officers to remain prisoners, the men to depart with their arms and baggage whither they would.* From 800 to 900 men marched out, English and Burgundians; of the Spaniards, almost all had fallen, "selling their lives right dearly, according to the order of good and hardy soldiers." Arthur lord Grey, when the Spaniards in Ireland yielded themselves to his mercy, ought to have remembered how faithfully their countrymen had stood by his father at the siege of Guisnes.† Nothing now remained unconquered within the English pale, except the little castle of Hammes, which being surrounded with marshes could not easily be approached with great ordnance, neither could an army encamp before it. The only access was by a narrow causeway, traversed in many places by deep ditches, which were always full of water. The captain, Edward lord Dudley, had removed all the bridges in time; and on the night after the surrender of Guisnes escaped with his small garrison, by a secret passage over the marsh, into Flanders. Thus was the conquest of the English pale completed. "No need," says Holinshed, "to ask how this news was received, not only of the Holinshed says that the lord Grey was given by Guise to mareschal Strozzi, and from him sold to M. de Randan, by whom he came into the hands of his brother the comte de Rochefoucault, and there rested till he was ransomed for 24,000 crowns. But in the memoirs of mareschal de Tavannes (Coll. du Mém. 26-174.), it is said that Guise gave his prisoner to Tavannes as a reward for his services during the expedition, and that Tavannes sent him to Dijon, and received for his ransom 60,000 crowns. At Calais son butin fut en livres Grecs, Hebreux, et Latins, qu'il donna à son frere de ville francon, amateur des lettres. (ib. 173.) Vincent Carloix charges Guise with inhumanity towards the inhabitants of Calais: he says, "Ne voulant pas qu'au sortir de la ville, ils allassent à la comté d'Oye, ny en Flandres, il les contraignit de demeurer sur le bord de la mer deux jours entiers, et en hyver, avec leur malades et enfans, attendre des vaisseaux pour passer en Angleterre." (Mém. de M. de Vielleville, Coll. du Mém. t. iii. 189.) This would not have been inconsistent with the character of the duc de Guise. Speaking of a similar expulsion after the capture of Thionville, the same writer says, "Ce deslogement estoit fort pitoyable, de veoir un nombre infini de vieillards, de femmes, de filles, d'enfants, et de soldats blessez et estropiez se retirer de telle façon, et abandonner leurs terres, maisons et propres héritages, et n'y avoit personne qui n'en fust saezy de quelque compassion, hormis M. de Guise." (ib. 184.) But Guise must certainly be acquitted of any cruelty at Calais: no complaint is made by the English chroniclers; and Holinshed says that "the meaner sort" when they left the town were guarded through the army with a number of Scottish light horsemen, who used the Englishmen very well and friendly. (92.) + Grafton, ii. 558-561. Holinshed, iv. 94-100. Rabutin, 164-173. Rabutin most unjustly censures Grey as if he had made a cowardly surrender THE POPE CONGRATULATES THE FRENCH. 267 French king and all his court, but also universally through the whole realm of France; for it is constantly affirmed, that ever since the town of Calais was first won by Englishmen, in all solemn councils assembled to treat upon the state of France there was a special person appointed to put them in remembrance of Calais, from time to time: as it were to be wished that the like were used in England, until it were regained from the French." In their exultation for this great success, the tiers etat granted the king two millions of crowns, to defray the cost of the campaign, and for the further maintenance of the war; and the clergy, beside their tenths, contributed another million: the commons at the same time declared, that if these sums were not sufficient for compelling the enemy to make a good peace, the rest of their goods, and their persons also, should be at the king's service. * Such is ever the effect of success upon the multitude, who judge of the policy of wars by no other criterion. Pope Paul IV., who was at that time displeased with queen Mary, notwithstanding her burning zeal for the church of Rome, congratulated the French king upon a conquest, by which, he said, God had been pleased to show his justice, and chastise the pride of the English queen: the recovery of Calais, he said, was more to be valued than the conquest of half England would have been. † At the time, indeed, the advantage and the glory were not estimated more highly in France than the loss and the reproach were felt by the people of England. But they were far from being commensurate. If public opinion, and the king's temper, would have permitted, Wolsey, it has been said, would have sold Calais, glad to have his country rid of it in any way that did not imply weakness or dishonour. Its importance as a mart was wholly factitious; and though it was once deemed that Calais and Dover were the two eyes of the English sovereign, by which the command of the narrow seas was secured, a short time sufficed for proving, that English ships and English sailors were capable of keeping those seas, and * Rabutin, 193. † Ib. Obser. p. 318. defending their own shores, against the most formidable 66 The French king visited the conquered pale before the end of the month, approved of the orders which Guise had given for demolishing Guisnes, which, though a necessary hold for the English, would have been only a cause of expense to the French, gave instructions for repairing and strengthening Calais, and appointed M. de Thermes to be governor. Guise had hoped to follow up his success, by proceeding either against Gravelines or St. Omer; but the severity of the winter prevented this: part of the soldiers, therefore, were licensed to go home, the rest distributed among the 1588. garrisons. As the spring advanced, M. de Thermes espied well the negligence of his neighbours the Flemings, and that they made no new provision for the defence of their own country, more than whilst Calais was English, though by the loss thereof their frontiers were now become open for the French at all times." He drew together all the forces that could be spared from the garrisons in Artois, Picardy, and the Boulonnois, amounting, with those at Calais, to some 9000 foot and 1500 horse. The whole were not assembled till a June fortnight later than the time appointed; but on the 30. very day that the last body arrived, he marched from Calais with the intention of attacking Gravelines, knowing that it was weakly manned. Much was expected from this expedition, in which many distinguished officers held commands. But as the army were crossing the river Aa, a king's messenger arrived with despatches to the mareschal, apprising him that intelligence had been received of certain movements of the enemy on the side of Arras, which rendered it unsafe to leave the fortresses thus unprovided of men. It might be necessary to draw troops for them from his army: meantime, till the enemy's intention should be ascertained, he was not to engage in any enterprise from which he could not incontinently retreat if he were called for. This withheld him from laying siege to Gravelines, which was a strong place; but not to re DUNKIRK TAKEN BY THE FRENCH. 269 turn from a bootless expedition, he determined upon attempting Dunkirk, a place so poorly fortified, that it was judged incapable of holding out more than two days. The invaders established themselves on the second evening in the suburb, made their approaches during the night, and before noon had effected a breach: the garrison then proposed to surrender; but while they were treating, the French, who were little scrupulous at such times *, entered the town, and sacked it without mercy. Their officers made no attempt to restrain them; and after allowing them one day to pillage, and another for disposing as they could of the spoil, the mareschal left two companies there, thinking that the place might easily be so fortified as to be maintained; and then proceeded against Bergues. This town was evacuated at his approach; and as it was not thought feasible to hold it, it was burnt. The mareschal was at at this time seized with a fit of the gout, which attacked him by his own account in both feet, both knees, both arms, and the neck. Being, therefore, in no condition for active service, he assigned the command to M. de Villebon, a man noted for rapacity and cruelty even in that inhuman age; and the soldiers, to whom M. de Thermes had already permitted too much, were now allowed full licence.† One evil consequence was presently perceived; the men who had enriched themselves thought of nothing but how to secure what they had gained: as the only means, therefore, of preventing their dispersion, M. de Senarpont was sent to escort the whole spoil to Calais : having done which, he returned to the camp before Gravelines. It was then taken into consideration how to employ the troops; some were for proceeding to Nieuport: the objection to this was, that success there would have no other effect than to enrich the soldiers, and so render them unserviceable. Villebon then proposed that * Thuanus, 1. xx. p. 569. Mareschal de Thermes in his narrative excuses his troops in a way that confirms the statement of Thuanus. †Thuanus, 569. Coll. du Mém. 39. pp. 339-344. M. de Thermes's narrative is printed in the notes to this volume, the editor having removed it thither from the Mémoires de Boivin de Villars. Mend-Port in the original; but Nieuport is certainly the place intended. they should look at Gravelines again, till the despatches from the king, which were now daily expected, should arrive. Thither he proceeded, leaving the mareschal in his bed, and on the morrow sent him word, that, having reconnoitred it during the night, he found it could easily be breached, but that there were now 4000 men there. M. de Thermes was of opinion that it was not advisable with 6000 men to besiege so strong a garrison; and, suspecting probably that the Spaniards might have greater forces at hand, he concluded, when orders arrived, to fortify Dunkirk, and 2000 crowns were sent him for commencing the works, that this was no time for engaging in them. Herein he judged rightly; for Lamoral, count, or rather Graaf von Egmond, (well known in history for having a little before commanded in the great victory of St. Quentin, and better known for the death which he unjustly suffered ten years afterwards at Brussels,) collecting the garrisons of Bethune, St. Omer, Aire, and Bourbourg, in addition to his own disposable force, and some troops which the duke of Savoy had sent for the defence of Maubeuge, was hastening to intercept his retreat: July and on the following day, the mareschal was informed, 12. by a second despatch from Villebon, that the enemy had issued out of Gravelines in battle array, and that it was necessary for him to repair to the spot, and see what was to be done. There are some diseases which may be suspended, even in a severe stage, by circumstances that require great and immediate exertion. M. de Thermes was with the army early on the morrow; and having taken counsel with Villebon, Senarpont, and the other officers, it was determined that the baggage should be sent along the sands to Calais, under an escort of horse, as soon as the tide allowed; and that the army should follow the next morning, and take a position between that town and Gravelines, and there remain till they could ascertain the enemy's intention, in the hope of re-entering their territories if they should fall back towards Luxem |