THE FIRST OF THE ENGLISH A NOVEL BY ARCHIBALD CLAVERING GUNTER AUTHOR OF ‘MR. BARNES OF NEW YORK’ LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, Limited Broadway, Ludgate Hill MANCHESTER AND NEW YORK 1895 CONTENTS. BOOK I. A STRANGE TRIP TO ANTWERP. PAGE Chapter I.—The Flood in the Schelde, 5   ,,    II.—The Lady of the Barge, 16   ,,    III.—The Six Drunkards of Brussels, 35   ,,    IV.—The Patriot Painter, 48   ,,    V.—“The Lion’s Jaws Gape for Me!” 59   ,,    VI.—The Drinking Bout at the Painted Inn, 70   ,,    VII.—Love—By a Coup de Main, 85   ,,    VIII.—“The Ungainable!—But I’ll Gain Her!” 101 BOOK II. TWIXT LOVE AND WAR. Chapter IX.—“No Provisions, no Water, but Plenty of Powder!” 112   ,,    X.—The Secret of the Statue, 123   ,,    XI.—Major Guido Amati has a Spree, 131   ,,    XII.—“Get Your Daughter Out of Antwerp,” 143   ,,    XIII.—“Good Heavens! What an Introduction!” 155   ,,    XIV.—The Providence of God, 165   ,,    XV.—The Battle on Skates, 175   ,,    XVI.—The Berserker Oath, 185   ,,    XVII.—Advanced Womanhood in 1573, 194 BOOK III. THE DUKE’S UNLUCKY PENNY. Chapter XVIII.—“Is it a Dream?” 205   ,,    XIX.—The Daughter’s Dower, 220   ,,    XX.—“Papa’s Coming! I’ll—I’ll Do It,” 228   ,,    XXI.—“My Lord of Alva,” 235   ,,    XXII.—“Oho! The Fox at Last!” 249   ,,    XXIII.—“It is an Affair of State,” 258 THE FIRST OF THE ENGLISH. BOOK I. A STRANGE TRIP TO ANTWERP. CHAPTER I. THE FLOOD IN THE SCHELDE. “First officer, where’s the boatswain?” “Forward, sir, seeing the best bower cleared,” returns Harry Dalton, the ranking lieutenant of the Dover Lass. “Very well, pass the word for the boatswain. He has the best nose on board this ship,” shouts Captain Guy Stanhope Chester. “Aye, aye, sir!” This being done, the young skipper, for he is hardly twenty-five, shaking the spray and sea water out of his tarpaulin, gropes his way to the binnacle, the lantern of which is shaded, partly to protect it from the weather and partly to prevent its light giving indication of the vessel’s whereabouts through the darkness of the night.