That whole day he remained, in battle-array, expecting his enemies, who were very numerous, and but three leagues distant, and amounting to eighteen thousand combatants, under the command of the duke d'Alençon, the counts d'Aumale, de Ventadour, de Tonnerre, the earls of Douglas, Buchan, and Murray, the viscount de Narbonne, the lord de la Fayette, and many other lords and princes of great renown. They sent off forty of their most expert and best mounted men, to reconnoitre the enemy,--who, having observed the duke of Bedford's army in such handsome array, hastened back, but not without being closely pursued by the English, to relate what they had seen. The french lords, finding they had not any way the advantage, turned about and marched in a body to the town of Verneuil in Perche, which was in the possession of the English, and gave the inhabitants to understand that they had completely defeated the english army, and forced the regent to fly with a very few attendants. On hearing this, the garrison opened the gates of Verneuil, and shewed them all obedience in the name of king Charles. After the surrender of the place, passports were granted, according to the stipulations of the treaty, to the English within it, who were sent with their baggage to the duke of Bedford. Gerard de la Pailliere, governor of Ivry, seeing the hour for his relief was passed, waited on the duke, who was in the front of his army expecting the enemy, and presented to him the keys of the castle, demanding at the same time, in conformity to the articles, passports for himself and his men, which were instantly granted. The duke, in the presence of Gerard, pulled out some letters, and, shewing them to him, said, 'I perceive that eighteen great barons attached to my lord king Henry have this day failed in their promises of bringing me succour.' Their seals were affixed to these letters; and immediately afterward, four gentlemen of Gerard's friends were put in confinement as security for them. The duke of Bedford now ordered that the French should be pursued by a body of men, under the command of the earl of Suffolk, to the amount of sixteen hundred combatants. The earl marched to Damville, and thence to Breteuil in Perche, within two leagues of Verneuil, where the whole of the french force was. The duke went with the remainder of his army to Evreux, whither the earl of Suffolk sent him information that the whole of the french army was in Verneuil. The duke, on hearing this, advanced with his force to join the earl of Suffolk and offer them combat. Verneuil had belonged to the English,--but, as I have before said, the French gained it by the false information of their having defeated the English. This battle took place on the 16th day of August, in the manner you shall now hear. CHAP. XXI. THE DUKE OF BEDFORD COMBATS THE FRENCH BEFORE VERNEUIL.