Chapter XXI: Part 21

Although punished, Algiers soon renewed its brigandages, and Louis XIV. repeated his chastisement on the 30th of the following June. Algiers, after being twice bombarded, sent deputies to ask pardon and sue for peace. They restored all their Christian slaves to liberty, and--which is the severest punishment for corsairs--paid a large sum of money. When D’Amfreville, a naval captain, came to Algiers to deliver all the Christian slaves, in the name of the king of France, there were among them many Englishmen, who, after they were on board, persisted in telling D’Amfreville that it was out of consideration for the king of England they were set at liberty. The French captain called back the Algerines, and replacing the English on shore, said, “These people insist upon it that they are set free in the name of their king; that being the case, my king cannot take the liberty of offering them his protection: I restore them to you, and it is for you to show what respect you owe to the king of England.” The weakness of the government of Charles II., and the respect in which most nations then held Louis XIV., are both made evident by this anecdote.

FOURTH SIEGE, A.D. 1689.

Six years after, Marshal D’Etrées once again bombarded Algiers, always unfaithful to its treaties, and still supporting a fearful power by robbery and rapine. Ten thousand bombs ruined this retreat of corsairs despising the laws of nations; six of their vessels were sunk in the port. They were thus taught to respect the French flag, and the liberty of the seas for great powers; but they did not cease to pillage with impunity the subjects of weak states, without bombs or vessels of war to make themselves feared.

FIFTH SIEGE, A.D. 1816.

Although the bombardment of Algiers by a naval force can scarcely be termed a siege, as a conclusion to the above history, a mention of that which took place under Lord Exmouth is necessary.

Exasperated by many acts of wanton cruelty and daring piracy on the part of the dey of Algiers, the greatest naval country took into its hands the chastisement the corsairs so richly deserved. With a comparatively small force with what even great commanders had deemed necessary for the undertaking, Lord Exmouth, by the most judicious management, seconded by the skill and bravery of his officers and men, in one short day brought these sanguinary marauders to an expression of repentance, if not a feeling of it. A treaty of peace was signed, under a salute of twenty-one guns, on the following conditions, which had been dictated by the Prince Regent of England:--

“1. The abolition for ever of Christian slavery.

“2. The delivery to the admiral’s flag of all slaves in the dominions of the dey, to whatever nation they may belong, at noon to-morrow.

“3. To deliver, also to the British admiral’s flag, all money received by him for the redemption of slaves since the commencement of this year, at noon also to-morrow.

“4. Reparation has been made to the British consul for all losses he may have sustained in consequence of his confinement.

“5. The dey has made a public apology, in presence of his ministers and officers, and begged pardon of the consul, in terms dictated by the captain of the _Queen Charlotte_.”

The killed and wounded in this great settling-day between civilization and barbarism, amounted to between 6,000 and 7,000 on the part of the Algerines, and to 141 killed and 742 wounded on the side of the British and Dutch.

The bombardment of Algiers is deemed important as a military experiment, proving the efficacy of ship artillery against stone fortifications; but the distance, and the nature of the sea, must never be forgotten in such calculations: the season was the most favourable possible as regarded the weather, and Lord Exmouth was enabled to bring his vessels within fifty yards of the Mole, into which he poured his destructive thunders. If Cronstadt had been as favourably circumstanced in these respects as Algiers, we feel confident Sir Charles Napier would not have come “bootless home.”

The operations of the French, in their war of conquest in Algiers, do not come within the scope of our plan.

VALENCIENNES.

A.D. 1557.

Philip II., king of Spain, son and successor to the emperor Charles V., who from the depths of his cabinet, like another Tiberius, shook all Europe with his often cruel policy, wishing to stop the rapid progress of Lutheranism in the provinces of Flanders, put weapons into the hands of executioners, and endeavoured to establish the Inquisition in those happy and tranquil countries. This barbarous tribunal, conforming so little with Scriptural precepts and mildness, disgusted the Flemings, and gave birth to that famous confederation, at the head of which was William of Nassau, surnamed the Taciturn, prince of Orange. All the confederates were clothed in grey, wore upon their caps little wooden porringers, and round their necks a medal, upon one side of which was the portrait of the king, and on the reverse a _wallet_ suspended from two hands, crossed and pressed together in sign of faith, with this inscription: “_Faithful to the king and to the wallet._” This was in allusion to the name of beggars, which the count of Barlemont had given them. They exhibited themselves in this guise before Marguerite of Austria, duchess of Parma and gouvernante of the Netherlands. They presented, in a manner sufficiently humble, a petition to this princess, in which they asked for liberty of conscience, and the revocation of the edict which established the Holy Office. An answer to these prayers was eluded, and the yoke of the Protestants, and even of the Catholics, was made so intolerably heavy, that the people in all parts prepared for revolt. The inhabitants of Valenciennes were the first to raise the standard; they were almost all Huguenots, and had intimate connections with what are called the heretics of France. The gouvernante charged the seigneur de Noircarmes, commanding in Hainault, to establish a sufficient garrison in Valenciennes to restrain the audacity of the burgesses. Noircarmes preferred employing mildness; before he approached the walls of the city, he agreed to undertake nothing, if the public exercise of heresy were proscribed. The people consented to this, but retracted the moment after. Noircarmes presenting himself at the gates, for the purpose of entering the city and completing the agreement, one of the populace had the temerity to shut the gates in his face, and to drive him from them by a discharge of arquebuses. Valenciennes was then declared to be in a state of rebellion, and its siege was commanded. The news soon spread. Some French Huguenots immediately flew to the aid of the proscribed city, and these were soon followed by three thousand foot and a few horse, got together in the nearest cantons of Flanders. These troops, provided with several pieces of cannon, advanced under the orders of John Soreas, who had assembled them. Noircarmes immediately got together a few companies of infantry, with some horse, and set forward to combat this rash and inexperienced body of soldiers. Their defeat was the work of a moment: Soreas perished in the action, and his followers were massacred. Some in vain attempted to find refuge in Tournay; the peasants of the neighbourhood pursued and dispersed them. Noircarmes, animated by this success, after having subdued Tournay, advanced towards Valenciennes. The rebels, still obstinate, rejected all his propositions with disdain, and he was therefore forced to think seriously of besieging the city. He quickly established a formidable battery, which destroyed the ramparts, and spread terror and despair among the besieged. They had expected powerful assistance, but, frustrated in their hopes, their courage was changed into consternation, and after several rude attacks they surrendered at discretion. Noircarmes imposed such laws as the gouvernante dictated. The submission of Valenciennes for a time depressed the spirits of the confederates, and the vigorous government of Marguerite seemed to prognosticate obedience; but the glorious results of these beginnings are of the best and most instructive pages of history.

SECOND SIEGE, A.D. 1667.

One of the greatest military exploits of Louis XIV. was the conquest of Valenciennes. Since the wars which had procured liberty for Holland, the possessors of that city had neglected nothing to render it impregnable. The project of the French monarch was considered as the height of temerity. In the first place, it was necessary to gain possession of two half-moons on the right and on the left. Behind these half-moons was a grand crown-work, palisaded, frased (strengthened with pointed stakes), and surrounded by a fosse intersected by many traverses. In this crown-work there was yet a second, well covered and surrounded with another fosse. After these had been mastered, there was an arm of the Scheld to be crossed; this being done, a fresh work was encountered, called a _pâté_; behind this pâté flowed the great stream of the Scheld, deep and rapid, which served as a fosse between the pâté and the wall; and this wall was supported by large ramparts. All these works were covered with cannon. A garrison of nearly four thousand men, a great quantity of munitions of war and provisions, the hatred of the citizens for the French and their affection for their Spanish governor, seemed to promise a long and firm resistance. At the head of a formidable army, Louis XIV. advanced, seconded by his brother and the marshals Humières, Schomberg, Feuillade, Luxembourg, and Lorges. The celebrated Vauban directed all the operations. On the 9th of March, 1677, they opened the trenches. A few days after, the king called a council upon the best means of attacking the outworks with greatest regard to the lives of the soldiers. Vauban proposed to assault them in open day; but all the marshals exclaimed strongly against such a plan: Louvois condemned it, and yet Vauban held firm to his opinion, with the confidence of a man perfectly understanding all he advanced. “You wish,” said he, “to spare the blood of your soldiers, and this will be best effected by fighting in the daylight, without confusion and without tumult, without fear of one part of our men firing upon another, as too frequently happens. Our object is to surprise the enemy; and they are always in expectation of an attack by night: we shall indeed surprise them when they will be fatigued by watching all night, and they will not be in a condition to resist our fresh troops. Add to this, there may be men among our soldiers who have but little courage, and night will favour their timidity; whereas, during the day, the eye of the master inspires valour and elevates men, particularly the French, above themselves.” The king yielded to the reasoning of Vauban, in opposition to his minister Louvois and five marshals of France.

On the evening of the 16th, the two companies of musketeers, a hundred grenadiers of the king’s household, a battalion of the guards, and one of the regiment of Picardy, were commanded to be in readiness, and on the 17th, at nine o’clock in the morning, these warriors marched to the attack of the crown-work, after having overcome the two advanced half-moons. Nothing seemed able to resist them: they mounted the intrenchments in all directions; they seized them; they effected a lodgment. This was all that had been required or hoped for in this attack; but the valour of the musketeers was warmed, and could not be checked. There was across the small arm of the Scheld, a bridge, which communicated with the pâté. The passage over this bridge was closed by a barrier of immense pieces of pointed timber, with a wicket in the middle, through which only one man could pass at a time. Whilst one party of the musketeers was endeavouring to force the wicket, the rest climbed over the barrier, and in spite of pikes and musketry, leaped down on the other side, sword in hand. The enemy, surprised by this extraordinary feat, abandoned the defence of the wicket. The musketeers pursued them, and on reaching the pâté, attacked it with great fury, and carried it in spite of its defenders; but the cannon of the ramparts now threatened destruction to the conquerors. The grey musketeers perceived a little door; they broke it in, and discovered a private staircase constructed in the thickness of the wall; they rushed up this narrow passage and arrived at the top of the pâté. They there remarked another door, which gave entrance to a gallery built over the great canal of the Scheld. They broke that in; they gained the ramparts, and intrenched themselves. They then turned against the city the cannon they found there, and, sheltered from their thunders, descended into the place with the fugitives. They pursued them from intrenchment to intrenchment, from street to street; and they triumphed before the king could have imagined the first work they attacked was taken. But this was not the most astonishing part of this marvellous affair. It was probable that young musketeers, carried away by the ardour of success, should rush blindly upon the troops and the citizens--that they would perish, or that the city would be plundered; but these warriors, scarcely adolescent, led by a cornet named Moissac and a quarter-master named Labarre, formed behind some waggons, and whilst the troops, which came in crowds, were forming leisurely, other musketeers got possession of some neighbouring houses, in order to protect by their fire those who defended the bridge with incredible bravery. They were three times charged by the cavalry of the garrison; but notwithstanding the smallness of their numbers, they maintained all they had won. The infantry endeavoured to take them in rear, but they there encountered the greater part of the black musketeers and the grenadiers of the king’s household, who repulsed them vigorously. The citizens were astonished; the city council assembled. They entered into a parley with Moissac, who received and gave hostages. Deputies were sent to the king; and all this was done without confusion, without tumult, and without the commission of a fault of any kind. The city was obliged to submit without capitulation. The king made the garrison prisoners of war, and entered Valenciennes, to his own great surprise, as master. This conquest only cost him forty men. “I do not know,” says Larrey, “if history furnishes many examples of an action so sharp and prompt, and at the same time so fortunate, and of the capture, in so short a time and with so little loss for the conquerors, of a great and strong city which wanted nothing for its defence. The whole looks like a miracle; and all was attributed to the fortunate rashness of the musketeers.” “It was fortunate,” adds M. de St. Foix, “because coolness and prudence completed that which impetuous courage had begun. Everything in this affair is characteristic of true valour, that valour which elevates man above himself, and which often makes him triumph against all probability, and in spite of the evident danger into which he seems to precipitate himself.”

THIRD SIEGE, A.D. 1793.

In this siege the English have an interest, the duke of York, second son of George III., having had the command of the besiegers.

The allies, having taken Condé in the month of April, directed their forces against Valenciennes. General Ferrand commanded in the place, with a garrison of nine thousand men. To favour the siege, the allies posted an army of observation in the plains of Hérin, in front of the city, a strong force on the other side of Valenciennes, and a third between Lille and Tournay. At the moment that city was invested, these faubourgs were attacked; that named Marli was set fire to on the 24th of May, and taken the day following. The allies opened the attack very close to the place. The duke of York summoned the city on the 14th of June. The governor replied: “The garrison and myself will sooner bury ourselves beneath the ruins than surrender the city.” The bombardment instantly commenced. When the Tournay side was in ashes, the allies transported their bombs to the south-west, and then the conflagration became general; there seemed to be no wish entertained to preserve either the walls or fortifications. An opinion was general in the city, that destruction rather than conquest was the object of the allies, and despair became more tenacious than courage. During the conflagration, the fire caught the arsenal, which blew up. Treachery was suspected, and the subdirector of the artillery, Monestier, destroyed himself. The object of this was to raise the inhabitants, which it succeeded in doing; but order was quickly restored by the two representative commissioners. The works of the besiegers came up to the walls by the 21st of July. A breach was made in the bastion called the Huguenots, and a first assault upon the covered way was repulsed. There was a second on the 26th, whilst the allies, with another body of ten thousand men, assaulted in a different point, in which they gained possession of an advanced work, which was blown up by three mines. The fire drove them from the ramparts, and the work was retaken; but a panic seized upon the garrison, they became deaf to the voices of their officers, rushed _pêle-mêle_ into the city, and nothing could bring them back to the advanced work, which had been retaken and abandoned by both parties. At this time, the duke of York addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants and the soldiers, whilst he sent a second to the municipality and the general. From that moment the disorder was irreparable; the assembled inhabitants, supported by the soldiers, compelled the council of war to enter into a capitulation: it was signed on the 28th of July. The companies of the cannoniers of Douai and Valenciennes alone took no part in this riot: they had served with distinction. The allies lost a great many men in the sieges of Condé, Cateau Cambresis, and Valenciennes.

LEYDEN.

A.D. 1574.

We offer as long a sketch of the siege of Leyden as our limits will allow, this being a portion of history to which we always turn with pleasure: the emancipation of the Netherlands from the domination of Spain is one of the most noble efforts in the annals of mankind.

The cruelties of the duke of Alva had alienated every heart in Holland from the court of Spain, and had left none but harsh means to his successor, Don Louis, of retaining the provinces in their allegiance. Being desirous of distinguishing his accession to power by a bold stroke, he sent Francis Valdes to besiege Leyden. The environs of this city, intersected in all directions by canals, presented incredible difficulties to the making of the approaches. Our readers will perceive this the more clearly when we state that it had eight gates, fifty islands, and one hundred and forty-five bridges, mostly built of freestone. The rapid waters of the Rhine, which bathe its walls, assist in rendering Leyden impregnable. Valdes had already been frequently repulsed in his attacks, when Count Louis, entering Flanders, brought him a formidable army. Valdes then once more presented himself before Leyden, and regularly blockaded it. The Hollanders, having fortified all the passages capable of retarding the progress of the enemy, strengthened with troops the village of Alful, which was built upon a canal, whose sluices could stop or suspend the course of the waters; a sanguinary battle was necessary to make himself master of this point. Possessed of the neighbouring fortifications, the Spanish general pressed Leyden very closely. Having a belief that there was no garrison, the Spaniards threw letters into the place, to persuade the inhabitants to surrender: they received an answer over the walls, “that they must not expect anything of the kind as long as they could hear the dogs of Leyden bark.” Resolved to defend their country to the last extremity, the besieged made a furious sortie, and attacked the garrison of the fort of Lamene; but their impetuosity could not resist the numbers of the Spaniards, and they were obliged to return to their walls. This check did not in the least diminish their courage; they repaired the walls of Leyden, and exhausted the resources of art to create defences. Jean Vanderdoës, a poet known in literature by the name of _Janus Douza_, commanded in the city; and, notwithstanding his possession of talents so opposite to such a task, performed his difficult duties admirably. He animated and supported his fellow-citizens amidst pressing dangers. Notwithstanding his cares, there was a moment of dissatisfaction. The people, in a seditious manner, demanded food of their leaders; the governor answered coolly, “that it was perfectly indifferent to him whether he died by their hands or those of the Spaniards; that if his flesh would satisfy them, they were welcome to tear him to pieces and eat him.” These words overwhelmed the murmurers with confusion. The Seigneur de Ligne, governor of Harlem, exhorted them to submit to the conditions offered by the king of Spain; but the inhabitants replied: “We know that the project of the Spaniards is to subdue Leyden by famine; but we are not afraid of that. When we have consumed all our provisions, we will eat our left arms and defend ourselves with the right against our tyrants; death is a thousand times preferable to their odious despotism.” After this declaration, a paper currency was fabricated, with this inscription: “_For Liberty._” This currency was faithfully exchanged for money when the siege was terminated. But famine made frightful ravages; and, if not promptly succoured, Leyden must succumb. The States of Holland assembled, and after long and earnest deliberation, it was resolved to inundate the province. In the beginning of August, two dykes of the Meuse and the Yssel were cut, between Rotterdam and Gonda. In an instant, the smiling fields in the neighbourhood of Delft, Gonda, Rotterdam, and Leyden were covered with water. The Spaniards were astonished, but their forts secured them, and the place remained besieged. The Hollanders were anxious at least to take advantage of the waters to convey provisions into Leyden; they constructed boats in the shape of galleys, with oars, so that they might the more easily force passages, and attack the forts of the Spaniards. The Dutch admiral Boizot endeavoured to break through the blockade and convey provisions into Leyden, but the waters were not sufficiently high, except in the rivers and lakes, which were well guarded, and he could not approach the city. The Dutch waited with impatience for the high tides, upon which the deliverance of the province seemed to depend. Whilst the Spaniards were constantly employed in securing their redoubts from inundation, by closing up all their issues with earth and hay, the overflowing ocean came rushing in in all its power, swept away these feeble barriers, and made the environs of Leyden one vast sea. The Hollanders immediately set sail; a fleet of a hundred and fifty vessels, laden with provisions, advanced in the best order, and surmounted every obstacle. The terrified Spaniards retired to places of safety, but, in spite of all their celerity, they could not evacuate their redoubts without losing a great number of people. Driven from their fortifications by the waters, and pursued by the enemy, some were massacred, and the rest swallowed up by the waves. Strada relates that a Spanish captain was seized by his clothes, with long hooks, and made a prisoner, and thrown into a bark. This bold man took advantage of the crew being engaged, sprang up, seized a halbert, killed three of the Dutch soldiers, forced the others to save themselves by swimming, and regained his companions, with the bark and the provisions it contained. The Spaniards lost fifteen hundred men in this retreat from the waters. Leyden enjoyed the satisfaction of being delivered from present dangers, but this was sadly embittered by the recollection of having lost six thousand citizens by famine and misery, during the blockade.

LIVRON.

A.D. 1574.

We present this little siege as a monument of the feeling entertained towards the infamous Catherine de Medici and her darling son, Henry III., by many communities in France.

When Henry III. left Poland as a fugitive, to occupy the throne made vacant by the death of Charles IX., he created Roger de St. Lary-Bellegarde, one of his minions, a marshal of France. A short time after his promotion, the new general was repulsed in three assaults which he made upon Livron, a small Huguenot fortified place in Dauphiny, although he attacked it with a good army, and it was defended but by a few inhabitants. The women of the city thought him so contemptible, that, to insult him, they plied their distaffs on the breach. Henry, who passed near the city, stopped for a few hours, to display his valour. The besieged, on learning his arrival, made a general discharge of their artillery, which they followed by continual hissings and hootings, accompanied by cutting railleries against the monarch and the queen his mother. “Ha! ha! you massacrers! you shall not poniard us in our beds, as you did the admiral! Bring us a few of your laced, ruffled, and perfumed minions; let them come and look at our women; they will see if they look like a prey to be easily taken!” Henry ordered a fresh assault to be made, but it was repulsed by the women only, and the siege was raised shortly after this disgraceful defeat.

CAHORS.

A.D. 1580.

Of the numerous sieges on both sides which marked the struggle of Henry IV. of France for his crown, we have selected that of Cahors as best displaying the character of that hero and the men and times he lived in.

Henry IV., whilst king of Navarre, resolved to gain possession of Cahors. That city is surrounded on all sides by the river Lot, which serves it as a fosse. It had a garrison of two thousand men, and Vesins, its governor, was a soldier of acknowledged valour and great experience. Its citizens, always armed, were never off their guard. Henry assembled his council of war, composed of valiant and tried captains, and all pronounced the enterprise hazardous. Their representations were useless. “Everything is possible to me,” said he, “with men as brave as those I consult.” On the 5th of May, he set out from Montauban, in excessively hot weather, and arrived in the middle of the night within a quarter of a league of Cahors. His troops there quenched their thirst at a fountain which flowed under a nursery of young walnut-trees. Twelve soldiers marched forward for the purpose of fastening a petard to the gates of the city. Fifty men, commanded by Captain Saint Martin, followed them closely; Roquilaure came next, with forty gentlemen and sixty soldiers; and after them, Henry of Navarre, with nine hundred men. Twelve hundred arquebusiers, in six platoons, closed the march. There were three gates to be forced. The petard attached to the first made so small an opening, that it was necessary to enlarge it with axes. The first passed through with difficulty; but the soldiers who followed them had time to file through in sufficiently great numbers. A furious storm which raged at the time did not permit the inhabitants to distinguish between the noise of the thunder and the report of the petards, which had broken down their gates. Henry’s soldiers, on first entering the city, met with forty men and two hundred arquebusiers, almost naked. The baron de Salignac cut them to pieces, and advanced into Cahors; but he was stopped in his march by the inhabitants, who, from the tops of the houses, hurled stones, tiles, pieces of wood, and other missiles upon the heads of his soldiers. In the mean time, the king of Navarre entered Cahors by another gate, with which the petard had succeeded better. At length day appeared, persons and objects were distinguishable, and all either rushed to the attack or stood firm in defence of the place. In all the streets it became necessary to force barricades and repulse a garrison much more numerous than the besiegers. Henry commanded and fought everywhere at the same time; his valour shrunk from no danger, though the blows of all the enemies seemed to be directed against him. He broke two partisans, and his armour was pierced in twenty places. This terrible combat lasted five days and five nights. The besieged, in full expectation of assistance, said not a word about surrendering. The assailants, fatigued with the weight of their armour and the excessive heat, maintained their posts with the intrepid courage their leader knew how to inspire. On the fourth day they learnt that the succours promised to the city were drawing near. At this news, his captains assembled round Henry, and conjured him to secure a retreat before the enemy could reach Cahors. Henry, too courageous to know what fear meant, and heedless of the pain caused by his wounds, replied, with that coolness which inspires confidence: “It is decreed above what is to become of me on this occasion. Remember that my retreat from this city without having taken it, will be the retreat of my life from my body. My honour is too deeply pledged to allow me to act otherwise; therefore, only speak to me of fighting, conquering, or dying.” Reanimated by these words, his soldiers made fresh efforts; and fortune seconded the efforts of the brave Béarnais. He received a reinforcement of a hundred horse and five hundred arquebusiers; he secured his posts in the interior, and marched out to meet the approaching enemy. He repulsed them; and on his return to the city, the inhabitants having lost all hope, laid down their arms. There were but few killed in Henry’s army, but many wounded. The brave and virtuous Vesins had perished early in the contest; he had a short time before done himself great honour, by an act of rare generosity. His bravery, degenerating sometimes into ferocity, had made him numerous enemies; among these was a gentleman named Régnier, of a mild and polished character. Their neighbours and friends had exerted themselves in vain to reconcile them. Régnier was a Huguenot, and Vesins a Catholic. Whilst the cities of France were being stained with the blood of Huguenots, Régnier retired to Cahors for safety. But the king had made Vesins governor of that city, and Régnier was living in daily expectation of being sacrificed to the vengeance of his enemy, when his door was broken open, and he saw Vesins, with a drawn sword in his hand, and with the appearance of furious rage, enter, followed by two armed soldiers. Régnier, believing his death certain, fell upon his knees and implored the mercy of Heaven. Vesins in a menacing voice ordered him to get up, follow him, and mount a horse that was standing at the door. Régnier left the city with his enemy, who conducted him as far as Guienne without stopping and without speaking a single word to him. They arrived together at the château of Régnier, where Vesins, without alighting from his horse, said to him: “I had it in my power, as thou mayst see, to profit by the opportunity I have been so long in search of; but I should have been ashamed to avenge myself thus on a man so brave as thou art; the peril must be equal when our quarrel is settled; and it is on that account I have spared thy life. Thou shalt always find me as disposed to terminate our differences in a manner suitable to gentlemen, as thou hast found me prompt to deliver thee from an inevitable death.” “I have no longer, my dear Vesins,” replied Régnier, “either resolution, strength, or courage against you. Your kindness has extinguished the heat of my enmity: it is destroyed by your generosity, which I can never forget. I will henceforward follow you whithersoever you go; I will be always ready to employ in your service the life you have given me, and the little bravery you attribute to me.” Régnier wished to embrace his benefactor; but Vesins, preserving all the asperity of his character, said: “It is thy business to see whether thou art my friend or my enemy; I only saved thy life to put thee in a condition to make a choice.” Without waiting for a reply, he put spurs to his horse, leaving Régnier, stupified with this strange adventure, to wonder at the greatness of soul and generosity of him whom he had considered as his most cruel enemy.

MAESTRICHT.

Maestricht, a city of the Netherlands, about four miles in circumference, seated on the Meuse, opposite Wyck, with which it communicates by a stone bridge, was looked upon as one of the strongest fortified places in Europe, and, from the importance of its position, has endured several remarkable sieges.

FIRST SIEGE, A.D. 1576.

The inhabitants of Maestricht, in concert with their German garrison, drove out the Spaniards in 1576. Their intention was to unite themselves with the Dutch, who had shaken off the yoke of Spain. Vargos, the general of Philip II., hastened to endeavour to regain possession of the place; of which he had the greater hopes from being still master of Wyck. The conquered, humiliated by a disgrace of which they were the more sensible from its having arisen out of their own negligence, were eager to repair their fault by instantly taking back what they had lost. As they saw no other obstacle to their doing so but some pieces of cannon placed upon the bridge which unites the two cities, they formed, to avoid this danger, a most extraordinary resolution. They placed before them all the women of Wyck. Provided with this rampart, they advanced over the bridge, and, covered with these singular bucklers, they fired boldly and safely upon the citizens, who, not being able to defend themselves without shooting their relations, or at least the women of their party, quitted their post, took refuge in their houses, and abandoned the field of battle to the Spaniards, who thus remastered the city without receiving a single wound.

But Maestricht again revolted, and freed itself from the Spanish yoke.

SECOND SIEGE, A.D. 1579.

Three years after the first revolt, this place was invested by the celebrated prince of Parma, governor of Flanders. This general, having secured his quarters and encamped in face of Maestricht, directed a numerous park of artillery against it. Mondragone was charged with the blockade on the side of Wyck. In a short time the circumvallation was secured; and, simultaneously, the Meuse was closed, both below and above the city, by two bridges of boats, sufficiently solid to deprive the enemy of all chance of entrance to the place by water. These bridges served at the same time as means of communication to the army spread over both banks of the river. The trenches were opened. The garrison, being small, could not risk many sorties, but they made some with success. Two attacks were formed: one at the Brussels gate, and the other opposite the curtain which was between the gate of Hoxter and that of the Cross. When the trenches were sufficiently advanced, Hierges set his batteries playing. The Spaniards had already arrived at the counterscarp, and were endeavouring to debouch in the fosse, to fill it promptly and second the operations of the artillery. The Brussels gate was defended by a good ravelin and a large cavalier, which impeded the progress of the besiegers greatly. It was battered by some pieces of large cannon; but the audacity of the besieged seemed to increase with their peril. The Spaniards on their part redoubled their efforts; their ardour was indefatigable; they emulated each other in braving dangers. Within the walls, the citizens and the countrymen who had there sought refuge, vied with the most practised soldiers in intrepidity. The women themselves became redoubtable warriors: three companies of them were formed, one of which was employed at the counter-mines, and the others did garrison duty. They appeared on the ramparts by the side of the bravest soldiers; they cheerfully shared the painful labours of the pioneers, and entered warmly into the repairs of old fortifications, or the erection of new ones. The besiegers, however, remained masters of the fosse, and the breach appeared sufficiently practicable for an assault to be attempted. A signal was given for one; but the Spaniards, after making the most courageous efforts, were constrained to retire with loss. The fire of the batteries increased; the works were perfected; all sorts of means were employed to prevent the enemy from repairing the breaches made in the ramparts of the city. A second assault was prepared. To weaken the resistance of the Flemings by dividing it, it was resolved to give the assault at the two attacks. The trumpets sounded; they rushed to the breaches; the parties met; the contest began; one side impetuously attacking, the other as firmly defending: victory remained doubtful; Herle, in the Spanish ranks, and Tappin, the celebrated defender of Maestricht, performing prodigies of valour. It was a hand-to-hand fight,--pike to pike, and sword to sword. Some barrels of powder caught fire, and blew up; in an instant the ground was covered with mutilated bodies. The combat ceased, and the besiegers were obliged to retreat, without having been able to gain possession of the breach. This fruitless attempt cost the Spaniards very dear. But the greater part of the garrison had perished upon the walls, and the remainder were in want of everything. Disease, fatigue, watching, and famine, made awful ravages. No more confidence could be placed in the succours promised by the prince of Orange; and the inhabitants, determined to die rather than surrender, had no resource but their bravery. The ravelin which covered the Brussels gate annoying the besiegers greatly, the prince of Parma determined to make himself master of it. He ordered some fresh mines, and on the 24th of June succeeded in winning it. The prince, profiting by this advantage, caused the large cavalier constructed at this point to be raised much higher, and turned the fire against the place. The besieged, being without repose and finding safety nowhere, began to despair of holding out, without, however, being at all willing to subscribe to the honourable capitulation offered them by the prince. That general fell sick; the siege appeared to suffer by the circumstance, and the attacks became weaker. In consequence of this, the exhausted citizens relaxed in their vigilance. The prince, who from his bed was still watchful, learnt how matters stood, and immediately ordered an assault. On the morning of the day designed for this last effort, a soldier having crept through an ill-repaired breach, found no one on the walls but some sentinels buried in sleep. He informed the general of this. The troops were commanded to follow him: the breach was mounted, and the city taken. The carnage was so frightful, that scarcely four hundred persons were spared. The life of the brave Tappin, the governor of Maestricht, was however saved, out of respect for his character. The besiegers lost two thousand five hundred men; but a booty of a million of crowns of gold, and the conquest of an important city, compensated for their fatigues and perils.

THIRD SIEGE, A.D. 1632.

In 1632 Maestricht was reduced by the prince of Orange, and was confirmed to the Dutch in 1648.

FOURTH SIEGE, A.D. 1673.

On the 10th of June, Louis XIV. appeared before Maestricht with an army of forty thousand men. This place, esteemed one of the keys of the Netherlands and the United Provinces, was defended by a garrison of five thousand men, and by an intrepid governor, named Farjaux, a Frenchman by birth, but in the service of Holland. On the 17th the trenches were opened, and five batteries were directed against the city. Vauban, who in this siege first distinguished himself, employed the parallels invented by some Italian engineers in the service of the Turks, before Candia. He added places of arms in the trenches, to draw up troops in battle order, and the better to rally them in the event of sorties. Louis proved himself, in this famous expedition, more particular and laborious than he had ever been. By his example he accustomed a nation till that time accused of having nothing but a brilliant courage which fatigue easily exhausted, to patience in labour and endurance in protracted operations. As long as the siege lasted, he was up the whole night, from ten o’clock in the evening till five in the morning. After having ordered everything he thought necessary for the attack, he retired to his tent to take some repose till dinner-time. On leaving table, he mounted on horseback to make the tour of the lines and visit the quarters: in consequence of this, the companions of his labours went to the assaults and performed their duties in the most exemplary manner. The most furious assault was that of the 24th of June, and was made at the counterscarp of the Tongres gate; in it the French and the Dutch were by turns conquerors and conquered, whilst disputing an advanced half-moon. The first company of musketeers was commanded to fall upon this half-moon, whilst the second precipitated itself upon the palisades between that post and the hornwork. “The signal was given,” says M. de Saint-Foix; “they marched, and in spite of the vigorous resistance of the enemy, in spite of the fire of the _fourneaux_ which were sprung, and the terrible reports of the grenades which were incessantly cast among them, these works were carried almost at the same moment.” Four bloody conflicts were necessary; and they only triumphed in the last, after losing many men. Night separated the combatants. The action of the morrow was still more warm and murderous; it was believed that the lodgments were secured, and the musketeers had returned to the camp. The enemy sprang a _fourneau_, which the French had not discovered, in the half-moon: there was reason to think it was not the only one. Farjaux, who had placed himself at the head of the best troops of his garrison, profiting by this moment of alarm, entered the work and drove out the French soldiers. The musketeers were ordered to take it again, and they did retake it. In an obstinate and sanguinary conflict, fifty-three musketeers were wounded and thirty-seven killed, with the famous count d’Artagnan, commander of the first company. “The musketeers who returned from this fight,” says Pelisson, “had all their swords blooded up to the guards, and bent and notched with the blows they had given.” So many repeated and terrible attacks destroyed the defenders of Maestricht without weakening the courage of the survivors. Farjaux in particular was determined to hold out to the last minute; he preferred a glorious death to life at the hands of a conqueror, and he formed the resolution of making one more attempt. A mine was dug, and set fire to with too much precipitation; the soldiers of Farjaux were blown up by it instead of the French. This accident so completely disconcerted the besieged, that even their bold governor was forced to think of composition. They were satisfied, on the 29th of June, with a favourable capitulation. The remains of the garrison retired with the honours of war, and the inhabitants retained their privileges. This conquest cost France nearly eight thousand men; the besieged lost more than three thousand.

FIFTH SIEGE, A.D. 1676.

Louis XIV., aware of the importance of his victory, placed in the city a garrison of six thousand foot and twelve hundred horse. Three years after, the prince of Orange laid siege to Maastricht with an army of twenty-five thousand men, whilst the duke of Villa-Hermosa on one side, and the count de Waldeck on the other, intrenched in advantageous posts, watched the operations of the French, and held themselves in readiness to prevent their succouring the besieged. The count de Calvo commanded in Maestricht, in the absence of Marshal d’Estrades, the governor. This officer was a Catalan, in the service of France; the king had not a braver soldier; but as he had all his life served in the cavalry, he was thought to be more in his place at the head of a squadron of horse than of a garrison. As soon as the place was invested, he assembled the principal officers: “Gentlemen,” said he, “I have served all my life as a cavalry officer, and have very little acquaintance with the defence of cities. All that I know is that I will never surrender. Concert among you the means of an obstinate and insurmountable resistance, and I will undertake to have them executed with as much vigour as celerity.” The frankness of the commander won all hearts, and the confidence he placed in his subalterns elevated and expanded their minds. There was established, without pride, mistrust, or jealousy, a communication of ideas which saved the city, and which places the name of Calvo among the few that will descend to posterity.

Calvo made a vigorous and considerable sortie, the commencement of which was fortunate. The prince of Orange, informed of what was going on in the trenches, flew to the succour of his people with the greatest courage, drove back the French with the sword to their gates, and being wounded in the arm, exclaimed to those who had fought without spirit, “This is the way you should act, gentlemen! It is you who have caused the wound for which you appear to entertain so much regret.” Calvo first introduced the use of back-handled scythes; his soldiers, armed with these in the sorties, killed three men at a stroke. The trenches were opened on the 19th of July, and the batteries were erected on the 22nd: during eight days the firing never ceased. At length a large breach was made in the Dauphin bastion, and an assault was ordered for the 30th. It was terrible, but proved useless. The Dutch retired with loss. The next day the prince of Orange ordered a second attack, still more sanguinary and quite as unsuccessful. A suspension of arms was then entered into to bury the dead. Not at all discouraged, the prince gave a third assault, and succeeded in gaining the bastion. Scarcely had he gained a lodgment, when the French sprang two mines, the bursting of which they followed up by a furious sortie: they were, however, repulsed, and the work remained in the hands of the Dutch. Some days after they took another bastion, and drew near to the counterscarp. Whilst the Hollanders were preparing to pour their thunders upon this part of the fortifications, the powder and grenades of the besieged were suddenly set fire to. Taking advantage of the consequent disorder, the enemy gained possession of the counterscarp: they then prepared to attack the hornwork. Twice they gave the assault, and twice they were driven back with loss. The dragoons and the cavalry having dismounted to sustain the infantry, discouraged by so many repulses, a third effort was made. It was so terrible that the covered way was choked with dead bodies, and the blood of the slaughtered discoloured the waters of the fosse. But the assailants were forced to regain their former posts, after having lost a host of soldiers.

But now news was brought that Marshal Schomberg was hastening to the succour of the place, and the prince of Orange, having already lost twelve thousand men, did not think it prudent to wait for him. He decamped in the night of the 26th of August, after forty days of open trenches, and, to make the more haste, embarked thirty pieces of cannon, five hundred wounded, and a great quantity of munitions on the Meuse. At daybreak, the garrison perceiving the retreat of the Dutch, pursued them, and took some prisoners.

SIXTH SIEGE, A.D. 1748.

“Peace is in Maestricht,” said the Marshal de Saxe. It was with preparations for this siege that the campaign of 1748 commenced. It was necessary to secure all the passages, to force an army to retreat, to render it powerless for action, to deceive the enemy, and leave his own troops in ignorance of his secret. Marshal Saxe succeeded in all this; he only communicated his views to M. de Cremille; he made the allies believe that his object was Buda, and he went, at the head of twenty-five thousand men, to conduct a convoy to Bergen-op-Zoom, feigning to turn his back towards Maestricht. Three divisions advanced upon Tirlemont, Tongres, and Luxembourg; and at length all four took their route towards Maestricht. The enemy quitted their posts precipitately, abandoned immense magazines, and knew nothing of the designs of the count de Saxe until it was too late to oppose them. The city was invested, without a possibility of any succour being introduced. The siege was pushed on with vigour. The baron d’Aylva, the governor, and the count de Marshal commanding the Austrian garrison, displayed in vain all their skill to dispute the ground, and drive back the besiegers. They were on the point of submitting to the conqueror, when a courier, despatched by the duke of Cumberland, came to announce the cessation of hostilities, and to confirm the saying of Marshal Saxe with which we commenced this article.

There is scarcely a siege on record which does not convey a lesson to students in the military art, even to experienced generals, and above all to kings or ministers directing a war--the lesson in this is secrecy before the attempt: had Maurice de Saxe told all the world what was the object of his preparations, he might as well have attempted to besiege the moon as Maestricht.

Maestricht was besieged in vain by the French, under Meranda, in 1793, but yielded to the troops of that country, commanded by Kleber, in 1794, after eleven days of open trenches.

ANTWERP.

The great commercial city of Antwerp has been several times subjected to sieges, of two of which only we think it necessary to offer any details.

FIRST SIEGE, A.D. 1583.

The Netherlands, tired of the Spanish domination, made the false step of getting rid of one evil by adopting another quite as bad, and elected as their sovereign Francis of France, who, known as the duke d’Alençon, had recently assumed the title of duke d’Anjou. The worthy brother of Francis II., Charles IX., and Henry III.--the son of Catherine de Medici--the duke of Anjou, might have been thought the last prince to be selected for the purpose of reigning over a people so situated as the Netherlanders were; but France was the enemy of Spain, was the most powerful neighbour they had, and the wily Catherine and wicked Henry III. were liberal in their promises.

Very little satisfied with the name of leader and a limited authority, the duke of Anjou soon made an effort to throw off the yoke of the States, and to reign as monarch. His first design was to gain possession of the citadel of Antwerp. On the 17th of January, 1583, he left his palace early in the morning, followed by several Frenchmen on horseback, and passed out of the city, by the gate of St. James. He had scarcely left the city, when those who accompanied him pretended to quarrel among themselves, and fell sword in hand upon the _corps de garde_, the soldiers of which they massacred, or put to flight, and, at the same time, seized upon that gate. All the citizens of that quarter hastened to the spot, whilst the French took possession of the Emperor’s gate, and of the curtain which was between those two entrances. The troops who had been left in the city, ran through the streets, exclaiming: “The city is won! the city is won! Vive la Messe! Vive la Messe!” which was their rallying cry. Fifteen ensigns of foot and ten cornets of horse came to their assistance. The Swiss were approaching likewise. But an accident they might have prevented, disconcerted the enterprise. They had forgotten to take possession of the portcullis of the St. James gate; and the citizens, on perceiving this omission, rushed to the top of it, let it down, and thus impeded the entrance of the French. The whole people took up arms, every man became a soldier. The enraged citizens combined instantly to drive out an enemy who aimed at their property and their lives. So much in earnest were they, that they took the money from their purses, and moulded or cut it into bullets with their teeth, and loaded their guns with it. The women disputed with the men the glory of defending their country. The disconcerted French were surrounded, pursued, and completely routed. In vain the duke endeavoured to withdraw them from the rage of the Flemings: they were all killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. Fifteen hundred were left on the field of battle; among whom were persons of the most illustrious houses in France: the Flemings did not lose a hundred men.

SECOND SIEGE, A.D. 1585.

This is considered one of the most remarkable sieges of modern times, from its cause, the parties concerned, the events, and the result.