Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-10-05
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The roar Of tho thunder sounded lib,
heavy cannOnading, Tho lightningl
blaze appeared ~ the steady light OF |
conhagration, With our hands owe
our eyes, Harry aud I rushed ont int
the night
Under rod sky people We're hurry
ing toward the Stadthuis, Flames II
tho direction Of tho Roman tower told
M that tho heart Of the town waa ailrc
The faces Of those We saw were haggarc
and emaciatcd. From every side VI
caught diajoinied phrases Of complaint
on despair. "ll0rsehcSl nj ten shil
lings the pound. aaid one, "and bread
at sixteen shillngs," "lircad indeed :
an old woman rotorted cts eight
weeks gone since have seen ciUmb,
"My little grandchild, vic lame one,
went last night" "Do You know what
Gokke Bette, the washerwoman, did
She was starving, Her babe died, aud
she and hor man"
A louder cannonbnrst cut short ih,
revelation. We made our way on TO
wards the citadel OF the town. passing Il
few soldiers here AMI there and many
burghers with grim faces under thci'
broad.brimmcd felt hats.
"There il bread in plenty Wonder
where the gunpowder IL, and full par
don, too. Valdez shot another amnest,
over the walls this morning"
An excited crowd Immediately sur
rounded the speaker, "lin, the lcctV
they cried.
"The fleet IN surrounded fast IN III,
Greenway polder. Eoisot may turn his
one eye seward for wind till famine
and pestilence have carried on every
mothers son Of We, and lii nrks will moi
be ropes length nearer Death by
plague, death by starvation, death by
tire and musketry-that Is what the
burgomaster offers ny in return 70,
glory for himself and kingdom fol
Orange"
"He asks u.s. said sturdy citizen
TO hold out only twenty.fonr hour;
long, and to pray meanwhile for m
ocean wind"
"Ah, yes" sneered the first speaker
"Pray on. There is bread enough
locked in Peter Adriaansaoon Van del
Werfs cellar. ! warrant you that is
what gives him such a terrible stomach
for resisting the most Catholic king.
A young girl with braided yellow
hair, pressed through the crowd and
confronted the malcontent. "Good
people," said the maiden, edo moi
listen to him. He is q traitor with Q
Spanish heart am Peters daughter
We have no bread. We ate malt cakes
and linseed and mpeseed like the resi-
Of you till that was gone. Then We
stripped the green leaves from the lime
trees and willows in our garden and ate
them. We have eaten even the thistle'
and weeds that grew between the stones
by the canal. The coward lies
Nevertheless, the insinuation had its
effect. The throng, now become mob
surged off in the direction of the burgo
masters house. One ruffian raised hi:
hand to strike the girl out Of the way
In wink the cur was under the feet o
his fellows, and Harry, painting ant
/ glowing, stood at the maiden's side
shouting defiance in good English n
the backs of the rapidly retreatinl
crowd.
With the utmost franliness she pu
both her hands around Harry's neck ant
kissed him.
"Thank you," she said, You are
hearty lad My name is Gertruyd Val
der Vert"
Harry was fumbling in his vocahular,
for the proper Dutch phrase, but tn
girl would not stay for compliments
They mean mischief to my father" ant
she hurried us through several exceed
ingly narrow streets into three corner
ed market-place, before brick churcl
with twin spires. "There he is, sh
exclaimed, con the steps of st. Pan
cras."
There was tnmult in the market
place. The confagration raging beyon'
the church and the voices OF the Spanisl
and Walloon cannon outside OF til
walls We're less angry than the roar O
this multitude of desperate men clam
oring for the bread that q single wor'
from their leaders lips would brinl
them. Surrender to the king " the
cried, cor we will send your dead bod
to Lammen rs Leyden's token of sub
mission"
One tall man, taller by half Il hea
than any of the burghers confronting
him, and so dark OF complexion that W
wondered how he could be the father G
Gertr,lyd, heard the threat in silence
When the burgomaster spoke, the mo
listened in spite Of themselves.
"What is it you ask, my friends
That we break Onr vow and sulTende
I.eyien to the Spaniarls? That is t
devote ourselves TO fate far more hol
.rible than starvation. | have sworn t
hold the town; God give me strength t
keep the oath Kill me, if You VII
have it so. l can die only once, whethe
by your hands, by the hands of tn
enemy, or by the hand of God. Let u
starve, if we must, welcoming starvatio
because it comes before dishonor. You
menaces do not move me; my life is O
your disposal. Here, take my sword
thrust it into my breast, and divide m
flesh among you to appease your hur
ger So long as I remain alive expet
; no surrender"
There was silence again while the mo
wavered. Then there. were mutterin
around us. Above those rang ont th
. clear voice of the girl whose han