There was much to amuse and interest
them in Bergen op Zoom. It reminded them to some extent of Harwich,
with its narrow streets and quaint houses; but the fortifications were
far stronger, and the number of churches struck them as prodigious.
The population differed in no very large degree in dress from that
of England, but the people struck them as being slower and more
deliberate in their motion. The women's costumes differed much more
widely from those to which they were accustomed, and their strange
and varied headdresses, their bright coloured handkerchiefs, and
the amount of gold necklaces and bracelets that they wore, struck
them with surprise.
Their stay in Bergen op Zoom was even shorter than they had
anticipated, for three days after their arrival a boat came with a
letter from Sir William Russell, the governor at Flushing. He said
that he had just received an urgent letter from the Dutch governor
of Sluys, saying that Patina's army was advancing from Bruges towards
the city, and had seized and garrisoned the fort of Blankenburg on
the sea coast to prevent reinforcements arriving from Ostend; he
therefore prayed the governor of Flushing to send off troops and
provisions with all haste to enable him to resist the attack. Sir
William requested that the governor of Bergen op Zoom would at once
embark the greater portion of his force on board ship and send them
to Sluys.
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