The Page of the Duke of Savoy Author:Alexandre Dumas Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. HOW THE ADMIRAL GOT THE NEWS OF THE BATTLE. God bad once more declared against France, or rather — to sound the mysteries of Providence more d... more »eeply than the common run of historians do — God had just prepared the task of Richelieu, as by Cressy, Poitiers, and Agiu- court he made ready that of Louis XI. Later, indeed, he will perhaps exhibit to the world the great example of a kingdom which has been ruined by its nobility, saved by its people. However that may be, the blow was a terrible one, and struck to the very heart of France, while it rejoiced our great enemy, Philip II. of Spain. The battle took place, as we have said, on the 10th of August; but it was not until the 12th that the King of Spain felt so safe against a possible resurrection of the nobles who lay on the plains of Gibercourt as to venture to rejoin Emmanuel Philibert in the camp. The Duke of Savoy, who had given up all the undulating land between the Somme and the chapel of Epargnemaille to the English contingent, had returned to pitch his tent before the rampart of Remicourt, — the point whence he had decided to direct the siege-works if, contrary to all expectation, on the news of the lost battle, — and lost under such terrible conditions, — St. Quentin should be still unwilling to surrender. This second encampment, situated on a hillock between the river and the tents of the division of the Comte de Megue, was within range of the guns of the town. Philip II., after procuring at Cambrai an escort of a thousand men, and having apprised Emmanuel Philibert of his advent, in order that the latter should increase twofold or even threefold, if he deemed it advisable, the royal escort, by troops sent from the encampment, — Philip II., we say, arrived before St. Quentin on the 12th of August, a...« less