On the other hand, Farnese declared that he had never in his life witnessed anything so unflinching as the courage of his troops; employed as they were in digging trenches where the soil was neither land nor water, exposed to inundation by the suddenly-opened sluices, to a plunging fire from the forts, and to perpetual hand-to-hand combats with an active and fearless foe, and yet pumping away in the coffer-dams-which they had invented by way of obtaining a standing-ground for their operations--as steadily and sedately as if engaged in purely pacific employments.

The besieged here inspired by a courage equally remarkable.
The regular garrison was small enough, but the burghers were courageous, and even the women organized themselves into a band of pioneers.

This corps of Amazons, led by two female captains, rejoicing in the names of 'May in the Heart' and 'Catherine the Rose,' actually constructed an important redoubt between the citadel and the rampart, which received, in compliment to its builders, the appellation of 'Fort Venus.' The demands of the beleaguered garrison, however, upon the States and upon Leicester were most pressing.

Captain Hart swam thrice out of the city with letters to the States, to the governor-general, and to Queen Elizabeth; and the same perilous feat was performed several times by a Netherland officer.

The besieged meant to sell their lives dearly, but it was obviously impossible for them, with so slender a force, to resist a very long time.
"Our ground is great and our men not so many," wrote Roger Williams to his sovereign, "but we trust in God and our valour to defend it.