of local militia, Miguelets, marines, and Irish. The Royalists were
posted in such a manner as to surround the Camisards, who, though they
fought with their usual impetuosity, and succeeded in breaking through
the ranks of their enemies, suffered a heavy loss in dead and wounded.
Roland himself escaped with difficulty, and with his broken forces
fled through Durfort to his stronghold at Mialet.

After the battle, Marshal Montrevel returned to Ganges, where he
levied a fine of ten thousand livres on the Protestant population,
giving up their houses to pillage, and hanging a dozen of those who
had been the most prominent in abetting the Camisards during their
recent visit. At the game time, he reported to head-quarters at Paris
that he had entirely destroyed the rebels, and that Languedoc was now
"pacified."

Much to his surprise, however, not many weeks elapsed before
Cavalier, who had been laid up by the small-pox during Roland's
expedition to Ganges, again appeared in the field, attacking convoys,
entering the villages and carrying off arms, and spreading terror anew
to the very gates of Nismes. He returned northwards by the valley of
the Rhone, driving before him flocks and herds for the provisioning of
his men, and reached his retreat at Bouquet in safety. Shortly after,
he issued from it again, and descended upon Ners, where he destroyed a
detachment of troops under Colonel de Jarnaud; next day he crossed the
Gardon, and cut up a reinforcement intended for the garrison of
Sommieres; and the day after he was heard of in another place,
attacking a convoy, and carrying off arms, ammunition, and provisions.

Montrevel was profoundly annoyed at the failure of his efforts thus
far to suppress the insurrection. It even seemed to increase and
extend with every new measure taken to crush it. A marshal of France,
at the head of sixty thousand men, he feared lest he should lose
credit with his friends at court unless he were able at once to root
out these miserable cowherds and wool-carders who continued to bid
defiance to the royal authority which he represented; and he
determined to exert himself with renewed vigour to exterminate them
root and branch.

In this state of irritation the intelligence was one day brought to
the marshal while sitting over his wine after dinner at Nismes, that
an assembly of Huguenots was engaged in worship in a mill situated on
the canal outside the Port-des-Carmes. He at once ordered out a