The combats before the walls were of almost daily occurrence.  On the 25th March, one thousand of the besieged made a brilliant sally, drove in all the outposts of the enemy, burned three hundred tents, and captured seven cannon, nine standards, and many wagon-loads of provisions, all which they succeeded in bringing with them into the city.—­Having thus reinforced themselves, in a manner not often practised by the citizens of a beleaguered town, in the very face of thirty thousand veterans—­having killed eight hundred of the enemy, which was nearly one for every man engaged, while they lost but four of their own party—­the Harlemers, on their return, erected a trophy of funereal but exulting aspect.  A mound of earth was constructed upon the ramparts, in the form of a colossal grave, in full view of the enemy’s camp, and upon it were planted the cannon and standards so gallantly won in the skirmish, with the taunting inscription floating from the centre of the mound “Harlem is the graveyard of the Spaniards.”

Such were the characteristics of this famous siege during the winter and early spring.  Alva might well write to his sovereign, that “it was a war such as never before was seen or heard of in any land on earth.”  Yet the Duke had known near sixty years of warfare.  He informed Philip that “never was a place defended with such skill and bravery as Harlem, either by rebels or by men fighting for their lawful Prince.”  Certainly his son had discovered his mistake in asserting that the city would yield in a week; while the father, after nearly six years’ experience, had found this “people of butter” less malleable than even those “iron people” whom he boasted of having tamed.  It was seen that neither the skies of Greece or Italy, nor the sublime scenery of Switzerland, were necessary to arouse the spirit of defiance to foreign oppression—­a spirit which beat as proudly among the wintry mists and the level meadows of Holland as it had ever done under sunnier atmospheres and in more romantic lands.

Mendoza had accomplished his mission to Spain, and had returned with supplies of money within six weeks from the date of his departure.  Owing to his representations and Alva’s entreaties, Philip had, moreover, ordered Requesens, governor of Milan, to send forward to the Netherlands three veteran Spanish regiments, which were now more required at Harlem than in Italy.  While the land force had thus been strengthened, the fleet upon the lake had also been largely increased.  The Prince of Orange had, on the other hand, provided more than a hundred sail of various descriptions, so that the whole surface of the mere was now alive with ships.  Seafights and skirmishes took place almost daily, and it was obvious that the life and death struggle was now to be fought upon the water.  So long as the Hollanders could hold or dispute the possession of the lake, it was still possible to succor Harlem from time to time.  Should the Spaniards overcome the Prince’s fleet, the city must inevitably starve.