wounded the young chief's
horse in the head. Cavalier drew a pistol from his belt, took aim at the
officer and killed him, then turning again to the others, he asked,
"Gentlemen, are you as obstinate as your comrade, or do you accept my
offer?" A second shot was the reply, and a bullet grazed his shoulder.
Seeing that no other answer was to be hoped for, Cavalier turned to his
soldiers. "Do your duty," said he, and withdrew, to avoid seeing the
massacre. The nine officers were shot.

M. de La Jonquiere, who had received a slight wound in the cheek,
abandoned his horse in order to climb over a wall. On the other side he
made a dragoon dismount and give him his horse, on which he crossed the
river Gardon, leaving behind him on the battlefield twenty-five officers
and six hundred soldiers killed. This defeat was doubly disastrous to
the royal cause, depriving it of the flower of its officers, almost all
of those who fell belonging to the noblest families of France, and also
because the Camisards gained what they so badly needed, muskets, swords,
and bayonets in great quantities, as well as eighty horses, these latter
enabling Cavalier to complete the organisation of a magnificent troop of
cavalry.

The recall of the Marechal de Montrevel was the consequence of this
defeat, and M. de Villars, as he had anticipated, was appointed in his
place. But before giving up his governorship Montrevel resolved to
efface the memory of the check which his lieutenant's foolhardiness had
caused, but for which, according to the rules of war, the general had to
pay the penalty. His plan was by spreading false rumours and making
feigned marches to draw the Camisards into a trap in which they, in their
turn, would be caught. This was the less difficult to accomplish as
their latest great victory had made Cavalier over confident both in
himself and his men.

In fact, since the incident connected with the naval officers the troops
of Cavalier had increased enormously in numbers, everyone desiring to
serve under so brave a chief, so that he had now under him over one
thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry; they were furnished, besides,
just like regular troops, with a bugler for the cavalry, and eight drums
and a fife for the infantry.

The marechal felt sure that his departure would be the signal for some
expedition into the level country under Cavalier, so it was given out
that he had left for Montpellier, and had sent forward s