So soon as the news reached Sonoy, that contumacious chieftain found his position untenable, and he allowed the States’ troops to take possession of Medenblik, and with it the important territory of North Holland.

Maurice now saw himself undisputed governor.  Sonoy was in the course of the summer deprived of all office, and betook himself to England.  Here he was kindly received by the Queen, who bestowed upon him a ruined tower, and a swamp among the fens of Lincolnshire.  He brought over some of his countrymen, well-skilled in such operations, set himself to draining and dyking, and hoped to find himself at home and comfortable in his ruined tower.  But unfortunately, as neither he nor his wife, notwithstanding their English proclivities, could speak a word of the language; they found their social enjoyments very limited.  Moreover, as his work-people were equally without the power of making their wants understood, the dyking operations made but little progress.  So the unlucky colonel soon abandoned his swamp, and retired to East Friesland, where he lived a morose and melancholy life on a pension of one thousand florins, granted him by the States of Holland, until the year 1597, when he lost his mind, fell into the fire, and thus perished.

And thus; in the Netherlands, through hollow negotiations between enemies and ill-timed bickerings among friends, the path of Philip and Parma had been made comparatively smooth during the spring and early summer of 1588.  What was the aspect of affairs in Germany and France?

The adroit capture of Bonn by Martin Schenk had given much trouble.  Parma was obliged to detach a strong force; under Prince Chimay, to attempt the recovery of that important place, which—­so long as it remained in the power of the States—­rendered the whole electorate insecure and a source of danger to the Spanish party.  Farnese endeavoured in vain to win back the famous partizan by most liberal offers, for he felt bitterly the mistake he had made in alienating so formidable a freebooter.  But the truculent Martin remained obdurate and irascible.  Philip, much offended that the news of his decease had proved false, ordered rather than requested the Emperor Rudolph to have a care that nothing was done in Germany to interfere with the great design upon England.  The King gave warning that he would suffer no disturbance from that quarter, but certainly the lethargic condition of Germany rendered such threats superfluous.  There were riders enough, and musketeers enough, to be sold to the highest bidder.  German food for powder was offered largely in the market to any foreign consumer, for the trade in their subjects’, lives was ever a prolific source of revenue to the petty sovereigns—­numerous as the days of the year—­who owned Germany and the Germans.