By night, by day, sleepless yet indefatigable, the gallant Admiral shared the dangers and the labours of his men; cheering, exhorting, praising every desperate deed of valour and immediately rewarding it, the Admiral was the very life and soul of the defence!
Help came to him unexpectedly.
De Nevers, with the relics of the shattered army, still lingered in the neighbourhood, and he managed to throw one hundred and fifty arquebusiers into the town, though thrice that number perished in the attempt.
Coligni formed countermines, and in subterranean regions fierce combats took place between the besieged and the besiegers,—men fought like demons!
Yet he knew that the last provisions were being consumed, that huge breaches were being made in the crumbling walls which St. Remy, the renowned French engineer, strove to repair, under cover of night, with desperate energy. Huge timbers were dragged to the top of the tottering ramparts, and under their shelter the arquebusiers kept up a perpetual fire on the Spaniards.
Thus the siege went on till August 27. In vain did Coligni scan the horizon from the top of the cathedral tower—Guise came not!
A most furious cannonade from the Spanish batteries on the night of the twenty-sixth had resulted in the making of eleven great breaches in the ramparts, and the Duke of Savoy saw that the time had come for a general assault upon the city.
Early in the morning he put his whole force under arms, assigning to the English contingent the honour of leading the assault.
Coligni saw that the decisive hour was at hand. He filled the breaches with his troops, taking charge of the most dangerous one himself, while his brother Daudelot took another almost equally critical.
The spirit of the defenders was magnificent, each man felt that the end was near, and they were prepared to die under the ruins of the city; none thought of surrender, no white flag was unfurled!