upon their own main body with such fiery haste that they communicated a real panic. All wheeled about to fly; the English came on with vehement shouts of "St. George! St. George!" The French commanders, full of wonder, called to their terror-stricken men to halt, and face the enemy, in vain; every man dashed his spurs into the flanks of his steed, and the huge army, in irretrievable confusion, galloped away, without striking a single blow. The officers, while using every endeavour to bring the terrified soldiers to a stand, soon found themselves abandoned and in the hands of the enemy. The Duke de Longueville, the famous Chevalier Bayard, Bussy d'Amboise, the Marquis of Rotelin, Clermont, and La Fayette, men of the highest reputation in the French army, were instantly surrounded and taken, with many other distinguished officers. La Palice and Imbrecourt were also taken, but effected their escape.
When these commanders, confounded by the unaccountable flight of their whole army, were presented to Henry and Maximilian, who had witnessed the sudden rout with equal amazement, Henry, laughing, complimented them ironically on the speed of their men, when the light-hearted Frenchmen, entering into the monarch's humour, declared that it was only a battle of spurs, for they were the only weapons that had been used. The Battle of Spurs has ever since been the name of this singular action, though it is sometimes called the battle of Guinegate, from the place where the officers were come up with. This event took place on the 22nd of August.
The garrison of Terouenne, seeing that all hope of relief was now over, surrendered; but, instead of leaving a sufficient force in the place to hold it, Henry, at the artful suggestion of the emperor, who was anxious to destroy such a stronghold on the frontiers of his grandson Charles, Duke of Burgundy, first wasted his time in demolishing the fortifications of the town, and then, under the same mischievous counsel, perpetrated a still grosser error. He was now at the head of a victorious force of 50,000 men. The French, annoyed at the late astonishing defeat of their army, were perfectly paralysed. Whilst they expected Henry to march directly upon Paris, they beheld with augmenting consternation an army of 20,000 Swiss, in the English pay, descend from their mountains, having crossed the Jura, and pour into the plains of Burgundy as far as Dijon, without any effectual check. With Henry on the one side of the capital and this menacing force on the other, and with no confidence in Ferdinand of Spain, who, notwithstanding his truce, was believed capable of seizing on such a crisis to his own advantage, France experienced the most terrible alarm. Had Henry been as great a general as he imagined himself, the most brilliant finish to his campaign, if not the surrender of Paris itself, was inevitable. But whilst the inhabitants of Paris were contemplating where they would flee to save themselves and their property from the approaching ruin, the folly of the English king and the cunning of the German emperor rescued them. They beheld, with equal wonder and exultation, Henry coolly commence his march, not towards Paris, which lay without defence, but towards the neighbouring city of Tournay.
Tournay was another of those cities which Maximilian was anxious to reduce for the benefit of his grandson, Charles. It was a wealthy place, formerly belonged to Flanders, and lay properly within its boundaries. It had, ever since it had been in the French possession, proved a most troublesome neighbour to the Flemings, and opened an easy road for the French monarchs into the heart of the Netherlands. To get possession of such a prize was a strong temptation to Maximilian. In persuading Henry to this fatal scheme, he had made a powerful instrument of Wolsey, the king's new favourite, for the bishopric was rich, the bishop was lately dead, and the new bishop, though elected, was not yet installed. Maximilian promised Wolsey the see if they took the city, and the plan was adopted. Leaving Terouenne, therefore, at the mercy of the Flemings, the subjects of Maximilian's son, who razed the walls, filled up the ditches, and in the fury of their old enmity almost utterly destroyed the city, Henry proceeded by slow and stately marches towards Tournay. On the 22nd of September, a whole month after the Battle of Spurs, Henry and his artful ally sat down before that city. It contained 80,000 inhabitants, and having a charter which exempted it from the admission of a garrison, it was accustomed to defend itself by its own trained guards. When Louis had urged them to receive a sufficient supply of the royal troops, they had haughtily refused; when summoned to surrender by Henry, they as haughtily refused. Yet in eight days their courage had so thoroughly evaporated, that they capitulated, submitting to receive an English garrison, to swear fealty to the king, to pay 50,000 livres down, and 4,000 livres per annum for ten years.
Here ended this extraordinary campaign, where so much had been prognosticated, and what was done should have only been the stepping-stones to infinitely greater advantages. But Henry entered the city of Tournay with as much pomp as if he had really entered into Paris instead. Wolsey received the promised wealthy bishopric, and Henry gratified his overweening vanity by his favourite tournaments and revelries. Charles, the young Duke of Burgundy, accompanied by his aunt Margaret, the Duchess Dowager of Savoy, and Regent of the Netherlands, hastened to pay his respects to the English monarch, who had been so successfully fighting for his advantage.
During the reign of Henry VII., Charles had been affianced to Mary, the daughter of Henry, and sister of the present King of England. As he was then only four years of age, oaths had been plighted, and bonds to a heavy amount entered into by Henry and Maximilian for the preservation of the contract. The marriage was to take place on Charles reaching his fourteenth year. That time was now approaching; and, therefore, a new treaty was now subscribed, by which Maximilian, Margaret, and Charles were bound to meet Henry, Catherine, and Mary in the following spring to complete this union.
Henry endeavoured, moreover, to accomplish another match. His prime favourite at this period was Sir Charles Brandon, the son of that Sir Robert Brandon, who had fallen by his father's side at Bosworth. As Henry could never heap too many favours on his reigning favourite, he had created Brandon Viscount Lisle, and betrothed him, before leaving England, to the infant daughter and heiress of the late Lord Lisle, so that he might succeed to both the honours and estate of that nobleman. But now
