for him to avoid seeing the prince who had preserved him. his crown; but the difficulties of the ceremony made him defer this compliment a long time. The emperor having asked the Duke of Lorraine how he ought to receive Sobieski: "With open arms," replied the duke, "he has saved the empire." Nevertheless Leopold would never give the right in his palace to his deliverer, whom he had called his Majesty when he so earnestly solicited him to come to his assistance. At length it was settled, that the interview of the emperor and the King of Poland should be on horseback in an open place. Sobieski shewed on this occasion how superior distinguished merit is to the haughty, base jealousy which endeavours to dazzle by the magnificence of rank. Leopold thanked him in a cold, embarrassed manner, to which Sobieski replied, turning short: "Brother, it gives me great pleasure that I have been able to do you this trifling service." He then, disgusted at the Emperor's ungracious manner, withdrew to his tent, leaving to his Chancellor Zaluski to accompany his Majesty in reviewing the troops which had saved his throne.*

SIEGE OF HAARLEM-1572-73.

THE sufferings of the low countries under the rule of the implacable and bigoted Spaniards, and their long protracted struggles for liberty, form one of the most exciting pages in the history of modern Europe, and the name of the Duke of Alva, the ruthless agent of Philip II., in coercing his unhappy subjects, will ever be held in just execration. Upon the

*It has been reserved for the compiler of a travellers' handbook, in the 19th century, amidst the details of hotels, steamboats, &c., to dispute Sobieski's title to renown and gratitude, earned on this memorable day. The editor of Murray's "Handbook for Southern Germany" (article, "Vienna"), declares that the services rendered by Sobieski, though great, "are exaggerated by most writers in a manner which borders on the ludicrous." He founds his opinion upon the fact that Sobieski only brought with him about 20,000 Poles, out of 40,000 promised, and co-operated with 40,000 or 50,000 Germans under the Duke of Lorraine; and he argues, that "as Lorraine had double the number of men, and was, moreover, a much better general than Sobieski, he is fully entitled to at least an equal share of the glory." The merit of the Duke of Lorraine throughout the whole of this trying time is not denied by any one; but his chief merit was in acknowledging the superior talent of Sobieski, insomuch that although he (Lorraine) had double the number of men under him that Sobieski brought, he cheerfully submitted the command to him.

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slightest pretext his troops were marched into towns suspected of disaffection, and submitted to all the terms of military rule. Rotterdam, Mons, Mechlin, Zutphen, Naërden, and others, were cruelly sacked; whilst the scaffold was daily stained with the blood of hundreds of victims. The provinces of Holland and Zealand boldly threw off the Spanish yoke, and the foundation was thus laid, under the Prince of Orange, of that illustrious republic whose arms and policy, no less than their commercial enterprise, have since made so considerable a figure in the annals of Europe. Mechlin, Oudenarde, and Denderkunde were taken by the newly-formed league; in retaliation for which the Duke of Alva, being himself indisposed, sent his son, Ferdinand of Toledo, to lay siege to Haarlem, one of the most considerable and strongly fortified cities of Holland.

Twelve thousand of the choicest troops of the Spanish army appeared before the town; a force considered amply sufficient for its reduction; the Dutch having shown but little resistance in the places which had hitherto been besieged. Although the Prince of Orange had failed of throwing relief into the town, the citizens and garrison were not dismayed; day after day they made sallies, in which the besiegers lost a great many men; indeed the energy of despair with which they on all these occasions showed themselves to be nerved, had little been anticipated by their persecutors.

The Spaniards attempted the assault of the town on the 21st December, 1572, but were forced to retire with considerable loss. The fire of a battery had very much damaged a ravelin opposite the quarters of St. Croix; and the Spanish engineers imagined that it would be easy to take it by assault; and with that intention threw a flying bridge across the ditch. But the soldiers rushed upon it before it was properly fixed; for the engineers had miscalculated the width of breach upon which it was to rest, and which proved too narrow to receive it. The consequence was signal failure and discomfiture; those who had first thrown themselves upon the bridge were precipitated into the ditch; and for the rest, whilst there was no possibility of advancing, shame prevented them from retreating: they firmly stood the brunt of a smart defilading fire, falling beneath it one by one, until at length the reiterated commands of their officers recalled them from a perilous and hopeless position. Upon this, the Spaniards seeing the impossibility of taking the ravelin by main force, had recourse to mining, by which eventually they completely destroyed it. The besieged had left no exertion or means

untried to avert this blow; but at the same time they were not unprepared for its occurrence. The enemy, on entering the breach where they expected to find the way open to them, were surprised to find their path obstructed by entrenched works, strongly riveted and flanked by a ditch.

Meantime the severity of the winter season proved as favourable to the cause of the besieged, as it was disastrous to the besiegers; for the peasantry from all parts of Holland making their way across the Lake of Haarlem, now frozen over, succeeded in supplying the town with provisions and munitions of every kind; and these succours were received under the very eyes of the Spaniards,-who were suffering intensely from cold, and in want of the simplest necessaries; so that sickness daily carried off a great number of their bravest troops. Nevertheless, although irritated at this disparity of circumstances, and the jeers and cruel reprisals of the Dutch, the besiegers continued to press forward their works with unabated vigour.

The most barbarous atrocities were perpetrated on both sides, during this memorable siege. The Spaniards, in order to intimidate the inhabitants of the place, one day threw into the town the head of one of their principal confederates, Anthony Pineyro, who had just been killed in an attempt to cut off supplies from the besieging camp. The besieged resented this affront by cutting off the heads of fifteen Spanish prisoners, and casting them into the camp, stowed away in a barrel, upon which was inscribed:-"The tribute of tithe, sent to the Duke of Alva by the inhabitants of Haarlem, with interest for arrears in payment." The haughty spirit which led to this act of barbarism was marked by many other more worthy deeds of heroism, and continually sustained by the hope of one day receiving succour from the Prince of Orange.

Frederick of Toledo, seeing his forces becoming daily weakened by sickness and death, and more and more disheartened by the severity of the season and the scarcity of supplies, redoubled his efforts to carry the place by force; and stormed it at several points simultaneously. The intrepidity displayed by his troops on this occasion was beyond praise; but the Dutch garrison, with still greater courage and energy, repulsed them on all sides with terrible carnage. Perfectly satisfied with the conduct of his troops, Toledo was confounded by this resistance so far beyond what he had expected, and in despair he wrote to his father for permission to raise the siege for the present, reserving further operations against it

for a more favourable opportunity. But the stern duke replied:-"I am astonished at your weakness. The difficulties of the enterprise will only augment the glory of success; carry out the siege if you would be worthy of the blood of Spain, and of me. Think of the importance of the victory, and not of the number of days necessary to accomplish it; the submission of the low countries depends upon the taking of Haarlem. If after these considerations you still believe yourself to be capable of cowardice, I will have myself, sick as I am, conveyed to the field; and then if my disorder, which increases daily, do not leave me strength enough for the task before me, I will send for the Duchess of Alva from Spain, to supply the place of both father and son.' This letter, being communicated to the council of war, restored resolution to all; and the works of siege were pressed forward with more vigour than ever. Amongst other heroic actions recorded of the besiegers was one of an officer named Ferdinand d'Avalos. This officer, being wounded, retired to the camp; where, not finding his brother, he returned to the breach in search of him, and there found him underneath a heap of dead, at the point of death. Lifting the almost breathless body on his shoulders, he coolly bore it off to the camp amidst a shower of musket-balls.

Shortly afterwards, Toledo received a considerable reinforcement of men, as well as supplies of provisions, of which he stood greatly in need; and thenceforward thought no more of withdrawing from the siege, but only of distinguishing himself by his obedience and his military talents. The weather breaking, the lake became navigable, and was speedily covered with vessels, some striving to force their way through to carry succour to the besieged, and others trying to intercept them. Combats upon the water now became of every day occurrence. The city of Amsterdam, situated about eleven miles off, and which adhered to the Spaniards, furnished them with entire fleets of shipping; and, by the success of their manœuvres, compensated in some sort the besiegers for the checks which they were constantly experiencing on land. On the 28th May the besieged, led on by their bravest officers, sallied forth and fell upon that part of the enemy's lines which was defended by a German corps, making terrible slaughter, plundering their baggage, burning their tents, and carrying off their colours and their guns; afterwards retiring into the town with the loss of only eight or ten men.

Amidst all these partial advantages, however, a dearth began to show itself in the city, the Spaniards effectually having cut off

the communications by water. For all that, the besieged still showed a resolute front to all obstacles. By a precaution known in ancient times, and much practised in the Levant, the inhabitants had caused to be conveyed into several of the confederate cities pigeons which had been reared in Haarlem, receiving in exchange other pigeons which had been reared in those towns. These birds were to serve as messengers, and afforded the means of concerting with the Prince of Orange for the provisioning of the place; but the vigilance of the besiegers baffled their hopes, and disconcerted all their plans.

Despair now suggested to them another expedient; they made new cuts through the river Spaaren, which runs through the town, and inundated all the surrounding country. The Spaniards being, in consequence of this device, forced to quit the part of their intrenchments where the water reached, some flat-bottomed boats passed into the town, laden with gunpowder and provisions. But the passage by which they went was soon blocked up by the besiegers; and the case of the besieged as dark as ever. All the inhabitants of Haarlem were now become soldiers;-men, women, and children all disputed the glory of defending their common home. One lady of high birth, named Kennan-Hasselaar, though at the mature age of fifty, took up arms, and, by her eloquent appeals, induced three hundred others of her own sex to join her; and this little body of Amazons rivalled the very soldiers in deeds of daring, becoming at once a model for imitation amongst the besieged, and an object of admiration to the besiegers.

Seven months had the siege lasted, during which Haarlem had seen her choicest warriors fall by the sword, her fortifications destroyed, and numberless citizens perish of hunger; and still famine and sword committed the most fearful ravages within the walls, whence all hope of succour from without had fled. In this extremity certain of the citizens were sent as a deputation to the camp of the enemy, to endeavour to obtain terms of capitulation. Toledo's only reply was in two words, “At discretion !” This terrible sentence brought the inhabitants up to the highest pitch of excitement; and Riperda, the governor, profiting by the horror which it had inspired, proposed one last desperate effort. Calling upon all who were capable of fighting to arm themselves, he proposed that they should force their way, sword in hand, through the enemy's ranks, leaving in the town all who were unable to bear arms. But the women and children, on hearing of this selfish project, rushed amongst their husbands and fathers, and with tears and