aloud, "Let all who love me follow me." Upon this, the lord d'Alegre, his son, Maugeron, the bastard of Cliete, seeing him thus determined and already advancing, followed him. The duke of Nemours was the first to attack this body of the enemy, who were greatly superior in number; and the gallant prince performed such feats of arms as astonished them, and cleared all around his horse with such rapid and mortal blows that none dared approach him. It was a grand sight to view so young a man displaying such extraordinay courage. The enemy, observing how few the French were, and that no reinforcements were coming to them, recovered their courage and surrounded the young hero. They first killed his horse, and then fell upon him with battle-axes, pikes, and every sort of weapon, that he, and all his companions, died a glorious death.

This was a most heavy loss to France, for he was a magnanimous prince, worthy to be placed on a triumphant throne in a temple of brave men. His liberality and frankness had gained him the love of the army, who would have followed him anywhere, even without pay,—and within four months he had gained three decisive battles.

When this melancholy event was known, the lord de la Palisse and other captains hastened to revenge his loss, and put to death the whole body of the enemy that had slain the duke, the lord d'Alegre and the others, without suffering one to escape. They thence marched to besiege the city of Ravenna, which they took by storm, killed the greater part of the inhabitants, and plundered the town: there was much confusion, for it was almost entirely destroyed. When this was done, the French returned to the field of the late battle, to raise the bodies of the duke of Nemours and the other lords, to give them an honourable interment in sacred ground. The body of that most noble prince and viceroy of Italy was carried in mournful triumph to Milan, from the ground where he had fallen, to be magnificently interred becoming so great a prince.

authorities.

The body of the duke of Nemours arrived at Milan the 26th of April, in the year 1412 preceded by all the prisoners taken at the battle of Ravenna. The banners, guidons, and

standards, the French had so valiantly conquered, as well from the Italians as from the Venetians and Spaniards, and of the different lords who had fallen in this battle, were borne before him, which added joy intermixed with grief at this mournful interment. Great order was observed in the procession,-and it was a triumphantly melancholy spectacle. The nobles and captains were in deep mourning,—and there was no heart so hard not to weep on seeing his body thus carried untimely to the grave. His pages and attendants led his horses of parade and for war: his helmet and victorious sword, as lieutenant-general for the king, were borne before the body. In short, those of his army who attended the funeral were loud in their lamentations; for they had always found him liberal and courteous, and never sparing of his own personal efforts in war. The principal inhabitants and churchmen of Milan came out to meet the body, dressed in mourning cloaks and hoods, with a blaze of lighted torches, on which were the arms of the deceased emblazoned. The body, surrounded by two hundred of the choicest lances in the army and a numerous escort of infantry, was conducted, with great pomp of grief, to the cathedral, where a most solemn service was performed for the repose of his soul.

Think how great must have been the sorrow of the king and queen, when they heard of this sad event at Blois, for they loved him as if he had been their own child; and I can assert for truth, that those who had never seen him bewailed his loss, on the reports they had heard of his uncommon virtues and gallantry. May God receive his soul!

CHAPTER CCXXXI.-ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE FRENCH FROM ITALY, THE SWISS TAKE THE TOWN OF MILAN AND OTHER PLACES HELD BY THE KING OF FRANCE.

AFTER this battle of Ravenna, where, as well as in the preceding ones, great quantities of human blood were shed, principally of the Italians and their allies,—but also of the French, and of some of the noblest families, by which many ladies and damsels in France became widows and orphans, the generals, or at least those who had the management of the finances for the army, imagined that, by the happy event of this battle, all Italy was subdued, as far as Rome, if not farther, and disbanded great bodies of infantry at the very time when they should have sought reinforcements, to garrison the towns and castles that had been lately conquered. When this conduct was noticed by certain bloodsuckers and turbulent spirits, they collected troops in divers parts, to endeavour to regain honour by attacking the French; for, seeing them dispersed in their garrisons, they were aware that courage, when disunited, is not so much to be dreaded as when in a collective body. The holy father the pope, smarting from the losses he had suffered from the French, three times excited the Swiss cantons to rise in arms against them, for they had of late been neglected by the king of France. They chiefly depend, for their maintenance, on pensions from kings and princes,-and the pope having made the bishop of Sion a cardinal, he was an active and able tool, by his public preachings and intrigues, to prevail on them to comply with the wishes of his holiness. Maximilian also, having turned his coat, was to allow them an entrance to Italy through his territories of the Veronese and elsewhere. The Spaniards likewise assembled from various parts of Italy; and they all advanced toward Milan, whence the government had been withdrawn to France, so that the poor Milanese were in despair, and knew not how to act. However, the French having left them, they, as usual, fell in with the strongest, and the enemy was admitted into the town. The castle was held by the French, under the command of the lord de Louvain; and other castles were also in their possession: that of Brescia was held by the lord d'Aubigny.

When the French were returning from Italy, a sharp skirmish took place at a bridge near to Pavia, between a small body of French adventurers and the enemy, and they were inhumanly treated by the townsmen. Among others of their villanous acts, I shall mention one. A Frenchman, unable to keep up with the rest, was met by an inhabitant of Pavia, who said to him, "My friend, I love the French nation: come, I beg of you, to my house, and I will save you from being killed." The poor adventurer, confiding in his fair words, followed him; but he was no sooner within his doors than he treated him most brutally, cut off his

private parts, and thrust him into the street in his shirt, bawling aloud, "Here is another Frenchman!" on which numbers rushed out of their doors, and hacked him to pieces with their swords. There was another inhabitant of Pavia who had even devoured the heart of a Frenchman, by way of revenge.

I am persuaded that all the evils that have befallen Italy have been caused by their wickedness, and infamous practices similar to those of Sodom and Gomorrah. The air would be infected, were I to recite them. May God amend them, and all others! On the other hand, the French have a shameful custom (which was increased when in Italy) of blaspheming our Lord JESUS CHRIST, and Our Lady, with divers indecent oaths, in which they seem to take pleasure. God may, perhaps, have been angered by such detestable blasphemies, and by that great vanity with which the French are always filled, and suffered them to experience the late unfortunate reverses, to show that from Him alone come victories and good fortune. The French, on leaving Italy, were in a great alarm,—and they were so rejoiced when returned to France, they attributed it to the favour of Heaven. Such are the chances of this world.

In this year of 1512, pope Julius, returning evil for good, was violently animated against the French; and having partly accomplished his wish of being the chief cause of their expulsion from Italy, died at Rome in the ninth year of his pontificate. May God pardon

him!

About this time, a truce was concluded between the kings of France and of Arragon, for a certain space of time. Leo X. was now the reigning pope: he was consecrated at Rome the successor of pope Julius II. Leo was a native of Florence, of very wealthy and renowned parents. His father was Lorenzo de' Medici, to whose family Louis XI., king of France, had granted permission to add the three flowers de luce to their armorial bearings*.

CHAPTER CCXXXII.-OF THE WAR IN GUIENNE.-THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS SUCCOURS TO THE KING OF NAVARRE.-THE KING OF ENGLAND MAKES PREPARATIONS TO INVADE FRANCE.-A SEA-FIGHT BETWEEN TWO LARGE ENGLISH AND FRENCH SHIPS.

It was not long before a war broke out in Guienne, or rather in Navarre; which kingdom the king of Arragon had entered, and taken the town of Pampeluna, with others belonging to the king of Navarre, under pretence of being heir to that crown in right of his wife, sister to the late duke of Nemours, count of Foix, slain after the battle of Ravenna. The good king of Navarret, in consequence, demanded succour from the king of France, to recover the places he had lost. Louis XII., considering how faithful an ally he had always been, ordered a large body of men-at-arms and infantry to his assistance, under the command of the duke of Longueville and Dunois. This war was very expensive to the king of France, for the army remained long without striking a blow. In addition to this, the English, excited by the king of Arragon, as well as by a desire to regain Guienne, which they claimed as an inheritance, made a landing near to Roncevaux and St. John Pied du Port,-but not being able to effect a junction with the Spaniards, they returned‡.

In the year 1513, Henry king of England, son to king Henry VII., who, by the aid of Charles VIII. king of France, succeeded peaceably to the crown of England, after the death of Richard of York, instead of being grateful for such services to the king of France, although his late father had charged him on his deathbed to do nothing against that king, if he wished to prosper, instantly on the death of his father acted directly contrary. King

I must refer the reader for further particulars of the French wars in Italy to Guicciardini and other Italian historians, and to Mr. Roscoe's Lives of Lorenzo de' Medici and of Leo X. The grant of Louis XI. to the Medici, to bear the arms of France, is in the Appendix to Comines.

+ The good king of Navarre-was of so indolent a character, that his queen, a woman of high spirit, told him, "Had you been mademoiselle Catherine, and I don John,

we had never lost our realm.”—Henault.

Henry VIII. was the dupe of Ferdinand of Arragon. The English forces landed at Guipuscoa, under the command of the marquis of Dorset, but were never joined by the Spaniards to unite in the siege of Bayonne. The English returned, having gained nothing but disgrace, while Ferdinand possessed himself of the kingdom of Navarre.

Henry, equally cager with his subjects to invade France, sent an embassy to the lady Margaret, governess of Flanders, to obtain armour, stores, and artillery, particularly thirteen large cannon, which he had ordered to be cast in Flanders. These articles were immediately delivered, in return for a large sum of angels that remained behind,—for it had been long since they had circulated in any other country than their own. A secret treaty was at the same time concluded between Henry and the archduke,-which having secured him the aid of the Flemings, he continued to make his preparations for the invasion of France without interruption. He sent his fleet, under the command of the lord admiral*, to cruise on the coasts of Brittany, who was himself on board a vessel of prodigious size.

The French saw this armament with sorrow, for they had not a fleet able to cope with it; but a valiant sea-captain, named Primaugay, embarked on board a large ship, called La Cordeliere, which the queen of France had lately built at an immense expense. He put to sea, and boldly attacked the English admiral in the great ship called the Regent, when a bloody combat took place. After some time, the Cordeliere set the Regent on fire, which having gained the powder-magazine, she blew up, with all within her. Primaugay, seeing it impossible to save his ship, as they were grappled together, leapt into the sea, armed as he was, and perished: it was a pity, for he was a bold and enterprising man+.

These two large ships were burnt; but the rest of the fleet returned in safety to England, to report the unfortunate news to the king, who was much vexed thereat, and not without

reason.

CHAPTER CCXXXIII.-THE KING OF ENGLAND DISEMBARKS WITH HIS WHOLE ARMY AT CALAIS. THE FRENCH ARE DEFEATED BY THE SWISS AT NOVARA.

WHEN the king of England had completed his preparations, he put to sea with his army, disembarked at Calais, and thence, with part of it, marched straight for Flanders. Had he then been attacked, the perplexities that ensued afterwards would have been avoided. At the same time, the king of France had collected an army for the recovery of the Milanese, under the command of the lord de la Trimouille, Jean Jacques de Trivulge, sir Robert de la Marche, the lord of Albany, and others, but the lord de la Trimouille was commanderin-chief.

This army crossed the Alps, and entered Piedmont, where it halted for the arrival of the rear and baggage, and then pushed forward toward Novara, in which place was a body of Swiss. The French, supposing them not very numerous, determined to attack them, which they did; but the evening before, a very large reinforcement of Swiss had joined their countrymen in Novara, which the French were ignorant of. A battle, however, ensued, when the French defeated the van of the enemy; but such numbers of Swiss now poured in on all sides, the French were thunderstruck, and hastily retreated to Turin: some, however, of their infantry stood their ground, and died valiantly, and the son of the lord de la Marche shone pre-eminent fór his valour. The Swiss gained a considerable park of artillery, which the lord de la Marche had brought thither, and great part of the baggage. The king of France, on hearing of this event, ordered the remainder of the army home, and sent part of it into Guienne, where the illustrious lord of Bourbon had the command of an army, with many nobles and able captains under him, to carry on the war in Navarre. He had there a fine camp, and a variety of skirmishes took place on both sides.

The king afterwards sent the next heir to the crown, the duke of Valois and count of Angoulême, accompanied by numbers of gentlemen, to take the command of this army and camp, where they remained a long time, but nothing of importance was done, and they returned to France. The king then sent them into Picardy to oppose the English, who were advancing toward Therouenne. The lord de Longueville died immediately on his return from Guienne.

The lord admiral,-sir Edward Howard. Sir Ed- number of seventeen hundred men; that the rest of the ward Knivet commanded the Regent. fleets, consisting of twenty-five sail English and thirty-nine French, separated in consternation, as if by mutual consent, without further fighting.

In Henry's Hist. of England, it is said that both ships took fire and perished, with all on board. to the

In this year there was an appearance in the heavens, visible in Piedmont, of three suns, three moons, with various figures of circles and bows, of different colours, and a white cross in the centre. These were terrible presages,—and I believe that it was a year of wonders.

About this time, the king sent the lord de la Trimouille into Swisserland; but the cantons would not agree to any conference until they should receive a certain sum of money, which was paid them. The conferences now took place; and the lord de la Trimouille staid long among them, giving great gifts, in hopes to gain them over to the interests of France; but after they had received large sums of money, they dismissed him. He returned through Burgundy, to have some of the towns of that province put into a good state of defence, to resist the Swiss, who had determined to attack them. The Swiss, in consequence of the resolutions they had formed, entered Burgundy, and committed great destruction wherever they passed. By rapid marches, they came before Dijon, into which the lord de la Trimouille had thrown himself; but with the few men-at-arms and infantry with him, it was impossible to resist such a deluge of Swiss. However, he ordered as many things as could be carried away or drove off, to be brought into Dijon. The Swiss, on coming before Dijon, saluted the town with a large train of artillery, that battered and damaged the walls and houses; but the lord de la Trimouille, being well advised, held a parley with some of the Swiss leaders, and agreed to pay them down one hundred thousand golden crowns, on their marching back into Swisserland, without doing more damages to the country; which was executed.

CHAPTER CCXXXIV.—A BODY OF FRENCH ON THEIR RETURN FROM VICTUALLING THEROUENNE, BESIEGED BY THE ENGLISH AND HAINAULTERS, ARE ATTACKED, and put to fliGHT.

THE king of France marched in person to Picardy, and advanced as far as Amiens, where he was magnificently received by those of the town and country. Thence he sent the duke of Valois*, as his lieutenant-general, to command the camp against the English, and to order whatever measures he should think advisable for the victualling of Therouenne. This town was then besieged by the king of the Romans, the king of England, and a number of Flemish lords, and particularly by a body of Hainaulters, who had posted themselves in a fort near the town, and thence battered it with heavy artillery. The garrison and townsmen defended the place valiantly; but they were in the utmost distress from want of provision, and a convoy was ordered to supply their necessities, under the command of the lord de Longueville.

He executed his order punctually by throwing in all his supplies; but on his retreat he fell unexpectedly into an ambuscade, -for his men, not suspecting any such stratagem, were marching very disorderly, and amusing themselves by playing in the fields. On the enemy sallying from their ambush, the French were panic-struck, and began to fly, notwithstanding all attempts of their officers to prevent them. In consequence, the lord de Longueville, the captain Bayard, the lord de Bussy, and many more captains of renown, were made prisoners, some of whom were carried to England, and their liberty set at a very high ransom t.

During this time, the king of France sent orders to the governor of Paris to have all the companies of tradesmen, and of other descriptions, mustered. This was done, and several companies were richly accoutred, well armed, and in uniforms. The numbers were found

to be very great, according to the report made by the commissaries who had been sent thither for this purpose.

* Francis count d'Angoulême, the presumptive heir to the crown of France, had lately been honoured with this title.

This was called the Battle of Spurs, from the French making more use of them than of their swords.