Then a first success came to William's cause like a faint ray of
sunlight through heavy clouds, for the Beggars of the Sea captured the
fortified town of Brill. And almost immediately after, encouraged by
this initial success, the whole of the Netherlands which had been
groaning under the Spanish rule rose in rebellion and claimed as their
rightful ruler the Prince of Orange. Almost in a night the cities rose
and cast off their Spanish yoke, and all through the Low Countries the
flag of the Prince of Orange was uplifted.

Alva sent his troops to lay siege to the towns and recapture them, and
there followed one of the most terrible periods of warfare that the
world has ever known--certainly the most terrible that ever engulfed
Belgium until the World War of our own day.

And now for the first time since his former defeat, the Prince of
Orange was able to raise troops to fight once more against the
Spaniards. He sent repeated appeals to the cities of the Low Countries,
and prepared an army of some twenty thousand German mercenaries that
was to be further strengthened by a French force under the French
Admiral Coligny. William counted on Coligny's aid to defeat Alva, for
Coligny was an ardent Protestant and had many men at his command.

But there befell another check to William's fortunes, and one that was
almost fatal to his plans, for under the wicked Catherine de Medici the
French Catholics in two days massacred almost every Protestant in
France in a slaughter that was called the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.
Admiral Coligny was among the victims, and all hope of support from
that quarter was at an end.

Louis, the brother of William, was being besieged by the Duke of Alva
in the city of Mons, and William marched to the relief of the town. He
did not strike promptly enough, however, and was routed by a strategem
on the part of the Spaniards. In the night a considerable force of the
Spanish soldiers stole up to William's camp and fell upon his army,
taking it completely by surprise. William himself barely escaped with
his life, being awakened by a pet dog in the nick of time, and when the
Spaniards were almost in his tent. Leaping to his horse, he galloped
madly from the burning camp and escaped, but his army was cut to
pieces. Then Alva continued the siege of Mons until Louis had to
surrender. The Spaniards, however, for some strange reason allowed
Louis to evacuate the town without interference and Louis fled to