his place late at night, the Camisards
partook of the supper which had been prepared for them by their
purveyor on the occasion--a miller of the neighbourhood, named
Guignon--whose fidelity was assured not only by his apparent piety,
but by the circumstance that two of his sons belonged to Cavalier's
band.

No sooner, however, had the Camisards lain down to sleep than the
miller, possessed by the demon of gold, set out directly for Alais,
about three miles distant, and, reaching the quarters of Montrevel,
sold the secret of Cavalier's sleeping-place to the marshal for fifty
pieces of gold, and together with it the lives of his own sons and
their fifteen hundred companions.

The marshal forthwith mustered all the available troops in Alais,
consisting of eight regiments of foot (of which one was Irish) and two
of dragoons, and set out at once for the Tower of Belliot, taking the
precaution to set a strict guard upon all the gates, to prevent the
possibility of any messenger leaving the place to warn Cavalier of his
approach. The Royalists crept towards the tower in three bodies, so as
to cut off their retreat in every direction. Meanwhile, the Camisards,
unapprehensive of danger, lay wrapped in slumber, filling the tower,
the barns, the stables, and outhouses.

The night was dark, and favoured the Royalists' approach. Suddenly,
one of their divisions came upon the advanced Camisard sentinels. They
fired, but were at once cut down. Those behind fled back to the
sleeping camp, and raised the cry of alarm. Cavalier started up,
calling his men "to arms," and, followed by about four hundred, he
precipitated himself on the heads of the advancing columns. Driven
back, they rallied again, more troops coming up to their support, and
again they advanced to the attack.

To his dismay, Cavalier found the enemy in overwhelming force,
enveloping his whole position. By great efforts he held them back
until some four or five hundred more of his men had joined him, and
then he gave way and retired behind a ravine or hollow, probably
forming part of the fosse of the ancient chateau. Having there rallied
his followers, he recrossed the ravine to make another desperate
effort to relieve the remainder of his troop shut up in the tower.

A desperate encounter followed, in the midst of which two of the
royalist columns, mistaking each other for enemies in the darkness,
fired into each other and increased the confusion and the carnage. The