ish might
arrive any day." Their fleet was signalled at sea; it numbered thirty
vessels, and had a convoy of twenty barks laden with provisions and
munitions, and it was commanded by the Earl of Denbigh, Buckingham's
brother-in-law. The Rochellese, transported with joy, "had planted a
host of flags on the prominent points of their town." The English came
and cast anchor at the tip of the Island of Re. The cannon of La
Rochelle gave them a royal salute. A little boat with an English captain
on board found means of breaking the blockade; and "Open a passage," said
the envoy to the Rochellese, "as you sent notice to us in England, and we
will deliver you." But the progress made in the works of the mole
rendered the enterprise difficult; the besieged could not attempt
anything; they waited and waited for Lord Denbigh to bring on an
engagement; on the 19th of May, all the English ships got under sail and
approached the roads. The besieged hurried on to the ramparts; there was
the thunder of one broadside, and one only; and then the vessels tacked
and crowded sail for England, followed by the gaze "of the king's army,
who returned to make good cheer without any fear of the enemy, and with
great hopes of soon taking the town."

Great was the despair in La Rochelle: "This shameful retreat of the
English, and their aid which had only been received by faith, as they do
in the Eucharist," wrote Cardinal Richelieu, "astounded the Rochellese so
mightily that they would readily have made up their minds to surrender,
if Madame de Rohan, the mother, whose hopes for her children were all
centred in the preservation of this town, and the minister Salbert, a
very seditious fellow, had not regaled them with imaginary succor which
they made them hope for." The cardinal, when he wrote these words, knew
nothing of the wicked proposals made to Guiton and to Salbert. "Couldn't
the cardinal be got rid of by the deed of one determined man?" it was
asked: but the mayor refused; and, "It is not in such a way that God
willeth our deliverance," said Salbert; "it would be too offensive to His
holiness." And they suffered on.

Meanwhile, on the 24th of May, the posterns were observed to open, and
the women to issue forth one after another, with their children and the
old men; they came gliding towards the king's encampment, but "he ordered
them to be driven back by force; and further, knowing that they had sown
beans near the counterscarps o