woman caught hold of a souldier's pike, and strove to wrest it out of his fist.

A young man of the town, named Jalot, being in fight taken by a target man, and ledde away, as he descended into the ditch, called to his companions rather to shoote at him, than to suffer him to be carried away; whereuppon one of them lying on his face, aymed so right, that he killed the target man, and then Jalot, with his dagger, slewe another that had hold on him, and so escaping, returned through the breach to his fellowes. The defendants had no other defence but their small shott, swoords, and slings, neither could they make use of their other engines, in regard that this general assault was given sooner than they expected, by reason of the batterie that had continued all the morning.

The Sancerreans had, in this assault, seventeen either slaine or wounded to death, besides a wench that was carried away with a cannon shott. The assailants left in the ditch some threescore of the valiantest, besides some two hundreth that having their deadly woundes, died in their tents and lodgings, and as many more wounded, who albeit they did not in time recover, yet carried their markes to their graves. Thenceforth, the assaylants, understanding the state of the town, resolved to shut up and starve the Sancerreans, through the multitude of forts that they erected hard by their wals, which being made fencible, notwithstanding the defendant's skirmishes, they planted two colverins in the greatest end, and so returned the rest of their peeces to the towns where they tooke them, alwaies leaving sufficient strength round about to stop the besieged from coming forth, or receiving any relief out of the countrie.

In the beginning of Aprill, one of the towne's souldiers slipping down the towne wall, came to the greater fort, and assured them that the defendants began to famish. Within two daies after, the besieged, in a sallie, slew some of their enemies, who, the surer to girt in the towne, erected new small forts, and nightly stood very carefully upon their guard, so that the defendants perceived that

they ment to take them rather by their throats than by the fists. Hereuppon they sent abroad for succour, but some of their messengers were taken prisoners; others put to death one Capt. Fleur; others came no more again, or could not re-enter; neither could they, whatsoever they became, get any such succour as they pretended, neither indeed was there any means, by man's helpe to relieve them. Beinge thus every way shut upp by their irreconcilable enemies, from the beginning of Aprill, the want of flesh had, in one month, dispatched all their asses and moyles.

In the end, they were constrained to eate horses, cattes, rattes, moles, mice, and dogges, hides of oxen, caules, and sheepes skinnes, parchment, horsehouves, hornes of lanterns, halters, and furniture for horses, girdles of leather, hearbs and wilde rootes, and in the end of June, the thirde parte of the besieged eate no more bread. Such as could get linseede and other seeds which they never thought off, caused them to be grounde, or beate them in mortars, and made bread thereof, as also of all sortes of hearbes, mixed with a little bran if they could get it. They eate bread of straw meale, of powder of nutshels and of slate; suet, olde oyntment, and other old grease, served to make pottage, and to frye the excrements of horses and of men; and the filth in the streets were not spared. On the twentieth of July, a poor labourer and his wife were taken and executed, for eating the head, the entrailes, and the braines of their daughter, of three years of age, that died of famine and miserie; having dressed all the rest of the bodie to eate it at other times. An other old woman lodged in their house, and that had eaten part of that costly banquet, died in prison not long after her apprehension. There were some that were found guiltie of other faultes, but that which aggravated the latter fault was, that the same day when they did the fact, they had been comforted with certain pottage made of hearbes and wine, which might well have satisfied them in that time of necessitie. Such as went, and were put forth of the towne to seeke reliefe, seeking to passe, were either

slaine by the enemy, or constrained by blows with staves to turn backe againe, and staying without, as not being able, or else would not enter into the towne, they lived of the sprigs of vines, blackberries inhedges, or red snails, and of hearbes, and most of them died between the trenches and the ditches. Among other pettifull spectacles, the bodie of a labourer and his wife were found dead, one hard by the other, among the vines, and two of their children weeping by them, the lesser being but six weeks olde, which a reverent and charitable widow in the towne took home to her house. If many died among the vines hard by the trenches, and in the ditches, there died many more in the houses and streetes, where they fell downe in every place, and some daies they buried five and twentie or thirtie that died for hunger: almost all the young children under twelve years of age died, and great pittie it was to hear the poore fathers and mothers lament and mourn; the greatest part of them, nevertheless, strengthening themselves with the assurance of the grace of God, of the which I will recite two notable accidents.

A young boy, of the age of five years, having languished certaine weekes, running along the streetes, in the end nature failing, fell downe before his father and mother, who at that instant perceived the sinues of their infant to shrink in, as if they had been cut, and presently the body died. Another young boy of tenne yeares of age, lying at the poynt of death, hearing and seeing his father and mother weeping and lamenting about him, whom he felt upon the armes and legges that were as drie as wood, said unto them, "Why do you weepe in this sorte, to see me die for hunger? I ask you no breade, mother, for I know you have it not; but seeing it the will of God that I should die in this sort, I must take it thankfully. The holy man, Lazarus, had he not hunger? have I not read that in the Bible?" and saying so, hee yielded his spirit unto God. Uppon the thirtieth day of July, the means that stayed the death of all this people failed. There were certaine horses of service reserved for the extremitie, and six kine kept to give milk for certaine

young children, which beasts were killed, and the flesh sold to comfort those that lived, with a little corne, which some by stealth brought into the towne, cut and gathered by night, where a pound of corne was sold for half a crowne; but this means continued not long, by reason of the watch, which the enemie kept straight. The warre killed but eightie-foure persons within Sancerre, but famine killed both within and without the towne about five hundreth, besides those that languished; who, having escaped, had much pain and labour to recover themselves.

During these miseries, divers souldiers and fugitives in Sancerre got out by various meanes, shunning the famine, desiring rather to die by sword; some of them being slaine, the rest kept prisoners, and some executed : so all hope in man's judgement failing to those in Sancerre, the king having sworne that hee would make them to devour each other, the providence of the King of all kings holpe them by a strange meanes.

Through the endeavours of the Bishop of Valance, Henry, Duke of Aniqu, brother to the king, and his Lieutenant General in France, had been accepted for King of Poland, by the states of the relme, as hereafter wee will more declare. It fell out well for those of Sancerre that the ambassadours of Poland came into France, during their extremitie of famine, to fetch the Duke of Aniou; for they understanding that Sancerre was yet besieged, solicited the Bishop of Valance and Lansac his associate, to keepe the promise they had made and sworne unto them, in the name of their king their maister, to set at libertie all the townes and people of France, that were molested for the religion, which, not being wholly to be denied, the poor Sancerreans, half dead for hunger, (as yet all resolute to end their daies in that sort, one after the other, before they would yeeld unto the enemie, that had so oftentimes threatened them with a generall massacre) were delivered by means of those good men, that came out of so far a countrie, and as it were, from the end of the world, their neighbours, and those of the countries next adjoining, not having the

meanes, neither once seeking to aide them; so that in the end, after certaine conferences meeting and journying too and fro, hostages being given on each side, it was agreed that they should issue with their arms and goods, and such as would stay, not to be called in question for any thing past, permitting them to dispose of their goods as they thought good, with promise to preserve the honour of women and maides, uppon condition that the inhabitants and other fugitives should pay the summe of fortie thousand frankes to Monsier de Chastre. Imperial Magazine.

THE HEAD AND THE HEART:

AN APOLOGUE.

THE Head and the Heart had once a serious quarrel: the former having declared itself a free agent, entirely independent of the latter; while the latter, with equal firmness, maintained its own importance, declaring that, without its aid, the Head could never obtain the approbation of the discerning, or maintain any permanence of favour.

The Head violently repelled the assertion." It is through your errors," said this important organ," that all my efforts are thwarted, and that all my genius is nullified. You, forsooth, must create for yourself an entirely new code of sentiments, under the influence of which every designing knave can make you his dupe. Look at the profligate of society-the thoughtless man, the drunkard, the debauchee-what are they all but the slaves of your tyranny; whereas men of cool judgment and reflection, as are my subjects, partake of none of these characters."

"Cool judgment!" quoth the Heart in a sneering tone" How often does cool judgment stand between us and our duties? At the moment when charity has