gain made early; and late in the
afternoon the little army, which had been joined by two hundred
more in the course of the day, arrived within sight of Perigueux.
Five hundred horsemen had ridden forward, two hours before, to
secure the bridge.

The seneschal had, after occupying Bergerac, placed horsemen on all
the roads leading north, to prevent the news from spreading; and
Perigueux, a large and important town, was utterly unprepared for
the advent of an enemy. A few of the troops took up arms and made a
hasty resistance, but were speedily dispersed. The greater portion
fled, at the first alarm, to the castle, where D'Escars himself was
staying. He had, only two days before, sent off a despatch to the
court declaring that he had taken his measures so well that not a
Huguenot in the province would take up arms.

His force was still superior to that of the horsemen, but his
troops were disorganized; and many, in their flight, had left their
arms behind them, and he was therefore obliged to remain inactive
in the citadel; and his mortification and fury were complete, when
the seneschal's main body marched through the town and halted, for
the night, a league beyond it.

The next day they crossed the Dronne at Brantome, and then turned
to the west. The way was now open to them and, with two thousand
men, the seneschal felt capable of coping with any force that could
be got together to attack them. A halt was made for a day, to rest
the men and horses and, four days later, after crossing the
Perigord hills, and keeping ten miles south of Angouleme, they came
within sight of Cognac. Messages had already been sent on to
announce their coming and, five miles from the town, they were met
by the Prince of Conde and the Admiral.

"Your first message lifted a load from our minds, madame," the
Admiral said. "The last news I received of you was that you were
still at Nerac, and as an intercepted despatch informed us that
orders had been sent from the court for your immediate arrest, we
were in great uneasiness about you."

"We left Nerac just in time," the queen said; "for, as we have
learned, the governor of Agen, with a strong force, left that city
to effect our capture at the very hour that we started on our
flight."

"Did you know where you would find us, madame? We sent off a
message by trusty hands, but whether the gentleman reached you we
know not."

"Indeed he did, and has since rendered us good service; and Henr