“Surely this is a noble fellow, a worthy fellow,” exclaimed Leicester, who was filled with admiration at the bold marauder’s progress, and vowed that he was “the only soldier in truth that they had, for he was never idle, and had succeeded hitherto very happily.”

And thus, at every point of the doomed territory of the little commonwealth, the natural atmosphere in which the inhabitants existed was one of blood and rapine.  Yet during the very slight lull, which was interposed in the winter of 1585-6 to the eternal clang of arms in Friesland, the Estates of that Province, to their lasting honour, founded the university of Franeker.  A dozen years before, the famous institution at Leyden had been established, as a reward to the burghers for their heroic defence of the city.  And now this new proof was given of the love of Netherlanders, even in the midst of their misery and their warfare, for the more humane arts.  The new college was well endowed from ancient churchlands, and not only was the education made nearly gratuitous, while handsome salaries were provided for the professors, but provision was made by which the, poorer scholars could be fed and boarded at a very moderate expense.  There was a table provided at an annual cost to the student of but fifty florins, and a second and third table at the very low price of forty and thirty florins respectively.  Thus the sum to be paid by the poorer class of scholars for a year’s maintenance was less than three pounds sterling a year [1855 exchange rate D.W.].  The voice with which this infant seminary of the Muses first made itself heard above the din of war was but feeble, but the institution was destined to thrive, and to endow the world, for many successive generations, with the golden fruits of science and genius.

Early in the spring, the war was seriously taken in hand by Farnese.  It has already been seen that the republic had been almost entirely driven out of Flanders and Brabant.  The Estates, however, still held Grave, Megem, Batenburg, and Venlo upon the Meuse.  That river formed, as it were, a perfect circle of protection for the whole Province of Brabant, and Farnese determined to make himself master of this great natural moat.  Afterwards, he meant to possess himself of the Rhine, flowing in a parallel course, about twenty-five miles further to the east.  In order to gain and hold the Meuse, the first step was to reduce the city of Grave.  That town, upon the left or Brabant bank, was strongly fortified on its land-side, where it was surrounded by low and fertile pastures, while, upon the other, it depended upon its natural Toss, the river.  It was, according to Lord North and the Earl of Leicester, the “strongest town in all the Low Countries, though but a little one.”