of five hundred carabineers, on horseback, all
picked men, well armed and mounted, who, galloping forward till they
were within twenty yards of Henry's division, poured a tremendous
fire upon it, and then gave place to the men-at-arms. At that moment,
however, the King spurred on his horse two lengths before any of his
troops, and, followed by his whole squadron, 'plunged,' to use the
words of Aubigne, 'into the forest of lances,' which lay before him.
Even that bitter satirist cannot avoid giving way to some enthusiasm
in describing the charge of his royal master. 'By the first strokes,'
he says, 'appeared what quality can effect against quantity.' For
more than a quarter of an hour the struggle was fierce, and the small
squadron of the King was lost to the sight of the rest of the army in
the dense cloud of Mayenne's cavalry.

"At length the Leaguers were seen to waver; some fled, others
followed, and in an instant after, all was rout and confusion amongst
the immense body of horse, which a few minutes before had moved up so
gallantly to the assault. But as the enemy fled from before him,
Henry was exposed to a new danger, and found that the battle was not
yet won. As he issued forth from the midst of the flying masses of
Mayenne's horse, with but twelve or fifteen companions at his side,
and exactly between the two regiments of adverse Swiss, three troops
of Walloons, who as yet had not taken any share in the battle,
appeared ready to charge his little band. D'Aumont, however, with the
Grand Prior, Tremouille, and the gallant Givri, advanced to his
deliverance, and this fresh body of cavalry was routed in a moment.
In the heat of the melee Henry's standard-bearer was killed, and one
of his pages, who bore in his casque a white plume similar to that of
the King, fell beside him. A report had spread instantly that the
King was slain, and a momentary panic had seized the persons round
the spot where he was supposed to have fallen. But when he reappeared
from amidst the dense crowd of enemies, covered with blood and dust,
a loud shout of 'Vive le Roi!' burst from the ranks of the Royalists,
and added speed to the flight of the enemy. Marshal Biron, who had
remained immoveable, watching the progress of the fight, and ready to
act wherever a great necessity