It was too late.

What was left of Ostend surrendered on September 20, and Spinola became the master of a heap of ruins.

It is said that this three years' siege cost the Spaniards 80,000 lives, to say nothing of the outlay of vast expenditure.

Whether Maurice and William Lewis were right or wrong in their reluctance to assail Spinola's entrenched camp, it is certain that they were better judges of the military situation than the civilian deputies of the States.

In any case the capture of Sluis was an offset to the loss of Ostend; and its importance was marked by the appointment of Frederick Henry, the young brother of the stadholder, as governor of the seaport and the surrounding district, which received the name of States-Flanders.