"Ah! we are to die!" said Nele; "I am hungry."
"Aye," said Lamme low to Ulenspiegel, "the dukeling of blood has saidthat being famished we shall be more docile when we are brought outto die."
"I am so hungry!" said Nele.
That night soldiers came and distributed bread enough for six men.
"Three hundred Walloon soldiers have been hanged in the marketplace,"said they. "It will soon be your turn. There was always a matrimonybetween the Beggars and the Gallows."
The next night they came again with their bread for six men.
"Four high burgesses," said they, "have been beheaded. Two hundredand forty-nine soldiers have been bound together two by two and castinto the sea. The crabs will be fat this year. You do not look well,you folk, since the seventh of July that saw you come here. Theyare gluttons and drunkards, these dwellers in the Low Countries;we Spaniards, we have enough with two figs for our supper."
"That is why, then," replied Ulenspiegel, "you must needs, everywherein the townsfolks' houses, have four meals of meats, poultry, creams,wines, and preserves; that ye must have milk to wash the bodies ofyour mustachos and wine to bathe your horses' feet?"
On the eighteenth of July, Nele said:
"My feet are wet; what is this?"
"Blood," said Ulenspiegel.
At night the soldiers came again with their bread for six.
"Where the rope is no longer enough," said they, "the sword does thework. Three hundred soldiers and twenty-seven burghers who tried toflee out of the town are now walking about the streets of hell withtheir heads in their hands."
The next day the blood came again into the cloister; the soldierscame not to bring the bread, but merely to contemplate the prisoners,saying:
"The five hundred Walloons, Englishmen, and Scotsmen that werebeheaded yesterday looked better. These are hungry, no doubt, butwho then should die of hunger if not the Beggar!"
And indeed, they were like phantoms, all pale, haggard, broken,trembling with cold ague.
On the sixteenth of August, at five in the evening, the soldiers camein laughing and gave them bread, cheese, and beer. Lamme said:
"It is the feast of death."
At ten o'clock four companies came; the captains had the doors of thecloister opened, ordering the prisoners to march four abreast behindfifes and drums, to the place where they would be told to halt. Certainstreets were red, and they marched towards the Gallows Field.
Here and there shallow pools of blood defiled the meadows; there wasblood all about the walls. The ravens came in clouds on every hand;the sun hid in a bed of mists; the sky was still clear, and in itsdepths awoke the shy stars. Suddenly they heard lamentable howlings.
The soldiers said:
"They that are crying there are the Beggars of the Fuycke Fort,without the town; they are being left to die of hunger."
"We, too," said Nele, "we are going to die." And she wept.
"The ashes beat upon my heart," said Ulenspiegel.
"Ah!" said Lamme in Flemish--for the soldiers of the escort understoodnot that proud speech--"Ah!" said Lamme, "if I could catch thatduke of blood and make him eat, until his skin burst, each and allropes, gallows, torture benches, wooden horses, weights, and boots;if I could make him drink the blood he has shed, if there came outof his torn skin and opened bowels splinters of wood and pieces ofiron, and still he did not give up the ghost, I would tear out hisheart from his breast and make him eat it raw and poisoned. Then forcertain would he fall from life to death into the sulphur pit, wheremay the devil make him eat it and eat it again without ceasing. Andthus through all long eternity."
"Amen," said Ulenspiegel and Nele.
"But dost thou see naught?" said she.
"Nay," said he.
"I see in the west," she said, "five men and two women seated in acircle. One is clad in purple and wears a crown of gold. He seemsthe chief over the rest, all ragged and tattered. I see from the eastanother band of seven coming: one commands them also who is clad inpurple, without a crown. And they come against those of the west. Andthey fight against them in the clouds, but I see nothing more now."
"The Seven," said Ulenspiegel.
"I hear," said Nele, "near by us in the foliage, a voice like a breathof wind saying:
"By war and fire By pikes and swords Seek; In death and blood Ruins and tears. Find."
"Others than we shall deliver the land of Flanders," repliedUlenspiegel. "Night grows black, the soldiers are lighting torches. Weare near the Gallows Field. O sweet beloved, why didst thou followme? Dost thou hear nothing more, Nele?"
"Aye," said she, "a noise of arms among the corn. And there, abovethat ridge, surmounting the way in which we are entering, seest thouthe red light of the torches gleam upon steel? I see sparks of firegleaming upon the matches of arquebuses. Are our guardians asleep,or are they blind? Dost thou hear that clap of thunder? Seest thouthe Spaniards fall pierced with bullets? Hearest thou 'Long live theBeggar!'? They climb the path running, musket in hand; they come downwith axes all along the slope. Long live the Beggar!"
"Long live the Beggar!" cry Lamme and Ulenspiegel.
"Lo," said Nele, "here are soldiers that give us arms. Take, Lamme,take, my beloved. Long live the Beggar!"
"Long live the Beggar!" cry the whole troop of prisoners.
"The arquebuses cease not from firing," said Nele, "they fall likeflies, lit up as they are by the light of the torches. Long livethe Beggars!"
"Long live the Beggar!" cry the band of rescuers.
"Long live the Beggar!" cry Ulenspiegel and the prisoners. "TheSpaniards are in a ring of fire. Kill! kill! There is not one lefton his feet. Kill! no pity, war without mercy. And now let us be offand run to Enckhuyse. Who hath the butchers' clothes of cloth andsilk? Who hath their weapons?"
"All! all!" they cry. "Long live the Beggar!"
And indeed, they went off for Enckhuyse by boat, and there the Germansdelivered with them remained to guard the town.
And Lamme, Nele, and Ulenspiegel found their ships again. And lo oncemore they are singing upon the free sea: "Long live the Beggar!"
And they cruise in the roadstead of Flessingue.
XIII
There once again was Lamme joyous. He was always ready to go on shore,hunting oxen, sheep, and fowl like hares, stags, and ortolans.
And he was not alone in this nourishing hunting. Good was it then tosee the huntsmen return, Lamme at their head, dragging the big beastsby the horns, driving the small cattle before them, directing flocksof geese with long wands, and carrying slung from their boathooks hens,pullets, and capons in spite of their struggling.
Then it was revel and feasting on the ships. And Lamme would say:"The fragrance of the sauces mounts up to the very sky, theredelighting their worships the angels, which say: ''Tis the best partof the meat'."
While they were cruising there came a fleet of merchantmen from Lisbon,whose commander knew not that Flessingue had fallen into the hands ofthe Beggars. It is ordered to cast anchor; it is hemmed round. Longlive the Beggar! Drums and fifes sound the signal for boarding;the merchants have guns, pikes, hatchets, arquebuses.
Musket balls and cannon balls rain from the ships of the Beggars. Theirmusketeers, entrenched round about the main mast in their woodenforts, fire with deadly aim, without any danger. The merchants falllike flies.
"To the rescue!" said Ulenspiegel to Lamme and to Nele, "to therescue! Here be spices, knicknacks, precious dainties, sugar,nutmegs, cloves, ginger, reals, ducats, moutons d'or all brightand shining. There are more than five hundred thousand pieces incoin. The Spaniard will pay the cost of the war. Drink ho! Let ussing the Beggars' Mass, which is battle!"
And Ulenspiegel and Lamme rushed everywhere like lions. Nele played thefife, sheltered in the wooden castle. The whole of the fleet was taken.
The dead were counted and these were a thousand on the side of theSpaniards, three hu
ndred on the side of the Beggars: among them wasthe master cook of the fly boat La Briele.
Ulenspiegel asked to be allowed to speak before Tres-Long and thesailors: this Tres-Long granted with a good will. And he said to themas follows:
"Master captain and ye comrades, we have but now inherited much spices,and here is Lamme, the good belly, who findeth that the poor deadman there, God have him in joy, was in no wise a doctor great enoughin fricassees. Let us name him in the place of the dead. And he willprepare you divine stews and paradisaic soups."
"We will," said Tres-Long and the others; "Lamme shall be the mastercook of the ship. He shall bear the great wooden ladle to skim thefroth off his sauces."
"Messire Captain, comrades and friends," said Lamme, "ye behold meweeping with joy, for I deserve not so great honour. Nevertheless,since ye deign to call upon my worthlessness, I accept the noblefunctions of master of arts in fricassees upon the stout fly boat LaBriele, but with a humble prayer to you that ye invest me with thesupreme command of the kitchen work, in such fashion that your mastercook--the which will be myself--may by right law and might be empoweredto prevent anyonesoever from coming and eating another's share."
Tres-Long and the others cried out:
"Long live Lamme! thou shalt have right, law, and might."
"But," said he, "I have another prayer to make before you in allhumility: I am a fat man, big and strong; deep is my paunch, deep mystomach; my poor wife--may God restore her to me--always gave me twoportions instead of one: accord me this same favour."
Tres-Long, Ulenspiegel, and the sailors said:
"Thou shalt have the two portions, Lamme."
And Lamme, suddenly fallen melancholy, said:
"My wife, my sweet darling! if anything can console me for thy absence,it will be to bring again to mind in my duties thy heavenly cookingin our sweet home."
"You must take the oath, my son," said Ulenspiegel. "Let the greatwooden ladle and the great copper caldron be brought hither."
"I swear," quoth Lamme, "by God, may he be here my helper, I swearfidelity to Monseigneur the Prince of Orange, called the Silent,governing the provinces of Holland and Zealand for the king; fidelityto Messire de Lumey, the admiral commanding our gallant fleet, andto Messire Tres-Long, vice-admiral and captain of the good ship LaBriele; I swear to dress at my poor best, according to the use andwont of the great cooks of old, which have left behind them noblebooks with cuts upon the great art of cookery, what flesh and fowlFortune shall accord to us; I swear to feed the said Messire Tres-Long,our captain, his second in command, which is my friend, Ulenspiegel,and all you, master mariner, pilot, boatswain, companions, soldiers,gunners, captain's page, chirurgeon, trumpeteer, sailors, and allothers. If the roast is too underdone, the fowl unbrowned; if thesoup sends up an insipid fragrance, inimical to all good digestion;if the steam of the sauces doth not entice you all to rush into thekitchen--always with my good will; if I make you not all sprightlyand well favoured, I will resign my noble functions, judging myselfunfit longer to occupy the throne of the kitchen. So may God help mein this life and in the next."
"Long live the master cook," said they, "the king of the kitchen,the emperor of fricassees. He shall have three portions instead oftwo on Sundays."
And Lamme became master cook of the ship La Briele. And while thesucculent soups were simmering in the saucepans, he stood at the doorof the galley, proudly holding his great wooden ladle like a sceptre.
And he had his treble rations on Sundays.
When the Beggars came to grips with the enemy, he would stay preferablyin his sauce laboratory but would come out every now and then to runup on the deck and fire a few rounds. Then he would hurry down againat once to keep an eye to his sauces.
Thus being trusty cook and valiant soldier, he was well beloved of all.
But no one must penetrate the sanctuary of his galley. For then he waseven like a devil and with his wooden ladle he smote them pitilesslyhip and thigh.
And thenceforth he was called Lamme the Lion.
XIV
On the ocean, on the Scheldt, in sunshine, in rain, in snow, in hail,winter and summer, glided the ships of the Beggars to and fro.
All sails out like mantling swans, swans of white freedom.
White for freedom, blue for great heart, orange for the prince,'tis the standard of the proud ships.
All sails set! all sails set, the stout ships; the billows beat uponthem, the waves besprinkle them with foam.
They pass, they run, they fly along the river, their sails in thewater, swift as clouds in the north wind, the proud ships of theBeggars. Hear you their prows cleaving the wave? God of freemen! Longlive the Beggar!
Hulks, flyboats, boyers, crousteves, swift as a wind big with tempest,like the cloud that bears the thunderbolt. Long live the Beggar!
Boyers and crousteves, flat-bottomed boats, slide along the river. Thewaters groan as they are cloven through, when the ships go straighton face forwards with the deadly mouth of their long culverin on thepoint of the bows. Long live the Beggar!
All sail out! all sail out, the gallant ships, the waves toss them,sprinkle them with foam.
Night and day, through rain, hail, and snow, they go on theirway! Christ smileth on them in cloud, in sun, in starshine. Long livethe Beggar.
XV
The king of blood learned the news of their victories. Death wasalready gnawing at the murderer and his body was full of worms. Hewould walk about the corridors of Valladolid, sullen and savage,dragging heavily his swollen feet and leaden legs. He never sang,the cruel tyrant; when the day came, he never laughed, and when thesun lighted up his empire like a smile from God he felt no joy inhis heart.
But Ulenspiegel, Lamme, and Nele sang like birds, risking their hide,that is to say Lamme and Ulenspiegel, their white skin, to wit Nele,living from day to day, and finding more joy in one death fire quenchedby the Beggars than the dark king had in the burning of a town.
At this time, too, William the Silent, Prince of Orange, broke fromhis rank as admiral Messire de Lumey de la Marck, by reason of hisgreat cruelties. He appointed Messire Bouwen Ewoutsen Worst in hisstead. He took measures also to pay for the grain taken by the Beggarsfrom the peasants, to restore the forced contributions levied uponthem, and to grant the Roman Catholics, like all others, the freeexercise of their religion, without either persecution or insult.
XVI
On the ships of the Beggars, under the dazzling sky, over the shiningwaves, squealed the fifes; droned bagpipes, gurgled flasks, chimedglasses, and shone the steel of weapons and armour.
"Ho!" said Ulenspiegel, "let us beat the drum of glory, let us beatthe drum of joy. Long live the Beggar! Spain is conquered; the ghoul isbeaten down. Ours is the sea, Briele is taken. Ours the coast as far asNieuport, beyond Ostende and Blanckenberghe, the islands of Zealand,the mouths of the Scheldt, the mouths of the Meuse, the Rhine mouthsas far as Helder. Ours are Texel, Vlieland, Ter-Schelling, Ameland,Rottum, Borkum. Long live the Beggar!
"Ours are Delft, and Dordrecht. 'Tis a trail of powder. God holdeththe linstock. The murderers abandon Rotterdam. Free conscience, likea lion with teeth and claws of justice, seizes the county of Zutphen,the towns of Deutecom, Doesburg, Goor, Oldenzeel, and on the Welnuire,Hattem, Elburg, and Harderwyck. Long live the Beggar!
"'Tis lightning, 'tis a thunder bolt: Campen, Zwol, Hassel, Sheenwyckfall into our hands with Oudewater, Gouda, Leyden. Long live theBeggar!
"Ours are Bueren, Enckhuyse! Not yet have we Amsterdam, Schoonhoven,or Middelburg. But all cometh in time to patient blades. Long livethe Beggar!
"Drink we the wine of Spain. Drink from the chalices whence theydrank the blood of the victims. We shall go by way of the Zuyderzee,by rivers, streams, canals; we have North Holland, South Holland,and Zealand; we shall take East and West Frisia; La Briele shallbe the refuge for our ships, the nest of the hens that hatch outliberty. Long live the Beggar!
"Hearken in Flanders, our beloved land, how there bu
rsts forth thecry of avenging. Armour is polishing, the swords are a-whetting. Allare astir, athrill like the strings of a harp in the warm breeze,the breath souls that cometh from grave pits, from torture fires,from the bleeding corpses of the victims. All, Hainaut, Brabant,Luxembourg, Namur, Liege the free city, all! Blood sprouts and springsup. The harvest is ripe for the sickle. Long live the Beggar.
"Ours the Noord-Zee, the wide North Sea. Ours are good guns,proud ships, the bold band of redoubted seamen: rogues, robbers,soldier-priests, gentlemen, townsfolk, and artisans fleeingpersecution. Ours to all of us joined together for the work offreedom! Long live the Beggar!
"Philip, king of blood, where art thou? D'Alba, where art thou? Thoudost cry out and curse and blaspheme, thou with the holy hat, the HolyFather's gift. Beat the drums of joy. Long live the Beggar! Drink all!
"The wine flows into the golden cups. Drain it with glee. Priestlyrobes on the backs of rough men are flooded with the red liquor;banners, ecclesiastic and Roman, wave in the wind. Eternal music! Toyou, fifes squealing, bagpipes droning, drums beating, peals ofglory. Long live the Beggar!"
XVII
The world was then in the wolf month, which is the month of December. Athin sharp rain was falling like needles upon the sea. The Beggarswere cruising in the Zuyderzee. Messire the Admiral summoned bytrumpet the captains of houlques and flyboats on board his ship,and with them Ulenspiegel.