less ceremonious manner than he had originally contemplated. Twelve
Biscayan ships stood out to sea, descried a large Lisbon fleet, by a
singular coincidence, suddenly heaving in sight, changed their course
again, and with a favoring breeze bore boldly up the Hond; passed
Flushing in spite of a severe cannonade from the forts, and eventually
made good their entrance into Rammekens, whence the soldiery, about one-
half of whom had thus been saved, were transferred at a very critical
moment to Middelburg.

The great Lisbon fleet followed in the wake of the Biscayans, with much
inferior success. Totally ignorant of the revolution which had occurred
in the Ise of Walclieren, it obeyed the summons of the rebel fort to come
to anchor, and, with the exception of three or four, the vessels were all
taken. It was the richest booty which the insurgents had yet acquired by
sea or land. The fleet was laden with spices, money, jewellery, and the
richest merchandize. Five hundred thousand crowns of gold were taken,
and it was calculated that the plunder altogether would suffice to
maintain the war for two years at least. One thousand Spanish soldiers,
and a good amount of ammunition, were also captured. The unexpected
condition of affairs made a pause natural and almost necessary, before
the government could be decorously transferred. Medina Coeli with
Spanish grandiloquence, avowed his willingness to serve as a soldier,
under a general whom he so much venerated, while Alva ordered that, in
all respects, the same outward marks of respect should be paid to his
appointed successor as to himself. Beneath all this external ceremony,
however, much mutual malice was concealed.

Meantime, the Duke, who was literally "without a single real," was forced
at last to smother his pride in the matter of the tenth penny. On the
24th June, he summoned the estates of Holland to assemble on the 15th of