and to his country. His uncle, Louis XII., is said to have exclaimed, on
hearing of the death of the Duke of Nemours: "Would to God that I had lost
Italy, and that Gaston and the others who fell at Ravenna were still
alive!"

It was difficult to fill his place, but Chabannes la Palisse was chosen to
the command of the army, as Lautrec had been grievously wounded and was now
at Ferrara, where he ultimately recovered.

The French army was already weary and dispirited when the troops of the
Pope and his allies bore down upon them in great numbers; and after several
attempts at resistance they were compelled to retire to Pavia, which they
hoped to defend. However, they had barely time to fortify the various gates
before the enemy was upon them, two days later. By the advice of Bayard, a
bridge of boats was made across the river as a way of retreat, for the
stone bridge was sure to be guarded by the enemy, and, as we shall see,
this proved to be of immense value. By some means, the Swiss managed to
enter the town by the citadel and advanced to the market-place, where, on
the alarm being sounded, they were met by the foot-soldiers and some
men-at-arms, amongst whom were the Captain Louis d'Ars, who was Governor,
La Palisse, and the lord of Imbercourt. But, above all, the Good Knight did
incredible things, for with about twenty or thirty men-at-arms he held all
the Swiss at bay for about two hours in a narrow passage, fighting the
whole time with such desperate energy that he had two horses killed under
him.

It was now that the bridge of boats came into use, and the artillery was
first preparing to cross when Captain Pierre du Pont, Bayard's nephew, who
was keeping a watch on the enemy, came to tell the company fighting in the
market-place: "Gentlemen, retire at once; for above our bridge a number of