FRA 
march towards Normandy. The governor of Dieppe 
opened the gates of that city, and readily admitted his 
fovereign; as did the mayor of Caen; an acquifition 
highly acceptable to the king; who was now able to pre- 
ferve a free communication with England, the only power 
lie could depend upon for effeftual affiftance. 
The duke of Mayenne, with an army of thirty thou- 
fand men, advanced alio towards Normandy, and threat¬ 
ened to overwhelm the royal forces, fcarcely amounting 
to feven thoufand. Had the duke prefied forwards, his 
fuperior numbers mull have infured fuccefs ; but natu¬ 
rally (low and cautious, his dilatory march afforded 
Henry time to flielter himfelf under the walls of Arques. 
In that pofition he was attacked by the duke of Mayenne, 
who, after feveral incffefhuil attempts to force his lines, 
was compelled to retire with the lofs of above fix hun¬ 
dred men. The gratification of Henry at having repelled 
fo formidable an antagonift, was heightened by the intel¬ 
ligence that the Swifs cantons, the republic of Venice, 
and the queen of England, had acknowledged him as 
king; and by the junction of four thoufand foldiers 
whom Elizabeth had difpatched to his fupport. 
With this reinforcement, and with the troops which 
the count of Soilfons, the dukes of Orleans and Longue- 
vine, the marefchals Biron and Aumont, led to hisartirt- 
ance, Henry determined once more to appear before the 
gates of Paris. By rapid marches he outstripped the in¬ 
telligence of hisdengns; and the Parifians were at once 
aftonifhed and intimidated by the unexpected appearance 
of the royal army. Henry attacked the fubitrbs, cut in 
pieces above thirteen hundred of the troops of the league, 
and would probably have made himfelf matter ot the 
capitsl, had not the duke of Mayenne at that critical mo¬ 
ment entered Paris on the oppofite fide; prudence di¬ 
rected Henry no longer to perfilt in befieging a city, al¬ 
ways formidable from the number of its inhabitants, and 
now defended by an army more numerous than his o'lt; 
he retired to Tours; while the duke of Mayenne, in Paris, 
folemnly proclaimed as king the captive cardinal of Bour¬ 
bon, by the title of Charles X. (n the name of this pa¬ 
geant of royalty, who was himfelf a prifoner to Henry, 
the duke dill’olvea the council of union, whofe intempe¬ 
rate meafures and fecret intrigues with Spain he had long 
difapproved ; and, with the abidance of a privy council 
nominated by himfelf and devoted to his will, he pre¬ 
tended to dirett the adminiftration of public affairs. 
The duke of Mayenne, after the retreat of Henry from 
Paris, had reduced Pontoife, and inverted Meulan. The 
king, in return, with an army of twelve thoufand men, 
had laid fiege to Dreux, when he was informed that the 
army of the league, reinforced by the prince of Parma, 
and confiding of fixteen thoufand troops, was advancing 
towards him. He immediately quitted the fiege, and 
ported himfelf at Yvri, on the banks of the Eure. The 
duke of Mayenne w ifhed to avoid committing the fortune 
of his party to the fate of a iihgle day ; but his own fu¬ 
perior policy was vanquifhed b v-. the reproaches of the 
citizens of Paris, and by tlie p-refumptuous vaunts cf 
count Egmont, who boarted that' the cavalry which lie 
commanded were able alone to vanquirti the royal army. 
The conflict was obflinately maintained on both fides; 
but the fuperior genius of Hemy prevailed. Count Eg- 
niont, with the greater part of his detachment, perirtied • 
on the field ; two thoufand five hundred of the leaguers 
experienced the fame fate ; and the duke of Mayenne, 
after having well dilcharged the duties of a general and 
a foldier, efcaped with difficulty from the fword of the 
conqueror. The Swifs, who amidft the general rout 
alone preferved their ranks, confented to enter into the 
fervice of the king ; but Henr y was prevented from im¬ 
proving hisadvantage by the dill re fil'd ftateof his finances; 
he fuffered himfelf to be amufed by a fallacious negocia- 
tion ; and it was not till near two months afterwards, 
that he clofely befieged the city of Paris. 
The cardinal of Bourbon, his competitor for the crown, 
Vol.VII. N0.462. 
N C E. 713 
funk into the grave, in 1590, exprefling in iiis laft mo¬ 
ments his regard for Henry, and his detertation of the in- 
terefted views of thofe who had afFeCfed to elevate him 
to a throne; yet his name, for feveral years after his 
death, was ufed to fanClion the defigns of the league, 
and to nourifh the flame of rebellion. The Parifians 
united in this implacable enmity towards their fovereign ; 
and the duke of Nemours, governor of the capital, dif- 
tinguilhed hinifelf by his valour and conduct. Even the 
eccieliartics on this occafion forgot the peaceable tenets 
of their religion ; and, emerging from the gloom of the 
cloifter, formed themfeives into a regiment, under the 
command of the legate of Rome. In the fpace of a 
Angle month, famine confumed above thirty thoufand of 
the inhabitants of Paris; each feeling of nature was over¬ 
borne by tire prcffure of difire 1 ; and at the imperious 
call of hunger mothers are reported to have prolonged a 
guilty life by feeding on the difmembered limbs of their 
offspring. With mingled horror and compafiion Henry 
raifed the fiege of his.famiflied capital ; and impatient of 
effacing from his mind the wretched fcenes he had wit- 
nerted, directed his march towards the prince of Parma, 
who had joined the duke of Mayenne at Meaux, with 
fourteen thoufand foot and three thoufand horfe ; and 
their united forces compofed an army of twenty-four 
thoufand infantry, and twelve thoufand cavalry : but the 
object of the prince was to relieve Paris ; and he deter¬ 
mined to accomplirti it without hazarding a general en¬ 
gagement. To a defiance from the king of France, to 
put an end to the calamities of the kingdom by a decifive 
action, he coolly replied, that he was accuftomed to fight 
only when he thought proper himfelf, and not when it 
belt fuited his enemies ; and by a feries of fkilful opera¬ 
tions he eluded the vigilance of Plenry ; (formed within 
his fight the walls of Lagni; fvvept away the garrifons of 
St. Maur and Charenton, and poured a plenitude of pro- 
vifions into the defponding metropolis. 
Though Henry could not but admire the (kill and con¬ 
duct of the prince of Parma, yet his generous fpirit was 
feverely modified by the. difappointment. Paris was ra- 
vifned from his grafp.at th.e moment when his hand could 
have feized it; the fuperior dexterity of his antagonift 
had wounded his reputation, and evaded his endeavours 
to force him to a battle ; his own army was greatly weak¬ 
ened by the fatigues of a long campaign ; and he v/as 
compelled to embrace the only expedient that remained : 
lie retired to St. Denys, difbanded the greateft part of 
his forces, difmirtcd his principal adherents to the pro- 
tedfion of the provinces in which their intereft lay, and 
with a flying army of his beft troops prepared to watch 
the motions of the prince of Parma. 
That able general, after tire relief of Paris, inverted' 
Corbeil; which, though defended with gallantry, was 
taken by a (Tail It. The prince, to found the inclinations 
of the catholic leaders towards the king of Spain, pro- 
pofed to gurrifon it with his Walloon troops ; but this 
offer was rejected with indignation by the duke of Ma¬ 
yenne and Iris confederates ; and the manner of their re- 
fufal clearly difcovered their jealoufy of Philip. The 
prince, confirmed in his opinion that the favourable mo¬ 
ment was not yet arrived of avowing the ambitious de¬ 
figns of his mailer, determined, notwithftanding the im¬ 
portunities of the catholic chiefs, to return into the Ne¬ 
therlands ; and to leave the contending parties to exhauft 
their rtrength in mutual animofity, in hopes their weak- 
nefs hereafter would deliver them an eafy prey to Philip 
of Spain. That he might accomplirti his march with 
the greater fafety, he drew up his army in four divifions, 
and moved always in order of battle ; the country through, 
which he parted was diligently in the morning recon¬ 
noitred by his light cavalry, and his army each night was 
fecured by (Irong intrenchments. Henry, impatient to 
efface his difgrace before Paris and Lagni, continually ho¬ 
vered upon their rear ; his bravery and vigilance were 
difplayed by inceflant attacks; but in the pulfage of the 
8 T river 
