History of Protestantism in the Netherlands - James Aitken Wylie

defend their city. Meanwhile they gave the
besiegers no rest. The sallies from the town,
sometimes from one quarter, sometimes from
another, were of almost daily occurrence. On the
25th of March, 1,000 of the soldier-citizens threw
themselves upon the outposts of Toledo's army,
drove them in, burned 300 tents, and captured
cannon, standards, and many waggon-loads of
provisions, and returned with them to the city. The
exploit was performed in the face of 30,000 men.
This attacking party of 1,000 had slain each his
man nearly, having left 800 dead in the Spanish
camp, while only four of their own number had
fallen.[6] The citizens were ever eager to provoke
the Spaniards to battle; and with this view they
erected altars upon the walls in sight of the camp,
and tricked them out after the Romish fashion; they
set up images, and walking in procession dressed in
canonicals, they derided the Popish rites, in the
hope of stinging the champions of that faith into
fighting. They feared the approach of famine more
than they did the Spanish sword. Alva was amazed,
and evidently not a little mortified, to see such
valor in rebels and heretics, and was unable to
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