Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Piedmont hastening to the northern passes of the Alps, seized the posts on the route which 6i6 a body of troops was to take, that had been levied by the Spaniards in Tranche Compte’ and Burgundy. In the mean time the duke of Nemours had taken the field, and penetrated through lofty mountains, by rugged and difficult ways, into the valley of Sizeri. This small district yielded to the superiority of his power, without much resistance. He was preparing to improve the advantage he had gained, and to press forward upon the other territories of Savoy, when part of his troops deserted him, carrying along with them the greater part of both the provisions and the ammunition. The troops that remained, being few in number, and weakened exceedingly by hunger and thirst, served as pastime to the shepherds of the mountains, who harrassed and hunted them from one place to another. In this extremity the duke of Nemours implored the succour of Spain, that he might be enabled to save the remains of his army from inevitable ruin by crossing the Rhone; but the Spaniards were deaf to his prayers. They even refused to send him a supply of bread and ammunition, and debarred him from the liberty of lodging his troops in Franche Compte, a pro vince which in those days belonged to the Book crown of Spain. In this desperate situation v- he found relief in the generosity of Charles Emanuel. That magnanimous prince, at the intercession of Lesdiguieres, and other chiefs of France, pardoned his revolt, and, on the disbanding of his troops, restored him to the possession of his estates in Savoy. The governor of Milan, in expectation that operation the irruption of the duke of Nemours into the dominions of Charles would distract his mind, Milan- and divert his arms, drew near with thirty thousand me…