remained awake and afoot the whole night, perfecting his arrangements for
the morning, and watching every indication of a possible advance on the
part of the enemy. Marcellus Bax and his troopers remained at the bridge
till morning, and were so near the Spaniards that they heard the voices
of their pickets, and could even distinguish in the distance the various
movements in their camp.

But no attack was made, and the little army of Maurice was allowed
to sleep off its fatigue. With the dawn of the 24th January,
a reconnoitring party, sent out from the republican camp, discovered that
Varax, having no stomach for an encounter, had given his enemies the
slip. Long before daylight his baggage and ammunition trains had been
sent off in a southerly direction, and his whole force had already left
the village of Turnhout. It was the intention of the commander to take
refuge in the fortified city of Herenthals, and there await the attack of
Maurice. Accordingly, when the stadholder arrived on the fields beyond
the immediate precincts of the village, he saw the last of the enemy's
rearguard just disappearing from view. The situation was a very peculiar
one.

The rain and thaw, following upon frosty weather, had converted the fenny
country in many directions into a shallow lake. The little river which
flowed by the village had risen above its almost level banks, and could
with difficulty be traversed at any point, while there was no permanent
bridge, such as there was at Ravels. The retreating Spaniards had made
their way through a narrow passage, where a roughly-constructed causeway
of planks had enabled the infantry to cross the waters almost in single
file, while the cavalry had floundered through as best they might. Those
who were acquainted with the country reported that beyond this defile
there was an upland heath, a league in extent, full of furze and