54 AMBROISE PARE 



King of Spain, to help him. Then he let me go, provided I 

 came back very soon. So he sent for me, and the Queen- 

 mother with him, and bade me go and find the Lord de 

 Mansfeld, wherever he should be, to do all I could for him 

 to heal his wound. I went to him, with a letter from Their 

 Majesties. When he saw it, he received me with good-will, 

 and forthwith dismissed three or four surgeons who were 

 dressing him; which was to my very great regret, because 

 his wound seemed to me incurable. 



Now many gentlemen had retreated to Borgueil, having 

 been wounded: for they knew that M. de Guise was there, 

 who also had been badly wounded with a pistol-shot through 

 the leg, and they were sure that he would have good sur- 

 geons to dress him, and would help them, as he is kindly 

 and very generous, and would relieve their wants. This 

 he did with a will, both for their eating and drinking, 

 and for what else they needed: and for my part, they had 

 the comfort and help of my art: some died, others recovered, 

 according to their wounds. M. le Comte Ringrave died, 

 who was shot in the shoulder, like the King of Navarre 

 before Rouen. M. de Bassompierre, colonel of twelve 

 hundred horse, was wounded by a similar shot, in the same 

 place, as M. de Mansfeld: whom I dressed, and God healed. 

 God blessed my work so well, that in three weeks I sent 

 them back to Paris: where I had still to make incisions in 

 M. de Mansfeld's arm, to remove some pieces of the bones, 

 which were badly splintered, broken, and carious. He was 

 healed by the grace of God, and made me a handsome present, 

 so I was well content with him, and he with me; as he has 

 shown me since. He wrote a letter to M. le Due d' Ascot, 

 how he was healed of his wound, and also M. de Bassom- 

 pierre of his, and many others whom I had dressed after the 

 battle of Moncontour; and advised him to ask the King 

 of France to let me visit M. le Marquis d' Auret, his 

 brother: which he did. 



THE JOURNEY TO FLANDERS. 1569 



M. LE Due D' ASCOT did not fail to send a gentleman to 

 the King, with a letter humbly asking he would do him 



