September 15, 1583.
The aged Bishop of Rimini, the Apostolic Nuncio, has died here of fever. He was a man of kindly feeling and high character.
September 20, 1583.
LETTER XXV.
I have not much to report. Alençon is at Cambrai, in great want of many things, especially money, which in his case is all important. His captains attempted to surprise Le Quesnoy, a strongly fortified town in Hainault, and were repulsed with great slaughter.
St. Aldegonde, and a gentleman named Junius, who acted as secretary to the late Count Palatine,[174] are said to have come to Cambrai as ambassadors from the States, to treat with Alençon for a reconciliation; but treat or reconcile as they please, it is plain they will not be supported by public sentiment, for the Netherlanders loathe the very name of Frenchman.
Ypres is still blockaded by the enemy’s works, though there is a story that the besiegers have suffered some loss at the hands of the garrison of Bruges.
The plague, which is now raging at Paris with extraordinary violence, will, I think, cause the King to defer his return. People expect that Alençon will meet him here.