of which some beautiful vestiges still remained.  It was a handsome well-built city, with two thousand houses of the better class, besides more humble tenements.  Its citizens were celebrated for their courage and belligerent skill, both on foot and on horseback.  They were said to retain more of the antique Belgic ferocity which Caesar had celebrated than that which had descended to most of their kinsmen.  The place was, moreover, the seat of many prosperous manufactures.  Its clothiers sent the products of their looms over all Christendom, and its linen and cutlery were equally renowned.

It would be a most fortunate blow in the cause of freedom to secure so, thriving and conspicuous a town, situated thus in the heart of what seemed the natural territory of the United States; and, by so doing, to render nugatory the mighty preparations of Parma against Antwerp.  Moreover, it was known that there was no Spanish or other garrison within its walls, so that there was no opposition to be feared, except from the warlike nature of the citizens.

Count Hohenlo was entrusted, early in January, with this important enterprise.  He accordingly collected a force of four thousand infantry, together with two hundred mounted lancers; having previously reconnoitered the ground.  He relied very much, for the success of the undertaking, on Captain Kleerhagen, a Brussels nobleman, whose wife was a native of Bois-le-Duc, and who was thoroughly familiar with the locality.  One dark winter’s night, Kleerhagen, with fifty picked soldiers, advanced to the Antwerp gate of Bois-le-Duc, while Hohenlo, with his whole force, lay in ambuscade as near as possible to the city.

Between the drawbridge and the portcullis were two small guard-houses, which, very carelessly, had been left empty.  Kleerhagen, with his fifty followers, successfully climbed into these lurking-places, where they quietly ensconced themselves for the night.  At eight o’clock of the following morning (20th January) the guards of the gate drew up the portcullis, and reconnoitered.  At the same instant, the ambushed fifty sprang from their concealment, put them to the sword, and made themselves masters of the gate.  None of the night-watch escaped with life, save one poor old invalided citizen, whose business had been to draw up the portcullis, and who was severely wounded, and left for dead.  The fifty immediately summoned all of Rohenlo’s ambuscade that were within hearing, and then, without waiting for them, entered the town pell-mell in the best of spirits, and shouting victory! victory! till they were hoarse.  A single corporal, with two men, was left to guard the entrance.  Meantime, the old wounded gate-opener, bleeding and crippled, crept into a dark corner, and laid himself down, unnoticed, to die.

Soon afterwards Hohenlo galloped into the town, clad in complete armour, his long curls floating in the wind, with about two hundred troopers clattering behind him, closely followed by five hundred pike-men on foot.