ations to the king. Francis I. summoned the
messenger to a meeting of the council, at which the dauphin, Henry, stood
behind his father's chair. "Montluc," said the king, "I wish you to
return and report my deliberation and the opinion of my council to M.
d'Enghien, and to listen here to the difficulty that stands in the way of
our being able to grant him leave to give battle, as he demands." The
Count de St. Pol spoke and set forth the reasons the king had for not
desiring battle; and the end of them all was that there was a chance of
losing, which would be a matter for regret beyond all comparison with the
advantage to be gained from winning. "I stamped with impatience to
speak," says Montluc, "and would have broken in; but M. de St. Pol made
me a sign with his hand, saying, 'Quiet! quiet!' which made me hold my
tongue, and I saw that the king set on a-laughing. Then he told me that
he wished me to say freely what I thought about it. 'I consider myself
most happy, sir,' said I, 'for when you were dauphin, and before you were
called to this great charge which God hath given you, you tried the
fortune of war as much as any king that ever hath been in France, without
sparing your own person any more than the meanest gentleman. Well, a
soldier-king is the only one I can address.' The dauphin, who was facing
me," continued Montluc, "made me a sign with his head, which caused me to
think that he wished me to speak boldly. Then said I, 'Sir, I count that
there will be forty-five hundred or forty-six hundred of us Gascons, all
told; and all of us, captains and soldiers, will give you our names and
the places whence we come, and will stake our heads that we will fight on
the day of battle, if it should please you to grant it. It is a matter
that we have been awaiting and desiring this long while, without much
taking of counsel; be assured, sir, there are not more resolute soldiers
than yonder. There are, besides, thirteen companies of Swiss, who will
give you the same pledge as we who are your subjects; and we will hand in
to you the names of them all for to be sent to their cantons in order
that, if there be any who shall not do his duty, he may die. You have
thus nine thousand men and more of whom you may be certain that they will
fight to the last gasp of their lives. As for the Italians and
Provencals, I will not answer to you for them; but perhaps they will all
do as well as we, when they see us getting to work;