starving.

"It was a desperate battle, and the Spaniards in the end remained
masters of the field, but Mansfeldt with his bands had burst their
way through them, and succeeded in crossing into Holland. Here
their position was bettered; for, though there was little fighting
for them to do, and they could get no pay, they lived and grew
fat in free quarters among the Dutch. At last the force broke
up altogether; the Germans scattered to their homes, the English
crossed the seas, and Hepburn led what remained of Sir Andrew Gray's
bands to Sweden, where he offered their services to Gustavus. The
Swedish king had already a large number of Scotch in his service,
and Hepburn was made a colonel, having a strong regiment composed
of his old followers inured to war and hardship, and strengthened
by a number of new arrivals. When in 1625 hostilities were renewed
with Poland Hepburn's regiment formed part of the army which invaded
Polish Prussia. The first feat in which he distinguished himself in
the service of Sweden was at the relief of Mewe, a town in Eastern
Prussia, which was blockaded by King Sigismund at the head of
30,000 Poles. The town is situated at the confluence of the Bersa
with the Vistula, which washes two sides of its walls.

"In front of the other face is a steep green eminence which the
Poles had very strongly entrenched, and had erected upon it ten
batteries of heavy cannon. As the town could only be approached on
this side the difficulties of the relieving force were enormous;
but as the relief of the town was a necessity in order to enable
Gustavus to carry out the campaign he intended, the king determined
to make a desperate effort to effect it.