History of the United Netherlands, 1594 | Page 4

still nearer relation to himself. Count Philip of Nassau,
brother of the wise and valiant Lewis William, had already done much
brilliant campaigning against the Spaniards both in France and the
provinces. Unluckily, he was not only a desperate fighter but a mighty
drinker, and one day, after a dinner-party and potent carouse at Colonel
Brederode's quarters, he thought proper, in doublet and hose, without
armour of any kind, to mount his horse, in order to take a solitary
survey of the enemy's works. Not satisfied with this piece of
reconnoitering--which he effected with much tipsy gravity, but
probably without deriving any information likely to be of value to the
commanding general--he then proceeded to charge in person a distant
battery. The deed was not commendable in a military point of view. A
fire was opened upon him at long range so soon as he was discovered,
and at the same time the sergeant-major of his regiment and an equerry
of Prince Maurice started in pursuit, determined to bring him off if
possible, before his life had been thus absurdly sacrificed. Fortunately
for him they came to the rescue in time, pulled him from his horse, and
succeeded in bringing him away unharmed. The sergeant-major,
however, Sinisky by name, while thus occupied in preserving the
count's life, was badly wounded in the leg by a musket-shot from the
fort; which casualty was the only result of this after-dinner assault.
As the siege proceeded, and as the hopes of relief died away, great
confusion began to reign within the city. The garrison, originally of a
thousand veterans, besides burgher militia, had been much diminished.
Two commandants of the place, one after another, had lost their lives.
On the 1st of June, Governor De Masieres, Captain Mongyn, the
father-confessor of the garrison, and two soldiers, being on the top of

the great church tower taking observations, were all brought down with
one cannon-shot. Thus the uses of artillery were again proved to be
something more than to scare cowards.
The final result seemed to have been brought about almost by accident,
if accident could be admitted as a factor in such accurate calculations as
those of Maurice. On the 24th June Captains Haen and Bievry were
relieving watch in the trenches near the great north ravelin of the town
--a bulwark which had already been much undermined from below and
weakened above. Being adventurous officers, it occurred to them
suddenly to scale the wall of the fort and reconnoitre what was going
on in the town. It was hardly probable that they would come back alive
from the expedition, but they nevertheless threw some planks across
the ditch, and taking a few soldiers with them, climbed cautiously up.
Somewhat to his own surprise, still more to that of the Spanish
sentinels, Bievry in a few minutes found himself within the ravelin. He
was closely followed by Captain Haen, Captain Kalf, and by half a
company of soldiers. The alarm was given. There was a fierce
hand-to-hand struggle. Sixteen of the bold stormers fell, and nine of the
garrison of the fort. The rest fled into the city. The governor of the
place, Captain Gysant, rushing to the rescue without staying to put on
his armour, was killed. Count Solms, on the other hand, came from the
besieging camp into the ravelin to investigate the sudden uproar. To his
profound astonishment he was met there, after a brief interval, by a
deputation from the city, asking for terms of surrender. The envoys had
already been for some little time looking in vain for a responsible
person with whom to treat. When Maurice was informed of the
propositions he thought it at first a trick; for he had known nothing of
the little adventure of the three captains. Soon afterwards he came into
a battery whither the deputies had been brought, and the terms of
capitulation were soon agreed upon.
Next day the garrison were allowed to go out with sidearms and
personal baggage, and fifty waggons were lent them by the victor to
bring their wounded men to Antwerp.
Thus was Gertruydenberg surrendered in the very face of Peter
Mansfeld, who only became aware of the fact by the salvos of artillery
fired in honour of the triumph, and by the blaze of illumination which
broke forth over camp and city.

The sudden result was an illustration of the prince's perfect
arrangements. When Maurice rode into the town, he found it strong
enough and sufficiently well provisioned to have held out many a long
day. But it had been demonstrated to the besieged that relief was
impossible, and that the surrender on one day or another, after the siege
operations should be brought to their close, was certain. The inexorable
genius of the commander--skilled in