The Peril of the Republic of the United States of America - Percy T. Magan

effectually precluded all possibility of speech.”
Still the sturdy Hollanders were not crushed.
Fear ne’er sat upon their breasts; and never did
they stack their arms until the Duke of Alva had
been forced to leave the country. But there was no
peace even then; Spain kept up the fight, and the
people of the Netherlands contended against the
most fearful odds which history has to record. Then
came the far-famed siege of Leyden. The
beleaguered city endured sufferings untold, and it
seemed impossible for their brethren to bring them
relief. Leyden was not upon the sea, but they
resolved to send the sea to Leyden. “Better a
drowned land than a lost land,” was the cry of the
patriots. They determined to pierce the dikes that
kept back the ocean, and drown their land in the
waves. The Spaniards mocked at the very idea. The
idea that any people could love liberty sufficiently
to purchase it at such an awful price was foreign to
their lust-loving and greedy souls. “Go up to the
tower, ye beggars,” was their frequent and taunting
cry, “go up to the tower, and tell us if you can see
the ocean coming over the dry land to your relief.”
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