cost him two thousand men,
and marched to its assistance.

The disaster at Poitiers was balanced, to a certain extent, by a
similar repulse which a force of seven thousand Catholics had
sustained, at La Charite; which for four weeks successfully
repelled every assault, the assailants being obliged, at last, to
draw off from the place. In Paris, and other places, the murders of
Huguenots were of constant occurrence; and at Orleans two hundred
and eighty, who had been thrown into prison, were massacred in a
single day. The Parliament of Paris rendered itself infamous by
trying the Admiral, in his absence, for treason; hanging him in
effigy; and offering a reward, of fifty thousand gold crowns, to
anyone who should murder him.

But a serious battle was now on the eve of being fought. The Duc
d'Anjou had been largely reinforced, and his army amounted to nine
thousand cavalry and eighteen thousand infantry; while Coligny's
army had been weakened by his losses at Poitiers, and by the
retirement of many of the nobles, whose resources could no longer
bear the expense of keeping their retainers in the field. He had
now only some eleven thousand foot, and six thousand horse. He was
therefore anxious to avoid a battle until joined by Montgomery,
with the six thousand troops he had with him at Bearn.

His troops from the south, however, were impatient at the long
inaction, and anxious to return home; while the Germans threatened
to desert, unless they were either paid or led against the enemy.

La Noue, who commanded the advance guard, had captured the town of
Moncontour; and the Admiral, advancing in that direction, and
ignorant that the enemy were in the neighbourhood, moved towards
the town. When on the march, the rear was attacked by a heavy body
of the enemy. De Mouy, who commanded there, held them at bay until
the rest of the Huguenot army gained the other side of a marsh,
through which they were passing, and entered the town in safety.

The Admiral would now have retreated, seeing that the whole force
of the enemy were in front of him; but the Germans again mutinied,
and the delay before they could be pacified enabled the French army
to make a detour, and overtake the Huguenots soon after they left
Moncontour. The Admiral, who commanded the left wing of the
army--Count Louis of Nassau commanding the right--first met them,
and his cavalry charged that of the Catholics, which was commanded
by the German Rhinegrave. The