Should the - fukan oppofe us, ife will offer him battle, and never return yithout having combated him.' • . ' Such was the fpeech of the king of Hungary to the French lords : they confidered Nkropoli as Won, but it fell out otherwife. ' . . During the whole fuiftmer, Bajazet had been bufily employed in railing an army of Saracens and Infidels i he had even lent to Perfia for fuccour, and the- ^reat lords of his religion had joined him againft Chriftendom. They had croffed the Hel- ' lefpont - to the amount of two hundred thoufand -, but the Chriftigns were not only ignorant of their numbers, but of their approach $ and, they ad-vanced fo fecretly, they were clofe to Nicopoli be-fore the "befiegers knew of their having begun their march. Bajazet was as well acquainted with theftratagems of war as moft, and of great valour -#nd entcrprife. • He confidered maturely the power of the fchriftians, * and faid they were a valiant race. Bajazet marched to raife the fiege of NlcopoU-in the following order. His army was drawn up in the fofm of a harrow, and occupied about a league of ground : in front of this main body, and a league in advance, were eight thoufand Turks, to mafk the body of the army, which was divided into two wings. " Bajazet was in the midft of his main bpdy, who thus quietly advanced, with their van-guard of eight thoufand in front : .they were thus ordered, to make an appearance as if they were the whole army* but whenever they met ^ U 3 ' . tfie m