f Orange, of the embarrassments under which our own Washington
labored in the time of the Revolution, and of the patience and
unconquerable spirit which enabled him to surmount them.

Little need be said of two of the expeditions, which were failures.
Hoogstraten had scarcely crossed the frontier, towards the end of April,
when he was met by Alva's trusty lieutenant, Sancho Davila, and beaten,
with considerable loss. Villers and some others of the rebel lords, made
prisoners, escaped the sword of the enemy in the field, to fall by that
of the executioner in Brussels. Hoogstraten, with the remnant of his
forces, made good his retreat, and effected a junction with the prince
of Orange.[1097]

Cocqueville met with a worse fate. A detachment of French troops was
sent against him by Charles the Ninth, who thus requited the service of
the same kind he had lately received from the duke of Alva. On the
approach of their countrymen, the Huguenots basely laid down their arms.
Cocqueville and his principal officers were surrounded, made prisoners,
and perished ignominiously on the scaffold.[1098]

The enterprise of Louis of Nassau was attended with different results.
Yet after he had penetrated into Groningen, he was sorely embarrassed by
the mutinous spirit of the German mercenaries. The province was defended
by Count Aremberg, its governor, a brave old officer, who had studied
the art of war under Charles the Fifth; one of those models of chivalry
on whom the men of a younger generation are ambitious to form
themselves. He had been employed on many distinguished services; and
there were few men at the court of Brussels who enjoyed higher
consideration under both Philip and his father. The strength of his
forces lay in his Spanish infantry. He was deficient in cavalry, but was
soon to be reinforced by a body of horse under Count Megen, who was a
day's march in his rear.

Aremberg soon came in sight of Louis, who was less troubled by the
presence of his enemy than by the disorderly conduct of his German
soldiers, clamorous for their pay. Doubtful of his men, Louis declined
to give battle to a foe so far superior to him in everything but
numbers. He accordingly established himself in an uncommonly strong
position, which the nature of the ground fortunately afforded. In his
rear, protected by a thick wood, stood the convent of Heyligerlee, which
gave its name to the battle. In front the land sloped towards an
extensive morass. H