me terrible. No quarter was given in
any engagements. Slaughter was the only thought on either side.

Towards the end of December, one Thierry, a draper of Mirecourt,
proved more successful than Baschi in reaching Nancy. His information,
that Rene's army would leave Basel on December 26th, put heart into
the beseiged and the bells rang out joyfully.

Just at this epoch, there was an attempt at mediation between the
combatants. The King of Portugal,[13] nephew of Isabella, appeared at
his cousin's camp and implored him to put an end to the carnage, and
in the name of humanity to stop a war that was horrible to all the
world. In spite of his own stress, Charles managed to give his kinsman
a splendid reception, but he waved aside his petition, and simply
invited him to join him in his campaign.

A week sufficed for the Swiss contingent to march from Basel to Nancy,
across the plains of Alsace. Meantime Rene had rallied about four
thousand men under Lorraine captains, and to this was added an
Alsatian force which had joined him by way of St.-Nicolas-du-Port.
They were a rude, pitiless crowd, as they soon evinced by routing
a few Burgundians out of the houses where they had hidden, and
massacring them publicly. A reconnaissance, sent out by Charles, was
easily put to flight.

On January 4th, Charles learned that fresh troops had reached St.
Nicolas. He showed assurance, arrogance, and negligence. His belief in
his star was fully restored. He actually did not take the trouble to
try once more to ascertain the exact strength of the enemy. He had
commissioned the Bishop of Forli to negotiate for him at Basel, and
refused to credit the statement that the Swiss were throwing in their
fortunes with Rene. He thought that "the Child," as he contemptuously
termed his adversary, had simply gone right and left to hire
mercenaries, and he rather ridiculed the idea of taking such
_canaille_ seriously, saying that it was a host unworthy of a
gentleman. Still he resolved to meet and finish them once for all.[14]

It is a fact that the Swiss reinforcements were a different and far
less efficient body than the volunteers of Granson and Morat had been.
French gold, scattered freely, had done its work in exciting the
cupidity of every man who could bear arms. There were some staunch
leaders, like Waldemar of Zurich and Rudolph de Stein, but their kind
was in the minority. Berne aided with money rather than with men, but
she was not a gen