in A Larum for London, or The Siege of Antwerp — Anonymous
Metadata
Play
A Larum for London, or The Siege of Antwerp
Author
Anonymous
Year (catalogued)
1602
First performance
1599
Decade
1600s
Genre
History
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Lord Chamberlain's (Hunsdon's) Men
Speech prefix(es)
Cap.
Words
305
Characters
1676
Typicality
0.36 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A06270
BritDrama no.
1191
Cluster
Cluster 9 — Boon companions & bluff banter
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
It shall be done my Lord. I knew them well. They were my neighbours, ne re unto the But see. It is Lieutenant Vaughan as I take it, Lieutenant what news? I took the Friery to escape the Spaniards. What should I do when the poor Wallons fighting at the Trenches, The Spaniards entering on the counterscarp, Had not a Soldier sent to second them. The great swollen bellied Burghers get brown Bills, As to driven rascal beggars from their doors; The madding people so amazed with fear, That turning head with every little noise, Stopped up the entrance of the streets with throngs, That when Count Egmont, Hauury and the rest, Called to the Burghers for supplies of men, The uncertain murmur of the multitude, Increased but the confusion of the town: The villainous and dastard recreant Almains, Kneel to the Spaniards, casting down their arms. By these disorders of witless Townsmen, Perceiving that the Spaniards would prevail; What should I do but shift to save my life? My hand and heart, and do engage my soul. What we her, a Burger tied yth thumbs? Wilt thou leave off thy prating and be gone? How Like Leviathan, his clumsy limbs Walk not but tumble, that sad common wealth, Nourceth such Drones to suck her honey up, In time of needs shall find as small supply, As he hath been to Antwerps wretchedness: But valiant Soldier, what is now to do? I fly with thee true honourable mind, And we together will that Mansion find. I trust I shall be there with as much speed, My passport (I do think) the Spaniards Has sealed as deeply, and my journey laid With no less easy travel to be there. See, if thy bleeding wounds can speak to me, Mine can as fast make answer unto thine.
Plot summary
Plot — A Larum for London, or The Siege of Antwerp
Sancho D'Avila needs money to pay his troops. and plans to raise it by sacking Antwerp. He conspires with the captain of the city's garrison, Cornelius van End, and summons Spanish forces from across the Netherlands. Claiming to be retaliating over Antwerp's support for the Prince of Orange, he makes an artillery attack on the State House while the rulers are dining there; three people are killed. The Spanish commander, Alva, fakes his own death in order to give a pretext for further reprisals against the city. The rulers of Antwerp, including a fat burgher, do not take the threat seriously. considering defence expenditure to be a waste of money; but they are finally persuaded to accept help from the Marquis d'Havre and Count Egmont, so long as they don't have to pay for it. Van End leaks the information to D'Avila. The Spaniards attack and the garrison under van End defects to their side. The rulers of Antwerp struggle to organize their troops. Havre and Governor Champagny are killed, but Egmont Is saved by Alva and sent to Spain as a prisoner. Antwerp falls swiftly; thousands of citizens are killed, and the victorious Spaniards execute a further 10,000 survivors in reprisal for 300 Spanish deaths. They also renege on a diplomatic agreement between England and Spain protecting English lives and property in the Low Countries: Alva demands an impossible sum by way of ransom, and rejects what they can offer as too little.Another Englishman pays his own ransom, but is hanged by another commander when he cannot pay again. For the purposes of pillage, the Spanish commanders divide the city between them. Meanwhile the one-legged veteran Stump musters the survivors to resist the invader. D'Avila sets about despoiling his quarter of the city, demanding not only money but sexual favours from a nun; but when he cannot find a safe place to stow her pending her rape, he kills her instead. Other casualties include children, a blind man, and his wife. Van End demands a W<>man's treasure, but she pushes him into a vault and Stump stones him to death. The fat burgher is captured by the Spaniards, but neither threats nor tickling can persuade him to reveal where his treasure is hidden. He is rescued by Stump, and offers his hidden gold, but Stump isn't interested: he refused to pay the soldiers in peacetime, and it is too late now. Stump fights on to the death, intending to seek his reward in heaven. Antwerp is left in ruins, its streets piled with corpses. D'Avila gives…