218  THE   REFORMATION  IN  FRANCE

was  in  revolt.  The  royalist  troops  dwindled  away.  It
was  hopeless  to  think  of  attacking  Paris,  and  Henry  iv.
marched  for  Normandy  with  scarcely  seven  thousand  men.
He  wished  to  be  on  the  sea  coast  in  hope  of  succour  from
England.
The  Duke  of  Mayenne  followed  him  with  an  arm^  of
thirty  thousand  men.  He  had  promised  to  the  Parisians
to  throw  the  "  Beamese  "  into  the  sea,  or  to  bring  him  in
chains  to  Paris.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  catch  the
"  Beamese."  In  the  series  of  marches,  countermarches,  and
skirmishes  which  is  known  as  the  battle  of  Arques,  the
advantage  was  on  the  side  of  the  King;  and  when
Mayenne  attempted  to  take  Dieppe  by  assault,  he  was
badly  defeated  (Sept  24th,  1589).  Then  followed
marches  and  countermarches;  the  King  now  threatening
Paris  and  then  retreating,  until  at  last  the  royalist  tix)ops
and  the  Leaguers  met  at  Ivry.  The  King  had  two
thousand  cavalry  and  eight  thousand  infantry  to  meet  eight
thousand  cavalry  and  twelve  thousand  infantry
(including  seventeen  hundred  Spanish  troops  sent  by  the
Duke  of  Parma)  under  the  command  of  Mayenne.  The
battle  resulted  in  a  surprising  and  decisive  victory  for  the
King.  Mayenne  and  his  cousin  d'Aumale  escaped  only  by
the  swiftness  of  their  horses  (March  14th,  1590).
It  is  needless  to  say  much  about  the  war  or  about  the
schemes  of  parties.  Henry  invested  Paris,  and  had  almost
starved  it  into  surrender,  when  it  was  revictualled  by  an
army  led  from  the  Low  Countries  by  the  Duke  of  Parma.
Henry  took  town  after  town,  andgradually  isolated  the  capital.
