The French slept on till, all
of a sudden, they were wakened by the tramp of feet, the clash
of arms, and shouts of 'Flanders for the Lion!' Breidel had led
his men into the town, and they were rushing through the streets
to where Chatillon had taken up his quarters, while De Coninck,
having passed through the Porte Ste. Croix, was marching to the
Bourg. The Frenchmen, bewildered, surprised, and only half awake,
ran out into the streets. The Flemings were shouting 'Schilt ende
Vriendt! Schilt ende Vriendt!'[*] and every man who could not pronounce
these words was known to be a Frenchman, and slain upon the spot.
Some fled to the gates; but at every gate they found a band of
guards, who called out 'Schilt ende Vriendt!' and put them to the
sword.
[Footnote *: 'Shield and Friend!']
All that summer's morning, and on throughout the day, the massacre
continued. Old men, women, and children hurled stones from the
roofs and windows down upon the enemy. Breidel, a man of great
strength, killed many with his own hand, and those whom he wounded
were beaten to death where they fell by the apprentices with their
iron clubs. In the Market-Place, close to where the monument to De
Coninck and Breidel stands, a party of soldiers, under a gallant
French knight, Gauthier de Sapignies, made a stand; but they were
overpowered and slaughtered to the last man.
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