At the same moment, Leicester was making, at last, an effort to raise the siege.  He brought three or four thousand men from Flushing, and landed them at Ostend; thence he marched to Blanckenburg.  He supposed that if he could secure that little port, and thus cut the Duke completely off from the sea, he should force the Spanish commander to raise (or at least suspend) the siege in order to give him battle.  Meantime, an opportunity would be afforded for Maurice and Hohenlo to force an entrance into the harbour of Sluys, In this conjecture he was quite correct; but unfortunately he did not thoroughly carry out his own scheme.  If the Earl had established himself at Blanckenburg, it would have been necessary for Parma—­as he himself subsequently declared-to raise the siege.  Leicester carried the outposts of the place successfully; but, so soon as Farnese was aware of this demonstration, he detached a few companies with orders to skirmish with the enemy until the commander-in-chief, with as large a force as he could spare, should come in person to his support.  To the unexpected gratification of Farnese, however, no sooner did the advancing Spaniards come in sight, than the Earl, supposing himself invaded by the whole of the Duke’s army, under their famous general, and not feeling himself strong enough for such an encounter, retired, with great precipitation, to his boats, re-embarked his troops with the utmost celerity, and set sail for Ostend.

The next night had been fixed for sending forth the fireships against the bridge, and for the entrance of the fleet into the harbour.  One fire-ship floated a little way towards the bridge and exploded ingloriously.  Leicester rowed in his barge about the fleet, superintending the soundings and markings of the channel, and hastening the preparations; but, as the decisive moment approached, the pilots who had promised to conduct the expedition came aboard his pinnace and positively refused to have aught to do with the enterprise, which they now declared an impossibility.  The Earl was furious with the pilots, with Maurice, with Hohenlo, with Admiral de Nassau, with the States, with all the world.  He stormed and raged and beat his breast, but all in vain.  His ferocity would have been more useful the day before, in face of the Spaniards, than now, against the Zeeland mariners:  but the invasion by the fleet alone, unsupported by a successful land-operation, was pronounced impracticable, and very soon tie relieving fleet was seen by the distressed garrison sailing away from the neighbourhood, and it soon disappeared beneath the horizon.  Their fate was sealed.  They entered into treaty with Parma, who, secretly instructed, as has been seen, of their desperate intentions, in case any but the most honourable conditions were offered, granted those conditions.  The garrison were allowed to go out with colours displayed, lighted matches, bullet in mouth, and with bag and baggage.  Such burghers as chose to conform to the government of Spain and the church of Rome; were permitted to remain.  Those who preferred to depart were allowed reasonable time to make their necessary arrangements.