The church was then
fired and the dead and dying consumed together.
But these cruelties only steeled the Hollanders to a more obstinate
resistance; nor must it be concealed that in these _plusquam civilia
bella_, where civil hatred was still further embittered by sectarian
malignancy, the Dutch sometimes displayed as much savageness as their
adversaries. Thus, during the struggle in Zealand, a surgeon at Veer cut
out the heart of a Spanish prisoner, and, fixing it on the prow of a
vessel, invited his fellow-townsmen to fix their teeth in it, an
invitation with which many complied.
The war was continued during the winter (1572-1573). In December the
Spaniards marched to attack a fleet frozen up near Amsterdam. It was
defended by a body of Dutch musketeers on skates, who, by the superior
skill of their evolutions, drove the enemy back and killed great numbers
of them. In consequence of this extraordinary combat, Alva ordered seven
thousand pairs of skates, and directed his soldiers to be instructed in
their use. Siege was then laid to Haarlem, which town, warned by the
fate of Zutphen and Naarden, made a defence that astonished all Europe.
A corps of three hundred respectable women, armed with musket, sword,
and dagger, and led by Kenan Hasselaer, a widow lady of distinguished
family, about forty-seven years of age, enrolled themselves among its
defenders, and partook in some of the most fiercely contested actions.
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