great Success as I shall afterwards declare The Spaniards were never in so great danger of losing the Netherlands as at that Conjuncture The hopes of the Prince were not groundless and in all probability the Spaniards had been quite driven out of the Low-Countries if France had made good its promises Thus this great Man who had so many Strings to his Bow parted from Germany with a great Army to enter into the Low-Countries when he found all People driven to despair by the Tyranny of the Duke of Alva and ready to receive him with open arms First he was received into Ruremonde where he passed his Army over the Bridge into Brabant Louvain gave him a sum of money and Malines opened its Gates to him which cost that poor City very dear The Duke of Alva was absent at the Siege of Mons which he resolved to take and the Prince designed to relieve as well to save so important a Place as to deliver his brother Lodowick from the danger he was in But Mr. de Genlis who marched from France to the relief of the place with 7000 Horse and Foot having been defeated and taken Prisoner by Frederick de Toledo who had gone out to meet him upon the secret intelligence which he received from the Court of France of his marching towards Mons and the condition of his Forces The Prince having attempted in vain to raise the Siege for the Duke of Alva had intrenched himself so strongly that 't was impossible to force his lines and at the same time understanding by the discharging of the great Guns and other signs of rejoycing in the Camp of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew where Admiral de Chatillon and all his principal friends had been kill'd and having no hopes from the French who had deceived him but on the contrary having all the reason in the world to be apprehensive of so great a Kingdom which had declared against his party and religion he advised his brother Lodowick to make an honourable Composition which was granted him and he himself retired by small Marches towards the Rhine In this retreat he was in great danger of being kill'd by the Enemies and his own Soldiers For the German officers talked of arresting him to secure the payment of their arrears which they were promised should be paid at their arrival in Brabant where he expected to receive the money the French had promised him But this eloquent and engaging Prince appeas'd the mutiny by assuring them 't was not his fault and satisfied them with promises and the little ready money he had On the other side he was in great danger of his Life at Malines 800 Spanish Horse who had chosen men mounted behind them entered into his Camp by night and pierced as far as his tent and would have killed him as he slept if a little dog who lay in his Bed had not waked him by scratching his face with his claws the greatest part of the Spaniards being cut off he marched strait on to the Rhine where he disbanded his Army at Orsay and went through Over-Yssell to Utrecht and thence to Holland and Zealand which had declared for him all except Middleburg and Amsterdam in the following manner Whilest the Prince of Orange was a Refugee in France and Germany and wandring from Province to Province William de la Mark Boissols Siegneurs de Lumay Sonoy Treton the Boissols Entens and others who acted under the Orders of the Prince turned Pirates and practised the trade a long time with great Success till having no longer a retreat in the Ports of England which Queen Elizabeth denied them at the instance of the Duke of Alva and for Fear of making the Spaniards her Enemies the Count de la Mark and the rest designing to seize a Port in North-Holland or Friezland were obliged by the contrary Winds to put in for shelter with 30 great and Small Ships into the Isle of Vorn in Holland where the Brill is which they took by surprize having found it without a Garrison which was sent to punish Utrecht for refusing to pay the tenth penny This Count de la Mark was a rash and a cruel man He swore never to shave his Beard nor Head till he had revenged the death of Count Egmont and Horn. When he had surprized the Brill which signifies Spectacles in the Flemish Tongue he had himself painted in a large piece with the Duke of Alva behind whom he stood and put Spectacles on his Nose by way of Derision it being a term of Contempt in Holland to say a man wants light He put ten pieces of Money in his colours in hatred of the Imposition which the Duke of Alva had
help you if not the Devil take you Body and Soul and all the standers by cryed Amen By Virtue of this Edict all Prisoners were released on both sides the Count Egmont the Sieur de S. Goignie the Sieur de Capres and others in the Custody of the Spaniards and Gaspar de Robb and others by the States This done Don Iohn was received into Brussels in great State as Governour-general of the Low-Countries But beginning to oppress the Provinces pursuant to the private Orders he received from the Court of Spain which were discovered by several Letters intercepted which Don Iohn and his Secretary Escovedo writ in Cyphers to the King and his Ministers which Philip de Mornix Seignieur de St. Aldegonde decyphered This made them resolve to oppose his pernicious Designs by Force of Arms. Don Iohn under a pretence that they had a Design upon his Person retired from Brussels and having received the Queen of Navarre into Namur surprized the Castle of Namur and then Charlemont and made preparations for War and recalled the Spanish and German Troops He called that day he seized the Gastle of Namur the first of his Government as Henry the III. afterwards called the Day of the Murther of the Duke of Guise the first of his Reign The States took up Arms on their side demolished the Castle of Antwerp and joined themselves to the Prince of Orange But the States-General assembled at Brussels demanding the free Exercise of the Catholick Religion in Holland and Zealand he made answer that he could make no Alterations in that Affair without consulting the States of these two Provinces who had the sole and absolute Power of doing it This was a fundamental Maxim of that State which was afterwards changed by the Factions and Force of Arms under the Government of Prince Maurice his Son as I shall manifest in his Life Prince William of Orange being arrived at Breda with his third Wife Charlotte de Bourbon he was invited by the States to come and encourage them by his Presence For this Effect the Burghers of Antwerp went out to meet him and conducted him into their City where the States-General deputed to him the Abbots of Villiers and Marotes the Barons de Fresin and Capres to beseech him to come in all haste to Brussels The Prince went to Brussels through the New-Canal attended by the Burghers of Antwerp who marched in good Order on one side of the Canal and on the other side by the Burghers of Brussels all in gilt Armour who came out of their City to meet him He was receiv'd into Brussels with great magnificence and Triumph with incredible Acclamations of Joy by all the World Immediately he was declared Governour of Brabant and Superintendant of the Finances of the Provinces Upon this we may observe that tho' the Life of this Prince has been cross'd by strange Disappointments and Misfortunes capable of sinking a Man of less Resolution than himself Yet these Accidents were sweeted from time to time with those secret pleasures and Delights which the most Stoical and insensible Men are overjoyed at as the Acclamations and Applauses of the People whose Hearts and Affections he entirely possess'd Other Princes command only the Bodies of their Subjects without having any Empire over their Minds which ought to make up the noblest part of their Dominions But as Envy is the inseparable Companion of Vertue and a great Reputation is often more dangerous than a bad one this pompous Reception of the Prince of Orange added to the Authority his great Birth Experience and Merit gained him in the States and in the Hearts of the People procured him the Jealousy of many Lords and Gentlemen of Quality the chief of whom were the Duke Arschot newly made Governour of Flanders the Marquess of Havret his Brother the Count de Lalain and his Brother the Siegneur de Montigny the Viscount of Ghent Count Egmont the Sieurs de Compigny de Rassinguem and de Sueveguem and many others This jealous Party dispatched privately the Sieur de Malstede to offer the Government of the Low-Countries to the Archduke Matthias Brother to the Emperor Rodolphus He made so much hast and pressed the Archduke so strongly to depart that he was arrived at Cologne from Vienna before 't was known that they had sent for him These Gentlemen imagined that they should have all the Management of the Government under the Archduke who would consider them as the Authors of his Establishment and at the same time should ruine the Authority of the Prince of Orange by giving him a Superiour of that Quality But the Prince of Orange who had the Art of Complying with all Times and turning Poison into Antidotes made a Modest Complement to the States General for not acquainting him with so important a Resolution as they had taken of sending for the Archduke whereas nothing ought to be transacted without the common Consent of all especially Matters of such Consequence But he made no Opposition to the Reception or Establishment of the Archduke Then having brought over to his party the Count de Lalain who had the chief Command of the Army he managed Matters so well by his Address and Submissions that he gained the Archduke who was made Governour of the Netherlands upon certain Conditions and he himself was declared Lieutenant-General by majority of Voices in the States and the Archduke in consideration of his great Abilities trusted him with the intire Management of Affairs In this manner the Prince of Orange by his good Conduct and Prudence turn'd that Storm upon his Enemies which they raised with Design to ruin him For the Duke of Arschot the head of the Faction had the Mortification to be seized in the Capital City of his Government Ghent by a Creature of the Prince of Orange Rehove who bore the greatest Sway in that large City And to make his Grief the more sensible his best Friends the Bishops of Bruges and Ypres and the Sieurs de Ressinguem and de Sueveguein and many others of his Dependants were seiz'd on at the same time Don Iohn of Austria having been declar'd Enemy of the Low-Countries by the States-General the 7th of September 1577. recall'd all the Spanish and Italian Troops who had retired out of the Netherlands in pursuance to the perpetual Edict with a great Body of Germans under the Command of Alexander Farneze Duke of Parma Son to Margaret of Austria formerly Governess of the Netherlands With this Reinforcement the last day of Ianuary An. Dom. 1578. he defeated the Army of the States at Gemblours commanded by the Sieur de Goiguin in the Absence of the Count de Lalain and the principal Officers who were at a Wedding in Brussels for which they were extreamly censured All the Cannon was taken with 30 Colours and 4 Cornets But the Reduction of the Famous City of Amsterdam which surrender'd to the States and was united to the Body of Holland the 8th of
Union of Utrecht which they reckon the worst and greatest of his Crimes he answers That the Spaniards like nothing that contributes to the Interests of the States and what is wholesome to the Oppressed is mortal to the Favourers of Tyranny That their Enemies had grounded all their Hopes upon their Division against which there is no such Specifick as a Good Union nor a more certain Antidote against Discord than Concord which has prevented and made useless all their Intrigues and Intelligences He owns that he was the Author of this Union and speaks it so loud that he wishes that not only Spain but all Europe may hear him Upon which he exhorts the States to preserve it and to practice the Moral of the Bundle of Arrows tied together by one Band which they bear in their Arms. Instead of blushing at it he glories in an Action so conducive to the Preservation of their Liberties When they upbraid him with driving out the Church-Men he denies that he ever did so till George de Lalain Count de Renneberg Governour of Freizland surprized Groningen by Treachery and the Massacre of the principal Burghers among others the Burgo-Master Hillebrand a Man of the greatest Authority in the City having supped with him and caressed him the better to over-reach him the day before this infamous Surprizal And that they could not reproach him that in all the Troubles and Confusions stirred up by the Spaniards he ever stained his Hands in the Blood of the Confederates who relied on his Faith When he is accused of driving out some of the Nobility he denies it and declares that they retired voluntarily through the Terrour of their Consciences having openly contriv'd the Ruin of their Country and Wou'd to God added the Prince all they who are like them would follow them to rid the Country of all Fear He says 't is ridiculous to call him Hypocrite who never dissembled with the Spaniards When he was their Friend he talked freely to them and foretold them by Word of Mouth and Writing that those rigorous Persecutions would ruin them That being forced to become their Enemy to support the Liberty of his Country what Hypocrisy can they charge him with unless they call Hypocrisy the making open War upon them taking their Cities driving them out of the Country and acting against them with all the Vigour the Right of a just War entitles him to That if they will take the Pains to read over his Defence which he published 13 years since to justify his Taking up Arms they will see the Letters of a King who is a Hypocrite and Dissembler who thought to surprize him with fair Words as now he thinks to daunt him with Threats When King Philip calls the Prince of Orange Desperate as Cain and Iudas he says 't is a quite different thing to distrust the Grace of God who cannot Lye and to suspect the Words of a treacherous and deceitful Man Witness the poor Moors of Granada Count Egmont Horn and many others That the fall of Cain and Iudas was Despair caused by the dreadful Sins they had been guilty of to which State he was not yet reduced his Conscience upbraiding him with nothing But the Style of a Man in Despair is visible in this Heathenish and Turkish Proscription When he accuses him of Distrust and says it is an ordinary thing with wicked Men he makes an Apostrophe to Cardinal Granville whom he believed the Authour of this Proscription in these Terms And thou Cardinal who hast lost so much time at the College unless thou callest that Learning to be trained up in thy Youth in the Arts of Lying and Deceiving what answer canst thou make to that sententious Orator and Lover of his Country when he says that Distrust and Jealousy is the strongest Bulwark of Liberty against Tyranny Which was said against another Philip a puny Tyrant in comparison of this Dom Philip who has out done the greatest and whose Tyranny the divine Philippick it self is not able to express Consider of it and I for my part says the Prince will speak write and ingrave every where this fine and useful Sentence And would to God I may be better believed by my People than Demosthenes was by his who suffering themselves to be imposed on by such Villains and Dissemblers as thou art were in the end utterly ruined When the King reproaches him with refusing very advantageous Offers which were made him upon condition he would retire into Germany and abandon the States he says the Spanish Folly and Impertinence cannot be sufficiently admired who endeavouring to blacken and defame him raise his Reputation by owning that he preferrs the Safety of the States and their Liberty to his own Repose and Native Country That he would willingly be freed from all his Troubles and Disappointments and enjoy his Estate and the Presence of his Son in Peace But since this could not be effected without perjuring himself and betraying the States violating his Faith and abandoning them to the Cruelty of their mortal Enemies No Consideration of his Estate his Life Children or Wife should prevail upon him to deliver them over a Prey to the Spaniards to be worried and massacred by them He concludes 't was a very great Crime which they reproach'd him with to be a Man of Honour and of unshaken Firmness and Constancy not to be wrought on by Threatnings nor Promises And that on those false Accusations the King and Spaniards have grounded this barbarous Proscription full of Calumnies Abuses and inconceivable Imprecations which he is no more frighted with than Philibert of Orange was with the Bull which Pope Clement the VII thundered out against him who for all that made him his Prisoner He declares to the States and all Europe that whatever Spaniard or whatever Man in the Spanish Interests says or shall say as this Proscription does that he is a wicked Man and a Traitor lyes speaks falsely and against the Truth That though the Spaniards forbid him the use of Fire and Water in spite of all their Rage he will live by the Assistance of his Friends as long as it pleases God who alone has the Disposal of Life and Death and who has numbered all the Hairs of his Head As for his Estates he hopes God willing that the Purchase of them will cost the Spaniards so dear that they will be obliged to seek out others elsewhere at an easier rate As for those they wrongfully detain from him he hopes to dispossess them and that they never usurped the Possessions of a poor Prince who proved a greater Burthen to them When the King promises 25000 Crowns to any Man that shall bring him alive or dead to make him a Gentleman if not so before with a full Pardon of all his Crimes how hainous soever he answers that if a Gentleman had been guilty of so villainous an Action no man of Honour would eat or drink with the Wretch or endure his
transcribed before I presented an Original to Monsieur de Noyers SIR I Am extreamly concerned that my Endeavours have had no better Success and that Monsieur de Lalen is detained for such slight Reasons If he had made a quick return 't would not have been difficult to surprize this place There are now but 300 Men in Garrison many of whom are old and can scarce go and as many disabled and can make no Defence besides the 28 or 30 Portugese and Catalonians who have promised us their Assistance and above 70 Officers who are Prisoners Philippine where there is a Garrison of Dutch is but four hours March from us All the Country between this Place and that is under Contribution Their Parties come up to the very Gates of the City and many of them enter upon several Pretences For they carried off lately a Horse from the middle of the Market-place by a cunning Stratagem in the Presence of all the World The Covetousness of the Governor the Count de Salazar gives all People a free Entrance into the Castle that he may sell off his Wine at the greater Gain which by a particular Privilege pays no Excise to the King And a Measure which costs fifteen pence in the City is worth but six pence in the Castle Here are still five or six thousand Burghers and Strangers Men and Women who drink without being search'd or examin'd If you will consider all these Circumstances and reflect upon what happened at the Surprize of Amiens and Breda you will find a fairer Occasion and a greater Probability of Effecting this To hasten so important an Affair I waited on Monsieur de Noyers who was at that time at Chaume en Briè with the King to taâ—…e care of the Preservation of Monsieur le Cardinal de Richelieu who stayed behind at the Bourbon Waters in great Suspicion of his Master and many of those who were about him But this Minister having assured me that he would give the necessary Orders about this Affair and commanded me to speak to no Man of it I retired easily perceiving by his Looks and Discourse that he did not relish this Proposal however advantageous it was when it came from a Man to whom he had such an Aversion He never acquainted the King with it for fear he should reward and consider Monsieur de Rantzau for so important a Service The Campaigne being at an End the Spaniards according to their usual Custom reinforced their Garrisons among others that of the Castle of Ghent with the Troops of their Army which changed the Face of Affairs and made the Execution of this Enterprize impossible The same Year that Breda was surprised by the Spaniards the Duke of Anjou pursuant to his Engagement with the States of the Provinces came from Chateau Thierry with 10000 Foot and 4000 Horse to the Relief of Cambray besieged by the Duke of Parma who raised the Siege Not long before the Viscount de Turenne who was afterwards the famous Duke de Bouillon Henry de la Tour the Counts of Ventadour and de la Fenillade and four other Lords having run the Risque to pass through the Army of the Duke and throw themselves into the Place were made Prisoners and forced to pay a great Ransom At that time the States-General assembled at the Hague declared the King of Spain to have forfeited the Soveraignty of the Netherlands broke his Seal and Arms and commanded all People to acknowledge him no longer for their Prince and take the Oath of Fidelity to them The Beginning of this Decree runs thus That a Prince is appointed by God Almighty the Head of his People to defend them from Oppression as a Shepherd to keep his Flock and that when a Prince oppresses them they may choose another Lord to govern them in Iustice according to their Privileges The rest is nothing but a long Narration of the Cruelties and Infractions of their Privileges by the King and his Ministers which obliged them to have Recourse to another Prince At the same time the Duke of Parma took Tournay from the States notwithstanding the vigorous Defence of Mary de Lalain Princess D'Epinoy Sister to Emanuel de Lalain Seigneur de Montigny one of the chief Malecontents She gave great Proofs of her Courage in this Siege encouraging the Soldiers and Burghers to a gallant Resistance and exposing herself so much in the most dangerous Places that she received a Harquebuss Shot in her Arm. This Lady who deserves a Place among the Heroines died the Year after at Antwerp extreamly regretted by the States-General for her Courage and Firmness to maintain their Party Immediately after the Duke of Anjou passed into England to have the Advice of Queen Elizabeth and to endeavour to accomplish his Marriage with that Princess a Contract being made and Rings having been presented on both sides But the Queen having found out some Excuses to hinder it contented her self with supplying him with Money for his Voyage into the Netherlands and sending with him my Lord Leicester Admiral Howard both Knights of the Garter and 100 other Lords and Gentlemen of Quality who carried with them a Train of 500 Men. An Dom. 1582. He repassed from England into Zealand aboard the Ships of this Princess arrived at Flushing and because of the great Cold went a foot to Middlebourg the Capital of Zealand which is a League from thence where he was received and treated very magnificently The Prince of Orange and Epinoy went to meet him and going aboard the 50 Ships provided for them arrived at Antwerp where this great City received him with surprizing Pomp and Splendour All the Keys were lined with the Burghers in Arms most part very richly dress'd and with gilt Arms Triumphal Arches were erected in all parts very richly adorned with fine Inscriptions This Prince marched under a Canopy of Cloth of Gold from the Port to the great Piazza where a Theatre was built with a Throne upon it There the Prince having cloathed him with the Ducal Cap and Mantle of Red Crimson Velvet lined with Ermins he sware publickly in the presence of the States and the Officers of the City and an infinite Concourse of People from all parts to see so extraordinary a Sight That he would religiously observe the Treaty concluded with them and the Privileges of the Provinces and govern not by his Will but by Iustice and Equity Afterwards the States and the Magistrates of Antwerp swore Fidelity and Obedience to him as their Sovereign Prince But this publick Rejoycing was interrupted by an Attempt made on the Prince of Orange One Iauregny a Spaniard of Biscay Factor to a Merchant called Anastre spurred on by the Reward promised in the Proscription fir'd a Pistol at him loaded with one Ball which struck him under the Right Ear and went out through the Left Cheek breaking several of his Teeth At first they believed the French to be the Authors of this Attempt but the
of Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester Captain General for the Queen of England in the United Provinces whose insupportable Pride and unmeasurable Ambition did them more prejudice than the Sums of Money which he brought and the Troops which he commanded ever contributed to their Service for four entire years the States were reduced to strange Extremities so that it was thought impossible for this young Prince to rid himself of so great Difficulties and to cure those Evils which were occasioned by the Intrigues of Spain and the Treachery of some of the Earl of Leicester's Dependants who after their return into England sold the most important places to the Spaniards To be short as the Affairs of this World do not always continue in the same posture and are subject to a perpetual change so that good Fortune which till then had favoured the Duke of Parma in all his Enterprizes of a sudden came over to the Party of Prince Maurice for the Spanish Navy which they had entitled The Invincible and was designed to swallow up England and the United Provinces was destroyed in the year 1588. by the Fleet and good fortune of Queen Elizabeth the third part of so great a Navy scarce returning into the Spanish Havens after having undergone incredible dangers upon the Coasts of England Scotland and Ireland and this inestimable loss was accompanied with the mortification which the Duke of Parma received before Berghen ap-zoom which he had besieged Prince Maurice having forced him to quit his Enterprize with the entire ruine of his Reputation After this Success the Prince for the course of 20 years to the time of the Truce had fortune still so favourable to him that he conquered 38 or 40 Towns and more Fortresses and defied the Spaniards in open Field at three signal Battels besides he obtained several great Victories at Sea as well upon the Coast of Flanders as upon that of Spain and the Indies by the Valor of his Lieutenants and Vice-admirals But nothing gained him so much Reputation as the happy Surprizal of the Town and Castle of Breda which belonged to his own Propriety He made himself Master of it in 1590 by the stratagem of a Boat of Turfs without any effusion of Blood or losing so much as one Soldier upon so important an occasion and since this remarkable Action has made so great a noise in the World it may not be unnecessary to give some account of it in as brief terms as possible A Boatman called Adrian Bergues who furnished the Garison of Breda with Turfs being discontented with the Spaniards proposed a way to Prince Maurice how to surprize the place by placing some Soldiers in the bottom of his Boat The Prince seeing the probability of the matter gave the management of this great design to Charles de Heraugiere a Walloon Gentleman Native of Cambray Captain of Foot in his Guards reputed a Man of Bravery and Conduct As soon as he received this Order he made choice of 70 Soldiers out of several Companies and some Commanders whose Courage had been tryed These he put at the bottom of the Boat where they were placed very uneasily as being forced either to lie down or stoop the rest of the Boat being filled up with Turfs to a very great height It was extreme cold weather besides they were up to the knees in water which came in by a leak which at last they fortunately stopped The excessive cold made them cough very much but above all Matthew Helt a Lieutenant whose name ought to be remembred here in testimony of the Courage he shew'd upon this occasion not being able to hinder himself from coughing as they came near to the Castle drew his Sword and desired his Comrades to kill him that the Enterprize might not fail and he become the cause of their ruine but the Boatman hindred him from being heard by often pumping as if his Boat had took water The Garrison consisting of Italians wanted Firing the Soldiers because of the Ice helped to draw the Boat by a Sluce within the walls of the Castle as the Trojans brought the wooden Horse into their City which gave occasion to the Poets of the time to compare the taking of Breda to that of Troy but withal remarking this difference that the Horse made the Enemies Masters of Troy from whence proceeded its ruine whereas this Boat put the right Lord into possession of Breda who thereupon caused it immediately to flourish Prince Maurice having spread the report that he had a design upon Gertrudemberg made the Surprizal of Breda become more easie for Edward Lanza vechia who was Governor of both places ran to that which he thought was most in danger So the Castle being without a Commander was easily carried As soon as Heraugiere had made himself Master of it by the death of 40 of the Enemy Prince Maurice attended by the Counts de Hohenlo and Solmes Francis Vere the General of the English Iustin of Nassau the Admiral and the Sieur de Famars General of the Artillery being entred into the Castle with several of his Troops was afterwards received into the Town whence the Italian Garrison which for the most part consisted of Horse ran with full speed by the way of Antwerp Heraugiere with a great deal of Justice was made Governor of Breda and Lambert Charles a French Man a brave Soldier of Fortune was made Serjeant Major I saw him afterwards when he was Governor of Nimeguen There were Medals stamped upon so considerable an occasion which had these words upon one side Breda à Servitute Hispanica vindicata ductu Principis Mauricii à NASSAU 4 Martii 1590. Breda delivered from the Spanish Yoke by the conduct of Prince Maurice of NASSAU March 4. 1590. And upon the Reverse was represented a Boat with these words Parati vincere aut mori prepared to overcome or dye One of these Medals was given to each of the Soldiers in the Boat as likewise a Sum of Money with the promise of future advancement Adrian de Bergues the Boatman had likewise a Medal and was rewarded with a very large Pension This Surprizal may occasion this necessary Reflection That ye ought never to trust the guard of two Frontier places at the same time to one only Governor who has but too much trouble to preserve his own Government from the neighbouring Enemy whose mind is always intent and his eyes open for some opportunity to be able to surprize him The taking of Hulst in Flanders was a very considerable Action and that of Gertrudemberg much more so by reason of a long and difficult siege in sight of the Spanish Army consisting of 30000 Men commanded by the old Count Peter Ernest of Mansfeldt in the absence of the Duke of Parma who was then in France with Succors for the League This old General could never force the young Prince in his own Lines nor oblige him to come out of them though he presented him battle
each day continually so that when Count Mansfeldt said one day to a Trumpeter whom P. Maurice had sent him That he admired his Master who was a young Prince full of heat and courage would always contain himself within the covert of his own retrenchments the Trumpeter answered him That his Excellency of Nassau was a young Prince who desired to become one day such an old and experienced General as his Excellency of Mansfeldt was at present The year following he took the great and famous Town of Groninghen Capital of the Province he likewise took and retook Rimbergues and seized upon Maeurs and the Grave Towns belonging to his own Patrimony having by the death of several Spaniards revenged the public injuries and those of his Private Family The Reputation of Prince Maurice was very much increased by the long and memorable defence of Ostend where the Spaniards having lost more than Threescore Thousand Men in a Siege that continued above 3 Years and exhausted their Treasures by the expence of above two Millions at last became Masters of a bit of ground which might seem to be a burying place rather than a City At the time of this loss Prince Maurice was so happy and diligent that to return it with Usury in a few days he seized upon the Town of Sluise in Flanders which was of more consequence than Ostend that had cost so many Men so much Time and so vast a Treasure upon which Theophilus says very well in the Ode he made for the Prince of Orange Much time and many years the Spaniards spend Before their Forces gain Ostend But Sir when you resolve to seize a Town Few Days suffice to beat its Bulwarks down Each Day of yours much more importance bears Than all that space of time which mortal Men call Years This Ode did not displease Prince Maurice and tho he was naturally an Enemy to Flattery and Vain glory yet he recompenced this Poet with a Chain of Gold and his Medal to a very great value But this Prince showed at the battle of Newport where he overcame the Arch-Duke Albert that he knew as well how to defeat a numerous and well appointed Army in open field as to defend places or else to force and surprize them The Arch-Duke and the Duke d'Aumale were wounded in the fight Francis Mendoza Admiral of Arragon Maister de Campe was taken Prisoner with a great many other Commanders and even the Arch-Dukes Pages whom Prince Maurice sent him back very civâ—…illy without any Ransom All the Cannon the Baggage and above 100 Cornets and Colors remained in the hands of the Conqueror who saw above 6000 Enemies dead upon the place and had all other marks of a full and entire Victory which made several People say because this great Success happened upon the 2d day of Iuly that the Fortune of the House of Nassau was changed seeing that 300 years before upon the same day of Iuly the Emperor Adolphus of Nassau had lost his Life and Empire near Spire in a Battle against Albert of Austria and that the same day Maurice had revenged the disgrace of his Ancestors by the defeat of the Arch-Duke Albert who was a Descendant from the former Albert of Austria A little before the fight there was a dispute of Honor between Prince Maurice and Prince Henry Frederick his younger Brother who was then but 17 Years old for when the Elder desired him to retire into some place of Safety that in case of any misfortune he might defend his Family and his Country Prince Henry being offended said he would run the same fortune with himself and live or dye by him Prince Maurice showed that no ill success could daunt his courage for the Resolution he had taken to give Battle was not altered notwithstanding that the night before the Arch-Duke had defeated the Count Ernest whom the Prince had sent to seize a pass with 2 Regiments of Foot and 4 Troops of Horse that were all cut off and several Colors with 2 pieces of Cannon taken It is remarkable that the Prince to take away from his Army all hopes of a retreat and to show his Men that they had nothing to trust to but their Arms made all those Vessels that brought them into Flanders to be sent away for which he was much commended by the Admiral of Arragon as the thing which had gained him the Victory by the necessity that was laid upon his Soldiers to fight boldly as having no prospect of Life but in the defeat of the Spaniards so he told his Men before the fight that they must either overcome the Enemy or drink up all the water in the Sea There came out at that time a magnificent Inscription upon this Battle in honor of Prince Maurice which is this Anno 1600 secunda die Iulij Mauricius Aransionensium Princeps in Flandriam terram hospitem traducto exercitu cum Alberto Archiduce Austriae conflixit copias ejus cecidit Duces multos primumque Mendosam coepit reversus ad suos victor signa hostium centum quinque in Hagiensi Capitolio suspendit Deo Bellatori In the year 1600 the 2d day of July Maurice Prince of Orange having brought his Army into Flanders then possessed by his Enemy fought with Albert Arch-Duke of Austria slew his Forces took several Commanders and especially Mendoza then returning Conqueror to his Country he hung up 105 of the Enemies Colors in the Councel House at the Hague to the Honor of God the Disposer of Victory This was not his first Essay of a Field Battle for otherwise he might have passed for one that was good only at the taking of Towns but he had long before forced the Duke of Parma to raise the Seige of Knotsemburg over against Nimiguen having defeated 7 Troops of his best Cavalry a disgrace which the Duke lessen'd by the necessity laid upon him by Orders from Spain to go and succor Roan In the year 1594 he had likewise at the Battle of Tournhout defeated and slain the Lord de Balancon Count de Varax General of the Artillery of Spain who commanded a body of 6000 Foot and 600 Horse of which besides the General above 2000 were left upon the place with several Prisoners of Note amongst whom a Count of Mansfeldt was one there were 38 Ensigns taken with the Cornet of Alonzo de Mondragon which were all hung up in the great Hall of the Castle at the Hague for a perpetual Memorial And upon this occasion I shall here relate how an Ambassador of Poland being come from King Sigismond to exhort the States General to reconcile themselves to the King of Spain whose Power he magnified so far as that sooner or later it would entirely subdue them and speaking as if he would frighten them with lofty words full of Vanity and according to the Eloquence of his Nation Count Maurice who was then present at this Harrangue upon his going out of the Assembly led the Ambassador
to force the Prince out of his retrenchments they were forced to retire with loss and to abandon their works All this while the frontier Towns and Garrisons in the Province of Holland sell every day into the hands of the Enemy which made the people complain openly and distrust the fidelity of those that governed The Inhabitants of Dort were the first that rose and sent one of their Captains to the Magistrates to know whether they were resolved to defend the City or to sit still The Magistrates answered that they were ready to resist the efforts of those that should attaque them and to do all that could be expected from them the people demanded at the same time to see the Magazines But the Keys being missing this put the Mobb into so great a serment that there were a thousand voices crying out at the same time That there was Treachery in the case That they would have the Prince of Orange to be their Head and Governour threatning to murder the Magistrates upon the spot if they did not immediately comply with their demands These menaces so terribly alarmed the Magistrates that they dispatched Commissioners that very moment to his Highness desiring him to come to their City with all possible haste to prevent by his presence the insurrection of the people The Prince alledged several reasons to them to convince them how dangerous it was for him to leave the Army but all was to no purpose they persisted still in their demand till at last the Prince resolved to grant what they desired Being therefore with great solemnity conducted to the Town-Hall they intreated him to signify his pleasure to them To which his Highness answered that it belonged to them to make proposals to him since they were the occasion of his coming After some demur they requested him that for the satisfaction of the People he would be pleased to visit the Fortifications and Magazines of the City without taking the least notice of making him Stadt-holder to which the Prince freely consented and to that effect made the tour of the Town immediately But at his return the people suspecting that the Magistrates had deceived them as well as they had done the Prince flocked in great multitudes about his Coach and boldly asked him but with a great deal of respect for his person whether the Magistrates had made him their Governour or no His Highness having modestly answered That he was content with the honour they had already done him and that he had as much as he cou'd desire they unanimously declared That they wou'd not lay down their Arms till they had chose him Stadt-holder So that at last the Magistrates terrified with the menaces of the people and not knowing what other measures to take in so critical a juncture were not without some repugnance constrained to accomplish what they had before only done by halves So difficult a matter it is for men to lay aside a settled hatred and aversion that has once taken root in their hearts Upon this they passed an Ordinance to abolish the perpetual Edict which the Prince refused to own unless they would absolve him of the Oath he had taken when he accepted the Charge only of Captain General which they gave him likewise by this Ordinance So they immediately made another Act which was read in the great Hall by the Secretary by which the Magistrates declared his Highness the Prince of Orange to be Stadt-holder Captain and Admiral General of all their forces as well by Sea as by Land and gave him all the power dignity and authority which his Ancestors of glorious memory had enjoy'd After this the whole City rang with acclamations of an universal joy and the arms of the House of Orange were immediately placed upon the Towers and Ramparts Only Cornelius de Wit an ancient Burghermaster coming from the Fleet sick and indisposed said he wou'd never sign the Act whatever instances were made him to do it He was pressed after an extraordinary manner not to refuse the signing of it but neither the perswasions of the chief men of the City nor the threatnings of the people who were ready to plunder his house nor the tears of his Wife who was sensible of the great danger he was in cou'd prevail with him to alter his resolutions Nay it went so far that his Wife threatned to show her self at the Window and declare her own innocence and that of her Children and to abandon him to the fury of the populace but all this made no impression upon him Dort was not the only place that rose up after this manner All the Cities of Holland and Zealand where the Burghers took notice of the ill conduct of their Magistrates did almost the same thing So that upon a report made by the Deputies of the respective Cities the States of Holland Zealand and Friesland did not only confirm what had been done by the City of Dort but in a full Assembly of the States they presented his Highness with some publick Acts by which the Prince was absolved from his first Oath of Captain General and at the same time was invested with the Dignity of Stadt-holder together with all the rights jurisdictions and priviledges heretofore granted to his Predecessors In conseâ—…ence of which his Highness the very same day in the Hall of Audience took the place of Stadt-holder Captain and Admiral General of the United Provinces with the usual Ceremonies and afterwards returned to the Army that was encamped at Bodegrave From this very moment as if the re-establishment of the Prince had inspired the people with new Courage a body of five thousand French were twice repulsed before Ardemburgh and without counting those that were killed upon the place were forced to leave five hundred Prisoners behind them amongst which were several Officers and persons of Quality and all this effected by the extraordinary bravery of no more than two hundred Burghers 'T is true that the Women and Boys assisted them no body being spared upon this occasion which will be an everlasting disgrace to France that looked upon the City as good as in their own possession The Burghers of Groningen did not defend themselves with less Courage and good fortune against the Bishop of Munster than those of Ardemburgh had done against the King of France For that Bishop having besieg'd this City with an Army of twenty five or thirty thousand men he was obliged to raise the Siege with the loss of almost half his Souldiers after he had been at a prodigious expence in buying all sorts of Ammunition and Instâ—…ments of War necessary to make himself master of that important place In the midst of this extraordinary zeal the people show'd for the Prince an accident happen'd that served to confirm him more effectually in their affection and occasioned the death of two of his greatest enemies For a Chyrurgion having accused Cornelius de Wit Bailiff of Putten with having secretly proposed
might have maintain'd the Siege much longer Besides as the retaking of this strong place by the Hollanders gave infinite incouragement to the people so the loss of it extremely mortified the Enemy and put them into such a terrible consternation that upon the news of this loss they abandon'd several other places All this served to increase the reputation of his Royal Highness for the people observing how much all affairs went for the better ever since the management of them was lodged in his hands they were easily perswaded and that not without good reason that all this unexpected series of successes was the sole effect of his bravery and conduct At this time the disputes between the new and old Magistrates of Friezland were carried on with that warmth and vigour that they held their Assemblies apart and formed resolutions intirely opposite to each other This disorder which might in time have proved pernicious to the public tranquillity cou'd neither be determin'd by the Governor of that Province nor by the Princess Dowager of Orange whatever instances and precautions both one and the other used to extinguish the differences but no sooner had the Commissioners sent by the Prince arrived there but all these breaches were repaired and the Country once more settled in order and union After this his Highness went in person to Zealand where the same divisions reigned as in Friezland and at the moment he appear'd in the Assembly of the States at Middleburg all the differences vanished and the Province was in a condition to defend it self to the great satisfaction of the people in general the Magistrates in particular and the eternal praise of this illustrious Prince He took occasion from hence to go and visit the frontiers and fortifications of Flushing Sluyis and Ardenburgh where they deliver'd him the Keys in a Silver Bason by the hands of the young Maids of the City all drest up with Flowers He did the same thing at Assendyck Bergen ap zoom Breda Boisleduc and other places and afâ—…er making an exact review returned to the Hague The Spring was by this time well advanced and the Hollanders had business enough on their hands for on one side they were attaqued by the King of France in person with a powerful Army and the Prince of Conde and the Duke of Luxemburg were at Utrecht with great forces watching an opportunity to throw themselves into the heart of the Country and on the other side the King of Great Britain with his Fleet and that of France conjoyn'd vigorously attacqued them For these reasons the Prince of Orange cou'd not stir abroad being constrained to keep his post as well to have an eye upon the Prince of Conde and the Duke of Luxemburg as to prevent the descent of the English In the beginning of May 1673 the King of France parted from Paris at the head of a great Army which several other Bodies in the French Acquisitions were to join and after a slow march sate down before Maestricht on the 10th of Iune with all his forces consisting in all of forty two thousand Horse and Foot having given Orders before to the Count d' Orge to invest the place with three thousand Horse The Garrison of Maestricht consisted of about four thousand Foot and eight or nine hundred Horse under the command of Monsieur de Farjaux Governour of the Town a brave experienced Captain as he abundantly convinced all the World by the generous resistance he made and by that vast inundation of blood it cost the French King to take it who lost on this occasion more than 9000 of his best Souldiers all his Musqueteers except seven and an infinite number of gallant Officers and perhaps it had not been purchased so easily if the Besieged had been in time relieved with a recruit only of a thousand men or if they had been better provided with ammunition which now began to fail them It would be too tedious to give an exact relation here of all the rencounters and bloody combats that happen'd night and day and of the firing which was made on both sides this being rather the business of a Journalist than an Historian I shall therefore content my self to say in a few words that after the Garrison by a vigorous defence which lasted near three weeks had lost one half of her men by continual Batteries and Assaults one after another and those that remained were not in a condition to defend themselves any longer by reason of the perpetual fatigues they had endured the Governour was sorced at last at the repeated instances of the Magistrates or rather by the treachery of some Ecclesiasticks of the Romish perswasion to capitulate and surrender himself In effect upon a faithful relation which the Governor gave his Highness of all that had happen'd the Prince was so well satisfy'd with his conduct that he made him Major General of his Army And to say the truth his opposition had been so vigorous and withal so fatal to the French that the King of France thought he had done enough for this Campaign in only taking Mastricht So that after he had demolished the Fortifications of Tongres he divided his Army at the same time part of which he sent to the Mareschal de Turenne another body was appointed to ravage the Country of Triers because the Elector of that name had taken the Emperor's side And three Brigades marched immediately to reinforce the Army which was in Holland The French Army being thus dispersed and the English Fleet after the last Engagement leaving the Coasts of Holland the Prince of Orange found himself more at liberty and not enduring to spend any more time without action he recalled all the Troops that were in Zealand to come and joyn the rest of his Army and marched all on the sudden to besiege Naerden with twenty five thousand Men. He gave the Command of the Cavalry to Major General Farjaux and took his Quarter on one side and Count Waldeck on the other While things were in this posture the Duke of Luxemburg having made up a body of ten thousand Men besides four Regiments of Munsterian Horse advanced within sight of the Dutch as far as the Prince's intrenchments which by that time were finished but not daring to relieve the Town the Prince pursued his design took the Counterscarp by assault and the Ravelin before the Huyserport after three hours resistance forced the besieged to retire into the Town in great disorder and obliged them the day following after the loss of their Forts to demand leave to Capitulate In short the Town was surrendred on condition the Garrison should march out with Colours flying Drums beating and two pieces of Cannon The Governour as he passed by saluted his Highness with a profound Reverence and as 't is reported told the Prince that he had very good reasons for delivering up the Town in so short a time which he would acquaint the King his master with at a