“The citizens, who suffered none of these inconveniences and who became every minute more sensible of the smallness of our numbers, far from surrendering, thought of nothing but protracting the fight till the arrival of some succors, which they said were very near; they sent forth great cries, and animated each other by our obstinacy.  Though their defence was weak, yet they did enough to oblige us to keep upon our guard, which completed our misfortunes.  In this extremity the principal officers went to the king, and advised him to assemble as many men as he could about his person and open himself a retreat.  They redoubled their instances at the report which was spread and which they found to be true, that the succors expected by the enemy were arrived at the bar and would be so soon in the city that he would have but just time to force the wall and secure himself a passage.  But this brave prince, whose courage nothing was ever able to suppress, turning toward them with a smiling countenance and air so intrepid as might have inspired courage into the most pusillanimous heart:  ‘’Tis heaven,’ said he, ’which dictates what I ought to do upon this occasion; remember then that my retreat out of this city, without having secured one also to my party, shall be the retreat of my soul from my body.  My honor requires this of me; speak therefore to me of nothing but fighting, conquest or death.’”

There could be but one issue to such words.  Henry fought till reinforcements came to him, and the town fell.

* * * * *

Anecdotes of Henry are in a very real sense anecdotes of Bearn.  The one following, lines out two of the king’s best qualities.  He was besieging a strong city in Poitou.  “We applied ourselves without ceasing to the trenches and undermining.  The King of Navarre took inconceivable pains in this siege; he conducted the miners himself, after he had taken all the necessary precautions to hinder supplies from entering without; the bridges, avenues and all the roads that lead to the city were strictly guarded, as likewise great part of the country....  The mining was so far advanced that we could hear the voices of the soldiers who guarded the parapets, within the lodgment of the miners.  The King of Navarre was the first who perceived this; he spoke and made himself known to the besieged; who were so astonished at hearing him name himself from the bottom of these subterraneous places that they demanded leave to capitulate.  The proposals were all made by this uncommon way; the articles were drawn up or rather dictated by the King of Navarre, whose word was known by the besieged to be so inviolable that they did not require a writing.  They had no cause to repent of this confidence; the King of Navarre, charmed with a proceeding so noble, granted the garrison military honors and preserved the city from pillage.”

VIII.

The great satisfaction in contemplating the career of Henry is in the fact that it succeeded.  His ambitions, maturing in purpose, ended in result.  The King of Navarre found himself at last the King of France.