"That," he said, "will excite interest." We went that evening and heard Tacius--a portly gentleman in a ball dress and a yellow wig, who after squeaking five-sixths of a love song in a timid falsetto which might pass for a woman's voice, roared out the balance like a bull.

He brought down the house.
Like most other Dutch towns Middelburg had its period of siege.

But there was this difference, that Middelburg was held by the Spanish and besieged by the Dutch, whereas the custom was for the besiegers to be Spanish and the besieged Dutch.

Middelburg suffered every privation common to invested cities, even to the trite consumption of rats and dogs, cats and mice, Just as destruction seemed inevitable--for the Spanish commander Mondragon swore to fire it and perish with it rather than submit--a compromise was arranged, and he surrendered without dishonour, the terms of the capitulation (which, however, Spain would not allow him to carry out) being another illustration of the wisdom and humanity of William the Silent.
Middelburg has never known a day's suffering since her siege.

A local proverb says, "Goed rond, goed Zeeuwsch"-- very round, very Zeelandish--and an old writer--so M.Havard tells us--describes Middelburg as a "round faced city".