Chapter LXIX: French

La grand pitie sera sans long tarder,
Ceux qui donnoient seront contraints de prendre
Nuds affamez, de froid, soif, soy bander,
Passer les Monts en faisant grand esclandre.

English.

What a great pitty will it be e’re-long,
Those that did give shall be constrained to receive,
Naked, famished with cold, thirst, to mutiny,
To go over the Mountains making great disorders.

ANNOT.

The words of the first Verse, _before it be long_, is the Key of the Stanza, because we infer from thence it was shortly to happen, as in truth it did at the latter end of the year 1556. when the Duke of _Guise_ came into _Piemont_ to joyn with the Marshal of _Brissac_. Then the troops of the _Marshal_ seeing those of the Duke better paid then they were, forsook the Marshal, the History saith there was above 1500. of them, and that the Marshal paid the Souldiers of his own money to stay them.

The great pitty was, when he had no more to give, he was compelled by the Kings order it self, and against his own inclination to raise some moneys upon the Countreys. Secondly, to take some Towns and give the plunder to the Souldiers. Thirdly, to permit the Souldiers to pillage the Countrey.

The Author was willing to foretell this, because there was never a man more strict in keeping the Martial discipline, then this General was.

The Marshal of _Brissac_ being thus abused, some of his troops forsook him to follow the Duke of _Guise_, being for the most part naked and starved with cold, hunger and thirst, which makes the Author to specifie _hunger, cold and thirst_; want having compelled them to disband, they went over the Mountains, not of _Piemont_, but the _Apennines_ of _Montserrat_, and whatsoever thing they found was a Fish for their Net.

LXX.

French.

Un Chef du Monde le grand _Cheiren_ sera,
Plus outre, apres aime, craint, redouté,
Son bruit & los les Cieux surpassera,
Et du seul titre Victeur sort contente.

English.

A Chief of the World the great _Cheiren_ shall be,
Moreover, beloved afterwards, feared, dreaded,
His fame and praise shall go beyond the Heavens,
And shall be contented with the only title of Victor.

ANNOT.

We have said already before, that the Author by the word _Cheyren_ meaneth _Henry_ the II. his Master, by transposition of Letters, who as he saith was contented with the bare title of Victorieux, when he had undertaken the protection of the _German_ Princes against the Emperour _Charles_ the V.