s, suddenly rushed from the castle, and nearly fell into the
hands of the Spaniards as he fled from the scene. Two of the four
cuirassiers, who alone of the whole garrison accompanied him, were taken
prisoners. The governor escaped to unknown regions. Madame de Gomeron
then appeared before Fuentes, and tried in vain to soften him. De Gomeron
was at once beheaded in the sight of the whole camp. The two younger sons
were retained in prison, but ultimately set at liberty. The town and
citadel were thus permanently acquired by their lawful king, who was said
to be more afflicted at the death of D'Humieres than rejoiced at the
capture of Ham.

Meantime Colonel Verdugo, royal governor of Friesland, whose occupation
in those provinces, now so nearly recovered by the republic, was gone,
had led a force of six thousand foot, and twelve hundred horse across the
French border, and was besieging La Ferte on the Cher. The siege was
relieved by Bouillon on the 26th May, and the Spanish veteran was then
ordered to take command in Burgundy. But his days were numbered. He had
been sick of dysentery at Luxembourg during the summer, but after
apparent recovery died suddenly on the 2nd September, and of course was
supposed to have been poisoned. He was identified with the whole history
of the Netherland wars. Born at Talavera de la Reyna, of noble parentage,
as he asserted--although his mother was said to have sold dogs' meat, and
he himself when a youth was a private soldier--he rose by steady conduct
and hard fighting to considerable eminence in his profession. He was
governor of Harlem after the famous siege, and exerted himself with some
success to mitigate the ferocity of the Spaniards towards the
Netherlanders at that epoch. He was marshal-general of the camp under Don
John of Austria, and distinguished himself at the battle of Gemblours. He
succeeded Count Renneberg as governor of Friesland and Groningen, and
bore a manful part in most of the rough business that had been going on
for a generation of mankind among those blood-stained wolds and morasses.
He was often victorious, and quite as often soundly defeated; but he
enjoyed campaigning, and was a glutton of work. He cared little for
parade and ceremony, but was fond of recalling with pleasure the days
when he was a soldier at four crowns a month, with an undivided fourth of
one cloak, which he and three companions wore by turns on holidays.
Although accused of having attempted to