Chapter 17: The Battle Of Moncontor.
When Pierre left him in order to look after the horses, Philipcontinued his meal. There could be no hurry, for Nevers was twelvemiles away; and it would be four hours, at least, before a partycould arrive.
The landlady herself brought in the next course. After placing thedish upon the table, she stood looking earnestly at him for aminute, and then said:
"You spoke of stopping here tonight, sir. The accommodation is verypoor and, if you will take my advice, you will ride farther. Therehave been some men along here this afternoon, inquiring for a partylike yours; and offering a reward to any who would carry the newsto them, should you pass through. Methinks their intentions werenot friendly."
"I thank you very much for your counsel," Philip said, "and willtake it. I know that there are some who would gladly hinder me, inmy journey; and if there is, as you say, a risk of their cominghere for me, it were as well that I rode farther, although I wouldgladly have given my horses a night's rest. I thank you warmly forhaving warned me."
"Do not let my husband know that I have spoken to you," she said."He is an honest man, but timid; and in these days 'tis safest notto meddle with what does not concern one."
Philip waited for two hours, and then told Pierre to saddle thehorses, and tell the landlord that he wished to speak to him.
"I have changed my mind, landlord," he said, "and shall rideforward. The horses will have rested now, and can very well doanother fifteen miles; so let me have your reckoning. You cancharge for my bedroom as, doubtless, it has been put in order forme."
Philip saw that the landlord looked pleased, though he saidnothing; and in a few minutes the horses were brought round, thebill paid, and they started. They struck off from the road, threeor four miles farther; and halted in a wood which they reached,after half an hour's riding. The grain bags had been filled upagain, at the inn; but as the horses had eaten their fill, thesewere not opened and, after loosening the girths and arranging theorder in which they should keep watch, the party threw themselveson the ground.
Two hours after their arrival Eustace, who was on watch, heard thedistant sounds of a body of horsemen, galloping along the main roadin the direction of the village they had left.
In the morning at daybreak they started again, directing their wayto the southwest, and following the course of the Loire; which theycrossed at Estree, and so entered Burgundy. Crossing the great lineof hills, they came down on the Saone; which they crossed at aferry, fifteen miles below Dijon. They here obtained news of theposition of the Duc de Deux-Ponts, and finally rode into his camp,near Vesoul. They had been fortunate in avoiding all questioning;it being generally assumed, from their travelling without baggage,that they belonged to the neighbourhood.
Riding into the camp, they were not long in discovering an officerwho spoke French and, upon Philip saying that he was the bearer ofdespatches for the Duc from Admiral Coligny, he was at onceconducted to his pavilion. He had, when the camp was in sight andall dangers at an end, taken his despatches from his boots; andthese he at once presented to the duke, who came to the door of histent, on hearing that a gentleman had arrived with letters fromColigny, himself.
"I am glad to get some news direct, at last," the Duc said; "for Ihave heard so many rumours, since I crossed the frontier, that Iknow not whether the Admiral is a fugitive or at the head of agreat army. Which is nearest the truth?"
"The latter, assuredly, sir. The Admiral is at the head of as largea body of men as that with which he offered battle to the Ducd'Anjou, when winter first set in."
"Come in, monsieur, and sit down, while I read the despatches. Howmany days have you taken in traversing France?"
"It is the tenth day since I left La Rochelle, sir."
"And have you ridden the same horses the whole way?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then they must be good beasts, for you must have done over fortymiles a day."
"We carried no baggage, sir and, as you see, no armour; and we havehusbanded our horses' strength, to the best of our power."
The duke sat down, and read the papers of which Philip was thebearer.
"The Admiral speaks very highly of you, sir, both as regardsdiscretion and bravery; and mentions that he knighted you, himself,for your conduct in the battle of Jarnac. He need not have said somuch, for the fact that he chose you to carry these despatches isthe highest proof of his confidence.
"And now, tell me all particulars of your journey; and what newsyou have gathered, on your way, as to the movement and positions ofthe forces of the royal dukes. This will supplement the Admiral'sdespatches."
Philip gave a full report of his route, of the state of the roads,the number of cattle in the country through which he had passed,the accounts he had heard of the forces assembled in the cities,and the preparations that had been made to guard the passagesacross the rivers of Burgundy.
"I will travel by the route that the Admiral indicates, so far as Ican do so undisturbed by the armies of the two French dukes. I havewith me some good guides, as many French gentleman joined me, notlong since, with the Prince of Orange. I had already decided, bytheir advice, upon following nearly the route commended by theAdmiral. I trust that you, sir, will ride among my friends; to whomI will introduce you this evening, at supper."
The Duc's army amounted to some fifteen thousand men, of whom seventhousand five hundred were horsemen from the states of LowerGermany, and six thousand infantry from Upper Germany; theremaining fifteen hundred being French and Flemish gentlemen, whohad joined him with the Prince of Orange. The armies under theFrench dukes were, together, considerably superior in force to thatof Deux-Ponts; but singly they were not strong enough to attackhim, and the mutual jealousies of their commanders prevented theiracting in concert. Consequently, the German force moved acrossComte and on to Autun, in the west of Burgundy, without meetingwith any opposition. Then they marched rapidly down. The bridgesupon the Loire were all held; but one of the French officers, whoknew the country, discovered a ford by which a portion of the armycrossed. The main body laid siege to the town of La Chants, andcompelled it to surrender, thus gaining a bridge by which theycrossed the Loire.
As the enemy were now in great force, in front of them; they turnedto the southwest, several messengers being sent off to appoint afresh meeting place with Coligny; and skirting the hills ofBourbonais, Auvergne, and Limousin, they at last arrived within aday's march of Limoges; the journey of five hundred miles, througha hostile country, being one of the most remarkable in militaryhistory.
That evening Admiral Coligny and his staff rode into camp, havingarrived with his army at Limoges. The Duc had been for some timesuffering from fever; and had, for the last week, been carried in alitter, being unable to sit his horse. He was, when the Admiralarrived, unconscious; and died the next morning, being succeeded inhis command by the Count of Mansfeldt. Next day the two armiesjoined, with great demonstrations of joy.
The Duc d'Anjou had been closely watching the army of Coligny, hisarmy being somewhat superior in force to that of the allies, whonow numbered some twenty-five thousand; for the duke had beenrecently reinforced by five thousand papal troops, and twelvehundred Florentines. A part of his force, under General Strozzi,was at La Roche Abeille. They were attacked by the Huguenots. Fourhundred Royalists were killed, and many taken prisoners, among themtheir general.
There was, for a time, a pause. The court entered into freshnegotiations with the Admiral, being anxious to delay hisoperations; as many of the nobles who were with the Duc D'Anjou,wearied by the burdens imposed upon them, insisted upon returningfor a time to their homes. The Huguenots were, above all things,anxious for peace; and allowed themselves to be detained, fornearly a month, by these negotiations.
On the march down after the capture of La Charite, the German forcehad passed within a few miles of the Chateau de Landres; and Philiprode over to see whether Claire was still there. She received himwith the frank pleasure of a girl.
/> "We have heard very little of what is going on outside, MonsieurFletcher," Madame de Landres said, after the first greetings wereover; "though the air has been full of rumours. Again and again,reports were brought in that the duke's army had been entirelydestroyed by the Royalist forces. Then, after a day or two, weheard of it as still advancing; but in danger, hourly, of beingdestroyed. Then came the news that every town commanding a bridgeacross the Loire was being put in a state of defence, and strongbodies of troops thrown into them; and we heard that, as soon asthe Germans reached the river, and farther advance was impossible,they would be attacked by the armies of Nemours and Aumale. But bythis time we had become so accustomed to these tales that we werenot much alarmed.
"We were, however, surprised when we heard that a strong body ofthe Germans had forded the river; and had blockaded La Charite onthis side, while it had been besieged on the other. I hear that astrong garrison has been left there."
"Yes, madam. The place is of great importance, as it gives us ameans of crossing the Loire at any time. We find, too, that a largepart of the population are Huguenot; and the place will certainlybe held against any attack the Royalists may make against us."
"The news will be received with joy, indeed, by all of our religionin this part of France. Hitherto we have had no place of refuge,whatever. There was but the choice of dying in our own houses orvillages, or taking refuge in the woods until hunted down. It willbe, to us, what La Rochelle is to the Huguenots of the west.Besides, the garrison there will make the Catholics very chary ofattacking us. Moreover, having now this passage across the Loire itis likely that our party will largely use it on their marches, andwould be able to punish heavily any places at which there had beenmassacres. It is by this way, too, the Germans are sure to return.Therefore I feel that, for a time, my young charge will beperfectly safe here.
"I sent off a messenger to our army, on the day you left us; buthave had no reply, and know not whether he reached it in safety. Atany rate, you cannot be very long before your force joins theAdmiral; and as we felt quite sure that you would come to see us,as you passed, we have our letters ready to my husband and theCount de Valecourt. You will, I am sure, deliver them as soon asyou join the Admiral."
"That I will assuredly do, madam. I expect that we shall meet himnear Limoges. That is the direction in which we are now marching."
The Count de Valecourt was one of the gentlemen who rode into theDuc do Deux-Ponts' camp with the Admiral and, as soon as theydismounted, and Coligny entered the tent of the dying general,Philip made his way to his side.
"Ah! Monsieur Fletcher, I am glad to see you again. Youaccomplished, then, your journey in safety. The Prince of Navarreoften spoke of you, and wondered how you were faring."
"I did very well, sir; but I have not thrust myself upon you, atthe moment of your arrival, to speak of my own journey; but todeliver you a letter, which I have the honour of being the bearer,from your daughter."
The count stepped backwards a pace, with a cry of astonishment andpleasure.
"From my daughter! Is it possible, sir? How long is it since yousaw her?"
"It is nigh three weeks back, sir."
"The Lord be praised!" the count said solemnly, taking off his capand looking upwards. "He has shown me many mercies, but this is thegreatest. For the last two months I have mourned her as dead. Newswas brought to me, by one of my retainers, that she was with acongregation who were attacked by the people of La Chatre, and thatall had been massacred. My chateau near there was attacked andburnt, and those of the men who were Huguenots slain, save the onewho brought me the news."
"You will see, sir, that your daughter escaped," Philip said,handing him the letter. "She is now in the safe custody of Madamede Landres."
The count tore open the letter, and he had read but a few lineswhen he uttered an exclamation of surprise and, turning towardsPhilip, who had moved a few paces away, ran to him and threw hisarms round his neck.
"It is you who have, with God's blessing, rescued my daughter fromdeath," he exclaimed. "She is my only child. Oh, monsieur, what joyhave you brought to me, what thankfulness do I feel, how deeply amI indebted to you! I had thought that there remained to me but todo my duty to God, and His cause; and then, if I lived to see theend of the war, to live out my days a childless old man. Now I seemto live again. Claire is alive; I have still something to love andcare for.
"I will first run through the rest of the letter; and then youshall tell me, in full, all the story. But which is your tent? Praytake me there. I would be alone, a little while, to thank God forthis great mercy."
Half an hour later, the count reappeared at the entrance of thetent. Pierre had wine and refreshments ready and, placing them on abox that served as a table, retired; leaving his master and thecount together.
"Now, tell me all about it," the count said. "Claire's descriptionis a very vague one, and she bids me get all the details from you.She only knows that a man on horseback rode at her, with upliftedsword. She commended her soul to God, and stood expecting the blow;when there was a pistol shot, close to her, and the man fell fromhis horse. Then another dashed forward; while you, on horseback,threw yourself between her and him. There was a terrible clashingof swords; and then he, too, fell. Then you lifted her on to yourhorse, and for a short time there was a whirl of conflict. Then yourode off with three men, behind one of whom her maid Annette wassitting. That is all she knows of it, except what you told her,yourself."
"That is nearly all there is to know, count. The fray lasted buttwo minutes, in all; and my being upon the spot was due to noforethought of mine, but was of the nature of a pure accident."
"Nay, sir, you should not say that; you were led there by the handof God. But tell me how you came to be in the wood, and pray omitnothing."
Philip related the whole story, from the time of the incident atthe inn, to the time when he handed over Claire to the care ofMadame de Landres.
"It was well done, sir," the count said, laying his handaffectionately on his shoulder, when he concluded. "The youngprince said you would have a story to tell him, when you came back;but I little dreamt that it would be one in which I had suchinterest.
"Well, Claire cannot do better than remain where she is, for thepresent; until, at any rate, I can remove her to La Rochelle, whichis the only place where she can be said to be absolutely safe; butso long as we hold La Charite there is, as you say, but slight fearof any fresh trouble there. From all other parts of France, we hearthe same tales of cruel massacre and executions, by fire andsword."
Francois de Laville was not with Coligny's army, as he was with thePrince of Navarre, who had remained near La Rochelle; but he wasvery pleased to find the Count de la Noue, who had just rejoinedthe army; having been exchanged for a Royalist officer of rank, whohad fallen into the hands of the Huguenots.
"You have been doing great things, while I have been lying in prison,Philip," the count said warmly. "I hear that the Admiral has made youand my cousin knights; and more than that, I heard half an hour sincefrom De Valecourt that, while carrying despatches to the Germans, youhad time to do a little knight-errant's work, and had the good fortuneto save his daughter from being massacred by the Catholics. By myfaith, chevalier, there is no saying what you will come to, if you goon thus."
"I don't want to come to anything, count," Philip said, laughing."I came over here to fight for the Huguenot cause, and with nothought of gaining anything for myself. I am, of course, greatlypleased to receive the honour of knighthood, and that at the handsof so great and noble a general as Admiral Coligny. I have beensingularly fortunate, but I owe my good fortune in no small degreeto you; for I could have had no better introduction than to ride inyour train."
"You deserve all the credit you have obtained, Philip. You havegrasped every opportunity that was presented to you, and havealways acquitted yourself well. A young man does not gain theesteem and approval of a Coligny, the gratitude of a Valecourt, andthe liking of all who know him--includi
ng the Queen of Navarre andher son--unless by unusual merit. I am proud of you as aconnection, though distant, of my own; and I sincerely trust youwill, at the end of this sad business, return home to your friendsnone the worse for the perils you have gone through."
At the end of a month the negotiations were broken off, for thecourt had no real intention of granting any concessions. TheHuguenots again commenced hostilities. Two or three strongfortresses were captured; and a force despatched south, under CountMontgomery, who joined the army of the Viscounts, expelled theRoyalists from Bearn, and restored it to the Queen of Navarre.
There was a considerable division, among the Huguenot leaders, asto the best course to be taken. The Admiral was in favour ofmarching north and besieging Saumur, which would give them a freepassage across the lower Loire to the north of France, as thepossession of La Charite kept open for them a road to the west; butthe majority of the leaders were in favour of besieging Poitiers,one of the richest and most important cities in France.Unfortunately their opinion prevailed, and they marched againstPoitiers, of which the Count de Lude was the governor. Before theyarrived there Henry, Duke of Guise, with his brother the Duke ofMayenne, and other officers, threw themselves into the town. Adesperate defence was made, and every assault by the Huguenots wasrepulsed, with great loss. A dam was thrown across a small river bythe besieged, and its swollen waters inundated the Huguenot camp;and their losses at the breaches were greatly augmented by theravages of disease.
After the siege had lasted for seven weeks, the Duc d'Anjou laidsiege to Chatelherault, which the Huguenots had lately captured;and Coligny raised the siege, which had cost him two thousand men,and marched to its assistance.
The disaster at Poitiers was balanced, to a certain extent, by asimilar repulse which a force of seven thousand Catholics hadsustained, at La Charite; which for four weeks successfullyrepelled every assault, the assailants being obliged, at last, todraw off from the place. In Paris, and other places, the murders ofHuguenots were of constant occurrence; and at Orleans two hundredand eighty, who had been thrown into prison, were massacred in asingle day. The Parliament of Paris rendered itself infamous bytrying the Admiral, in his absence, for treason; hanging him ineffigy; and offering a reward, of fifty thousand gold crowns, toanyone who should murder him.
But a serious battle was now on the eve of being fought. The Ducd'Anjou had been largely reinforced, and his army amounted to ninethousand cavalry and eighteen thousand infantry; while Coligny'sarmy had been weakened by his losses at Poitiers, and by theretirement of many of the nobles, whose resources could no longerbear the expense of keeping their retainers in the field. He hadnow only some eleven thousand foot, and six thousand horse. He wastherefore anxious to avoid a battle until joined by Montgomery,with the six thousand troops he had with him at Bearn.
His troops from the south, however, were impatient at the longinaction, and anxious to return home; while the Germans threatenedto desert, unless they were either paid or led against the enemy.
La Noue, who commanded the advance guard, had captured the town ofMoncontour; and the Admiral, advancing in that direction, andignorant that the enemy were in the neighbourhood, moved towardsthe town. When on the march, the rear was attacked by a heavy bodyof the enemy. De Mouy, who commanded there, held them at bay untilthe rest of the Huguenot army gained the other side of a marsh,through which they were passing, and entered the town in safety.
The Admiral would now have retreated, seeing that the whole forceof the enemy were in front of him; but the Germans again mutinied,and the delay before they could be pacified enabled the French armyto make a detour, and overtake the Huguenots soon after they leftMoncontour. The Admiral, who commanded the left wing of thearmy--Count Louis of Nassau commanding the right--first met them,and his cavalry charged that of the Catholics, which was commandedby the German Rhinegrave. The latter rode well in advance of hismen, while Coligny was equally in front of the Protestants.
The two leaders therefore met. The conflict was a short one.Coligny was severely wounded in the face, and the Rhinegrave waskilled.
While the cavalry on both sides fought desperately for victory, theinfantry was speedily engaged. The combat between the Huguenotfoot, and the Swiss infantry in the Royalist ranks, was long anddoubtful. The Duc d'Anjou displayed great courage in the fight;while on the other side the Princes of Navarre and Conde, who hadthat morning joined the army from Parthenay, fought bravely in thefront of the Huguenots. The Catholic line began to give way, inspite of their superiority in numbers; when Marshal Cosse advancedwith fresh troops into the battle, and the Huguenots in turn weredriven back.
The German cavalry of the Huguenots, in spite of the valour oftheir leader, Louis of Nassau, were seized with a panic and fledfrom the field; shattering on their way the ranks of the Germaninfantry. Before the latter could recover their order, the Swissinfantry poured in among them. Many threw down their arms andshouted for quarter, while others defended themselves until thelast; but neither submission nor defence availed and, out of thefour thousand German infantry, but two hundred escaped.
Three thousand of the Huguenot infantry were cut off by Anjou'scavalry. A thousand were killed, and the rest spared, at the Duc'scommand. In all, two thousand Huguenot infantry and three hundredknights perished on the field, besides the German infantry; whileon the Catholic side the loss was but a little over five hundredmen.
La Noue was again among those taken prisoner. Before the battlebegan, he had requested Philip to join his cousin, who had come upwith the princes; and to attach himself to their bodyguard, duringthe battle. They kept close to the princes during the fight, ridingfar enough back for them to be seen by the Huguenots, and closinground when the enemy poured down upon them. When the Germanhorsemen fled, and the infantry were enveloped by the Catholics,they led Henri and Conde from the field; charging right through abody of Catholic horse who had swept round to the rear, andcarrying them off to Parthenay.
Here they found the Admiral, who had been borne off the field,grievously wounded. For a moment the lion-hearted general had feltdespondency at the crushing defeat, being sorely wounded andweakened by loss of blood; but as he was carried off the field, hislitter came alongside one in which L'Estrange, a Huguenotgentleman, also sorely wounded, was being borne. Doubtless theAdmiral's face expressed the deep depression of his spirit; andL'Estrange, holding out his hand to him, said:
"Yet is God very gentle."
The words were an echo of those which formed the mainspring of theAdmiral's life. His face lit up, and he exclaimed:
"Thanks, comrade. Truly God is merciful, and we will trust himalways."
He was much pleased when the two young princes, both unhurt,rejoined him. He issued orders to his officers to rally theirtroops as they came in, to evacuate Parthenay, and march at once toNiort.
The gallant De Mouy was appointed to command the city, and three orfour days were spent there in rallying the remains of the army.Scarce had they reached Niort when the Queen of Navarre arrivedfrom La Rochelle, whence she had hastened, as soon as she had heardthe news of the defeat. The presence of this heroic woman speedilydispelled the despondency among the Huguenots. Going about amongthem, and addressing the groups of officers and soldiers, shecommunicated to them her own fire and enthusiasm. Nothing was lostyet, she said; the Germans had failed them, but their own valourhad been conspicuous, and with the blessing of God matters wouldsoon be restored. Already the delay of the Catholics in followingup their victory had given them time to rally, and they were now ina position to give battle again.
Leaving a strong garrison at Niort, Coligny moved with a portion ofhis army to Saintes; while the southern troops, from Dauphine andProvence, marched to Angouleme. These troops were always difficultto retain long in the field, as they were anxious for the safety oftheir friends at home. They now clamoured for permission to depart,urging that the news of the defeat of Moncontour would be thesignal for fresh persecutions and massacres, in the south. Finallythey marc
hed away without Coligny's permission and, after somefighting, reached Dauphine in safety.
In the meantime Niort had been attacked. De Mouy defended the placestoutly, and sallied out and repulsed the enemy. His bravery,however, was fatal to him. A Catholic named Maurevel, tempted bythe fifty thousand crowns that had been offered for theassassination of Coligny, had entered the Protestant camp,pretending that he had been badly treated by the Guises. Noopportunity for carrying out his design against the Admiralpresented itself, and he remained at Niort with De Mouy; who,believing his protestations of attachment for the cause, hadtreated him with great friendship. As the Huguenots were returningafter their successful sortie, he was riding in the rear with DeMouy and, seizing his opportunity, he drew a pistol and shot theHuguenot leader, mortally wounding him. He then galloped off andrejoined the Catholics; and was rewarded, for the treacherousmurder, by receiving from the king the order of Saint Michael, anda money reward from the city of Paris.
The garrison of Niort, disheartened at the death of their leader,surrendered shortly after. Several other strong places fell, andall the conquests the Protestants had made were wrested from theirhands. The battle of Moncontour was fought on October 3rd. On the14th the southern troops marched away, and four days later Coligny,with the remains of the army, started from Saintes. He had with himbut six thousand men, of whom three thousand were cavalry.
His plan was an extremely bold one. In the first place, he wishedto obtain money to pay the German horsemen, by the capture of someof the rich Catholic cities in Guyenne; to form a junction with thearmy of Montgomery; then to march across to the Rhone, and there tomeet the forces of the south, which would by that time be ready totake the field again; then to march north to Lorraine, there togather in the Germans whom William of Orange would have collectedto meet him; and then to march upon Paris, and to end the war bygiving battle under its walls.
The Queen of Navarre was to remain in La Rochelle, which city wasplaced under the command of La Rochefoucault; and the two youngprinces were to accompany the army, where they were to have smallcommands. They would thus become inured to the hardships of war,and would win the affection of the soldiers.
Francois de Laville had, with his own troop, ridden off to hischateau from Parthenay on the morning after the battle; Colignyadvising him to take his mother, at once, to La Rochelle, as thechateau would speedily be attacked, in revenge for the sharprepulse that the Catholics had suffered there. On his arrival thecountess at once summoned all the tenants, and invited those whochose to accompany her; pointing out that the Catholics wouldspeedily ravage the land. Accordingly, the next day all thevaluables in the chateau were packed up in carts, and the placeentirely abandoned. The whole of the tenants accompanied her,driving their herds before them, as they would find a market forthese in the city. As they moved along they were joined by largenumbers of other fugitives, as throughout the whole country theProtestants were making for refuge to the city.
When the Admiral marched away, Philip rode with a young Frenchofficer, for whom he had a warm friendship, named De Piles. Thelatter had been appointed governor of Saint Jean d'Angely, whichwas now the sole bulwark of La Rochelle; and he had speciallyrequested the Admiral to appoint Philip to accompany him. The placewas scarcely capable of defence, and the Admiral had only decidedto hold it in the hope that the Duc d'Anjou, instead of followinghim with his whole army, would wait to besiege it.
This decision was, in fact, adopted by the Royalists, after muchdiscussion among the leaders. Several of them wished to press on atonce after Coligny, urging that the destruction of the remnant ofhis army would be a fatal blow to the Huguenot cause. The majority,however, were of opinion that it was of more importance to reduceLa Rochelle, the Huguenots' stronghold in the west, and in order todo this Saint Jean d'Angely must first be captured. Their counselprevailed and, just as the siege of Poitiers had proved fatal tothe plans of Coligny, so that of Saint Jean d'Angely went far toneutralize all the advantages gained by the Catholic victory atMoncontour.
Scarcely had De Piles taken the command than the army of the Ducd'Anjou appeared before the walls, and at once opened fire. Thegarrison was a very small one, but it was aided by the whole of theinhabitants; who were, like those of La Rochelle, zealousHuguenots. Every assault upon the walls was repulsed, and at nightthe breaches made by the cannon during the day were repaired; theinhabitants, even the women and children, bringing stones to thespot, and the soldiers doing the work of building.
On the 26th of October, after the siege had continued for afortnight, the king himself joined the Catholic army, and summonedthe place to surrender. De Piles replied that, although herecognized the authority of the king, he was unable to obey hisorders; as he had been appointed to hold the city by the Prince ofNavarre, the royal governor of Guyenne, his feudal superior, andcould only surrender it on receiving his orders to do so. Thesiege, therefore, recommenced.
The walls were so shaken that De Piles himself, after repulsing afurious attack upon them, came to the conclusion that the nextassault would probably be successful; and he therefore caused abreach to be made in the wall on the other side of the town, toafford a means of retreat for his troops. His supply of ammunition,too, was almost exhausted.
"What do you think, Fletcher?" he said gloomily. "If we could buthold out for another ten days or so, the Admiral would have got sofair a start that they would never overtake him. But I feel surethat another twenty-four hours will see the end of it."
"We might gain some time," Philip replied, "by asking for anarmistice. They probably do not know the straits to which we arereduced, and may grant us a few days."
"They might do so. At any rate, it is worth trying," De Pilesagreed; and an hour later Philip went, with a flag of truce, to theroyal camp. He was taken before the Duc d'Anjou.
"I am come with proposals from the governor," he said. "He will notsurrender the town without orders from the Prince of Navarre. Butif you will grant a fortnight's armistice, he will send a messengerto the prince; and if no answer arrives, or if no succour reacheshim at the end of that time, he will surrender; on condition thatthe garrison shall be permitted to retire, with their horses andarms, and that religious liberty shall be granted to all theinhabitants."
The Duc consulted with his generals. The losses in the attacks hadbeen extremely heavy, and disease was raging in the army and, toPhilip's inward surprise and delight, an answer was made that theconditions would be granted, but that only ten days would be given.He returned with the answer to De Piles, and the armistice was atonce agreed upon, six hostages for its proper observance beinggiven on both sides.
On the ninth day Saint Surin, with forty horsemen, dashed throughthe enemy's lines and rode into the town; thus relieving De Pilesfrom the necessity of surrendering. The hostages were returned onboth sides, and the siege recommenced.
Attack after attack was repulsed, with heavy loss; several of thebravest royalist officers, among them the governor of Brittany,being killed. The town was valiantly defended until the 2nd ofDecember, when De Piles, satisfied with having detained the royalarmy seven weeks before the walls, and seeing no hope of relief,surrendered on the same conditions that had before been agreed on.Its capture had cost the Duc d'Anjou 6000 men, about half of whomhad fallen by disease, the rest in the assaults; and the delay hadentirely defeated the object of the campaign.
The gates were opened, and the little body of defenders marchedout, with colours flying. One of the conditions of surrender hadbeen that they should not serve again during the war.
The Duc d'Aumale, and other officers, endeavoured to ensure theobservance of the condition of their safe conduct through theCatholic lines; but the soldiers, furious at seeing the handful ofmen who had inflicted such loss upon them going off in safety,attacked them, and nearly a hundred were killed--a number equal tothe loss they had suffered throughout the whole siege. De Pileswith the rest were, by their own exertions and those of some of theCatholic leaders, enabled to make their way
through, and rode toAngouleme.
There De Piles sent a letter demanding the severe punishment ofthose who had broken the terms of the surrender; but, no attentionhaving been paid to his demand, he sent a herald to the king todeclare that, in consequence of the breach of the conditions, heand those with him considered themselves absolved from theirundertaking not to carry arms during the war; and he then rodeaway, with his followers, to join the Admiral.
The French army rapidly fell to pieces. With winter at hand, it wasin vain to attempt the siege of La Rochelle. Philip of Spain andthe pope ordered the troops they had supplied to return home,alleging that the victory of Moncontour, of which they had receivedthe most exaggerated reports, had virtually terminated the war. TheGerman and Swiss troops were allowed to leave the service, and thenobles and their retainers were granted permission to do the same,until the spring. Thus the whole fruits of the victory ofMoncontour were annihilated by the heroic defence of Saint Jeand'Angely.
In the meantime, the Admiral had been moving south. In order to crossthe rivers he had marched westward, and so made a circuit to Montauban,the stronghold of the Huguenots in the south. Moving westward he joinedthe Count of Montgomery at Aiguillon, and returned with him to Montauban,where he received many reinforcements; until his army amounted to sometwenty-one thousand men, of whom six thousand were cavalry.
At the end of January they marched to Toulouse, a city with an evilfame, as the centre of persecuting bigotry in the south of France.It was too strong to be attacked; but the country round it wasravaged, and all the country residences of the members of itsparliament destroyed. Then they marched westward to Nismes, sendingmarauding expeditions into the Catholic districts, and even intoSpain, in revenge for the assistance the king had given theCatholics. De Piles and his party had joined the Admiral atMontauban, and the former commanded the force that penetrated intoSpain.
Coligny turned north, marched up the Rhone, surmounting everyobstacle of mountain and river; until he reached Burgundy, arrivingat Saint Etienne-sur-Loire on the 26th of May. Here they were metby messengers from the court, which was in a state of consternationat the steady approach of an enemy they had regarded as crushed;and were ready, in their alarm, to promise anything. The Admiralfell dangerously ill and, at the news, the king at once broke offthe negotiations. He recovered, however, and, advancing, met theroyal army, under Marshal Cosse, in the neighbourhood of the townof Arnay de Duc.
Coligny's army had dwindled away during its terrible march, and itconsisted now of only two thousand horsemen and two thousand fivehundred arquebusiers, the cannon being all left behind. Cosse hadten thousand infantry, of whom four thousand were Swiss; threethousand cavalry, and twelve cannon. The armies took post on thehills on opposite sides of a valley, through which ran a stream fedby some small ponds. The Royalists commenced the attack but, afterfighting obstinately for seven hours, were compelled to fall backwith heavy loss.
A fresh body was then directed against an intrenchment theHuguenots had thrown up, near the ponds. Here again the fightingwas long and obstinate, but at last the Catholics were repulsed.
The next morning both armies drew up in order of battle; butneither would advance to the attack, as the ground offered suchadvantages to those who stood on the defensive; and theyaccordingly returned to their camps.
The Admiral, being unwilling to fight till he receivedreinforcements, marched away to La Charite; where he wasreorganizing his force, when a truce of ten days was made. At theend of that time he again marched north and, distributing hissoldiers in the neighbourhood of Montargis, took up his quarters athis castle of Chatillon-sur-Loing, where he remained whilenegotiations were going on.