The Parisians made frequent sallies every day, which occasioned warm skirmishes on both sides. Our guards, consisting of fifty lances, were posted near the Grange-aux-Merciers[130]; but our scouts went as near the town as they could, and were often attacked and beaten back to our main guard, sometimes retreating gravely step by step, sometimes at full trot, with the enemy at their heels, who sometimes drove them to our very waggons; upon which we used to send a fresh body of troops to reinforce the beaten party, who very often repulsed the enemy, and drove them back to the gates of Paris. And this happened daily and hourly, for there were in the town more than 2500 men-at-arms, well armed and in complete order, besides a great number of the nobility of Normandy, and volunteers; whom the sight of the ladies of Paris, who were constant spectators of their actions, inspired with an emulation of signalising themselves. On our side we had a very great number of men, but not so strong a body of horse as the enemy; for we had none but the Burgundian cavalry, consisting of about 2000 lances, good and bad, who were not so well disciplined as those in Paris, by reason of the long peace they had had, as I said before.[131] Besides, 200 of these were with the Duke of Calabria, at Laigny; but our infantry was numerous, and generally very good. The Bretons were posted at St. Denis, and ravaged all the country on that side Paris; the rest of the lords were dispersed, some here, some there, for better convenience of their provision. At length the Duke of Nemours, the Count of Armagnac, and the Lord of Albret, came to our camp, but their forces were left at a good distance behind, because they had no pay, and it would have starved our army if they had taken anything without paying. To my knowledge the Count of Charolois gave them money for their subsistence, to the amount of 5000 or 6000 francs; and it was resolved that they should come no nearer us; for they were full 6000 horse, and did a marvellous amount of mischief in the country where they lay. CH. IX.—How the Count of Charolois and the King cannonaded each other near Charenton; after which Action, the Count of Charolois laid a second Bridge of Boats over the River Seine.—1465.