ple to his troops.

Robert Stuart, a Scotch gentleman in Conde's train, fought his way
up to him and demanded his surrender. The Constable's reply was a
blow with the hilt of the sword which nearly struck Stuart from his
horse, knocking out three of his teeth. A moment later the
Constable was struck by a pistol ball, but whether it was fired by
Stuart himself, or one of the gentlemen by his side, was never
known. The Constable fell, but the fight still raged.

The Royalists, recovered from the first shock, were now pressing
their adversaries. Conde's horse was shot by a musket ball and, in
falling, pinned him to the ground so that he was unable to
extricate himself. De la Noue, followed by Francois and Philip, who
were fighting by his side, and other gentlemen, saw his peril and,
rushing forward, drove back Conde's assailants. Two gentlemen,
leaping from their horses, extricated the Prince from his fallen
steed and, after hard fighting, placed him on a horse before one of
them; and the troops, repulsing every attack made on them, fell
slowly back to Saint Denis.

On the right, Coligny had more than held his own against the enemy;
but on the left the Huguenots, encountering Marshal de Montmorency,
the eldest son of the Constable, and suffering heavily from the
arquebus and artillery fire, had been repulsed; and the Catholics
here had gained considerable advantages. The flight of a large
portion of the infantry, and the disorder caused in the cavalry by
the charges of Conde and Coligny, prevented the Marshal from
following up his advantage; and as the Huguenots fell back upon
Saint Denis the Royalists retired into Paris, where the wounded
Constable had already been carried.

Victory was claimed by both sides, but belonged to neither. Each
party had lost about four hundred men, a matter of much greater
consequence to the Huguenots than to the Catholics, the more so as
a large proportion of the slain on their side were gentlemen of
rank. Upon the other hand the loss of the Constable, who died next
day, paralysed for a time the Catholic forces.

A staunch and even bigoted Catholic, and opposed to any terms of
toleration being granted to the Huguenots, he was opposed to the
ambition of the Guises; and was the head of the Royalist party, as
distinguished from that of Lorraine. Catharine, who was the moving
spirit of the court, hesitated to give the power he possessed, as
Constable, into hands that might use it against h