freebooters, and they were usually furnished by the Prince of Orange,
in his capacity of sovereign, with letters of marque for that purpose.
The Prince, indeed, did his utmost to control and direct an evil which
had inevitably grown out of the horrors of the time. His Admiral,
William de la Marck, was however, incapable of comprehending the lofty
purposes of his superior. A wild, sanguinary, licentious noble, wearing
his hair and beard unshorn, according to ancient Batavian custom, until
the death of his relative, Egmont, should have been expiated, a worthy
descendant of the Wild Boar of Ardennes, this hirsute and savage corsair
seemed an embodiment of vengeance. He had sworn to wreak upon Alva and
upon popery the deep revenge owed to them by the Netherland nobility, and
in the cruelties afterwards practised by him upon monks and priests, the
Blood Council learned that their example had made at least one ripe
scholar among the rebels. He was lying, at this epoch, with his fleet on
the southern coast of England, from which advantageous position he was
now to be ejected in a summary manner.

The negotiations between the Duke of Alva and Queen Elizabeth had already
assumed an amicable tone, and were fast ripening to an adjustment. It
lay by no means in that sovereign's disposition to involve herself at
this juncture in a war with Philip, and it was urged upon her government
by Alva's commissioners, that the continued countenance afforded by the
English people to the Netherland cruisers must inevitably lead to that
result. In the latter days of March, therefore, a sentence of virtual
excommunication was pronounced against De la Marck and his rovers. A
peremptory order of Elizabeth forbade any of her subjects to supply them
with meat, bread, or beer. The command being strictly complied with,
their farther stay was rendered impossible. Twenty-four vessels
accordingly, of various sizes, commanded by De la Marck, Treslong, Adam
van Harem, Brand, and Other distinguished seamen, set sail from Dover in