rs. He was the
tribune of the company, their spokesman, who had to lay their
grievances and wishes before the Captain, and to represent the
interests of the soldiery. It may easily be understood that such an
arrangement did not strengthen the discipline of the army; it was done
away with in time of war. Even the thankless office of quartermaster
was of greater importance than now; the complaints of the soldiers, who
quarrelled about the bad quarters he had provided for them, he met with
defiance, and inspired them with fear of his usurious practices. When a
company came to a deserted village, the serjeants threw their knives
into the hat of the quartermaster; he then went from house to house,
sticking the blades as they came to his hand in the door-posts, and
every band (of six or eight men) followed their leader's knife. When
poor members of the nobility, candidates for commission, of whom the
number was often great, presented themselves, their names were
inscribed on the list of lance-corporals. Old vagabonds full of
pretension were designated in the military kitchen Latin by the title
of "_Ambesaten_," and afterwards "_Landspassaten_;" they were orderlies
and messengers receiving higher pay, representatives and assistants of
the Corporals. There was a general endeavour to add a deputy to every
office, as the Lieutenant to the Captain, an under Ensign to the
Ensign, to the Serjeant an under Serjeant, and frequently with the
infantry a vidette for the sentinels at out-posts; in the same way
serjeants were deputies to the officers, and the "_Landspassaten_" to
the Corporal, and the provost to the provost-general, &c., &c.

The army consisted, with few exceptions, of enlisted soldiers. The
Sovereign empowered an experienced leader by patent to raise for him an
army, a regiment, or a company; recruiting places were sought for and a
muster place established where the recruits were collected. The
recruits were paid their travelling expenses or bounty; at the
beginning of the war this was insignificant, and sometimes deducted
from their pay, but later the bounty increased, and was given to the
soldiers. At the beginning of the war negotiations were carried on with
every mercenary, about the pay, at the muster-place. The soldier in
quarters received nothing but his pay, which in 1600, for the common
foot soldier, amounted to from fifteen to sixteen gulden a month.[8]
With this they had to procure for themselves weapons, cloth