better guard' the town. Thofe who esate to him, and who were much rejoiced at hi& arrival, • replied i € Ah, fir, what can we do ? You know we have had our good captain flain ; and, by an. exact çt&count, the town of Ghent has toft, without counting ftrangors, full nine thoufand men. This lofs touches us fo nearly that we . have no hopes left/ € Ye fooliih people/ anfwered Peter du Bois, * are ye thus thunderftruck when the war is not near over, nor the town of Ghent fo famous as file (hall be ? If Philip is dead, it has been by his own violence. Clofe your gates, and think of preparing to defend yourfelves. Ye do not fuppofe that the king of France will come here his winter-time ; and before the proper feafon fliall arrive, we (hall have gained reinforce-ments from our friends in Holland, Zealand, Quelderknd, Brabant and other places. We can have men enough for our money. Francis Atremen, who is now in England, will foon re-turn, and he and I will be your captains. The war has never been fo ferions, or fo well conduct-ed, as we will have it. We are much better alone than joined by all Flanders ; for while we had the country with us, we knew not how to make war. Let us now attend to the bufinefs ottrfelves, and we (hall perform greater exploits than have hitherto been done/ By fuch fpeeches as this did Peter du 'Bois rsdly the caft-down inhabitants of Ghent, who would, without doubt, have furrendered them-felves unconditionally to the king of France, if Peterdu -Bois* had not been there. So much « * depends «39