ready, and the earl armed, he came to the mar-ketplace, and was much pleafed to fee fuch num-bers in battle-array. They then marched off, for none dared difobey his commands ; and, in order of battle, made for the plain : the men at arms afterwards iffued forth from Bruges. It was a handfome fight, for there were, up-wards of forty thoufand armed heads ; and thus horfe and foot advanced in proper order, near to the place were the Ghent men were, and then halted. It was late in the afternoon when the earl and his army arrived, and the fun going down. One-, of the knights faid to the earl; € My lord, you now fee your enemies : they are but a handful of mqn in comp^rifon with your army, and as they cannot efcape do not engage them this day; but wait for to-morrow, when you will have the day before you : you will, be-fides, have more light to fee what you are about, and they will be weaker, for they have not any thing to eat/ ' , . • The 'earl approved, much this advice, and would willingly have followed it; but the men of Bruges, impatient to begin the fight, would not wait, faying, they would foon defeat them and return back to their town. Notwithstanding the orders of the men at arms, for the. earl had not lefs than eight hun-dred lances, : knights and fquires, the Bruges men began to fhpot and to fire cannons. The Ghent men, being collected, in a body on an eminence, fired at once three hundred cannon ; after which they turned the marfh, and placed the Bruges 96