Helena. The festivities held at Brussels, the headquarters of the
British Army, on the eve of the battle, were rudely disturbed by the
news that the action had already begun.


_Ardennes_. A district on the frontier of France, bordering on Belgium.


_Ivry_. The battle in which Henry IV., in the struggle for the crown of
France, completely routed the forces of the Catholic League (1590).


_My white plume shine_. The white plume was the distinctive mark of the
House of Bourbon.


_Oriflamme_, or Auriflamme (lit. Flame of Gold), originally the banner
of the Abbey of St. Denis, afterwards appropriated by the crown of
France. "Let the helmet of Navarre (Henry's own country) be to-day the
Royal Standard of France."


_Culverin_. A piece of artillery of long range.


_The fiery Duke_ (of Mayenne).


_Pricking fast_. Cf. "a gentle knight was pricking o'er the plain"
(Spencer).