Mansfeldt in vain endeavoured
to obtain employment under one of the powers, but failing, marched
into Lorraine. There, it must be owned, they plundered and ravaged
till they were a terror to the country. At last the Dutch, being
sorely pressed by the Spaniards, offered to take them into their
pay, and the bands marched out from Lorraine in high spirits.
"They were in sore plight for fighting, for most of them had been
obliged to sell even their arms and armour to procure food. Spinola,
hearing of their approach pushed forward with a strong force to
intercept them, and so came upon them at Fleurus, eight miles from
Namur, on the 30th of August, 1622.
"The Scots were led by Hepburn, Hume, and Sir James Ramsay;
the English by Sir Charles Rich, brother to the Earl of Warwick,
Sir James Hayes, and others. The odds seemed all in favour of the
Spaniards. who were much superior in numbers, and were splendidly
accoutred and well disciplined, and what was more, were well fed,
while Mansfeldt's bands were but half armed and almost wholly
starving.
"It was a desperate battle, and the Spaniards in the end remained
masters of the field, but Mansfeldt with his bands had burst their
way through them, and succeeded in crossing into Holland. Here
their position was bettered; for, though there was little fighting
for them to do, and they could get no pay, they lived and grew
fat in free quarters among the Dutch.
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