History of the United Netherlands, 1590b | Page 5

villages
and by a wood, and commanding a view of all the approaches from the

country between the Seine and Eure. It would have been better had
Mayenne been beforehand with him, as the sequel proved; but the duke
was not famed for the rapidity of his movements. During the greater
part of the night, Henry was employed in distributing his orders for that
conflict which was inevitable on the following day. His army was
drawn up according to a plan prepared by himself, and submitted to the
most experienced of his generals for their approval. He then personally
visited every portion of the encampment, speaking words of
encouragement to his soldiers, and perfecting his arrangements for the
coming conflict. Attended by Marshals d'Aumont and Biron he
remained on horseback during a portion of the night, having ordered his
officers to their tents and reconnoitred as well as he could the position
of the enemy. Towards morning he retired to his headquarters at
Fourainville, where he threw himself half-dressed on his truckle bed,
and although the night was bitterly cold, with no covering but his cloak.
He was startled from his slumber before the dawn by a movement of
lights in the enemy's camp, and he sprang to his feet supposing that the
duke was stealing a march upon him despite all his precautions. The
alarm proved to be a false one, but Henry lost no time in ordering his
battle. His cavalry he divided in seven troops or squadrons. The first,
forming the left wing, was a body of three hundred under Marshal
d'Aumont, supported by two regiments of French infantry. Next,
separated by a short interval, was another troop of three hundred under
the Duke of Montpensier, supported by two other regiments of foot,
one Swiss and one German. In front of Montpensier was Baron Biron
the younger, at the head of still another body of three hundred. Two
troops of cuirassiers, each four hundred strong, were on Biron's left, the
one commanded by the Grand Prior of France, Charles d'Angouleme,
the other by Monsieur de Givry. Between the Prior and Givry were six
pieces of heavy artillery, while the battalia, formed of eight hundred
horse in six squadrons, was commanded by the king in person, and
covered on both sides by English and Swiss infantry, amounting to
some four thousand in all. The right wing was under the charge of old
Marshal Biron, and comprised three troops of horse, numbering one
hundred and fifty each, two companies of German riders, and four
regiments of French infantry. These numbers, which are probably given
with as much accuracy as can be obtained, show a force of about three

thousand horse and twelve thousand foot.
The Duke of Mayenne, seeing too late the advantage of position which
he might have easily secured the day before, led his army forth with the
early light, and arranged it in an order not very different from that
adopted by the king, and within cannon-shot of his lines. The right
wing under Marshal de la Chatre consisted of three regiments of French
and one of Germans, supporting three regiments of Spanish lancers,
two cornets of German riders under the Bastard of Brunswick, and four
hundred cuirassiers. The battalia, which was composed of six hundred
splendid cavalry, all noblemen of France, guarding the white banner of
the Holy League, and supported by a column of three thousand Swiss
and two thousand French infantry, was commanded by Mayenne in
person, assisted by his half-brother, the Duke of Nemours. In front of
the infantry was a battery of six cannon and three culverines. The left
wing was commanded by Marshal de Rene, with six regiments of
French and Lorrainers, two thousand Germans, six hundred French
cuirassiers, and the mounted troopers of Count Egmont. It is probable
that Mayenne's whole force, therefore, amounted to nearly four
thousand cavalry and at least thirteen thousand foot.
Very different was the respective appearance of the two armies, so far,
especially, as regarded the horsemen on both sides. Gay in their gilded
armour and waving plumes, with silken scarves across their shoulders,
and the fluttering favours of fair ladies on their arms or in their helmets,
the brilliant champions of the Holy Catholic Confederacy clustered
around the chieftains of the great house of Guise, impatient for the
conflict. It was like a muster for a brilliant and chivalrous tournament.
The Walloon and Flemish nobles, outrivalling even the self-confidence
of their companions in arms, taunted them with their slowness. The,
impetuous Egmont, burning to eclipse the fame of his ill-fated father at
Gravelines and St. Quintin in the same holy cause, urged on the battle
with unseemly haste, loudly proclaiming that if the French were faint-
hearted he would himself give a good account of