We have closed the gates behind us,
and are now hastening to get on board ship before our flight is
discovered A good reason then have we for making haste."

We observed that not only the men who had formed the guard at the gate
were armed, but so also were a large number of the persons who
accompanied them. I remembered well the escape of fugitives I had many
years before witnessed, when the Romanists, without remorse, attacked
them. We were still some distance from the point of embarkation towards
which the fugitives were making their way, when a shout from those still
behind us reached our ears:

"The Spaniards are coming! Fly, friends, fly! the Spaniards are
coming!"

We looked over our shoulders, and saw a body of horsemen sweeping along
the road which led from one of the further gates of the city. They were
galloping furiously, and by the glitter of their leader's sword, which
was pointed towards us, we were left in no doubt as to their intentions.

"Countrymen, we must stand and fight, and hold the ground till the women
and children have embarked! Who will rally round me?" cried one of the
fugitives.

The speaker was a sturdy artisan--a master blacksmith of the city,
well-known for the valiant way in which he had, on more than one
occasion, wielded his double-handled sword. Others repeated his call,
and some fifty brave fellows collected together, forming a strong body
across the road. Happily, in consequence of the number of canals and
ditches, the horsemen were compelled to keep in the causeway, and were
thus unable to cut off the fugitives by making a circuit in any other
direction. We could not help answering to the brave blacksmith's call,
by joining those who rallied round him. The order was now given slowly
to retreat, that we might afford ourselves a better chance of escaping
after the women and children had embarked. The Spanish horse were
drawing nearer and nearer. They were well-trained ruffians, whose
swords had often been dyed in the blood of the unhappy Netherlanders,
and no sensation of pity was likely to prevent them from slaughtering
all they could now overtake. As they came within a hundred yards of us,
their commander ordered them to charge.

"Slay! slay! cut down all your swords can reach!" we heard him shouting
out.

We had a few pike-men with us, who, springing to the front, knelt down
to receive the horses. Those with pistols formed the second rank, while
those with ar