The German mercenaries; the _lanzknechts_ and
_reiters_, the pikemen and cavalry, who, at the command of the best
paymaster, were the most formidable soldiers of the time. But the Spanish
cavaliers were there, leading their native infantry; and there were the
Burgundian lances. The army was commanded by Emanuel Philibert, Duke of
Savoy, who had aspired to the hand of Elizabeth. Philip earnestly
seconded his suit, but Mary, wisely and kindly, would not put a constraint
upon her sister's inclinations. The wary Princess saw that the crown
would probably be hers at no distant day; and she would not risk the
loss of the people's affection by marrying a foreign Catholic. She had
sensible advisers about her, who seconded her own prudence; and thus she
kept safe amid the manifold dangers by which she was surrounded.
The Duke of Savoy, though young, was an experienced soldier, and he
determined to commence the campaign by investing St. Quentin, a frontier
town of Picardy. The defence of this fortress was undertaken by Coligny,
the Admiral of France, afterward so famous for his mournful death.
Montmorency, the Constable, had the command of the French army. The
garrison was almost reduced to extremity--when Montmorency, on August
10th, arrived with his whole force, and halted on the bank of the Somme.
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