him ever to come to court again. My groom of the chamber went away with this sad news, and lay with one of the king's surgeons in ordinary, named Master Lewis; and in the night gave himself six wounds with a knife, and cut his throat; yet the said surgeon perceived nothing till morning-till he saw the bed bloody, and the dead body by him. He much marvelled at this spectacle, upon his waking, and was afraid lest they should say he was the cause of this murder; but he was soon freed, the cause being known to be from desperation, having lost the good amity which the king bore to him. The said Guyard was buried. And those of Dauvilliers, when they saw the breach large enough for them to enter in, and the soldiers prepared for the assault, yielded themselves to the mercy of the king. The chief of them were prisoners, and the soldiers sent away without

arms.

up,

"The camp being broken I returned to Paris, with my gentleman, whose leg I had cut off. I dresssd him, and God cured him. I sent him to his house merry, with his wooden leg, and was content, saying, that he had escaped cheaply, not to have been miserably burnt, as you write in your book, my little master."

66

We shall now proceed to give some extracts from Parey's account of the Siege of Metz, by the Emperor, Charles V.Charles's army, according to Dr. Robertson, amounted to sixty thousand men, forming one of the most numerous and best appointed armies, which had been brought into the field, in that age, in any of the wars among Christian princes. The Duke of Guise, Francis of Lorraine, was nominated to take the command of Metz, during the siege. Several princes of the blood, many nobleman of the highest rank, and all the young officers, who could obtain the king's permission, entered as volunteers."

The Voyage of Mets. 1552.

"The emperor having besieged Mets, and in the hardest time of winter, as each one knows of fresh memory, and that there was in the city five or six thousand men, and, amongst the rest, seven princes; that is to say, Monsieur the Duke of Guise, the king's lieutenant, Messieurs D'Anguien, De Conde, De Montpensier, De La Roch, upon Yon Monsieur De Nemours, and divers other gentlemen, with a number of old captains of war, who often made sallies forth upon the enemies, which was not without slaying many, as well on the one side as the other. For the most part, all our wounded people died; and it was thought, the medicaments, wherewith they were dressed, were poisoned; which caused Monsieur De Guise, and other princes, to send to the king for me; and that he would send me, with drugs, to them, for they believed theirs were poisoned, seeing that, of their people, few escaped. I do not believe there was any poison; but the great strokes of the cutlasses, musket-shot, and the extreme cold, were the cause. The king caused some one to write to Monsieur,

the marshal St. Andrew, who was his lieutenant at Verdun, that he might find some means to make me enter into Mets. The said lord marshal got an Italian captain, who promised him to make me enter in, which he did, and for which he had fifteen hundred crowns.

"The king having heard of the promise which the Italian captain had made, sent for me, and commanded me to take of his apothecary, named Daigue, such and as many drugs as I should think fit for the hurt who were besieged, which I did, as much as a post horse could carry. The king gave me charge to speak to Monsieur De Guise, and to the princes and captains who were at Mets. Being arrived at Verdun, a few days after Monsieur the marshal of St. Andrew caused horses to be given to me, and my man, and for the Italian, who spake very good high Dutch and Spanish.

"When we were within eight or ten leagues of Mets, we went not but in the night; and being near the camp, I saw, a league and a half off, bright fires about the city, which seemed as if all the earth had been on fire, and I thought we could never pass through those fires without being discovered, and, by consequent, be hanged and strangled, or cut in pieces, or pay a great ransom. To speak truth, I wished myself at Paris, for the imminent danger which I foresaw. God guided so well our affairs, that we entered the city at midnight, with a certain token which the captain had with another captain of the company of Monsieur De Guise; which lord I went to, and found him in bed, who received me with many thanks, being joyful at my coming. I did my message to him, of all that the king had commanded me to say to him: I told him I had a little letter to give to him, and that the next day I would not fail to deliver it to him. That done, he commanded me a good lodging, and that I should be well used; and bid me I should not fail to be the next day upon the breach, where I should meet with all the princes and divers captains, which I did; who received me with great joy, and did me the honour to embrace me, and tell me I was very welcome, adding, they did not think they should die if they should chance to be hurt. Monsieur de la Roch was the first that feasted me, and inquired of me what they said at the court concerning the city of Mets. I told him what I thought good. Then presently he desired me to go and see one of his gentlemen, named Monsieur De Magnane, lieutenant of his majesty's guard, who had his leg broken by a cannon-shot. I found him in his bed, his leg bended and crooked, and without any dressing upon it, because a gentleman had promised him a cure, having his name and his girdle with certain words. The poor gentleman wept and cried with the pain which he felt, not sleeping night nor day, for four days. Then I mocked at this imposture and false promise. Presently, I did so nimbly restore and dress his leg, that he was without pain, slept all night, and since (thanks be to God,) was cured, and is yet, at this present time, living, doing service to the king. The said lord sent me a tun of wine to my lodging, and bid tell me, when it was drunken, he would send me another. That done, Monsieur De Guise gave me a list of certain captains and lords, and commanded me to tell them what the king had given me in charge; which I did, which was to do

his commendations and a thanksgiving for the duty they had done and did in the keeping of the city of Mets, and that he would acknowledge it. I demanded, afterwards, of Monsieur De Guise, what pleased him I should do with the drugs which I had brought him; he bid me impart them to the surgeons and apothecaries, and, chiefly, to the poor hurt soldiers in the hospital, which were in great number; which I did, and can assure you, I could not do so much as go and see them, but they sent for me to go and dress and visit them. All the besieged lords prayed me carefully to solicit, above all others, Monsieur De Pienne, who was hurt at the breach by a stone, raised by a cannon shot, in the temple, with a fracture and depression of the bone. They told me, that presently when he received the stroke, he fell to the earth as dead, and cast blood out of his mouth, nose, and ears, with great vomitings, and was fourteen days without speaking oue word, or having any reason; there happened to him also, startings somewhat like convulsions, and he had all his face swelled and livid. He was trepanned on the side of the temporal muscle upon the os coronale. I drest him, with other surgeons, and God cured him, and he is at this day living, God be thanked.

"The emperor caused a battery to be made, with forty double cannons, where they spared no powder night nor day. Presently, when Monsieur De Guise saw the artillery seated to make a breach, he made the nearest houses be pulled down to make ramparts, and the posts and beams were ranged end to end, and between two clods of earth, beds and packs of wool, and then other posts were put again upon them as before. Now much wood of the houses and of the suburbs, which had been put to the ground, for fear lest the enemy should be lodged close covered, and that they should not help themselves with any wood, served well to repair the breach. Every one was busied to carry earth to make the ramparts, night and day. Messieurs the princes, lords and captains, lieutenants, ensigns, did all carry the basket, to give example to the soldiers and the citizens to do the like, which they did : yea, both ladies and gentlewomen, and those which had not baskets, helped themselves with kettles, panniers, sacks, sheets, and with what else they could to carry earth. Insomuch that the enemy had no sooner beaten down the wall, but he found behind it a rampart more strong. The wall being fallen, our soldiers cried to those without, the Fox, the Fox, the Fox! and spake a thousand injuries to one another. Monsieur De Guise commanded upon pain of death, that no man should speak to them without, for fear lest there should be some traitor who would give them intelligence what was done in the city. The command made, they tied living cats at the end of their pikes, and put them upon the wall, and cried with the cats, miau, miau.

Truly the Imperialists were very much vexed to have been so long making a breach, and at so great an expence, which was the breach of fourscore steps, to enter fifty men in front, where they found a rampart more strong than the wall. They fell upon the poor cats, and shot at them with their muskets as they do at birds. Our people did often make sallies by the command of Monsieur De

Guise. The day before, there was a great press to make themselves enrolled, who must make the salley, chiefly of the young nobility, led by well-experienced captains: insomuch, that it was a great favour to sally forth and run upon the enemy; and they sallied forth always the number of one hundred, or sixscore, armed men, with cutlasses, muskets, pistols, &c., who went even to their trenches to awaken them, where they presently made an alarm throughout all their camp, and their drums sounded plan, plan, ta, ti, ta, ti, ta, tou, touf, touf; likewise their trumpets sounded, to the saddle, to the saddle, to the saddle; to horse, to horse, to horse; to the saddle; to horse; and all their soldiers cried, to arms, to arms, to arms; arm to arms, arm to arms, like the cry after wolves, and all divers tongues, according to their nations: and they were seen to go out from their tents and little lodgings as thick as little bees when their hive is discovered, to succour their fellows, who had their throats cut like sheep. The horsemen, likewise, came from all parts a great gallop. Patati, patata, patati, patata, ta, ta, patata, patata, and tarried well that they might not be in the throng where strokes were imparted to give and receive; and when our men saw they were forced, they returned into the city, still firing; and those who run after were beaten back with the artillery, which they had charged with flint stones and pieces of iron; and our soldiers, who were upon the said wall, made a volley of shot, and showered down their bullets upon them, like hail, to send them back to their lodging. Divers remained in the place of the combat; and also our men did not all come off with whole skins; and there still remained some for the tithe who were joyful to die in the bed of honour. And when there was a horse hurt, he was flayed, and eaten by the soldiers instead of beef and bacon; and it was fit I must run and dress our hurt men. A few days after, other sallies were made, which did much anger the enemies, because they did not let them sleep but little in safety. Monsieur De Guise made a war-like stratagem, which was, he sent a peasant, who was none of the wisest, with two pair of letters toward the king, to whom he gave ten crowns, and promised that the king should give him an hundred, provided he gave him the letters. In the one, he sent word that the enemy made no sign of retiring himself, and by all force made a great breach, which he hoped to defend, yea to the losing of his life, and of all those that were within ; and that the enemy had so well placed his artillery in a certain place, which he named, that with great difficulty was it kept; that they had not entered into it, seeing it was a place the most weak of all the city; but he hoped quickly to fill it up in such sort, that they could not be able to enter. One of these letters was sewed in the lining of his doublet, and he was bid to take heed that he told it not to any man. And there was also another given to him, wherein the said Monsieur De Guise sent word to the king, that he and all the besieged did hope well to keep the city, and other matters which I cease to speak of. They made the peasant go forth in the night; and, presently after, he was taken by one that stood centinel and carried to the Duke of Albe, to understand what was done in the city; and they asked him if he had any letters; he said, yes, and gave them one; and having seen it, he

was put to his oath whether he had any other, and he swore not; then they felt and searched him, and found that which was sewed in his doublet, and the poor messenger was hanged.

The

"The said letters were communicated to the emperor, who caused his council to he called there, when it was resolved, since they could do nothing at the first breach, that, presently, the artillery should be drawn to the place which they thought the most weak, where they made great attempts to make another breach, and digged and undermined the wall, and endeavoured to take the Tower of Hell; yet they durst not come to the assault. The Duke of Albe declared to the emperor that the soldiers died daily, more than the number of two hundred, and that there was but little hope to enter into the city, seeing the season, and the great quantity of soldiers that were there. emperor demanded what people they were that died, and if they were gentlemen of remark or quality. Answer was made that they were all poor soldiers. Then, said he, it makes no matter if they die, comparing them to caterpillars and grasshoppers, which eat the buds of the earth; and if they were of any fashion, they would not be in the camp for twelve shillings the month, and therefore no great harm if they died. Moreover, he said, he would never part from before the city till he had taken it by force or famine, although he should lose all his army, by reason of the great number of princes which were therein, with the most part of the nobility of France, from whom he hoped to draw double his expence; and that he would go once again to Paris, to visit the Parisians, and make himself king of all the kingdom of France.

"Monsieur De Guise, with the princes, captains, and soldiers, and ge nerally all the citizens of the city, having understood the intention of the emperor, which was to extirpate us all, they advised of all they had to do; and since it was not permitted to the soldiers nor citizens, no nor to the princes nor lords themselves, to eat either fresh fish or venison, as likewise partridges, woodcocks, larks, for fear lest they had gathered some pestilential air which might give us any contagion, but that they should content themselves with the ammunition fare, that is to say, with biscuit, beef, cows' lard, and gammons of bacon; likewise fish; also pease, beans, rice, oil, salt, pepper, ginger, nutmegs, &c. &c. to put into pies, chiefly to horse-flesh, which, without that, would have a very ill taste. Divers citizens, having gardens in the city, sowed therein great radishes, turnips, carrots, leeks, which they kept well, and full dear, against the extremity of hunger.

"Now, all these ammunition victuals were distributed by weight, measure, and justice, according to the quality of the person, because we knew not how long the siege would last; for having understood from the mouth of the emperor, that he would never part from before Mets till he had taken it by force or famine, the victuals were lessened; for that which was wont to be distributed among three, was now shared amongst four, and defence made they should not sell what remained after their dinner, but 'twas permitted to give it to the wenches that followed the camp. They rose always from table with an appetite, for fear they should be subject to take physic. And be