resistance which astonished the Spaniards. The church bells rang the
alarm throughout the city, and the whole population swarmed to the
walls. The besiegers were encountered not only with sword and musket,
but with every implement which the burghers' hands could find. Heavy
stones, boiling oil, live coals, were hurled upon the heads of the
soldiers; hoops, smeared with pitch and set on fire, were dexterously
thrown upon their necks. Even Spanish courage and Spanish ferocity
were obliged to shrink before the steady determination of a whole
population animated by a single spirit. Romero lost an eye in the
conflict, many officers were killed and wounded, and three or four
hundred soldiers left dead in the breach, while only three or four of
the townsmen lost their lives. The signal of recall was reluctantly
given, and the Spaniards abandoned the assault.

"Don Frederic was now aware that Haarlem would not fall at his feet
at the first sound of his trumpet. It was obvious that a siege must
precede the massacre. He gave orders, therefore, that the ravelin
should be undermined, and doubted not that, with a few days' delay,
the place would be in his hands."

The Prince of Orange then made, from Sassenheim, another attempt to
relieve the town, sending 2,000 men. But a fog falling, they lost
their way and fell into the enemy's hands. "De Koning," says Motley,
"second in command, was among the prisoners. The Spaniards cut off his
head and threw it over the walls into the city, with this inscription:
'This is the head of Captain De Koning, who is on his way with
reinforcements for the good city of Haarlem'. The citizens retorted
with a practical jest, which was still more barbarous. They cut off the
heads of eleven prisoners and put them into a barrel, which they threw
into the Spanish camp. A label upon the barrel contained these words: