Mademoiselle
distinguished carriages among them. 'The King is there, no doubt,'
she said; and as I exclaimed, 'Ah! yes, and my son,' she handed me
the glass, by which I could make out what looked very like the royal
carriages; but the King was on horseback, and so was my dear boy,
almost wild with the fancy that his mother was besieged, and scarcely
withheld from galloping down by assurances that no lady was in the
slightest danger.
Below, in the hollow, towards where Bagnolet rose white among the
fields and vineyards, the main body of Turenne's troops were drawn up
in their regiments, looking firm and steady, in dark lines, flashing
now and then in that scorching July sunshine, their colours flying,
and their plumes waving. A very large proportion of them were
cavalry, and the generals were plainly to be made out by the staff
which surrounded each, and their gestures of command.
We presently saw that the generals were dividing their horse, sending
one portion towards Pincourt, the other towards Neuilly.
Mademoiselle, who really had the eye of a general, instantly divided
that they were going to advance along the water-side, so as to cut
off the retreat of the Prince's forces by interposing between
thefaubourg and the moat, and thus preventing them from availing
themselves of the retreat through Paris. M. le Prince was, as we
could perceive, on the belfry of the Abbey of St. Antoine, but there
he could not see as we could, and Mademoiselle instantly dispatched a
page to warm him, and at the same time she gave orders to the
artillerymen to fire on the advancing troops as soon as they came
within range.
Pages:
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438