The night passed quietly. Just as the sun rose a trumpet sounded,
calling for a truce; and two knights in armour rode forward,
followed by an esquire carrying a white flag. They halted thirty or
forty yards from the gate; and the countess herself came up on to
the wall, when the knight raised his vizor.
"Countess Amelie de Laville, I summon you, in the name of his
majesty the king, to surrender. I have with me an ample force to
overcome all resistance; but his gracious majesty, in his clemency,
has empowered me to offer to all within the walls their lives; save
only that you and your son shall accompany me to Paris, there to be
dealt with according to the law, under the accusation of having
taken up arms against his most sacred majesty."
"Methinks, sir," the countess said, in a loud clear voice, "that it
would have been better had you delayed until this morning, instead
of attempting, like a band of midnight thieves, to break into my
chateau. I fancy we should have heard but little of his majesty's
clemency, had you succeeded in your attempt. I am in arms, not
against the king, but against his evil counsellors; the men who
persuade him to break his pledged word, and to treat his
unoffending subjects as if they were the worst of malefactors.
Assuredly their royal highnesses, the Princes of Conde and Navarre,
have no thought of opposing his majesty; but desire, above all
things, that he should be able to act without pressure from
Lorraine or Guise, from pope or King of Spain; and when they lay
down their arms, I shall be glad to do so. Did I know that the king
himself, of his own mind, had sent you here to summons me, I would
willingly accompany you to Paris, to clear myself from any charges
brought against me; but as your base attempt, without summons or
demand, to break into my chateau last night shows that you can have
no authority from his majesty to enter here, I refuse to open my
gates; and shall defend this place until the last, against all who
may attack it."
The knights rode away. They had, after the rough reception on their
arrival, perceived that the countess was determined to defend the
chateau, and had only summoned her to surrender as a matter of
form.
"I would we had never entered upon this expedition, De Brissac.
They told us that the house was but poorly fortified, and we
thought we should assuredly carry it last night by surprise; and
that by taking this obstinate dame prisoner, burning her chateau,
and sweeping all the country round, we should give a much needed
lesson to the Huguenots of the district. One could not have
expected to find the place crowded with men, and everyone ready
with lighted matches and drawn crossbows to receive us. I believe
now that that fire we saw, two or three miles in our rear as we
came along, was a signal; but even if it were, one would not have
given them credit for gathering so promptly to withstand us.
"As for the place itself, it is, as we heard, of no great strength.
'Tis but a modern house, inclosed on three sides with a wall some
twenty feet high, and surrounded by a moat of the same width. With
our force we should carry it in half an hour. We know that the
garrison consists of only fifty men, besides a score or so of
grooms and servants."
"So we heard; but I am mistaken if there were not more than double
that number engaged on the wall. Still, as you say, there will be
no great difficulty in carrying the place. The ladders will be
ready in a couple of hours, and De Beauvoir will bring in, from the
farmhouses, plenty of planks and beams for throwing bridges across
the moat. It is two hours since he set out with the horsemen, so as
to catch the Huguenot farmers asleep."
As they returned to the spot where the men were engaged in cooking
their breakfast, while some were occupied in constructing ladders
from young trees that had been felled for the purpose, a gentleman
rode in.
"What is your news, De Villette?"
"The news is bad. De Beauvoir asked me to ride in to tell you that
we find the farmhouses completely deserted, and the whole of the
cattle and horses have disappeared, as well as the inhabitants.
Save for some pigs and poultry, we have not seen a living thing."
"Sapristie! The Huguenot dogs must have slept with one eye open.
Either they heard the firing last night, and at once made off; or
they must have learned we were coming, and must have gathered in
the chateau. Their measures must have been indeed well planned and
carried out, for them all to have got the alarm in time to gather
here before our arrival.
"I hope that is what they have done, for we reckoned upon carrying
off at least a thousand head of cattle, for the use of the army. It
was for that, as much as to capture the countess and strike a blow
at this hive of Huguenots, that the expedition was arranged.
However, if they are all in there, it will save us the trouble of
driving them in."
"In that case though, De Brissac, the fifty men will have been
reinforced by as many more, at least."
"Ay, maybe by a hundred and fifty, with the farmers and all their
hands; but what are a hundred and fifty rustics and fifty
men-at-arms, against our force?"
De Brissac had guessed pretty accurately the number of fighting men
that could be mustered among the tenants of the countess. The
training that they had undergone had, however, made them more
formidable opponents than he supposed; and each man was animated by
hatred of their persecutors, and a stern determination to fight
until the last, in defence of their lives and freedom of worship.
They had been mustered at the first dawn of day in the courtyard,
their arms inspected, and all deficiencies made up from the
armoury.
Fifty men were placed under Philip's orders, for the defence of
that portion of the house that rose directly from the edge of the
moat. The lower windows were small and strongly barred, and there
was little fear of an entrance being forced. The postern gate here
had, during the night, been strengthened with stones; and articles
of heavy furniture piled against it. A few men were placed at the
lower windows; the main body on the first floor, where the
casements were large; and the rest distributed at the upper
windows, to vex the enemy by their fire, as they approached.
Philip appointed Eustace to take the command of the men at the
lower windows; and Roger of those on the upper floor; he, with
Jacques, posting himself on the first floor, against which the
enemy would attempt to fix their ladders. Great fires were lighted
in all the rooms, and cauldrons of water placed over them; and boys
with pails stood by these, in readiness to bring boiling water to
the windows, when required.
The walls round the courtyard and garden were not of sufficient
thickness for fires to be lighted, along the narrow path on which
the defenders were posted; but fires were lighted in the courtyard,
and boiling water prepared there, in readiness to carry up when the
assault began. The Huguenot gentlemen were placed in command, at
the various points along the wall most likely to be assailed.
Had the besiegers been provided with cannon, the defence could not
have lasted long, for the walls would not have resisted battering
by shot; but cannon, in those times, were rare, and were too clumsy
and heavy to accompany an expedition requiring to move with speed.
For a time, the men-at-arms alone garrisoned the wall; the farmers
and their men being occupied in pumping water from the wells and
carrying it to the cattle, of which some eight hundred had been
driven in. The granaries were opened, and a plentiful supply of
food placed in large troughs.
At ten o'clock a trumpet called all the defenders to their posts.
The enemy were drawn up in order, and moved towards the house in
six columns; two taking their way towards the rear, to attack the
house on that side, while the others advanced toward different
points on the wall.
Ladders and long planks were carried at the head of each column. As
they approached the assailants halted, and the arquebusiers came
forward and took their post in line, to cover by their fire the
advance of the storming parties.
As soon as these advanced, a heavy fire was opened by the besieged
with crossbow and arquebus. The parapet was high and, while they
exposed only their heads to fire, and were altogether sheltered
while loading, the assailants were completely exposed. Orders were
given that the defenders should entirely disregard the fire of the
matchlock men, and should direct their aim upon the storming
parties. These suffered heavily but, urged forward by their
officers, they gained the edge of the moat, pushed the planks
across, and placed the ladders; but as fast as these were put into
position, they were hurled down again by the defenders who, with
long forked sticks, thrust them out from the wall and hurled them
backwards; sometimes allowing them to remain until a line of men
had climbed up, and then pouring a pail of boiling water over the
wall upon them.
The farmers vied with the men-at-arms in the steadiness of the
defence, being furious at the sight of columns of smoke which rose
in many directions, showing that the cavalry of the besiegers were
occupied in destroying their homesteads. Sometimes, when four or
five ladders were planted together, the assailants managed to climb
up to the level of the parapet; but only to be thrust backward with
pikes, and cut down with swords and axes. For two hours the assault
continued, and then De Brissac, seeing how heavy was the loss, and
how vain the efforts to scale the wall at any point, ordered the
trumpeters to sound the retreat; when the besiegers drew off,
galled by the fire of the defenders until they were out of range.
The attempts of the two columns which had attacked the house,
itself, were attended with no greater success than those of their
fellows; their efforts to gain a footing in any of the rooms on the
first floor having been defeated, with heavy loss.
The leaders of the assailants held a consultation, after their
troops had drawn off.
"It is of no use," De Brissac said, "to repeat the attack on the
walls. They are too stoutly defended. It is out of the question for
us to think of returning to Poitiers. We undertook to capture the
place, to harry the farms, to destroy all the Huguenots, and to
return driving in all the cattle for the use of the army. Of all
this we have only so far burned the farmhouses, and we have lost
something like a couple of hundred men.
"This time, we must try by fire. The men must gather bundles of
firewood, and must attack in three columns; the principal against
the great gate, the others against the two posterns; the one at the
back of the house itself, the other nearest the angle where the
wall joins it. If we had time to construct machines for battering
the walls, it would be an easy business; but that is out of the
question. In a couple of days, at the latest, we shall have them
coming out like a swarm of hornets from La Rochelle. It is not
likely, when they had all their measures so well prepared, that
they omitted to send off word at once to Coligny; and by tomorrow,
at noon, we may have Conde and the Admiral upon us. Therefore we
must make an end of this, by nightfall.
"Have you any better plans to suggest, gentlemen?"
There was no reply. Several of those present had been wounded, more
or less severely; and some terribly bruised, by being hurled back
from the ladders as they led the troops to the assault. Five or six
of the young nobles, who had joined what they regarded as an
expedition likely to meet with but slight resistance, had been
killed; and all regretted that they had embarked upon an affair
that could bring them but small credit, while they were unprovided
with the necessary means for attacking a place so stoutly defended.
De Brissac at once issued orders, and strong parties of soldiers
scattered and proceeded to cut down fences and bushes, and to form
large faggots. Their movements were observed by the men placed on
the summit of the tower, and no doubt was entertained of the
intentions of the enemy.
"What do you think we had better do, Philip?" Francois asked, as
they stood together at the top of the tower, watching the Catholics
at work. "We may shoot a number of them but, if they are
determined, they will certainly be able to lay their faggots; and
in that case we shall be open to attack at three points, and likely
enough they will at the same time renew their attack on the walls."
"That is the most dangerous part of it," Philip said. "We ought to
have no difficulty in holding the three entrances. The posterns are
narrow, and forty men at each should be able to keep back a host;
and this would leave you a hundred and twenty to hold the main
gates. But if we have to man the walls, too, the matter would be
serious.
"If we had time, we might pull down one of the outbuildings and
build a thick wall behind the gates; but in an hour they will be
attacking us again."
He stood thinking for a minute or two, and then exclaimed:
"I have it, Francois. Let us at once kill a number of the cattle,
and pile their carcasses up, two deep, against the gates. They may
burn them down if they like, then, but they can do nothing against
that pile of flesh; the weight of the carcasses will keep them in a
solid mass. At any rate, we might do that at the two posterns. The
great gates are, perhaps, too wide and lofty; but if we formed a
barricade inside them of, say, three bodies high, a hundred men
ought to be able to defend it; and that will leave a hundred for
the walls and house."
"That is a capital idea, Philip. We will not lose a moment in
carrying it out."
Two of the principal tenants were called up, and told to see to the
slaughtering, instantly, of sufficient cattle to pile two deep
against the posterns. Calling a number of men together, these at
once set about the business.
"We will see to the other barricade ourselves, Philip. That is
where the fighting will be."
The entrance behind the gateway was some twenty-five feet in width,
and as much in depth, before it entered the courtyard. The bullocks
were brought up to the spot, and slaughtered there. The first line
were about to be dragged into place, when Philip suggested that
they should be skinned.
"What on earth do you want to skin them for, Philip?" Francois
asked.
"When they are arranged in a row, I would throw the skins over them
again, inside out. The weight of the next row will keep the skins
in their places, and it will be impossible for anyone to obtain a
footing on that slippery surface, especially if we pour some blood
over it."
Francois at once saw the point of the suggestion.
"Excellent, Philip. I wish my brain was as full of ideas as yours
is."
The same course was pursued with the other two tiers of carcasses,
the hides of the upper row being firmly pegged into the flesh, to
prevent their being pulled off. The breastwork was about five feet
high, and was absolutely unclimbable.
"It could not be better," Francois said. "A solid work would not be
half so difficult to get over. Twenty men here could keep a host at
bay."
Another tier of unskinned carcasses was laid down behind the
breastwork, for the defenders to stand on; and earth was piled over
it, to afford a footing.
They had but just completed their preparations when the trumpet,
from above, sounded the signal that the enemy were approaching. All
took the posts that they had before occupied. The enemy approached
as they had expected, in three bodies; each preceded by a
detachment that carried in front of them great faggots, which
served as a protection against the missiles of the besieged. Among
them were men carrying sacks.
"What can they have there?" Philip asked one of the Huguenot
gentlemen.
"I should say it was earth," he replied
"Earth?" Philip repeated, puzzled. "What can they want that for?"
"I should think it is to cover the planks thickly, before they lay
down the faggots; otherwise the planks would burn, and perhaps fall
bodily in the water, before the fire had done its work on the
doors."
"No doubt that is it," Philip agreed. "I did not think of that
before."
As soon as the heads of the columns approached within a hundred
yards, the men with arquebuses opened fire; and those with
crossbows speedily followed suit. Four hundred men with arquebuses
at once ran forward, until within a short distance of the moat; and
opened so heavy a fire, against the defenders of the wall and
house, that these were compelled to stoop down under shelter. Some
of them would have still gone on firing from the windows, but
Philip ordered them to draw back.
"It is of no use throwing away life," he said. "We cannot hope to
prevent them planting their faggots, and firing them."
He himself went up into a small turret, partly overhanging the wall
and, through a loophole, watched the men at work. The contents of
the sacks were emptied out upon the planks, the latter having been
first soaked with water, drawn from the moat by a pail one of the
men carried. The earth was levelled a foot deep, and then a score
of buckets of water emptied over it. Then the faggots were piled
against the door. A torch was applied to them and, as soon as this
was done, the assailants fell back; the defenders plying them with
shot and cross bolts, as soon as they did so.
Philip now paid a hasty visit to the walls. Here the assailants had
suffered heavily, before they had planted their faggots; the
defenders being better able to return their fire than were those at
the windows. In both cases, however, they had succeeded in laying
and firing the faggots; although much hindered at the work, by
pails of boiling water emptied upon them.
Some ten of the defenders had been shot through the head, as they
stood up to fire. Attempts were made, by pouring water down upon
the faggots, to extinguish the flames; but the time taken, in
conveying the water up from the courtyard, enabled the fire to get
such hold that the attempt was abandoned.
"It is just as well," Francois said. "If we could extinguish the
fire, we should lose the benefit of the surprise we have prepared
for them."
In a quarter of an hour, light flames began to flicker up at the
edges of the great gates.
"Do you stay here with me, Philip," Francois said. "Our own band
will take post here. They are more accustomed to hand-to-hand
fighting. The tenants will guard the wall. Montpace will be in
command there.
"Beg De Riblemont to take command at the back of the house. Tell
him to send for aid to us, if he is pressed.
"I would put your own three men down in the postern there. I feel
sure they can never move that double row of bullocks, but it is as
well to make certain; and those three could hold the narrow
postern, till help reaches them. Place a boy with them to send off
for aid, if necessary.
"Bourdou is stationed behind the other postern, with three men. It
will be half an hour before the gates are down, yet."
The two together made a tour of the defences. All was in readiness.
The men, after their first success, felt confident that they should
beat off their assailants; and even the women, gathered round the
great fires in the house and courtyard, with pails in readiness to
carry boiling water to the threatened points, showed no signs of
anxiety; the younger ones laughing and chatting together, as if
engaged in ordinary work.
The countess went round, with her maids carrying flagons and cups,
and gave a draught of wine to each of the defenders. The minister
accompanied her. As yet there were no wounded needing their care,
for all who had been hit had been struck in the head; and death
had, in each case, been instantaneous.
At last the great gates fell with a crash, and a shout of
exultation arose from the Catholics; answered, by the Huguenots on
the wall, by one of defiance. In half an hour the assailants again
formed up. The strongest column advanced towards the great gate,
others against the posterns; and four separate bodies, with planks
and ladders, moved forward to bridge the moat and to attack at
other points.
The defenders on the walls and at the windows were soon at work,
and the assailants suffered heavily from the fire, as they
advanced. The fifty men-at-arms behind the barricade remained quiet
and silent, a dozen of them with arquebuses lining the barricade.
With loud shouts the Catholics came on, deeming the chateau as good
as won. The arquebusiers poured their fire into them as they
crossed the moat, and then fell back behind their comrades, who
were armed with pike and sword.
As they passed through the still smoking gateway the assailants saw
the barricade in front of them, but this did not appear formidable
and, led by a number of gentlemen in complete armour, they rushed
forward.
For a moment those in front recoiled, as they reached the wall of
slippery hides; then, pressed forward from behind, they made
desperate attempts to climb it. It would have been as easy to try
to mount a wall of ice. Their hands and feet alike failed to obtain
a hold, and from above the defenders, with pike and sword, thrust
and cut at them; while the arquebusiers, as fast as possible,
discharged their pieces into the crowd, loaded each time with three
or four balls.
For half an hour the efforts to force the barricade continued. So
many had fallen that the wall was now no higher than their waist;
but even this could not be surmounted, in face of the double line
of pikemen; and at last the assailants fell back, baffled.
At the two posterns, they had failed to make any impression upon
the carcasses that blocked their way. In vain they strove, by
striking the curved points of their halberts into the carcasses, to
drag them from their place; but the pressure of the weight above,
and of the interior line of carcasses that were piled on the legs
of the outside tiers, prevented the enemy from moving them in the
slightest degree. While so engaged, those at work were exposed to
the boiling water poured from above; and the soldiers standing
behind, in readiness to advance when the entrance was won, were
also exposed to the fire of the defenders.
The assaults on the walls, and at the windows, were far less
obstinate than those in the previous attack, as they were intended
only as diversions to the main assaults on the posterns and gate;
and when the assailants at these points fell back, the storming
parties also retreated. They had lost, in all, nearly four hundred
men in the second attack; of whom more than a hundred and fifty had
fallen in the assault upon the barricade.
The instant they retreated, Francois and Philip led out their men,
cleared the earth from the planks, and threw these into the water.
They were not a moment too soon for, just as they completed their
task, the Catholic cavalry thundered down to the edge of the moat;
regardless of the fire from the walls, which emptied many saddles.
Finding themselves unable to cross, they turned and galloped off
after the infantry.
"We were just in time, Philip," Francois said. "If they had crossed
the moat it would have gone hard with us; for, with that bank of
bodies lying against the breastwork, they might have been able to
leap it. At any rate, their long lances would have driven us back,
and some would have dismounted and climbed over.
"As it is, I think we have done with them. After two such repulses
as they have had, and losing pretty nearly half their infantry,
they will never get the men to try another attack."
An hour later, indeed, the whole Catholic force, horse and foot,
were seen to march away by the road along which they had come. As
soon as they did so, a trumpet summoned the defenders from the
walls and house. The women and children also poured out into the
courtyard and, the minister taking his place by the side of the
countess on the steps of the chateau, a solemn service of
thanksgiving to God, for their preservation from the danger that
had threatened them, was held.
It was now five o'clock, and the short winter day was nearly over.
Many of the tenants would have started off to their farms, but
Francois begged them to remain until next morning.
"The smoke told you what to expect," he said. "You will find
nothing but the ruins of your houses and, in this weather, it would
be madness to take your wives and families out. In the morning you
can go and view your homes. If there are still any sheds standing,
that you can turn into houses for the time, you can come back for
your wives and families. If not, they must remain here till you can
get up shelter for them. In this bitter cold weather, you could not
think of rebuilding your houses regularly; nor would it be any use
to do so, until we get to the end of these troubles. But you can
fell and saw wood, and erect cottages that will suffice for present
use, and serve as sheds when better times return.
"The first thing to do is to attend to those who have fallen. The
dead must be removed and buried; but there must be many wounded,
and these must be brought in and attended to. There is an empty
granary that we will convert into a hospital."
"Before we do anything else, Francois, we must fish the planks from
the moat, to serve until a fresh drawbridge is constructed.
"Eustace, do you get two heavy beams thrust over, and lay the
planks across them; then with Roger mount, cross the moat as soon
as it is bridged, and follow the road after the Catholics. They may
not have gone far, and might halt and return to attack us, when we
shall be off our guard.
"Follow them about five miles; then, if they are still marching,
you had both better come back to us. If they halt before that, do
you remain and watch them; and send Roger back with the news."
A hundred and thirty wounded men were brought in, some wounded by
shot or crossbow bolt, some terribly scalded, others with broken
limbs from being hurled backwards with the ladders. The countess,
with her maids and many of the women, attended to them as they were
brought in, and applied salves and bandages to the wounds. Among
the mass that had fallen inside the gate, seven gentlemen who still
lived were discovered. These were brought into the chateau, and
placed in a room together.
The task was carried on by torchlight, and occupied some hours.
Towards midnight, the trampling of a large body of horse was heard.
Arms were hastily snatched up and steel caps thrust on and, pike in
hand, they thronged to defend the entrance. Francois ran to the
battlements.
"Who comes there?" he shouted. "Halt and declare yourselves, or we
fire."
The horsemen halted, and a voice cried:
"Is that you, Francois?"
"Yes, it is I, De la Noue," Francois shouted back joyously.
"Is all well? Where are the enemy?" was asked, in the Admiral's
well-known voice.
"All is well, sir. They retreated just before nightfall, leaving
seven hundred of their infantry wounded or dead behind them."
A shout of satisfaction rose from the horsemen.
"Take torches across the bridge," Francois ordered. "It is the
Admiral, come to our rescue."
A minute later, the head of the column crossed the temporary
bridge. Francois had run down and received them in the gateway.
"What is this?" the Admiral asked. "Have they burnt your drawbridge
and gate?"
"Yes, sir."
"How was it, then, they did not succeed in capturing the place? Ah,
I see, you formed a barricade here."
Two or three of the carcasses had been dragged aside, to permit the
men carrying the wounded to enter.
"Why, what is it, Francois--skins of freshly slain oxen?"
"Yes, sir, and the barricade is formed of their bodies. We had
neither time nor materials at hand, and my cousin suggested
bringing the oxen up, and slaughtering them here. In that way we
soon made a barricade. But we should have had hard work in holding
it, against such numbers, had he not also suggested our skinning
them, and letting the hides hang as you see, with the raw sides
outwards. Then we smeared them thickly with blood and, though the
Catholics strove their hardest, not one of them managed to get a
footing on the top."
"A rare thought, indeed," the Admiral said warmly.
"De la Noue, these cousins of yours are truly apt scholars in war.
The oldest soldier could not have thought of a better device.
"And you say you killed seven hundred of them, Laville?"
"That is the number, sir, counting in a hundred and thirty wounded,
who are now lying in a granary here."
"They must have fought stoutly. But what was your strength?"
"We had fifty men-at-arms, sir, five or six Huguenot gentlemen with
their retainers, and a hundred and fifty men from our own estate;
all of whom fought as doughtily as old soldiers could have done.
"The enemy thought to take us by surprise, yesterday evening; but
we were ready for them, and our discharge killed over fifty. Then
they drew off, and left us until this morning. They made two great
attacks: the first by throwing planks across the moat, and placing
ladders at three places; the second by trying, again, to storm with
ladders, while other bands tried to force their way in at this
gateway, and at the two posterns.
"Of course they have burned all the farina to the ground, but the
cattle were all safely driven in here, before they arrived.
"Now if you will enter, sir, we will endeavour to provide for your
wants. No one is yet in bed. We have been too busy carrying out the
dead, and collecting the wounded, to think of sleep."
The countess was at the steps of the chateau, to receive the
Admiral as he dismounted.
"Accept my heartiest thanks for the speed with which you have come
to our aid, Admiral. We did not expect you before tomorrow morning,
at the earliest."
"It has been a long ride, truly," the Admiral said. "Your messenger
arrived at daybreak, having walked the last five miles, for his
horse had foundered. I flew to horse, the moment I received the
news; and with four hundred horsemen, for the most part Huguenot
gentlemen, we started at once. We halted for three hours in the
middle of the day to rest our horses, and again for an hour just
after nightfall. We feared that we should find your chateau in
flames for, although your messenger said that your son thought you
could hold out against all attacks for two days, it seemed to us
that so strong a force as was beleaguering you would carry the
place by storm, in a few hours. I have to congratulate you on the
gallant defence that you have made."
"I have had nothing to do with it," the countess replied; "but
indeed, all have fought well.
"Now, if you will follow me in, I will do my best to entertain you
and the brave gentlemen who have ridden so far to my rescue; but I
fear the accommodation will be of the roughest."
The horses were ranged in rows, in the courtyard, haltered to ropes
stretched across it; and an ample supply of food was given to each.
Some of the oxen that had done such good service were cut up, and
were soon roasting over great fires; while the women spread straw
thickly, in the largest apartments, for the newcomers to sleep on.
"Where are the Catholics?" the Admiral asked.
"They have halted at a village, some seven miles away," Francois
said. "We sent two mounted men after them, to make sure that they
had gone well away, and did not intend to try to take us by
surprise in the night. They returned some hours since with the
news."
"What do you say, De la Noue," the Admiral exclaimed; "shall we
beat them up tonight? They will not be expecting us and, after
their march here and their day's fighting, they will sleep
soundly."
"I should like nothing better, Admiral; but in truth, I doubt
whether our horses could carry us. They have already made a
twenty-league journey."
"We have at least two hundred horses here, Admiral," Francois said.
"We have those of my own troop, and fully a hundred and fifty that
were driven in by the tenants. My own troop will, of course, be
ready to go; and you could shift your saddles on to the other
horses. There is not one of our men who would not gladly march with
you, for although we have beaten the Catholics well, the tenants do
not forget that they are homeless; and will, I am sure, gladly
follow up the blow."
"Then so it shall be," the Admiral said. "A hundred and fifty of
the gentlemen who came with me shall ride with your troop. The rest
of us will march with your tenants.
"I think we are capable of doing that, even after our ride,
gentlemen?"
There was a chorus of assent from those standing round, and De la
Noue added:
"After supper, Admiral?"
"Certainly after supper," Coligny assented, with a smile. "Another
hour will make no difference. You may be sure they will not be
moving before daylight. If we start from here at three, we shall be
in ample time."
Philip at once went out, and ordered the attendants and men-at-arms
to lie down for two hours, as the Admiral was going to lead them to
attack the Catholics at their halting place--news which was
received with grim satisfaction. In the meantime, Francois gave a
detailed account of the events of the siege; and the Admiral
insisted upon going, at once, to inspect by torchlight the novel
manner in which the two posterns had been blocked up.
"Nothing could have been better, De Laville," he said. "Your
English cousin is, indeed, full of resources. Better material than
this, for blocking up a narrow gateway, could hardly be contrived.
Fire, as it was proved, was of no avail against it, for it would be
impossible to dislodge the carcasses by main force; and even if
they had cannon, the balls would not have penetrated this thickness
of flesh, which must have been torn to pieces before it yielded.
The idea of covering the carcasses at the gates with their own raw
hides was an equally happy one.
"Upon my word, De la Noue, I do not think that, if you or I had
been in command here, we could have done better than these two
young fellows."
At three o'clock all was ready for a start. De la Noue took the
command of the two hundred horsemen. The Admiral declined to ride,
and placed himself at the head of the column of infantry, which was
three hundred strong; thirty of the original defenders having been
either killed or disabled, and twenty being left as a guard at the
chateau.
The surprise of the Catholics was complete. Three hundred were
killed. Two hundred, including their commander, De Brissac, and
thirty other gentlemen, were made prisoners. The remaining six
hundred escaped in the darkness; their arms, armour, and the whole
of the horses falling into the hands of the victors, who halted at
the village until morning.
"Well, De Brissac," the Count de la Noue said, as they started on
their return, "the times have changed since you and I fought under
your father in Italy; and we little thought, then, that some day we
should be fighting on opposite sides."
"Still less that I should be your prisoner, De la Noue," the other
laughed. "Well, we have made a nice business of this. We thought to
surprise De Laville's chateau, without having to strike a blow; and
that we were going to return to Poitiers with at least a thousand
head of cattle. We were horribly beaten at the chateau, have now
been surprised ourselves, and you are carrying off our horses, to
say nothing of ourselves. We marched out with eighteen hundred men,
horse and foot; and I don't think more than five or six hundred, at
the outside, have got away--and that in the scantiest apparel.
"Anjou will be furious, when he hears the news. When I am
exchanged, I expect I shall be ordered to my estates. Had De
Laville some older heads to assist him?"
"No, he and that young cousin of his, riding next to him, acted
entirely by themselves; and the cousin, who is an English lad, is
the one who invented that barricade of bullocks that stopped you."
"That was a rare device," De Brissac said. "I fought my way to it,
once, but there was no possibility of climbing it. It is rather
mortifying to my pride, to have been so completely beaten by the
device of a lad like that. He ought to make a great soldier, some
day, De la Noue."