The next day, after a feint or two in a different direction, they made a sudden swoop upon Alost, in Flanders.

Here they had at last made their choice, and the town was carried by storm.

All the inhabitants who opposed them were butchered, and the mutiny, at last established in a capital, was able to treat with the State Council upon equal terms.

They were now between two and three thousand strong, disciplined, veteran troops, posted in a strong and wealthy city.

One hundred parishes belonged to the jurisdiction of Alost, all of which were immediately laid under contribution.
The excitement was now intense in Brussels.