hitherto refused to listen to any terms of capitulation, yet he now allowed overtures to be made to him, respecting the redeeming of the men of free condition. An agreement was made, that for each of these a ransom should be paid of seven ounces of gold; and then the garrison surrendered.” A still more daring, and almost equally successful stratagem was employed, early in the eighteenth century, to protract the defence of Lisle, which was then besieged by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene. Ammunition beginning to be scarce in the city, the Chevalier de Luxembourg formed a plan for introducing into the fortress a supply, not only of powder, but also of men and arms. Having succeeded in keeping his project a secret from the enemy, the Chevalier began his march at the head of two thousand five hundred selected cavalry; a part of whom were carbineers and dragoons. Each horseman carried behind him a sack, containing sixty pounds of powder; and each dragoon and carbineer had three muskets, and a large quantity of gun-flints. Between nine and ten in the evening, the band reached the barrier of the lines of circumvallation. In front of the detachment was an officer who could speak Dutch well, and knew all the Dutch regiments which were employed in patrolling. On being challenged by the guard, he unhesitatingly replied, “Open the gate quickly; I am bringing powder to the besiegers, and am pursued by a French detachment.” The barrier was promptly opened. Nineteen hundred of the party had passed through, when a French officer, seeing that his men were straggling, imprudently exclaimed, in his native language, “Close up! close up!” This gave the alarm to the allied officers, and a fire was opened upon the French. The powder of some of the horsemen exploded, and sixty of them were immediately blown to pieces. The rear of the party now took flight towards Douay; but of those who had been fortunate enough to pass the barrier, eighteen hundred reached Lisle, to which they brought a supply of twelve hundred muskets and eighty thousand pounds of powder. The well-being of an army, and the spirits of the troops during an engagement, depend so much on the safety of their favourite general, that any sudden rumour of his being slain would in all probability entirely change the fortune of the day. In the event of such a catastrophe his death has been often studiously concealed from the main body of the troops, till it was no longer necessary or possible to withhold such intelligence. The following instance, related by Ward, in his Art of War, is perhaps the most remarkable, if correctly given, for the length of time this secret was preserved.