Die schwarze Galeere. English Read online

that moment in time?), at the door of aprincess, opened it slightly, shoved his head into the room and whisperedto his still sleepy daughter, alarmed at the intrusion:

  "Antwerp has surrendered! Antwerp has surrendered, Donya Clara!"

  The castle became a hive of activity as the great news spread...

  "And what about you, Jeronimo?" asked the commander of Fort Liefkenhoek."What was your reward for such joyful and glorious tidings?"

  "Yes, what was your reward, Jeronimo? Were you dubbed a knight of theorder of Calatrava?" asked the other officers.

  "No, I'm not a knight of the order of Calatrava," answered the old warhorse. "And as far as material rewards go, His Catholic Majesty hunga golden chain around my neck and gave me a commission in his army asa colonel."

  "Ah!" the commander said, and the other officers pushed nearer.

  "I know," said the old warrior, "I know full well what that look means,mi coronel; it means: So why are you here now as my subordinate, as apoor half invalid mercenary? Isn't that what you're thinking?" As heasked this question he looked round the circle of men around him. "Well,I'll tell you, being as I'm getting to that part of my story. Prick upyour ears youngsters. There might be a lesson in this for you. On 13July 1591 Prince Alexander Farnese set up camp before Fort Knodsenburg,opposite Nijmegen, in order to lay siege to it, but Gerhard de Jonge, theDutch commander, was a brave man and we had our bloody work cut out withhim. To give Alexander a scare Maurice of Orange moved up from Arnhem tothe Betau and proceeded to set up an ambush after reconnoitring the areaaround our camp. Seven of our ensigns, Spanish and Italian lancers, rodeout against the enemy. Doughty knights were among them, I can tell you:Francesco Nicelli, Alfonso Davalos, Padilla, Jeronimo Caraffa and DecioManfredi to name but a few. I was bearer of the prince's standard thatday--a plague on it! Up and at the enemy we were and the enemy withdrewin haste until such time as we fell into the ambush and were wiped out toa man. God in heaven, I had already sustained thirty war wounds whichscars all over my body bore witness to and I had bled at every closeencounter, but this time, this time, as all my companions lay dead andbleeding on the field of battle, I alone escaped uninjured. The Duke ofParma's victorious standard, however, which I had been carrying, wascaptured by the enemy! It bore an embroidered figure of Christ with themotto: Hic fortium dividet spolia or He will apportion the spoils to thebravest. My honour as a soldier was lost. The following day the goldenchain Don Felipe had given me in token of my sterling service was tornfrom off my neck, another more fortunate inherited my post and I wasallowed to lose myself in the ranks as an ordinary mercenary. I changedmy name and re-enlisted in a German regiment. Overnight I became greyand bent and assumed the rank of captain again under my new name and soI am your subordinate, commander, and your comrade, gentlemen. Don'tturn away from me!"

  The commander of Fort Liefkenhoek reached out his hand to the storytellerand shook it warmly in silence; the other soldiers present pressed forwardto reach out their hands to him too.

  "Enough!" said the veteran. "What difference does it make, for it allcomes down to the same in the end. I have witnessed the eclipse of manyreputations and much honour and fame. King Philip the Second sleeps inthe Escorial, the great prince Alexander Farnese lies in Parma. Where isFernando Alvarez de Toledo now? Where is our redoubtable enemy, Williamthe Silent?"

  "Quo pius Aeneas, quo divus Tullus et Ancus? Where is god-fearing Aeneas?Where are the divine Tullus and Ancus?" laughed a young ensign, who wasfresh out of upper school in Salamanca; but no-one paid attention to him,and Captain Jeronimo continued. "Enough, comrades. Let each man do hisduty and think himself an honest man. Let the company stand easy, micoronel, or we'll all be down with red dysentery tomorrow. That nastybusiness down there on the estuary has been put an end to now--and HisCatholic Majesty Philip the Third and his Genoese Excellency, SignorFederigo Spinola, have one good ship less. Let us go to bed, colonel,and tomorrow you can find out more details."

  "Is that what you think, prophet of doom? Your terrible misfortune hassapped your courage. Pull yourself together, Jeronimo."

  The captain just shrugged his shoulders.

  "Well, so be it then," said the colonel. "Give the signal to leave thewalls. Afterwards I'll expect you all to come to my quarters, gentlemen,for a glass of wine. None of you will be getting any sleep tonight. Havecourage, gentlemen, and long live Spain!"

  The officers repeated their commander's last words, but somewhat mutedly.Then the drums beat the retreat and the troops withdrew from the walls ofFort Liefkenhoek.

  The commander himself held back for a while and, sighing, leant his elbowson the parapet, cupping his chin in his hands. He stared out in this wiseover the waters and gazed at the night and murmured:

  "He's right. This war has a curse on it. For fourteen years now theSpanish flag has flown yet again on these walls and on the walls and thetowers of Antwerp, but are we for all that one step nearer in our conquestof this heroic stiff-necked people? How many men have fought and bled forthis tiny flooded lump of clay! How many men have struggled to possessthis wilderness! Like dazzling stars shining through the mists of timethe names appear of both friends and foes, names like Alexander Farnese,Mansfeld, Mondragone, Johannes Pettin of Utrecht, Aldegonde, Gianibelli,Giovanni Baptista Plato, Barrai, Capisucchi, Olivera, Paz, La Motta,Delmonte and a hundred others. But thousands of nameless fighters lieburied under the sand and under the waves--how many more will sink therewithout leaving a trace?"

  The garrison had long since disappeared from the walls, and all there wasto hear from the top of Fort Liefkenhoek were the calls and the tread ofthe night watch and the roar of the waves and the once again gatheringstorm.

  The colonel circled his walls one more time and encouraged the twice asnumerous as usual night watch to keep a good lookout; then he went downto his quarters where his officers, in response to his invitation, hadall come together. Only Captain Jeronimo was missing, as was his wontwhen his comrades-in-arms gathered socially. They left him to his owndevices, were sorry that he wasn't there and laughed and joked about hisprophecies.

  The captain had indeed been right! His Catholic Majesty and FederigoSpinola of Genoa had lost a valiant ship during that stormy night. Thenext morning charred remnants of the Immaculate Conception were washedup on the dunes of South Beveland at the feet of heretics, and the eveningtide carried more than one mutilated body in Spanish uniform down to thewalls of Fort Bats. Captain Jeronimo's grim prediction had been provedtrue--the sea beggars had emerged victorious from the previous night'sskirmish.

  II.On Board the Andrea Doria.

  Fishermen brought the news of the night's happenings to the town ofAntwerp and, depending on where one's political sympathies lay, therewas secret rejoicing or gnashing of teeth among the town's inhabitants.

  The name of the Black Galley promptly spread among the populace and waslinked with varying degrees of certitude to the unfortunate events thathad just taken place.

  Who, during such a night of storms as the previous night had been, couldhave carried out such an action if it were not the crew of the blackgalley?

  In town squares, in back streets, in workshops, in churches, in the townhall and in the citadel the rumour was heard. On the warships and themerchant ships that lay at anchor at the quayside, next to the houses andwalls of the town, the rumour also circulated. Everywhere, as alreadymentioned, consternation or masked jubilation were visible on people'sfaces.

  "The black galley! The black galley!"

  That was Federigo Spinola, a noble patrician from Genoa, an enterprisingson of that rich republic's most famous family, who had entered into acontract with the King of Spain, Philip the Third, to prepare a fleet forthe service of His Catholic Majesty to be used against the Dutch rebelsand to sail it into the North Sea. All booty and all the ships capturedfrom the heretics became the property of Admiral Spinola and so he wentwith an impressive array of galleys and galleons, manned with sixtee
nhundred bold sailors, out of Genoa, went through the Straits of Gibraltar,rounded Cape Saint Vincent, was joined by a large number of audaciousViscayan pirates and privateers in the Bay of Biscay and later by a largenumber of Dunkirk freebooters and appeared on 11 September 1599 in theport of Sluys, where he dropped anchor and from where he commenced hisactivities in the North Sea.

  The waters of the North Sea were for the first time furrowed by thoseRoman galleys which had only been used hitherto by those who lived onthe shores of the Mediterranean. And so it came about that, at first,even the intrepid and fearless fisherfolk of Zeeland felt the fearengendered by the unfamiliar when confronted by these Italian galleysthat struck the waves like the hundred-oar feet of giant water-beetles.

  Thus, in the beginning, Federigo