the Spaniards, and who was one of his own most devoted adherents.

The Queen was much exasperated when informed of the fall of the city.
She severely denounced the Netherlanders, and even went so far as to
express dissatisfaction with the great Leicester himself. Meantime,
Farnese was well satisfied with his triumph, for he had been informed
that "all England was about to charge upon him," in order to relieve the
place. All England, however, had been but feebly represented by three
thousand raw recruits with a paltry sum of L15,000 to help pay a long
bill of arrears.

Wilkes and Norris had taken their departure from the Netherlands before
the termination of the siege, and immediately after the return of
Leicester. They did not think it expedient to wait upon the governor
before leaving the country, for they had very good reason to believe that
such an opportunity of personal vengeance would be turned to account by
the Earl. Wilkes had already avowed his intention of making his escape
without being dandled with leave-takings, and no doubt he was right. The
Earl was indignant when he found that they had given him the slip, and
denounced them with fresh acrimony to the Queen, imploring her to wreak
full measure of wrath upon their heads; and he well knew that his
entreaties would meet with the royal attention.

Buckhurst had a parting interview with the governor-general, at which
Killigrew and Beale, the new English counsellors who had replaced Wilkes
and Clerk, were present. The conversation was marked by insolence on the
part of Leicester, and by much bitterness on that of Buckhurst. The
parting envoy refused to lay before the Earl a full statement of the
grievances between the States-General and the governor, on the ground
that Leicester had no right to be judge in his own cause. The matter,