The French army was already weary and dispirited when the troops of the Pope and his allies bore down upon them in great numbers; and after several attempts at resistance they were compelled to retire to Pavia, which they hoped to defend.  However, they had barely time to fortify the various gates before the enemy was upon them, two days later.  By the advice of Bayard, a bridge of boats was made across the river as a way of retreat, for the stone bridge was sure to be guarded by the enemy, and, as we shall see, this proved to be of immense value.  By some means, the Swiss managed to enter the town by the citadel and advanced to the market-place, where, on the alarm being sounded, they were met by the foot-soldiers and some men-at-arms, amongst whom were the Captain Louis d’Ars, who was Governor, La Palisse, and the lord of Imbercourt.  But, above all, the Good Knight did incredible things, for with about twenty or thirty men-at-arms he held all the Swiss at bay for about two hours in a narrow passage, fighting the whole time with such desperate energy that he had two horses killed under him.

It was now that the bridge of boats came into use, and the artillery was first preparing to cross when Captain Pierre du Pont, Bayard’s nephew, who was keeping a watch on the enemy, came to tell the company fighting in the market-place:  “Gentlemen, retire at once; for above our bridge a number of Swiss are arriving in little boats, ten at a time, and when they have enough men they will enclose us in this city and we shall all be cut to pieces.”

He was so wise and valiant a leader that his words were obeyed, and the French retreated, always fighting, as far as their bridge, hotly pursued, so that there was heavy skirmishing.  However, the horsemen passed over safely, while about three hundred foot-soldiers remained behind to guard the entrance of the bridge.  But a great misfortune happened, for when the French had just succeeded in taking across the last piece of artillery, a long “culverin"[1] (cannon), named Madame de Forli,[2] which had been re-taken from the Spaniards at Ravenna, was so heavy that it sank the first boat, and the poor soldiers, seeing they were lost, escaped as best they could, but many were killed and others drowned.

[Footnote 1:  Cannon of 5-1/2 inches bore; weight of the shot 17-1/2 lbs.]

[Footnote 2:  Named after the famous Catarina Sforza, the warlike Lady of Forli.]

When the French had crossed the bridge they destroyed it, although they were no longer pursued, but a great misfortune befell Bayard.  He was, as usual, in the place of danger, protecting the retreat of his company, when he was wounded by the shot from the town of a small cannon called a “fowler.”  It struck him between the shoulder and the neck with such force that all the flesh was torn off to the bone, and those who saw the shot thought he was killed.  But although he was in agony and knew that he was