*I*
I could wish that I had been born somewhat earlier into the world, forthen I had had no cause, in these my latter years, to feel shame for mycountry, nor to look into the future with any disquietude. This ourEngland stood upon a pinnacle of renown and majesty that year when theSpaniards' Armada was shattered by the winds of God and the shot of SirFrancis Drake. Queen Elizabeth went down to her grave in a blaze ofglory; but in the reign of her successor the lustre of our name wasdimmed. At this present the sky is black with clouds, and there isrumbling and muttering of thunder. Pray God our Ship of State mayweather the imminent storm!
Chiefly I could wish to have been of an elder generation, because then Imight have had a full share in that great struggle for liberty which ourneighbours of the Low Countries long time maintained with stout heartagainst the Spaniard. I did, indeed, ply my sword in their behoof,among the voluntaries whom our queen suffered to engage in that service;but I came late to it, when a great part of the journey work was alreadydone. Prince William, named the Silent, had fallen to the assassin'sknife while I was yet at school; and by the hand of that pattern of allprincely virtues the foundations of the Republic had been well and trulylaid. Yet had he bequeathed a vast heritage of toil to his son, PrinceMaurice, whom I must hold to be the peerless instructor of this age inthe art of war. By his side I dealt many a dint for freedom, and itwould need a month of talking so much as to tell over the sieges andstratagems, the ambuscades and sharp encounters, wherein I bore my partwith that worthy prince. But at the very beginning of my service therebefell me a noteworthy adventure which I look back upon with a certainjoyous contentment; and that I will relate, craving your patience.
In the autumn of 1593 I was sent for one day to wait upon my LordBurghley at Cecil House in the Strand. I found him exceeding sick inbody, with a look of death upon his aged countenance; but his mind wassound and firm as ever, and he laid his commands upon me with all hiswonted clearness and precision.
I had but lately quit the service of His Majesty of France. The Queen,my mistress, bore so ill King Henry's submission to the Roman Church asshe could not endure the continuance of any of her servants in hisemployment. Thus I chanced to be for the nonce at large, and ready forthe charge the Lord Treasurer committed to me.
Since the villainous treachery of Sir William Stanley and Sir RowlandYorke in delivering the town of Deventer to the Spaniards, theNetherlanders had harboured a natural suspicion and distrust of the goodfaith of our English captains. Especially was there a present dread lestthe town of Ostend should be betrayed by its English garrison. To clearour fame of this withering blight, the Queen had determined to admonishSir Edward Norris, governor of that place, bidding him to keep a warywatch upon his captains and soldiers, to enforce them rigorously intheir duty, and to hang up without remorse any that should be discoveredin communication with the enemy. To this end she indited with her ownhand a letter to Sir Edward, the which, together with his own formaldespatch, the Lord Treasurer delivered to me for conveyance to Flanders.
This was a charge that jumped well with my inclination. I had no lovefor the soft air of courts or the mincing manners of a carpet knight,and having learnt from my Lord Burghley that, my errand beingaccomplished, the Queen would not stay me from serving Prince Maurice, Itook passage very willingly in a hoy bound for Flushing, where I landedsome time in the month of October.
It needs not to tell of my journey to Ostend and my meeting with SirEdward Norris. Having delivered to him my letters, I departed as soonas with good manners I might, and, accompanied only by my servant, tookmy way to the camp of Sir Francis Vere, the principal general of ourEnglish levies since my Lord Leicester departed from the Low Countries.Sir Francis greeted me right boisterously, and put a troop of horseimmediately at my command.
'Tis a matter well established that a man may have all the qualities ofa captain and leader of men, and yet lack those higher parts that arerequisite in a general. Sir Francis was in person the very image andmodel of a man of war. Of good stature, with a well-knit body and aprincely countenance, his hair close-clipped and his brown beard spreadspade-shaped upon his breast, he made a noble figure in his Milancorselet inlaid with gold and his ruff of point-lace. Bold and resolutein action, he was nevertheless heady, prone to anger, and full ofwhimsies, whereby in great affairs he was apt to be looked on with acertain mistrust, both in the council and in the field. I had not beenlong with him before I perceived that he entertained a most violenthatred and jealousy of Prince Maurice, and looked upon the Netherlanderswith a sour contempt.
I learnt from him the posture of affairs in the Low Countries at thattime. The Spaniards had of late taken sundry strong places of note, andwere closely investing sundry others. Prince Maurice, being but illprovided, could do little towards the relief of those beleaguered towns,and while gathering strength thereto held himself mainly to thedefensive. This loitering and idleness provoked Sir Francis to wrath,who would chafe and chide, and avouch that 'twould be profitable to thecountry if the whole breed of Nassaus were rid out of the way.
It chanced that one day I sallied forth with a handful of men towards asmall city then besieged by the Spaniards, to discover if I might thestrength and disposition of the enemy. For reasons that will presentlyappear I had liever not tell the true name of this place, but will callit Bargen.
We rode forth one misty afternoon, and picked our way not withouttrouble among the runnels and made watercourses wherewith that flat andmarshy land abounds. Perceiving no sign of the enemy, I was tempted toapproach more closely to their lines than consorted with prudence. Aswe rode by a narrow bridle path betwixt a patch of woodland and a fieldin stubble, on a sudden, from among the trees, cloaked in a measure bythe mist, there sprang upon us a troop of corseleted horsemen. Theyhad, I doubted not, got wind of my approach, and lain in wait undercovert of the wood to cut me off.
Some of our fine gentlemen that showed their bravery at court were wontto boast that one Englishman was a match for five Spaniards; but suchvainglorious brag is bemocked by those who, as I myself, haveencountered those doughty warriors in the field. The Spaniard may be apaltry adversary on the seas, though even there I have met with somethat were no mean fellows. Howbeit on land I found them valorous andredoubtable foemen, whom to despise would argue a pitiful ignorance andmarvellous ill reckoning.
I had with me six or seven stout fellows, good swordsmen and wellseasoned to war; but our enemy numbered a full score, who smote upon uslike thunder and bore us down by sheer weight and fury. In my time Ihave been in many a sore strait and hazard, but never stood I in suchjeopardy as when two of my men were cast headlong from their saddles andthe Spaniards held the rest of us like rats in a trap. We had not timeto wheel about and trust to the speed of our horses; the utmost that wecould do was to back among the trees and play the man. There was amighty clashing of steel upon armour as we gave stroke for stroke; butthe enemy beset us vehemently, and had well-nigh encompassed us withouthope of life, when, in the twinkling of an eye, there leapt from thedepths of the wood a half-score of wild and unkempt figures, that flungthemselves with exceeding heat and fury into the thick of the mellay,making marvellous quick play with their short knives, both upon thehorses and the bodies of the Spaniards, at the joints of their harness.
This timely interposition put new heart into my stout fellows, who pliedtheir swords with such manful resolution as made the Spaniards, alreadyconfused and baffled by the waspish newcomers, take thought for theirsafety and seek to draw out of danger. In short, within two minutessuch of them as had not fallen betook themselves to flight, spurringtheir steeds every man in a contrary direction. My men in the fervencyof victory made to pursue them; whereupon, being in no mind to beenticed further within the enemy's lines, I halloed to them loudly torefrain. They reined up and cantered back to me, save one headstrongand reckless fellow, John Temple by name, who pressed hard on the heelsof the rearmost Spaniard, and was
soon lost to sight beyond the confinesof the wood.
Very well content with this happy issue from our troubles, I turnedabout to see more clearly what manner of men were those that had wroughtour deliverance. Their aspect and garb bespoke them as boors of thecountry, for they wore rough smocks, round fur bonnets, and breeches ofwondrous largeness and of a blue colour; yet they had not on their feetthe wooden clogs of use and wont, but went barefoot for swiftness. I wasminded to offer them some recompense for their service, and being as yettoo new in the country to have gained anything of their speech, I badeone of my men, who had been long among Netherlandish folk, acquaint themwith my purpose. Whereupon a young man who had hitherto held himselfbackward and aloof, stepped forth, and addressing me in execrableFrench, said--
"Sir, we covet no reward, having done that which we have done in theservice of our country, and for behoof of those that serve her also."
Taking more particular note of this young man, I perceived that neitherin favour nor in speech did he match the others of his company.
"Sir," said I, "we are beholden to you. I would fain know your name."
With some hesitancy he replied--
"Sir, call me Van der Kloof; 'twill serve as well as another."
I gave him a hard look, to ensure that I might know him again; buthaving made it a rule of conduct never to pry or meddle with mattersthat do not concern me, I forbore further question. Whereupon the youngman told me of his own accord how that he had lain in the wood for agood while, keeping watch on the Spaniards, our late adversaries, whohad come from the direction of Bargen, and were going, as he thought,towards the camp of Verdugo, the Spanish governor. I got from himsundry informations concerning matters in Bargen, though not so much asI should have liked.
The hour was now growing late, and John Temple had not yet returned. Ihad thought that, when he found himself without support from us, hewould ride back without delay, and his continued absence made me fearfor his safety. Though by his stupidity or obstinacy he deserved nobetter than to fall into the hands of the Spaniards, I was loth to loseany man of my charge; accordingly, we rode warily some short distanceafter him. But when we found him not, we turned about and made towardsour own camp, only desiring Van der Kloof, if he should meet withTemple, to bid him follow hard after us.
We were within a bowshot of our camp when Temple overtook us. His horsewas in a great heat and foam, and the man himself was in a sorry case,having a great gash in his cheek, his morion gone, his doublet slashedand bedabbled with blood.
"How now, sirrah!" I cried to him as he rode among us. "Art deaf, thatthou didst not hear my command, or a mere addle-pate, to go alone intothe midst of a host?" And I rated him very roundly, I do assure you.The man said not a whit in his proper defence, but pled that being atthe very heels of a Spaniard who had dealt hardly with him in the fight,he could not endure to leave him without giving him a Roland for hisOliver. The chase was longer than his expectation; and the Spaniard,seeing him persistent, on a sudden wheeled about and met him face toface. They two fought it out, and after a long and laboursome bout,whereof Temple bore many eloquent and grievous tokens, he overcame hisadversary and made his quietus.
And then he displayed before me the spoils of this engagement, to wit, afine Toledo blade; a belt of good Cordovan leather, the pouch filledwith Spanish dollars; and a jewelled ring of gold. And when I had toldhim that he might keep these for himself, he brought forth from underhis belt a strip of paper, and put it into my hand.
"This I espied, sir," he said, "through a rent in the don's doublet, andseeing there was writing thereupon, being no scholar myself, I fished itout for your worship's perusal."
Thinking 'twas some love billet that the hapless Spaniard had wornagainst his heart, I was in a manner loth to take it. But I bethoughtmyself directly after that in time of war it behoves a man to suspectall and trust none, and in this mind I spread open the paper and bent myeyes upon it. And then I was not a little discontented at themeagreness of what I read. 'Twas nothing but a table of stores, writ inthe Spanish tongue: so many tubs of powder, so many chests of the same,so many spare pikes, so many double bullets for the calivers, so manybullets for the matchlocks, so many round shot for the sakers andculverins--in truth, I did not read every article, being persuaded thatthe fellow from whom the paper was taken was some pitiful storekeeper, aman of no account. Yet I stowed it within my doublet, from a mere habitof prudence, and rode on, telling the man Temple jestingly that my shareof the booty was paltry by comparison with his.