Rock of Gibraltar.

Desperate efforts were made by the garrison to haul down the flag, but
they all failed, and the Governor capitulated. The Prince of
Hesse-Darmstadt was for claiming the fortress, but this Rooke would
not have, and he promptly declared the Rock to be the possession of
his august mistress, Queen Anne. Those of the defenders who were
prepared to take the oath of allegiance to Charles III were permitted
to remain, the rest for the most part retired to St. Roque.

The handful of harum-scarum fellows who had scaled the heights and
planted the flag before long found themselves facing the great Admiral
Sir George Rooke himself, on his quarter-deck, Lieutenant Fieldsend
and George Fairburn being of the party. The admiral said a few words
of commendation; few as they were, they were a full reward for all the
efforts the little band had made. Rooke kept the lieutenant behind for
a moment.

"What do you propose to do now, Mr. Lieutenant?" he inquired, with
much kindly condescension; "our work is about finished, and we are
proceeding home."

"By you leave, Sir George," the young man replied, with flushed face,
"I should like to join his Grace the Duke in the Netherlands, and so
would the lad Fairburn."

"Good," said the Admiral, approvingly, "we will see what can be done
when we reach Portsmouth. I have heard something of the boy's doings.
He will go far, if he is fortunate."

Accordingly, when, after a great fight with the French fleet under the
formidable Count of Toulouse, off Malaga, a doubtful affair, the
English ships reached home, the lieutenant and George at once offered
for service under the Duke, and were accepted. They sailed away again,
for the Netherlands, Fieldsend carrying in his pocket a few words of
recommendation from Sir George to the commander-in-chief himself.

The year 1703 had been a sorry year for Marlborough. In the winter he
had lost his son, the Marquis of Blandford, a promising youth, a
Cambridge student. When the spring operations began, he had found
himself hampered at every turn by the jealousies and oppositions of
the Dutch rulers and their commanders. In despair, Marlborough had
marched up the Rhine and taken Bonn. Meanwhile the French were
striving to reach Vienna, there to attack the Emperor. Returning, the
Duke was all eager to attack the great port and stronghold of Antwerp,
the capture of which would be a heavy blow to Louis. He had, however,
to content himself with