English. A strong force was sent on to besiege
the town of Therouanne in Artois, but the King himself remained behind at
Calais for some tournaments and festivities. When he set forth, a few weeks
later, to join his army he had a very narrow escape of being taken prisoner
by Bayard, who met him on the way.

It happened that the English King was accompanied by about 12,000
foot-soldiers, of whom 4000 were landed, but he had no horsemen, while
Bayard commanded a detachment of nearly 1200 men-at-arms. The two armies
came within a cannon-shot of each other, and Henry VIII., seeing his
danger, dismounted from his horse and placed himself in the middle of the
"landsknechte." The French were only too eager to charge through the
foot-soldiers, and Bayard implored the Governor of Picardy, under whose
orders he was, to allow him to lead them on. "My lord, let us charge them!"
he exclaimed; "if they give way at the first charge we shall break through,
but if they make a strong stand we can always retire, for they are on foot
and we on horseback." But the lord of Piennes only replied: "Gentlemen, the
King my master has charged me on my life to risk nothing, but only to
defend his land; do what you please, but for my part I will never give my
consent."

The Good Knight, brought up in strict military discipline, was not one to
break the law of obedience, and he yielded with bitter disappointment in
his heart. The timid caution of the Governor of Picardy had thus lost him,
in all probability, the chance of a splendid adventure, for the capture of
King Henry VIII. at the very beginning of the war might have changed the
whole history of Europe.

As it was, the King was suffered to pass on his way, but Bayard obtained
leave to harass the retreating army, and with his company took possession
of a piece of artillery called _Saint John_, for Henry VIII. had twelve of
these big cannons, to which he gave the name of "his twelve apostles."

The King of England reached the camp outside Therouanne in safety, and a
few days later was joined by the Emperor Maximilian, who was welcomed with
much feasting. Their combined forces are said to have amounted to 40,000
men, and they soon began a vigorous bombardment of the city, which was
bravely defended with a strong garrison, who did their best with the
limited means at their disposal. Therouanne was a strongly-fortified city,
but the massive walls, which had formerly been impregnable, could not sta