o be
placed upon a ladder covered with cloaks and straw, and thus conveyed
him to Castelnaudary.[176]

The retreat of Gaston from this ill-fated field was accomplished in the
greatest disorder; on every side whole troops of his cavalry were to be
seen galloping madly along without order or combination; and it was
consequently evident to Schomberg that nothing could prevent Monsieur
and the whole of his staff from falling into his hands, should he see
fit to make them prisoners. The Marechal possessed too much tact,
however, to make such an attempt, as in the one case he must incur the
everlasting enmity of the heir-presumptive to the Crown, or, in the
other, Gaston, roused by a feeling of self-preservation, might attempt
to renew the conflict, and finally retrieve the fortunes of the day. By
the fall of Montmorency, moreover, sufficient had been accomplished to
annihilate the faction of Monsieur; and thus the royal general offered
no impediment to the retreat of the Prince, whom he permitted to retire
in safety to Beziers with the remnant of his army.[177]

The subsequent bearing of Gaston d'Orleans was worthy of his conduct at
Castelnaudary; as, only three days after the battle, he suffered himself
to be persuaded that his best policy would be to throw himself upon the
clemency of the King. His infantry disbanded themselves in disgust, and
he was compelled to pawn his plate in order to defray the arrears of his
foreign allies; while the province of Languedoc, which regarded him as
the destroyer of its idolized Governor, returned to its allegiance, and
refused to recognize his authority.

Yet, notwithstanding these circumstances, there was a romance and an
interest attached to the position of the Prince, combating and
struggling as he affected to be, not merely for a recognition of his own
rights, but also for those of a widowed and outraged mother, which, had
he proved himself worthy of his exalted station, must have ensured to
him the regard and co-operation of a brave and generous nation; but
Gaston d'Orleans had been weighed in the balance, and had been found
wanting in all the attributes of his rank and birth, and a deep disgust
had replaced among the people the enthusiasm which his misfortunes had
previously excited. He sacrificed his friends without a pang, save in so
far as their fall involved his own success; he was ever as ready to
submit as he had been to revolt, when his personal interests demanded
the co