proved, it was able to resist the violent pressure of the ice These timbers, which rested firmly and securely on the bottom of the river, and projected a considerable height above it, being covered with planks, afforded a commodious roadway. It was wide enough to allow eight men to cross abreast, and a balustrade that ran along it on both sides, protected them from the fire of small arms from the enemy's vessels. This "Stacade," as it was called, ran from the two opposite shores as far as the increasing depth and force of the stream alowed. It reduced the breadth of the river to about 1100 feet; as, however, the middle and proper current would not admit of such a barrier, there remained, therefore, between the two stacades, a space of more than six hundred paces, through which a whole fleet of transports could sail with ease. This intervening space, the prince designed to close by a bridge of boats, for which purpose the craft must be procured from Dunkirk. But besides that they could not be obtained in any number at that place, it would be difficult to bring them past Antwerp without great loss. He was, therefore, obliged to content himself for the time with having narrowed the stream one half, and rendered the passage of the enemy's vessels so much the more difficult. Where the stacades terminated in the middle of the stream, they spread out into parallelograms, which were mounted with heavy guns, and served as a kind of battery on the water. From these, a heavy fire was opened on every vessel that attempted to pass through this narrow channel. Whole fleets, however, and sin gle vessels still attempted and succeeded in passing this dan gerous strait.

Meanwhile Ghent surrendered, and this unexpected success at once rescued the prince from his dilemma. He found in this town every thing necessary to complete his bridge of boats; and the only difficulty now was its safe transport, which was furnished by the enemy themselves. By cutting the dams at Saftingen, a great part of the country of Waes, as far as the village of Borcht, had been laid under water, so that it was not difficult to cross it with flat-bottomed boats. The prince, therefore, ordered his vessels to run out from Ghent, and after passing Dendermonde and Rupelmonde, to pass through the left dyke of the Scheldt, leaving Antwerp to the right, and sail over the inundated fields in the direction

of Borcht. To protect this passage, a fort was erected at the latter village, which would keep the enemy in check. All succeeded to his wishes, though not without a sharp action with the enemy's flotilla, which was sent out to intercept this convoy. After breaking through a few more dams on their route, they reached the Spanish quarters at Calloo, and successfully entered the Scheldt again. The exultation of the army was the greater, when they discovered the extent of danger the vessels had so narrowly escaped. Scarcely had they got quit of the enemy's vessels, when a strong reinforcement from Antwerp got under weigh, commanded by the valiant defender of Lillo, Odets von Teligny. When this officer saw that the affair was over, and that the enemy had escaped, he took possession of the dam through which their fleet had passed, and threw up a fort on the spot, in order to stop the passage of any vessels from Ghent, which might attempt to

follow them.

By this step, the prince was again thrown into embarrass. ment. He was far from having, as yet, a sufficient number of vessels, either for the construction of the bridge, or for its defence, and the passage by which the former convoy had arrived, was now closed by the fort erected by Teligny. While he was reconnoitring the country to discover a new way for his fleets, an idea occurred to him, which not only put an end to his present dilemma, but greatly accelerated the success of his whole plan. Not far from the village of Stecken, in Waes, which is within some 5000 paces of the commencement of the inundation, flows a small stream called the Moer, which falls into the Scheldt near Ghent. From this river, he caused a canal to be dug to the spot where the inundations began, and as the water of these was not every where deep enough for the transit of his boats, the canal between Bevern and Verrebroek was continued to Calloo, where it was met by the Scheldt. At this work five hundred pioneers laboured without intermission, and in order to cheer the toil of the soldiers, the prince himself took part in it. In this way did he imitate the example of two celebrated Romans, Drusus and Corbulo, who, by similar works, had united the Rhine with the Zuyder Zee, and the Maes with the Rhine.

This canal, which the army in honour of its projector called the canal of Parma, was 14,000 paces in length, and was of

proportionable depth and breadth, so as to be navigable for. ships of a considerable burden. It afforded to the vessels from Ghent not only a more secure, but also a much shorter course to the Spanish quarters, because it was no longer ne cessary to follow the many windings of the Scheldt, but entering the Moer at once near Ghent, and from thence passing close to Stecken, they could proceed through the canal, and across the inundated country as far as Calloo. As the pro-. duce of all Flanders was brought to the town of Ghent, this, canal placed the Spanish camp in communication with the whole province. Abundance poured into the camp from all quarters, so that during the whole course of the siege the Spaniards suffered no scarcity of any kind. But the greatest benefit which the prince derived from this work, was an adequate supply of flat-bottomed vessels to complete his bridge.

These preparations were overtaken by the arrival of winter, which, as the Scheldt was filled with drift ice, occasioned a considerable delay in the building of the bridge. The prince had contemplated with anxiety the approach of this season, lest it should prove highly destructive to the work he had undertaken, and afford the enemy a favourable opportunity for making a serious attack upon it. But the skill of his engineers saved him from the one danger, and the strange inaction of the enemy freed him from the other. It frequently happened, indeed, that at flood time large pieces of ice were entangled in the timbers, and shook them violently, but they stood the assault of the furious element, which only served to prove their stability.

In Antwerp meanwhile, important moments had been. wasted in futile deliberations, and in a struggle of factions, the general welfare was neglected. The government of the town was divided among too many heads, and much too great a share in it was held by the riotous mob, to allow room for calmness of deliberation, or firmness of action. Besides the municipal magistracy itself, in which the burgomaster had only a single voice, there were in the city a number of guilds, to whom were consigned the charge of the internal and external defence, the provisioning of the town, its fortifications, the marine, commerce, &c.; some of whom must be consulted in every business of importance. By means of this crowd of speakers, who intruded at pleasure into the council, and ma

naged to carry, by clamour and the number of their adherents, what they could not effect by their arguments, the people obtained a dangerous influence in the public debates, and the natural struggle of such discordant interests retarded the execution of every salutary measure. A government, so vacillating and impotent, could not comand the respect of unruly sailors and a lawless soldiery. The orders of the state consequently were but imperfectly obeyed, and the decisive moment was more than once lost by the negligence, not to say the open mutiny, both of the land and sea forces.

The little harmony in the sclection of the means by which the enemy was to be opposed, would not, however, have proved so injurious, had there but existed unanimity as to the end. But on this very point the wealthy citizens and poorer classes were divided, for the former, having every thing to apprehend from allowing matters to be carried to extremity, were strongly inclined to treat with the Prince of Parma. This disposition they did not even attempt to conceal, after the fort of Liefkenshoek had fallen into the enemy's hands, and serious fears were entertained for the navigation of the Scheldt. Some of them, indeed, withdrew entirely from the danger, and; left to its fate the town whose prosperity they had been ready enough to share, but in whose adversity they were unwilling to bear a part. From sixty to seventy of those who remained memorialized the council, advising that terms should be made with the king. No sooner, however, had the populace got intelligence of it, than their indignation broke out in a violent uproar, which was with difficulty appeased by the imprisonment and fining of the petitioners. Tranquillity could only be fully restored by the publication of an edict, which imposed the penalty of death on all who either publicly or privately should countenance proposals for peace.

The Prince of Parma did not fail to take advantage of these disturbances: for nothing that transpired within the city escaped his notice, being well served by the agents with whom he maintained a secret understanding with Antwerp, as well as the other towns of Brabant and Flanders. Although he had already made considerable progress in his measures for distressing the town, still he had many steps to take before he could actually make himself master of it; and one unlucky moment might destroy the work of many

months. Without, therefore, neglecting any of his warlike preparations, he determined to make one more serious attempt to get possession by fair means. With this object, he despatched a letter in November to the great Council of Antwerp, in which he skilfully made use of every topic likely to induce the citizens to come to terms, or at least to increase their existing dissensions. He treated them in this letter in the light of persons who had been led astray, and threw the whole blame of their revolt and refractory conduct hitherto upon the intriguing spirit of the Prince of Orange, from whose artifices the retributive justice of Heaven had so lately liberated them. "It was," he said, "now in their power to awake from their long infatuation, and return to their allegiance to a monarch, who was ready and anxious to be reconciled to his subjects. For this end, he gladly offered himself as mediator, as he had never ceased to love a country in which he had been born, and where he had spent the happiest days of his youth. He therefore exhorted them to send plenipotentiaries with whom he could arrange the conditions of peace, and gave them hopes of obtaining reasonable terms if they made a timely submission, but also threatened them with the severest treatment if they pushed matters to extremity."

This letter, in which we are glad to recognise a language very different from that which the Duke of Alva held ten years before on a similar occasion, was answered by the townspeople in a respectful and dignified tone. While they did full justice to the personal character of the prince, and acknowledged his favourable intentions towards them with gratitude, they lamented the hardness of the times, which placed it out of his power to treat them in accordance with his character and disposition. They declared that they would gladly place their fate in his hands, if he were absolute master of his actions, instead of being obliged to obey the will of another, whose proceedings his own candour would not allow him to approve of. The unalterable resolution of the King of Spain, as well as the vow which he had made to the Pope, were only too well known for them to have any hopes in that quarter. They at the same time defended with a noble warmth the memory of the Prince of Orange, their benefactor and preserver, while they enumerated the true