Henry entered on the new war with great alacrity and vigour. A numerous army, well appointed, was placed under the command of the.Duke of Guise, who was or dered to lose no time in crossing,the Alps, and advancing • into Italy. This lie accordingly did, A. D. 1557. As 'soon as the Pope heard of the advance of this powerful army, lie threw aside all disguise ; breathed nothing but war and revenge ; and became more arrogant than ever. He pro bably would not so soon have displayed his real. character and wishes, had not the Duke of Alva judged it prudent . to leave the papal territories, and advance to the protec tion of Naples, against which it was supposed the Duke of Guise would direct his more immediate and principal ef forts. But the latter, though he had been eager for the war, and hoped to measure his talents against the Spanish commander, soon found that he should be able to atchieve nothing of importance. The Pope, though so .indignant• against Philip, had neglected to raise both the pecuniary and military aids, with which he had engaged to supply the -French when they entered Italy, and the Italian states either preserved a strict neutrality, or openly declared for the King of Spain. The Dukc of Guise, however; ad vanced into Italy, and laid siege to Civitella, a town on the 'frontiers of that kingdom ; but 'the Spaniards soon rendered it necessary for him to abandon this enterprize, by threatening Rome, to the defence of which he proceed ed with a fatigued and dispirited army. Here he in vain endeavoured to bring the Duke of Alva to an engagement ; but the latter perceiving the ravages' winch fatigue and disease were making among the French, avoid ed a battle ; and at last the Duke of Guise, mortified and disappointed, begged to be recalled.
No sooner had Philip learnt that the King of France had been induced, by the intrigues of the Pope, to break the truce, than he resolved to penetrate into that kingdom, and by one vigorous effort to convince Henry that he was not to be thus treated with impunity. With this object in view, he assembled in the Netherlands a body of 50,000 men. He exerted his influence over his consort, Mary of England, so successfully, that, notwithstanding the repug nance of her subjects, she declared war against France, and sent 10,000 men to assist his projects against that country ; and he gave the command of his army to Ema nuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, one of the greatest gene rals of that age. Philip himself fixed his head-quarters at Cambray, while the Duke, after having kept the French for a considerable time in utter ignorance of his views and Champagne till he succeeded in drawing all their troops in that direction—suddenly march ed to the right, and invested St Quintin in Picardy. This was a place of considerable strength, but its fortifications had not recently been put in a state of repair, and a large portion of its garrison had been drawn off towards Cham pagne. It is probable, therefore, that it must soon have surrendered, had not Admiral Coligny taken the gallant resolution of throwing himself into it, with such troops as be could suddenly collect for that purpose. This he ac complished, notwithstanding all the circumspection and efforts of the enemy, breaking through their main body with 700 horse and 200 foot. To this hazardous step the admiral was probably incited, from the consideration that the town was within his own immediate jurisdiction. Henry was fully sensible of the importance of preserv ing it, as, if the enemy succeeded in taking it, the road to Paris was nearly quite open to them. He therefore hastily assembled a small body of troops, not half the number of the army which was besieging it, and gave the command of them to the Constable Montmorency.
This general had hitherto been distinguished, not less by his prudence and caution, than by his skill and bravery. On this occasion, however, anxious to extricate his ne phew, he conducted himself with fatal rashness. At first, indeed, his attempt to relieve the town was attended with success, for, by approaching the camp of the enemy, the brother of Coligny, with 500 troops, was enabled to force his entrance into the town. Here, however, his success ended ; for, in the execution of this design, Montmorency had drawn too near the entrenchments of the besiegers.
The Duke of Savoy, always on the alert, took advantage of this circumstance ; and, as soon as the French general began to retire, lie pressed on him with superior numbers. In vain did Montmorency use his utmost endeavours to keep his men firm and in order. The Count Egmont, at the head of the Duke of Savoy's cavalry, made a furious charge, which the French could not withstand ; their ranks were broken ; and their men at arms, who had hitherto displayed the most cool and determined courage in the midst of the most imminent danger, sought shelter in a precipitate and disorderly flight. As soon as the horse gave way, the foot, who had depended on them for sup port and protection, wavered. A second charge decided their fate ; they also fled in the utmost terror and confu ::ion. Above 4000 perished in the field; and the Consta tie himself after in vain endeavouring, by his example and exhortations, to reanimate his troops, and to put a mop to their flight, having received a dangerous wound, was made prisoner, along with the Dukes of Montpcnsier and and the Marshal St Andre.
Such was the result of the famous battle of St Quintin, which was fought on the 10th of August 1557. The in telligence of it spread consternation and terror through France, almost to as great a degree as the battles of Cressy and Agincourt. Already it was apprehended that the enemy were approaching Paris ; the inhabitants of which prepared to quit it. In this period of general dismay, the firrr.ness and presence of mind of Henry were conspicuous, and highly beneficial. He betrayed no alarm ; he refused to admit the idea of danger ; on the contrary, he exerted him self to repair the loss which he had sustained, by the most prompt and vigorous measures. The Duke of Guise was instantly recalled from Italy ; the assistance of the Grand Signior was solicited ; the Scots were incited to invade the North of England, for the purpose of drawing off the Eng lish troops to the protection of their own territory. The ban and arrierban of the frontier provinces were called out ; and, in short, every measure was taken which could ope rate towards the weakening or distraction of Philip's forces, or the protection of France. When we consider, however, the power of Philip, the consternation which pervaded France, and the great loss which she had sustained in the battle of St Quintin, it may well be doubted whether all these precautions and efforts would have been availing, had Philip pursued with alacrity and vigour the advanta ges which he had gained. But he refused to listen to the advice of the Duke of Savoy, who strongly and wisely urged, that, overlooking all inferior and intermediate ob jects, they should march without the smallest delay, by the shortest route to Paris. The cautious temper of Philip, afraid of committing his forces in the heart of France, with out a single place to retreat to in case of disaster, strongly objected to this plan ; and he asked the opinion of his other generals. They, easily ascertaining how their monarch was inclined, recommended that the siege of St Quintin should be continued, which it was supposed, could not now hold out many days. In this expectation they were disappointed. Coligny, fully sensible that the fate of France probably depended on his holding out till Henry had pre pared sufficient means to oppose the progress of the enemy towards Paris, put forth in a most wonderful and success ful manner, all the resources of his great talents and long experience. For 17 days, he baffled the repeated assaults of the Spaniards, English, and Flemings; at length, over whelmed by superior numbers, the town was carried by storm, and Coligny himself was taken prisoner on the breach. St Quintin was thus taken ; but by this time it was no longer prudent to advance into France, and Philip became sensible that he had lost an opportunity that could never be recalled : he therefore contented himself with reducing the petty towns of Horn, Catelet, and Noyon, which, with St Quintin, were the sole fruits of one of the most decisive victories which had been gained in the 16th century.