themselves.  They completely defeated the enemy, who retired, leaving hundreds of dead on the field, and the patriots in complete possession of the Land-scheiding.  This first action was sanguinary and desperate.  It gave a earnest of what these people, who came to relieve; their brethren, by sacrificing their, property and their lives; were determined to effect.  It gave a revolting proof, too, of the intense hatred which nerved their arms.  A Zealander; having struck down a Spaniard on the dyke, knelt on his bleeding enemy, tore his heart from his bosom; fastened his teeth in it for an instant, and then threw it to a dog, with the exclamation, “’Tis too bitter.”  The Spanish heart was, however, rescued, and kept for years, with the marks of the soldier’s teeth upon it, a sad testimonial of the ferocity engendered by this war for national existence.

The great dyke having been thus occupied, no time was lost in breaking it through in several places, a work which was accomplished under the very eyes of the enemy.  The fleet sailed through the gaps, but, after their passage had been effected in good order, the Admiral found, to his surprise, that it was not the only rampart to be carried.  The Prince had been informed, by those who claimed to know, the country, that, when once the Land-scheiding had been passed, the water would flood the country as far as Leyden, but the “Green-way,” another long dyke three-quarters of a mile farther inward, now rose at least a foot above the water, to oppose their further progress.  Fortunately, by, a second and still more culpable carelessness, this dyke had been left by the Spaniards in as unprotected a state as the first had been, Promptly and audaciously Admiral Boisot took possession of this barrier also, levelled it in many places, and brought his flotilla, in triumph, over its ruins.  Again, however, he was doomed to disappointment.  A large mere, called the Freshwater Lake, was known to extend itself directly in his path about midway between the Land-scheiding and the city.  To this piece of water, into which he expected to have instantly floated, his only passage lay through one deep canal.  The sea which had thus far borne him on, now diffusing itself over a very wide surface, and under the influence of an adverse wind, had become too shallow for his ships.  The canal alone was deep enough, but it led directly towards a bridge, strongly occupied by the enemy.  Hostile troops, moreover, to the amount of three thousand occupied both sides of the canal.  The bold Boisot, nevertheless, determined to force his passage, if possible.  Selecting a few of his strongest vessels, his heaviest artillery, and his bravest sailors, he led the van himself, in a desperate attempt to make his way to the mere.  He opened a hot fire upon the bridge, then converted into a fortress, while his men engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a succession of skirmishers from the troops along the canal.  After losing a few men, and ascertaining the impregnable position of the enemy, he was obliged to withdraw, defeated, and almost despairing.