He  had  caused  800  or  1,000  Frenchmen  quietlj^  to  slip  into
Antwerp,  in  addition  to  hia  ordinary  guard,  these  men  being  lodge<i


^-Se  StAtllSH  STAtE  PAtBftS,

1683.  ~

ill  various  places.  This  coming  to  tlie  ears  of  the  colonels  of  Antwerp,
tliey  ordered  on  the  night  of  the  16th  that  all  the  burgesses  should
hang  out  lanterns  at  the  doors  of  their  houses,  on  pain  of  death  for
neglect  tliereof.  The  order  was  so  rigorously  enforced  that  some
of  the  townspeople  were  scandalised,  and  asked  what  was  the
meaning  of  such  an  innovation.  They  were  told  there  were  800
more  Frenchmen  in  tlie  town  than  usual,  and  that  it  behoved  them
to  be  on  the  watch.  When  Alengon  left  the  town  to  hold  a  review,
he  left  all  his  guard  at  the  gate  called  Burgerhout,  with  many  more
Frenchmen  stationed  on  the  bridge  over  the  moat.  They  would
have  obtained  possession  of  the  country  if  the  burgesses  had  not
captured  two  pieces  of  artillery  near,  by  means  of  which  they  drove
from  the  gate  those  who  were  holding  it,  and  then,  closing  the
caat'e,  the  whole  populace  charged  upon  those  who  remained  inside
the  town  and  slaughtered  them.*  I  will  keep  your  Majesty
constantly  informed, — London,  23rd  January  1583.
24  Jan.     310.  The  King  to  Juan  Bautista  de  Tassis.
