field. The defeated Confederates gained new courage, the victorious
Royalists were beginning to waver, when suddenly, between the hostile
lines, in the very midst of the battle, the king gallopped forward,
bareheaded, covered with blood and dust, but entirely unhurt. A wild
shout of "Vive le Roi!" rang through the air. Cheerful as ever, he
addressed a few encouraging words to his soldiers, with a smiling face,
and again led a charge. It was all that was necessary to complete the
victory. The enemy broke and ran away on every side in wildest
confusion, followed by the royalist cavalry, who sabred them as they
fled. The panic gained the foot-soldiers, who should have supported the
cavalry, but had not been at all engaged in the action. The French
infantry threw away their arms as they rushed from the field and sought
refuge in the woods. The Walloons were so expeditious in the race, that
they never stopped till they gained their own frontier. The day was
hopelessly lost, and although Mayenne had conducted himself well in the
early part of the day, it was certain that he was excelled by none in the
celerity of his flight when the rout had fairly begun. Pausing to draw
breath as he gained the wood, he was seen to deal blows with his own
sword among the mob of fugitives, not that he might rally them to their
flag and drive them back to another encounter, but because they
encumbered his own retreat.

The Walloon carbineers, the German riders, and the French lancers,
disputing as to the relative blame to be attached to each corps, began
shooting and sabring each other, almost before they were out of the
enemy's sight. Many were thus killed. The lansquenets were all put to
the sword. The Swiss infantry were allowed to depart for their own
country on pledging themselves not again to bear arms against Henry IV.

It is probable that eight hundred of the leaguers were either killed on