Chap. 11. How the Marshal of Tonneure was made Chief Commander of the Astopian Army, who chose the Palatine of Eboracum to be General of his Horse.

THe King of Astopia was then a Minor, under the Tuition of the Cardinal or Arch Flamin Panourgos; who being of a testy, furious, ireful, fuming temper, presently took Pepper in the Nose, and gave Commmand to the Marshal de Tonneure, an old Souldier, and an experienced Captain, to raise the Ban and Arriere Ban, that is to say, the whole Power Page  31 of Astopia, and to fall into the Arragonian Provinces of Belgium, and there to spoil, burn, ravage and ransack all before him, and not to return back till he and his Men had devour'd either bak'd, roasted, boyl'd, or how they would themselves, All the Men, Women and Children in the Country. Immediately the Marshal de Tonneure rais'd a great Army of Horse and Foot, which he divided into Battel, Vanguard and Rearguard. In the Battel he Commanded in Person: the Vanguard he gave to the Duke of Plundermosta. The Rearguard he committed to the care of the famous Sieur Ferno-manes, an Old Officer whose Head had been twice cut off in Battel, and twice sow'd on again by the great Necromancer and Sur∣geon Aqua Pendente. And the Duk of Roche∣clevere he made General of his Artillery; as being the best Engineer and Marksman in the World; for he would hit a Curran in a Cow∣turd forty times together and never miss, at three Miles distance in a misty morning.

But all this while the Marshal was to seek for a fit Person to Command his Horse. He scratch'd his Head, eat his Nails, twitch'd his Beard, bit his Lips, but nothing would do: he could not for the blood and guts of him think of a Person fit to his Mind. Well, quo he, this is a Matter of great Importance, and Page  32 therefore I'le consult with my Pillow about it. At his usual time to Bed he went, and there he lay rowling and trowling and revolving in his Mind what he should do. In the middle of the Night he strook a Light, took Pen, Ink, and Paper, and wrote down a List of all the Great Men in Astopia that he could think of to be fit for the Imployment; and when he had done, he put his Finger in the Inkhorn, and blotted 'em all out agen. In the midst of this Perplexity, having put his Candle out a∣gen, he compos'd himself to rest, and so fell into a slumber. And then it was (for great Men undertaking great Enterprizes are many times admonish'd in Visions) then I say it was that he thought he saw a comly person mount∣ed upon a slately Prancer, all in compleat Ar∣mour, and a Launce in his hand, with a fair Lady behind him, ride up to his Bed side. To whom the Marshal having paid his r•spect, the Apparition made a short Speech, telling him, that he was St. Martin, the Warlike Saint, and that the Lady behind him, was the fam'd E∣gyptian St. Mary, who had been a Comba∣tant too in her time: that they had both be∣held from Heaven the perplexity he was in for a General of his Horse, and therefore to put him out of his trouble, they were come to recommend to him the only person under Page  33 Heaven fit for his Design, which was the Pa∣latine of Eboracum, for whose sake they would assist the Astopians with Victory, so long as the Palatine continu'd in their Service. At which the Marshal waking, Morbleu, quo he, that I should be such a Noddy to need a Vi∣sion from Heaven for these Directions! when I my self have had the very Person they com∣mend so often in my thoughts. With that he got up, and wrought so effectually to the Arch Flamin at Lutetia, that the Palatine o• Eboracum was immediately sent for, and after many Complements, acquainted with the Reso∣lutions of the Queen Regent to make him Ge∣neral of the Astopian Horse, under the Com∣mand of the Marshal de Tonneure, desiring him withal, to put himself into an Equipage, and to hasten with all the speed he could, to his Employment.