Berlaymont was shot dead, many officers of distinction were killed or
wounded, but no soldier dared recoil while their chieftain wrought amid
the bullets like a common pioneer. Alexander, unharmed, as by a miracle,
never left the spot till the bridge had been constructed, and till ten
great guns had been carried across it, and pointed against the demilune.
The battery was opened, the mines previously excavated were sprung, a
part of the demilune was blown into the air, and the assailants sprang
into the breach. Again a furious hand-to-hand conflict succeeded; again,
after an obstinate resistance, the townspeople were forced to yield.
Slowly abandoning the shattered fort, they retired behind the breastwork
in its rear--their innermost and last defence. To this barrier they
clung as to a spar in shipwreck, and here at last they stood at bay,
prepared dearly to sell their lives.

The breastwork, being still strong, was not attempted upon that day. The
assailants were recalled, and in the mean time a herald was sent by
Parma, highly applauding the courage of the defenders, and begging them
to surrender at discretion. They answered the messenger with words of
haughty defiance, and, rushing in a mass to the breastwork, began with
spade, pickax, and trowel, to add to its strength. Here all the able-
bodied men of the town took up their permanent position, and here they
ate, drank, and slept upon their posts, while their food was brought to
them by the women and children.

A little letter, "written in a fine neat handwriting," now mysteriously
arrived in the city, encouraging them in the name of the Archduke and the
Prince of Orange, and assuring them of relief within fourteen days. A
brief animation was thus produced, attended by a corresponding languor
upon the part of the besiegers, for Alexander had been lying ill with a
fever since the day when the demilune had been carried. From his sick