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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Saint George for England, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Saint George for England
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Last Updated: February 25, 2009 [EBook #3429]
+Release Date: September, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAINT GEORGE FOR ENGLAND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Martin Robb
+
+
+
+
+
+SAINT GEORGE FOR ENGLAND
+
+By G. A. Henty
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+MY DEAR LADS,
+
+You may be told perhaps that there is no good to be obtained from tales
+of fighting and bloodshed,--that there is no moral to be drawn from such
+histories. Believe it not. War has its lessons as well as Peace. You
+will learn from tales like this that determination and enthusiasm
+can accomplish marvels, that true courage is generally accompanied by
+magnanimity and gentleness, and that if not in itself the very highest
+of virtues, it is the parent of almost all the others, since but few
+of them can be practised without it. The courage of our forefathers has
+created the greatest empire in the world around a small and in itself
+insignificant island; if this empire is ever lost, it will be by the
+cowardice of their descendants.
+
+At no period of her history did England stand so high in the eyes
+of Europe as in the time whose events are recorded in this volume. A
+chivalrous king and an even more chivalrous prince had infected the
+whole people with their martial spirit, and the result was that their
+armies were for a time invincible, and the most astonishing successes
+were gained against numbers which would appear overwhelming. The
+victories of Cressy and Poitiers may be to some extent accounted for by
+superior generalship and discipline on the part of the conquerors; but
+this will not account for the great naval victory over the Spanish fleet
+off the coast of Sussex, a victory even more surprising and won against
+greater odds than was that gained in the same waters centuries later
+over the Spanish Armada. The historical facts of the story are all
+drawn from Froissart and other contemporary historians, as collated
+and compared by Mr. James in his carefully written history. They may
+therefore be relied upon as accurate in every important particular.
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+G. A. HENTY.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I: A WAYFARER
+
+
+It was a bitterly cold night in the month of November, 1330. The rain
+was pouring heavily, when a woman, with child in her arms, entered the
+little village of Southwark. She had evidently come from a distance, for
+her dress was travel-stained and muddy. She tottered rather than walked,
+and when, upon her arrival at the gateway on the southern side of London
+Bridge, she found that the hour was past and the gates closed for the
+night, she leant against the wall with a faint groan of exhaustion and
+disappointment.
+
+After remaining, as if in doubt, for some time, she feebly made her way
+into the village. Here were many houses of entertainment, for travelers
+like herself often arrived too late to enter the gates, and had to abide
+outside for the night. Moreover, house rent was dear within the walls of
+the crowded city, and many, whose business brought them to town, found
+it cheaper to take up their abode in the quiet hostels of Southwark
+rather than to stay in the more expensive inns within the walls. The
+lights came out brightly from many of the casements, with sounds of
+boisterous songs and laughter. The woman passed these without a pause.
+Presently she stopped before a cottage, from which a feeble light alone
+showed that it was tenanted.
+
+She knocked at the door. It was opened by a pleasant-faced man of some
+thirty years old.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.
+
+"I am a wayfarer," the woman answered feebly. "Canst take me and my
+child in for the night?"
+
+"You have made a mistake," the man said; "this is no inn. Further up the
+road there are plenty of places where you can find such accommodation as
+you lack."
+
+"I have passed them," the woman said, "but all seemed full of
+roisterers. I am wet and weary, and my strength is nigh spent. I can pay
+thee, good fellow, and I pray you as a Christian to let me come in and
+sleep before your fire for the night. When the gates are open in
+the morning I will go; for I have a friend within the city who will,
+methinks, receive me."
+
+The tone of voice, and the addressing of himself as good fellow, at once
+convinced the man that the woman before him was no common wayfarer.
+
+"Come in," he said; "Geoffrey Ward is not a man to shut his doors in
+a woman's face on a night like this, nor does he need payment for such
+small hospitality. Come hither, Madge!" he shouted; and at his voice a
+woman came down from the upper chamber. "Sister," he said; "this is a
+wayfarer who needs shelter for the night; she is wet and weary. Do you
+take her up to your room and lend her some dry clothing; then make her
+a cup of warm posset, which she needs sorely. I will fetch an armful
+of fresh rushes from the shed and strew them here: I will sleep in the
+smithy. Quick, girl," he said sharply; "she is fainting with cold and
+fatigue." And as he spoke he caught the woman as she was about to fall,
+and laid her gently on the ground. "She is of better station than she
+seems," he said to his sister; "like enough some poor lady whose husband
+has taken part in the troubles; but that is no business of ours. Quick,
+Madge, and get these wet things off her; she is soaked to the skin. I
+will go round to the Green Dragon and will fetch a cup of warm cordial,
+which I warrant me will put fresh life into her."
+
+So saying, he took down his flat cap from its peg on the wall and went
+out, while his sister at once proceeded to remove the drenched
+garments and to rub the cold hands of the guest until she recovered
+consciousness. When Geoffrey Ward returned, the woman was sitting in a
+settle by the fireside, dressed in a warm woolen garment belonging to
+his sister.
+
+Madge had thrown fresh wood on the fire, which was blazing brightly now.
+The woman drank the steaming beverage which her host brought with him.
+The colour came faintly again into her cheeks.
+
+"I thank you, indeed," she said, "for your kindness. Had you not taken
+me in I think I would have died at your door, for indeed I could go no
+further; and though I hold not to life, yet would I fain live until I
+have delivered my boy into the hands of those who will be kind to him,
+and this will, I trust, be tomorrow."
+
+"Say nought about it," Geoffrey answered; "Madge and I are right glad
+to have been of service to you. It would be a poor world indeed if one
+could not give a corner of one's fireside to a fellow-creature on such
+a night as this, especially when that fellow creature is a woman with
+a child. Poor little chap! He looks right well and sturdy, and seems to
+have taken no ill from his journey."
+
+"Truly, he is well and sturdy," the mother said, looking at him proudly;
+"indeed I have been almost wishing today that he were lighter by a few
+pounds, for in truth I am not used to carry him far, and his weight has
+sorely tried me. His name is Walter, and I trust," she added, looking at
+the powerful figure of her host, "that he will grow up as straight and
+as stalwart as yourself." The child, who was about three years old,
+was indeed an exceedingly fine little fellow, as he sat, in one scanty
+garment, in his mother's lap, gazing with round eyes at the blazing
+fire; and the smith thought how pretty a picture the child and mother
+made. She was a fair, gentle-looking girl some two-and-twenty years old,
+and it was easy enough to see now from her delicate features and soft
+shapely hands that she had never been accustomed to toil.
+
+"And now," the smith said, "I will e'en say good night. The hour is
+late, and I shall be having the watch coming along to know why I keep a
+fire so long after the curfew. Should you be a stranger in the city,
+I will gladly act as your guide in the morning to the friends whom
+you seek, that is, should they be known to me; but if not, we shall
+doubtless find them without difficulty."
+
+So saying, the smith retired to his bed of rushes in the smithy, and
+soon afterwards the tired visitor, with her baby, lay down on the rushes
+in front of the fire, for in those days none of the working or artisan
+class used beds, which were not indeed, for centuries afterwards, in
+usage by the common people.
+
+In the morning Geoffrey Ward found that his guest desired to find one
+Giles Fletcher, a maker of bows.
+
+"I know him well," the smith said. "There are many who do a larger
+business, and hold their heads higher; but Giles Fletcher is well
+esteemed as a good workman, whose wares can be depended upon. It is
+often said of him that did he take less pains he would thrive more; but
+he handles each bow that he makes as if he loved it, and finishes and
+polishes each with his own hand. Therefore he doeth not so much trade as
+those who are less particular with their wares, for he hath to charge
+a high price to be able to live. But none who have ever bought his bows
+have regretted the silver which they cost. Many and many a gross of
+arrowheads have I sold him, and he is well-nigh as particular in
+their make as he is over the spring and temper of his own bows. Many a
+friendly wrangle have I had with him over their weight and finish, and
+it is not many who find fault with my handiwork, though I say it myself;
+and now, madam, I am at your service."
+
+During the night the wayfarer's clothes had been dried. The cloak was of
+rough quality, such as might have been used by a peasant woman; but the
+rest, though of sombre colour, were of good material and fashion. Seeing
+that her kind entertainers would be hurt by the offer of money, the lady
+contented herself with thanking Madge warmly, and saying that she hoped
+to come across the bridge one day with Dame Fletcher; then, under the
+guidance of Geoffrey, who insisted on carrying the boy, she set out from
+the smith's cottage. They passed under the outer gate and across the
+bridge, which later on was covered with a double line of houses and
+shops, but was now a narrow structure. Over the gateway across the
+river, upon pikes, were a number of heads and human limbs. The lady
+shuddered as she looked up.
+
+"It is an ugly sight," the smith said, "and I can see no warrant for
+such exposure of the dead. There are the heads of Wallace, of three of
+Robert Bruce's brothers, and of many other valiant Scotsmen who fought
+against the king's grandfather some twenty years back. But after all
+they fought for their country, just as Harold and our ancestors against
+the Normans under William, and I think it a foul shame that men who have
+done no other harm should be beheaded, still less that their heads and
+limbs should be stuck up there gibbering at all passers-by. There are
+over a score of them, and every fresh trouble adds to their number; but
+pardon me," he said suddenly as a sob from the figure by his side called
+his attention from the heads on the top of the gateway, "I am rough and
+heedless in speech, as my sister Madge does often tell me, and it may
+well be that I have said something which wounded you."
+
+"You meant no ill," the lady replied; "it was my own thoughts and
+troubles which drew tears from me; say not more about it, I pray you."
+
+They passed under the gateway, with its ghastly burden, and were soon in
+the crowded streets of London. High overhead the houses extended, each
+story advancing beyond that below it until the occupiers of the attics
+could well-nigh shake hands across. They soon left the more crowded
+streets, and turning to the right, after ten minutes walking, the smith
+stopped in front of a bowyer shop near Aldgate.
+
+"This is the shop," he said, "and there is Giles Fletcher himself trying
+the spring and pull of one of his bows. Here I will leave you, and will
+one of these days return to inquire if your health has taken ought of
+harm by the rough buffeting of the storm of yester-even."
+
+So saying he handed the child to its mother, and with a wave of the hand
+took his leave, not waiting to listen to the renewed thanks which his
+late guest endeavoured to give him.
+
+The shop was open in front, a projecting penthouse sheltered it from the
+weather; two or three bows lay upon a wide shelf in front, and several
+large sheaves of arrows tied together stood by the wall. A powerful man
+of some forty years old was standing in the middle of the shop with a
+bent bow in his arm, taking aim at a spot in the wall. Through an open
+door three men could be seen in an inner workshop cutting and shaping
+the wood for bows. The bowyer looked round as his visitor entered the
+shop, and then, with a sudden exclamation, lowered the bow.
+
+"Hush, Giles!" the lady exclaimed; "it is I, but name no names; it were
+best that none knew me here."
+
+The craftsman closed the door of communication into the inner room.
+"My Lady Alice," he exclaimed in a low tone, "you here, and in such a
+guise?"
+
+"Surely it is I," the lady sighed, "although sometimes I am well-nigh
+inclined to ask myself whether it be truly I or not, or whether this be
+not all a dreadful dream."
+
+"I had heard but vaguely of your troubles," Giles Fletcher said, "but
+hoped that the rumours were false. Ever since the Duke of Kent was
+executed the air has been full of rumours. Then came news of the killing
+of Mortimer and of the imprisonment of the king's mother, and it was
+said that many who were thought to be of her party had been attacked and
+slain, and I heard--" and there he stopped.
+
+"You heard rightly, good Giles, it is all true. A week after the slaying
+of Mortimer a band of knights and men-at-arms arrived at our castle and
+demanded admittance in the king's name. Sir Roland refused, for he had
+news that many were taking up arms, but it was useless. The castle was
+attacked, and after three days' fighting, was taken. Roland was killed,
+and I was cast out with my child. Afterwards they repented that they
+had let me go, and searched far and wide for me; but I was hidden in the
+cottage of a woodcutter. They were too busy in hunting down others whom
+they proclaimed to be enemies of the king, as they had wrongfully said
+of Roland, who had but done his duty faithfully to Queen Isabella, and
+was assuredly no enemy of her son, although he might well be opposed to
+the weak and indolent king, his father. However, when the search relaxed
+I borrowed the cloak of the good man's wife and set out for London,
+whither I have traveled on foot, believing that you and Bertha would
+take me in and shelter me in my great need."
+
+"Aye, that will we willingly," Giles said. "Was not Bertha your nurse?
+and to whom should you come if not to her? But will it please you to
+mount the stairs, for Bertha will not forgive me if I keep you talking
+down here. What a joy it will be to her to see you again!"
+
+So saying, Giles led the way to the apartment above. There was a scream
+of surprise and joy from his wife, and then Giles quietly withdrew
+downstairs again, leaving the women to cry in each other's arms.
+
+A few days later Geoffrey Ward entered the shop of Giles Fletcher.
+
+"I have brought you twenty score of arrowheads, Master Giles," he said.
+"They have been longer in hand than is usual with me, but I have been
+pressed. And how goes it with the lady whom I brought to your door last
+week?"
+
+"But sadly, Master Ward, very sadly, as I told you when I came across to
+thank you again in her name and my own for your kindness to her. She
+was but in poor plight after her journey; poor thing, she was little
+accustomed to such wet and hardship, and doubtless they took all
+the more effect because she was low in spirit and weakened with much
+grieving. That night she was taken with a sort of fever, hot and cold
+by turns, and at times off her head. Since then she has lain in a high
+fever and does not know even my wife; her thoughts ever go back to the
+storming of the castle, and she cries aloud and begs them to spare her
+lord's life. It is pitiful to hear her. The leech gives but small hope
+for her life, and in troth, Master Ward, methinks that God would deal
+most gently with her were He to take her. Her heart is already in her
+husband's grave, for she was ever of a most loving and faithful nature.
+Here there would be little comfort for her--she would fret that her boy
+would never inherit the lands of his father; and although she knows
+well enough that she would be always welcome here, and that Bertha would
+serve her as gladly and faithfully as ever she did when she was her
+nurse, yet she could not but greatly feel the change. She was tenderly
+brought up, being, as I told you last week, the only daughter of
+Sir Harold Broome. Her brother, who but a year ago became lord of
+Broomecastle at the death of his father, was one of the queen's men, and
+it was he, I believe, who brought Sir Roland Somers to that side. He was
+slain on the same night as Mortimer, and his lands, like those of Sir
+Roland, have been seized by the crown. The child upstairs is by right
+heir to both estates, seeing that his uncle died unmarried. They will
+doubtless be conferred upon those who have aided the young king in
+freeing himself from his mother's domination, for which, indeed,
+although I lament that Lady Alice should have suffered so sorely in the
+doing of it, I blame him not at all. He is a noble prince and will make
+us a great king, and the doings of his mother have been a shame to
+us all. However, I meddle not in politics. If the poor lady dies, as
+methinks is well-nigh certain, Bertha and I will bring up the boy as our
+own. I have talked it over with my wife, and so far she and I are not of
+one mind. I think it will be best to keep him in ignorance of his birth
+and lineage, since the knowledge cannot benefit him, and will but render
+him discontented with his lot and make him disinclined to take to my
+calling, in which he might otherwise earn a living and rise to be a
+respected citizen. But Bertha hath notions. You have not taken a wife to
+yourself, Master Geoffrey, or you would know that women oft have fancies
+which wander widely from hard facts, and she says she would have him
+brought up as a man-at-arms, so that he may do valiant deeds, and win
+back some day the title and honour of his family."
+
+Geoffrey Ward laughed. "Trust a woman for being romantic," he said.
+"However, Master Fletcher, you need not for the present trouble about
+the child's calling, even should its mother die. At any rate, whether he
+follows your trade, or whether the blood in his veins leads him to take
+to martial deeds, the knowledge of arms may well be of use to him, and I
+promise you that such skill as I have I will teach him when he grows
+old enough to wield sword and battle-axe. As you know I may, without
+boasting, say that he could scarce have a better master, seeing that I
+have for three years carried away the prize for the best sword-player
+at the sports. Methinks the boy will grow up into a strong and stalwart
+man, for he is truly a splendid lad. As to archery, he need not go far
+to learn it, since your apprentice, Will Parker, last year won the prize
+as the best marksman in the city bounds. Trust me, if his tastes lie
+that way we will between us turn him out a rare man-at-arms. But I must
+stand gossiping no longer; the rumours that we are likely ere long to
+have war with France, have rarely bettered my trade. Since the wars in
+Scotland men's arms have rusted somewhat, and my two men are hard at
+work mending armour and fitting swords to hilts, and forging pike-heads.
+You see I am a citizen though I dwell outside the bounds, because house
+rent is cheaper and I get my charcoal without paying the city dues. So I
+can work somewhat lower than those in the walls, and I have good custom
+from many in Kent, who know that my arms are of as good temper as those
+turned out by any craftsman in the city."
+
+Giles Fletcher's anticipations as to the result of his guest's illness
+turned out to be well founded. The fever abated, but left her prostrate
+in strength. For a few weeks she lingered; but she seemed to have little
+hold of life, and to care not whether she lived or died. So, gradually
+she faded away.
+
+"I know you will take care of my boy as if he were your own, Bertha,"
+she said one day; "and you and your husband will be far better
+protectors for him than I should have been had I lived. Teach him to be
+honest and true. It were better, methinks, that he grew up thinking you
+his father and mother, for otherwise he may grow discontented with
+his lot; but this I leave with you, and you must speak or keep silent
+according as you see his disposition and mind. If he is content to
+settle down to a peaceful life here, say nought to him which would
+unsettle his mind; but if Walter turn out to have an adventurous
+disposition, then tell him as much as you think fit of his history, not
+encouraging him to hope to recover his father's lands and mine, for that
+can never be, seeing that before that time can come they would have been
+enjoyed for many years by others; but that he may learn to bear himself
+bravely and gently as becomes one of good blood."
+
+A few days later Lady Alice breathed her last, and at her own request
+was buried quietly and without pomp, as if she had been a child of the
+bowman, a plain stone, with the name "Dame Alice Somers", marking the
+grave.
+
+The boy grew and throve until at fourteen years old there was no
+stronger or sturdier lad of his age within the city bounds. Giles had
+caused him to be taught to read and write, accomplishments which were
+common among the citizens, although they were until long afterwards rare
+among the warlike barons. The greater part of his time, however, was
+spent in sports with lads of his own age in Moorfields beyond the walls.
+The war with France was now raging, and, as was natural, the boys in
+their games imitated the doings of their elders, and mimic battles,
+ofttimes growing into earnest, were fought between the lads of
+the different wards. Walter Fletcher, as he was known among his
+play-fellows, had by his strength and courage won for himself the proud
+position of captain of the boys of the ward of Aldgate.
+
+Geoffrey Ward had kept his word, and had already begun to give the lad
+lessons in the use of arms. When not engaged otherwise Walter would,
+almost every afternoon, cross London Bridge and would spend hours in the
+armourer's forge. Geoffrey's business had grown, for the war had caused
+a great demand for arms, and he had now six men working in the forge. As
+soon as the boy could handle a light tool Geoffrey allowed him to work,
+and although not able to wield the heavy sledge Walter was able to do
+much of the finer work. Geoffrey encouraged him in this, as, in the
+first place, the use of the tools greatly strengthened the boy's
+muscles, and gave him an acquaintance with arms. Moreover, Geoffrey was
+still a bachelor, and he thought that the boy, whom he as well as Giles
+had come to love as a son, might, should he not take up the trade of
+war, prefer the occupation of an armourer to that of a bowmaker, in
+which case he would take him some day as his partner in the forge. After
+work was over and the men had gone away, Geoffrey would give the lad
+instructions in the use of the arms at which he had been at work, and so
+quick and strong was he that he rapidly acquired their use, and Geoffrey
+foresaw that he would one day, should his thoughts turn that way, prove
+a mighty man-at-arms.
+
+It was the knowledge which he acquired from Geoffrey which had much to
+do with Walter's position among his comrades. The skill and strength
+which he had acquired in wielding the hammer, and by practice with the
+sword rendered him a formidable opponent with the sticks, which
+formed the weapons in the mimic battles, and indeed not a few were the
+complaints which were brought before Giles Fletcher of bruises and hurts
+caused by him.
+
+"You are too turbulent, Walter," the bowyer said one day when a
+haberdasher from the ward of Aldersgate came to complain that his son's
+head had been badly cut by a blow with a club from Walter Fletcher. "You
+are always getting into trouble, and are becoming the terror of other
+boys. Why do you not play more quietly? The feuds between the boys of
+different wards are becoming a serious nuisance, and many injuries have
+been inflicted. I hear that the matter has been mentioned in the Common
+Council, and that there is a talk of issuing an order that no boy not
+yet apprenticed to a trade shall be allowed to carry a club, and that
+any found doing so shall be publicly whipped."
+
+"I don't want to be turbulent," Walter said; "but if the Aldersgate boys
+will defy us, what are we to do? I don't hit harder than I can help, and
+if Jonah Harris would leave his head unguarded I could not help hitting
+it."
+
+"I tell you it won't do, Walter," Giles said. "You will be getting
+yourself into sore trouble. You are growing too masterful altogether,
+and have none of the quiet demeanour and peaceful air which becomes an
+honest citizen. In another six months you will be apprenticed, and then
+I hope we shall hear no more of these doings."
+
+"My father is talking of apprenticing me, Master Geoffrey," Walter said
+that evening. "I hope that you will, as you were good enough to promise,
+talk with him about apprenticing me to your craft rather than to his. I
+should never take to the making of bows, though, indeed, I like well
+to use them; and Will Parker, who is teaching me says that I show rare
+promise; but it would never be to my taste to stand all day sawing, and
+smoothing, and polishing. One bow is to me much like another, though my
+father holds that there are rare differences between them; but it is a
+nobler craft to work on iron, and next to using arms the most pleasant
+thing surely is to make them. One can fancy what good blows the sword
+will give and what hard knocks the armour will turn aside; but some day,
+Master Geoffrey, when I have served my time, I mean to follow the army.
+There is always work there for armourers to do, and sometimes at a pinch
+they may even get their share of fighting."
+
+Walter did not venture to say that he would prefer to be a man-at-arms,
+for such a sentiment would be deemed as outrageous in the ears of a
+quiet city craftsman as would the proposal of the son of such a man
+nowadays to enlist as a soldier. The armourer smiled; he knew well
+enough what was in Walter's mind. It had cost Geoffrey himself a hard
+struggle to settle down to a craft, and deemed it but natural that
+with the knightly blood flowing in Walter's veins he should long to
+distinguish himself in the field. He said nothing of this, however, but
+renewed his promise to speak to Giles Fletcher, deeming that a few years
+passed in his forge would be the best preparation which Walter could
+have for a career as a soldier.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II: THE HUT IN THE MARSHES
+
+
+A week later a party of knights and court gallants, riding across the
+fields without the walls, checked their horses to look at a struggle
+which was going on between two parties of boys. One, which was
+apparently the most powerful, had driven the other off from a heap of
+rubbish which had been carried without the walls. Each party had a flag
+attached to a stick, and the boys were armed with clubs such as those
+carried by the apprentice boys. Many of them carried mimic shields made
+of wood, and had stuffed their flat caps with wool or shavings, the
+better to protect their heads from blows. The smaller party had just
+been driven from the heap, and their leader was urging them to make
+another effort to regain it.
+
+"That is a gallant-looking lad, and a sturdy, my Lord de Vaux," a boy of
+about ten years of age said. "He bears himself like a young knight, and
+he has had some hard knocks, for, see, the blood is streaming down his
+face. One would scarcely expect to see these varlets of the city playing
+so roughly."
+
+"The citizens have proved themselves sturdy fighters before now, my
+prince," the other said; "they are ever independent, and hold to their
+rights even against the king. The contingent which the city sends to the
+wars bears itself as well as those of any of the barons."
+
+"See!" the boy interrupted, "they are going to charge again. Their
+leader has himself seized the flag and has swung his shield behind him,
+just as a knight might do if leading the stormers against a place of
+strength. Let us stop till we see the end of it."
+
+With a shout of "Aldgate! Aldgate!" the leader of the assailants dashed
+forward, followed by his comrades, and with a rush reached the top of
+the heap.
+
+"Well done!" the young prince exclaimed, clapping his hands. "See how
+he lays about him with that club of his. There, he has knocked down the
+leader of the defenders as if his club had been a battle-axe. Well done,
+young sir, well done! But his followers waver. The others are too strong
+for them. Stand, you cowards, rally round your leader!" and in his
+enthusiasm the young prince urged his horse forward to the scene of
+conflict.
+
+But the assailants were mastered; few of them could gain the top of the
+heap, and those who did so were beaten back from it by the defenders.
+Heavy blows were exchanged, and blood flowed freely from many of their
+heads and faces, for in those days boys thought less than they do now
+of hard knocks, and manliness and courage were considered the first of
+virtues. Their leader, however, still stood his ground on the crest,
+though hardly pressed on all sides, and used his club both to strike and
+parry with a skill which aroused the warmest admiration on the part of
+the prince. In vain his followers attempted to come to his rescue; each
+time they struggled up the heap they were beaten back again by those on
+the crest.
+
+"Yield thee prisoner," the assailants of their leader shouted, and the
+prince in his excitement echoed the cry. The lad, however, heard or
+heeded them not. He still kept his flag aloft in his left hand. With a
+sudden spring he struck down one of his opponents, plucked up their flag
+from the ground, and then fought his way back through his foes to the
+edge of the battleground; then a heavy blow struck him on the temple,
+and, still holding the flags, he rolled senseless to the foot of the
+heap. The defenders with shouts of triumph were rushing down when the
+prince urged his horse forward.
+
+"Cease!" he said authoritatively. "Enough has been done, my young
+masters, and the sport is becoming a broil."
+
+Hitherto the lads, absorbed in their strife, had paid but little heed
+to the party of onlookers; but at the word they at once arrested their
+arms, and, baring their heads, stood still in confusion.
+
+"No harm is done," the prince said, "though your sport is of the
+roughest; but I fear that your leader is hurt, he moves not; lift his
+head from the ground." The boy was indeed still insensible. "My lords,"
+the prince said to the knights who had now ridden up, "I fear that this
+boy is badly hurt; he is a gallant lad, and has the spirit of a true
+knight in him, citizen's son though he be. My Lord de Vaux, will you bid
+your squire ride at full speed to the Tower and tell Master Roger, the
+leech, to come here with all haste, and to bring such nostrums as may be
+needful for restoring the boy to life."
+
+The Tower was but half a mile distant, but before Master Roger arrived
+Walter had already recovered consciousness, and was just sitting up when
+the leech hurried up to the spot.
+
+"You have arrived too late, Master Roger," the prince said; "but I doubt
+not that a dose of cordials may yet be of use, for he is still dazed,
+and the blow he got would have cracked his skull had it been a thin
+one."
+
+The leech poured some cordial from a vial into a small silver cup and
+held it to the boy's lips. It was potent and nigh took his breath away;
+but when he had drunk it he struggled to his feet, looking ashamed and
+confused when he saw himself the centre of attention of so many knights
+of the court.
+
+"What is thy name, good lad?" the prince asked.
+
+"I am known as Walter Fletcher."
+
+"You are a brave lad," the prince said, "and if you bear you as well as
+a man as you did but now, I would wish no better to ride beside me
+in the day of battle. Should the time ever come when you tire of the
+peaceable life of a citizen and wish to take service in the wars, go to
+the Tower and ask boldly for the Prince of Wales, and I will enroll you
+among my own men-at-arms, and I promise you that you shall have your
+share of fighting as stark as that of the assault of yon heap. Now, my
+lords, let us ride on; I crave your pardon for having so long detained
+you."
+
+Walter was some days before he could again cross London Bridge to
+inform his friend Geoffrey of the honour which had befallen him of being
+addressed by the Prince of Wales. During the interval he was forced to
+lie abed, and he was soundly rated by Master Giles for again getting
+into mischief. Geoffrey was far more sympathetic, and said "Well,
+Walter, although I would not that Gaffer Giles heard me say so, I think
+you have had a piece of rare good fortune. It may be that you may never
+have cause to recall the young prince's promise to him; but should
+you some day decide to embrace the calling of arms, you could wish for
+nothing better than to ride behind the Prince of Wales. He is, by all
+accounts, of a most noble and generous disposition, and is said, young
+as he is, to be already highly skilled in arms. Men say that he will be
+a wise king and a gallant captain, such a one as a brave soldier might
+be proud to follow; and as the king will be sure to give him plenty of
+opportunities of distinguishing himself, those who ride with him may be
+certain of a chance of doing valorous deeds. I will go across the bridge
+tomorrow, and will have a talk with Master Fletcher. The sooner you are
+apprenticed, the sooner you will be out of your time; and since Madge
+married eight years since I have been lonely in the house and shall be
+glad to have you with me."
+
+Geoffrey Ward found his friend more ready to accede to his request, that
+Walter should be apprenticed to him, than he had expected. The bowyer,
+indeed, was a quiet man, and the high spirits and somewhat turbulent
+disposition of his young charge gave him so much uneasiness, that he
+was not sorry the responsibility of keeping him in order should be
+undertaken by Geoffrey. Moreover, he could not but agree with the
+argument, that the promise of the Prince of Wales offered a more
+favourable opportunity for Walter to enter upon the career of arms and
+so, perhaps, someday to win his way back to rank and honours than
+could have been looked for. Therefore, on the following week Walter
+was indentured to the armourer, and, as was usual at the time, left his
+abode in Aldgate and took up his residence with his master. He threw
+himself with his whole heart into the work, and by the time he was
+fifteen was on the way to become a skilful craftsman. His frame and
+muscles developed with labour, and he was now able to swing all save the
+very heaviest hammers in the shop. He had never abated in his practice
+at arms, and every day when work was over, he and his master had a
+long bout together with cudgel or quarterstaff, sword or axe; Walter of
+course used light weapons, but so quick was he with them that Geoffrey
+Ward acknowledged that he needed to put out all his skill to hold his
+own with his pupil. But it was not alone with Geoffrey that Walter had
+an opportunity of learning the use of arms. Whenever a soldier, returned
+from the wars, came to have a weapon repaired by the armourer, he would
+be sure of an invitation to come in in the evening and take a stoup of
+ale, and tell of the battles and sieges he had gone through, and in the
+course of the evening would be asked to have a bout of arms with the
+young apprentice, whom Geoffrey represented as being eager to learn how
+to use the sword as well as how to make it.
+
+Thus Walter became accustomed to different styles of fighting, but found
+that very few, indeed, of their visitors were nearly so well skilled
+with their arms as his master. Some of the soldiers were mortified at
+finding themselves unable to hold their own with a boy; others would
+take their reverses in good part and would come again, bringing with
+them some comrade known to be particularly skilled with his weapons,
+to try the temper of the armourer's apprentice. At the age of fifteen
+Walter had won the prize at the sports, both for the best cudgel play
+and the best sword-and-buckler play among the apprentices, to the great
+disgust of many who had almost reached the age of manhood and were just
+out of their time.
+
+On Sundays Walter always spent the day with Giles Fletcher and his wife,
+going to mass with them and walking in the fields, where, after service,
+the citizens much congregated. Since Walter had gone to work he had
+taken no part in the fights and frolics of his former comrades; he was
+in fact, far too tired at the end of his day's work to have any desire
+to do aught but to sit and listen to the tales of the wars, of the many
+old soldiers who pervaded the country. Some of these men were disabled
+by wounds or long service, but the greater portion were idle scamps, who
+cared not for the hard blows and sufferings of a campaign, liking better
+to hang about taverns drinking, at the expense of those to whom they
+related fabulous tales of the gallant actions they had performed. Many,
+too, wandered over the country, sometimes in twos or threes, sometimes
+in large bands, robbing and often murdering travelers or attacking
+lonely houses. When in one part or another their ill deeds became too
+notorious, the sheriffs would call out a posse of men and they would be
+hunted down like wild beasts. It was not, however, easy to catch them,
+for great tracts of forests still covered a large portion of the country
+and afforded them shelter.
+
+In the country round London these pests were very numerous, for here,
+more than anywhere else, was there a chance of plunder. The swamps on
+the south side of the river had an especially evil reputation. From
+Southwark to Putney stretches a marshy country over which, at high
+tides, the river frequently flowed. Here and there were wretched huts,
+difficult of access and affording good hiding-places for those pursued
+by justice, since searchers could be seen approaching a long way off,
+and escape could be made by paths across the swamp known only to the
+dwellers there, and where heavily-armed men dared not follow. Further
+south, in the wild country round Westerham, where miles of heath and
+forest stretched away in all directions, was another noted place where
+the robber vagrants mustered thickly, and the Sheriff of Kent had much
+trouble with them.
+
+The laws in those days were extremely severe, and death was the penalty
+of those caught plundering. The extreme severity of the laws, however,
+operated in favour of its breakers, since the sympathy of the people who
+had little to lose was with them, and unless caught red-handed in
+the act they could generally escape, since none save those who had
+themselves been robbed would say aught that would place the pursuers
+on their traces, or give testimony which would cost the life of a
+fellow-creature. The citizens of London were loud in their complaints
+against the discharged soldiers, for it was upon them that the loss
+mainly fell, and it was on their petitions to the king that the sheriffs
+of Middlesex and Hertford, Essex, Surrey, and Kent, were generally
+stirred up to put down the ill-doers.
+
+Sometimes these hunts were conducted in a wholesale way, and the whole
+posse of a county would be called out. Then all found within its limits
+who had not land or visible occupation were collected. Any against whom
+charges could be brought home were hung without more ado, and the rest
+were put on board ship and sent across the sea to the army. Sometimes,
+when they found the country becoming too hot for them, these men would
+take service with some knight or noble going to the war, anxious to take
+with him as strong a following as might be, and not too particular as to
+the character of his soldiers.
+
+Walter, being of an adventurous spirit, was sometimes wont of a summer
+evening, when his work was done, to wander across the marshes, taking
+with him his bow and arrows, and often bringing home a wild duck or two
+which he shot in the pools. More than once surly men had accosted him,
+and had threatened to knock him on the head if they again found him
+wandering that way; but Walter laughed at their threats, and seeing,
+that though but an apprentice lad, he might be able to send an arrow as
+straight to the mark as another, they were content to leave him alone.
+
+One day when he was well-nigh in the heart of the swamp of Lambeth he
+saw a figure making his way across. The hour was already late and the
+night was falling, and the appearance of the man was so different
+from that of the usual denizens of the swamp that Walter wondered what
+business there might be. Scarcely knowing why he did so, Walter threw
+himself down among some low brushwood and watched the approaching
+figure. When he came near he recognized the face, and saw, to his
+surprise, that it was a knight who had but the day before stopped at
+the armourer's shop to have two rivets put in his hauberk. He had
+particularly noticed him because of the arrogant manner in which he
+spoke. Walter had himself put in the rivets, and had thought, as he
+buckled on the armour again, how unpleasant a countenance was that of
+its wearer. He was a tall and powerful man, and would have been handsome
+had not his eyes been too closely set together; his nose was narrow, and
+the expression of his face reminded Walter of a hawk. He had now laid
+aside his helmet, and his figure was covered with a long cloak.
+
+"He is up to no good," Walter said to himself, "for what dealings could
+a knight honestly have with the ruffians who haunt these swamps. It is
+assuredly no business of mine, but it may lead to an adventure, and I
+have had no real fun since I left Aldgate. I will follow and see if I
+can get to the bottom of the mystery."
+
+When he came close to the spot where Walter was lying the knight paused
+and looked round as if uncertain of his way. For four or five minutes
+he stood still, and then gave a shout of "Humphrey" at the top of
+his voice. It was answered by a distant "Hallo!" and looking in the
+direction from which the answer had come, Walter saw a figure appear
+above some bushes some four hundred yards distant. The knight at once
+directed his steps in that direction, and Walter crept cautiously after
+him.
+
+"A pest upon these swamps and quagmires," the knight said angrily as he
+neared the other. "Why didst not meet me and show me the way through, as
+before?"
+
+"I thought that as you had come once you would be able to find your way
+hither again," the man said. "Had I thought that you would have missed
+it I would have come ten times as far, rather than have had my name
+shouted all over the country. However, there is no one to hear, did you
+shout thrice as loud, so no harm is done."
+
+"I thought I saw a figure a short time since," the knight said.
+
+The man looked round in all directions.
+
+"I see none," he said, "and you may have been mistaken, for the light is
+waning fast. It were ill for anyone I caught prying about here. But come
+in, sir knight; my hovel is not what your lordship is accustomed to, but
+we may as well talk there as here beneath the sky."
+
+The two men disappeared from Walter's sight. The latter in much surprise
+crept forward, but until he reached the spot where he had last seen the
+speakers he was unable to account for their disappearance. Then he saw
+that the spot, although apparently a mere clump of bushes no higher
+than the surrounding country, was really an elevated hummock of ground.
+Anyone might have passed close to the bushes without suspecting that
+aught lay among them. In the centre, however, the ground had been cut
+away, and a low doorway, almost hidden by the bushes, gave access into a
+half subterranean hut; the roof was formed of an old boat turned bottom
+upwards, and this had been covered with brown turf. It was an excellent
+place of concealment, as searchers might have passed within a foot of
+the bushes without suspecting that aught lay concealed within them.
+
+"A clever hiding place," Walter thought to himself. "No wonder the posse
+search these swamps in vain. This is the lowest and wettest part of the
+swamp, and would be but lightly searched, for none would suspect that
+there was a human habitation among these brown ditches and stagnant
+pools."
+
+To his disappointment the lad could hear nothing of the conversation
+which was going on within the hut. The murmur of voices came to his ear,
+but no words were audible; however, he remained patiently, thinking that
+perhaps as they came out a word might be said which would give him a
+clue to the object of the mysterious interview between a knight and one
+who was evidently a fugitive from justice.
+
+His patience was rewarded. In the half hour which he waited the night
+had fallen, and a thick fog which was rising over the swamps rendered it
+difficult to discern anything at the distance of a few paces.
+
+"You are quite sure that you can manage it?" a voice said as the two men
+issued from the hut.
+
+"There is no difficulty in managing it," the other replied, "if the boat
+is punctual to the hour named. It will be getting dusk then, and if one
+boat runs into another no one need be surprised. Such accidents will
+happen."
+
+"They will be here just before nightfall," the other said, "and you will
+know the boat by the white mantle the lady will wear. The reward will be
+fifty pieces of gold, of which you have received ten as earnest. You
+can trust me, and if the job be well done I shall take no count of the
+earnest money.
+
+"You may consider it as good as done," the other replied. "If the boat
+is there the matter is settled. Now I will lead you back across the
+swamps. I would not give much for your life if you tried to find the way
+alone. Who would have thought when you got me off from being hung,
+after that little affair at Bruges, that I should be able to make myself
+useful to your worship?"
+
+"You may be sure," the knight replied, "that it was just because I
+foresaw that you might be useful that I opened the doors of your cell
+that night. It is always handy in times like these to be able to lay
+one's hand on a man whom you can hang if you choose to open your mouth."
+
+"Did it not strike you, sir knight, that it might enter my mind that
+it would be very advisable for me to free myself from one who stands
+towards me in that relation?"
+
+"Certainly it did," the knight replied; "but as I happen to be able to
+make it for your interest to serve me, that matter did not trouble me.
+I knew better than to bring money into this swamp of yours, when I
+might be attacked by half a dozen ruffians like yourself; and I took
+the precaution of informing Peter, the captain of my men-at-arms, of the
+spot to which I was going, bidding him, in case I came not back, to set
+a hue and cry on foot and hunt down all who might be found here, with
+the especial description of your worthy self."
+
+Walter could hear no more; he had taken off his shoes and followed them
+at a distance, and their voices still acted as a guide to him through
+the swamp. But he feared to keep too close, as, although the darkness
+would conceal his figure, he might at any moment tread in a pool or
+ditch, and so betray his presence. Putting his foot each time to the
+ground with the greatest caution, he moved quietly after them. They
+spoke little more, but their heavy footsteps on the swampy ground were a
+sufficient guidance for him. At last these ceased suddenly. A few words
+were spoken, and then he heard returning steps. He drew aside a few
+feet and crouched down, saw a dim figure pass through the mist, and then
+resumed his way. The ground was firmer now, and, replacing his shoes, he
+walked briskly on. As he neared the higher ground along which the road
+ran he heard two horsemen galloping away in the distance. He now turned
+his face east, and after an hour's walking he reached the armourer's.
+
+"Why, Walter, you are late," the smith said. "The men are in bed this
+hour or more, and I myself can scarce keep awake. Where hast thou been,
+my boy?"
+
+"I have been in the swamps and lost my way," Walter replied.
+
+"It is a bad neighbourhood, lad, and worse are the people who live
+there. If I had my way the whole posse should be called out, and the
+marshes searched from end to end, and all found there should be knocked
+on head and thrown into their own ditches. There would be no fear of any
+honest man coming to his end thereby; but now to bed, lad. You can tell
+me all about it tomorrow; but we have a rare day's work before us, and
+the fire must be alight at daybreak."
+
+On his way back Walter had debated with himself whether to inform
+his master of what had happened. He was, however, bent upon having an
+adventure on his own account, and it was a serious thing in those days
+for an apprentice lad to bring an accusation against a noble. The city
+would not indeed allow even an apprentice to be overridden, and although
+Geoffrey Ward's forge stood beyond the city walls it was yet within the
+liberties, the city allowing its craftsmen to open shops just outside
+the gates, and to enjoy the same privileges as if dwelling actually
+within the walls.
+
+On the following afternoon Walter asked leave to cease work an hour
+earlier than usual, as he wished to go across into the city. The
+armourer was surprised, since this was the first time that such a thing
+had happened since the lad had worked for him.
+
+"What are you up to, Walter?--some mischief, I will be bound. Go, lad;
+you have worked so steadily that you have well earned more than an
+hour's holiday should you want it."
+
+Walter crossed the bridge, and seeking out four or five of his old
+companions, begged them to bring their bows and clubs and rejoin him
+at the stairs by London Bridge. To their laughing inquiries whether he
+meant to go a-shooting of fish, he told them to ask no questions until
+they joined him. As soon as work was over the boys gathered at the
+steps, where Walter had already engaged a boat. There were some mocking
+inquiries from the watermen standing about as to where they were going
+shooting. Walter answered with some light chaff, and, two of the party
+taking oars, they started up the river.
+
+"Now I will tell you what we are bent on," Walter said. "From some words
+I overheard I believe that some of the ruffians over in the marshes
+are this evening going to make an attack upon a boat with a lady in
+it coming down the river. We will be on the spot, and can give them a
+reception such as they do not expect."
+
+"Do you know who the lady is, Walter?"
+
+"I have not the least idea. I only caught a few words, and may be wrong;
+still, it will do no harm should I be mistaken."
+
+The tide was running down strongly, for there had been a good deal of
+rain during the preceding week, and all night it had poured heavily. It
+was fine now, but the stream was running down thick and turbid, and it
+needed all the boys' efforts to force the wherry against it. They rowed
+by turns; all were fairly expert at the exercise, for in those days the
+Thames was at once the great highway and playground of London. To the
+wharves below the bridge ships brought the rich merchandise of Italy and
+the Low Countries; while from above, the grain, needed for the wants of
+the great city was floated down in barges from the west.
+
+Passing the Temple, the boys rowed along by the green banks and fields
+as far as Westminster, which at that time was almost a rival of the
+city, for here were the abbey and great monastery; here were the king's
+palace and court, and the houses of many of his nobles. Then they went
+along by the low shores of Millbank, keeping a sharp lookout for boats
+going down with the stream. It was already getting dark, for Walter had
+not allowed for the strength of the stream, and he was full of anxiety
+lest he should arrive too late.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III: A THWARTED PLOT
+
+
+A boat was rowing rapidly down the stream. It had passed the village of
+Chelsea, and the men were doing their best to reach their destination
+at Westminster before nightfall. Two men were rowing; in the stern sat
+a lady with a girl about eleven years old. A woman, evidently a servant,
+sat beside the lady, while behind, steering the boat, was an elderly
+retainer.
+
+
+
+"It is getting dark," the lady said; "I would that my cousin James had
+not detained us so long at Richmond, and then after all he was unable to
+accompany us. I like not being out on the river so late."
+
+"No, indeed, my lady," the woman replied; "I have heard tell lately much
+of the doings of the river pirates. They say that boats are often picked
+up stove in and broken, and that none know what had become of their
+occupants, and that bodies, gashed and hewn, are often found floating in
+the river.
+
+"How horrible," the girl said; "your tale makes me shiver, Martha; I
+would you had said nothing about it till we were on land again.
+
+"Do not be afraid, Edith," the lady said cheerfully; "we shall soon be
+safe at Westminster."
+
+There were now only two or three boats to be seen on the river. They
+were nearing the end of their journey now, and the great pile of the
+Abbey could be seen through the darkness. A boat with several men in
+it was seen rowing across the river towards the Lambeth side. It was
+awkwardly managed.
+
+"Look out!" the steersman of the boat coming down stream shouted; "you
+will run into us if you don't mind."
+
+An order was given in the other boat, the men strained to their oars,
+and in an instant the boat ran with a crash into the side of the other,
+cutting it down to the water's edge. For a minute there was a wild scene
+of confusion; the women shrieked, the watermen shouted, and, thinking
+that it was an accident, strove, as the boat sank from under them, to
+climb into that which had run them down. They were speedily undeceived.
+One was sunk by a heavy blow with an oar, the other was stabbed with
+a dagger, while the assailants struck fiercely at the old man and the
+women.
+
+At this moment, however, a third boat made its appearance on the scene,
+its occupants uttering loud shouts. As they rowed towards the spot their
+approach was heralded by a shower of arrows. Two of the ruffians were
+struck--one fell over mortally wounded, the other sank down into the
+boat.
+
+
+"Row, men, row," their leader shouted, "or we shall all be taken."
+
+Again seizing their oars, the rowers started at full speed towards the
+Lambeth shore. The arrows of their pursuers still fell among them, two
+more of their number being wounded before they reached the opposite
+shore. The pursuit was not continued, the newcomers ceasing to row at
+the spot where the catastrophe had taken place. Walter stood up in the
+boat and looked round. A floating oar, a stretcher, and a sheepskin
+which had served as a cushion, alone floated.
+
+Suddenly there was a choking cry heard a few yards down stream, and
+Walter leapt into the river. A few strokes took him to the side of the
+girl, and he found, on throwing his arm round her, that she was still
+clasped in her mother's arms. Seizing them both, Walter shouted to his
+comrades. They had already turned the boat's head, and in a minute were
+alongside.
+
+It was a difficult task to get the mother and child on board, as the
+girl refused to loose her hold. It was, however, accomplished, and
+the child sat still and quiet by Walter's side, while his comrades
+endeavoured to stanch the blood which was flowing from a severe wound in
+her mother's head. When they had bound it up they rubbed her hands, and
+by the time they had reached the steps at Westminster the lady opened
+her eyes. For a moment she looked bewildered, and then, on glancing
+round, she gave a low cry of delight at seeing her child sitting by
+Walter's side.
+
+On reaching the steps the boys handed her over to the care of the
+watermen there, who soon procured a litter and carried her, she being
+still too weak to walk, to the dwelling of the Earl of Talbot, where
+she said she was expected. The apprentices rowed back to London Bridge,
+elated at the success of their enterprise, but regretting much that they
+had arrived too late to hinder the outrage, or to prevent the escape of
+its perpetrators.
+
+
+
+Walter on his return home related the whole circumstance to his master.
+
+"I would you had told me, Walter," the latter said, "since we might have
+taken precautions which would have prevented this foul deed from
+taking place. However, I can understand your wanting to accomplish the
+adventure without my aid; but we must think now what had best be said
+and done. As the lady belongs to the court, there is sure to be a fine
+pother about the matter, and you and all who were there will be examined
+touching your share of the adventure, and how you came to be upon the
+spot. The others will, of course, say that they were there under your
+direction; and we had best think how much of your story you had better
+tell."
+
+"Why should I not tell it all?" Walter asked indignantly.
+
+"You should never tell a lie, Walter; but in days like these it is safer
+sometimes not to tell more than is necessary. It is a good rule in life,
+my boy, to make no more enemies than may be needful. This knight, who
+is doubtless a great villain, has maybe powerful friends, and it is as
+well, if it can be avoided, that you should not embroil yourself with
+these. Many a man has been knocked on head or stabbed on a dark night,
+because he could not keep his tongue from wagging. 'Least said, the
+sooner mended,' is a good proverb; but I will think it over tonight, and
+tell you in the morning."
+
+When they met again in the workshop the armourer said: "Clean yourself
+up after breakfast, Walter, and put on your best clothes. I will go with
+you before the mayor, and then you shall tell him your story. There is
+sure to be a stir about it before the day is done. As we walk thither we
+can settle how much of your story it is good to tell."
+
+On their way over the bridge Geoffrey told Walter that he thought he had
+better tell the whole story exactly as it had occurred, concealing only
+the fact that he had recognized the knight's face. "You had best too,"
+he said, "mention nought about the white cloak. If we can catch the man
+of the hut in the swamp, likely enough the rack will wring from him
+the name of his employer, and in that case, if you are brought up as a
+witness against him you will of course say that you recognize his face;
+but 'tis better that the accusation should not come from you. No great
+weight would be given to the word of a 'prentice boy as against that of
+a noble. It is as bad for earthen pots to knock against brass ones, as
+it is for a yeoman in a leathern jerkin to stand up against a knight in
+full armour.
+
+"But unless the lady knows her enemy she may fall again into his snares.
+
+"I have thought of that," Geoffrey said, "and we will take measures to
+prevent it."
+
+"But how can we prevent it?" Walter asked, surprised.
+
+"We must find out who this knight may be, which should, methinks, not
+be difficult. Then we will send to him a message that his share in this
+night's work is known to several, and that if any harm should ever again
+be attempted against the lady or her daughter, he shall be denounced
+before King Edward himself as the author of the wrong. I trust, however,
+that we may capture the man of the swamp, and that the truth may be
+wrung from him."
+
+By this time they had arrived at the Guildhall, and making their way
+into the court, Geoffrey demanded private speech with the Lord Mayor.
+
+"Can you not say in open court what is you business?" the Lord Mayor
+asked.
+
+
+
+"I fear that if I did it would defeat the ends of justice."
+
+Retiring with the chief magistrate into an inner room, Geoffrey
+desired Walter to tell his story. This he did, ending by saying that
+he regretted much that he had not at once told his master what he had
+heard; but that, although he deemed evil was intended, he did not know
+that murder was meant, and thought it but concerned the carrying off of
+some damsel, and that this he had intended, by the aid of his comrades,
+to prevent.
+
+"You have done well, Master Walter, since that be your name," the
+magistrate said. "That you might have done better is true, for had you
+acted otherwise you might have prevented murder from being done. Still,
+one cannot expect old heads upon young shoulders. Give me the names of
+those who were with you, for I shall doubtless receive a message from
+Westminster this morning to know if I have heard aught of the affair.
+In the meantime we must take steps to secure these pirates of the marsh.
+The ground is across the river, and lies out of my jurisdiction."
+
+"It is for that reason," Geoffrey said, "that I wished that the story
+should be told to you privately, since the men concerned might well
+have sent a friend to the court to hear if aught was said which might
+endanger them."
+
+"I will give you a letter to a magistrate of Surrey, and he will
+despatch some constables under your guidance to catch these rascals. I
+fear there have been many murders performed by them lately besides that
+in question, and you will be doing a good service to the citizens by
+aiding in the capture of these men.
+
+"I will go willingly," the smith assented.
+
+The Lord Mayor said, after a moment's thought. "It will be quicker; I
+will tell the justice that if he will come to the meeting of the roads
+on Kennington Common, at seven this evening, you will be there with your
+apprentice to act as a guide."
+
+"I will," the armourer said, "and will bring with me two or three of my
+men who are used to hard blows, for, to tell you the truth, I have no
+great belief in the valour of constables, and we may meet with a stout
+resistance."
+
+"So be it," the Lord Mayor said; "and luck be with you, for these men
+are the scourges of the river."
+
+That evening the armourer shut up his shop sooner than usual, and
+accompanied by Walter and four of his workmen, and all carrying stout
+oaken cudgels, with hand-axes in their girdles, started along the lonely
+road to Kennington. Half an hour after their arrival the magistrate,
+with ten men, rode up. He was well pleased at the sight of the
+reinforcement which awaited him, for the river pirates might be expected
+to make a desperate resistance. Geoffrey advised a halt for a time until
+it should be well-nigh dark, as the marauders might have spies set to
+give notice should strangers enter the marsh.
+
+They started before it was quite dark, as Walter doubted whether he
+should be able to lead them straight to the hut after the night had
+completely fallen. He felt, however, tolerably sure of his locality, for
+he had noticed that two trees grew on the edge of the swamp just at the
+spot where he had left it. He had no difficulty in finding these, and
+at once led the way. The horses of the magistrate and his followers were
+left in charge of three of their number.
+
+"You are sure you are going right?" the magistrate said to Walter.
+"The marsh seems to stretch everywhere, and we might well fall into a
+quagmire, which would swallow us all up.
+
+"I am sure of my way," Walter answered; "and see, yonder clump of
+bushes, which you can just observe above the marsh, a quarter of a mile
+away, is the spot where the house of their leader is situated."
+
+With strict injunctions that not a word was to be spoken until the bush
+was surrounded, and that all were to step noiselessly and with caution,
+the party moved forward. It was now nearly dark, and as they approached
+the hut sounds of laughter and revelry were heard.
+
+"They are celebrating their success in a carouse," Geoffrey said. "We
+shall catch them nicely in a trap."
+
+When they came close, a man who was sitting just at the low mouth of the
+hut suddenly sprang to his feet and shouted, "Who goes there?" He had
+apparently been placed as sentry, but had joined in the potations going
+on inside, and had forgotten to look round from time to time to see that
+none were approaching.
+
+At his challenge the whole party rushed forward, and as they reached the
+hut the men from within came scrambling out, sword in hand. For two or
+three minutes there was a sharp fight, and had the constables been alone
+they would have been defeated, for they were outnumbered and the pirates
+were desperate.
+
+The heavy clubs of the armourers decided the fight. One or two of the
+band alone succeeded in breaking through, the rest were knocked down and
+bound; not, however, until several severe wounds had been inflicted on
+their assailants.
+
+When the fray was over, it was found that nine prisoners had been
+captured. Some of these were stunned by the blows which the smiths had
+dealt them, and two or three were badly wounded; all were more or less
+injured in the struggle. When they recovered their senses they were made
+to get on their feet, and with their hands tied securely behind them
+were marched between a double line of their captors off the marsh.
+
+"Thanks for your services," the justice said when they had gained the
+place where they had left their horses. "Nine of my men shall tie each
+one of these rascals to their stirrups by halters round their necks, and
+we will give them a smart run into Richmond, where we will lodge them in
+the jail. Tomorrow is Sunday; on Monday they will be brought before me,
+and I shall want the evidence of Master Walter Fletcher and of those who
+were in the boat with him as to what took place on the river. Methinks
+the evidence on that score, and the resistance which they offered to us
+this evening, will be sufficient to put a halter round their necks; but
+from what I have heard by the letter which the Lord Mayor sent me, there
+are others higher in rank concerned in the affair; doubtless we shall
+find means to make these ruffians speak."
+
+Accordingly, at the justice's orders, halters were placed round the
+necks of the prisoners, the other ends being attached to the saddles,
+and the party set off at a pace which taxed to the utmost the strength
+of the wounded men. Geoffrey and his party returned in high spirits to
+Southwark.
+
+
+On the Monday Walter went over to Richmond, accompanied by the armourers
+and by the lads who had been in the boat with him. The nine ruffians,
+strongly guarded, were brought up in the justice room. Walter first
+gave his evidence, and related how he had overheard a portion of the
+conversation, which led him to believe that an attack would be made upon
+the boat coming down the river.
+
+"Can you identify either of the prisoners as being the man whom you saw
+at the door of the hut?"
+
+"No," Walter said. "When I first saw him I was too far off to make out
+his face. When he left the hut it was dark."
+
+"Should you know the other man, the one who was addressed as sir knight,
+if you saw him again?"
+
+"I should," Walter replied. He then gave an account of the attack upon
+the boat, but said that in the suddenness of the affair and the growing
+darkness he noticed none of the figures distinctly enough to recognize
+them again. Two or three of the other apprentices gave similar testimony
+as to the attack.
+
+A gentleman then presented himself, and gave his name as Sir William
+de Hertford. He said that he had come at the request of the Lady Alice
+Vernon, who was still suffering from the effects of the wound and
+immersion. She had requested him to say that at some future occasion she
+would appear to testify, but that in the confusion and suddenness of
+the attack she had noticed no faces in the boat which assailed them, and
+could identify none concerned in the affair.
+
+The justice who had headed the attack on the hut then gave his evidence
+as to that affair, the armourer also relating the incidents of the
+conflict.
+
+
+"The prisoners will be committed for trial," the justice said. "At
+present there is no actual proof that any of them were concerned in
+this murderous outrage beyond the fact that they were taken in the place
+where it was planned. The suspicion is strong that some at least were
+engaged in it. Upon the persons of all of them were valuable daggers,
+chains, and other ornaments, which could not have been come by honestly,
+and I doubt not that they form part of the gang which has so long been a
+terror to peaceful travelers alike by the road and river, and it may
+be that some who have been robbed will be able to identify the articles
+taken upon them. They are committed for trial: firstly, as having been
+concerned in the attack upon Dame Alice Vernon; secondly, as being
+notorious ill-livers and robbers; thirdly, as having resisted lawful
+arrest by the king's officers. The greatest criminal in the affair is
+not at present before me, but it may be that from such information as
+Dame Vernon may be able to furnish, and from such confessions as justice
+will be able to wring from the prisoners, he will at the trial stand
+beside his fellows."
+
+Walter returned to town with his companions. On reaching the armourer's
+they found a retainer of the Earl of Talbot awaiting them, with the
+message that the Lady Alice Vernon wished the attendance of Walter
+Fletcher, whose name she had learned from the Lord Mayor as that of
+the lad to whom she and her daughter owed their lives, at noon on the
+following day, at the residence of the Earl of Talbot.
+
+"That is the worst of an adventure," Walter said crossly, after the
+retainer had departed. "One can't have a bit of excitement without being
+sent for, and thanked, and stared at. I would rather fight the best
+swordsman in the city than have to go down to the mansion of Earl Talbot
+with my cap in my hand."
+
+Geoffrey laughed. "You must indeed have your cap in your hand, Walter;
+but you need not bear yourself in that spirit. The 'prentice of a London
+citizen may have just as much honest pride and independence as the
+proudest earl at Westminster; but carry not independence too far.
+Remember that if you yourself had received a great service you would
+be hurt if the donor refused to receive your thanks; and it would be
+churlish indeed were you to put on sullen looks, or to refuse to accept
+any present which the lady whose life you have saved may make you. It
+is strange, indeed, that it should be Dame Vernon, whose husband, Sir
+Jasper Vernon, received the fiefs of Westerham and Hyde."
+
+"Why should it be curious that it is she?" Walter asked.
+
+"Oh!" Geoffrey said, rather confusedly. "I was not thinking--that
+is--I mean that it is curious because Bertha Fletcher was for years
+a dependant on the family of Sir Roland Somers, who was killed in the
+troubles when the king took the reins of government in his hands, and
+his lands, being forfeit, were given to Sir Jasper Vernon, who aided the
+king in that affair."
+
+"I wish you would tell me about that," Walter said. "How was it that
+there was any trouble as to King Edward having kingly authority?"
+
+"It happened in this way," Geoffrey said. "King Edward II, his father,
+was a weak prince, governed wholly by favourites, and unable to hold in
+check the turbulent barons. His queen, Isabella of France, sister of
+the French king, a haughty and ambitious woman, determined to snatch the
+reins of power from the indolent hands of her husband, and after a
+visit to her brother she returned with an army from Hainault in order to
+dethrone him. She was accompanied by her eldest son, and after a short
+struggle the king was dethroned. He had but few friends, and men thought
+that under the young Edward, who had already given promise of virtue and
+wisdom, some order might be introduced into the realm. He was crowned
+Edward III, thus, at the early age of fifteen, usurping the throne of
+his father. The real power, however, remained with Isabella, who was
+president of the council of regency, and who, in her turn, was governed
+by her favourite Mortimer. England soon found that the change which had
+been made was far from beneficial. The government was by turns weak
+and oppressive. The employment of foreign troops was regarded with
+the greatest hostility by the people, and the insolence of Mortimer
+alienated the great barons. Finally, the murder of the dethroned king
+excited throughout the kingdom a feeling of horror and loathing against
+the queen.
+
+"All this feeling, however, was confined to her, Edward, who was but a
+puppet in her hands, being regarded with affection and pity. Soon after
+his succession the young king was married to our queen, Philippa of
+Hainault, who is as good as she is beautiful, and who is loved from one
+end of the kingdom to the other. I can tell you, the city was a sight
+to see when she entered with the king. Such pageants and rejoicing
+were never known. They were so young, he not yet sixteen, and she but
+fourteen, and yet to bear on their shoulders the weight of the state. A
+braver looking lad and a fairer girl mine eyes never looked on. It was
+soon after this that the events arose which led to the war with France,
+but this is too long a tale for me to tell you now. The Prince of Wales
+was born on the 15th of June, 1330, two years after the royal marriage.
+
+"So far the king had acquiesced quietly in the authority of his mother,
+but he now paid a visit to France, and doubtless the barons around
+him there took advantage of his absence from her tutelage to shake her
+influence over his mind; and at the same time a rising took place at
+home against her authority. This was suppressed, and the Earl of Kent,
+the king's uncle, was arrested and executed by Isabella. This act
+of severity against his uncle, no doubt, hastened the prince's
+determination to shake off the authority of his haughty mother and to
+assume the reins of government himself. The matter, however, was not
+easy to accomplish. Mortimer having the whole of the royal revenue at
+his disposal, had attached to himself by ties of interest a large number
+of barons, and had in his pay nearly two hundred knights and a large
+body of men-at-arms. Thus it was no easy matter to arrest him. It was
+determined that the deed should be done at the meeting of the parliament
+at Nottingham. Here Mortimer appeared with Isabella in royal pomp. They
+took their abode at the castle, while the king and other members of the
+royal family were obliged to content themselves with an inferior place
+of residence.
+
+"The gates of the castle were locked at sunset, and the keys brought by
+the constable, Sir William Eland, and handed to the queen herself. This
+knight was a loyal and gallant gentleman, and regarded Mortimer with no
+affection, and when he received the king's commands to assist the barons
+charged to arrest him he at once agreed to do so. He was aware of the
+existence of a subterranean communication leading from the interior of
+the castle to the outer country, and by this, on the night of the 19th
+of October, 1330, he led nine resolute knights--the Lords Montague,
+Suffolk, Stafford, Molins, and Clinton, with three brothers of the name
+of Bohun, and Sir John Nevil--into the heart of the castle. Mortimer was
+found surrounded by a number of his friends. On the sudden entry of the
+knights known to be hostile to Mortimer his friends drew their swords,
+and a short but desperate fight took place. Many were wounded, and Sir
+Hugh Turpleton and Richard Monmouth were slain. Mortimer was carried
+to London, and was tried and condemned by parliament, and executed for
+felony and treason. Several of his followers were executed, and others
+were attacked in their strongholds and killed; among these was Sir
+Roland Somers.
+
+"Queen Isabella was confined in Castle Risings where she still remains
+a prisoner. Such, Walter, were the troubles which occurred when King
+Edward first took up the reins of power in this realm; and now, let's
+to supper, for I can tell you that my walk to Kingston has given me a
+marvellous appetite. We have three or four hours' work yet before we
+go to bed, for that Milan harness was promised for the morrow, and the
+repairs are too delicate for me to entrust it to the men. It is good to
+assist the law, but this work of attending as a witness makes a grievous
+break in the time of a busy man. It is a pity, Walter, that your mind
+is so set on soldiering, for you would have made a marvellous good
+craftsman. However, I reckon that after you have seen a few years of
+fighting in France, and have got some of your wild blood let out,
+you will be glad enough to settle down here with me; as you know, our
+profits are good, and work plentiful; and did I choose I might hold mine
+head higher than I do among the citizens; and you, if you join me,
+may well aspire to a place in the common council, aye, and even to an
+alderman's gown, in which case I may yet be addressing you the very
+worshipful my Lord Mayor."
+
+"Pooh!" Walter laughed; "a fig for your lord Mayors! I would a thousand
+times rather be a simple squire in the following of our young prince."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV: A KNIGHT'S CHAIN
+
+
+The following morning Walter put on the sober russet dress which he
+wore on Sundays and holidays, for gay colours were not allowed to the
+apprentices, and set out for Westminster. Although he endeavoured to
+assume an air of carelessness and ease as he approached the dwelling of
+Earl Talbot, he was very far from feeling comfortable, and wished in his
+heart that his master had accompanied him on his errand. Half a dozen
+men-at-arms were standing on the steps of the mansion, who looked with
+haughty surprise at the young apprentice.
+
+"Dame Alice Vernon has sent to express her desire to have speech with
+me," he said quietly, "and I would fain know if she can receive me."
+
+"Here, Dikon," one of the men cried to another within the hall. "This is
+the lad you were sent to fetch yesterday. I wondered much who the city
+apprentice was, who with such an assured air, marched up to the door;
+but if what thou sayest be true, that he saved the life of Dame Vernon
+and her little daughter, he must be a brave lad, and would be more in
+place among men and soldiers than in serving wares behind the counter of
+a fat city tradesman.
+
+"I serve behind no counter," Walter said indignantly. "I am an armourer,
+and mayhap can use arms as well as make them."
+
+There was a laugh among the men at the boy's sturdy self-assertion, and
+then the man named Dikon said: "Come along, lad. I will take you to Dame
+Vernon at once. She is expecting you; and, my faith, it would not be
+safe to leave you standing here long, for I see you would shortly be
+engaged in splitting the weasands of my comrades."
+
+There was another roar of laughter from the men, and Walter, somewhat
+abashed, followed his conductor into the house. Leading him through the
+hall and along several corridors, whose spaciousness and splendour quite
+overpowered the young apprentice, he handed him over to a waiting woman,
+who ushered him into an apartment where Dame Vernon was reclining on a
+couch. Her little daughter was sitting upon a low stool beside her, and
+upon seeing Walter she leapt to her feet, clapping her hands.
+
+"Oh! mother, this is the boy that rescued us out of the river."
+
+The lady looked with some surprise at the lad. She had but a faint
+remembrance of the events which occurred between the time when she
+received a blow from the sword of one of her assailants and that when
+she found herself on a couch in the abode of her kinsman; and when
+she had been told that she had been saved by a city apprentice she had
+pictured to herself a lad of a very different kind to him who now stood
+before her.
+
+Walter was now nearly sixteen years old. His frame was very powerful
+and firmly knit. His dark brown hair was cut short, but, being somewhat
+longer than was ordinary with the apprentices, fell with a slight wave
+back on his forehead. His bearing was respectful, and at the same time
+independent. There was none of that confusion which might be expected on
+the part of a lad from the city in the presence of a lady of rank. His
+dark, heavy eyebrows, resolute mouth, and square chin gave an expression
+of sternness to his face, which was belied by the merry expression of
+his eyes and the bright smile when he was spoken to.
+
+"I have to thank you, young sir," she said, holding out her hand, which
+Walter, after the custom of the time, raised to his lips, bending upon
+one knee as he did so, "for the lives of myself and my daughter, which
+would surely have been lost had you not jumped over to save us.
+
+"I am glad that I arrived in time to be of aid," Walter said frankly;
+"but indeed I am rather to be blamed than praised, for had I, when I
+heard the plotting against the safety of the boat, told my master of
+it, as I should have done, instead of taking the adventure upon mine own
+shoulders, doubtless a boat would have been sent up in time to prevent
+the attack from taking place. Therefore, instead of being praised for
+having arrived a little too late, I should be rated for not having come
+there in time."
+
+Dame Vernon smiled.
+
+"Although you may continue to insist that you are to blame, this does
+not alter the fact that you have saved our lives. Is there any way in
+which I can be useful to you? Are you discontent with your state? For,
+in truth, you look as if Nature had intended you for a gallant soldier
+rather than a city craftsman. Earl Talbot, who is my uncle, would, I
+am sure, receive you into his following should you so choose it, and I
+would gladly pay for the cancelling of your indentures."
+
+"I thank you, indeed, lady, for your kind offices," Walter said
+earnestly; "for the present I am well content to remain at my craft,
+which is that of an armourer, until, at any rate, I have gained such
+manly strength and vigour as would fit me for a man-at-arms, and my good
+master, Geoffrey Ward, will, without payment received, let me go when I
+ask that grace of him."
+
+"Edith, go and look from the window at the boats passing along the
+river; and now," she went on, as the girl had obeyed her orders, "I
+would fain ask you more about the interview you overhead in the marshes.
+Sir William de Hertford told me of the evidence that you had given
+before the justice. It is passing strange that he who incited the other
+to the deed should have been by him termed 'Sir Knight'. Maybe it was
+merely a nickname among his fellows."
+
+"Before I speak, lady," Walter said quietly, "I would fain know whether
+you wish to be assured of the truth. Sometimes, they say, it is wiser to
+remain in ignorance; at other times forewarned is forearmed. Frankly, I
+did not tell all I know before the court, deeming that peradventure
+you might wish to see me, and that I could then tell the whole to your
+private ear, should you wish to know it, and you could then bid me
+either keep silence or proclaim all I knew when the trial of these
+evil-doers comes on."
+
+"You seem to me to be wise beyond your years, young sir," the lady said.
+
+"The wisdom is not mine, lady, but my master's. I took counsel with him,
+and acted as he advised me.
+
+"I would fain know all," the lady said. "I have already strange
+suspicions of one from whom assuredly I looked not for such evil
+designs. It will grieve me to be convinced that the suspicions are well
+founded; but it will be better to know the truth than to remain in a
+state of doubt."
+
+"The person then was a knight, for I had seen him before when he came in
+knightly harness into my master's shop to have two rivets put into
+his hauberk. I liked not his face then, and should have remembered it
+anywhere. I knew him at once when I saw him. He was a dark faced knight,
+handsome, and yet with features which reminded me of a hawk."
+
+Dame Vernon gave a little exclamation, which assured the lad that she
+recognized the description.
+
+"You may partly know, lady, whether it is he whom you suppose, for he
+said that he would detain your boat so that it should not come along
+until dark, and, moreover, he told them that they would know the boat
+since you would be wrapt in a white mantle."
+
+The lady sat for some time with her face hidden in her hands.
+
+"It is as I feared," she said at last, "and it grieves me to the heart
+to think that one who, although not so nearly related in blood, I
+regarded as a brother, should have betrayed me to death. My mind is
+troubled indeed, and I know not what course I shall take, whether to
+reveal this dreadful secret or to conceal it."
+
+"I may say, madam," Walter said earnestly, "that should you wish the
+matter to remain a secret, you may rely upon it that I will tell no
+more at the trial than I revealed yesterday; but I would remind you that
+there is a danger that the leader of yon ruffians, who is probably alone
+acquainted with the name of his employer, may, under the influence of
+the torture, reveal it."
+
+"That fear is for the present past, since a messenger arrived from
+Kingston but a few minutes since, saying that yester-even, under the
+threat of torture, the prisoners had pointed out the one among their
+number who was their chief. This morning, however, it was found that the
+warder who had charge of them had been bribed; he was missing from his
+post, and the door of the cell wherein the principal villain had been
+immured, apart from the others, was opened, and he had escaped."
+
+"Then," Walter said, "it is now open to you to speak or be silent as you
+will. You will pardon my forwardness if I say that my master, in talking
+the matter over with me, suggested that this evil knight might be scared
+from attempting any future enterprise against you were he informed that
+it was known to several persons that he was the author of this outrage,
+and that if any further attempts were at any time made against you, the
+proofs of his crime would be laid before the king."
+
+"Thanks, good lad," the lady said, "for your suggestion. Should I decide
+to keep the matter secret, I will myself send him a message to that
+effect, in such guise that he would not know whence it comes. And now, I
+would fain reward you for what you have done for us; and," she went on,
+seeing a flush suddenly mount upon the lad's face, as he made a half
+step backwards, "before I saw you, had thought of offering you a purse
+of gold, which, although it would but poorly reward your services, would
+yet have proved useful to you when the time came for you to start as a
+craftsman on your own account; but now that I have seen you, I feel that
+although there are few who think themselves demeaned by accepting gifts
+of money in reward for services, you would rather my gratitude took some
+other form. It can only do that of offering you such good services that
+I can render with Earl Talbot, should you ever choose the profession of
+arms; and in the meantime, as a memento of the lives you have saved, you
+will, I am sure, not refuse this chain," and she took a very handsome
+one of gold from her neck; "the more so since it was the gift of her
+majesty, our gracious queen to myself. She will, I am sure, acquit me of
+parting with her gift when I tell her that I transferred it to one who
+had saved the lives of myself and my daughter, and who was too proud to
+accept other acknowledgment."
+
+Colouring deeply, and with tears in his eyes at the kindness and
+thoughtful consideration of the lady, Walter knelt on one knee before
+her, and she placed round his neck the long gold chain which she had
+been wearing.
+
+"It is a knight's chain," the lady said, smiling, "and was part of the
+spoil gained by King Edward from the French. Maybe," she added kindly,
+"it will be worn by a knight again. Stranger things have happened, you
+know."
+
+Walter flushed again with pleasure.
+
+"Maybe, lady," he said modestly, "even apprentices have their dreams,
+and men-at-arms may always hope, by deeds of valour, to attain a
+knight's spurs even though they may not be of noble blood or have served
+as page and squire to a baron; but whether as a 'prentice or soldier, I
+hope I shall never do discredit to your gift."
+
+"Edith, come here," Dame Vernon said, "I have done talking now. And
+what are you going to give this brave knight of ours who saved us from
+drowning."
+
+The girl looked thoughtfully at Walter. "I don't think you would care
+for presents," she said; "and you look as if a sword or a horse would
+suit you better than a girl's gift. And yet I should like to give you
+something, such as ladies give their knights who have done brave deeds
+for them. It must be something quite my own, and you must take it as a
+keepsake. What shall it be, mamma?"
+
+"Give him the bracelet which your cousin gave you last week," her mother
+said; "I would rather that you did not keep it, and I know you are not
+very fond of him."
+
+"I can't bear him," the girl said earnestly, "and I wish he would not
+kiss me; he always looks as if he were going to bite, and I will gladly
+give his bracelet to this brave boy."
+
+"Very well, Edith, fetch the bracelet from that coffer in the corner."
+
+The girl went to the coffer and brought out the little bracelet, then
+she approached Walter.
+
+"You must go down on your knee," she said; "true knights always do that
+to receive their lady's gifts. Now hold out your hand. There," she
+went on in a pretty imperious way, "take this gage as a reward of your
+valour, and act ever as a true knight in the service of your lady."
+
+Bending down she dropt a kiss upon Walter's glowing cheek, and then,
+half frightened at her own temerity, ran back to her mother's side.
+
+"And now," Dame Vernon went on, "will you thank your five comrades for
+their service in the matter, and give them each two gold pieces to spend
+as they will."
+
+"He is a noble lad," Dame Vernon had said to herself when Walter had
+taken his leave. "Would he had been the son of one of the nobles of the
+court! It might have been then, if he distinguished himself in war, as
+he would surely do, that the king might have assigned Edith to him. As
+her lord and guardian he is certain to give her hand as a reward for
+valour in the field, and it may well be to a man with whom she would
+be less happy than with this 'prentice lad; but there, I need not be
+troubling myself about a matter which is five or six years distant yet.
+Still the thought that Edith is a ward of the crown, and that her hand
+must go where the king wills, often troubles me. However, I have a good
+friend in the queen, who will, I know, exert what influence she has in
+getting me a good husband for my child. But even for myself I have some
+fears, since the king hinted, when last he saw me, that it was time I
+looked out for another mate, for that the vassal of Westerham and Hyde
+needed a lord to lead them in the field. However, I hope that my answer
+that they were always at his service under the leading of my cousin
+James will suffice for him. Now, what am I to do in that matter? Who
+would have thought that he so coveted my lands that he would have slain
+me and Edith to possess himself of them? His own lands a thrice as broad
+as mine, though men say that he has dipped deeply into them and owes
+much money to the Jews. He is powerful and has many friends, and
+although Earl Talbot would stand by me, yet the unsupported word of
+an apprentice boy were but poor evidence on which to charge a powerful
+baron of such a crime as this. It were best, methinks, to say nought
+about it, but to bury the thought in my own heart. Nevertheless, I will
+not fail to take the precaution which the lad advised, and to let Sir
+James know that there are some who have knowledge of his handiwork. I
+hear he crosses the seas tomorrow to join the army, and it may be long
+ere he return. I shall have plenty of time to consider how I had best
+shape my conduct towards him on his return; but assuredly he shall never
+be friendly with me again, or frighten Edith with his kisses."
+
+"Well, Walter, has it been such a dreadful business as you expected?"
+the armourer asked the lad when he re-entered the shop. "The great folks
+have not eaten you at any rate."
+
+"It has not been dreadful," Walter replied with a smile, "though I own
+that it was not pleasant when I first arrived at the great mansion; but
+the lady put me quite at my ease, and she talked to me for some time,
+and finally she bestowed on me this chain, which our lady, the queen,
+had herself given her."
+
+"It is a knight's chain and a heavy one," Geoffrey said, examining
+it, "of Genoese work, I reckon, and worth a large sum. It will buy you
+harness when you go to the wars."
+
+"I would rather fight in the thickest melee in a cloth doublet," Walter
+said indignantly, "than part with a single link of it."
+
+"I did but jest, Walter," Geoffrey said laughing; "but as you will not
+sell it, and you cannot wear it, you had best give it me to put aside in
+my strong coffer until you get of knightly rank."
+
+"Lady Vernon said," the lad replied, "that she hoped one day it might
+again belong to a knight; and if I live," he added firmly, "it shall."
+
+"Oh! she has been putting these ideas into your head; nice notions truly
+for a London apprentice! I shall be laying a complaint before the lord
+mayor against Dame Vernon, for unsettling the mind of my apprentice, and
+setting him above his work. And the little lady, what said she? Did she
+give you her colours and bid you wear them at a tourney?"
+
+Walter coloured hotly.
+
+"Ah! I have touched you," laughed the armourer; "come now, out with the
+truth. My lad," he added more gravely, "there is no shame in it; you
+know that I have always encouraged your wishes to be a soldier, and have
+done my best to render you as good a one as any who draws sword 'neath
+the king's banner, and assuredly I would not have taken all these pains
+with you did I think that you were always to wear an iron cap and trail
+a pike. I too, lad, hope some day to see you a valiant knight, and have
+reasons that you wot not of, for my belief that it will be so. No man
+rises to rank and fame any the less quickly because he thinks that
+bright eyes will grow brighter at his success."
+
+"But, Geoffrey, you are talking surely at random. The Lady Edith Vernon
+is but a child; a very beautiful child," he added reverently, "and such
+that when she grows up, the bravest knight in England might be proud
+to win. What folly for me, the son of a city bowyer, and as yet but an
+apprentice, to raise mine eyes so high!"
+
+"The higher one looks the higher one goes," the armourer said
+sententiously. "You aspire some day to become a knight, you may well
+aspire also to win the hand of Mistress Edith Vernon. She is five years
+younger than yourself, and you will be twenty-two when she is seventeen.
+You have time to make your way yet, and I tell you, though why it
+matters not, that I would rather you set your heart on winning Mistress
+Edith Vernon than any other heiress of broad lands in merry England. You
+have saved her life, and so have made the first step and a long one.
+Be ever brave, gentle, and honourable, and, I tell you, you need not
+despair; and now, lad, we have already lost too much time in talking;
+let us to our work."
+
+That evening Walter recalled to Geoffrey his promise to tell him the
+causes which had involved England in so long and bloody a war with
+France.
+
+"It is a tangled skein," Geoffrey said, "and you must follow me
+carefully. First, with a piece of chalk I will draw upon the wall the
+pedigree of the royal line of France from Phillip downwards, and then
+you will see how it is that our King Edward and Phillip of Valois came
+to be rival claimants to the throne of France.
+
+"Now, you see that our King Edward is nephew of Charles le Bel, the last
+King of France, while Phillip of Valois is only nephew of Phillip le
+Bel, the father of Charles. Edward is consequently in the direct line,
+and had Isabella been a man instead of a woman his right to the throne
+would be unquestionable. In France, however, there is a law called
+the 'Salic' law, which excludes females from the throne; but it is
+maintained by many learned in the law, that although a female is held to
+be incompetent to reign because from her sex she cannot lead her armies
+to battle, yet she no ways forfeits otherwise her rights, and that her
+son is therefore the heir to the throne. If this contention, which
+is held by all English jurists, and by many in France also, be well
+founded, Edward is the rightful King of France. Phillip of Valois
+contends that the 'Salic law' not only bars a female from ascending the
+throne, but also destroys all her rights, and that the succession goes
+not to her sons but to the next heir male; in which case, of course,
+Phillip is rightful king. It is not for me to say which view is the
+right one, but certainly the great majority of those who have been
+consulted have decided that, according to ancient law and usage, the
+right lies with Edward. But in these matters 'right is not always
+might.' Had Isabella married a French noble instead of an English
+king it is probable that her son's claim to the throne would have been
+allowed without dispute, but her son is King of England, and the French
+nobles prefer being ruled by one of themselves to becoming united with
+England under one king.
+
+"At the time of the death of the last king, Edward was still but a boy
+under the tuition of his mother, Phillip was a man, and upon the spot,
+therefore he was able to win support by presence and promises, and so
+it came that the peers of France declared Phillip of Valois to be their
+rightful monarch. Here in England, at parliament held at Northampton,
+the rights of Edward were discussed and asserted, and the Bishops of
+Worcester and Coventry were despatched to Paris to protest against the
+validity of Phillip's nomination. As, however, the country was not in
+a position to enforce the claim of their young king by arms, Phillip
+became firmly seated as King of France, and having shown great energy in
+at once marching against and repressing the people of Flanders, who were
+in a state of rebellion against their count, one of the feudatories of
+the French crown, the nobles were well satisfied with their choice, and
+no question as to his right was ever henceforth raised in France. As
+soon as the rebellion in Flanders was crushed, Phillip summoned the King
+of England to do homage for Aquitaine, Ponthieu and Montreuil, fiefs
+held absolutely from the crown of France. Such a proceeding placed
+Edward and his council in a great embarrassment. In case of a refusal
+the whole of the possessions of the crown in France might be declared
+forfeited and be seized, while England was in no condition to defend
+them; on the other hand, the fact of doing homage to Phillip of Valois
+would be a sort of recognition of his right to the throne he had
+assumed. Had Edward then held the reins of power in his hands, there
+can be little doubt that he would at once have refused, and would have
+called out the whole strength of England to enforce his claim. The
+influence of Isabella and Mortimer was, however, all powerful, and
+it was agreed that Edward should do homage as a public act, making a
+private reservation in secret to his own councillors, taking exception
+to the right of Phillip.
+
+"Edward crossed to France and journeyed to Amiens, where Phillip with
+a brilliant court awaited him, and on the appointed day they appeared
+together in the cathedral. Here Edward, under certain protestations, did
+homage for his French estates, leaving certain terms and questions open
+for the consideration of his council. For some time the matter remained
+in this shape; but honest men cannot but admit that King Edward did, by
+his action at the time, acknowledge Phillip to be King of France, and
+that he became his vassal for his estates there; but, as has happened
+scores of times before, and will no doubt happen scores of times again,
+vassals, when they become powerful enough, throw off their allegiance to
+their feudal superiors, and so the time came to King Edward.
+
+"After the death of Mortimer and the imprisonment of Isabella, the king
+gave rein to his taste for military sports. Tournaments were held at
+Dartford and other places, one in Westcheape. What a sight was that, to
+be sure! For three days the king, with fourteen of his knights, held the
+list against all comers, and in the sight of the citizens and the ladies
+of the court, jousted with knights who came hither from all parts of
+Europe. I was there each day and the sight was a grand one, though
+England was well-nigh thrown into mourning by an accident which took
+place. The gallery in which the queen and her attendants were viewing
+the sports had been badly erected, and in the height of the contests
+it gave way. The queen and her ladies were in great peril, being thrown
+from a considerable height, and a number of persons were severely
+injured. The king, who was furious at the danger to which the queen had
+been exposed, would have hung upon the spot the master workman whose
+negligence had caused the accident, but the queen went on her knees
+before him and begged his life of the king. The love of Edward for
+warlike exercises caused England to be regarded as the most chivalrous
+court in Europe, and the frequent tournaments aroused to the utmost the
+spirits of the people and prepared them for the war with France. But of
+the events of that war I will tell you some other night. It is time now
+for us to betake us to our beds."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V: THE CITY GAMES
+
+
+
+The next evening the armourer, at Walter's request, continued his
+narrative.
+
+"Soon after the tournament we began to fight again with Scotland. For
+some years we had had peace with that country, and under the regency
+a marriage was made between David, King of Scotland, son of Robert the
+Bruce, and the Princess Joan, sister to our king, and a four years'
+truce was agreed to."
+
+"But why should we always be fighting with Scotland?" Walter asked.
+
+"That is more than I can tell you, Walter. We were peaceful enough with
+them until the days of Edward I; but he set up some claim to the throne
+of Scotland, the rights of which neither I nor anyone else, so far as I
+know, have ever been able to make out. The fact was he was strong,
+and thought that he could conquer Scotland. The quarrels between
+her nobles--most of them were allied by blood with our own and held
+possessions in both kingdoms--gave Edward an excuse to interfere.
+Scotland was conquered easily enough, but it was a hard task to hold it.
+Sir William Wallace kept the country in a turmoil for many years, being
+joined by all the common people. He inflicted one heavy defeat upon us
+at Stirling, but receiving no support from the nobles he was defeated at
+Falkirk, and some years afterwards was captured and executed here. His
+head you may see any day over London Bridge. As he fought only for his
+country and had ever refused allegiance to our king, it seems to me that
+his fate was a cruel one. Then when all appeared quiet, Robert Bruce
+raised Scotland again, and was crowned king. There was war for many
+years, but at last, at Bannockburn he inflicted such a defeat upon us
+as we have never had before. After that there were skirmishes and
+excursions, but Edward II was a weak prince, and it seemed that the
+marriage of David and the Princess Joan would bring about a permanent
+peace between the two countries; but it was not to be so."
+
+"Many of the English nobles held claims by marriage or grants upon
+lands in Scotland. They had, of course, been driven from these when the
+English were turned out by Bruce. By the terms of the marriage treaty
+in 1328 it was agreed that they should be reinstated. It was a foolish
+clause, because it was plain that the King of Scotland could not take
+these lands again from the Scotch nobles who had possession of them,
+many of them being well-nigh as powerful as himself. At this time Edward
+Baliol, son of the great rival of Robert Bruce, was in England. He still
+claimed the throne of Scotland as his right. Round him gathered a number
+of the English nobles who claimed lands in Scotland. The king offered
+no hindrance to the gathering of this force, for I doubt not that he
+was glad to see dissension in Scotland, which might give him some such
+pretext for interference as that which Edward I had seized to possess
+himself of that country. At first Baliol was successful, and was crowned
+at Scone, but he was presently defeated and driven out of Scotland.
+The Scots now made an eruption across the frontier as a retaliation
+for Edward's having permitted Baliol to gather a force here for his war
+against Bruce. King Edward was on the point of starting for Ireland,
+and he at once hastened north. He defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill,
+captured Berwick, and placed Baliol upon the throne. Bruce fled to
+France, where he was supported and encouraged by the French king."
+
+"The ill feeling between Edward and Phillip of Valois had gone on
+increasing ever since the former had been compelled to take the oath of
+allegiance to the latter, but outwardly the guise of friendship was
+kept up, and negotiations went on between the two courts for a marriage
+between the little Prince of Wales and Joanna, daughter of the French
+king."
+
+"The aid which Phillip gave to Bruce increased the bad feeling, and
+Edward retaliated for Phillip's patronage of Bruce by receiving with
+the greatest honour and courtesy Robert of Artois, a great feudatory of
+France, who had been banished by King Phillip. For a time, although
+both countries were preparing for war, peace was not broken, as Edward's
+hands were full in Scotland, where Baliol having bestowed immense
+possessions upon the English nobles who had assisted him, the country
+again rose in favour of Bruce. During the three years that followed King
+Edward was obliged several times to go to Scotland to support Baliol,
+who held the crown as his feudal vassal. He was always successful in
+the field, but directly his army recrossed the frontier the Scotch rose
+again. In 1330 a new crusade was preached, and in October of that year
+King Phillip solemnly received the cross and collected an immense army
+nominally for the recovery of Jerusalem. Whether his intentions were
+honest or not I cannot say, but certainly King Edward considered that
+Phillip's real aim in creating so great an army was to attack England.
+Whether this was so or not would need a wiser head than mine, Walter, to
+tell. Certainly Phillip of Valois invited Edward to cooperate with
+him in the crusade. The king in reply stated his belief that the
+preparations were intended for war in Europe rather than in Asia; but
+that if the King of France would agree to conclude a firm league of
+amity between the two countries, to restore the castles and towns
+of Aquitaine, whose surrender had been frequently promised but never
+carried out, and would bind himself by oath to give no assistance,
+direct or indirect, to Scotland, he would join him in his war for the
+delivery of the Holy Land."
+
+"I must say that King Edward's demands were reasonable, for it was clear
+that he could not march away from England with his whole force and leave
+Baliol unsupported against the assaults of his Scotch enemies, aided by
+France. Phillip was willing to accede to the first two conditions; but
+in regard to the third positively declined treating until David Bruce
+should be restored to the throne of his father. Now, had the French king
+openly supported Bruce from the first, none could have said that his
+conduct in befriending a dethroned monarch was aught but noble and
+generous; but he had all along answered Edward's complaints of the aid
+afforded by Frenchmen to the Bruce by denials that he himself supported
+him; and this declaration in his favour now certainly seemed to show
+that he had at last determined openly to throw off the veil, and that
+his great army was really collected against England. Robert of Artois
+craftily seized a moment when the king's indignation against Phillip was
+at the highest. At a great banquet held by King Edward, at which all
+his warlike nobles were present, Robert entered, preceded by two noble
+maidens carrying a heron, which, as you know, Walter, is considered the
+most cowardly of birds. Then in loud tones he called upon the knights
+present each to swear on the bird to perform some deed of chivalrous
+daring. First he presented it to King Edward himself, giving him to
+understand that he regarded him but as little braver than the heron for
+resigning without a blow the fair heritage of France."
+
+"The moment was well chosen, for Edward was smarting under the answer
+he had just received from Phillip. He at once rose and took an oath to
+enter France in arms; to wait there a month in order to give Phillip
+time to offer him battle, and to accept the combat, even should the
+French outnumber him ten to one. Every knight present followed the
+example of the king, and so the war with France, which had been for
+years a mere question of time, was at last suddenly decided upon.
+You yourself, Walter, can remember the preparations which were made
+throughout England: men were enrolled and arms prepared. We armourers
+were busy night and day, and every man felt that his own honour, as well
+as that of the country, was concerned in winning for King Edward the
+heritage of which he had been unlawfully robbed by the King of France."
+
+"On the 17th of March, 1337, at the parliament at Westminster, the king
+created the little prince, then seven years of age, Duke of Cornwall;
+and the prince immediately, in exercise of his new dignity, bestowed
+upon twenty of the most distinguished aspirants the honour of
+knighthood. Immense supplies were voted by the parliaments held at
+Nottingham, Westminster, and Northamton. Half the wool shorn in the
+summer following was granted to the king, with a variety of other
+taxes, customs, and duties. The revenues of all the foreign priories in
+England, a hundred and ten in number, were appropriated to the crown.
+Provisions of bacon, wheat, and oats were granted, and the king pawned
+his own jewels, and even the crown itself, to hire soldiers, and
+purchase him allies on the Continent. So great did the scarcity of money
+become in the country that all goods fell to less than half their value.
+Thus a vast army was raised, and with this King Edward prepared to try
+his strength with France."
+
+"Phillip on his part was making great preparations. While Edward had
+purchased the assistance of many of the German nobles Phillip raised
+large armaments in the maritime states of Italy. Spain also contributed
+a number of naval adventurers, and squadrons were fitted out by his
+vassals on the sea coasts of Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy. King
+Edward had crossed over into Belgium, and after vast delays in
+consequence of the slowness of the German allies, at last prepared to
+enter France at the end of September, 1339. Such, my lad, is the story,
+as far as I know, of the beginning of that war with France which is now
+raging, and whose events you know as well as I do, seeing that they are
+all of late occurrence. So far, although the English have had the best
+of it, and have sorely mauled the French both in the north and south, we
+have not gained any such advantages as would lead to a belief that there
+is any likelihood of an early termination, or that King Edward will
+succeed for a long time in winning back his inheritance of the throne of
+France."
+
+"There is no doubt that the war weighs heavily upon the people at large.
+The taxes are doubled, and the drain of men is heavy. We armourers, of
+course, have a busy time of it, and all trades which have to do with the
+furnishing of an army flourish exceedingly. Moreover, men of mettle and
+valour have an opportunity of showing what they are composed of, and
+England rings with the tales of martial deeds. There are some, Walter,
+who think that peace is the greatest of blessings, and in some ways,
+lad, they are no doubt right; but there are many compensations in war.
+It brings out the noble qualities; it raises men to think that valour
+and fortitude and endurance and honour are qualities which are something
+above the mere huckstering desire for getting money, and for ignoble
+ease and comfort. Some day it may be that the world will change, and
+that war may become a thing of the past; but to my mind, boy, I doubt
+whether men will be any happier or better for it. The priests, no doubt,
+would tell you otherwise; but then you see I am an armourer, and so
+perhaps am hardly a fair judge on the matter, seeing that without wars
+my craft would come to an end."
+
+Walter remained in thought for some time. "It seems to me, Master
+Geoffrey, that while wars may suit strong and courageous men, women
+would rejoice were such things to be at an end."
+
+"Women suffer most from wars, no doubt," Geoffrey said, "and yet do you
+mark that they are more stirred by deeds of valour and chivalry than
+are we men; that they are ever ready to bestow their love upon those
+who have won honour and glory in war, even although the next battle may
+leave them widows. This has been always somewhat of a marvel to me;
+but I suppose that it is human nature, and that admiration for deeds of
+valour and bravery is ingrained in the heart of man, and will continue
+until such times come that the desire for wealth, which is ever on the
+increase, has so seized all men that they will look with distaste upon
+everything which can interfere with the making of money, and will regard
+the man who amasses gold by trading as a higher type than he who does
+valiant deeds in battle."
+
+"Surely that can never be," Walter said indignantly.
+
+"There is no saying," the armourer answered; "at any rate, Walter,
+it will matter little to you or to me, for many generations must pass
+before such a state of things can come about."
+
+Two days later Walter, who had been across into the city, returned in a
+state of excitement.
+
+"What do you think, Geoffrey? The king, with the Prince of Wales and all
+his court, are coming to the games next month. They say that the
+king himself will adjudge the prizes; and there is to be a grand
+assault-at-arms between ten of the 'prentices with a captain, and an
+equal number of sons of nobles and knights."
+
+"That will be rare," Geoffrey Ward exclaimed; "but there will be some
+broken limbs, and maybe worse. These assaults-at-arms seldom end without
+two or three being killed. However, you youngsters will not hit as hard
+as trained knights; and if the armour be good, no great damage should be
+done."
+
+"Do you think that I shall be one of the ten?" Walter asked anxiously.
+
+"Just as if you did not know you would," Geoffrey replied, laughing.
+"Did you not win the prize for swordplay last year? And twelve months
+have added much to the strength of your arm, to say nothing of your
+skill with weapons. If you win this year again--and it will be strange
+if you do not--you are like enough to be chosen captain. You will
+have tough fighting, I can tell you, for all these young aspirants to
+knighthood will do their best to show themselves off before the king and
+queen. The fight is not to take place on horseback, I hope; for if so,
+it will be settled as soon as it begins."
+
+"No, it is to be on foot; and the king himself is to give orders as to
+the fighting."
+
+"You had best get out that helmet and coat of mail of yours," Geoffrey
+said, "I warrant me that there will be none of finer make or of truer
+metal in the tourney, seeing that I made them specially for you. They
+are light, and yet strong enough to withstand a blow from the strongest
+arm. I tried them hard, and will warrant them proof, but you had best
+see to the rivets and fastenings. They had a rough handling last year,
+and you have not worn them since. There are some other pieces that
+I must put in hand at once, seeing that in such a melee you must be
+covered from head to foot."
+
+For the next week nothing was talked of in London but the approaching
+sports, and the workmen were already engaged in the erection of the
+lists and pavilions in the fields between the walls and Westminster. It
+was reported that the king would add valuable prizes to those given to
+the winners by the city; that there would be jousting on horseback by
+the sons of the court nobles, and that the young Prince of Wales would
+himself ride.
+
+
+The king had once before taken part in the city sports, and with ten of
+the citizens had held his own against an equal number of knights. This
+was at the commencement of his reign; but the accident to the queen's
+stand had so angered him that he had not again been present at the
+sports, and his reappearance now was considered to be an act of approval
+of the efforts which the city had made to aid him in the war, and as an
+introduction of the young prince to the citizens.
+
+When the day arrived there was a general flocking out of the citizens to
+the lists. The scene was a picturesque one; the weather was bright and
+warm; the fields were green; and Westminster, as well as London, sent
+out large numbers to the scene. The citizens were all in their best;
+their garments were for the most part of somber colours--russet, murrey,
+brown, and gray. Some, indeed, of the younger and wealthier merchants
+adopted somewhat of the fashion of the court, wearing their shoes long
+and pointed, and their garments parti-coloured. The line of division was
+down the centre of the body; one leg, arm, and half the body would be
+blue, the other half russet or brown. The ladies' dresses were similarly
+divided. Mingling with the citizens, as they strolled to and fro upon
+the sward, were the courtiers. These wore the brightest colours, and
+their shoes were so long that the points were looped up to the knees
+with little gold chains to enable them to walk. The ladies wore
+headdresses of prodigious height, culminating in two points; and
+from these fell, sweeping to the ground, streamers of silk or lighter
+material. Cloths of gold and silver, rich furs, silks, and velvets, were
+worn both by men and women.
+
+None who saw the nobles of the court walking in garments so tight that
+they could scarce move, with their long parti-coloured hose, their silk
+hoods buttoned under the chin, their hair braided down their back, would
+have thought that these were the most warlike and courageous of knights,
+men whose personal prowess and gallantry were the admiration of Europe.
+Their hair was generally cut close upon the forehead, and the beard was
+suffered to grow, but was kept trimmed a moderate length. Many of the
+ladies had the coat-of-arms of their family embroidered upon their
+dresses, giving them the appearance of heralds' tabards. Almost all wore
+gold or silver girdles, with embroidered pouches, and small daggers.
+
+Thus the appearance of the crowd who moved about among the fields near
+the lists was varied and brilliant indeed. Their demeanour was quiet,
+for the London merchants deemed a grave demeanour to belong to their
+calling, and the younger men and apprentices restrained their spirits
+in the presence of their superiors. For their special amusement, and in
+order, perhaps, to keep them from jostling too freely against the court
+gallants and ladies, the city authorities had appointed popular sports
+such as pleased the rougher classes; and bull baiting, cock-fighting,
+wrestling for a ram, pitching the bar, and hand ball, were held in
+a field some distance away. Here a large portion of the artisans and
+apprentices amused themselves until the hour when the king and queen
+were to arrive at their pavilion, and the contests were to commence.
+
+Presently a sound of trumpets was heard, and the royal procession was
+seen moving up from Westminster. Then the minor sports were abandoned;
+the crowd gathered round the large fenced-in space, and those who,
+by virtue of rank or position in the city, had places in the various
+stands, took their places there.
+
+There was a flourish of trumpets as the king and queen appeared in front
+of the pavilion, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and many of the
+nobles of the court, and a shout of welcome arose from the crowd. The
+shooting at a mark at once began. The preliminary trials had been shot
+off upon the preceding day, and the six chosen bowmen now took their
+places.
+
+Walter had not entered for the prizes at archery. He had on previous
+years shot well; but since he had fully determined to become a
+man-at-arms he had given up archery, for which, indeed, his work at the
+forge and his exercises at arms when the fires were out, left him but
+little time. The contest was a close one, and when it was over the
+winner was led by the city marshal to the royal pavilion, where the
+queen bestowed upon him a silver arrow, and the king added a purse of
+money. Then there were several combats with quarterstaff and broadsword
+between men who had served among the contingents sent by the city to
+aid the king in his wars. Some good sword-play was shown and many stout
+blows exchanged, two or three men were badly hurt, and the king and all
+present were mightily pleased with the stoutness with which they fought.
+
+The apprentices then came forward to compete for the prizes for
+sword-play. They wore light iron caps and shirts of thickly quilted
+leather, and fought with blunted swords, for the city fathers deemed
+wisely that with these weapons they could equally show their skill, and
+that with sharpened swords not only would severe wounds be given, but
+bad blood would be created between the apprentices of the various wards.
+Each ward sent its champion to the contest, and as these fought in
+pairs, loud was the shouting which rose from their comrades at each blow
+given or warded, and even the older citizens joined sometimes in the
+shouting and took a warm interest in the champions of their respective
+wards.
+
+The iron caps had stout cheek-pieces which defended the sides of the
+face and neck, for even a blunted sword can deliver a terrible blow if
+it fall upon the naked flesh. It took a long time to get through the
+combats; the pairs were drawn by lot, and fought until the king decided
+which was the superior. Some were speedily beaten, at other times
+the contests were long and severe. It was generally thought by the
+apprentices that the final contest lay between Walter Fletcher of
+Aldgate and Ralph Smith of Ludgate. The former was allowed to be
+superior in the use of his weapon, but the latter was also skilful, was
+two years older, and greatly superior in strength. He had not taken part
+in the contest in the preceding year, as he had been laid up with a hurt
+in his hand which he had got in his employment as a smith, and the
+lads of Ludgate were confident that he would turn the tables upon the
+champion of the eastern ward. Both had defeated with ease the various
+opponents whom they had met, but it chanced that they had not drawn
+together until the last round, when they remained alone to struggle for
+the first and second prizes.
+
+The interest in the struggle had increased with each round, and wagers
+were freely laid upon the result. According to custom the two champions
+had laid aside their leathern shirts and had donned mail armour, for it
+was considered that the crowning contest between the two picked young
+swordsmen of the city would be a severe one, and greater protection to
+the limbs was needed.
+
+Before taking their places they were led up to the royal pavilion, where
+they were closely inspected by the king and his nobles.
+
+"You are sure that this man is still an apprentice?" the king asked
+the Lord Mayor, who was seated next to him; "he has the appearance of a
+man-at-arms, and a stout one too; the other is a likely stripling, and
+is, as I have seen, marvellously dexterous with his sword, but he is but
+a boy while the other is a grown man.
+
+"He is an apprentice, my liege, although his time will be up in a few
+days, while the other has yet three years to serve, but he works for
+an armourer, and is famed through the city, boy as he is, for his skill
+with weapons."
+
+After a few words to each, exhorting them to do their best in the sight
+of the queen and her ladies, the king dismissed them.
+
+"I know the young one now!" the Prince of Wales said, clapping his hands
+as the apprentices turned away to take their places. "My Lord Talbot, I
+will wager a gold chain with you upon the smaller of the two."
+
+"I will take your wager," the noble answered; "but I am by no means sure
+that I shall win it, for I have watched your champion closely, and
+the downright blows which he struck would seem to show that he has the
+muscle and strength of a man though still but a boy."
+
+The event justified the Prince of Wales's confidence; at the
+commencement of the struggle Ralph Smith tried to beat down his opponent
+by sheer strength as he had done his prior opponents, but to his
+surprise he found that all his efforts could not break down his
+opponent's guard. Walter indeed did not appear to take advantage of his
+superior lightness and activity, but to prefer to prove that in strength
+as well as skill he was equal to his antagonist. In the latter respect
+there was no comparison, for as soon as the smith began to relax his
+rain of blows Walter took the offensive and with a sweeping blow given
+with all his strength broke down his opponent's guard and smote him with
+such force upon his steel cap that, blunted as the sword was, it clove
+through the iron, and stretched the smith senseless on the ground. A
+loud shout broke from the assemblage. The marshal came up to Walter,
+and removing his helmet, led him to the royal pavilion, while Ralph was
+carried to a tent near, where a leech attended his wound.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI: THE MELEE
+
+
+
+"You have won your prize stoutly and well, sir 'prentice," the king said.
+"I should not have deemed it possible that one of your age could have
+smitten such a blow, and right glad should I be of a few hundred lads of
+your mettle to follow me against the French. What is your calling?"
+
+"I am an armourer, my liege," Walter answered.
+
+"And you are as good at mending armour as you are at marring it," the
+king said, "you will be a rare craftsman one of these days. 'Tis a rare
+pity so promising a swordsman should be lost to our army. Wouldst like
+to change your calling, boy, and take to that of arms?"
+
+"It is my hope to do so, sir," Walter answered modestly, "and his grace
+the Prince of Wales has already promised me that I shall some day ride
+behind him to the wars."
+
+"Ah! Edward," the king ejaculated, "how is this? Have you been already
+enlisting a troop for the wars?"
+
+"No, sir," the young prince replied, "but one day, now some four years
+since, when I was riding with my Lord Talbot and others in the fields
+near the Tower I did see this lad lead his play-fellows to the assault
+of an earthen castle held by others, and he fought so well and gallantly
+that assuredly no knight could have done better, until he was at last
+stricken senseless, and when he recovered I told him that should he
+choose to be a man-at-arms I would enlist him in my following to the
+wars."
+
+The king laughed.
+
+"I deemed not that the lads of the city indulged in such rough sports;
+but I wonder not, seeing that the contingent which my good city of
+London furnishes me is ever one of the best in my army. We shall see
+the lad at work again tomorrow and will then talk more of it. Now let us
+bestow upon him the prize that he has so well earned."
+
+Walter bent on one knee, and the queen handed to him a sword of the best
+Spanish steel, which was the prize given by the city to the victor. The
+king handed him a heavy purse of gold pieces, saying:
+
+"This may aid in purchasing your freedom."
+
+Walter bowed deeply and murmured some words of thanks, and was then led
+off by the marshal. After this many of the young nobles of the court
+jousted on horseback, ran at the ring, and performed other feats of
+knightly exercise to the great pleasure of the multitude. The marshal on
+leading Walter away said to him, "You will be captain of the city band
+tomorrow, and I must therefore tell you what the king purports. He
+has prepared a surprise for the citizens, and the present show will
+be different to anything ever before seen in London. Both to show them
+somewhat of the sieges which are taking place on the borders of France
+and the Low Countries, in which Sir Walter Manny and many other gallant
+knights have so greatly distinguished themselves, and as an exercise
+for the young nobles, he has determined that there shall be a castle
+erected. It will be built of wood, with battlements and towers, with a
+moat outside. As soon as the lists are over a large number of workmen
+will commence its erection; the pieces are all sawn and prepared. There
+will be machines, ladders, and other appliances. The ten champions on
+either side will fight as knights; you will have a hundred apprentices
+as men-at-arms, and the court party will have an equal number of young
+esquires. You, as winner of today's tourney, will have the choice of
+defence or attack. I should advise you to take the defence, since it is
+easier and requires less knowledge of war, and many of the other party
+have accompanied their fathers and masters in the field and have seen
+real sieges carried out."
+
+"Can you show me a plan of the castle," Walter said, "if it be not
+contrary to the rules, in order that I may think over tonight the plan
+of fighting tomorrow?"
+
+"Here it is," the marshal said. "You see that the walls are 200 feet
+long, they are 12 feet in height, with a tower at the end and one over
+the gateway in the centre six feet high. There is a drawbridge defended
+by an outwork of palisades six feet high. The moat will be a dry one,
+seeing that we have no means of filling it with water, but it will be
+supposed to be full, and must be crossed on planks or bridges. Two small
+towers on wheels will be provided, which may be run up to the edge of
+the moat, and will be as high as the top of the towers.
+
+"Surely they cannot make all this before morning?" Walter said.
+
+"They will do so," the marshal replied. "The castle has been put
+together in the king's courtyard, and the pieces are all numbered.
+Two hundred carpenters will labour all night at it, besides a party of
+labourers for the digging of the moat. It will be a rare show, and will
+delight both the citizens and the ladies of the court, for such a thing
+has never before been attempted. But the king grudges not the expense
+which it will cost him, seeing that spectacles of this kind do much to
+arouse the warlike spirit of the people. Here is a list of the various
+implements which will be provided, only it is understood that the
+mangonels and arblasts will not be provided with missiles, seeing that
+many would assuredly be killed by them. They will be employed, however,
+to show the nature of the work, and parties of men-at-arms will be told
+off to serve them. Crossbows and arrows will be used, but the weapons
+will be blunted. You will see that there are ladders, planks for making
+bridges, long hooks for hauling men down from the wall, beams for
+battering down the gate, axes for cutting down the palisades, and all
+other weapons. The ten who will serve under you as knights have already
+been nominated, and the city will furnish them with full armour. For
+the others, the apprentices of each ward will choose sufficient
+representatives to make up the hundred, who will fight as men-at-arms;
+these will wear steel caps and breastpieces, with leather jerkins,
+and vizors to protect their faces, for even a blunted arrow or wooden
+quarrel might well kill if it struck true."
+
+On leaving the marshal Walter joined Giles Fletcher and Geoffrey Ward,
+who warmly congratulated him upon his success. He informed them of the
+spectacle which the king had prepared for the amusement of the citizens
+on the morrow.
+
+"In faith," Geoffrey said, "the idea is a good one, and promises rare
+sport, but it will be rough, and we may expect many broken limbs, for it
+be no joke to be thrown down with a ladder from a wall even twelve feet
+high, and there will be the depth of the moat besides."
+
+"That will only be two feet," Walter said, "for so it is marked on the
+plan."
+
+"And which do you mean to take, Walter, the attack or the defence?
+Methinks the king has erred somewhat in making the forces equal, for
+assuredly the besiegers should outnumber the besieged by fully three to
+one to give them a fair chance of success."
+
+"I shall take the assault," Walter answered; "there is more to be done
+that way than in the defence. When we get home, Geoffrey, we will look
+at the plans, and see what may be the best manner of assault."
+
+Upon examining the plan that evening they found that the wall was
+continued at an angle at either end for a distance of some twenty feet
+back so as to give a postern gate behind each of the corner towers
+through which a sortie might be made. Geoffrey and Walter talked
+the matter over, and together contrived a plan of operation for the
+following day.
+
+"You will have one great advantage," Geoffrey said. "The apprentices are
+all accustomed to the use of the bow, while the young nobles will
+know but little of that weapon; therefore your shooting will be far
+straighter and truer, and even a blunt-headed arrow drawn from the
+shoulder will hit so smart a blow that those on the wall will have
+difficulty in withstanding them."
+
+After the talk was ended Walter again crossed London Bridge, and made
+his way to Ludgate, where he found his late antagonist, whose head had
+been plastered up, and was little the worse for the conflict.
+
+"There is no ill-will between us, I hope," Walter said, holding out his
+hand.
+
+"None in the world," the young smith said frankly. He was a
+good-tempered-looking young giant, with closely-cropped hair, light-blue
+eyes, and a pleasant but somewhat heavy face.
+
+"My faith but what a blow was that you gave me; why, one would think
+that your muscles were made of steel. I thought that I could hit a good
+downright blow, seeing that I have been hammering at the anvil for
+the last seven years; but strike as I would I could not beat down your
+guard, while mine went down, as if it had been a feather, before yours.
+I knew, directly that I had struck the first blow, and felt how firm was
+your defence, that it was all up with me, knowing that in point of skill
+I had no chance whatever with you.
+
+"I am glad to see that you bear no malice, Ralph," Walter said, "and
+hope that we shall be great friends henceforth, that is, if you will
+take me as such, seeing that you are just out of your apprenticeship,
+while I am not yet half through mine. But I have come to talk to you
+about tomorrow. Have you heard that there is to be a mimic siege?"
+
+"I have heard about it," Ralph said. "The city is talking of nothing
+else. The news was published at the end of the sports. It will be rare
+fun, surely."
+
+"It will be pretty rough fun," Walter replied; "and I should not be much
+surprised if some lives are lost; but this is always so in a tournament;
+and if knights and nobles are ready to be killed, we apprentices need
+not fear to hazard our lives. But now as to tomorrow. I, as the winner
+today, am to be the leader of the party, and you, as second, will of
+course be captain under me. Now I want to explain to you exactly what
+I propose to do, and to arrange with you as to your share in the
+business."
+
+The young smith listened attentively to Walter's explanation, and, when
+he had done, exclaimed admiringly: "Why, Walter, you seem to be made for
+a general. How did it all come to you, lad? I should never have thought
+of such a scheme."
+
+"I talked it over with my master," Walter said, "and the idea is his as
+much as mine. I wonder if it will do."
+
+"It is sure to do," the smith said enthusiastically. "The castle is as
+good as taken."
+
+The next day all London poured out to the scene of the sports, and the
+greatest admiration and wonder were expressed at the castle, which had
+risen, as if by magic, in the night. It was built at one end of the
+lists, which had been purposely placed in a hollow, so that a great
+number of people besides those in the pavilions could obtain a view
+from the surrounding slopes. The castle was substantially built of heavy
+timber painted gray, and looked at a little distance as if constructed
+of stone. A flag floated from the central tower, and the building looked
+so formidable that the general opinion was freely expressed that the
+task of the assailants, whoever they might be--for at present this was
+unknown--was quite impossible. At ten o'clock the king and his court
+arrived. After they had taken their places the two bands, headed by
+their leaders, advanced from the lower end of the lists, and drew up
+in front of the royal pavilion. The leaders took their places in front.
+Behind them stood ten chosen followers, all of whom, as well as their
+chiefs, were encased in full armour. Behind, on one side, were 100
+apprentices, on the other 100 esquires, all attired as men-at-arms. The
+court party were led by Clarence Aylmer, son of the Earl of Pembroke.
+His companions were all young men of noble family, aspirants for the
+order of knighthood. They were, for the most part, somewhat older than
+the apprentices, but as the latter consisted chiefly of young men nearly
+out of their term the difference was not great. Walter's armour was a
+suit which the armourer had constructed a year previously for a young
+knight who had died before the armour could be delivered. Walter had
+wondered more than once why Geoffrey did not endeavour to sell it
+elsewhere, for, although not so decorated and inlaid as many of the
+suits of Milan armour, it was constructed of the finest steel, and the
+armourer had bestowed special care upon its manufacture, as the young
+knight's father had long been one of his best customers. Early that
+morning Geoffrey had brought it to his room and had told him to wear it
+instead of that lent by the city.
+
+"But I fear it will get injured," Walter had urged. "I shall not spare
+myself, you know, Geoffrey, and the blows will be hard ones.
+
+"The more need for good armour, Walter. These city suits are made for
+show rather than use. You may be sure that young Pembroke and his band
+will fight their hardest rather than suffer defeat at the hands of those
+whom they consider a band of city varlets."
+
+Before issuing from the tent where he and his companions had put on
+their mail Walter carefully fastened in the front of his helmet a tiny
+gold bracelet. Upon taking their places before the pavilion the king
+ordered the two leaders to advance, and addressed them and the multitude
+in the following words:
+
+"Brave leaders, and you, my people, I have contrived the pastime today
+that I may show you on a mimic scale the deeds which my brave soldiers
+are called upon to perform in France. It is more specially suited for
+the combatants of today, since one party have had but small opportunity
+of acquiring skill on horseback. Moreover, I wish to teach the lesson
+that fighting on foot is as honourable as fighting on horseback, for
+it has now been proved, and sometimes to our cost, in Scotland, that
+footmen can repulse even the bravest chivalry. Today each party will
+fight his best. Remember that, even in the heat of conflict, matters
+must not be carried to an extreme. Those cut off from their friends will
+be accounted prisoners, as will those who, being overpowered, throw
+down their arms. Any wounded on either side will not be accounted as
+prisoners, but may retire with honour from the field. You," he said,
+looking at Walter, "as the conqueror of yesterday, have the choice
+of either the attack or defence; but I should advise you to take the
+latter, seeing it is easier to defend a fortress than to assault it.
+Many of your opponents have already gained credit in real warfare, while
+you and your following are new to it. Therefore, in order to place the
+defence on fair terms with the assault, I have ordered that both sides
+shall be equal in numbers."
+
+"If your liege will permit me," Walter said bowing, "I would fain take
+the assault. Methinks that, with my following, I could do better thus
+than in defence."
+
+The king looked somewhat displeased.
+
+"As you will," he said coldly; "but I fear this will somewhat mar the
+effect of the spectacle seeing that you will have no chance whatever
+against an equal force, more accustomed to war than your party, and
+occupying so superior a position. However," he went on, seeing that
+Walter made no sign of changing his mind, "as you have chosen, so be
+it; and now it is for you to choose the lady who shall be queen of the
+tourney and shall deliver the prizes to the victors. Look round you;
+there are many fair faces, and it is for you to choose among them."
+
+Smiles passed between many of the courtly dames and ladies at the choice
+that was to be made among them by the apprentice lad; and they thought
+that he would be sorely puzzled at such a duty. Walter, however, did
+not hesitate an instant. He ran his eye over the crowd of ladies in the
+royal gallery, and soon saw the object of his search.
+
+"Since I have your majesty's permission," he said, "I choose, as queen
+of the tournament, Mistress Edith Vernon."
+
+There was a movement of surprise and a general smile. Perhaps to all
+who thought that they had a chance of being chosen the selection was a
+relief, as none could be jealous of the pretty child, who, at the king's
+order, made her way forward to the front, and took her seat in a chair
+placed between the king and queen. The girl coloured brightly; but she
+had heard so much of tourneys and jousts that she knew what was her
+duty. She had been sitting far back on the previous day, and the
+apprentice, when brought up before the king, was too far below for her
+to see his features. She now recognized him.
+
+"Sir Knights," she said in a loud, clear, childish voice, "you will both
+do your duty today and show yourselves worthy cavaliers. Methinks that,
+as queen of the tourney, I should be neutral between you, but as one of
+you carries my gage in his helm, my good wishes must needs go with him;
+but bright eyes will be fixed on you both, and may well stir you to
+deeds of valour."
+
+So saying, she resumed her seat with a pretty air of dignity.
+
+"Why, sweetheart," the king said, "how is it that this 'prentice lad
+knows your name, and how is it that he wears your gage, for I know that
+the young Pembroke wears the glove of the Earl of Surrey's daughter?"
+
+"He saved my life, sir, mine and my mother's," the child said, "and I
+told him he should be my true knight, and gave him my bracelet, which
+you see he wears in his helm."
+
+"I recall somewhat of the story," the king said, "and will question
+my Lady Vernon further anon; but see, the combatants are filing off to
+their places."
+
+With flags flying and trumpets blowing young Pembroke led his forces
+into the castle. Each of his ten knights was followed by an esquire
+bearing his banner, and each had ten men-at-arms under his immediate
+order. Two of them, with twenty men, remained in the outwork beyond the
+drawbridge. The rest took their station on the walls, and towers,
+where a platform had been erected, running along three feet below the
+battlements. The real men-at-arms with the machines of war now advanced,
+and for a time worked the machines, which made pretence at casting great
+stones and missiles at the walls. The assailants then moved forward and,
+unslinging their bows, opened a heavy fire of arrows at the defenders,
+who, in turn, replied with arrows and cross-bows.
+
+"The 'prentices shoot well," the king said; "by our lady, it would be
+hot work for the defenders were the shafts but pointed! Even as it
+is the knocks must be no child's play, for the arrows, although not
+pointed, are all tipped with iron, without which, indeed, straight
+shooting would be impossible."
+
+The return fire from the walls was feeble, and the king said, laughing,
+"So far your knight, fair mistress, has it all his own way. I did not
+reckon sufficiently upon the superiority of shooting of the London lads,
+and, indeed, I know not that I ought not in fairness to order some of
+the defenders off the walls, seeing, that in warfare, their numbers
+would be rapidly thinned. See, the assailants are moving up to the two
+towers under shelter of the fire of the archers."
+
+By this time Aylmer, seeing that his followers could make no effectual
+reply to the arrow fire, had ordered all, save the leaders in full
+armour, to lie down behind the parapet. The assailants now gathered
+thickly round each tower, as if they intended to attempt to cross by the
+bridges, which could be let down from an opening in the tower level with
+the top of the wall, while archers upon the summit shot fast and thick
+among the defenders who were gathering to oppose them.
+
+"If the young Pembroke is wise," the king said, "he will make a strong
+sally now and fall upon one or other of the parties."
+
+As he spoke there was a sudden movement on the part of the assailants,
+who, leaving the foot of the towers, made a rush at the outwork in the
+centre. The instant they arrived they fell to work with axes upon
+the palisades. Many were struck down by the blows dealt them by the
+defenders, but others caught up the axes and in less than a minute
+several of the palisades were cut down and the assailants poured in. The
+defenders fought gallantly, but they were overpowered by numbers. Some
+were struck down, others taken prisoners by main force, and the
+rest driven across the drawbridge, just as the gates were opened and
+Pembroke, at the head of the defenders, swarmed out to their assistance.
+
+There was a desperate fight on the bridge, and it was well that the
+armour was stout, and the arms that wielded the weapons had not yet
+attained their full strength. Several were knocked off the bridge into
+the moat, and these were, by the rules, obliged at once to retire and
+take no further part in the contest. Walter and Ralph the smith, fought
+in front of their men, and hard as Pembroke and his followers struggled,
+they could not drive them back a foot. The court party were galled by
+the heavy fire of arrows kept up by the apprentices along the side of
+the moat, and finding all his efforts to regain the earth-work useless,
+Pembroke withdrew his forces into the castle, and in spite of the
+efforts of the besiegers managed to close the gates in their faces. The
+assailants, however, succeeded in severing the chains of the drawbridge
+before it could be raised.
+
+From the tower above, the defenders now hurled over great stones,
+which had been specially placed there for the purpose of destroying
+the drawbridge should the earthwork be carried. The boards were soon
+splintered, and the drawbridge was pronounced by the Earl of Talbot, who
+was acting as judge, to be destroyed. The excitement of the spectators
+was worked up to a great pitch while the conflict was going on, and the
+citizens cheered lustily at the success of the apprentices.
+
+"That was gallantly done," the king said to Queen Philippa, "and the
+leader of the assailants is a lad of rare mettle. Not a captain of
+my army, no, not Sir Walter Manny himself, could have done it more
+cleverly. You see, by placing his forces at the ends of the wall he drew
+all the garrison thither to withstand the assaults from them, and thus
+by his sudden movement he was able to carry the outwork before they
+could recover from their surprise, and come down to its aid. I am
+curious to know what he will do next. What thinkst thou, Edward?" he
+asked his son, who was standing by his side.
+
+"He will win the day," the young prince said; "and in faith, although
+the others are my comrades, I should be glad to see it. He will make a
+gallant knight, sir, one of these days, and remember he is engaged to
+follow my banner, so you must not steal him from me. See, my liege, they
+are taking planks and ladders to the outwork."
+
+"They are doing wrongly then," the king said, "for even should they
+bridge the moat where the drawbridge is, they cannot scale the wall
+there, since the tower defends it, and the ladders are but long enough
+to reach the lower wall. No, their leader has changed his mind, they are
+taking the planks along the edge of the moat towards the tower on the
+left, and will aid the assault by its bridge by a passage of the moat
+there."
+
+It seemed, indeed, that this was the plan. While some of the assailants
+kept up the arrow fire on the wall others mounted the tower, while a
+party prepared to throw a bridge of planks across the moat. The bridge
+from the tower was now lowered; but a shout of triumph rose from the
+defenders when it was seen that by some mistake of the carpenters this
+was too short, and when lowered did not reach within six feet of the
+wall.
+
+"All the better," the king said, while the prince gave an angry
+exclamation. "Accidents of this kind will happen, and give an
+opportunity to a leader to show his resources. Doubtless he will carry
+planks up to the tower and so connect the bridge and the wall."
+
+This, indeed, was what the assailants tried to do, while a party threw
+planks across the moat, and rushing over placed ladders against the
+wall and strove to climb. They strove in vain, however. The ladders were
+thrown down as fast as they were placed, while the defenders, thickly
+clustered on the walls, drove back those who tried to cross from the
+tower.
+
+"I do not see the leader of the assailants," the prince said.
+
+"He has a white plume, but it may have been shorn off," the king said.
+"Look, the young Pembroke is making a sortie!"
+
+From the sortie gate behind the tower the defenders now poured out,
+and running down to the edge of the moat fell upon the stormers. These,
+however, received them with great steadiness, and while some continued
+the attack the rest turned upon the garrison, and, headed by Ralph the
+smith, drove them gradually back.
+
+"They fight well and steadily," the king said. "One would have thought
+that they had reckoned on the sortie, so steadily did they receive it."
+
+As only a portion of the garrison had issued out they were unable to
+resist long the pressure of the apprentices, who drove them back step
+by step to the sally-port, and pressing them hard endeavoured to force
+their way in at their heels.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII: THE YOUNG ESQUIRE
+
+
+While the attention of the whole of the spectators and combatants was
+fixed upon the struggle at the right-hand angle of the castle, a party
+of twenty 'prentices suddenly leapt to their feet from among the
+broken palisades of the outwork. Lying prone there they had escaped the
+attention of the spectators as well as of the defenders. The reason
+why the assailants carried the planks and ladders to this spot was
+now apparent. Only a portion had been taken on to the assault of the
+right-hand tower; those who now rose to their feet lifted with them
+planks and ladders, and at a rapid pace ran towards the left angle
+of the castle, and reached that point before the attention of the few
+defenders who remained on the wall there was attracted to them, so
+absorbed were they in the struggle at the other angle. The moment that
+they saw the new assailants they raised a shout of alarm, but the din of
+the combat, the shouts of the leaders and men were so loud, that their
+cries were unheard. Two or three then hurried away at full speed to give
+the alarm, while the others strove to repel the assault. Their efforts
+were in vain. The planks were flung across the moat, the ladders placed
+in position, and led by Walter the assailants sprang up and gained a
+footing on the wall before the alarm was fairly given. A thundering
+cheer from the spectators greeted the success of the assailants.
+Springing along the wall they drove before them the few who strove to
+oppose them, gained the central tower, and Walter, springing up to the
+top, pulled down the banner of the defenders and placed that of the city
+in its place. At this moment the defenders, awakened too late to the
+ruse which had been played upon them, came swarming back along the wall
+and strove to regain the central tower. In the confusion the assault by
+the flying tower of the assailants was neglected, and at this point also
+they gained footing on the wall. The young nobles of the court, furious
+at being outwitted, fought desperately to regain their lost laurels. But
+the king rose from his seat and held up his hand. The trumpeter standing
+below him sounded the arrest of arms, which was echoed by two others who
+accompanied Earl Talbot, who had taken his place on horseback close to
+the walls. At the sound swords dropt and the din abruptly ceased, but
+the combatants stood glaring at each other, their blood too heated to
+relinquish the fray readily.
+
+Already much damage had been done. In spite of armour and mail many
+serious wounds had been inflicted, and some of the combatants had
+already been carried senseless from the field. Some of the assailants
+had been much shaken by being thrown backward from the ladders into
+the moat, one or two were hurt to death; but as few tourneys took place
+without the loss of several lives, this was considered but a small
+amount of damage for so stoutly fought a melee, and the knowledge
+that many were wounded, and some perhaps dying, in no way damped the
+enthusiasm of the spectators, who cheered lustily for some minutes at
+the triumph which the city had obtained. In the galleries occupied by
+the ladies and nobles of the court there was a comparative silence.
+But brave deeds were appreciated in those days, and although the ladies
+would far rather have seen the victory incline the other way, yet they
+waved their handkerchiefs and clapped their hands in token of their
+admiration at the success of an assault which, at the commencement,
+appeared well-nigh hopeless.
+
+Lord Talbot rode up to the front of the royal pavilion.
+
+"I was about to stop the fight, sire, when you gave the signal. Their
+blood was up, and many would have been killed had the combat continued.
+But the castle was fairly won, the central tower was taken and the flag
+pulled down, a footing had been gained at another point of the wall,
+and the assailants had forced their way through the sally-port. Further
+resistance was therefore hopeless, and the castle must be adjudged as
+fairly and honourably captured."
+
+A renewed shout greeted the judge's decision. The king now ordered the
+rival hosts to be mustered before him as before the battle, and when
+this was done Earl Talbot conducted Walter up the broad steps in front
+of the king's pavilion. Geoffrey Ward, who had, after fastening on
+Walter's armour in the tent, before the sports began, taken his place
+among the guards at the foot of the royal pavilion, stept forward and
+removed Walter's helmet at the foot of the steps.
+
+"Young sir," the king said, "you have borne yourself right gallantly
+today, and have shown that you possess the qualities which make a great
+captain. I do my nobles no wrong when I say that not one of them could
+have better planned and led the assault than you have done. Am I not
+right, sirs?" and he looked round. A murmur of assent rose from the
+knights and nobles, and the king continued: "I thought you vain and
+presumptuous in undertaking the assault of a fort held by an equal
+number, many of whom are well accustomed to war, while the lads who
+followed you were all untrained in strife, but you have proved that
+your confidence in yourself was not misplaced. The Earl of Talbot has
+adjudged you victor, and none can doubt what the end of the strife would
+have been. Take this chain from your king, who is glad to see that his
+citizens of London are able to hold their own even against those of our
+court, than whom we may say no braver exist in Europe. Kneel now to the
+queen of the tourney, who will bestow upon you the chaplet which you
+have so worthily earned."
+
+Walter bent his knee before Edith Vernon. She rose to her feet, and with
+an air of pretty dignity, placed a chaplet of laurel leaves, wrought in
+gold and clasped with a valuable ruby, on his head.
+
+"I present to you," she said, "the chaplet of victory, and am proud that
+my gage should have been worn by one who has borne himself so bravely
+and well. May a like success rest on all your undertakings, and may you
+prove a good and valiant knight!"
+
+"Well said, Mistress Edith," Queen Philippa said smiling. "You may well
+be proud of your young champion. I too must have my gift," and drawing a
+ring set with brilliants from her finger she placed it in Walter's hand.
+
+The lad now rose to his feet. "The prince my son," the king said, "has
+promised that you shall ride with his men-at-arms when he is old enough
+to take the field. Should you choose to abandon your craft and do so
+earlier I doubt not that one of my nobles, the brave Sir Walter Manny,
+for example, will take you before that time."
+
+"That will I readily enough," Sir Walter said, "and glad to have so
+promising a youth beneath my banner."
+
+"I would that you had been of gentle blood," the king said.
+
+"That makes no difference, sire," Sir Walter replied. "I will place him
+among the young gentlemen, my pages and esquires, and am sure that they
+will receive him as one of themselves."
+
+Geoffrey Ward had hitherto stood at the foot of the steps leading to
+the royal pavilion, but doffing his cap he now ascended. "Pardon my
+boldness, sire," he said to the king, "but I would fain tell you
+what the lad himself has hitherto been ignorant of. He is not, as he
+supposes, the son of Giles Fletcher, citizen and bowmaker, but is the
+lawfully born son of Sir Roland Somers, erst of Westerham and Hythe, who
+was killed in the troubles at the commencement of your majesty's reign.
+His wife, Dame Alice, brought the child to Giles Fletcher, whose wife
+had been her nurse, and dying left him in her care. Giles and his wife,
+if called for, can vouch for the truth of this, and can give you proofs
+of his birth."
+
+Walter listened with astonishment to Geoffrey's speech. A thrill of
+pleasure rushed through his veins as he learned that he was of gentle
+blood and might hope to aspire to a place among the knights of King
+Edward's court. He understood now the pains which Geoffrey had bestowed
+in seeing that he was perfected in warlike exercises, and why both he
+and Giles had encouraged rather than repressed his love for martial
+exercises and his determination to abandon his craft and become a
+man-at-arms when he reached man's estate.
+
+"Ah is it so?" the king exclaimed. "I remember Sir Roland Somers, and
+also that he was slain by Sir Hugh Spencer, who, as I heard on many
+hands, acted rather on a private quarrel than, as he alleged, in my
+interest, and there were many who avowed that the charges brought
+against Sir Roland were unfounded. However, this matter must be inquired
+into, and my High Justiciar shall see Master Giles and his wife, hear
+their evidence, and examine the proofs which they may bring forward.
+As to the estates, they were granted to Sir Jasper Vernon and cannot
+be restored. Nevertheless I doubt not that the youth will carve out for
+himself a fortune with his sword. You are his master, I suppose? I would
+fain pay you to cancel his apprenticeship. Sir Walter Manny has promised
+to enroll him among his esquires."
+
+"I will cancel his indentures willingly, my liege," the armourer
+answered, "and that without payment. The lad has been to me as a son,
+and seeing his high spirit, and knowing the gentle blood running in his
+veins, I have done my best so to teach him and so to put him in the way
+of winning back his father's rank by his sword."
+
+"He hath gone far towards it already," the king said, "and methinks
+may yet gain some share in his father's inheritance," and he glanced
+at little Mistress Edith Vernon and then smiled at the queen. "Well,
+we shall see," he went on. "Under Sir Walter Manny he will have brave
+chances of distinguishing himself, and when my son takes the field he
+shall ride with him. But I am keeping the hosts waiting. Bring hither,"
+he said to Earl Talbot, "Clarence Aylmer."
+
+The young noble was led up to the king. "You have done well, Clarence;
+though you have been worsted you fought bravely, but you were deceived
+by a ruse which might have taken in a more experienced captain. I trust
+that you will be friends with your adversary, who will be known to you
+henceforth as Walter Somers, son of Sir Roland of that name, and who
+will ride to the wars, whither you also are shortly bound, under the
+standard of Sir Walter Manny."
+
+The cloud which had hung over the face of the young noble cleared. It
+had indeed been a bitter mortification to him that he, the son of one
+of the proudest of English nobles, should have been worsted by a London
+apprentice, and it was a relief to him to find that his opponent was one
+of knightly blood. He turned frankly to Walter and held out his hand.
+"I greet you as a comrade, sir," he said, "and hope some day that in our
+rivalry in the field I may do better than I have done today."
+
+"That is well spoken," the king said. Then he rose and in a loud voice
+addressed the combatants, saying, that all had borne themselves well and
+bravely, and that he thanked them, not only for the rare pastime which
+they had made, but for the courage and boldness which had been displayed
+on both sides. So saying, he waved his hand as a token that the
+proceedings were ended, and returned with the court to Westminster;
+while the crowd of spectators overflowed the lists, those who had
+friends in the apprentice array being anxious to know how they had
+fared. That evening there was a banquet given by the lord-mayor.
+Walter was invited to be present, with Giles and Geoffrey, and many
+complimentary things were said to him, and he was congratulated on the
+prospects which awaited him. After dinner all the 'prentices who had
+taken part in the sports filed through the hall and were each presented
+with a gold piece by the lord-mayor, in the name of the corporation, for
+having so nobly sustained the renown of the city.
+
+After the entertainment was over Walter returned with Geoffrey to the
+bowyer's house, and there heard from his two friends and Bertha the
+details of his mother's life from the time that she had been a child,
+and the story of her arrival with him, and her death. He had still
+difficulty in believing that it was all true, that Giles and Bertha,
+whom he had so long regarded as father and mother, were only his kind
+guardians, and that he was the scion of two noble families. Very warmly
+and gratefully he thanked his three friends for the kindness which they
+had shown to him, and vowed that no change of condition should ever
+alter his feelings of affection towards them. It was not until the late
+hour of nine o'clock that he said goodbye to his foster parents, for he
+was next day to repair to the lodging of Sir Walter Manny, who was to
+sail again before the week was out for the Low Countries, from which he
+had only returned for a few days to have private converse with the king
+on the state of matters there. His friends would have delivered to him
+his mother's ring and other tokens which she had left, but thought it
+better to keep these, with the other proofs of his birth, until his
+claim was established to the satisfaction of the lord justiciaries.
+
+The next morning early, when Walter descended the stairs, he found Ralph
+Smith waiting for him. His face was strapped up with plaster and he wore
+his arm in a sling, for his armour had been twice cut through as he led
+his party in through the sally-port.
+
+"How goes it with you, Ralph?" Walter said. "Not much the worse, I hope,
+for your hard knocks?"
+
+"Not a whit," Ralph replied cheerfully, "and I shall be all right again
+before the week is out; but the leech made as much fuss over me as if I
+had been a girl, just as though one was not accustomed to hard knocks in
+a smithy. Those I got yesterday were not half so hard as that which you
+gave me the day before. My head rings yet with the thought of it. But I
+have not come to talk about myself. Is the story true which they tell of
+you, Master Walter, that you are not the son of Giles the bowyer, but of
+a great noble?"
+
+"Not of a great noble, Ralph, but of a gallant knight, which is just
+as good. My father was killed when I was three years old, and my mother
+brought me to Bertha, the wife of Giles the bowyer, who had been her
+nurse in childhood. I had forgotten all that had passed, and deemed
+myself the son of the good citizen, but since I have heard the truth my
+memory has awakened somewhat, and I have a dim recollection of a lordly
+castle and of my father and mother."
+
+"And they say, Walter, that you are going with Sir Walter Manny, with
+the force which is just sailing to the assistance of Lady De Montford."
+
+"That is so, Ralph, and the good knight has taken me among his esquires,
+young as I am, although I might well have looked for nothing better than
+to commence, for two years at least, as a page, seeing that I am but
+eighteen now. Now I shall ride with him into the battles and shall have
+as good a chance as the others of gaining honour and winning my spurs."
+
+"I have made up my mind that I will go with you, Master Walter, if you
+will take me; each squire has a man-at-arms who serves him, and I will
+give you good and faithful service if you will take me with you. I spoke
+to the smith, my master, last night when I heard the news, and as my
+apprenticeship is out next week he was willing enough to give me the
+few days which remain. Once out of my apprenticeship I may count to be
+a man, and seeing that I am nineteen, and as I may say well grown of
+my years, methinks I am fit for service as a man-at-arms, and I would
+rather fight behind you than labour all my life in the smithy."
+
+"I shall be glad indeed, Ralph, to have you with me if such be really
+your wish, and I do not think that Sir Walter Manny will say nay, for
+they have been beating up for recruits through the kingdom, and we
+proved yesterday that you have courage as well as strength. If he will
+consent I should be glad indeed to have so brave a comrade with me, so
+we may consider that settled, and if you will come down to Westminster,
+to Sir Walter Manny's lodging, this afternoon, I will tell you what he
+says touching the matter. You will, of course, need arms and armour."
+
+"I can provide that," Ralph replied, "seeing that his worshipful the
+lord-mayor bestowed upon me yesterday five gold pieces as the second in
+command in the sports. I have already a steel cap and breast and back
+pieces, which I have made for myself in hours of leisure, and warrant
+will stand as hard a knock as the Frenchmen can give them."
+
+Going across into the city with Geoffrey, Walter purchased, with the
+contents of the purse which the king had given him, the garments suited
+for his new position. He was fortunate in obtaining some which fitted
+him exactly. These had been made for a young esquire of the Earl of
+Salisbury; but the tailor, when he heard from Geoffrey for whom they
+were required, and the need for instant despatch, parted with them to
+Walter, saying that he for whom they were made could well wait a few
+days, and that he would set his journeymen to work at once to make some
+more of similar fit and fashion.
+
+Walter felt strange in his new attire, and by no means relished the
+tightness of the garments, which was strictly demanded by the fashion of
+the day. His long hose, one of which was of a deep maroon, the other
+a bright yellow, came far up above the knee, then came a short pair
+of trunks of similar colours divided in the middle. The tight-fitting
+doublet was short and circled at the waist by a buff belt mounted in
+silver, and was of the same colours as the hose and trunks. On his
+head was a cap, peaked in front; this was of maroon, with a short
+erect feather of yellow. The long-pointed shoes matched the rest of the
+costume. There were three other suits similar in fashion, but different
+in colour; two like the first were of cloth, the third was of white and
+blue silk, to be worn on grand occasions.
+
+
+"You look a very pretty figure, Walter," Geoffrey said, "and will be
+able to hold your own among the young gallants of the court. If you lack
+somewhat of courtly manners it will matter not at all, since you are
+leaving so soon for the wars.
+
+"The dress sets off your figure, which is fully two years in advance of
+your age, seeing that hard work has widened you out and thickened your
+muscles. I need not tell you, lad, not to be quarrelsome, for that was
+never your way; but just at first your companions may try some jests
+with you, as is always the manner of young men with newcomers, but take
+them in a good spirit and be sure that, seeing the strength of arm and
+skill which you showed yesterday and the day before, none will care to
+push matters with you unduly."
+
+One of the journeymen accompanied Walter to Westminster to carry up from
+the boat the valise with his clothes and the armour which he had worn
+in the sports. Sir Walter received the lad with much kindness and
+introduced him to his future companions. They were five in number;
+the eldest was a man of some thirty years old, a Hainaulter, who had
+accompanied Sir Walter Manny to England at the time when the latter
+first came over as a young squire in the suite of the Princess Philippa.
+He was devotedly attached to the knight, his master, and although he
+might several times have received the rank of knighthood for his bravery
+in the field, he preferred remaining in his position as esquire and
+faithful friend of his master.
+
+The other four were between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one, and all
+belonged to the families of the highest nobility of England, it being
+deemed a distinguished honour to be received as a squire by the most
+gallant knight at the court of England. Their duties were, as Walter
+soon learned, almost nominal, these being discharged almost exclusively
+by John Mervaux. Two of the young esquires, Richard Coningsby and Edward
+Clifford, had fought in the melee, having been among the ten leaders
+under Clarence Aylmer. They bore no malice for the defeat, but received
+Walter with cordiality and kindness, as did the other young men. Walter
+on his arrival acquainted the knight with Ralph's wish to follow him,
+and requested permission for him to do so. This was readily granted,
+Sir Walter Manny telling the lad that although esquires were supposed
+to wait entirely upon themselves, to groom their horses, and keep their
+armour and arms bright and in good order, yet, in point of fact, young
+men of good families had the greater part of these duties performed for
+them by a retainer who rode in the ranks of their master's following as
+a man-at-arms.
+
+"The other esquires have each one of their father's retainers with them,
+and I am glad that you should be in the same position. After you have
+taken your midday meal you had best go across to the Earl of Talbot's
+and inquire for the Lady Vernon, who is still staying with him. She told
+me at the king's ball last night that she wished to have speech with
+you, and I promised to acquaint you with her desire. By the way, dost
+know aught of riding?"
+
+"I have learnt to sit on a horse, Sir Walter," the lad answered. "My
+good friend Geoffrey, the armourer, advised that I should learn, and
+frequently hired from the horse-dealer an animal for my use. I have
+often backed half-broken horses which were brought up by graziers from
+Kent and Sussex for use in the wars. Many of them abode at the hostels
+at Southwark, and willingly enough granted me permission to ride their
+horses until they were sold. Thus I have had a good deal of practice,
+and that of a rough kind; and seeing that latterly the horses have, for
+the most part, found it difficult to fling me when sitting barebacked
+across them, I think I could keep my seat in the high-peaked saddles on
+the most vicious, but I have had no practice at tilting, or at the ring,
+or other knightly exercises."
+
+"That matters not at all," the knight said. "All these knightly
+exercises which you speak of are good in time of peace, for they give
+proficiency and steadiness, but in time of war he who can sit firmly
+in his saddle and wield sword and battle-axe lustily and skillfully is
+equal to the best; but never fear, when this expedition is over, and we
+have time for such things, I will see that you are instructed in them.
+One who has achieved so much martial skill as you have done at so early
+an age will have little difficulty in acquiring what may be termed the
+pastime of chivalry."
+
+Ralph arrived just as Walter was setting out. The latter presented
+him to the knight, who spoke with praise of the gallantry which he had
+displayed on the previous day, and then handed him over to John Mervaux,
+with instructions to enroll him as a man-at-arms among his followers, to
+inform him of his duties, and to place him with those who attended upon
+the other esquires.
+
+After seeing Ralph disposed of, Walter went across to the Earl of Talbot
+and was again conducted to the presence of Dame Vernon.
+
+"You have changed since we met last, young sir," she said with a smile,
+"though it is but a month since. Then you were a 'prentice boy, now you
+are an esquire of Sir Walter Manny, and on the highway to distinction.
+That you will win it I am well assured, since one who risked his life to
+rescue a woman and child whose very names were unknown to him is sure to
+turn out a noble and valiant knight. I little thought when my daughter
+called you her knight, that in so short a time you might become an
+aspirant to that honour. I hope that you do not look askance at us,
+now that you know I am in possession of the lands of your parents. Such
+changes of land, you know, often occur, but now I know who you are, I
+would that the estates bestowed upon Sir Jasper had belonged to some
+other than you; however, I trust that you will hold no grudge against
+us, and that you may win as fair an estate by the strength of your arm
+and the king's favour."
+
+"Assuredly I feel no grudge, madam," Walter replied, "and since the
+lands were forfeited, am pleased that of all people they should have
+gone to one so kind and so fair as yourself."
+
+"What, learning to be a flatterer already!" Dame Vernon laughed. "You
+are coming on fast, and I predict great things from you. And now, Edith,
+lay aside that sampler you are pretending to be so busy upon and speak
+to this knight of yours."
+
+Edith laid down her work and came forward. She was no longer the
+dignified little queen of the tournament, but a laughing, bright-faced
+girl.
+
+"I don't see that you are changed," she said, "except in your dress. You
+speak softly and naturally, just as you used to do, and not a bit like
+those little court fops, Uncle Talbot's pages. I am afraid you will
+not want to be my knight any more, now that you are going to get great
+honours at the war; for I heard my Uncle Talbot tell my lady mother that
+he was sure you would gain great credit for yourself."
+
+"I shall be always your knight," Walter said earnestly; "I told you I
+should, and I never break my word. That is," he went on, colouring, "if
+Dame Vernon makes no objection, as she well might."
+
+"If I did not object before, Walter," she said smiling, "why should I do
+so now?"
+
+"It is different, my lady; before, it was somewhat of a jest, a sort
+of childish play on the part of Mistress Edith, though so far as I was
+concerned it was no play, but sober earnest.
+
+"It needs no permission from me," Dame Vernon replied, "for you to wear
+my daughter's colours. Any knight may proclaim any lady he chooses the
+mistress of his heart, and a reigning beauty will often have a dozen
+young knights who wear her colours. However, I am well content that one
+who has done me such great service and who has shown such high promise
+should be the first to wear the gage of my little daughter, and if in
+after years your life fulfils the promise of your youth, and you remain
+true to her gage, there is none among all the youths of the court whom
+I would so gladly see at her feet. Remember," she said, as Walter was
+about to speak, "her hand will not be at my disposal, but at that of the
+king. His majesty is wont to bestow the hands of his wards upon those
+who most distinguish themselves in the field. You have already attracted
+his royal attention and commendation. Under Sir Walter Manny you will be
+sure of opportunities of distinguishing yourself, and the king may well
+be glad some day at once to reward your services and to repair a cruel
+injustice by bestowing upon you the hand of the heiress of your father's
+lands. If I mistake not, such a thought has even now crossed his
+majesty's mind, unless I misinterpreted a glance which yesterday passed
+between him and our sweet queen. I need not tell you to speak of your
+hopes to none, but let them spur you to higher exertions and nobler
+efforts. Loving my little Edith as I do, I naturally consider the prize
+to be a high one. I have often been troubled by the thought that her
+hand may be some day given to one by years or temper unsuited for
+her, and it will be a pleasure to me henceforth to picture her future
+connected with one who is, I am sure, by heart and nature fitted for
+her. And now, farewell, young sir. May God protect you in the field, and
+may you carry in the battle which awaits you the gage of my daughter as
+fairly and successfully as you did in the mimic fray of yesterday!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII: OFF TO THE WARS
+
+
+Two days later Walter started with Sir Walter Manny, with a large number
+of knights, squires, men-at-arms, and archers, for the Orwell. Walter
+was mounted, as were the other squires and men-at-arms, and indeed
+many of the archers. Ralph Smith, in the attire of a man-at-arms, rode
+behind.
+
+Walter was in the highest spirits. A brilliant career was open to him
+under the most favourable circumstances; he had already distinguished
+himself, and had gained the attention of the highest personages in the
+realm, his immediate lord was one of the bravest and most chivalrous
+knights in Europe, and he had to sustain and encourage him the hopes
+that Lady Vernon had given him, of regaining some day the patrimony of
+his father. It was a satisfaction to him that he was as well born as
+those who surrounded him, and his purse was well lined as any in the
+company. Although he had spent the largess which had been bestowed upon
+him at the tournament in procuring clothes fitted for his rank, he was
+yet abundantly supplied with money, for both Geoffrey Ward and Giles
+Fletcher, having no children of their own and being both well-to-do men,
+had insisted upon his accepting a sum which would enable him to make a
+good appearance with the best.
+
+A large number of squires followed the banner of Sir Walter Manny. The
+records of the time show that the barons were generally accompanied in
+the field by almost as many squires as men-at-arms. The former were men
+of good family, sons of knights and nobles, aspirants for the honour of
+knighthood, and sons of the smaller gentry. Many were there from pure
+love of a life of excitement and adventure, others in fulfilment of the
+feudal tenure by which all land was then held, each noble and landowner
+being obliged to furnish so many knights, squires, men-at-arms, and
+archers, in accordance with the size of his holding. The squires fought
+in the field in the front rank of the men-at-arms, save those who, like
+Walter, were attached to the person of their leader, and who in the
+field fought behind him or bore his orders to the companies under his
+banner.
+
+In the field all drew pay, and it may be interesting in the present
+day to know what were the rates for which our forefathers risked their
+lives. They were as follows: each horse archer received 6 deniers, each
+squire 12 deniers or 1 sol, each knight 2 sols, each knight banneret 4
+sols. 20 sols went to the pound, and although the exact value of money
+in those days relative to that which it bears at the present time is
+doubtful, it may be placed at twelve times the present value. Therefore
+each horse archer received an equivalent to 6s. a day, each squire 12s.,
+each knight 24s., and each knight banneret 48s. per day.
+
+Upon their arrival at the Orwell, where many troops from other parts
+had been gathered, the expedition at once embarked on board the numerous
+ships which had been collected. As that in which Sir Walter sailed also
+carried several of his knights there was not room for all his young
+esquires, and Walter and the three other juniors were told off into
+another ship. She was a smaller vessel than most of those which composed
+the expedition, and only carried twelve men-at-arms and as many archers,
+together with the four young squires, and a knight, Sir John Powis, who
+was in command of the whole.
+
+"Your craft is but a small one," the knight said to the captain.
+
+"She is small, but she is fast," the latter answered. "She would sail
+round and round the best part of the fleet. I had her built according to
+my own fancy. Small though she be, I warrant you she will be one of the
+first to arrive at Hennebon, and the sooner the better say I, since I am
+but paid by the trip, and would fain be back again at my regular work.
+It pays better carrying merchants' goods between London and Holland than
+taking his majesty's troops over to France."
+
+"Your speed will not be of much avail," Sir John Powis said, "seeing
+that the fleet will keep together."
+
+"Yes, I know that is the order," the captain answered; "but accidents
+happen sometimes, you know"--and his eye twinkled. "Vessels get
+separated from fleets. If they happen to be slow ones so much the worse
+for those on board; if they happen to be fast ones so much the better,
+seeing that those they carry will arrive long before their comrades, and
+may be enabled to gain credit and renown while the others are whistling
+for a wind in mid-ocean. However, we shall see."
+
+The next morning the fleet sailed from the Orwell. It contained 620
+men-at-arms, among whom were many of the noblest and bravest of the
+country, and 6000 picked archers in the pay of the king. The whole were
+commanded by Sir Walter. The scene was a very gay one. The banners of
+the nobles and knights floated from the lofty poops, and the sun shone
+on bright armour and steel weapons. Walter, who had never seen the
+sea before, was delighted. The wind was fair, and the vessels glided
+smoothly along over the sea. At evening the knight and his four young
+companions gathered in the little cabin, for it was in the first week in
+March, and the night was cold.
+
+"Will you please tell me, Sir John," Walter said to the knight, "the
+merits of this quarrel in which we are going to fight? I know that we
+are going in aid of the Countess of Montford; but why she is in a sore
+strait I know not."
+
+"The matter is a mixed one, Walter, and it requires a herald to tell you
+all the subtleties of it. John III, Duke of Brittany, was present with
+his liege lord, Phillip of Valois, in the last war with England, on the
+border of the low country. When the English retired from before Tournay
+Phillip dismissed his nobles. The Duke of Burgundy was taken ill, and
+died at Caen, in Normandy, on the 30th of April, 1341. Arthur II, his
+father, had been twice married. By his first wife he had three sons,
+John, Guy, and Peter. John and Peter left no issue. Guy, who is also
+dead, left a daughter, Joan. By his second wife, Jolande de Dieux, Duke
+Arthur had one son, John, Count of Montford. Thus it happened, that
+when Duke John died, his half-brother, the Count of Montford, and
+Joan, daughter of his second brother Guy, were all that survived of
+the family. These were the rival claimants for the vacant dukedom. In
+England we have but one law of succession, which rules through the whole
+land. In France it is different. There the law of succession depends
+entirely upon the custom of the county, dukedom, or lordship, which is
+further affected both by the form of grant by which the territory was
+conveyed to its first feudal possessors and by the mode in which the
+province had been acquired by the kings of France. This is important,
+as upon these circumstances alone it depended whether the son or the
+granddaughter of Arthur II should inherit the dukedom.
+
+"Joan claimed the duchy as the daughter of the elder brother. The Salic
+law of France, which barred females from the right of succession, and in
+virtue of which Philip of Valois succeeded to the throne instead of King
+Edward, certainly did not obtain in Brittany. Duke John regarded Joan as
+his heiress, and married her to Charles of Blois, nephew of the King of
+France, thus strengthening her in her position; and he also induced
+the provincial parliament of Brittany to acknowledge her husband as his
+successor in the dukedom. Altogether it would seem that right is upon
+Joan's side; but, on the other hand, the Count of Montford is the son
+of Jolande, a great heiress in Brittany. He is an active and energetic
+noble. The Bretons love not too close a connection with France, and
+assuredly prefer to be ruled by a duke whom they regard as one of
+themselves rather than by Charles of Blois, nephew of the French
+king. Directly Duke John was dead the Count of Montford claimed the
+inheritance. Assuming the title of duke he rode to Nantes, where the
+citizens did him homage, and then proceeded to Limoges with a large
+train of men-at-arms, and there took possession of the immense treasures
+which the late duke had accumulated in the course of a long and tranquil
+reign. With these sinews of war at his command he turned to Nantes,
+where he had left his wife the countess, who was a sister of the Count
+of Flanders. He immediately invited the nobility of Brittany to a grand
+banquet, but only one knight of any renown presented himself at the
+feast, the rest all holding aloof. With the wealth of which he had
+possessed himself he levied large forces and took the field. He first
+marched against Brest, where the garrison, commanded by Walter de
+Clisson, refused to acknowledge him. After three days' hard fighting the
+place was taken. Rennes was next besieged, and presently surrendered.
+Other towns fell into his hands, and so far as Brittany was concerned
+all opposition, except in one or two fortresses, ceased. In the
+meanwhile Charles of Blois sought assistance from his uncle the King
+of France; the Count de Montford, therefore, crossed to England and
+besought the aid of King Edward, and did homage to him as King of
+France. Edward, on his part, promised to assist him. The fact that
+Phillip was sure to espouse the opposite side was in itself sufficient
+to decide him; besides which, the dukes of Brittany have always been in
+a special way connected with England and bear the English title of Earls
+of Richmond.
+
+"Believing that his journey, which had been a secret one, was unknown to
+the King of France, De Montford went boldly to Paris, where he had been
+summoned by the king to an assembly of peers called to decide upon the
+succession. He found, however, that Phillip had already obtained news
+of his journey to England. His manner convinced De Montford that it was
+unsafe to remain in Paris, and he secretly made his escape. Fifteen days
+afterwards the peers gave judgment in favour of Charles of Blois. The
+Dukes of Normandy, Burgundy, and Bourbon, the Counts of Alencon, Eu, and
+Guisnes, and many other French nobles, prepared to lead an army into
+the field to support Charles, and the king added a body of 3000 Genoese
+mercenaries in his pay.
+
+"Knowing the storm that was preparing to break upon him, De Montford put
+every town and castle in a state of defence. He himself, confiding in
+the affection of the inhabitants of Nantes, remained in that city, while
+his wife repaired to Rennes.
+
+"The Duke of Normandy advanced from Angiers with an army of 5000
+men-at-arms and a numerous infantry, and after capturing the castle of
+Chantoceaux marched to Nantes and laid siege to the city. A sortie was
+made by the besieged, led by Henry de Leon, but, being attacked by the
+whole of the French army, they were driven back into the town, a great
+many of the citizens being killed. A warm altercation took place between
+Henry de Leon and De Montford, who attributed to him the evil result
+of the sortie. The result was that a large number of the citizens whose
+friends had been captured by the French conspired to deliver up the
+place to Charles of Blois, and Henry de Leon also entered into private
+negotiations with the Duke of Normandy. De Montford, finding that he
+could rely neither upon the citizens nor the soldiers, surrendered to
+the duke on condition that his life was spared. He was sent to Paris,
+where he still remains a prisoner. Winter was coming on, and after
+putting Nantes in a fresh state of defence and leaving Charles of Blois
+there, the Duke of Normandy dismissed his forces, engaging them to
+reassemble in the spring. Had he pushed on at once he would have
+experienced no resistance, so great was the panic which the surrender
+of Nantes and the capture of De Montford had caused among the latter's
+partisans.
+
+"In Rennes, especially, the deepest despondency was felt. The countess,
+however, showed the greatest courage and firmness. Showing herself,
+with her infant in her arms, she appealed to the citizens, and by her
+courageous bearing inspired them with new hopes. Having restored
+heart at Rennes she traveled from garrison to garrison throughout the
+province, and filled all with vigour and resolution. Feeling, however,
+the hopelessness of her struggle against all France, she despatched Sir
+Almeric de Clisson, who had lately joined her party, to England, to ask
+the aid which the king had promised. He arrived a month since, and, as
+you see, our brave king has not been long in despatching us to her aid;
+and now, youngsters, to bed, for methinks that the sea is rougher than
+it was and that the wind is getting up."
+
+"Aye, that is it," the captain, who heard the knight's closing words,
+exclaimed. "We are in for a storm, and a heavy one, or my name is not
+Timothy Martin, and though with plenty of sea-room the Kitty makes not
+much ado about a storm more or less, it's a very different thing in the
+middle of a fleet of lubberly craft, which may run one down at any time.
+I shall edge out of them as soon as I can, you may be sure."
+
+Before morning a serious gale was blowing, and for the next three or
+four days Walter and his companions knew nothing of what was going on.
+Then the storm abated, and they staggered out from their cabin. The sea
+was still high, but the sun shone brightly overhead. In front of them
+the land was visible. They looked round, but to their astonishment not a
+sail was in sight.
+
+"Why, where is the fleet?" Walter exclaimed in astonishment.
+
+"Snug in the Thames, I reckon," the captain said. "Soon after the storm
+came on one of the sailors pretended he saw the lights of recall on the
+admiral's ship; but I was too busy to look that way, I had enough to do
+to look after the safety of the ship. Anyhow, I saw no more of them."
+
+"And what land is that ahead?" Walter asked.
+
+"That is Brittany, young sir, and before nightfall we shall be in the
+port of Hennebon; as to the others, it may be days and it may be weeks
+before they arrive."
+
+The lads were not sorry at the chance which had taken them to their
+destination before their companions and had given them a chance of
+distinguishing themselves. Late in the afternoon the ship dropped anchor
+off the castle of Hennebon, and Sir John Powis and his following were
+conveyed in the ship's boats to shore. The countess received them most
+graciously, and was delighted at the news that so strong a force was on
+its way to her aid.
+
+"In the absence of Sir Walter Manny, madam, I place myself and my men at
+your orders. Our horses will be landed the first thing in the morning,
+and we will then ride whithersoever you may bid us."
+
+"Thanks, Sir John," the countess replied. "In that case I would that
+you ride by Rennes, towards which the army of the Duke of Normandy is
+already advancing. The garrison there is commanded by Sir William of
+Caddoudal, a good and valiant knight."
+
+The horses were landed on the following morning, and accompanied by
+the four young squires and the men-at-arms, and followed by the twenty
+archers on foot, Sir John Powis set out for Rennes. They arrived there,
+but just in time, for the assailants were closing round the city. They
+were received with the greatest cordiality by the governor, who assigned
+apartments to Sir John and the squires, and lodged the men-at-arms and
+archers near them.
+
+
+In a day or two the whole of the French army came up, and the siege
+commenced. Sir John Powis, at his own request, was posted with his men
+for the defence of a portion of the wall which was especially open to
+the assaults of the enemy. These soon commenced in earnest, and the
+Genoese and Spanish mercenaries endeavoured to carry the place by
+assault. Sometimes one point would be attacked, at others points far
+distant. Covered by the fire of the French crossbowmen, the Spaniards
+and Germans came on to the assault, carrying ladders, with which they
+strove to climb the walls, but the defenders plied them so vigorously
+with quarrels from their cross-bows and flights of arrows that they
+frequently desisted before reaching the walls. When they pushed on, and
+strove to ascend, their luck was no better. Great stones were hurled
+down, and boiling oil poured upon them. The ladders were flung back, and
+many crushed by the fall, and in none of the assaults did they gain any
+footing in the town. Machines were used, but these were not sufficiently
+powerful to batter down the walls, and at the end of April the city was
+as far from being captured as it was on the day of the commencement of
+the siege.
+
+Walter bore his full share in the fighting, but he had no opportunity
+of especially distinguishing himself, although Sir John several times
+commended him for his coolness when the bolts of the crossbow-men and
+the stones from the machines were flying most thickly. But although as
+yet uninjured by the enemy's attacks, the prospect of the city holding
+out was not bright. The burghers, who had at first fought valiantly,
+were soon wearied of the strife, and of the hardships it entailed upon
+them. The siege had continued but a short time when they began to murmur
+loudly. The force under the command of the governor was but a small
+one, and it would have been impossible for him to resist the will of
+the whole population. For a time his exhortations and entreaties were
+attended with success, and the burghers returned to their positions on
+the walls; but each time the difficulty became greater, and it was
+clear to Caddoudal and Sir John Powis that ere long the citizens would
+surrender the place in spite of them. The English knight was furious at
+the cowardliness of the citizens, and proposed to the governor to summon
+twenty of the leading burghers, and to hang them as a lesson to the
+others; but the governor shook his head.
+
+"I have but two hundred men on whom I can rely, including your
+following, Sir John. We could not keep down the inhabitants for an hour;
+and were we to try to do so, they would open the gates and let in the
+French. No; I fear that we must await the end."
+
+The following morning Sir John was awoke with the news that in the night
+Caddoudal had been seized and thrown into prison by the burghers, and
+that a deputation of citizens had already gone out through the gate to
+treat with the Duke of Normandy for the surrender of the city.
+
+The English knight was furious, but with his little band he could do
+nothing, especially as he found that a strong guard of burghers had been
+placed at the door of the apartments occupied by him and the esquires,
+and he was informed that he must consider himself a prisoner until the
+conclusion of the negotiations.
+
+Cowardly and faithless as the burghers of Rennes showed themselves to
+be, they nevertheless stipulated with the Duke of Normandy, as one of
+the conditions of the surrender, that Caddoudal, Sir John Powis, and the
+troops under them should be permitted to pass through the French lines
+and go whithersoever they would. These terms were accepted. At mid-day
+the governor was released, and he with his men-at-arms and the band of
+Englishmen filed out from the city gate, and took their way unmolested
+through the lines of the French army to Hennebon.
+
+They had been for a month in ignorance of all that had passed outside
+the walls, and had from day to day been eagerly looking for the arrival
+of Sir Walter Manny with his army to their relief. Once past the French
+lines they inquired of the peasantry, and heard to their surprise that
+the English fleet had not yet arrived.
+
+"We were in luck indeed," Walter said to his companions, "that Captain
+Timothy Martin was in a hurry to get back to his tradings with the
+Flemings. Had he not been so, we should all this time have been kicking
+our heels and fretting on board a ship."
+
+On nearing Hennebon, Sir William Caddoudal, with Sir John Powis and the
+squires, rode forward and met the countess. They were the first bearers
+of the news of the surrender of Rennes, and the countess was filled with
+consternation at the intelligence. However, after her first burst of
+indignation and regret had passed, she put a brave face on it.
+
+"They shall meet with another reception at Hennebon," she said. "This
+is but a small place, and my garrison here, and the soldiers you have
+brought, will well-nigh outnumber the burghers; and we need have no fear
+of such faintheartedness as that which has given Nantes and Rennes into
+the hands of my enemy. The English aid cannot tarry long. Until it come
+we can assuredly hold the place."
+
+All was now bustle in Hennebon. Sir John Powis took charge of a part of
+the walls, and busied himself with his men in placing the machines in
+position, and in preparing for defence. The countess, attired in armour,
+rode through the streets haranguing the townspeople. She urged the men
+to fight till the last, and bade the women and girls cut short their
+dresses so that they could the better climb the steps to the top of the
+walls, and that one and all should carry up stones, chalk, and baskets
+of lime to be cast down upon the assailants. Animated by her words and
+gestures, the townspeople set to work, and all vied with each other,
+from the oldest to the youngest, in carrying up stores of missiles to
+the walls. Never did Hennebon present such a scene of life and bustle.
+It seemed like an ant-hill which a passer-by has disturbed.
+
+Absorbed in their work, none had time to think of the dangers which
+threatened them, and a stranger would rather have thought from their
+cheerful and animated countenances that they were preparing for a
+great fete than for a siege by an army to which the two chief towns in
+Brittany had succumbed.
+
+Ere long the French army was seen approaching. The soldiers, who had
+been labouring with the rest, buckled on their armour. The citizens
+gathered on the walls to hurl down the piles of stones which had been
+collected, and all prepared for the assault.
+
+"Sir John Powis," the countess said, "I pray you to grant me one of your
+esquires, who may attend me while I ride about, and may bear my messages
+for me. He will not be idle, nor will he escape his share of the
+dangers; for, believe me, I do not intend to hide myself while you and
+your brave soldiers are fighting for me.
+
+"Willingly, lady," Sir John answered. "Here is Walter Somers, the son of
+a good knight, and himself brave and prudent beyond his years; he will,
+I am sure, gladly devote himself to your service."
+
+The French, encouraged by their successes, thought that it would be a
+comparatively easy task to capture so small a place as Hennebon, and as
+soon as their camp was pitched they moved forward to the attack.
+
+"Come with me, Master Somers," the countess said. "I will mount to one
+of the watch-towers, where we may see all that passes."
+
+Walter followed her, and marvelled to see the lightness and agility with
+which the heroic countess, although clad in armour, mounted the rickety
+ladders to the summit of the watch-tower. The French bowmen opened
+a heavy fire upon the walls, which was answered by the shafts of the
+little party of English bowmen. These did much execution, for the
+English archers shot far harder and straighter than those of France,
+and it was only the best armour which could keep out their cloth-yard
+shafts. So small a body, however, could not check the advance of so
+large a force, and the French swarmed up to the very foot of the walls.
+
+"Well done, my men!" the countess exclaimed, clapping her hands, as a
+shower of heavy rocks fell among the mass of the assailants, who were
+striving to plant their ladders, crushing many in their fall; "but you
+are not looking, Master Somers. What is it that you see in yonder camp
+to withdraw your attention from such a fight?"
+
+"I am thinking, Countess, that the French have left their camp
+altogether unguarded, and that if a body of horse could make a circuit
+and fall upon it, the camp, with all its stores, might be destroyed
+before they could get back to save it."
+
+"You are right, young sir," the countess exclaimed, "and it shall be
+done forthwith."
+
+So saying, she descended the stairs rapidly and mounted her horse,
+which stood at the foot of the tower; then riding through the town, she
+collected a party of about three hundred men, bidding all she met mount
+their horses and join her at the gate on the opposite side to that on
+which the assault was taking place. Such as had no horses she ordered
+to take them from those in her own stables. Walter was mounted on one of
+the best of the count's chargers. Immediately the force was collected,
+the gate was opened and the countess rode forth at their head. Making a
+considerable detour, the party rode without being observed into the rear
+of the French camp. Here only a few servants and horse-boys were found,
+these were at once killed or driven out; then all dismounting, set fire
+to the tents and stores; and ere the French were aware of what was going
+on, the whole of their camp was in flames. As soon as the conflagration
+was perceived, the French commanders drew off their men from the attack,
+and all ran at full speed towards the camp.
+
+"We cannot regain the town," the countess said; "we will ride to Auray
+at full speed, and re-enter the castle when best we may."
+
+Don Louis of Spain, who with a considerable following was fighting
+in the French ranks, hearing from the flying camp followers that the
+countess herself was at the head of the party which had destroyed the
+camp, instantly mounted, and with a large number of horsemen set off in
+hot pursuit. A few of the countess's party who were badly mounted were
+overtaken and slain, but the rest arrived safely at Auray, when the
+gates were shut in the face of their pursuers.
+
+The blow was a heavy one for the besiegers, but they at once proceeded
+to build huts, showing that they had no intention of relinquishing the
+siege. Spies were sent from Auray, and these reported that the new
+camp was established on the site of the old one, and that the French
+evidently intended to renew the attack upon the side on which they had
+first commenced, leaving the other side almost unwatched.
+
+Accordingly, on the fifth day after leaving the town, the countess
+prepared to return. Except Walter, none were informed of her intention,
+as she feared that news might be taken to the French camp by friends of
+Charles of Blois; but as soon as it was nightfall, and the gates were
+shut, the trumpet sounded to horse. In a few minutes the troop assembled
+in the market-place, and the countess, accompanied by Walter, placing
+herself at their head, rode out from the town. The strictest silence was
+observed. On nearing the town all were directed to dismount, to tear
+up the horse-cloths, and to muffle the feet of their horses. Then the
+journey was resumed, and so careless was the watch kept by the French
+that they passed through the sentries unobserved, and reached in
+safety the gate from which they had issued. As they neared it they were
+challenged from the walls, and a shout of joy was heard when Walter
+replied that the countess herself was present. The gates were opened
+and the party entered. The news of their return rapidly ran through the
+town, and the inhabitants, hastily attiring themselves, ran into the
+streets, filled with joy. Much depression had been felt during her
+absence, and few had entertained hopes that she would be able to
+re-enter the town. She had brought with her from Auray two hundred men,
+in addition to the party that had sallied out.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX: THE SIEGE OF HENNEBON
+
+
+The besiegers of Hennebon were greatly discouraged at the success of the
+enterprise of the countess. They had already attempted several desperate
+assaults, but had each time been repulsed with very heavy loss. They
+now sent to Rennes for twelve of the immense machines used in battering
+walls, which had been left behind there on a false report of the
+weakness of Hennebon. Pending the arrival of these, Charles of Blois,
+with one division of the army, marched away to attack Auray, leaving Don
+Louis to carry on the siege with a force considered amply sufficient to
+compel its surrender after the arrival of the battering machines.
+
+In a few days these arrived and were speedily set to work, and immense
+masses of stone were hurled at the walls.
+
+Walter continued to act as the countess's especial squire. She had
+informed Sir William Caddoudal and Sir John Powis that it was at his
+suggestion that she had made the sudden attack upon the French camp, and
+he had gained great credit thereby.
+
+The effect of the new machines was speedily visible. The walls crumbled
+under the tremendous blows, and although the archers harassed by their
+arrows the men working them, the French speedily erected screens which
+sheltered them from their fire. The spirits of the defenders began to
+sink rapidly, as they saw that in a very short time great breaches would
+be made in the walls, and that all the horrors and disasters of a city
+taken by assault awaited them. The Bishop of Quimper who was within the
+walls, entered into secret negotiations with his nephew, Henry de Leon,
+who had gone over to the enemy after the surrender of Nantes, and was
+now with the besieging army. The besiegers, delighted to find an ally
+within the walls who might save them from the heavy losses which
+an assault would entail upon them, at once embraced his offers, and
+promised him a large recompense if he would bring over the other
+commanders and nobles. The wily bishop set to work, and the consequences
+were soon visible. Open grumbling broke forth at the hardships which
+were endured, and at the prospect of the wholesale slaughter which would
+attend a storm when all hope of a successful resistance was at an end.
+
+"I fear, Walter," Sir John said one morning, "that the end is at hand.
+On all sides submission is spoken of, and all that I can say to keep up
+their spirits is useless. Upon our own little band we can rely, but
+I doubt if outside them a single determined man is to be found in the
+town. In vain do I speak of the arrival of Sir Walter Manny. Nearly
+ninety days have elapsed since we sailed, and all hope of his coming
+is gone. I point out to them that contrary winds have been blowing, and
+that at any moment he may arrive; but they will not hear me. The bishop
+has gained over the whole of them by his promises that none shall be
+molested in property or estate should they surrender."
+
+"It is sad to see the countess," Walter replied; "she who has shown
+such high spirit throughout the siege now does nothing but weep, for she
+knows that with her and her child in the hands of the French the cause
+of the count is lost. If she could carry off the child by sea she would
+not so much care for the fall of the town, but the French ships lie
+thick round the port, and there is no hope of breaking through."
+
+Two days later the conspiracy came to a head, and the people, assembling
+round the countess's house, clamoured for surrender. The breaches were
+open, and the enemy might pour in at any time and put all to the
+sword. The countess begged for a little further delay, but in vain, and
+withdrew to the turret where she had for so many weary weeks watched the
+horizon, in hopes of seeing the sails of the approaching fleet. Walter
+was at the time with Sir John Powis on the walls.
+
+Presently a large body of French were seen approaching headed by Henry
+de Leon, who summoned the town to surrender. Many standing on the walls
+shouted that the gates should be thrown open; but Sir John returned for
+answer that he must consult the countess, and that upon her answer must
+depend whether he and his men would defend the breach until the last.
+
+"Come with me, Walter," he said, "we must fain persuade the countess. If
+she says no, we Englishmen will die in the breach; but though ready
+to give my life for so brave a lady, I own that it is useless to fight
+longer. Save our own little band not one in the town will lift a sword
+again. Such resistance as we can offer will but inflame them to fury,
+and all the horrors of a sack will be inflicted upon the inhabitants.
+There she is, poor lady, on the turret, gazing, as usual, seaward."
+
+Suddenly they saw her throw up her arms, and then, turning towards the
+city, she cried, as she perceived the English knight: "I see them! I see
+them! The English fleet are coming!"
+
+"Run up, Walter," Sir John exclaimed, "maybe the countess is distraught
+with her sorrows."
+
+Walter dashed up to the turret, and looking seaward beheld rising over
+the horizon a number of masts.
+
+"Hurrah! Sir John," he shouted, "we are saved, the English fleet is in
+sight."
+
+Many others heard the shout, and the tidings ran like lightning through
+the town. In wild excitement the people ran to the battlements and
+roofs, and with cheering and clapping of hands hailed the appearance of
+the still far-distant fleet. The church bells rang out joyfully and the
+whole town was wild with excitement.
+
+The Bishop of Quimper, finding that his plans were frustrated, gathered
+around him some of those who had taken a leading part in the intrigue.
+These, leaving the city by a gate at which they had placed some of their
+own faction to open it to the French, issued out and made their way to
+the assailants' camp, to give news of the altered situation. Don Louis
+at once ordered an attack to be made with his whole force, in hopes
+of capturing the place before the arrival of the English succour. But,
+animated by their new hopes, those so lately despondent and ready to
+yield manned the breaches and repulsed with great slaughter all attempts
+on the part of the French to carry them. While the struggle was still
+going on, the countess, aided by the wives of the burghers, busied
+herself in preparing a sumptuous feast in honour of her deliverers who
+were fast approaching, their ships impelled by a strong and favourable
+breeze. The vessels of the French hastily drew off, and the English
+fleet sailed into the port hailed by the cheers of the inhabitants.
+The countess herself received Sir Walter Manny on his landing, and
+the townspeople vied with each other in offering hospitality to the
+men-at-arms and archers.
+
+"Ah! Sir John Powis," Sir Walter exclaimed, "what, are you here? I had
+given you up for lost. We thought you had gone down in the gale the
+night you started."
+
+"We were separated from the fleet, Sir Walter, but the master held on,
+and we arrived here four days after we put out. We took part in the
+siege of Rennes, and have since done our best to aid the countess here."
+
+"And their best has been much," the countess said; "not to say how
+bravely they have fought upon the walls, it is to Sir John and his
+little band that I owe it that the town was not surrendered days ago.
+They alone remained steadfast when all others fell away, and it is due
+to them that I am still able, as mistress of this town, to greet you on
+your arrival. Next to Sir John himself, my thanks are due to your young
+esquire, Walter Somers, who has cheered and stood by me, and to whose
+suggestions I owe it that I was able at the first to sally out and
+destroy the French camp while they were attacking the walls, and so
+greatly hindered their measures against the town. And now, sir, will you
+follow me? I have prepared for you and your knights such a banquet of
+welcome as our poor means will allow, and my townspeople will see that
+good fare is set before your soldiers."
+
+That evening there was high feasting in the town, although the crash
+of the heavy stones cast by the French machines against the walls never
+ceased. Early the next morning Sir Walter Manny made a survey of the
+place and of the disposition of the enemy, and proposed to his knights
+to sally forth at once and destroy the largest of the enemy's machines,
+which had been brought up close to the walls. In a few minutes the
+knights were armed and mounted. Three hundred knights and esquires were
+to take part in the sortie, they were to be followed by a strong body of
+men-at-arms.
+
+As soon as the gates were opened a number of archers issued out, and
+taking their place at the edge of the moat, poured a rain of arrows upon
+the men working the machine and those guarding it. Most of these took to
+flight at once, the remainder were cut down by the men-at-arms, who at
+once proceeded to hew the machine in pieces with the axes with which
+they were provided. Sir Walter himself and his mounted companions
+dashed forward to the nearer tents of the French camps, cut down all who
+opposed them, and setting fire to the huts retired towards the city.
+
+By this time the French were thoroughly alarmed, and numbers of knights
+and men-at-arms dashed after the little body of English cavalry. These
+could have regained the place in safety, but in the chivalrous spirit of
+the time they disdained to retire without striking a blow. Turning their
+horses, therefore, and laying their lances in rest, they charged the
+pursuing French.
+
+For a few minutes the conflict was desperate and many on both sides were
+overthrown; then, as large reinforcements were continually arriving
+to the French, Sir Walter called off his men and retired slowly.
+On reaching the moat he halted his forces. The knights wheeled and
+presented a firm face to the enemy, covering the entrance of their
+followers into the gate. The French chivalry thundered down upon the
+little body, but were met by a storm of arrows from the archers lining
+the moat. Many knights were struck through the bars of their vizors or
+the joints of their mail. The horses, though defended by iron trappings,
+fell dead under them, or, maddened by pain, dashed wildly through the
+ranks, carrying confusion with them, and the French commanders, seeing
+how heavy were their losses, called off their men from the assault. Sir
+Walter Manny with his party remained without the gate until the
+enemy had re-entered their camp, and then rode into the town amid
+the acclamations of the inhabitants, the countess herself meeting her
+deliverers at the gate and kissing each, one after the other, in token
+of her gratitude and admiration.
+
+The arrival of the reinforcements and the proof of skill and vigour
+given by the English leader, together with the terror caused by the
+terrible effect of the English arrows, shook the resolution of Don Louis
+and his troops. Deprived of half their force by the absence of Charles
+of Blois, it was thought prudent by the leaders to withdraw at once, and
+the third morning after the arrival of Sir Walter Manny the siege was
+raised, and the French marched to join Charles of Blois before the
+Castle of Auray.
+
+Even with the reinforcements brought by Sir Walter Manny, the forces of
+the Countess of Montford were still so greatly inferior to those of the
+divisions of the French army that they could not hope to cope with them
+in the field until the arrival of the main English army, which the King
+of England himself was to bring over shortly. Accordingly the French
+laid siege to and captured many small towns and castles. Charles of
+Blois continued the siege of Auray, and directed Don Louis with his
+division to attack the town of Dinan. On his way the Spaniard captured
+the small fortress of Conquet and put the garrison to the sword. Sir
+Walter Manny, in spite of the inferiority of his force, sallied out
+to relieve it, but it was taken before his arrival, and Don Louis had
+marched away to Dinan, leaving a small garrison in Conquet. It was again
+captured by Sir Walter, but finding it indefensible he returned with
+the whole of his force to Hennebon. Don Louis captured Dinan and then
+besieged Guerande. Here he met with a vigorous resistance, but carried
+it by storm, and gave it up to be pillaged by his soldiers. He now
+sent back to Charles of Blois the greater part of the French troops
+who accompanied him, and embarked with the Genoese and Spanish, 8000
+in number, and sailed to Quimperle, a rich and populous town in Lower
+Brittany.
+
+Anchoring in the River Leita, he disembarked his troops, and leaving
+a guard to protect the vessels marched to the interior, plundering
+and burning, and from time to time despatching his booty to swell
+the immense mass which he had brought in his ships from the sack of
+Guerande.
+
+Quimperle lies but a short distance from Hennebon, and Sir Walter Manny
+with Almeric de Clisson, a number of English knights, and a body of
+English archers, in all three thousand men, embarked in the ships in
+the port, and entering the Leita captured the enemy's fleet and all his
+treasure. The English then landed, and dividing into three bodies, set
+out in search of the enemy.
+
+The English columns marched at a short distance apart so as to be able
+to give each other assistance in case of attack. The news of the English
+approach soon reached the Spaniards, who were gathered in a solid body,
+for the enraged country people, armed with clubs and bills, hung on
+their flanks and cut off any stragglers who left the main body. Don
+Louis at once moved towards the sea-coast, and coming in sight of one of
+the English divisions, charged it with his whole force.
+
+The English fought desperately, but the odds of seven to one were
+too great, and they would have been overpowered had not the other two
+divisions arrived on the spot and fallen upon the enemy's flanks.
+After a severe and prolonged struggle the Genoese and Spaniards were
+completely routed. The armed peasantry slew every fugitive they could
+overtake, and of the 7000 men with whom Don Louis commenced the battle
+only 300 accompanied him in his flight to Rennes, the troops of Sir
+Walter and de Clisson pursuing him to the very gates of that city. Sir
+Walter marched back with his force to the ships, but finding the wind
+unfavourable returned to Hennebon by land, capturing by the way the
+castle of Goy la Foret. Their return was joyfully welcomed, not only
+for the victory which they had achieved, but because the enemy was again
+drawing near to the town. Auray had fallen. The brave garrison, after
+existing for some time upon the flesh of their horses, had endeavoured
+to cut their way through the besiegers. Most of them were killed in the
+attempt, but a few escaped and made their way to Hennebon.
+
+Vannes, an important town, and Carhaix quickly surrendered, and the
+French force was daily receiving considerable reinforcements. This arose
+from the fact that large numbers of French nobles and knights had, with
+their followers, taken part with Alfonso, King of Castile and Leon, in
+his war with the Moors. This had just terminated with the expulsion of
+the latter from Spain, and the French knights and nobles on their way
+home for the most part joined at once in the war which their countrymen
+were waging in Bretagne.
+
+Seeing the great force which was gathering for a fresh siege of
+Hennebon, Sir Walter Manny and the Countess of Montford sent an urgent
+message to King Edward for further support. The king was not yet ready,
+but at the beginning of August he despatched a force under the command
+of the Earl of Northampton and Robert of Artois. It consisted of
+twenty-seven knights bannerets and 2000 men-at-arms. Before, however, it
+could reach Hennebon the second siege of that city had begun. Charles of
+Blois had approached it with a far larger army than that with which he
+had on the first occasion sat down before it. Hennebon was, however,
+much better prepared than at first for resistance. The walls had
+been repaired, provisions and military stores laid up, and machines
+constructed. The garrison was very much larger, and was commanded by
+one of the most gallant knights of the age, and the citizens beheld
+undaunted the approach of the great French army.
+
+Four days after the French had arrived before Hennebon they were joined
+by Don Louis, who had been severely wounded in the fight near Quimperle,
+and had lain for six weeks at Rennes. Sixteen great engines at once
+began to cast stones against the walls, but Sir Walter caused sandbags
+to be lowered, and so protected the walls from the attack that little
+damage was done. The garrison confident in their powers to resist,
+taunted the assailants from the walls, and specially enraged the
+Spaniards and Don Louis by allusions to the defeat at Quimperle.
+
+So furious did the Spanish prince become that he took a step
+unprecedented in those days of chivalry. He one morning entered the tent
+of Charles of Blois, where a number of French nobles were gathered,
+and demanded a boon in requital of all his services. Charles at once
+assented, when, to his surprise and horror, Prince Louis demanded that
+two English knights, Sir John Butler and Sir Hubert Frisnoy, who had
+been captured in the course of the campaign and were kept prisoners at
+Faouet, should be delivered to him to be executed. "These English," he
+said, "have pursued, discomforted, and wounded me, and have killed the
+nephew whom I loved so well, and as I have none other mode of vengeance
+I will cut off their heads before their companions who lie within those
+walls."
+
+Charles of Blois and his nobles were struck with amazement and horror
+at the demand, and used every means in their power to turn the savage
+prince from his purpose, but in vain. They pointed out to him that his
+name would be dishonoured in all countries where the laws of chivalry
+prevailed by such a deed, and besought him to choose some other boon.
+Don Louis refused to yield, and Charles of Blois, finding no alternative
+between breaking his promise and delivering his prisoners, at last
+agreed to his request.
+
+The prisoners were sent for, and were informed by Don Louis himself of
+their approaching end. At first they could not believe that he was in
+earnest, for such a proceeding was so utterly opposed to the spirit
+of the times that it seemed impossible to them. Finding that he was in
+earnest they warned him of the eternal stain which such a deed would
+bring upon his name. The Spaniard, however, was unmoved either by their
+words or by the entreaties of the French nobles but told them that he
+would give them a few hours to prepare for death, and that they should
+be executed in sight of the walls after the usual dinner hour of the
+army.
+
+In those days sieges were not conducted in the strict manner in which
+they are at present, and non-combatants passed without difficulty to
+and fro between town and camp. The news, therefore, of what was intended
+speedily reached the garrison, whom it filled with indignation and
+horror. A council was immediately called, and Sir Walter Manny proposed
+a plan, which was instantly adopted.
+
+Without loss of time Almeric de Clisson issued forth from the great gate
+of Hennebon, accompanied by 300 men-at-arms and 1000 archers. The latter
+took post at once along the edge of the ditches. The men-at-arms rode
+straight for the enemy's camp, which was undefended, the whole army
+being within their tents at dinner. Dashing into their midst the English
+and Breton men-at-arms began to overthrow the tents and spear all that
+were in them. Not knowing the extent of the danger or the smallness of
+the attacking force, the French knights sprang up from table, mounted,
+and rode to encounter the assailants.
+
+For some time these maintained their ground against all assaults until,
+finding that the whole army was upon them, Almeric de Clisson gave order
+for his troop to retire slowly upon the town. Fighting every step of the
+ground and resisting obstinately the repeated onslaught of the French,
+Clisson approached the gate. Here he was joined by the archers, who with
+bent bows prepared to resist the advance of the French. As it appeared
+that the garrison were prepared to give battle outside the walls, the
+whole French army prepared to move against them.
+
+In the meantime Sir Walter Manny, with 100 men-at-arms and 500 horse
+archers, issued by a sally-port on the other side of the town, and with
+all speed rode round to the rear of the French camp. There he found
+none to oppose him save servants and camp-followers, and making his way
+straight to the tent of Charles of Blois, where the two knights were
+confined, he soon freed them from their bonds. They were mounted without
+wasting a moment's time upon two spare horses, and turning again the
+whole party rode back towards Hennebon, and had reached the postern gate
+before the fugitives from the camp reached the French commanders and
+told them what had happened.
+
+Seeing that he was now too late, because of De Clisson's sortie, Charles
+of Blois recalled his army from the attack, in which he could only have
+suffered heavily from the arrows of the archers and the missiles from
+the walls. The same day, he learned from some prisoners captured in the
+sortie, of the undiminished spirit of the garrison, and that Hennebon
+was amply supplied with provisions brought by sea. His own army was
+becoming straitened by the scarcity of supplies in the country round,
+he therefore determined at once to raise the siege, and to besiege some
+place where he would encounter less serious resistance.
+
+Accordingly, next morning he drew off his army and marched to Carhaix.
+
+Shortly afterwards the news came that the Earl of Northampton and Robert
+of Artois, with their force, had sailed, and Don Louis, with the Genoese
+and other Italian mercenaries, started to intercept them with a
+large fleet. The fleets met off the island of Guernsey, and a severe
+engagement took place, which lasted till night. During the darkness
+a tremendous storm burst upon them and the combatants separated. The
+English succeeded in making their way to Brittany and landed near
+Vannes. The Spaniards captured four small ships which had been separated
+in the storm from their consorts, but did not succeed in regaining the
+coast of Brittany, being driven south by the storm as far as Spain. The
+Earl of Northampton at once laid siege to Vannes, and Sir Walter Manny
+moved with every man that could be spared from Hennebon to assist him.
+
+As it was certain that the French army would press forward with all
+speed to relieve the town, it was decided to lose no time in battering
+the walls, but to attempt to carry it at once by assault. The walls,
+however, were so strong that there seemed little prospect of success
+attending such an attempt, and a plan was therefore determined upon by
+which the enemy might be thrown off their guard. The assault commenced
+at three points in the early morning and was continued all day. No great
+vigour, however, was shown in these attempts which were repulsed at all
+points.
+
+At nightfall the assailants drew off to their camp, and Oliver de
+Clisson, who commanded the town, suffered his weary troops to quit the
+walls and to seek for refreshment and repose. The assailants, however,
+did not disarm, but after a sufficient time had elapsed to allow the
+garrison to lay aside their armour two strong parties attacked the
+principal gates of the town, while Sir Walter Manny and the Earl of
+Oxford moved round to the opposite side with ladders for an escalade.
+The plan was successful. The garrison, snatching up their arms, hurried
+to repel their attack upon the gates, every man hastening in that
+direction. Sir Walter Manny with his party were therefore enabled to
+mount the walls unobserved and make their way into the town; here they
+fell upon the defenders in the rear, and the sudden onslaught spread
+confusion and terror among them. The parties at the gates forced their
+way in and joined their friends, and the whole of the garrison were
+killed or taken prisoners, save a few, including Oliver Clisson, who
+made their escape by sally-ports. Robert of Artois, with the Earl
+of Stafford, was left with a garrison to hold the town. The Earl of
+Salisbury, with four thousand men, proceeded to lay siege to Rennes, and
+Sir Walter Manny hastened back to Hennebon.
+
+Some of Sir Walter's men formed part of the garrison of Vannes, and
+among these was Sir John Powis with a hundred men-at-arms.
+
+The knight had been so pleased with Walter's coolness and courage at the
+siege at Hennebon that he requested Sir Walter to leave him with him at
+Vannes. "It is possible," he said to Walter, "that we may have fighting
+here. Methinks that Sir Walter would have done better to leave
+a stronger force. The town is a large one, and the inhabitants
+ill-disposed towards us. Oliver Clisson and the French nobles will feel
+their honour wounded at the way in which we outwitted them, and will
+likely enough make an effort to regain the town. However, Rennes and
+Hennebon are not far away, and we may look for speedy aid from the Earl
+of Salisbury and Sir Walter should occasion arise."
+
+Sir John's previsions were speedily verified. Oliver Clisson and his
+friends were determined to wipe out their defeat, and scattered through
+the country raising volunteers from among the soldiery in all the
+neighbouring towns and castles, and a month after Vannes was taken they
+suddenly appeared before the town with an army of 12,000 men, commanded
+by Beaumanoir, marshal of Bretagne for Charles of Blois. The same
+reasons which had induced the Earl of Northampton to decide upon a
+speedy assault instead of the slow process of breaching the walls,
+actuated the French in pursuing the same course, and, divided into a
+number of storming parties, the army advanced at once to the assault on
+the walls. The little garrison prepared for the defence.
+
+"The outlook is bad, Walter," Sir John Powis said. "These men approach
+with an air of resolution which shows that they are bent upon success.
+They outnumber us by twelve to one, and it is likely enough that the
+citizens may rise and attack us in the rear. They have been ordered to
+bring the stones for the machines to the walls, but no one has laid his
+hand to the work. We must do our duty as brave men, my lad, but I doubt
+me if yonder is not the last sun which we shall see. Furious as the
+French are at our recent success here you may be sure that little
+quarter will given."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X: A PLACE OF REFUGE
+
+
+
+The French, excited to the utmost by the exhortations of their
+commanders, and by their desire to wipe out the disgrace of the easy
+capture of Vannes by the English, advanced with ardour to the assault,
+and officers and men vied with each other in the valour which they
+displayed. In vain did the garrison shower arrows and cross-bow bolts
+among them, and pour down burning oil and quicklime upon them as they
+thronged at the foot of the wall. In vain were the ladders, time after
+time, hurled back loaded with men upon the mass below. The efforts of
+the men-at-arms to scale the defences were seconded by their archers and
+crossbow-men, who shot such a storm of bolts that great numbers of the
+defenders were killed. The assault was made at a score of different
+points, and the garrison was too weak to defend all with success. Sir
+John Powis and his party repulsed over and over again the efforts of the
+assailants against that part of the wall entrusted to them, but at other
+points the French gained a footing, and swarming up rushed along the
+walls, slaying all whom they encountered.
+
+"All is lost," Sir John exclaimed; "let us fall back to the castle and
+die fighting there."
+
+Descending from the wall the party made their way through the streets.
+The French were already in the town; every house was closed and barred,
+and from the upper windows the burghers hurled down stones and bricks
+upon the fugitives, while parties of the French soldiers fell upon them
+fiercely. Many threw down their arms and cried for quarter, but were
+instantly slain.
+
+
+
+For a while the streets were a scene of wild confusion; here and there
+little knots of Englishmen stood together and defended themselves until
+the last, others ran through the streets chased by their exulting foes,
+some tried in vain to gain shelter in the houses. Sir John Powis's band
+was soon broken and scattered, and their leader slain by a heavy stone
+from a housetop. Walter fought his way blindly forward towards the
+castle although he well knew that no refuge would be found there. Ralph
+Smith kept close beside him, levelling many of his assailants with the
+tremendous blows of a huge mace. Somehow, Walter hardly knew how, they
+made their way through their assailants and dashed in at the castle
+gate. A crowd of their assailants were close upon their heels. Walter
+glanced round; dashing across the courtyard he ran through some passages
+into an inner yard, in which, as he knew, was the well. The bucket hung
+at the windlass.
+
+"Catch hold, Ralph!" he exclaimed; "there is just a chance, and we may
+as well be drowned as killed." They grasped the rope and jumped off. The
+bucket began to descend with frightful velocity. Faster and faster it
+went and yet it seemed a long time before they plunged into the water,
+which was nigh a hundred feet below the surface. Fortunately the rope
+was considerably longer than was necessary, and they sank many feet into
+the water, still retaining their hold. Then clinging to the rope they
+hauled themselves to the surface.
+
+"We cannot hold on here five minutes," Ralph exclaimed, "my armour is
+dragging me down."
+
+"We will soon get rid of that," Walter said.
+
+"There go our helmets; now I will hold on with one hand and help you to
+unbuckle your breast and back pieces; you do the same for me."
+
+With great efforts they managed to rid themselves of their armour,
+and then held on with ease to the rope. They hauled the bucket to the
+surface and tied a knot in the slack of the rope, so that the bucket
+hung four feet below the level of the water. Putting their feet in
+this, they were able to stand with their heads above the surface without
+difficulty.
+
+"This is a nice fix," Ralph exclaimed. "I think it would have been just
+as well to have been killed at once. They are sure to find us here, and
+if they don't we shall die of cold before tomorrow morning."
+
+"I don't think they will find us," Walter said cheerfully. "When they
+have searched the castle thoroughly it may occur to some of them that
+we have jumped down the well, but it will be no particular business of
+anyone to look for us, and they will all be too anxious to get at the
+wine butts to trouble their heads about the matter; besides, it must be
+a heavy job to wind up this bucket, and it is not likely there will be
+such urgent need of water that anyone will undertake the task."
+
+"But we are no better off if they don't," Ralph remarked, "for we must
+die here if we are not hauled out. I suppose you don't intend to try and
+climb that rope. I might do twenty feet or so on a pinch, but I could no
+more get up to the top there than I could fly."
+
+"We must think it over," Walter rejoined; "where there is a will there
+is a way, you know. We will take it by turns to watch that little patch
+of light overhead; if we see anyone looking down we must leave the
+bucket and swim to the side without making the least noise. They may
+give a few turns of the windlass to see if anyone has hold of the rope
+below; be sure you do not make the slightest splashing or noise, for the
+sound would be heard above to a certainty."
+
+Ten minutes later they saw two heads appear above, and instantly
+withdrew their feet from the bucket and made a stroke to the side, which
+was but four feet distant, being careful as they did that no motion was
+imparted to the rope. Then though it was too dark to see anything, they
+heard the bucket lifted from the water. A minute later it fell back
+again with a splash, then all was quiet.
+
+"We are safe now, and can take our place in the bucket. They are
+satisfied that if we did jump down here we are drowned. And now we must
+think about climbing up."
+
+"Aye, that will require a good deal of thinking," Ralph grumbled.
+
+For some time there was silence; then Walter said, "The first thing to
+do is to cut off the slack of the rope, there are some twelve feet of
+it. Then we will unwind the strands of that. There are five or six large
+strands as far as I can feel; we will cut them up into lengths of about
+a couple of feet and we ought to be able to tie these to the rope in
+such a way as not to slip down with our weight. If we tie them four
+feet apart we can go up step by step; I don't see much difficulty about
+that."
+
+"No," Ralph said much more cheerfully, "I should think that we could
+manage that."
+
+They at once set to work. The rope was cut up and unravelled, and the
+strands cut into pieces about two feet long. They then both set to work
+trying to discover some way of fastening it by which it would not slip
+down the rope. They made many fruitless attempts; each time that a
+strand was fastened with a loop large enough for them to pass a leg
+through, it slid down the rope when their weight was applied to it. At
+last they succeeded in finding out a knot which would hold. This was
+done by tying a knot close to one end of a piece of the strand, then
+sufficient was left to form the loop, and the remainder was wound round
+the rope in such a way that the weight only served to tighten its hold.
+
+"Shall we begin at once?" Ralph said, when success was achieved.
+
+"No, we had better wait until nightfall. The vibration of the rope
+when our weight once gets on it might be noticed by anyone crossing the
+courtyard."
+
+"Do you think we have sufficient bits of rope," Ralph asked.
+
+"Just enough, I think," Walter replied; "there were six strands, and
+each has made six pieces, so we have thirty-six. I know the well
+is about a hundred feet deep, for the other day I heard some of the
+soldiers who were drawing water grumbling over the labour required. So
+if we put them three feet apart it will take thirty-three of them, which
+will leave three over; but we had better place them a little over a yard
+so as to make sure."
+
+In a short time the fading brightness of the circle of light far
+overhead told them that twilight had commenced, and shortly afterwards
+they attached the first strand to the rope some three feet above the
+water.
+
+"Now," Walter said, "I will go first, at any rate for a time. I must put
+one leg through the loop, and sit, as it were, while I fasten the one
+above, as I shall want both hands for the work. You will find it a good
+deal easier to stand with your foot in the loop. If I get tired I will
+fasten another loop by the side of that on which I am resting, so you
+can come up and pass me. There is no hurry. It ought not to take up
+above an hour, and it will not do for us to get to the top until the
+place becomes a little quiet. Tonight they are sure to be drinking and
+feasting over their victory until late."
+
+They now set to work, and step by step mounted the rope. They found
+the work less arduous than they had expected. The rope was dry, and
+the strands held tightly to it. Two or three times they changed places,
+resting in turn from the work; but in less than two hours from the time
+they made the first loop Walter's head and shoulders appeared above the
+level of the courtyard. He could hear sounds of shouting and singing
+within the castle, and knew that a great feast was going on. Descending
+a step or two he held parley with Ralph.
+
+"I think, perhaps, it will be better to sally out at once. Everyone is
+intent on his own pleasure, and we shall have no difficulty in slipping
+out of the castle unnoticed. All will be feasting and riot in the town,
+and so long as we do not brush against any one so that they may feel our
+wet garments we are little likely to be noticed; besides, the gates of
+the town will stand open late, for people from the villages round will
+have come in to join in the revels."
+
+"I am ready to try it, Master Walter," Ralph replied, "for I ache from
+head to foot with holding on to this rope. The sooner the better, say
+I."
+
+In another minute both stood in the courtyard. It was a retired spot,
+and none were passing. Going along the passage they issued into the main
+yard. Here great fires were blazing, and groups of men sat round them
+drinking and shouting. Many lay about in drunken sleep.
+
+"Stay where you are in the shade, Ralph. You had best lie down by the
+foot of the wall. Anyone who passes will think that you are in a drunken
+sleep. I will creep forward and possess myself of the steel caps of
+two of these drunkards, and if I can get a couple of cloaks so much the
+better."
+
+There was no difficulty about the caps, and by dint of unbuckling the
+cloaks and rolling their wearers gently over, Walter succeeded at last
+in obtaining two of them. He also picked up a sword for Ralph--his own
+still hung in its sheath--and then he joined his companion, and the two
+putting on the steel caps and cloaks walked quietly to the gate. There
+were none on guard, and they issued unmolested into the town. Here all
+was revelry. Bonfires blazed in the streets. Hogsheads of wine, with
+the heads knocked out, stood before many of the houses for all to help
+themselves who wished. Drunken soldiers reeled along shouting snatches
+of songs, and the burghers in the highest state of hilarity thronged the
+ways.
+
+"First of all, Ralph, we will have a drink of wine, for I am chilled to
+the bone."
+
+"Aye, and so am I," Ralph replied. "I got hot enough climbing that rope,
+but now the cold has got hold of me again, and my teeth are chattering
+in my head."
+
+Picking up one of the fallen vessels by a cask they dipped it in and
+took a long draught of wine; then, turning off from the principal
+streets, they made their way by quiet lanes down to one of the gates. To
+their dismay they found that this was closed. The French commanders knew
+that Sir Walter Manny or Salisbury might ere this be pressing forward
+to relieve the town, and that, finding that it had fallen, they might
+attempt to recapture it by a sudden attack. While permitting therefore
+the usual licence, after a successful assault, to the main body of their
+forces, they had placed a certain number of their best troops on the
+walls, giving them a handsome largess to make up for their loss of the
+festivities.
+
+At first Walter and his friend feared that their retreat was cut off for
+the night, but several other people presently arrived, and the officer
+on guard said, coming out, "You must wait a while; the last batch have
+only just gone, and I cannot keep opening and closing the gate; in half
+an hour I will let you out."
+
+Before that time elapsed some fifty or sixty people, anxious to return
+to their villages, gathered round the gate.
+
+"Best lay aside your steel cap, Ralph, before we join them," Walter
+said. "In the dim light of that lamp none will notice that we have
+head-gear, but if it were to glint upon the steel cap the officer might
+take us for deserters and question us as to who we are."
+
+Presently the officer came out from the guard-room again. There was a
+forward movement of the little crowd, and Walter and Ralph closed in
+to their midst. The gates were opened, and without any question the
+villagers passed out, and the gates were shut instantly behind them.
+
+Walter and his comrade at once started at a brisk pace and walked all
+night in the direction of Hennebon. Their clothes soon dried, and elated
+at their escape from danger they struggled on briskly. When morning
+broke they entered a wood, and lay there till evening, as they feared
+to continue their journey lest they might fall into the hands of some
+roving band of French horse. They were, too, dog-tired, and were asleep
+a few minutes after they lay down. The sun was setting when they awoke,
+and as soon as it was dark they resumed their journey.
+
+"I don't know what you feel, Master Walter, but I am well-nigh famished.
+It is thirty-six hours since I swallowed a bit of food, just as the
+French were moving to the attack. Hard blows I don't mind--I have been
+used to it; but what with fighting, and being in the water for five or
+six hours, and climbing up that endless rope, and walking all night on
+an empty stomach, it does not suit me at all."
+
+"I feel ravenous too, Ralph, but there is no help for it. We shall eat
+nothing till we are within the walls of Hennebon, and that will be
+by daylight tomorrow if all goes well. Draw your belt an inch or two
+tighter, it will help to keep out the wolf."
+
+They kept on all night, and in the morning saw to their delight the
+towers of Hennebon in the distance. It was well that it was no further,
+for both were so exhausted from want of food that they could with
+difficulty drag their legs along.
+
+Upon entering the town Walter made his way at once to the quarters of
+the leader. Sir Walter had just risen, and was delighted at the sight of
+his esquire.
+
+"I had given you up for dead," he exclaimed. "By what miracle could you
+have escaped? Are you alone?"
+
+"I have with me only my faithful follower Ralph Smith, who is below;
+but, Sir Walter, for mercy's sake order that some food be placed before
+us, or we shall have escaped from the French only to die of hunger here.
+We have tasted nought since the attack on Vannes began. Have any beside
+us escaped?"
+
+"Lord Stafford contrived, with two or three others, to cut their way
+out by a postern-gate, bringing with them Robert of Artois, who is
+grievously wounded. None others, save you and your man-at-arms, have
+made their way here."
+
+In a few minutes a cold capon, several manchets of bread, and a stoop
+of wine were placed before Walter, while Ralph's wants were attended to
+below. When he had satisfied his hunger the young esquire related his
+adventures to Sir Walter and several other knights and nobles, who had
+by this time gathered in the room.
+
+"In faith, Master Somers, you have got well out of your scrape," Sir
+Walter exclaimed. "Had I been in your place I should assuredly have
+perished, for I would a thousand times rather meet death sword in hand,
+than drop down into the deep hole of that well. And your brains served
+you shrewdly in devising a method of escape. What say you, gentlemen?"
+
+All present joined in expressions of praise at the lad's coolness and
+presence of mind.
+
+"You are doing well, young sir," the English leader went on, "and have
+distinguished yourself on each occasion on which we have been engaged.
+I shall be proud when the time comes to bestow upon you myself the order
+of knighthood if our king does not take the matter off my hands."
+
+A little later Robert of Artois died of his wounds and disappointment at
+the failure of his hopes.
+
+In October King Edward himself set sail with a great army, and landing
+in Brittany early in November marched forward through the country and
+soon reduced Ploermel, Malestrail, Redon, and the rest of the province
+in the vicinity of Vannes, and then laid siege to that town. As his
+force was far more than sufficient for the siege, the Earls of Norfolk
+and Warwick were despatched in the direction of Nantes to reconnoitre
+the country and clear it of any small bodies of the enemy they might
+encounter. In the meantime Edward opened negotiations with many of the
+Breton lords, who, seeing that such powerful aid had arrived for the
+cause of the Countess of Montford, were easily persuaded to change
+sides. Among them were the lords of Clisson, Moheac, Machecoul, Retz,
+and many others of less importance.
+
+The Count of Valentinois, who commanded the garrison of Vannes,
+supported the siege with great courage and fortitude, knowing that
+Charles of Blois and the King of France were collecting a great army for
+his relief. Uniting their forces they advanced towards the town. Before
+the force of the French, 40,000 strong, the Earl of Norfolk had fallen
+back and rejoined the king, but even after this junction the French
+forces exceeded those of Edward fourfold. They advanced towards Vannes
+and formed a large entrenched camp near that of the English, who thus,
+while still besieging Vannes, were themselves enclosed by a vastly
+superior force. The King of France himself arrived at the French
+camp. The French, although so greatly superior, made no motion toward
+attacking the English, but appeared bent upon either starving them out
+or forcing them to attack the strongly entrenched position occupied by
+the French.
+
+Provisions were indeed running short in the English camp, and the
+arrival of supplies from England was cut off by a strong fleet under
+Don Louis, which cruised off the coast and captured all vessels arriving
+with stores. At this moment two legates, the Cardinal Bishop of Preneste
+and the Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum, arrived from the pope and strove
+to mediate between the two sovereigns and to bring about a cessation of
+hostilities, pointing out to them the scandal and desolation which their
+rivalry caused in Christendom, the waste of noble lives, the devastation
+of once happy provinces, and the effusion of innocent blood. Going from
+camp to camp they exhorted, prayed, and reproached the rival sovereigns,
+urging that while Christians were shedding each other's blood in vain,
+the infidels were daily waxing bolder and more insolent. Their arguments
+would have been but of little use had either of the monarchs felt sure
+of victory. King Edward, however, felt that his position was growing
+desperate, for starvation was staring him in the face, and only by
+a victory over an immensely superior force in a strongly entrenched
+position could he extricate himself. Upon the part of the French,
+however, circumstances were occurring which rendered them anxious for
+a release from their position, for they were not without their share
+of suffering. While the English army lay on a hill the French camp was
+pitched on low ground. An unusually wet season had set in with bitterly
+cold wind. The rain was incessant, a pestilence had destroyed a vast
+number of their horses, and their encampment was flooded. Their forces
+were therefore obligated to spread themselves over the neighbouring
+fields, and a sudden attack by the English might have been fatal.
+
+Thus distress pressed upon both commanders, and the pope's legates
+found their exertions at last crowned with success. A suspension of
+hostilities was agreed to, and the Dukes of Burgundy and Bourbon on the
+one side and the Earls of Lancaster, Northampton, and Salisbury on
+the other, met as commissioners and agreed to a convention by which
+a general truce was to be made from the date of the treaty to the
+following Michaelmas, and to be prolonged from that day for the full
+term of three years. It was agreed that the truce should embrace not
+only the sovereigns, but all the adherents of each of them. The truce
+was to hold good in Brittany between all parties, and the city of Vannes
+was to be given into the hands of the cardinals to dispose of as
+they chose. It was specially provided that in the case of any of the
+adherents of either party in the Duchies of Gascony and Brittany waging
+war against each other, neither of the monarchs should either directly
+or indirectly meddle therewith, nor should the truce be at all broken
+thereby.
+
+Immediately the treaty was signed, on the 19th of January, 1343, the
+King of France dismissed his army, and Edward sailed for England with
+the greater part of his troops. The Countess of Montford and her son
+accompanied him, and the possessions of her husband in Brittany were
+left to the guardianship of her partisans, with a small but choice body
+of English troops.
+
+The towns which had fallen into their hands and still remained were
+Brest, Quimper-Corentin, Quimperle, Redon, and Guerande; Vannes was
+handed over to them by the cardinals, and Hennebon, of course, remained
+in their possession.
+
+Walter returned to England with Sir Walter Manny, and on reaching London
+was received with delight by his old friends Geoffrey Ward and Giles
+Fletcher, who were never tired of listening to his tales of the wars.
+Dame Vernon also received him with great kindness, and congratulated him
+warmly upon the very favourable account which Sir Walter Manny had given
+of his zeal and gallantry.
+
+The time now for a while passed very quietly. Walter and the other young
+squires practised diligently, under the instructions of Sir Walter, at
+knightly exercises. Walter learned to bear himself well on horseback and
+to tilt in the ring. He was already a skilful swordsman, but he spared
+no pains to improve himself with his weapons. The court was a gay one,
+and Walter, as a favoured esquire of one of the foremost knights there,
+was admitted to all that took place. His courtly education, of course,
+included dancing, and when he went down, as he often did, for a long
+chat with his old friends, Geoffrey often said, laughing, that he
+was growing such a fine gentleman that he hardly liked to sit in his
+presence; but although changed in manner, Walter continued to be, as
+before, a frank, manly young fellow, and free from the affectations
+which were so general among the young men of the court.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI: A STORMY INTERVIEW
+
+
+Soon after Walter's return from France Dame Vernon returned to her
+country estate, and a year passed before he again saw her. During this
+time the truce which had been established between England and France had
+remained unbroken. It was certain, however, that ere long the two powers
+would again come to blows. The King of England had honourably observed
+the terms of the treaty. Upon his return home he had entirely disbanded
+his army and had devoted his whole attention to increasing the trade and
+prosperity of the country. The measures which he took to do this were
+not always popular with the people of England, for seeing how greatly
+they excelled the English manufacturers Edward encouraged large numbers
+of Flemings and other foreign workmen to settle in London, and gave
+them many privileges to induce them to do so; this the populace strongly
+resented. There was a strong ill feeling against the Flemings and
+serious popular riots took place, for the English traders and workmen
+considered that these foreigners were taking the bread from their
+mouths. The king, however, was wiser than his people, he saw that
+although the English weavers were able to produce coarse cloths, yet
+that all of the finer sort had to be imported from the Continent. He
+deemed that in time the Flemings would teach their art to his subjects,
+and that England would come to vie with the Low Countries in the quality
+of her produce. Such was indeed afterwards the case, and England gained
+greatly by the importation of the industrious Flemings, just as she
+afterwards profited from the expulsion from France of tens of thousands
+of Protestant workmen who brought here many of the manufactures of which
+France had before the monopoly. The relations between England and the
+Flemings were at this time very close, for the latter regarded England
+as her protector against the ambition of the King of France.
+
+But while King Edward had laid aside all thought of war, such was not
+the case with Phillip of Valois. He had retired after the signature
+of the treaty full of rage and humiliation; for hitherto in all their
+struggles his English rival had had the better of him, and against
+vastly superior forces had foiled all his efforts and had gained alike
+glory and military advantage. King Edward had hardly set sail when
+Phillip began to break the terms of truce by inciting the adherents
+of Charles of Blois to attack those of De Montford, and by rendering
+assistance to them with money and men. He also left no means untried
+to detach Flanders from its alliance with England. Several castles and
+towns in Brittany were wrested from the partisans of De Montford, and
+King Edward, after many remonstrances at the breaches of the conditions
+of the truce, began again to make preparations for taking the field.
+Several brilliant tournaments were held and every means were taken to
+stir up the warlike spirit of the people.
+
+One day Walter had attended his lord to the palace and was waiting in
+the anteroom with many other squires and gentlemen, while Sir Walter,
+with some other noblemen, was closeted with the king, discussing the
+means to be adopted for raising funds for a renewal of a war with
+France, when a knight entered whom Walter had not previously seen at
+court.
+
+"Who is that?" he asked one of his acquaintances; "methinks I know his
+face, though it passes my memory to say where I have seen it."
+
+"He has been away from England for some two years," his friend answered.
+"That is Sir James Carnegie; he is a cousin of the late Sir Jasper
+Vernon; he left somewhat suddenly a short time after Dame Vernon had
+that narrow escape from drowning that you wot of; he betook himself
+then to Spain, where he has been fighting the Moors; he is said to be
+a valiant knight, but otherwise he bears but an indifferent good
+reputation."
+
+Walter remembered the face now; it was that of the knight he had seen
+enter the hut of the river pirate on the Lambeth marshes. When released
+from duty he at once made his way to the lodging of Dame Vernon. Walter
+was now nineteen, for a year had elapsed since the termination of the
+French war, and he was in stature and strength the match of most men,
+while his skill at knightly exercises, as well as with the sword, was
+recognized as pre-eminent among all the young esquires of the court.
+
+After the first greeting he said to Dame Vernon: "I think it right to
+tell you, lady, that I have but now, in the king's anteroom, seen the
+man who plotted against your life in the hut at Lambeth. His face is
+a marked one and I could not mistake it. I hear that he is a cousin
+of yours, one Sir James Carnegie, as you doubtless recognized from my
+description of him. I came to tell you in order that you might decide
+what my conduct should be. If you wish it so I will keep the secret
+in my breast; but if you fear aught from him I will openly accuse him
+before the king of the crime he attempted, and shall be ready to meet
+him in the ordeal of battle should he claim it."
+
+"I have seen Sir James," Lady Vernon said. "I had a letter writ in a
+feigned hand telling him that his handiwork in the plot against my life
+was known, and warning him that, unless he left England, the proofs
+thereof would be laid before justice. He at once sailed for Spain,
+whence, he has returned but a few days since. He does not know for
+certain that I am aware of his plottings against us; but he must have
+seen by my reception of him when he called that I no longer regard him
+with the friendship which I formerly entertained. I have received a
+message from him that he will call upon me this evening, and that he
+trusts he will find me alone, as he would fain confer with me on private
+matters. When I have learned his intentions I shall be the better able
+to judge what course I had best adopt. I would fain, if it may be, let
+the matter rest. Sir James has powerful interest, and I would not have
+him for an open enemy if I can avoid it; besides, all the talk and
+publicity which so grave an accusation against a knight, and he of mine
+own family, would entail, would be very distasteful to me; but should I
+find it necessary for the sake of my child, I shall not shrink from
+it. I trust, however, that it will not come to that; but I shall not
+hesitate, if need be, to let him know that I am acquainted with his evil
+designs towards us. I will inform you of as much of our interview as it
+is necessary that you should know."
+
+That evening Sir James Carnegie called upon Dame Vernon. "I would not
+notice it the other day, fair cousin," he said, in return for her stiff
+and ceremonious greeting; "but methinks that you are mightily changed
+in your bearing towards me. I had looked on my return from my long
+journeying for something of the sisterly warmth with which you once
+greeted me, but I find you as cold and hard as if I had been altogether
+a stranger to you. I would fain know in what way I have forfeited your
+esteem."
+
+"I do not wish to enter into bygones, Sir James," the lady said, "and
+would fain let the past sleep if you will let me. Let us then turn
+without more ado to the private matters concerning which you wished to
+speak with me."
+
+"If such is your mood, fair dame, I must needs fall in with it, though
+in no way able to understand your allusion to the past, wherein my
+conscience holds me guiltless of aught which could draw upon me your
+disfavour. I am your nearest male relative, and as such would fain
+confer with you touching the future of young Mistress Edith, your
+daughter. She is now nigh thirteen years of age, and is the heiress of
+broad lands; is it not time that she were betrothed to one capable of
+taking care of them for her, and leading your vassals to battle in these
+troubled times?"
+
+"Thanks, Sir James, for your anxiety about my child," Dame Vernon said
+coldly. "She is a ward of the king. I am in no way anxious that an early
+choice should be made for her; but our good Queen Philippa has promised
+that, when the time shall come, his Majesty shall not dispose of her
+hand without my wishes being in some way consulted; and I have no doubt
+that when the time shall come that she is of marriageable age--and I
+would not that this should be before she has gained eighteen years, for
+I like not the over young marriages which are now in fashion--a knight
+may be found for her husband capable of taking care of her and her
+possessions; but may I ask if, in so speaking to me, you have anyone in
+your mind's eye as a suitor for her hand?"
+
+"Your manner is not encouraging, certes; but I had my plan, which would,
+I hoped, have met with your approval. I am the young lady's cousin,
+and her nearest male relative; and although we are within the limited
+degrees, there will be no difficulty in obtaining a dispensation from
+Rome. I am myself passably well off, and some of the mortgages which I
+had been forced to lay upon my estates have been cleared off during my
+absence. I have returned home with some reputation, and with a goodly
+sum gained in the wars with the Moors. I am older than my cousin
+certainly; but as I am still but thirty-two, this would not, I hope, be
+deemed an obstacle, and methought that you would rather entrust her to
+your affectionate cousin than to a stranger. The king has received me
+very graciously, and would, I trust, offer no opposition to my suit were
+it backed by your goodwill."
+
+"I suppose, Sir James," Dame Vernon said, "that I should thank you for
+the offer which you have made; but I can only reply, that while duly
+conscious of the high honour you have done my daughter by your offer, I
+would rather see her in her grave than wedded to you."
+
+The knight leapt from his seat with a fierce exclamation. "This is too
+much," he exclaimed, "and I have a right to know why such an offer on my
+part should be answered by disdain, and even insolence."
+
+"You have a right to know," Dame Vernon answered quietly, "and I will
+tell you. I repeat that I would rather see my child in her grave than
+wedded to a man who attempted to compass the murder of her and her
+mother."
+
+"What wild words are these?" Sir James asked sternly. "What accusation
+is this that you dare to bring against me?"
+
+"I repeat what I said, Sir James," Dame Alice replied quietly. "I know
+that you plotted with the water pirates of Lambeth to upset our boat as
+we came down the Thames; that you treacherously delayed us at Richmond
+in order that we might not reach London before dark; and that by
+enveloping me in a white cloak you gave a signal by which I might be
+known to your creatures."
+
+The knight stood for a moment astounded. He was aware that the fact that
+he had had some share in the outrage was known, and was not surprised
+that his cousin was acquainted with the secret; but that she should know
+all the details with which but one besides himself was, as he believed,
+acquainted, completely stupefied him. He rapidly, however, recovered
+himself.
+
+"I recall now," he said scornfully, "the evidence which was given
+before the justices by some ragged city boy, to the effect that he had
+overheard a few words of a conversation between some ruffian over in the
+Lambeth marshes, and an unknown person; but it is new to me indeed that
+there was any suspicion that I was the person alluded to, still less
+that a lady of my own family, in whose affection I believed, should
+credit so monstrous an accusation."
+
+"I would that I could discredit it, Sir James," Dame Vernon said sadly;
+"but the proofs were too strong for me. Much more of your conversation
+than was narrated in court was overheard, and it was at my request that
+the ragged boy, as you call him, kept silence."
+
+"And is it possible," the knight asked indignantly, "that you believed
+the word of a fellow like this to the detriment to your kinsman? Why, in
+any court of law the word of such a one as opposed to that of a knight
+and gentleman of honour would not be taken for a moment."
+
+"You are mistaken, sir," Dame Vernon said haughtily. "You may remember,
+in the first place, that the lad who overheard this conversation risked
+his life to save me and my daughter from the consequences of the attack
+which he heard planned; in the second place, he was no ragged lad,
+but the apprentice of a well-known citizen; thirdly, and this is of
+importance, since he has recognized you since your return, and is ready
+should I give him the word, to denounce you. He is no mere apprentice
+boy, but is of gentle blood, seeing that he is the son of Sir Roland
+Somers, the former possessor of the lands which I hold, and that he is
+in high favour with the good knight Sir Walter Manny, whose esquire he
+now is, and under whom he distinguished himself in the wars in France,
+and is, as Sir Walter assured me, certain to win his spurs ere long.
+Thus you see his bare word would be of equal value to your own, beside
+the fact that his evidence does not rest upon mere assertion; but that
+the man in the hut promised to do what you actually performed, namely,
+to delay me at Richmond, and to wrap me in a white cloak in order that I
+might be recognized by the river pirates."
+
+Sir James was silent. In truth, as he saw, the evidence was
+overwhelmingly strong against him. After a while he stammered out, "I
+cannot deny that I was the man in question; but I swear to you that
+this boy was mistaken, and that the scoundrel acted altogether beyond my
+instructions, which were simply that he should board the boat and carry
+you and your daughter away to a safe place."
+
+"And with what object, sir," Dame Vernon said contemptuously, "was I to
+be thus taken away?"
+
+"I do not seek to excuse myself," the knight replied calmly, having now
+recovered his self-possession, "for I own I acted wrongly and basely;
+but in truth I loved you, and would fain have made you my wife. I knew
+that you regarded me with only the calm affection of a kinswoman; but
+I thought that were you in my power you would consent to purchase your
+freedom with your hand. I know now that I erred greatly. I acknowledge
+my fault, and that my conduct was base and unknightly, and my only
+excuse is the great love I bore you.
+
+"And which," the lady said sarcastically, "you have now transferred to
+my daughter. I congratulate you, Sir James, upon the possession of a
+ready wit and an invention which does not fail you at a pinch, and of
+a tongue which repeats unfalteringly any fable which your mind may
+dictate. You do not, I suppose, expect me to believe the tale. Still, I
+own that it is a well-devised one, and might, at a pinch, pass muster;
+but fear not, Sir James. As hitherto I have kept silence as to the
+author of the outrage committed upon me, so I have no intention of
+proclaiming the truth now unless you force me to do so. Suffice that
+both for myself and for my daughter I disclaim the honour of your hand.
+So long as you offer no molestation to us, and abstain from troubling us
+in any way, so long will my mouth be sealed; and I would fain bury in
+my breast the memory of your offence. I will not give the world's tongue
+occasion to wag by any open breach between kinsfolk, and shall therefore
+in public salute you as an acquaintance, but under no pretence whatever
+will I admit you to any future private interview. Now leave me, sir,
+and I trust that your future life will show that you deeply regret the
+outrage which in your greed for my husband's lands you were tempted to
+commit."
+
+Without a word Sir James turned and left the room, white with shame and
+anger, but with an inward sense of congratulation at the romance which
+he had, on the spur of the moment, invented, and which would, he felt
+sure, be accepted by the world as probable, in the event of the share
+he had in the matter being made public, either upon the denunciation of
+Dame Vernon or in any other manner.
+
+One determination, however, he made, and swore, to himself, that he
+would bitterly avenge himself upon the youth whose interference had
+thwarted his plans, and whose report to his kinswoman had turned her
+mind against him. He, at any rate, should be put out of the way at the
+first opportunity, and thus the only witness against himself be removed;
+for Lady Vernon's own unsupported story would be merely her word against
+his, and could be treated as the malicious fiction of an angry woman.
+
+The following day Dame Vernon sent for Walter, and informed him exactly
+what had taken place.
+
+"Between Sir James and me," she said, "there is, you see, a truce. We
+are enemies, but, we agree to lay aside our arms for the time. But,
+Walter, you must be on your guard.
+
+"You know as well as I do how dangerous this man is, and how good a cause
+he has to hate you. I would not have divulged your name had I not known
+that the frequency of your visits here and the encouragement which I
+openly give you as the future suitor of my daughter, would be sure to
+come to his ears, and he would speedily discover that it was you
+who saved our lives on the Thames and gave your testimony before the
+justices as to the conversation in the hut on the marshes. Thus I
+forestalled what he would in a few days have learnt."
+
+"I fear him not, lady," Walter said calmly. "I can hold mine own, I
+hope, against him in arms, and having the patronage and friendship of
+Sir Walter Manny I am above any petty malice. Nevertheless I will hold
+myself on my guard. I will, so far as possible, avoid any snare which
+he may, as 'tis not unlikely, set for my life, and will, so far as I
+honourably can, avoid any quarrel with which he may seek to saddle me."
+
+A few days later Walter again met Sir James Carnegie in the king's
+anteroom, and saw at once, by the fixed look of hate with which he had
+regarded him, that he had already satisfied himself of his identity.
+He returned the knight's stare with a cold look of contempt. The knight
+moved towards him, and in a low tone said, "Beware, young sir, I have a
+heavy reckoning against you, and James Carnegie never forgets debts of
+that kind!"
+
+"I am warned, Sir James," Walter said calmly, but in the same low tone,
+"and, believe me, I hold but very lightly the threats of one who does
+not succeed even when he conspires against the lives of women and
+children."
+
+Sir James started as if he had been struck. Then, with a great effort he
+recovered his composure, and, repeating the word "Beware!" walked across
+to the other side of the chamber. The next day Walter went down the
+river and had a talk with his friend Geoffrey.
+
+"You must beware, lad," the armourer said when he told him of the return
+of Sir James Carnegie and the conversation which had taken place between
+them. "This man is capable of anything, and careth not where he chooseth
+his instruments. The man of the hut at Lambeth has never been caught
+since his escape from Richmond Jail--thanks, doubtless, to the gold
+of his employer--and, for aught we know, may still be lurking in the
+marshes there, or in the purlieus of the city. He will have a grudge
+against you as well as his employer, and in him Sir James would find a
+ready instrument. He is no doubt connected, as before, with a gang of
+water pirates and robbers, and it is not one sword alone that you would
+have to encounter. I think not that you are in danger just at present,
+for he would know that, in case of your murder, the suspicions of Dame
+Vernon and of any others who may know the motive which he has in getting
+rid of you would be excited, and he might be accused of having had a
+share in your death. Still, it would be so hard to prove aught against
+him, that he may be ready to run the risk in order to rid himself of
+you. Look here, Walter. What think you of this?" and the smith drew out
+from a coffer a shirt of mail of finer work than Walter had ever before
+seen.
+
+"Aye, lad, I knew you would be pleased," he said in answer to Walter's
+exclamation at the fineness of the workmanship. "I bought this a month
+ago from a Jew merchant who had recently come from Italy. How he got it
+I know not, but I doubt if it were honestly, or he would have demanded
+a higher price than I paid him. He told me that it was made by the first
+armourer in Milan, and was constructed especially for a cardinal of the
+church, who had made many enemies by his evil deeds and could not sleep
+for fear of assassination. At his death it came as the Jew said,
+into his possession. I suppose some rascally attendant took it as a
+perquisite, and, knowing not of its value, sold it for a few ducats to
+the Jew. However, it is of the finest workmanship. It is, as you see,
+double, and each link is made of steel so tough that no dagger or
+sword-point will pierce it. I put it on a block and tried the metal
+myself, and broke one of my best daggers on it without a single link
+giving. Take it, lad. You are welcome to it. I bought it with a special
+eye to you, thinking that you might wear it under your armour in battle
+without greatly adding to the weight; but for such dangers as threaten
+you now it is invaluable. It is so light and soft that none will dream
+that you have it under your doublet, and I warrant me it will hold you
+safe against the daggers of Sir James's ruffians."
+
+Walter did not like taking a gift so valuable, for his apprenticeship as
+an armourer had taught him the extreme rarity and costliness of so fine
+a piece of work. Geoffrey, however, would not hear of his refusal, and
+insisted on his then and there taking off his doublet and putting it
+on. It fitted closely to the body, descending just below the hips, and
+coming well up on the neck, while the arms extended to the wrists.
+
+"There!" the smith said with delight. "Now you are safe against sword or
+dagger, save for a sweeping blow at the head, and that your sword can
+be trusted to guard. Never take it off, Walter, save when you sleep; and
+except when in your own bed, at Sir Walter Manny's, I should advise
+you to wear it even at night. The weight is nothing, and it will not
+incommode you. So long as this caitiff knight lives, your life will not
+be safe. When he is dead you may hang up the shirt of mail with a light
+heart."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII: JACOB VAN ARTEVELDE
+
+
+King Edward found no difficulty in awakening the war spirit of England
+anew, for the King of France, in an act of infamous treachery, in
+despite of the solemn terms of the treaty, excited against himself the
+indignation not only of England but of all Europe. Oliver de Clisson,
+with fourteen other nobles of Brittany and Normandy, were arrested by
+his order, taken to Paris, and without form of trial there decapitated.
+This act of treachery and injustice aroused disgust and shame among the
+French nobles, and murmurs and discontent spread throughout the whole
+country.
+
+In Brittany numbers of the nobles fell off from the cause of Charles of
+Blois, and King Edward hastened his preparations to avenge the butchery
+of the adherents of the house of Montford. Phillip, however, in defiance
+of the murmurs of his own subjects, of the indignant remonstrances
+of Edward, and even those of the pope, who was devoted to his cause,
+continued the course he had begun, and a number of other nobles were
+seized and executed. Godfrey of Harcourt alone, warned by the fate of
+his companions, refused to obey the summons of the king to repair to
+Paris, and fled to Brabant. His property in France was at once seized by
+Phillip; and Godfrey, finding that the Duke of Brabant would be unable
+to shield him from Phillip's vengeance, fled to the English court, and
+did homage to Edward.
+
+On the 24th of April, 1345, Edward determined no longer to allow Phillip
+to continue to benefit by his constant violations of the truce, and
+accordingly sent a defiance to the King of France.
+
+De Montford, who had just succeeded in escaping from his prison in
+Paris, arrived at this moment in England, and shortly afterwards set
+sail with a small army under the command of the Earl of Northampton for
+Britanny, while the Earl of Derby took his departure with a larger force
+for the defence of Guienne.
+
+King Edward set about raising a large army, which he determined to lead
+himself, but before passing over to France he desired to strengthen his
+hold of Flanders. The constant intrigues of Phillip there had exercised
+a great effect. The count of that country was already strongly in his
+interest, and it was only the influence of Jacob van Artevelde which
+maintained the alliance with England. This man had, by his talent
+and energy, gained an immense influence over his countrymen; but his
+commanding position and ability had naturally excited the envy and
+hatred of many of his fellow citizens, among whom was the dean of the
+weavers of Ghent, one Gerard Denis. The weavers were the most powerful
+body in this city, and had always been noted for their turbulence and
+faction; and on a Monday in the month of May, 1345, a great battle took
+place in the market-place between them and the fullers, of whom 1500
+were slain. This victory of the weavers strengthened the power of the
+party hostile to Artevelde and the English connection; and the
+former saw that unless he could induce his countrymen to take some
+irretrievable step in favour of England they would ultimately fall back
+into the arms of France. Accordingly he invited Edward to pass over with
+a strong force into Flanders, where he would persuade the Flemings to
+make the Prince of Wales their duke. King Edward at once accepted the
+offer, and sailing from Sandwich on the 3d of July arrived in safety at
+Sluys. His intention had been kept a profound secret, and his arrival
+created the greatest surprise throughout Flanders. He did not disembark,
+but received on board a ship with great honour and magnificence the
+burgomasters of the various towns who appeared to welcome him. The king
+had brought with him the Prince of Wales, now fifteen years old,
+who wore a suit of black armour, and was therefore called "the Black
+Prince."
+
+Walter Somers was on board the royal vessel. The Prince of Wales had not
+forgotten the promise which he had six years before made to him, and had
+asked Sir Walter Manny to allow him to follow under his banner.
+
+"You are taking my most trusty squire from me, Prince," the knight said;
+"for although I have many brave young fellows in my following, there is
+not one whom I value so much as Walter Somers. It is but fair, however,
+that you should have him, since you told me when I first took him that
+he was to follow your banner when you were old enough to go to the wars.
+You can rely upon him implicitly. He cares not for the gaieties of which
+most young men of his age think so much. He is ever ready for duty, and
+he possesses a wisdom and sagacity which will some day make him a great
+leader."
+
+Walter was sorry to leave his patron, but the step was of course a great
+advancement, and excited no little envy among his companions, for among
+the young esquires of the Prince of Wales were the sons of many of the
+noblest families of England.
+
+Sir Walter presented him on leaving with a heavy purse. "Your expenses
+will be large," he said, "among so many young gallants, and you must do
+credit to me as well as to yourself. The young prince is generous to a
+fault, and as he holds you in high favour, both from his knowledge of
+you and from my report, you will, I know, lack nothing when you are once
+fairly embarked in his service; but it is needful that when you first
+join you should be provided with many suits of courtly raiment, of cloth
+of gold and silk, which were not needed while you were in the service
+of a simple knight like myself, but which must be worn by a companion of
+the heir of England."
+
+Walter had hoped that Sir James Carnegie would have accompanied the
+forces of either the Earls of Northampton or Derby, but he found that he
+had attached himself to the royal army.
+
+Ralph of course followed Walter's fortunes, and was now brilliant in the
+appointments of the Prince of Wales's chosen bodyguard of men-at-arms.
+
+The councils of all the great towns of Flanders assembled at Sluys, and
+for several days great festivities were held. Then a great assembly was
+held, and Van Artevelde rose and addressed his countrymen. He set forth
+to them the virtues of the Prince of Wales, whose courtesy and bearing
+had so captivated them; he pointed out the obligations which Flanders
+was under towards King Edward, and the advantages which would arise from
+a nearer connection with England. With this he contrasted the weakness
+of their count, the many ills which his adherence to France had brought
+upon the country, and the danger which menaced them should his power be
+ever renewed. He then boldly proposed to them that they should at once
+cast off their allegiance to the count and bestow the vacant coronet
+upon the Prince of Wales, who, as Duke of Flanders, would undertake the
+defence and government of the country with the aid of a Flemish
+council. This wholly unexpected proposition took the Flemish burghers
+by surprise. Artevelde had calculated upon his eloquence and influence
+carrying them away, but his power had diminished, and many of his
+hearers had already been gained to the cause of France. The burgher
+councils had for a long time had absolute power in their own towns, and
+the prospect of a powerful prince at their head foredoomed a curtailment
+of those powers. When Artevelde ceased, therefore, instead of the
+enthusiastic shouts with which he hoped his oration would be greeted,
+a confused murmur arose. At last several got up and said that, greatly
+attached as they were to the king, much as they admired the noble young
+prince proposed for their acceptance, they felt themselves unable to
+give an answer upon an affair of such moment without consulting their
+fellow countrymen and learning their opinions. They therefore promised
+that they would return on a certain day and give a decided answer.
+
+The Flemish burghers then took their leave. Van Artevelde, after a
+consultation with the king, started at once to use his influence among
+the various towns.
+
+After leaving the king he bade adieu to the Prince of Wales. "Would you
+like," the young prince said, "that one of my esquires should ride with
+you? His presence might show the people how entirely I am with you; and
+should you have tidings to send me he could ride hither with them. I
+have one with me who is prudent and wise, and who possesses all the
+confidence of that wise and valiant knight, Sir Walter de Manny."
+
+"I will gladly take him, your royal highness," Van Artevelde said, "and
+hope to despatch him to you very shortly with the news that the great
+towns of Flanders all gladly receive you as their lord."
+
+In a few minutes Walter had mounted his horse, accompanied by Ralph,
+and, joining Van Artevelde, rode to Bruges. Here and at Ypres Van
+Artevelde's efforts were crowned with success. His eloquence carried
+away the people with him, and both these cities agreed to accept the
+Prince of Wales as their lord; but the hardest task yet remained. Ghent
+was the largest and most powerful of the Flemish towns, and here his
+enemies were in the ascendant. Gerard Denis and the weavers had been
+stirring up the people against him. All kinds of accusations had been
+spread, and he was accused of robbing and selling his country. The news
+of the hostile feeling of the population reached Van Artevelde, and
+he despatched Walter with the request to the king for a force of five
+hundred English soldiers as a guard against his enemies.
+
+Had Artevelde asked for a large force, Edward would have disembarked his
+army and marched at their head into Ghent. As the rest of the country
+was already won, there can be little doubt that this step would at once
+have silenced all opposition, and would have annexed Flanders to the
+British crown. Van Artevelde, however, believed himself to be stronger
+than he really was, and thought with a small party of soldiers he could
+seize his principal opponents, and that the people would then rally
+round him.
+
+Upon the arrival of the five hundred men he started for Ghent; but as
+he feared that the gates would be shut if he presented himself with an
+armed force, he left the soldiers in concealment a short distance from
+the town and entered it, accompanied only by his usual suite. At his
+invitation, however, Walter, followed of course by Ralph, rode beside
+him. No sooner was he within the gates than Van Artevelde saw how
+strong was the popular feeling against him. He had been accustomed to be
+received with bows of reverence; now men turned aside as he approached,
+or scowled at him from their doors.
+
+"Methinks, sir," Walter said, "that it would be wiser did we ride back,
+and, joining the soldiers, enter at their head, or as that number would
+be scarce sufficient should so large a town rise in tumult, to send to
+King Edward for a larger force and await their coming. Even should they
+shut the gates, we can reduce the town, and as all the rest of Flanders
+is with you, surely a short delay will not matter."
+
+"You know not these Flemings as well as I do," Van Artevelde replied;
+"they are surly dogs, but they always listen to my voice, and are ready
+enough to do my bidding. When I once speak to them you will see how they
+will smooth their backs and do as I ask them."
+
+Walter said no more, but as he saw everywhere lowering brows from window
+and doorway as they rode through the streets he had doubts whether the
+power of Van Artevelde's eloquence would have the magical potency he had
+expected from it.
+
+When the party arrived at the splendid dwelling of the great demagogue,
+messengers were instantly sent out to all his friends and retainers. A
+hundred and forty persons soon assembled, and while Van Artevelde was
+debating with them as to the best steps to be taken, Walter opened the
+casement and looked out into the street. It was already crowded with
+the people, whose silent and quiet demeanor seemed to bode no good. Arms
+were freely displayed among them, and Walter saw men passing to and fro
+evidently giving instructions.
+
+"I am sorry to disturb you, Master Artevelde," he said, returning to the
+room where the council was being held, "but methinks that it would
+wise to bar the doors and windows, and to put yourself in a posture
+of defence, for a great crowd is gathering without, for the most part
+armed, and as it seems to me with evil intentions."
+
+A glance from the windows confirmed Walter's statements, and the doors
+and windows were speedily barricaded. Before many minutes had elapsed
+the tolling of bells in all parts of the town was heard, and down the
+different streets leading towards the building large bodies of armed men
+were seen making their way.
+
+"I had rather have to do with a whole French army, Master Walter," Ralph
+said, as he stood beside him at an upper window looking down upon the
+crowd, "than with these citizens of Ghent. Look at those men with bloody
+axes and stained clothes. Doubtless those are the skinners and butchers.
+Didst ever see such a ferocious band of savages? Listen to their shouts.
+Death to Van Artevelde! Down with the English alliance! I thought our
+case was a bad one when the French poured over the walls into Vannes but
+methinks it is a hundred times worse now.
+
+"We got out of that scrape, Ralph, and I hope we shall get out of this,
+but, as you say, the prospect is black enough. See, the butchers are
+hammering at the door with their pole-axes. Let us go down and aid in
+the defence."
+
+"I am ready," Ralph said, "but I shall fight with a lighter heart if you
+could fix upon some plan for us to adopt when the rabble break in. That
+they will do so I regard as certain, seeing that the house is not
+built for purposes of defence, but has numerous broad windows on the
+ground-floor by which assuredly they will burst their way in.
+
+"Wait a moment then, Ralph; let us run up to the top storey and see if
+there be any means of escape along the roofs."
+
+The house stood detached from the others, but on one side was separated
+from that next to it only by a narrow lane, and as the upper stories
+projected beyond those below, the windows were but six feet distant from
+those on the opposite side of the way.
+
+"See," Water said, "there is a casement in the room to our left there
+which is open; let us see if it is tenanted."
+
+Going into the next room they went to the window and opened it. It
+exactly faced the casement opposite, and so far as they could see the
+room was unoccupied.
+
+"It were easy to put a plank across," Ralph said.
+
+"We must not do that," Walter answered. "The mob are thick in the lane
+below--what a roar comes up from their voices!--and a plank would be
+surely seen, and we should be killed there as well as here. No, we must
+get on to the sill and spring across; the distance is not great, and the
+jump would be nothing were it not that the casements are so low. It must
+be done as lightly and quickly as possible, and we may not then be seen
+from below. Now leave the door open that we may make no mistake as to
+the room, and come along, for by the sound the fight is hot below."
+
+Running down the stairs Walter and Ralph joined in the defence. Those
+in the house knew that they would meet with no mercy from the infuriated
+crowd, and each fought with the bravery of despair. Although there were
+many windows to be defended, and at each the mob attacked desperately,
+the assaults were all repulsed. Many indeed of the defenders were struck
+down by the pikes and pole-axes, but for a time they beat back the
+assailants whenever they attempted to enter. The noise was prodigious.
+The alarm-bells of the town were all ringing and the shouts of the
+combatants were drowned in the hoarse roar of the surging crowd without.
+
+Seeing that however valiant was the defence the assailants must in the
+end prevail, and feeling sure that his enemies would have closed the
+city gates and thus prevented the English without from coming to his
+assistance, Van Artevelde ascended to an upper storey and attempted
+to address the crowd. His voice was drowned in the roar. In vain he
+gesticulated and made motions imploring them to hear him, but all was
+useless, and the courage of the demagogue deserted him and he burst into
+tears at the prospect of death. Then he determined to try and make his
+escape to the sanctuary of a church close by, and was descending the
+stairs when a mighty crash below, the clashing of steel, shouts, and
+cries, told that the mob had swept away one of the barricades and were
+pouring into the house.
+
+"Make for the stair," Walter shouted, "and defend yourselves there." But
+the majority of the defenders, bewildered by the inrush of the enemy,
+terrified at their ferocious aspect and terrible axes, had no thought
+of continuing the resistance. A few, getting into corners, resisted
+desperately to the end; others threw down their arms and dropping on
+their knees cried for mercy, but all were ruthlessly slaughtered.
+
+Keeping close together Walter and Ralph fought their way to the foot
+of the stairs, and closely pursued by a band of the skinners headed by
+Gerard Denis, ran up. Upon the first landing stood a man paralysed with
+terror. On seeing him a cry of ferocious triumph rose from the mob.
+As nothing could be done to aid him Walter and his follower rushed by
+without stopping. There was a pause in the pursuit, and glancing down
+from the upper gallery Walter saw Van Artevelde in the hands of the mob,
+each struggling to take possession of him; then a man armed with a great
+axe pushed his way among them, and swinging it over his head struck Van
+Artevelde dead to the floor. His slayer was Gerard Denis himself.
+
+Followed by Ralph, Walter sprang through the open door into the chamber
+they had marked, and closed the door behind them. Then Walter, saying,
+"I will go first, Ralph, I can help you in should you miss your spring,"
+mounted on the sill of the casement. Short as was the distance the leap
+was extremely difficult, for neither casement was more than three feet
+high. Walter was therefore obliged to stoop low and to hurl himself head
+forwards across the gulf. He succeeded in the attempt, shooting clear
+through the casement on to the floor beyond. Instantly he picked himself
+up and went to Ralph's assistance. The latter, taller and more bulky,
+had greater difficulty in the task, and only his shoulder arrived
+through the window. Walter seized him, and aided him at once to scramble
+in, and they closed the casement behind them.
+
+"It was well we took off our armour, Ralph; its pattern would have been
+recognized in an instant."
+
+Walter had thrown off his helmet as he bounded up the stairs, and both
+he and his companion had rid themselves of their heavy armour.
+
+"I would give a good deal," he said, "for two bourgeois jerkins,
+even were they as foul as those of the skinners. This is a woman's
+apartment," he added, looking round, "and nothing here will cover my six
+feet of height, to say nothing of your four inches extra. Let us peep
+into some of the other rooms. This is, doubtless, the house of some
+person of importance, and in the upper floor we may find some clothes of
+servants or retainers."
+
+They were not long in their search. The next room was a large one, and
+contained a number of pallet beds, and hanging from pegs on walls
+were jerkins, mantles, and other garments, evidently belonging to
+the retainers of the house. Walter and Ralph were not long in
+transmogrifying their appearance, and had soon the air of two
+respectable serving-men in a Flemish household.
+
+"But how are we to descend?" Ralph asked. "We can hardly hope to walk
+down the stairs and make our escape without being seen, especially as
+the doors will all be barred and bolted, seeing the tumult which is
+raging outside."
+
+"It all depends whether our means of escape are suspected," Walter
+replied, "I should scarce think that they would be. The attention of
+our pursuers was wholly taken up by Van Artevelde, and some minutes must
+have passed before they followed us. No doubt they will search every
+place in the house, and all within it will by this time have been
+slaughtered. But they will scarce organize any special search for us.
+All will be fully occupied with the exciting events which have taken
+place, and as the casement by which we entered is closed it is scarcely
+likely to occur to any one that we have escaped by that means. I will
+listen first if the house is quiet. If so, we will descend and take
+refuge in some room below, where there is a better chance of concealment
+than here. Put the pieces of armour into that closet so that they may
+not catch the eye of any who may happen to come hither. The day is
+already closing. In half an hour it will be nightfall. Then we will try
+and make our way out."
+
+Listening at the top of the stairs they could hear voices below; but as
+the gallery was quiet and deserted they made their way a floor lower,
+and seeing an open door entered it. Walter looked from the window.
+
+"There is a back-yard below," he said, "with a door opening upon a
+narrow lane. We are now upon the second storey, and but some twenty-five
+feet above the ground. We will not risk going down through the house,
+which could scarce be accomplished without detection, but will at once
+tear up into strips the coverings of the bed, and I will make a rope by
+which we may slip down into the courtyard as soon as it is dark. We must
+hope that none will come up before that time; but, indeed, all will be
+so full of the news of the events which have happened that it is scarce
+likely that any will come above at present."
+
+The linen sheets and coverings were soon cut up and knotted together in
+a rope. By the time that this was finished the darkness was closing in,
+and after waiting patiently for a few minutes they lowered the rope and
+slid down into the yard. Quietly they undid the bolts of the gate and
+issued into the lane. The mantles were provided with hoods, as few of
+the lower class of Flemings wore any other head-covering.
+
+Drawing these hoods well over their heads so as to shade their faces the
+two sallied out from the lane. They were soon in one of the principal
+streets, which was crowded with people. Bands of weavers, butchers,
+skinners, and others were parading the streets shouting and singing in
+honour of their victory and of the downfall and death of him whom they
+had but a few days before regarded as the mainstay of Flanders. Many of
+the better class of burghers stood in groups in the streets and talked
+in low and rather frightened voices of the consequences which the deed
+of blood would bring upon the city. On the one hand Edward might march
+upon it with his army to avenge the murder of his ally. Upon the other
+hand they were now committed to France. Their former ruler would return,
+and all the imposts and burdens against which they had rebelled would
+again be laid upon the city.
+
+"What shall we do now?" Ralph asked, "for assuredly there will be no
+issue by the gates."
+
+"We must possess ourselves of a length of rope if possible, and make our
+escape over the wall. How to get one I know not, for the shops are all
+closed, and even were it not so I could not venture in to purchase any,
+for my speech would betray us at once. Let us separate, and each see
+whether he can find what we want. We will meet again at the entrance
+to this church in an hour's time. One or other of us may find what we
+seek."
+
+Walter searched in vain. Wherever he saw the door of a yard open he
+peered in, but in no case could he see any signs of rope. At the end of
+the hour he returned to their rendezvous. Ralph was already there.
+
+"I have found nothing, Ralph. Have you had better fortune?"
+
+"That have I, Master Walter, and was back nigh an hour since. Scarce had
+I left you when in a back street I came upon a quiet hostelry, and in
+the courtyard were standing half a dozen teams of cattle. Doubtless
+their owners had brought hay or corn into the city, and when the tumult
+arose and the gates were closed found themselves unable to escape. The
+masters were all drinking within, so without more ado I cut off the
+ropes which served as traces for the oxen, and have them wound round my
+body under my mantle. There must be twenty yards at least, and as
+each rope is strong enough to hold double our weight there will be no
+difficulty in lowering ourselves from the walls."
+
+"You have done well indeed, Ralph," Walter said. "Let us make our way
+thither at once. Everyone is so excited in the city, that, as yet, there
+will be but few guards upon the wall. The sooner, therefore, that we
+attempt to make our escape the better."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII: THE WHITE FORD
+
+
+They made their way without interruption to the wall. This they found,
+as they expected, entirely deserted, although, no doubt, guards had been
+posted at the gates. The Flemings, however, could have felt no fear of
+an attack by so small a force as the five hundred English whom they knew
+to be in the neighbourhood.
+
+Walter and his companion soon knotted the ropes together and lowered
+themselves into the moat. A few strokes took them to the other side, and
+scrambling out, they made their way across the country to the spot
+where the English had been posted. They found the Earl of Salisbury, who
+commanded, in a great state of uneasiness. No message had reached him
+during the day. He had heard the alarm-bells of the city ring, and a
+scout who had gone forward returned with the news that the gates were
+closed and the drawbridges raised, and that a strong body of men manned
+the walls.
+
+"Your news is indeed bad," he said, when Walter related to him the
+events which had taken place in the town. "This will altogether derange
+the king's plans. Now that his ally is killed I fear that his hopes of
+acquiring Flanders for England will fall to the ground. It is a thousand
+pities that he listened to Van Artevelde and allowed him to enter Ghent
+alone. Had his majesty landed, as he wished, and made a progress through
+the country, the prince receiving the homage of all the large towns, we
+could then very well have summoned Ghent as standing alone against all
+Flanders. The citizens then would, no doubt, have gladly opened their
+gates and received the prince, and if they had refused we would have
+made short work of them. However, as it has turned out, it is as well
+that we did not enter the town with the Fleming, for against so large
+and turbulent a population we should have had but little chance. And
+now, Master Somers, we will march at once for Sluys and bear the news
+to the king, and you shall tell me as we ride thither how you and your
+man-at-arms managed to escape with whole skins from such a tumult."
+
+The king was much grieved when he heard of the death of Artevelde, and
+held a council with his chief leaders. At first, in his indignation and
+grief, he was disposed to march upon Ghent and to take vengeance for the
+murder of his ally, but after a time calmer counsels prevailed.
+
+The Flemings were still in rebellion against their count, who was the
+friend of France. Were the English to attack Ghent they would lose the
+general goodwill of the Flemings, and would drive them into the arms
+of France, while, if matters were left alone, the effect of the popular
+outburst which had caused the death of Artevelde would die away, and
+motives of interest and the fear of France would again drive them into
+the arms of England. The expedition therefore returned to England, and
+there the king, in a proclamation to his people, avoided all allusion to
+the death of his ally, but simply stated that he had been waited upon by
+the councils of all the Flemish towns, and that their faithful obedience
+to himself as legitimate King of France, was established upon a firmer
+basis than ever.
+
+This course had the effect which he had anticipated from it. The people
+of Flanders perceived the danger and disadvantage which must accrue
+to their trade from any permanent disagreement with England. They were
+convinced by the events which soon afterwards happened in France that
+the King of England had more power than Phillip of Valois, and could,
+if he chose, punish severely any breach of faith towards him. They
+therefore sent over commissioners to express their grief and submission.
+The death of Artevelde was represented as the act of a frantic mob, and
+severe fines were imposed upon the leaders of the party who slew him,
+and although the principal towns expressed their desire still to remain
+under the rule of the Count of Flanders, they suggested that the ties
+which bound them to England should be strengthened by the marriage of
+Louis, eldest son of the count, to one of Edward's daughters. More than
+this, they offered to create a diversion for the English forces acting
+in Guienne and Gascony by raising a strong force and expelling the
+French garrisons still remaining in some parts of the country. This
+was done. Hugo of Hastings was appointed by the king captain-general in
+Flanders, and with a force of English and Flemings did good service by
+expelling the French from Termond and several other towns.
+
+
+
+The character of Jacob van Artevelde has had but scant justice done to
+it by most of the historians of the time. These, living in an age of
+chivalry, when noble blood and lofty deeds were held in extraordinary
+respect, had little sympathy with the brewer of Ghent, and deemed it
+contrary to the fitness of things that the chivalry of France should
+have been defied and worsted by mere mechanics and artisans. But there
+can be no doubt that Artevelde was a very great man. He may have been
+personally ambitious, but he was a true patriot. He had great military
+talents. He completely remodelled and wonderfully improved the internal
+administration of the country, and raised its commerce, manufactures,
+and agriculture to a pitch which they had never before reached. After
+his death his memory was esteemed and revered by the Flemings, who long
+submitted to the laws he had made, and preserved his regulations with
+scrupulous exactitude.
+
+Edward now hastened to get together a great army. Every means were
+adopted to raise money and to gather stores, and every man between
+sixteen and sixty south of the Trent was called upon to take up arms and
+commanded to assemble at Portsmouth in the middle of Lent. A tremendous
+tempest, however, scattered the fleet collected to carry the expedition,
+a great many of the ships were lost, and it was not until the middle of
+July, 1346, that it sailed from England.
+
+It consisted of about 500 ships and 10,000 sailors, and carried 4000
+men-at-arms, 10,000 archers, 12,000 Welsh, and 6000 Irish.
+
+This seems but a small army considering the efforts which had been
+made; but it was necessary to leave a considerable force behind for
+the defence of the Scottish frontier, and England had already armies in
+Guienne and Brittany. Lionel, Edward's second son, was appointed regent
+during his father's absence. On board Edward's own ship were Godfrey of
+Harcourt and the Prince of Wales. Walter, as one of the personal squires
+of the prince, was also on board.
+
+The prince had been greatly interested in the details of Walter's escape
+from Van Artevelde's house, the king himself expressed his approval
+of his conduct, and Walter was generally regarded as one of the most
+promising young aspirants to the court. His modesty and good temper
+rendered him a general favourite, and many even of the higher nobles
+noticed him by their friendly attentions, for it was felt that he stood
+so high in the goodwill of the prince that he might some day become
+a person of great influence with him, and one whose goodwill would be
+valuable.
+
+It was generally supposed, when the fleet started, that Guienne was
+their destination, but they had not gone far when a signal was made to
+change the direction in which they were sailing and to make for La Hogue
+in Normandy. Godfrey of Harcourt had great influence in that province,
+and his persuasions had much effect in determining the king to direct
+his course thither. There was the further advantage that the King of
+France, who was well aware of the coming invasion, would have made his
+preparations to receive him in Guienne. Furthermore, Normandy was the
+richest and most prosperous province in France. It had for a long time
+been untouched by war, and offered great abundance of spoil. It had made
+itself particularly obnoxious to the English by having recently made an
+offer to the King of France to fit out an expedition and conquer England
+with its own resources.
+
+
+
+The voyage was short and favourable, and the expedition landed at La
+Hogue, on the small peninsula of Cotentin, without opposition. Six days
+were spent at La Hogue disembarking the men, horses, and stores, and
+baking bread for the use of the army on the march. A detachment advanced
+and pillaged and burnt Barileur and Cherbourg and a number of small
+towns and castles.
+
+In accordance with custom, at the commencement of the campaign a court
+was held, at which the Prince of Wales was dubbed a knight by his
+father. A similar honour was bestowed upon a number of other young
+aspirants, among whom was Walter Somers, who had been highly recommended
+for that honour to the king by Sir Walter Manny.
+
+The force was now formed into three divisions--the one commanded by
+the king himself, the second by the Earl of Warwick, and the third by
+Godfrey of Harcourt. The Earl of Arundel acted as Lord High Constable,
+and the Earl of Huntingdon, who was in command of the fleet, followed
+the army along the sea-coast. Valognes, Carentan, and St. Lo were
+captured without difficulty, and the English army advanced by rapid
+marches upon Caen, plundering the country for six or seven leagues
+on each side of the line of march. An immense quantity of booty was
+obtained. As soon as the news of Edward's landing in Normandy reached
+Paris, Phillip despatched the Count d'Eu, Constable of France, with the
+Count of Tankerville and 600 men-at-arms, to oppose Edward at Caen. The
+Bishop of Bayeux had thrown himself into that city, which was already
+garrisoned by 300 Genoese. The town was not defensible, and the only
+chance of resistance was by opposing the passage of the river
+Horn, which flowed between the suburbs and the city. The bridge
+was barricaded, strong wooden towers were erected, and such was the
+confidence of the inhabitants and their leaders that Edward's promise of
+protection for the person and property of the citizens was rejected with
+scorn, and the whole male population joined the garrison in the defence
+of the bridge. Marching through the deserted suburbs the English army
+attacked the bridge with such vehemence that although the enemy defended
+the barricades gallantly they were speedily forced, and the English
+poured into the town. Before the first fury of the attack was over near
+5000 persons were slain. The Count of Tankerville, 140 knights, and as
+many squires were made prisoners. The plunder was so enormous as to be
+sufficient to cover the whole expenses of the expedition, and this with
+the booty which had been previously acquired was placed on board ship
+and despatched to England, while the king marched forward with his army.
+At Lisieux he was met by two cardinals sent by the pope to negotiate
+a truce; but Edward had learned the fallacy of truces made with King
+Phillip, and declined to enter into negotiations. Finding that Rouen had
+been placed in a state of defence and could not be taken without a long
+siege he left it behind him and marched along the valley of the Eure,
+gathering rich booty at every step.
+
+But while he was marching forward a great army was gathering in his
+rear. The Count of Harcourt brother of Godfrey, called all Normandy to
+arms. Every feudal lord and vassal answered to the summons, and before
+Edward reached the banks of the Seine a formidable army had assembled.
+
+The whole of the vassals of France were gathering by the orders of the
+king at St. Denis. The English fleet had now left the coast, and Edward
+had only the choice of retreating through Normandy into Brittany or
+of attempting to force the passage of the Seine, and to fight his way
+through France to Flanders. He chose the latter alternative, and marched
+along the left bank of the river towards Paris, seeking in vain to find
+a passage. The enemy followed him step by step on the opposite bank, and
+all the bridges were broken down and the fords destroyed.
+
+Edward marched on, burning the towns and ravaging the country until
+he reached Poissy. The bridge was as usual destroyed, but the piles on
+which it stood were still standing, and he determined to endeavour to
+cross here. He accordingly halted for five days, but despatched troops
+in all directions, who burned and ravaged to the very gates of Paris.
+The villages of St. Germain, St. Cloud, Bourg la Reine, and many others
+within sight of the walls were destroyed, and the capital itself thrown
+into a state of terror and consternation. Godfrey of Harcourt was the
+first to cross the river, and with the advance guard of English fell
+upon a large body of the burghers of Amiens, and after a severe fight
+defeated them, killing over five hundred. The king himself with his
+whole force passed on the 16th of August.
+
+Phillip, with his army, quitted St. Denis, when he heard that the
+English army had passed the Seine, and by parallel marches endeavoured
+to interpose between it and the borders of Flanders. As his force was
+every hour increasing he despatched messengers to Edward offering him
+battle within a few days on condition that he would cease to ravage the
+country; but Edward declined the proposal, saying that Phillip himself
+by breaking down the bridges had avoided a battle as long as he could,
+but that whenever he was ready to give battle he would accept the
+challenge. During the whole march the armies were within a few leagues
+of each other, and constant skirmishes took place between bodies
+detached from the hosts.
+
+In some of these skirmishes Walter took part, as he and the other newly
+made knights were burning to distinguish themselves. Every day the
+progress of the army became more difficult, as the country people
+everywhere rose against them, and several times attempted to make a
+stand but were defeated with great loss. The principal towns were found
+deserted, and even Poix, which offered great capabilities of defence,
+had been left unguarded. Upon the English entering, the burghers offered
+to pay a large ransom to save the town from plunder. The money was to be
+delivered as soon as the English force had withdrawn, and Walter Somers
+was ordered by the king to remain behind with a few men-at-arms to
+receive the ransom.
+
+No sooner had the army departed than the burghers, knowing that the
+French army was close behind, changed their minds, refused to pay the
+ransom, and fell upon the little body of men-at-arms. Although taken
+quite by surprise by the act of treachery Walter instantly rallied his
+men although several had been killed at the first onslaught. He, with
+Ralph and two or three of the staunchest men, covered the retreat of
+the rest through the streets, making desperate charges upon the body of
+armed burghers pressing upon them. Ralph fought as usual with a mace
+of prodigious weight, and the terror of his blows in no slight degree
+enabled the party to reach the gate in safety, but Walter had no idea of
+retreating further. He despatched one of his followers to gallop at full
+speed to overtake the rear-guard of the army, which was still but two
+miles distant, while with the rest he formed a line across the gate and
+resisted all the attempts of the citizens to expel them.
+
+The approach to the gate was narrow, and the overwhelming number of the
+burghers were therefore of little avail. Walter had dismounted his force
+and all fought on foot, and although sorely pressed they held their
+ground until Lords Cobham and Holland, with their followers, rode up.
+Then the tide of war was turned, the town was plundered and burnt, and
+great numbers of the inhabitants slain. Walter gained great credit
+for holding the gate, for had he been driven out, the town could have
+resisted, until the arrival of Louis, all assaults of the English.
+
+The river Somme now barred the passage of Edward. Most of the bridges
+had been destroyed, and those remaining were so strongly fortified that
+they could not be forced.
+
+The position of the English was now very critical. On one flank and
+in front were impassable rivers. The whole country was in arms against
+them, and on their rear and flank pressed a hostile army fourfold their
+strength. The country was swampy and thinly populated, and flour and
+provisions were only obtained with great difficulty. Edward, on finding
+from the reports of his marshals who had been sent to examine the
+bridges, that no passage across the river could be found, turned
+and marched down the river towards the sea, halting for the night at
+Oisemont.
+
+Here, a great number of peasantry attempted a defence, but were easily
+defeated and a number of prisoners taken. Late in the evening the Earl
+of Warwick, who had pushed forward as far as Abbeville and St. Valery,
+returned with the news that the passages at those places were as
+strongly guarded as elsewhere, but he had learnt from a peasant that
+a ford existed somewhere below Abbeville, although the man was himself
+ignorant of its position.
+
+Edward at once called the prisoners belonging to that part of the
+country before him, and promised to any one who would tell him where
+the ford lay his freedom and that of twenty of his companions. A peasant
+called Gobin Agase stepped forward and offered to show the ford, where
+at low tide twelve men could cross abreast. It was, he said, called "La
+Blanche Tache".
+
+
+
+Edward left Oisemont at midnight and reached the ford at daylight. The
+river, however, was full and the army had to wait impatiently for low
+tide. When they arrived there no enemy was to be seen on the opposite
+bank, but before the water fell sufficiently for a passage to be
+attempted, Sir Godemar du Fay with 12,000 men, sent by King Phillip, who
+was aware of the existence of the ford, arrived on the opposite side.
+
+The enterprise was a difficult one indeed, for the water, even at low
+tide, is deep. Godemar du Fay, however, threw away part of his advantage
+by advancing into the stream. The English archers lined the banks, and
+poured showers of arrows into the ranks of the enemy, while the Genoese
+bowmen on their side were able to give comparatively little assistance
+to the French.
+
+
+
+King Edward shouted to his knights, "Let those who love me follow me,"
+and spurred his horse into the water. Behind him followed his most
+valiant knights, and Walter riding close to the Prince of Wales was one
+of the foremost.
+
+The French resisted valiantly and a desperate battle took place on the
+narrow ford, but the impetuosity of the English prevailed, and step
+by step they drove the French back to the other side of the river. The
+whole army poured after their leaders, and the French were soon entirely
+routed and fled, leaving two thousand men-at-arms dead on the field.
+
+King Edward, having now freed himself from the difficulties which had
+encompassed him on the other side of the river, prepared to choose a
+ground to give battle to the whole French army.
+
+Louis had advanced slowly, feeling confident that the English would be
+unable to cross the river, and that he should catch them hemmed in by
+it. His mortification and surprise on finding, when he approached La
+Blanche Tache, that twelve thousand men had been insufficient to hold
+a ford by which but twelve could cross abreast, and that his enemy had
+escaped from his grasp, were great. The tide had now risen again, and he
+was obliged to march on to Abbeville and cross the river there.
+
+King Edward now advanced into the Forest of Cressy.
+
+Hugh de le Spencer, with a considerable force, was despatched to Crotoy,
+which he carried by assault after a severe conflict, in which four
+thousand of the French men-at-arms were slain. The capture of this city
+removed all danger of want from the army, for large stores of wine and
+meal were found there, and Sir Hugh at once sent off a supply to the
+tired army in the field.
+
+The possession of Crotoy and the mouth of the Somme would have now
+rendered it easy for the English monarch to have transported his troops
+to England, and to have returned triumphant after the accomplishment of
+his extraordinary and most successful march through France. The army,
+however, was elated by the many great successes it had won, he was now
+in Ponthieu, which was one of his own fiefs, and he determined to make a
+stand in spite of the immense superiority of the enemy.
+
+Next morning, then--Friday the 25th of August, 1346--he despatched the
+Earl of Warwick with Godfrey of Harcourt and Lord Cobham, to examine the
+ground and choose a site for a battle.
+
+The plan of the fight was drawn out by the king and his councillors,
+and the king yielded to the Black Prince the chief place of danger and
+honour placing with him the Earl of Warwick, Sir John Chandos, and many
+of his best knights.
+
+The ground which had been chosen for the battle was an irregular slope
+between the forest of Cressy and the river Maie near the little village
+of Canchy. The slope looked towards the south and east, from which
+quarters the enemy was expected to arrive, and some slight defences were
+added to the natural advantages of the ground.
+
+On the night of the 25th all the principal leaders of the British host
+were entertained by King Edward. Next morning, Mass was celebrated,
+and the king, the prince, and many knights and nobles received the
+Sacrament, after which the trumpet sounded, and the army marched to
+take up its position. Its numbers are variously estimated, but the best
+account puts it at about 30,000 men which, considering that 32,000 had
+crossed the Channel to La Hogue, is probably about the force which would
+have been present allowing that 2000 had fallen in the various actions
+or had died from disease.
+
+The division of the Black Prince consisted of 800 men-at-arms, 4000
+archers, and 6000 Welsh foot. The archers, as usual, were placed in
+front, supported by the light troops of Wales and the men-at-arms; on
+his left was the second division, commanded by the Earls of Arundel and
+Northampton; its extreme left rested on Canchy and the river, and it was
+further protected by a deep ditch; this corps was about 7000 strong.
+
+The king himself took up his position on a knoll of rising ground
+surmounted by a windmill, and 12,000 men under his personal command were
+placed here in reserve.
+
+In the rear of the Prince's division an enclosure of stakes was formed;
+in this, guarded by a small body of archers, were ranged the wagons
+and baggage of the army, together with all the horses, the king having
+determined that the knights and men-at-arms on his side should fight on
+foot.
+
+When the army had taken up its position, the king, mounted on a
+small palfrey, with a white staff in his hand, rode from rank to rank
+exhorting his soldiers to do their duty gallantly. It was nearly noon
+before he had passed through all the lines, and permission was
+then given to the soldiers to fall out from their ranks and to take
+refreshments while waiting for the coming of the enemy. This was
+accordingly done, the men eating and drinking at their ease and lying
+down in their ranks on the soft grass with their steel caps and their
+bows or pikes beside them.
+
+In the meantime the French had, on their side, been preparing for the
+battle. Phillip had crossed the Somme at Abbeyville late on Thursday
+afternoon, and remained there next day marshalling the large
+reinforcements which were hourly arriving. His force now considerably
+exceeded 100,000 men, the number with which he had marched from Amiens
+three days previously.
+
+Friday was the festival of St. Louis, and that evening Phillip gave a
+splendid banquet to the whole of the nobles of his army.
+
+On the following morning the king, accompanied by his brother the Count
+d'Alencon, the old King of Bohemia and his son, the King of Rome, the
+Duke of Lorraine, the Count of Blois, the Count of Flanders, and a
+great number of other feudal princes, heard Mass at the Abbey, and then
+marched with his great army towards Cressy. He moved but slowly in order
+to give time to all the forces scattered over the neighbourhood to come
+up, and four knights, headed by one of the King of Bohemia's officers,
+went forward to reconnoitre the English position. They approached within
+a very short distance of the English lines and gained a very exact
+knowledge of the position, the English taking no measures to interrupt
+the reconnaissance. They returned with the information they had
+gathered, and the leader of the party, Le Moyne de Basele, one of the
+most judicious officers of his time, strongly advised the king to halt
+his troops, pointing out that as it was evident the English were ready
+to give battle, and as they were fresh and vigorous while the French
+were wearied and hungry, it would be better to encamp and give battle
+the next morning.
+
+Phillip saw the wisdom of the advice and ordered his two marshals the
+Lord of St. Venant and Charles de Montmorency to command a halt. They
+instantly spurred off, one to the front and the other to the rear,
+commanding the leaders to halt their banners. Those in advance at once
+obeyed, but those behind still pressed on, declaring that they would not
+halt until they were in the front line. All wanted to be first, in order
+to obtain their share of the honour and glory of defeating the English.
+Those in front, seeing the others still coming on, again pressed
+forward, and thus, in spite of the efforts of the king and his marshals,
+the French nobles with their followers pressed forward in confusion,
+until, passing through a small wood, they found themselves suddenly in
+the presence of the English army.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV: CRESSY
+
+
+The surprise of the French army at finding themselves in the presence
+of the English was so great that the first line recoiled in confusion.
+Those marching up from behind imagined that they had been already
+engaged and repulsed by the English, and the disorder spread through the
+whole army, and was increased by the common people, who had crowded to
+the field in immense numbers from the whole country round to see the
+battle and share in the plunder of the English camp.
+
+From King Edward's position on the rising ground he could see the
+confusion which prevailed in the French ranks, and small as were his
+forces he would probably have obtained an easy victory by ordering a
+sudden charge upon them. The English, however, being dismounted, but
+small results would have followed the scattering of the great host of
+the French. The English army therefore remained immovable, except that
+the soldiers rose from the ground, and taking their places in the ranks,
+awaited the onslaught of the enemy.
+
+King Phillip himself now arrived on the field and his hatred for the
+English led him at once to disregard the advice which had been given him
+and to order the battle to commence as soon as possible.
+
+The army was divided into four bodies, of which Phillip commanded one,
+the Count D'Alencon the second, the King of Bohemia the third, and
+the Count of Savoy the fourth. Besides these were a band of 15,000
+mercenaries, Genoese crossbow-men, who were now ordered to pass between
+the ranks of cavalry and to clear the ground of the English archers, who
+were drawn up in the usual form in which they fought--namely, in very
+open order, line behind line, the men standing alternately, so that each
+had ample room to use his bow and to fire over the heads of those in
+front. The formation was something like that of a harrow, and, indeed,
+exactly resembled that in which the Roman archers fought, and was called
+by them a quincunx.
+
+The Genoese had marched four leagues beneath a hot sun loaded with their
+armour and heavy cross-bows, and they remonstrated against the order,
+urging that they were in no condition to do good service without some
+repose. The Count D'Alencon, furious at their hesitation, ordered them
+up, but as they advanced a terrible thunderstorm, with torrents of rain,
+broke over the armies, and wetting the cords of the crossbows rendered
+many of them unserviceable. At length the crossbow-men were arranged in
+front, while behind them were the vast body of French cavalry, and the
+order was given for the battle to begin.
+
+The Genoese advanced with loud shouts but the English archers paid no
+attention to the noise, but waited calmly for the attack. At this moment
+the sun, now approaching the west, shone out brightly between the clouds
+behind the English, its rays streaming full in the faces of the French.
+The Genoese were now within distance, and began to discharge their
+quarrels at their impassive enemies, but as they opened fire the English
+archers drew their bows from the cases which had protected them from the
+rain, and stepping forward poured their arrows among the Genoese. The
+crossbow-men were smitten as with a storm, numbers were struck in the
+face and other unprotected parts, and they were instantly thrown into
+confusion, and casting away their cross-bows they recoiled in disorder
+among the horsemen behind them.
+
+Phillip, passionate and cruel as ever, instead of trying to rally the
+Genoese, ordered the cavalry behind them to fall upon them, and
+the men-at-arms at once plunged in among the disordered mass of the
+crossbow-men, and a wild scene of carnage and confusion ensued, the
+English archers continuing to pour their unerring arrows into the midst.
+
+The Count D'Alencon, who was behind, separated his division into two
+bodies, and swept round on one side himself, while the Count of Flanders
+did the same on the other to attack the Prince of Wales in more regular
+array. Taking a circuitous route, D'Alencon appeared upon a rising
+ground on the flank of the archers of the Black Prince, and thus,
+avoiding their arrows, charged down with his cavalry upon the 800
+men-at-arms gathered round the Black Prince, while the Count of Flanders
+attacked on the other flank. Nobly did the flower of English chivalry
+withstand the shock of the French, and the prince himself and the
+highest nobles and simple men-at-arms fought side by side. None gave
+away a foot.
+
+In vain the French, with impetuous charges, strove to break through the
+mass of steel. The spear-heads were cleft off with sword and battle-axe,
+and again and again men and horses recoiled from the unbroken line.
+Each time the French retired the English ranks were formed anew, and
+as attack followed attack a pile of dead rose around them. The Count
+D'Alencon and the Duke of Lorraine were among the first who fell. The
+young Count of Blois, finding that he could not ride through the wall
+of steel, dismounted with his knights and fought his way on foot
+towards the banner of the Prince of Wales. For a time the struggle was
+desperate, and the young prince, with his household knights, was for a
+time well-nigh beaten back.
+
+
+
+Walter, fighting close beside the prince, parried more than one blow
+intended for him, and the prince himself slew the Count of Blois, whose
+followers all fell around him. The Count of Flanders was also slain, and
+confusion began to reign among the assailants, whose leaders had now
+all fallen. Phillip himself strove to advance with his division into
+the fight, but the struggle between the Genoese and the men-at-arms was
+still continuing, and the very multitude of his troops in the narrow and
+difficult field which the English had chosen for the battle embarrassed
+his movements.
+
+Charles of Luxembourg, King of the Romans, and afterwards Emperor of
+Germany, son of the old King of Bohemia, with a large body of German and
+French cavalry, now assailed the English archers, and in spite of their
+flights of arrows came to close quarters, and cutting their way through
+them joined in the assault upon the men-at-arms of the Black Prince.
+Nearly 40,000 men were now pressing round the little body, and the Earls
+of Northampton and Arundel moved forward with their divisions to his
+support, while the Earl of Warwick, who was with the prince, despatched
+Sir Thomas of Norwich to the king, who still remained with his powerful
+reserve, to ask for aid.
+
+"Sir Thomas," demanded the king, "is my son killed, overthrown, or
+wounded beyond help?"
+
+"Not so, sire," replied the knight, "but he is in a rude fight, and much
+needs your aid."
+
+"Go back, Sir Thomas, to those who sent you and tell them from me that
+whatsoever happens they require no aid from me so long as my son is in
+life. Tell them also that I command them to let the boy win his spurs,
+for, God willing, the day shall be his, and the honour shall rest with
+him and those into whose charge I have given him."
+
+The prince and those around him were filled with fresh ardour when
+they received this message. Each man redoubled his efforts to repel the
+forces that were incessantly poured down upon them by the French. On all
+sides these pressed around them, striving desperately, but ever in vain,
+to break through the solid ranks of the English. The French men-at-arms
+suffered, moreover, terribly from the attacks of the Welsh infantry.
+These men, clad in thick leather jerkins, nimble of foot, accustomed to
+a life of activity, were armed with shortened lances and knives, mingled
+fearlessly among the confused mass of French cavalry, creeping beneath
+the horses' bellies, standing up when they got a chance, and stabbing
+horses and men with their knives and pikes. Many were trampled upon or
+struck down, but numbering, as they did, 6000, they pervaded the whole
+mass of the enemy, and did terrible execution, adding in no small degree
+to the confusion caused by the shower of arrows from the archers within
+the circle of the men-at-arms. The instant a French knight fell, struck
+from his horse with a battle-axe or arrow, or by the fall of a wounded
+steed, the half-wild Welsh were upon him, and slew him before he could
+regain his feet.
+
+The slaughter was immense. The Count of Harcourt, with his nephew the
+Count D'Aumale and his two gallant sons, fell together, and at last
+Charles of Luxembourg, seeing his banner down, his troops routed, his
+friends slain, and the day irreparably lost, and being himself severely
+wounded in three places, turned his horse and fled, casting off his
+rich emblazoned surcoat to avoid recognition. In the meantime Prince
+Charles's father, the veteran King of Bohemia, once one of the most
+famous warriors of Europe, but now old and blind, sat on horseback at
+a little distance from the fight; the knights around him told him the
+events as they happened, and the old monarch soon saw that the day was
+lost. He asked them for tidings of his son Charles of Luxembourg, but
+they were forced to reply that the banner of the King of the Romans was
+no longer in sight, but that, doubtless, he was somewhere engaged in the
+melee.
+
+"Lords," said the old man, "you are my vassals, my friends, and my
+companions, and on this day I command and beseech you to lead me forward
+so far that I may deal one blow of my sword in the battle."
+
+His faithful friends obeyed him, a number of knights arranged themselves
+around him, and lest they should lose him in the fight they tied their
+horses together by the bridles and charged down into the fray. Advancing
+directly against the banner of the Prince of Wales, the blind monarch
+was carried into the midst of the thickest strife.
+
+There the little group of knights fought gallantly, and after the
+battle was over, the bodies of the king and his friends were found lying
+together, their dead horses still linked by the bridles.
+
+During this terrible battle, which had been raging since three o'clock,
+Phillip had made strenuous efforts to aid his troops engaged in the
+front by continually sending fresh bodies to the assault. It was now
+growing dark, terror and confusion had already spread among the French,
+and many were flying in all directions, and the unremitting showers of
+English arrows still flew like hail among their ranks. As the king made
+his way forward, surrounded by his personal attendants to take part
+himself in the fight, his followers fell thick around him, and his horse
+was slain by an arrow. John of Hainault, who had remained by his side
+during the whole day, mounted upon a fresh horse and urged him to fly,
+as the day was lost. Phillip, however, persisted, and made his way into
+the melee, where he fought for some time with extreme courage, until
+almost all around him were slain, the royal standard bearer killed, and
+himself wounded in two places. John of Hainault then seized his bridle
+exclaiming "Come away, sire, it is full time; do not throw your life
+away foolishly; if you have lost this day you will win another," and so
+almost forced the unwilling king from the field. Phillip, accompanied by
+the lords of Montmorency, Beaujeu, Aubigny, and Mansault, with John of
+Hainault, and sixty men-at-arms, rode to the Castle of Broye, and there
+halted for a few hours. At midnight he again set out, and in the morning
+arrived safely at Amiens.
+
+The Black Prince held his station until night without yielding a
+single step to all the efforts of the French. Gradually, however, the
+assailants became less and less numerous, the banners disappeared,
+and the shouts of the leaders and the clang of arms died away, and
+the silence which prevailed over the field at once announced that the
+victory was complete and the enemy in full flight. An immense number
+of torches were now lighted through the English lines, and the king,
+quitting for the first time his station on the hill, came down to
+embrace his gallant son. Edward and his host rejoiced in a spirit
+of humility over the victory. No songs of triumph, no feastings or
+merriment were permitted, but a solemn service of the church was held,
+and the king and his soldiers offered their thanks to God for the
+victory He had given them. The English army lay all night under arms,
+and a number of scattered parties of the French, wandering about in the
+darkness, entered the lines and were slain or taken prisoners.
+
+The dawn of the next morning was thick and foggy, and intelligence
+coming in that a large body of the enemy were advancing upon them, the
+Earls of Northampton, Warwick, and Norfolk, with 500 men-at-arms and
+2000 archers, went out to reconnoitre, and came in the misty twilight
+upon an immense force composed of the citizens of Beauvais, Rouen, and
+some other towns, led by the Grand Prior of France and the Archbishop of
+Rouen, who were approaching the field.
+
+By some extraordinary accident they had not met any of the fugitives
+flying from Cressy, and were ignorant that a battle had been fought.
+The English charged them at once. Their advance-guard, consisting of
+burghers, was easily overthrown. The second division, which was composed
+of men-at-arms, fought bravely, but was unable to withstand the charge
+of the triumphant English, and was completely broken and defeated.
+The Grand Prior was killed and a vast number of his followers slain or
+captured. During the whole of the morning detached parties from Edward's
+army scoured the country, dispersing and slaughtering bands of French
+who still remained together, and towards night the Earl of Northampton
+returned to the camp with the news that no enemy remained in the
+vicinity that could offer a show of resistance to the English force.
+
+It is said that a far greater number of French were killed upon the
+second day than upon the first. This can be accounted for by the fact
+that on the first day but a small portion of the English army were
+engaged, and that upon the second the English were fresh and vigorous,
+and their enemy exhausted and dispirited.
+
+The greater number of the French nobles and knights who fell, died in
+their attempts to break through the Black Prince's array. Besides the
+King of Bohemia, nine sovereign princes and eighty great nobles were
+killed, with 1200 knights, 1500 men-at-arms, and 30,000 foot; while on
+the English side only three knights and a small number of men-at-arms
+and infantry were killed.
+
+The body of the King of Bohemia and those of the other great leaders
+were carried in solemn pomp to the Abbey of Maintenay. Edward himself
+and his son accompanied them as mourners. On the Monday following
+Edward marched with his army against Calais, and summoned the town to
+surrender. John of Vienne, who commanded the garrison, refused to comply
+with the demand. The fortifications of the town were extremely strong
+and the garrison numerous, and Edward perceived that an assault would be
+very unlikely to succeed, and would entail great loss, while a repulse
+would have dimmed the lustre of the success which he had gained. He
+therefore determined to reduce it by famine, and the troops were set to
+work to build huts. So permanently and strongly were these constructed
+that it seemed to the enemy that King Edward was determined to remain
+before Calais even should he have to stay there for ten years.
+
+Proclamations were issued in England and Flanders inviting traders to
+establish stores and to bring articles of trade of all kinds, and in a
+short time a complete town sprang up which was named by Edward "New-Town
+the Bold". The English fleet held complete possession of the sea,
+cutting off the besieged from all succour by ship, and enabling abundant
+supplies for the army to be brought from England and Flanders. Strong
+parties were sent out in all directions. The northern provinces of
+France were scoured, and the army was amply provided with necessaries
+and even luxuries.
+
+After the first terrible shock caused by the crushing defeat of Cressy,
+King Phillip began at once to take measures for the relief of Calais,
+and made immense efforts again to put a great army in the field. He
+endeavoured by all means in his power to gain fresh allies. The young
+Count of Flanders, who, at the death of his father at Cressy, was
+sixteen years of age, was naturally even more hostile to the English
+than the late prince had been, and he strove to win over his subjects to
+the French alliance, while Phillip made them magnificent offers if they
+would join him. The Flemings, however, remained stanch to the English
+alliance, and held their prince in duresse until he at last consented
+to marry the daughter of Edward. A week before the date fixed for the
+nuptials, however, he managed to escape from the vigilance of his guards
+when out hawking, and fled to the court of France.
+
+In Scotland Phillip was more successful, and David Bruce, instead of
+employing the time given him by the absence of Edward with his armies in
+driving out the English garrisons from the strong places they still held
+in Scotland, raised an army of 50,000 men and marched across the border
+into England plundering and ravaging. Queen Philippa, however, raising
+an army, marched against him, and the Scotch were completely defeated
+at Neville's Cross, 15,000 being killed and their king himself taken
+prisoner.
+
+Walter's conduct at the battle of Cressy gained him still further the
+favour of the Black Prince. The valour with which he had fought was
+conspicuous even on a field where all fought gallantly, and the prince
+felt that more than once he would have been smitten down had not
+Walter's sword interposed. Ralph too had fought with reckless bravery,
+and many French knights and gentlemen had gone down before the
+tremendous blows of his heavy mace, against which the stoutest armour
+availed nothing. After the battle the prince offered to make him an
+esquire in spite of the absence of gentle blood in his veins, but Ralph
+declined the honour.
+
+"An it please you, Sir Prince," he said, "but I should feel more
+comfortable among the men-at-arms, my fellows. In the day of battle I
+trust that I should do no discredit to my squirehood, but at other times
+I should feel woefully out of my element, and should find nought for my
+hands to do, therefore if it so pleases your Royal Highness, I would far
+rather remain a simple man-at-arms."
+
+Ralph did not, however, refuse the heavy purse which the prince gave
+him, although indeed he, as well as all the soldiers, was well supplied
+with money, so great were the spoils which the army had gathered in its
+march before Cressy, and which they now swept off in their raids among
+the northern provinces of France.
+
+One evening Walter was returning from a banquet at the pavilion of the
+Prince of Wales, with Ralph as usual following at a little distance,
+when from a corner of the street a man darted suddenly out and struck a
+dagger with all his force between his shoulders. Well was it for Walter
+that he had taken Geoffrey's advice, and had never laid aside the shirt
+of mail, night or day. Fine as was its temper, two or three links of the
+outer fold were broken, but the point did not penetrate the second fold,
+and the dagger snapped in the hand of the striker. The force of the
+sudden blow, however, hurled Walter to the ground. With a loud cry Ralph
+rushed forward. The man instantly fled. Ralph pursued him but a short
+distance and then hastened back to Walter.
+
+"Are you hurt, Sir Walter?" he exclaimed.
+
+"In no way, Ralph, thanks to my shirt of mail. Well, indeed, was it for
+me that I was wearing it, or I should assuredly have been a dead man. I
+had almost begun to forget that I was a threatened man; but I shall be
+on guard for the future."
+
+"I wish I had followed the fellow," Ralph said. "I would not have slain
+him could I have helped it, but would have left it for the hangman to
+extort from him the name of his employer; but, in truth, he struck so
+hard, and you fell so straight before the blow, that I feared the mail
+had given way, and that you were sorely wounded if not killed. You have
+oft told me that I was over-careful of you, but you see that I was not
+careful enough, however, you may be assured that if another attempt be
+made those who attempt it shall not get off scot free. Do you think of
+laying a complaint before the provost against him you suspect?"
+
+"It would be useless, Ralph. We may have suspicion of the man from whom
+the blow came, but have no manner of proof. It might have been done
+by any ruffian camp-follower who struck the blow only with the hope of
+carrying off my chain and purse. The camp swarms with such fellows, and
+we have no clue which could lead to his detection, unless," he added,
+stooping and picking a piece of steel which lay at his feet, "this
+broken dagger may some day furnish us with one. No; we will say nought
+about it. Sir James Carnegie is not now in camp, having left a week
+since on business in England. We exchange no words when we meet, but I
+heard that he had been called away. Fortunately the young prince likes
+him not, and I therefore have seldom occasion to meet him. I have no
+doubt that he credits me with the disfavour in which he is held by the
+prince; but I have never even mentioned his name before him, and the
+prince's misliking is but the feeling which a noble and generous heart
+has, as though by instinct, against one who is false and treacherous.
+At the same time we must grant that this traitor knight is a bold and
+fearless man-at-arms; he fought well at La Blanche Tache and Cressy,
+and he is much liked and trusted by my lord of Northampton, in whose
+following he mostly rides; 'tis a pity that one so brave should have so
+foul and treacherous a heart. Here we are at my hut, and you can sleep
+soundly tonight, Ralph, for there is little fear that the fellow, who
+has failed tonight, will repeat his attempt for some time. He thinks,
+no doubt, that he has killed me, for with a blow so strongly struck
+he would scarcely have felt the snapping of the weapon, and is likely
+enough already on board one of the ships which ply to and fro from
+England on his way to acquaint his employer that I am removed from his
+path."
+
+The next morning Walter mentioned to the Black Prince the venture which
+had befallen him, and the narrow escape he had had of his life. The
+prince was extremely exasperated, and gave orders that an inquisition
+should be made through the camp, and that all men found there not being
+able to give a good account of themselves as having reasonable and
+lawful calling there should be forthwith put on board ship and sent to
+England. He questioned Walter closely whether he deemed that the attack
+was for the purpose of plunder only, or whether he had any reason to
+believe that he had private enemies.
+
+"There is a knight who is evilly disposed toward me, your highness,"
+Walter said; "but seeing that I have no proof whatever that he had a
+hand in this affair, however strongly I may suspect it, I would fain,
+with your leave, avoid mentioning his name."
+
+"But think you that there is any knight in this camp capable of so foul
+an action?"
+
+"I have had proofs, your highness, that he is capable of such an act;
+but in this matter my tongue is tied, as the wrong he attempted was not
+against myself, but against others who have so far forgiven him that
+they would fain the matter should drop. He owes me ill-will, seeing that
+I am aware of his conduct, and that it was my intervention which caused
+his schemes to fail. Should this attempt against me be repeated it can
+scarce be the effect of chance, but would show premeditated design, and
+I would then, both in defence of my own life, and because I think that
+such deeds should not go unpunished, not hesitate to name him to you,
+and if proof be wanting to defy him to open combat."
+
+"I regret, Sir Walter, that your scruples should hinder you from at once
+denouncing him; but seeing how grave a matter it is to charge a knight
+with so foul a crime, I will not lay stress upon you; but be assured
+that should any repetition of the attempt be made I shall take the
+matter in hand, and will see that this caitiff knight receives his
+desserts."
+
+A short time afterwards Walter accompanied the prince in an excursion
+which he made with a portion of the army, sweeping the French provinces
+as far as the river Somme. Upon their way back they passed through the
+village of Pres, hard by which stood a small castle. It was situated
+some forty miles from Calais, and standing upon rising ground, it
+commanded a very extensive view over the country.
+
+"What say you, Sir Walter?" the prince said to the young knight who was
+riding near him. "That castle would make a good advanced post, and
+a messenger riding in could bring news of any large movements of the
+enemy." Walter assented. "Then, Sir Walter, I name you chatelain. I
+shall be sorry to lose your good company; but the post is one of peril,
+and I know that you are ever longing to distinguish yourself. Take forty
+men-at-arms and sixty archers. With that force you may make shift to
+resist any attack until help reaches you from camp. You may be sure that
+I shall not be slack in spurring to your rescue should you be assailed."
+
+Walter received the proposal with delight. He was weary of the monotony
+of life in New Town, and this post in which vigilance and activity would
+be required was just to his taste; so, taking the force named by the
+prince, with a store of provision, he drew off from the column and
+entered the castle.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV: THE SIEGE OF A FORTALICE
+
+
+Walter's first step on assuming the command was to examine thoroughly
+into the capabilities of defence of the place, to see that the well was
+in good order, and the supply of water ample, and to send out a foraging
+party, which, driving in a number of beasts and some cart-loads of
+forage, would supply his garrison for some time. The castle he found
+was less strong than it looked. The walls were lightly built, and were
+incapable of withstanding any heavy battering. The moat was dry, and
+the flanking towers badly placed, and affording little protection to the
+faces of the walls; however, the extent of the defences was small, and
+Walter felt confident that with the force at his command he could resist
+any sudden attack, unless made in overwhelming force, so that all the
+faces of the wall could be assaulted at the same time. He had a large
+number of great stones brought in to pile against the gate, while others
+were brought into the central keep, similarly to defend the door should
+the outer wall be carried. He appointed Ralph as his lieutenant, and
+every day, leaving him in charge of the castle, rode through the country
+for many miles round, with twenty men-at-arms, to convince himself
+that no considerable force of the enemy were approaching. These
+reconnaissances were not without some danger and excitement, for several
+times bodies of the country people, armed with scythes, axes, and
+staves, tried to intercept them on their return to the castle, and
+once or twice Walter and his men had to fight their way through their
+opponents. Contrary to the custom of the times, Walter gave orders to
+his men not to slay any when resistance had ceased.
+
+
+
+"They are but doing what we ourselves should do did French garrisons
+hold our castles at home, and I deem them in no way to be blamed for the
+efforts which they make to slay us. In self-defence, of course, we must
+do our best, and must kill in order that we may not ourselves be slain;
+but when they are once routed, let them go to their homes. Poor people,
+the miseries which this war has brought upon them are great, and there
+is no wonder that they hate us."
+
+This leniency on Walter's part was not without good effect. When the
+country people found that the garrison of the castle of Pres did not
+carry fire and sword through the villages around, that they took only
+sufficient for their needs, and behaved with courtesy to all, their
+animosity to a great extent subsided. No longer did the women and
+children of the little villages fly to the woods when they saw the gleam
+of Walter's approaching spears, but remained at their avocations,
+and answered willingly enough the questions which he asked them as to
+whether they had heard aught of the movements of French troops. So far
+as possible, Walter refrained from seizing the cattle or stores of grain
+of the poorer classes, taking such as he needed from the lands of the
+wealthy proprietors, all of whom had left the country, and were either
+with the French army or sheltering in Paris. Five of his best mounted
+men Walter chose as messengers, and one rode each day to New Town with
+the news which had been gathered, returning on the following day, and
+then resting his horse for three days before again setting out.
+
+Night and day sentries were placed on the walls, for although Walter
+heard nothing of any body gathering in his immediate vicinity, a force
+might at any moment issue from Amiens and appear suddenly before the
+place. Such was indeed what really took place, and at daybreak one
+morning Walter was aroused by the news that the sentinels saw a large
+body of men rapidly approaching. The horse of the messenger next on
+duty stood, as usual, saddled and bridled in readiness, and without a
+moment's delay Walter ordered the man to mount and ride to the prince,
+and to give news that the castle was assailed, but by how large a force
+he could not as yet say.
+
+The instant the messenger had started through the gates Walter ascended
+to the walls; he saw at once that the party was a strong one; for
+although still at some distance, and but dimly seen in the gray morning
+light, he judged that it must contain at least a thousand men-at-arms.
+At this moment a call from the sentry on the other side of the castle
+was heard, and hastening thither, Walter saw that another body nearly as
+numerous as the first were approaching from the side of Calais, having
+made a detour so as to place themselves between the castle and the army,
+to which news would naturally be sent of their coming. Walter watched
+his messenger, who had now ridden half a mile towards the approaching
+body. Suddenly he saw him turn his horse and ride off at right angles to
+the road.
+
+"He sees them," he said, "and is going to try to ride round them. I
+fear that there is but little hope of his escaping, seeing that they are
+between him and Calais, and that assuredly some among them must be as
+well or better mounted than himself." As he spoke a party of horsemen
+were seen to detach themselves from the flank of the French column
+and to gallop off at full speed to intercept the messenger; the latter
+diverged more and more from his course, but he was constantly headed
+off by his pursuers, and at last, seeing the impossibility of getting
+through them, he again turned his horse's head and galloped off towards
+the castle, which he reached a few hundred yards only in advance of his
+foes.
+
+"I could not help it, Sir Walter," he said, as he galloped in at the
+gate. "I found that although Robin is fast, some of those horsemen had
+the turn of speed of me, and that it was impossible that I could get
+through; so deeming that I should do more service by coming to strike
+a blow here than by having my throat cut out in the fields, I made the
+best of my way back."
+
+"Quite right, Martin!" Walter said. "I should have been grieved had you
+thrown your life away needlessly. I saw from the first that your escape
+was cut off. And now, men, each to his place; but first pile up the
+stones against the gate, and then let each man take a good meal, for it
+is like enough to be long before we get a chance of doing so again."
+
+Again ascending to the walls Walter saw that the first body of
+men-at-arms he had perceived was followed at a distance by a strong
+force of footmen having with them some large wagons.
+
+"I fear," he said to Ralph, "that they have brought machines with them
+from Amiens, and in that case they will not be long in effecting a
+breach, for doubtless they know that the walls are but weak. We shall
+have to fight stoutly, for it may be days before the news of our leaguer
+reaches the camp. However, I trust that the prince will, by tomorrow
+night, when he finds that two days have elapsed without the coming of
+my usual messenger, suspect that we are besieged and will sally forth to
+our assistance. And now let us to breakfast, for we shall need all our
+strength today, and you may be sure that French will lose no time in
+attacking, seeing that assistance may shortly arrive from Calais."
+
+There were but few preparations to be made. Each man had had his post
+assigned to him on the walls in case of an attack, and piles of stones
+had been collected in readiness to cast down upon the heads of those
+attempting an assault. Cauldrons were carried up to the walls and filled
+with water, and great fires were lighted under them. In half an hour
+the French infantry had reached the spot, but another two hours elapsed
+before any hostile movement was made, the leaders of the assailants
+giving their men that time to rest after their long march. Then a stir
+was visible among them, and they were seen to form in four columns, each
+about a thousand strong, which advanced simultaneously against opposite
+sides of the castle. As soon as their intentions were manifest Walter
+divided his little force, and these, gathering in four groups upon
+the walls, prepared to resist the assault. To four of his most trusty
+men-at-arms he assigned the command of these parties, he himself and
+Ralph being thus left free to give their aid where it was most needed.
+
+The assailants were well provided with scaling-ladders, and advanced
+with a number of crossbow-men in front, who speedily opened a hot fire
+on the walls. Walter ordered his archers to bide their time, and not to
+fire a shot till certain that every shaft would tell. They accordingly
+waited until the French arrived within fifty yards of the wall, when
+the arrows began to rain among them with deadly effect, scarce one but
+struck its mark--the face of an enemy. Even the closed vizors of the
+knights and chief men-at-arms did not avail to protect their wearers;
+the shafts pierced between the bars or penetrated the slits left open
+for sight, and many fell slain by the first volley. But their numbers
+were far too great to allow the columns being checked by the fire of so
+small a number of archers; the front ranks, indeed, pressed forward more
+eagerly than before, being anxious to reach the foot of the wall, where
+they would be in comparative shelter from the arrows.
+
+The archers disturbed themselves in no way at the reaching of the wall
+by the heads of the columns; but continued to shoot fast and true
+into the mass behind them, and as these were, for the most part, less
+completely armed than their leaders, numbers fell under the fire of
+the sixty English bowmen. It was the turn of the men-at-arms now.
+Immediately the assailants poured into the dry moat and sought to raise
+their ladders the men-at-arms hurled down the masses of stones piled
+in readiness, while some poured buckets of boiling water over them. In
+spite of the loss they were suffering the French raised their ladders,
+and, covering their heads with their shields, the leaders strove to gain
+the walls. As they did so, some of the archers took post in the flanking
+towers, and as with uplifted arms the assailants climbed the ladders,
+the archers smote them above the joints of their armour beneath the
+arm-pits, while the men-at-arms with pike and battle-axe hewed down
+those who reached the top of the ladders. Walter and Ralph hastened from
+point to point encouraging the men and joining in the defence where the
+pressure was hottest; and at last, after two hours of vain effort and
+suffering great loss, the assailants drew off and the garrison had
+breathing time.
+
+"Well done, my men!" Walter said, cheeringly; "they have had a lesson
+which they will remember, and if so be that they have brought with them
+no machines we may hold out against them for any time."
+
+It was soon manifest, however, that along with the scaling-ladders the
+enemy had brought one of their war-machines. Men were seen dragging
+massive beams of timber towards the walls, and one of the wagons was
+drawn forward and upset on its side at a distance of sixty yards from
+the wall, not, however, without those who drew it suffering much from
+the arrows of the bowmen. Behind the shelter thus formed the French
+began to put together the machine, whose beams soon raised themselves
+high above the wagon.
+
+In the meantime groups of men dragged great stones laid upon a sort of
+hand sledge to the machine, and late in the afternoon it began to cast
+its missiles against the wall. Against these Walter could do little. He
+had no sacks, which, filled with earth, he might have lowered to cover
+the part of the walls assailed, and beyond annoying those working the
+machines by flights of arrows shot high in the air, so as to descend
+point downwards among them, he could do nothing.
+
+The wall crumbled rapidly beneath the blows of the great stones, and
+Walter saw that by the following morning a breach would be effected.
+When night fell he called his men together and asked if any would
+volunteer to carry news through the enemy to the prince. The enterprise
+seemed well-nigh hopeless, for the French, as if foreseeing that such
+an attempt might be made, had encamped in a complete circle round the
+castle, as was manifest by the position of their fires. Several
+men stepped forward, and Walter chose three light and active
+men--archers--to attempt the enterprise. These stripped off their steel
+caps and breastpieces, so that they might move more quickly, and when
+the French fires burned low and all was quiet save the creak of the
+machine and the dull heavy blows of the stones against the wall, the
+three men were lowered by ropes at different points, and started on
+their enterprise. A quarter of an hour later the garrison heard shouts
+and cries, and knew that a vigilant watch had been set by the French,
+and that one, if not all, of their friends had fallen into their hands.
+All night long the machine continued to play.
+
+An hour before daylight, when he deemed that the enemy's vigilance
+would be relaxed, Walter caused himself with Ralph and twelve of his
+men-at-arms to be lowered by ropes from the wall. Each rope had a loop
+at the bottom in which one foot was placed, and knots were tied in
+order to give a better grasp for the hands. They were lowered at a short
+distance from the spot at which the machine was at work; all were armed
+with axes, and they made their way unperceived until within a few yards
+of the wagon. Then there was a cry of alarm, and in a moment they rushed
+forward among the enemy. The men working the machine were instantly cut
+down, and Walter and his party fell upon the machine, cutting the
+ropes and smashing the wheels and pulleys and hewing away at the timber
+itself. In a minute or two, however, they were attacked by the enemy,
+the officer in command having bade a hundred men lie down to sleep close
+behind the machine in case the garrison should attempt a sortie. Walter
+called upon Ralph and four of the men-at-arms to stand beside him while
+the others continued their work of destruction. The French came up in a
+tumultuous body, but, standing so far apart that they could wield their
+axes, the English dealt such destruction among their first assailants
+that these for a time recoiled. As fresh numbers came up, encouraged
+by their leader they renewed the attack, and in spite of the most
+tremendous efforts Walter and his party were driven back. By this time,
+however, so much damage had been done to the machine that it would be
+some hours before it could be repaired, even if spare ropes and other
+appliances had been brought with it from Amiens; so that, reinforced by
+the working party, Walter was again able to hold his ground and after
+repulsing a fresh onslaught of the enemy he gave the word for his men to
+retire at full speed.
+
+The French were so surprised by the sudden disappearance of their foes
+that it was a moment or two before they started in pursuit, and Walter
+and his men had gained some thirty yards before the pursuit really
+commenced.
+
+The night was a dark one, and they considerably increased this advantage
+before they reach the foot of the wall, where the ropes were hanging.
+
+"Has each of you found his rope?" Walter asked.
+
+As soon as an affirmative answer was given he placed his foot in the
+loop and shouted to the men above to draw up, and before the enraged
+enemy could reach the spot the whole party were already some yards above
+their heads. The archers opened fire upon the French, doing, in spite of
+the darkness, considerable execution, for the men had snatched up their
+arms at the sudden alarm, and had joined the fray in such haste that
+many of them had not had time to put on their steel caps. There was
+noise and bustle in the enemy's camp, for the whole force were now under
+arms, and in their anger at the sudden blow which had been struck them
+some bodies of men even moved forward towards the walls as if they
+intended to renew the assault of the previous day; but the showers
+of arrows with which they were greeted cooled their ardour and they
+presently retired out of reach of bowshot. There was a respite now for
+the besiegers. No longer every few minutes did a heavy stone strike the
+walls.
+
+The morning's light enabled the defenders of the castle to see the
+extent of the damage which the battering machine had effected. None
+too soon had they put a stop to its work, for had it continued its
+operations another hour or two would have effected a breach.
+
+Already large portions of the wall facing it had fallen, and other
+portions were so seriously damaged that a few more blows would have
+levelled them.
+
+
+
+"At any rate," Walter said to Ralph, "we have gained a respite; but even
+now I fear that if the Black Prince comes not until tomorrow he will
+arrive too late."
+
+The French, apparently as well aware as the garrison of the necessity
+for haste, laboured at the repair of the machine. Bodies of men started
+to cut down trees to supply the place of the beams which had been
+rendered useless. Scarcely had the assault ceased when horsemen were
+despatched in various directions to seek for fresh ropes, and by dint of
+the greatest exertions the machine was placed in position to renew its
+attack shortly after noon.
+
+By two o'clock several large portions of the damaged wall had fallen,
+and the debris formed a slope by which an assaulting column could rush
+to the bridge. As soon as this was manifest the French force formed for
+the assault and rushed forward in solid column.
+
+Walter had made the best preparation possible for the defence. In the
+courtyard behind the breach his men had since morning been driving a
+circle of piles, connected by planks fastened to them. These were some
+five feet high, and along the top and in the face next to the breach
+sharp-pointed spikes and nails had been driven, rendering it difficult
+in the extreme for anyone to climb over. As the column of the assailants
+approached Walter placed his archers on the walls on either side of the
+breach, while he himself, with his men-at-arms, took his station in the
+gap and faced the coming host. The breach was some ten yards wide, but
+it was only for about half this width that the mound of broken stones
+rendered it possible for their enemies to assault, consequently there
+was but a space of some fifteen feet in width to be defended. Regardless
+of the flights of arrows, the French, headed by their knights and
+squires, advanced to the assault, and clambering up the rough stones
+attacked the defenders.
+
+Walter, with Ralph and three of his best men-at-arms, stood in the front
+line and received the first shock of the assault. The roughness and
+steepness of the mound prevented the French from attacking in regular
+order, and the very eagerness of the knights and squires who came first
+in contact with their enemies was a hindrance to them. When the columns
+were seen gathering for the assault Walter had scattered several barrels
+full of oil and tar which he found in the cellars over the mound in
+front of the breach, rendering it greasy and slippery, and causing the
+assailants to slip and stagger and many to fall as they pressed forward
+to the assault. Before the fight commenced he had encouraged his
+soldiers by recalling to them how a mere handful of men had at Cressy
+withstood for hours the desperate efforts of the whole of the French
+army to break through their line, and all were prepared to fight to the
+death.
+
+The struggle was a desperate one. Served by their higher position, and
+by the difficulties which the French encountered from the slipperiness
+of the ground and their own fierce ardour to attack, Walter and his
+little band for a long time resisted every effort. He with his sword
+and Ralph with his heavy mace did great execution, and they were nobly
+seconded by their men-at-arms. As fast as one fell another took his
+place. The breach in front of them was cumbered with dead and red with
+blood. Still the French poured upwards in a wave, and the sheer weight
+of their numbers and the fatigue caused by the tremendous exertions
+the defenders were making began to tell. Step by step the English were
+driven back, and Walter saw that the defence could not much longer be
+continued. He bade one of his men-at-arms at once order the archers to
+cease firing, and, leaving the walls, to take refuge in the keep, and
+thence to open fire upon the French as they poured through the breach.
+
+When he found that this movement had been accomplished Walter bade the
+men-at-arms fall back gradually. A gap had been left in the wooden fence
+sufficient for one at a time to pass, and through this the men-at-arms
+retired one by one to the keep until only Walter and five others were
+left. With these Walter flung himself suddenly upon the assailants and
+forced them a few feet down the slope. Then he gave the word, and all
+sprang back, and leaping down from the wall into the courtyard ran
+through the barrier, Walter and Ralph being the last to pass as the
+French with exulting shouts leapt down from the breach. There was
+another fierce fight at the barrier. Walter left Ralph to defend this
+with a few men-at-arms while he saw that all was in readiness for
+closing the door rapidly in the keep. Then he ran back again. He was but
+just in time. Ralph indeed could for a long time have held the narrow
+passage, but the barriers themselves were yielding. The French were
+pouring in through the breach, and as those behind could not see the
+nature of the obstacle which arrested the advance of their companions
+they continued to push forward, and by their weight pressed those in
+front against the spikes in the barrier. Many perished miserably on
+these. Others, whose armour protected them from this fate, were crushed
+to death by the pressure; but this was now so great that the timbers
+were yielding. Walter, seeing that in another moment they would be
+levelled, gave the word, sprang back with Ralph and his party, and
+entered the keep just as with a crash the barrier fell and the French
+poured in a crowd into the courtyard. Bolting the door the defenders of
+the keep piled against it the stones which had been laid in readiness.
+
+The door was on the first floor, and was approached by a narrow flight
+of stone steps, up which but two abreast could advance. In their first
+fury the French poured up these steps, but from the loopholes which
+commanded it the English bowmen shot so hard that their arrows pierced
+the strongest armour. Smitten through vizor and armour, numbers of the
+bravest of the assailants fell dead. Those who gained the top of the
+steps were assailed by showers of boiling oil from an upper chamber
+which projected over the door, and whose floor was pierced for this
+purpose, while from the top of the keep showers of stones were poured
+down. After losing great numbers in this desperate effort at assault the
+French drew off for a while, while their leaders held council as to the
+best measures to be taken for the capture of the keep.
+
+After a time Walter from the summit saw several bodies of men detach
+themselves from the crowd still without the castle and proceed into the
+country. Two hours later they were seen returning laden with trunks of
+trees. These were dragged through the breach, and were, in spite of the
+efforts of the archers and of the men-at-arms with their stones, placed
+so as to form a sort of penthouse against one side of the keep. Numbers
+of the soldiers now poured up with sacks and all kinds of vessels which
+they had gathered from the surrounding villages, filled with earth. This
+was thrown over the beams until it filled all the crevices between them
+and formed a covering a foot thick, so that neither boiling oil nor
+water poured from above could penetrate to injure those working beneath
+its shelter. When all was ready a strong body armed with picks and
+crowbars entered the penthouse and began to labour to cut away the wall
+of the keep itself.
+
+"Their commander knows his business," Walter said, "and the device is an
+excellent one. We can do nothing, and it only depends upon the strength
+of the wall how long we can hold out. The masonry is by no means good,
+and before nightfall, unless aid comes, there will be nought for us but
+death or surrender."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI: A PRISONER
+
+
+As long as it was light an anxious look-out was kept from the top of the
+keep towards Calais. There was nothing to be done. The besiegers who
+had entered the walls were ensconced in the various buildings in the
+courtyard or placed behind walls so as to be out of arrow-shot from
+above, and were in readiness to repel any sortie which might be made to
+interfere with the work going on under the penthouse. But no sortie was
+possible, for to effect this it would be necessary to remove the stones
+from the door, and before this could be accomplished the besiegers would
+have rallied in overwhelming force, nor could a sortie have effected
+anything beyond the slaying of the men actually engaged in the work.
+The beams of the penthouse were too strong and too heavily weighted with
+earth to be removed, and the attempt would only have entailed useless
+slaughter. The penthouse was about forty feet in length, and the
+assailants were piercing three openings, each of some six feet in
+width, leaving two strong supporting pillars between them. Anxiously the
+garrison within listened to the sounds of work, which became louder and
+louder as the walls crumbled before the stroke of pickaxe and crowbar.
+
+"I shall hold out until the last moment," Walter said to Ralph, "in
+hopes of relief, but before they burst in I shall sound a parley. To
+resist further would be a vain sacrifice of life."
+
+Presently a movement could be seen among the stones, and then almost
+simultaneously two apertures appeared. The chamber into which the
+openings were made was a large one, being used as the common room of the
+garrison. Here twenty archers, and the remaining men-at-arms--of whom
+nearly one-half had fallen in the defence of the breach--were gathered,
+and the instant the orifices appeared the archers began to send their
+arrows through them. Then Walter ascended to another chamber, and
+ordered the trumpeter to sound a parley.
+
+The sound was repeated by the assailants' trumpeter.
+
+"Who commands the force?" Walter asked.
+
+"I, Guy, Count of Evreux."
+
+"I am Sir Walter Somers," the young knight continued. "I wish to ask
+terms for the garrison.
+
+"You must surrender unconditionally," the count replied from the
+courtyard. "In ten minutes we shall have completely pierced your walls,
+and you will be at our mercy."
+
+"You may pierce our walls," Walter replied, "but it will cost you many
+lives before you force your way in; we will defend the hold from floor
+to floor, and you know how desperate men can fight. It will cost you
+scores of lives before you win your way to the summit of this keep; but
+if I have your knightly word that the lives of all within these walls
+shall be spared, then will I open the door and lay down our arms."
+
+A consultation took place between the leaders below. There was truth
+in Walter's words that very many lives would be sacrificed before the
+resistance of so gallant a garrison could be overcome. Every minute was
+of importance, for it was possible that at any moment aid might arrive
+from Calais, and that the table would be turned upon the besiegers.
+
+Therefore, after a short parley among themselves, the count replied:
+
+"You have fought as a gallant knight and gentleman, Sir Walter Somers,
+and have wrought grievous harm upon my leading. I should grieve that so
+brave a knight should lose his life in a useless resistance. Therefore
+I agree to your terms, and swear upon my knightly honour that upon your
+surrendering yourselves prisoners of war, the lives of all within these
+walls shall be spared."
+
+Walter at once gave the order. The stones were removed and the door
+thrown open, and leading his men Walter descended the steps into the
+courtyard, which was now illuminated with torches, and handed his sword
+to the Count of Evreux.
+
+"You promised me, count," a tall knight standing by his side said,
+"that if he were taken alive, the commander of this castle should be my
+prisoner."
+
+"I did so, Sir Phillip Holbeaut. When you proposed this adventure to
+me, and offered to place your following at my command, I agreed to the
+request you made me; but mind," he said sternly, "my knightly word
+has been given for his safety. See that he receives fair and gentle
+treatment at your hand. I would not that aught should befall so brave a
+knight."
+
+"I seek him no harm," the knight said angrily; "but I know that he is
+one of the knights of the Black Prince's own suite, and that his ransom
+will be freely paid, and as my coffers are low from the expenses of the
+war, I would fain replenish them at the expense of the English prince."
+
+"I said not that I doubted you, Sir Phillip," the count said calmly;
+"but as the knight surrendered on my word, it was needful that I should
+warn you to treat him as I myself should do did he remain in my hands,
+and to give him fair treatment until duly ransomed."
+
+"I should be glad, count," Walter said, "if you will suffer me to take
+with me as companion in my captivity this man-at-arms. He is strongly
+attached to me, and we have gone through many perils together; it will
+lighten my captivity to have him by my side."
+
+"Surely I will do so, Sir Walter, and wish that your boon had been a
+larger one. The rest I will take back with me to Amiens, there to hold
+until exchanged for some of those who at various times have fallen into
+your king's hands. And now to work, men; lose not a moment in stripping
+the castle of all that you choose to carry away, then apply fire to
+the storehouses, granaries, and the hold itself. I would not that it
+remained standing to serve as an outpost for the English."
+
+The horses were brought from the stables. Walter and Ralph took their
+horses by the bridle, and followed Sir Phillip Holbeaut through the now
+open gates of the castle to the spot where the horses of the besiegers
+were picketed. The knight, and his own men-at-arms, who had at the
+beginning of the day numbered a hundred and fifty, but who were now
+scarcely two-thirds of that strength, at once mounted with their
+prisoners, and rode off from the castle. A few minutes later a glare of
+light burst out from behind them. The count's orders had been obeyed;
+fire had been applied to the stores of forage, and soon the castle of
+Pres was wrapped in flames.
+
+"I like not our captor's manner," Ralph said to Walter as they rode
+along side by side.
+
+"I agree with you, Ralph. I believe that the reason which he gave the
+count for his request was not a true one, though, indeed, I can see no
+other motive which he could have for seeking to gain possession of
+me. Sir Phillip, although a valiant knight, bears but an indifferent
+reputation. I have heard that he is a cruel master to his serfs,
+and that when away fighting in Germany he behaved so cruelly to the
+peasantry that even the Germans, who are not nice in their modes of
+warfare, cried out against him. It is an evil fortune that has thrown us
+into his hands; still, although grasping and avaricious, he can hardly
+demand for a simple knight any inordinate ransom. The French themselves
+would cry out did he do so, seeing that so large a number of their
+own knights are in our hands, and that the king has ample powers of
+retaliation; however, we need not look on the dark side. It is not
+likely that our captivity will be a long one, for the prince, who is the
+soul of generosity, will not haggle over terms, but will pay my ransom
+as soon as he hears into whose hands I have fallen, while there are
+scores of men-at-arms prisoners, whom he can exchange for you. Doubtless
+Sir Phillip will send you over, as soon as he arrives at his castle,
+with one of his own followers to treat for my ransom."
+
+After riding for some hours the troop halted their weary horses in a
+wood, and lighting fires, cooked their food, and then lay down until
+morning. Sir Phillip exchanged but few words with his captive; as,
+having removed his helm, he sat by the fire, Walter had an opportunity
+of seeing his countenance. It did not belie his reputation. His face had
+a heavy and brutal expression which was not decreased by the fashion of
+his hair, which was cut quite short, and stood up without parting all
+over his bullet-shaped head; he had a heavy and bristling moustache
+which was cut short in a line with his lips.
+
+"It is well," Walter thought to himself, "that it is my ransom rather
+than my life which is dear to that evil-looking knight; for, assuredly,
+he is not one to hesitate did fortune throw a foe into his hands."
+
+At daybreak the march was resumed, and was continued until they reached
+the castle of Sir Phillip Holbeaut, which stood on a narrow tongue of
+land formed by a sharp bend of the Somme.
+
+On entering the castle the knight gave an order to his followers, and
+the prisoners were at once led to a narrow cell beneath one of the
+towers. Walter looked round indignantly when he arrived there.
+
+"This is a dungeon for a felon," he exclaimed, "not the apartment for a
+knight who has been taken captive in fair fight. Tell your master that
+he is bound to award me honourable treatment, and that unless he removes
+me instantly from this dungeon to a proper apartment, and treats me with
+all due respect and courtesy, I will, when I regain liberty, proclaim
+him a dishonoured knight."
+
+The men-at-arms made no reply; but, locking the door behind them, left
+the prisoners alone.
+
+"What can this mean, Ralph?" Walter exclaimed. "We are in the lowest
+dungeon, and below the level of the river. See how damp are the walls,
+and the floor is thick with slimy mud. The river must run but just below
+that loophole, and in times of flood probably enters here."
+
+Phillip of Holbeaut, on dismounting, ascended to an upper chamber, where
+a man in the dress of a well-to-do citizen was sitting.
+
+"Well, Sir Phillip," he exclaimed, rising to his feet as the other
+entered, "what news?"
+
+"The news is bad," the knight growled. "This famous scheme of yours has
+cost me fifty of my best men. I would I had had nothing to do with it."
+
+"But this Walter Somers," the other exclaimed, "what of him? He has not
+escaped surely! The force which marched from Amiens was large enough to
+have eaten him and his garrison.
+
+"He has not escaped," the knight replied.
+
+"Then he is killed!" the other said eagerly.
+
+"No; nor is he killed. He is at present a prisoner in a dungeon below,
+together with a stout knave whom he begged might accompany him until
+ransomed."
+
+"All is well then," the other exclaimed. "Never mind the loss of your
+men. The money which I have promised you for this business will hire you
+two hundred such knaves; but why didst not knock him on head at once?"
+
+"It was not so easy to knock him on the head," Sir Phillip growled. "It
+cost us five hundred men to capture the outer walls, and to have fought
+our way into the keep, held, as it was, by men who would have contested
+every foot of the ground, was not a job for which any of us had much
+stomach, seeing what the first assaults had cost us; so the count took
+them all to quarter. The rest he carried with him to Amiens; but their
+leader, according to the promise which he made me, he handed over to me
+as my share of the day's booty, giving me every charge that he should
+receive good and knightly treatment.
+
+"Which, no doubt, you will observe," the other said, with an ugly laugh.
+
+"It is a bad business," the knight exclaimed angrily, "and were it not
+for our friendship, in Spain, and the memory of sundry deeds which we
+did together, not without profit to our purses, I would rather that you
+were thrown over the battlements into the river than I had taken a step
+in this business. However, none can say that Phillip of Holbeaut ever
+deserted a friend who had proved true to him, not to mention that the
+sum which you promised me for my aid in this matter will, at present
+time, prove wondrously convenient. Yet I foresee that it will bring me
+into trouble with the Count of Evreux. Ere many days a demand will come
+for the fellow to be delivered on ransom."
+
+"And what will you say?" the other asked.
+
+"I shall say what is the truth," the knight replied, "though I may add
+something that is not wholly so. I shall say that he was drowned in the
+Somme. I shall add that it happened as he was trying to make his escape,
+contrary to the parole he had given; but in truth he will be drowned
+in the dungeon in which I have placed him, which has rid me of many a
+troublesome prisoner before now. The river is at ordinary times but two
+feet below the loophole; and when its tide is swelled by rain it often
+rises above the sill, and then there is an end of any one within.
+They can doubt my word; but there are not many who would care to do so
+openly; none who would do so for the sake of an unknown English knight.
+And as for any complaints on the part of the Black Prince, King Phillip
+has shown over and over again how little the complaints of Edward
+himself move him."
+
+"It were almost better to knock him on head at once," the other said
+thoughtfully; "the fellow has as many lives as a cat.
+
+"If he had as many as nine cats," the knight replied, "it would not
+avail him. But I will have no violence. The water will do your work as
+well as a poinard, and I will not have it said, even among such ruffians
+as mine, that I slew a captured knight. The other will pass as an
+accident, and I care not what my men may think as long as they can say
+nothing for a surety. The count may storm as much as he will, and may
+even lay a complaint against me before the king; but in times like the
+present, even a simple knight who can lead two hundred good fighting
+men into the field is not to be despised, and the king is likely to be
+easily satisfied with my replies to any question that may be raised.
+Indeed, it would seem contrary to reason that I should slay a captive
+against whom I have no cause of quarrel, and so forfeit the ransom which
+I should get for him."
+
+"But suppose that a messenger should come offering ransom before the
+river happens to rise?"
+
+"Then I shall anticipate matters, and shall say that what I know will
+happen has already taken place. Do not be uneasy, Sir James. You have my
+word in the matter, and now I have gone so far I shall carry it through.
+From the moment when I ordered him into that dungeon his fate was
+sealed, and in truth, when I gave the order I did so to put an end to
+the indecision in which my mind had been all night. Once in there he
+could not be allowed to come out alive, for his report of such treatment
+would do me more harm among those of my own station in France than any
+rumours touching his end could do. It is no uncommon affair for one
+to remove an enemy from one's path; but cruelty to a knightly prisoner
+would be regarded with horror. Would you like to have a look at him?"
+
+The other hesitated. "No," he replied. "Against him personally I have no
+great grudge. He has thwarted my plans, and stands now grievously in the
+way of my making fresh ones; but as he did so from no ill-will towards
+myself, but as it were by hazard, I have no personal hatred towards him,
+though I would fain remove him from my path. Besides, I tell you fairly,
+that even in that dungeon where you have thrown him I shall not feel
+that he is safe until you send me word that he is dead. He has twice
+already got out of scrapes when other men would have been killed. Both
+at Vannes and at Ghent he escaped in a marvellous way; and but a few
+weeks since, by the accident of his having a coat of mail under his
+doublet he saved his life from as fair a blow as ever was struck.
+Therefore I would not that he knew aught of my having a hand in this
+matter, for if after having seen me he made his escape I could never
+show my face in England again. I should advise you to bid three or four
+men always enter his cell together, for he and that man-of-arms who
+follows him like a shadow are capable of playing any desperate trick to
+escape.
+
+"That matter is easily enough managed," Sir Phillip said grimly, "by no
+one entering the dungeon at all. The river may be slow of rising, though
+in sooth the sky looks overcast now, and it is already at its usual
+winter level; and whether he dies from lack of water or from a too
+abundant supply matters but little to me; only, as I told you I will
+give no orders for him to be killed. Dost remember that Jew we carried
+off from Seville and kept without water until he agreed to pay us a
+ransom which made us both rich for six months? That was a rare haul, and
+I would that rich Jews were plentiful in this country.
+
+"Yes, those were good times," the other said, "although I own that I
+have not done badly since the war began, having taken a count and three
+knights prisoners, and put them to ransom, and having reaped a goodly
+share of plunder from your French burghers, else indeed I could not have
+offered you so round a sum to settle this little matter for me. There
+are not many French knights who have earned a count's ransom in the
+present war. And now I will take horse; here is one-half of the sum I
+promised you, in gold nobles. I will send you the remainder on the day
+when I get news from you that the matter is finished."
+
+"Have your money ready in a week's time," the knight replied, taking the
+bag of gold which the other placed on the table, "for by that time you
+will hear from me. I hope this will not be the last business which we
+may do together; there ought to be plenty of good chances in a war like
+this. Any time that you can send me word of an intended foray by a small
+party under a commander whose ransom would be a high one I will share
+what I get with you; and similarly I will let you know of any rich prize
+who may be pounced upon on the same terms.
+
+"Agreed!" the other said. "We may do a good business together in that
+way. But you lie too far away. If you move up as near as you can to
+Calais and let me know your whereabouts, so that I could send or ride to
+you in a few hours, we might work together with no small profit."
+
+"I will take the field as soon as this affair of yours is settled," the
+knight replied; "and the messenger who brings you the news shall tell
+you where I may be found. And now, while your horse is being got ready,
+let us drink a stoup of wine together in memory of old times, though,
+for myself, these wines of ours are poor and insipid beside the fiery
+juice of Spain."
+
+While this conversation, upon which their fate so much depended, had
+been going on, Walter and Ralph had been discussing the situation, and
+had arrived at a tolerably correct conclusion.
+
+"This conduct on the part of this brutal French knight, Ralph, is so
+strange that methinks it cannot be the mere outcome of his passions or
+of hate against me as an Englishman, but of some deeper motive; and we
+were right in thinking that in bargaining for my person with the Count
+of Evreux it was more than my ransom which he sought. Had that been his
+only object he would never have thrown us into this noisome dungeon, for
+my report of such treatment would bring dishonour upon him in the eyes
+of every knight and noble in France as well as in England. It must be my
+life he aims at, although what grudge he can have against me it passes
+me to imagine. It may be that at Cressy or elsewhere some dear relative
+of his may have fallen by my sword; and yet were it so, men nourish no
+grudge for the death of those killed in fair fight. But this boots not
+at present. It is enough for us that it is my life which he aims at,
+and I fear, Ralph, that yours must be included with mine, since he would
+never let a witness escape to carry the foul tale against him. This
+being so, the agreement on which I surrendered is broken, and I am free
+to make my escape if I can, and methinks the sooner that be attempted
+the better.
+
+"So let us work to plan how we may best get out of this place. After our
+escape from that well at Vannes we need not despair about breaking out
+from this dungeon of Holbeaut."
+
+"We might overpower the guard who brings our food," Ralph said.
+
+"There is that chance," Walter rejoined, "but I think it is a poor one.
+They may be sure that this dishonourable treatment will have rendered us
+desperate, and they will take every precaution and come well armed. It
+may be, too, that they will not come at all, but that they intend us to
+die of starvation, or perchance to be drowned by the floods, which it
+is easy to see often make their way in here. No, our escape, if escape
+there be, must be made through that loophole above. Were that bar
+removed, methinks it is wide enough for us to squeeze through. Doubtless
+such a hazard has not occurred to them, seeing that it is nigh twelve
+feet above the floor, and that a single man could by no possibility
+reach it, but with two of us there is no difficulty. Now, Ralph, do you
+stand against the wall. I will climb upon your shoulders, and standing
+there can reach the bar, and so haul myself up and look out."
+
+This was soon done, and Walter seizing the bar, hauled himself up so
+that he could see through the loophole.
+
+"It is as I thought," he said. "The waters of the Somme are but a foot
+below the level of this window; the river is yellow and swollen, and a
+few hours' heavy rain would bring it above the level of this sill. Stand
+steady, Ralph, I am coming down again."
+
+When he reached the ground, he said:
+
+"Take off your belt, Ralph; if we buckle that and mine together, passing
+it round the bar, it will make a loop upon which we can stand at the
+window and see how best we can loosen the bar. Constantly wet as it is,
+it is likely that the mortar will have softened, in which case we shall
+have little difficulty in working it out."
+
+The plan was at once put into execution; the belts were fastened
+together and Walter standing on Ralph's shoulders passed one end around
+the bar and buckled it to the other, thus making a loop some three feet
+in length; putting a foot in this he was able to stand easily at the
+loophole.
+
+"It is put in with mortar at the top, Ralph, and the mortar has rotted
+with the wet, but at the bottom lead was poured in when the bar was set
+and this must be scooped out before it can be moved. Fortunately the
+knight gave no orders to his men to remove our daggers when we were
+thrust in here, and these will speedily dig out the lead; but I must
+come down first, for the strap prevents my working at the foot of the
+bar. We must tear off a strip of our clothing and make a shift to fasten
+the strap half-way up the bar so as not to slip down with our weight."
+
+In order to accomplish this Walter had to stand upon Ralph's head to
+gain additional height. He presently, after several attempts, succeeded
+in fixing the strap firmly against the bar half-way up, and then placing
+one knee in the loop and putting an arm through the bar to steady
+himself, he set to work at the lead. The sharp point of the dagger
+quickly cut out that near the surface, but farther down the hole
+narrowed and the task was much more difficult. Several times Ralph
+relieved him at the work, but at last it was accomplished, and the bar
+was found to move slightly when they shook it. There now remained only
+to loosen the cement above, and this was a comparatively easy task; it
+crumbled quickly before the points of their daggers, and the bar was
+soon free to move.
+
+"Now," Walter said, "we have to find out whether the bar was first put
+in from below or from above; one hole or the other must be a good deal
+deeper than the iron, so that it was either shoved up or pushed down
+until the other end could get under or over the other hole. I should
+think most likely the hole is below, as if they held up the bar against
+the top, when the lead was poured in it would fill up the space; so we
+will first of all try to lift it. I must stand on your head again to
+enable me to be high enough to try this."
+
+"My head is strong enough, I warrant," Ralph replied, "but I will fold
+up my jerkin, and put on it, for in truth you hurt me somewhat when you
+were tying the strap to the bar."
+
+All Walter's efforts did not succeed in raising the bar in the
+slightest, and he therefore concluded that it had been inserted here and
+lifted while the space was filled with lead. "It is best so," he said;
+"we should have to cut away the stone either above or below, and can
+work much better below. Now I will put my knee in the strap again and
+set to work. The stone seems greatly softened by the wet, and will yield
+to our daggers readily enough. It is already getting dark, and as soon
+as we have finished we can start."
+
+As Walter had discovered, the stone was rotten with the action of the
+weather, and although as they got deeper it became much harder, it
+yielded to the constant chipping with their daggers, and in two hours
+Ralph, who at the moment happened to be engaged, announced to Walter
+that his dagger had found its way under the bottom of the bar. The
+groove was soon made deep enough for the bar to be moved out; but
+another hour's work was necessary, somewhat further to enlarge the upper
+hole, so as to allow the bar to have sufficient play. Fortunately it was
+only inserted about an inch and a half in the stone, and the amount to
+be cut away to give it sufficient play was therefore not large. Then at
+last all was ready for their flight.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII: THE CAPTURE OF CALAIS
+
+
+When the bar was once ready for removal the captives delayed not a
+minute, for although it was now so late that there was little chance
+of a visit being paid them, it was just possible that such might be the
+case, and that it might occur to the knight that it would be safer to
+separate them.
+
+"Now, Ralph, do you go first, since I am lighter and can climb up by
+means of the strap, which you can hold from above; push the bar out and
+lay it down quietly on the thickness of the wall. A splash might attract
+the attention of the sentries, though I doubt whether it would, for the
+wind is high and the rain falling fast. Unbuckle the strap before you
+move the bar, as otherwise it might fall and I should have difficulty in
+handing it to you again. Now, I am steady against the wall."
+
+Ralph seized the bar and with a great effort pushed the bottom from him.
+It moved through the groove without much difficulty, but it needed a
+great wrench to free the upper end. However, it was done, and laying
+it quietly down he pulled himself up and thrust himself through the
+loophole. It was a desperate struggle to get through, for it was only
+just wide enough for his head to pass, and he was so squarely built that
+his body with difficulty followed. The wall was four feet wide, and as
+the loophole widened considerably without, there was, when he had once
+passed through from the inside, space enough for him to kneel down and
+lower one end of the strap to Walter. The latter speedily climbed up,
+and getting through the slit with much less trouble than Ralph had
+experienced--for although in height and width of shoulder he was his
+equal, he was less in depth than his follower--he joined him in the
+opening; Ralph sitting with his feet in the water in order to make room
+for him.
+
+The dungeon was upon the western side of the castle, and consequently
+the stream would be with them in making for shore. It was pitch dark,
+but they knew that the distance they would have to swim could not exceed
+forty or fifty yards.
+
+"Keep along close by the wall, Ralph, if we once get out in the stream
+we might lose our way; we will skirt the wall until it ends, then there
+is a cut, for as you saw when we entered, the moat runs right across
+this neck. If we keep a bit farther down and then land, we shall be
+fairly beyond the outworks."
+
+Ralph slipped down into the water, and followed by Walter swam along at
+the foot of the wall. They had already been deprived of their armour,
+but had luckily contrived to retain their daggers in their belts, which
+they had again girdled on before entering the water. The stream hurried
+them rapidly along, and they had only to keep themselves afloat. They
+were soon at the corner of the castle. A few strokes farther and they
+again felt the wall which lined the moat. The stream still swept them
+along, they felt the masonry come to an end, and bushes and shrubs lined
+the bank. They were beyond the outer defences of the castle. Still a
+little farther they proceeded down the stream in order to prevent the
+possibility of any noise they might make in scrambling up being heard by
+the sentinels on the outer postern. Then when they felt quite safe they
+grasped the bushes, and speedily climbed the bank. Looking back at the
+castle they saw lights still burning there. Short as was the time they
+had been in the water they were both chilled to the bone, for it was the
+month of February, and the water was bitterly cold.
+
+"It cannot be more than nine o'clock now," Walter said, "for it is not
+more than four hours since darkness fell. They are not likely to visit
+the dungeon before eight or nine tomorrow, so we can rely upon twelve
+hours' start, and if we make the best of our time we ought to be far on
+travelling on a night like this through a strange country. I would that
+the stars were shining. However, the direction of the wind and rain
+will be a guide to us, and we shall soon strike the road we traveled
+yesterday, and can follow that till morning."
+
+They were not long before they found the track, and then started at a
+brisk pace along it. All night they struggled on through wind and rain
+until the first dawn enabled them to see the objects in the surrounding
+country; and making for the forest which extended to within a mile
+of the road, they entered deep into its shelter, and there utterly
+exhausted, threw themselves down on the wet ground. After a few hours
+of uneasy sleep they woke, and taking their place near the edge of the
+forest watched for the passage of any party which might be in pursuit,
+but until nightfall none came along.
+
+"They have not discovered our flight," Ralph said at last, "or they
+would have passed long before this. Sir Phillip doubtless imagines that
+we are drowned. The water was within a few inches of the sill when we
+started, and must soon have flooded the dungeon; and did he trouble to
+look in the morning, which is unlikely enough seeing that he would be
+sure of our fate, he would be unable to descend the stairs, and could
+not reach to the door, and so discover that the bar had been removed.
+No; whatever his motive may have been in compassing my death, he is
+doubtless satisfied that he has attained it, and we need have no further
+fear of pursuit from him. The rain has ceased, and I think that it will
+be a fine night; we will walk on, and if we come across a barn will make
+free to enter it, and stripping off our clothing to dry, will sleep in
+the hay, and pursue our journey in the morning. From our travel-stained
+appearance any who may meet us will take us for two wayfarers going to
+take service in the army at Amiens."
+
+It was not until nearly midnight that they came upon such a place as
+they sought, then after passing a little village they found a shed
+standing apart. Entering it they found that it was tenanted by two cows.
+Groping about they presently came upon a heap of forage, and taking off
+their outer garments lay down on this, covering themselves thickly with
+it. The shed was warm and comfortable and they were soon asleep, and
+awaking at daybreak they found that their clothes had dried somewhat.
+The sun was not yet up when they started, but it soon rose, and ere noon
+their garments had dried, and they felt for the first time comfortable.
+They met but few people on the road, and these passed them with ordinary
+salutations.
+
+They had by this time left Amiens on the right, and by nightfall
+were well on their way towards Calais. Early in the morning they had
+purchased some bread at a village through which they passed; Walter's
+Norman-French being easily understood, and exciting no surprise or
+suspicion. At nightfall they slept in a shed within a mile of the
+ruins of the castle of Pres, and late next evening entered the English
+encampment at New Town. After going to his tent, where he and Ralph
+changed their garments and partook of a hearty meal, Walter proceeded
+to the pavilion of the prince, who hailed his entrance with the greatest
+surprise.
+
+"Why Sir Walter," he exclaimed, "what good saint has brought you here?
+I have but an hour since received a message from the Count of Evreux
+to the effect that you were a prisoner in the bands of Sir Phillip de
+Holbeaut, with whom I must treat for your ransom. I was purporting to
+send off a herald tomorrow to ask at what sum he held you; and now you
+appear in flesh and blood before us! But first, before you tell us your
+story, I must congratulate you on your gallant defence of the Castle of
+Pres, which is accounted by all as one of the most valiant deeds of the
+war. When two days passed without a messenger from you coming hither,
+I feared that you were beleaguered, and started that evening with six
+hundred men-at-arms. We arrived at daybreak to finding only a smoking
+ruin. Luckily among the crowd of dead upon the breach we found one of
+your men-at-arms who still breathed, and after some cordial had been
+given him, and his wounds stanched, he was able to tell us the story of
+the siege. But it needed not his tale to tell us how staunchly you had
+defended the castle, for the hundreds of dead who lay outside of the
+walls, and still more the mass who piled the breach, and the many who
+lay in the castle-yard spoke for themselves of the valour with which the
+castle had been defended. As the keep was gutted by fire, and the man
+could tell us nought of what had happened after he had been stricken
+down at the breach, we knew not whether you and your brave garrison
+had perished in the flames. We saw the penthouse beneath which they had
+laboured to cut through the wall, but the work had ceased before the
+holes were large enough for entry, and we hoped that you might have seen
+that further resistance was in vain, and have made terms for your lives;
+indeed we heard from the country people that certain prisoners had been
+taken to Amiens. I rested one day at Pres, and the next rode back here,
+and forthwith despatched a herald to the Count of Evreux at Amiens
+asking for news of the garrison; but now he has returned with word that
+twenty-four men-at-arms and fifty-eight archers are prisoners in the
+count's hands, and that he is ready to exchange them against an equal
+number of French prisoners; but that you, with a man-at-arms, were in
+the keeping of Sir Phillip of Holbeaut, with whom I must treat for your
+ransom. And now tell me how it is that I see you here. Has your captor,
+confiding in your knightly word to send him the sum agreed upon, allowed
+you to return? Tell me the sum and my treasurer shall tomorrow pay it
+over to a herald, who shall carry it to Holbeaut."
+
+"Thanks, your Royal Highness, for your generosity," Walter replied, "but
+there is no ransom to be paid."
+
+And he then proceeded to narrate the incidents of his captivity at
+Holbeaut and his escape from the castle. His narration was frequently
+interrupted by exclamations of surprise and indignation from the prince
+and knights present.
+
+"Well, this well-nigh passes all belief," the prince exclaimed when he
+had concluded. "It is an outrage upon all laws of chivalry and honour.
+What could have induced this caitiff knight, instead of treating you
+with courtesy and honour until your ransom arrived, to lodge you in a
+foul dungeon, where, had you not made your escape, your death would have
+been brought about that very night by the rising water? Could it be,
+think you, that his brain is distraught by some loss or injury which
+may have befallen him at our hands during the war and worked him up to a
+blind passion of hatred against all Englishmen?"
+
+"I think not that, your Royal Highness," Walter replied. "His manner
+was cool and deliberate, and altogether free from any signs of madness.
+Moreover, it would seem that he had specially marked me down beforehand,
+since, as I have told you, he had bargained with the Count of Evreux for
+the possession of my person should I escape with life at the capture of
+the castle. It seems rather as if he must have had some private enmity
+against me, although what the cause may be I cannot imagine, seeing that
+I have never, to my knowledge, before met him, and have only heard his
+name by common report.
+
+"Whatever be the cause," the prince said, "we will have satisfaction for
+it, and I will beg the king, my father, to write at once to Phillip
+of Valois protesting against the treatment that you have received, and
+denouncing Sir Phillip of Holbeaut as a base and dishonoured knight,
+whom, should he fall into our hands, we will commit at once to the
+hangman."
+
+Upon the following day Walter was called before the king, and related to
+him in full the incidents of the siege and of his captivity and escape;
+and the same day King Edward sent off a letter to Phillip of Valois
+denouncing Sir Phillip Holbeaut as a dishonoured knight, and threatening
+retaliation upon the French prisoners in his hands.
+
+A fortnight later an answer was received from the King of France saying
+that he had inquired into the matter, and had sent a seneschal, who
+had questioned Sir Phillip Holbeaut and some of the men-at-arms in the
+castle, and that he found that King Edward had been grossly imposed upon
+by a fictitious tale. Sir Walter Somers had, he found, been treated with
+all knightly courtesy, and believing him to be an honourable knight and
+true to his word, but slight watch had been kept over him. He had basely
+taken advantage of this trust, and with the man-at-arms with him had
+escaped from the castle in order to avoid payment of his ransom, and had
+now invented these gross and wicked charges against Sir Phillip Holbeaut
+as a cloak to his own dishonour.
+
+Walter was furious when he heard the contents of this letter, and the
+king and Black Prince were no less indignant. Although they doubted him
+not for a moment, Walter begged that Ralph might be brought before them
+and examined strictly as to what had taken place, in order that they
+might see that his statements tallied exactly with those he had made.
+
+When this had been done Walter obtained permission from the king
+to despatch a cartel to Sir Phillip de Holbeaut denouncing him as a
+perjured and dishonoured knight and challenging him to meet him in
+mortal conflict at any time and place that he might name. At the same
+time the king despatched a letter to Phillip of Valois saying that the
+statements of the French knight and followers were wholly untrue,
+and begging that a time might be appointed for the meeting of the two
+knights in the lists.
+
+To this King Phillip replied that he had ordered all private quarrels in
+France to be laid aside during the progress of the war, and that so
+long as an English foot remained upon French soil he would give no
+countenance to his knights throwing away the lives which they owed to
+France, in private broils.
+
+"You must wait, Sir Walter, you see," the king said, "until you may
+perchance meet him in the field of battle. In the mean time, to show
+how lightly I esteem the foul charge brought against you, and how much
+I hold and honour the bravery which you showed in defending the
+castle which my son the prince entrusted to you, as well as upon other
+occasions, I hereby promote you to the rank of knight-banneret."
+
+Events now passed slowly before Calais. Queen Philippa and many of her
+ladies crossed the Channel and joined her husband, and these added much
+to the gaiety of the life in camp. The garrison at Calais was, it was
+known, in the sorest straits for the want of food, and at last the
+news came that the King of France, with a huge army of 200,000 men, was
+moving to its relief. They had gathered at Hesdin, at which rendezvous
+the king had arrived in the early part of April; but it was not until
+the 27th of July that the whole army was collected, and marching by slow
+steps advanced towards the English position.
+
+King Edward had taken every precaution to guard all the approaches to
+the city. The ground was in most places too soft and sandy to admit of
+the construction of defensive works; but the fleet was drawn up close
+inshore to cover the line of sand-hills by the sea with arrows and
+war machines, while the passages of the marshes, which extended for
+a considerable distance round the town, were guarded by the Earl of
+Lancaster and a body of chosen troops, while the other approaches to the
+city were covered by the English camp.
+
+The French reconnoitering parties found no way open to attack the
+English unless under grievous disadvantages. The Cardinals of Tusculum,
+St. John, and St. Paul endeavoured to negotiate terms of peace, and
+commissioners on both sides met. The terms offered by Phillip were,
+however, by no means so favourable as Edward, after his own victorious
+operations and those of his armies in Brittany and Guienne, had a right
+to expect and the negotiations were broken off.
+
+The following day the French king sent in a message to Edward saying
+that he had examined the ground in every direction in order to advance
+and give battle, but had found no means of doing so. He therefore
+summoned the king to come forth from the marshy ground in which he was
+encamped and to fight in the open plain; and he offered to send four
+French knights, who, with four English of the same rank, should choose
+a fair plain in the neighbourhood, according to the usages of chivalry.
+Edward had little over 30,000 men with him; but the same evening that
+Phillip's challenge was received a body of 17,000 Flemings and English,
+detached from an army which had been doing good service on the borders
+of Flanders, succeeded in passing round the enemy's host and in
+effecting a junction with the king's army. Early the next morning, after
+having consulted with his officers, Edward returned an answer to the
+French king, saying that he agreed to his proposal, and enclosed a
+safe-conduct for any four French knights who might be appointed to
+arrange with the same number of English the place of battle.
+
+The odds were indeed enormous, the French being four to one; but Edward,
+after the success of Cressy, which had been won by the Black Prince's
+division, which bore a still smaller proportion to the force engaging
+it, might well feel confident in the valour of his troops. His envoys,
+on arriving at the French camp, found that Phillip had apparently
+changed his mind. He declined to discuss the matter with which they were
+charged, and spoke only of the terms upon which Edward would be willing
+to raise the siege of Calais. As they had no authority on this subject
+the English knights returned to their camp, where the news was received
+with great disappointment, so confident did all feel in their power
+to defeat the huge host of the French. But even greater was the
+astonishment the next morning when, before daylight, the tents of the
+French were seen in one great flame, and it was found that the king and
+all his host were retreating at full speed. The Earls of Lancaster and
+Northampton, with a large body of horse at once started in pursuit, and
+harassed the retreating army on its march towards Amiens.
+
+No satisfactory reasons ever have been assigned for this extraordinary
+step on the part of the French king. He had been for months engaged in
+collecting a huge army, and he had now an opportunity of fighting the
+English in a fair field with a force four times as great as their own.
+The only means indeed of accounting for his conduct is by supposing him
+affected by temporary aberration of mind, which many other facts in his
+history render not improbable. The fits of rage so frequently recorded
+of him border upon madness, and a number of strange actions highly
+detrimental to his own interests which he committed can only be
+accounted for as the acts of a diseased mind. This view has been to some
+extent confirmed by the fact that less than half a century afterwards
+insanity declared itself among his descendants.
+
+A few hours after the departure of the French the French standard was
+lowered on the walls of Calais, and news was brought to Edward that
+the governor was upon the battlements and desired to speak with some
+officers of the besieging army. Sir Walter Manny and Lord Bisset were
+sent to confer with him, and found that his object was to obtain the
+best terms he could. The English knights, knowing the determination of
+the king on the subject, were forced to tell him that no possibility
+existed of conditions being granted, but that the king demanded their
+unconditional surrender, reserving to himself entirely the right whom to
+pardon and whom to put to death.
+
+The governor remonstrated on the severe terms, and said that rather
+than submit to them he and his soldiers would sally out and die sword in
+hand. Sir Walter Manny found the king inexorable. The strict laws of war
+in those days justified the barbarous practise of putting to death the
+garrison of a town captured under such circumstances. Calais had been
+for many years a nest of pirates, and vessels issuing from its port had
+been a scourge to the commerce of England and Flanders, and the king was
+fully determined to punish it severely. Sir Walter Manny interceded long
+and boldly, and represented to the king that none of his soldiers would
+willingly defend a town on his behalf from the day on which he put to
+death the people of Calais, as beyond doubt the French would retaliate
+in every succeeding siege. The other nobles and knights joined their
+entreaties to those of Sir Walter Manny, and the king finally consented
+to yield in some degree. He demanded that six of the most notable
+burghers of the town, with bare heads and feet, and with ropes about
+their necks and the keys of the fortress in their hands, should deliver
+themselves up for execution. On these conditions he agreed to spare the
+rest. With these terms Sir Walter Manny returned to Sir John of Vienne.
+
+The governor left the battlements, and proceeding to the market-place
+ordered the bell to be rung. The famished and despairing citizens
+gathered a haggard crowd to hear their doom. A silence followed the
+narration of the hard conditions of surrender by the governor, and sobs
+and cries alone broke the silence which succeeded. Then Eustace St.
+Pierre, the wealthiest and most distinguished of the citizens, came
+forward and offered himself as one of the victims, saying, "Sad pity and
+shame would it be to let all of our fellow-citizens die of famine or the
+sword when means could be found to save them." John of Aire, James
+and Peter De Vissant, and another whose name has not come down to us,
+followed his example, and stripping to their shirts set out for the
+camp, Sir John of Vienne, who, from a late wound, was unable to walk,
+riding at their head on horseback. The whole population accompanied them
+weeping bitterly until they came to the place where Sir Walter Manny was
+awaiting them. Here the crowd halted, and the knight, promising to do
+his best to save them, led them to the tent where the king had assembled
+all his nobles around him. When the tidings came that the burghers of
+Calais had arrived, Edward issued out with his retinue, accompanied by
+Queen Philippa and the Black Prince.
+
+"Behold, Sire," Sir Walter Manny said, "the representatives of the town
+of Calais!"
+
+The king made no reply while John of Vienne surrendered his sword, and
+kneeling with the burghers, said, "Gentle lord and king; behold, we six
+who were once the greatest citizens and merchants of Calais, bring you
+the keys of the town and castle, and give ourselves up to your pleasure,
+placing ourselves in the state in which you see us by our own free-will
+to save the rest of the people of the city, who have already suffered
+many ills. We pray you, therefore, to have pity and mercy upon us for
+the sake of your high nobleness."
+
+All present were greatly affected at this speech, and at the aspect of
+men who thus offered their lives for their fellow-citizens. The king's
+countenance alone remained unchanged, and he ordered them to be taken to
+instant execution. Then Sir Walter Manny and all the nobles with tears
+besought the king to have mercy, not only for the sake of the citizens,
+but for that of his own fame, which would be tarnished by so cruel a
+deed.
+
+"Silence, Sir Walter!" cried the king. "Let the executioner be called.
+The men of Calais have put to death so many of my subjects that I will
+also put these men to death."
+
+At this moment Queen Philippa, who had been weeping bitterly, cast
+herself upon her knees before the king. "Oh, gentle lord," she cried,
+"since I have repassed the seas to see you I have neither asked or
+required anything at your hand; now, then, I pray you humbly, and
+require as a boon, that for the sake of the Son of Mary, and for the
+love of me, you take these men to mercy."
+
+The king stood for a moment in silence, and then said:
+
+"Ah! lady, I would that you had been other where than here; but you beg
+of me so earnestly I must not refuse you, though I grant your prayer
+with pain. I give them to you; take them, and do your will."
+
+Then the queen rose from her knees, and bidding the burghers rise, she
+caused clothing and food to be given them, and sent them away free.
+
+Sir Walter Manny, with a considerable body of men-at-arms, now took
+possession of the town of Calais. The anger of the king soon gave way
+to better feelings; all the citizens, without exception, were fed by his
+bounty. Such of them as preferred to depart instead of swearing fealty
+to the English monarch were allowed to carry away what effects they
+could bear upon their persons and were conducted in safety to the
+French town of Guisnes. Eustace de St. Pierre was granted almost all
+the possessions he had formerly held in Calais, and also a considerable
+pension; and he and all who were willing to remain were well and kindly
+treated. The number was large, for the natural indignation which they
+felt at their base desertion by the French king induced very many of
+the citizens to remain and become subjects of Edward. The king issued a
+proclamation inviting English traders and others to come across and take
+up their residence in Calais, bestowing upon them the houses and lands
+of the French who had left. Very many accepted the invitation, and
+Calais henceforth and for some centuries became virtually an English
+town.
+
+A truce was now, through the exertions of the pope's legates, made
+between England and France, the terms agreed on being very similar
+to those of the previous treaty; and when all his arrangements were
+finished Edward returned with his queen to England, having been absent
+eighteen months, during which time almost unbroken success had attended
+his arms, and the English name had reached a position of respect and
+honour in the eyes of Europe far beyond that at which it previously
+stood.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII: THE BLACK DEATH
+
+
+
+The court at Westminster during the few months which followed the
+capture of Calais was the most brilliant in Europe. Tournaments and
+fetes followed each other in rapid succession, and to these knights came
+from all parts. So great was the reputation of King Edward that deputies
+came from Germany, where the throne was now vacant, to offer the crown
+of that kingdom to him. The king declined the offer, for it would have
+been impossible indeed for him to have united the German crown with that
+of England, which he already held, and that of France, which he claimed.
+
+Some months after his return to England the Black Prince asked his
+father as a boon that the hand of his ward Edith Vernon should be
+bestowed upon the prince's brave follower Sir Walter Somers, and as
+Queen Philippa, in the name of the lady's mother, seconded the request,
+the king at once acceded to it. Edith was now sixteen, an age at which,
+in those days, a young lady was considered to be marriageable, and the
+wedding took place with great pomp and ceremony at Westminster; the
+king himself giving away the bride, and bestowing, as did the prince and
+Queen Philippa, many costly presents upon the young couple. After taking
+part in several of the tournaments, Walter went with his bride and Dame
+Vernon down to their estates, and were received with great rejoicing
+by the tenantry, the older of whom well remembered Walter's father and
+mother, and were rejoiced at finding that they were again to become the
+vassals of one of the old family. Dame Vernon was greatly loved by her
+tenantry; but the latter had looked forward with some apprehension to
+the marriage of the young heiress, as the character of the knight upon
+whom the king might bestow her hand would greatly affect the happiness
+and well being of his tenants.
+
+Sir James Carnegie had not returned to England after the fall of Calais;
+he perceived that he was in grave disfavour with the Black Prince,
+and guessed, as was the case, that some suspicion had fallen on him
+in reference to the attack upon Walter in the camp, and to the strange
+attempt which had been made to destroy him by Sir Phillip Holbeaut. He
+had, therefore, for a time taken service with the Count of Savoy, and
+was away from England, to the satisfaction of Walter and Dame Vernon,
+when the marriage took place; for he had given proofs of such a
+malignity of disposition that both felt, that although his succession to
+the estates was now hopelessly barred, yet that he might at any moment
+attempt some desperate deed to satisfy his feeling of disappointment and
+revenge.
+
+In spite of the gaiety of the court of King Edward a cloud hung over the
+kingdom; for it was threatened by a danger far more terrible than any
+combination of foes--a danger which no gallantry upon the part of her
+king or warriors availed anything. With a slow and terrible march the
+enemy was advancing from the East, where countless hosts had been slain.
+India, Arabia, Syria, and Armenia had been well-nigh depopulated. In no
+country which the dread foe had invaded had less than two-thirds of the
+population been slain; in some nine-tenths had perished. All sorts of
+portents were reported to have accompanied its appearance in the East;
+where it was said showers of serpents had fallen, strange and unknown
+insects had appeared in the atmosphere, and clouds of sulphurous vapour
+had issued from the earth and enveloped whole provinces and countries.
+For two or three years the appearance of this scourge had been heralded
+by strange atmospheric disturbances; heavy rains and unusual floods,
+storms of thunder and lightning of unheard-of violence, hail-showers
+of unparalleled duration and severity, had everywhere been experienced,
+while in Italy and Germany violent earthquake shocks had been felt, and
+that at places where no tradition existed of previous occurrences of the
+same kind.
+
+From Asia it had spread to Africa and to Europe, affecting first the
+sea-shores and creeping inland by the course of the rivers. Greece first
+felt its ravages, and Italy was not long in experiencing them. In Venice
+more than 100,000 persons perished in a few months, and thence spreading
+over the whole peninsula, not a town escaped the visitation. At Florence
+60,000 people were carried off, and at Lucca and Genoa, in Sicily,
+Sardinia, and Corsica it raged with equal violence. France was assailed
+by way of Provence, and Avignon suffered especially. Of the English
+college at that place not an individual was left, and 120 persons died
+in a single day in that small city. Paris lost upwards of 50,000 of its
+inhabitants, while 90,000 were swept away in Lubeck, and 1,200,000 died
+within a year of its first appearance in Germany.
+
+In England the march of the pestilence westward was viewed with deep
+apprehension, and the approaching danger was brought home to the people
+by the death of the Princess Joan, the king's second daughter. She was
+affianced to Peter, the heir to the throne of Spain; and the bride, who
+had not yet accomplished her fourteenth year, was sent over to Bordeaux
+with considerable train of attendants in order to be united there to
+her promised husband. Scarcely had she reached Bordeaux when she was
+attacked by the pestilence and died in a few hours. A few days later
+the news spread through the country that the disease had appeared almost
+simultaneously at several of the seaports in the south-west of England.
+Thence with great rapidity it spread through the kingdom; proceeding
+through Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire it broke out in London, and the
+ravages were no less severe than they had been on the Continent, the
+very lowest estimate being that two-thirds of the population were swept
+away. Most of those attacked died within a few hours of the seizure. If
+they survived for two days they generally rallied, but even then many
+fell into a state of coma from which they never awoke.
+
+No words can describe the terror and dismay caused by this the most
+destructive plague of which there is any record in history. No remedies
+were of the slightest avail against it; flight was impossible, for the
+loneliest hamlets suffered as severely as crowded towns, and frequently
+not a single survivor was left. Men met the pestilence in various moods:
+the brave with fortitude, the pious with resignation, the cowardly and
+turbulent with outbursts of despair and fury. Among the lower classes
+the wildest rumours gained credence. Some assigned the pestilence to
+witchcraft, others declared that the waters of the wells and streams had
+been poisoned. Serious riots occurred in many places, and great numbers
+of people fell victims to the fury of the mob under the suspicion of
+being connected in some way with the ravages of the pestilence. The
+Jews, ever the objects of popular hostility, engendered by ignorance
+and superstition, were among the chief sufferers. Bands of marauders
+wandered through the country plundering the houses left empty by the
+death of all their occupants, and from end to end death and suffering
+were universal.
+
+Although all classes had suffered heavily the ravages of the disease
+were, as is always the case, greater among the poor than among the rich,
+the insanitary conditions of their life, and their coarser and commoner
+food rendering them more liable to its influence; no rank, however, was
+exempted, and no less than three Archbishops of Canterbury were carried
+off in succession by the pestilence within a year of its appearance.
+
+During the months which succeeded his marriage Sir Walter Somers lived
+quietly and happily with his wife at Westerham. It was not until late
+in the year that the plague approached the neighbourhood. Walter had
+determined to await its approach there. He had paid a few short visits
+to the court, where every effort was made by continuous gaiety to keep
+up the spirits of the people and prevent them from brooding over the
+approaching pestilence; but when it was at hand Walter and his wife
+agreed that they would rather share the lot of their tenants, whom their
+presence and example might support and cheer in their need, than
+return to face it in London. One morning when they were at breakfast a
+frightened servant brought in the news that the disease had appeared
+in the village, that three persons had been taken ill on the previous
+night, that two had already died, and that several others had sickened.
+
+"The time has come, my children," Dame Vernon said calmly, "the danger
+so long foreseen is at hand, now let us face it as we agreed to do. It
+has been proved that flight is useless, since nowhere is there escape
+from the plague; here, at least, there shall be no repetition of the
+terrible scenes we have heard of elsewhere, where the living have fled
+in panic and allowed the stricken to die unattended. We have already
+agreed that we will set the example to our people by ourselves going
+down and administering to the sick."
+
+"It is hard," Walter said, rising and pacing up and down the room, "to
+let Edith go into it."
+
+"Edith will do just the same as you do," his wife said firmly. "Were it
+possible that all in this house might escape, there might be a motive
+for turning coward, but seeing that no household is spared, there is, as
+we agreed, greater danger in flying from the pestilence than facing it
+firmly."
+
+Walter sighed.
+
+"You are right," he said, "but it wrings my heart to see you place
+yourself in danger."
+
+"Were we out of danger here, Walter, it might be so," Edith replied
+gently; "but since there is no more safety in the castle than in the
+cottage, we must face death whether it pleases us or not, and it were
+best to do so bravely."
+
+"So be it," Walter said; "may the God of heaven watch over us all!
+Now, mother, do you and Edith busy yourselves in preparing broths,
+strengthening drinks, and medicaments. I will go down at once to the
+village and see how matters stand there and who are in need. We have
+already urged upon all our people to face the danger bravely, and if
+die they must, to die bravely like Christians, and not like coward dogs.
+When you have prepared your soups and cordials come down and meet me
+in the village, bringing Mabel and Janet, your attendants, to carry the
+baskets."
+
+Ralph, who was now installed as major-domo in the castle, at once set
+out with Walter. They found the village in a state of panic. Women were
+sitting crying despairingly at their doors. Some were engaged in packing
+their belongings in carts preparatory to flight, some wandered aimlessly
+about wringing their hands, while others went to the church, whose bells
+were mournfully tolling the dirge of the departed. Walter's presence
+soon restored something like order and confidence; his resolute tone
+cheered the timid and gave hope to the despairing. Sternly he rebuked
+those preparing to fly, and ordered them instantly to replace their
+goods in their houses. Then he went to the priest and implored him to
+cause the tolling of the bell to cease.
+
+"There is enough," he said, "in the real danger present to appall even
+the bravest, and we need no bell to tell us that death is among us. The
+dismal tolling is enough to unnerve the stoutest heart, and if we ring
+for all who die its sounds will never cease while the plague is among
+us; therefore, father, I implore you to discontinue it. Let there be
+services held daily in the church, but I beseech you strive in your
+discourses to cheer the people rather than to depress them, and to dwell
+more upon the joys that await those who die as Christian men and women
+than upon the sorrows of those who remain behind. My wife and mother
+will anon be down in the village and will strive to cheer and comfort
+the people, and I look to you for aid in this matter."
+
+The priest, who was naturally a timid man, nevertheless nerved himself
+to carry out Walter's suggestions, and soon the dismal tones of the bell
+ceased to be heard in the village.
+
+Walter despatched messengers to all the outlying farms desiring his
+tenants to meet him that afternoon at the castle in order that measures
+might be concerted for common aid and assistance. An hour later Dame
+Vernon and Edith came down and visited all the houses where the plague
+had made its appearance, distributing their soups, and by cheering and
+comforting words raising the spirits of the relatives of the sufferers.
+
+The names of all the women ready to aid in the general work of nursing
+were taken down, and in the afternoon at the meeting at the castle the
+full arrangements were completed. Work was to be carried on as usual
+in order to occupy men's minds and prevent them from brooding over the
+ravages of the plague. Information of any case that occurred was to
+be sent to the castle, where soups and medicines were to be obtained.
+Whenever more assistance was required than could be furnished by the
+inmates of a house another woman was to be sent to aid. Boys were told
+off as messengers to fetch food and other matters as required from the
+castle.
+
+So, bravely and firmly, they prepared to meet the pestilence; it spread
+with terrible severity. Scarce a house which did not lose some of its
+inmates, while in others whole families were swept away. All day Walter
+and his wife and Dame Vernon went from house to house, and although they
+could do nothing to stem the progress of the pestilence, their presence
+and example supported the survivors and prevented the occurrence of any
+of the panic and disorder which in most places accompanied it.
+
+The castle was not exempt from the scourge. First some of the domestics
+were seized, and three men and four women died. Walter himself was
+attacked, but he took it lightly, and three days after the seizure
+passed into a state of convalescence. Dame Vernon was next attacked, and
+expired six hours after the commencement of the seizure. Scarcely was
+Walter upon his feet than Ralph, who had not for a moment left his
+bedside, was seized, but he too, after being at death's door for some
+hours, turned the corner. Lastly Edith sickened.
+
+By this time the scourge had done its worst in the village, and
+three-fifths of the population had been swept away. All the male
+retainers in the castle had died, and the one female who survived was
+nursing her dying mother in the village.
+
+Edith's attack was a very severe one. Walter, alone now, for Ralph,
+although convalescent, had not yet left his bed, sat by his wife's
+bedside a prey to anxiety and grief; for although she had resisted the
+first attack she was now, thirty-six hours after it had seized her, fast
+sinking. Gradually her sight and power of speech faded, and she sank
+into the state of coma which was the prelude of death, and lay quiet and
+motionless, seeming as if life had already departed. Suddenly Walter was
+surprised by the sound of many heavy feet ascending the stairs. He went
+out into the ante-room to learn the cause of this strange tumult, when
+five armed men, one of whom was masked, rushed into the room. Walter
+caught up his sword from the table.
+
+"Ruffians," he exclaimed, "how dare you desecrate the abode of death?"
+
+Without a word the men sprang upon him. For a minute he defended himself
+against their attacks, but he was still weak, his guard was beaten down,
+and a blow felled him to the ground.
+
+"Now settle her," the masked man exclaimed, and the band rushed into the
+adjoining room. They paused, however, at the door at the sight of the
+lifeless figure on the couch.
+
+"We are saved that trouble," one said, "we have come too late."
+
+The masked figure approached the couch and bent over the figure.
+
+"Yes," he said, "she is dead, and so much the better."
+
+Then he returned with the others to Walter.
+
+"He breathes yet," he said. "He needs a harder blow than that you gave
+him to finish him. Let him lie here for a while, while you gather your
+booty together; then we will carry him off. There is scarcely a soul
+alive in the country round, and none will note us as we pass. I would
+not despatch him here, seeing that his body would be found with wounds
+upon it, and even in these times some inquiry might be made; therefore
+it were best to finish him elsewhere. When he is missed it will be
+supposed that he went mad at the death of his wife, and has wandered
+out and died, may be in the woods, or has drowned himself in a pond or
+stream. Besides, I would that before he dies he should know what hand
+has struck the blow, and that my vengeance, which he slighted and has
+twice escaped, has overtaken him at last."
+
+After ransacking the principal rooms and taking all that was valuable,
+the band of marauders lifted the still insensible body of Walter, and
+carrying it down-stairs flung it across a horse. One of the ruffians
+mounted behind it, and the others also getting into their saddles the
+party rode away.
+
+They were mistaken, however, in supposing that the Lady Edith was dead.
+She was indeed very nigh the gates of death, and had it not been for the
+disturbance would assuredly have speedily entered them. The voice of her
+husband raised in anger, the clash of steel, followed by the heavy fall,
+had awakened her deadened brain. Consciousness had at once returned to
+her, but as yet no power of movement. As at a great distance she had
+heard the words of those who entered her chamber, and had understood
+their import. More and more distinctly she heard their movements about
+the room as they burst open her caskets and appropriated her jewels, but
+it was not until silence was restored that the gathering powers of life
+asserted themselves; then with a sudden rush the blood seemed to course
+through her veins, her eyes opened, and her tongue was loosed, and with
+a scream she sprang up and stood by the side of her bed.
+
+Sustained as by a supernatural power she hurried into the next room. A
+pool of blood on the floor showed her that what she had heard had not
+been a dream or the fiction of a disordered brain. Snatching up a cloak
+of her husband's which lay on a couch, she wrapped it round her, and
+with hurried steps made her way along the passages until she reached the
+apartment occupied by Ralph. The latter sprang up in bed with a cry of
+astonishment. He had heard but an hour before from Walter that all
+hope was gone, and thought for an instant that the appearance was an
+apparition from the dead. The ghastly pallor of the face, the eyes
+burning with a strange light, the flowing hair, and disordered
+appearance of the girl might well have alarmed one living in even less
+superstitious times, and Ralph began to cross himself hastily and to
+mutter a prayer when recalled to himself by the sound of Edith's voice.
+
+"Quick, Ralph!" she said, "arise and clothe yourself. Hasten, for your
+life. My lord's enemies have fallen upon him and wounded him grievously,
+even if they have not slain him, and have carried him away. They would
+have slain me also had they not thought I was already dead. Arise and
+mount, summon everyone still alive in the village, and follow these
+murderers. I will pull the alarm-bell of the castle."
+
+Ralph sprang from his bed as Edith left. He had heard the sound of many
+footsteps in the knight's apartments, but had deemed them those of the
+priest and his acolytes come to administer the last rites of the church
+to his dying mistress. Rage and anxiety for his master gave strength
+to his limbs. He threw on a few clothes and rushed down to the stables,
+where the horses stood with great piles of forage and pails of water
+before them, placed there two days before, by Walter when their last
+attendant died. Without waiting to saddle it, Ralph sprang upon the back
+of one of the animals, and taking the halters of four others started at
+a gallop down to the village.
+
+His news spread like wild fire, for the ringing of the alarm-bell of
+the castle had drawn all to their doors and prepared them for something
+strange. Some of the men had already taken their arms and were making
+their way up to the castle when they met Ralph. There were but five men
+in the village who had altogether escaped the pestilence; others had
+survived its attacks, but were still weak. Horses there were in plenty.
+The five men mounted at once, with three others who, though still weak,
+were able to ride.
+
+So great was the excitement that seven women who had escaped the disease
+armed themselves with their husbands' swords and leaped on horseback,
+declaring that, women though they were, they would strike a blow for
+their beloved lord, who had been as an angel in the village during the
+plague. Thus it was scarcely more than ten minutes after the marauders
+had left the castle before a motley band, fifteen strong, headed by
+Ralph, rode off in pursuit, while some of the women of the village
+hurried up to the castle to comfort Edith with the tidings that the
+pursuit had already commenced. Fortunately a lad in the fields had
+noticed the five men ride away from the castle, and was able to point
+out the direction they had taken.
+
+At a furious gallop Ralph and his companions tore across the country.
+Mile after mile was passed. Once or twice they gained news from
+labourers in the field of the passage of those before them, and knew
+that they were on the right track. They had now entered a wild and
+sparsely inhabited country. It was broken and much undulated, so that
+although they knew that the band they were pursuing were but a short
+distance ahead they had not yet caught sight of them, and they hoped
+that, having no reason to dread any immediate pursuit, these would soon
+slacken their pace. This expectation was realized, for on coming over a
+brow they saw the party halted at a turf-burner's cottage in the hollow
+below. Three of the men had dismounted; two of them were examining the
+hoof of one of the horses, which had apparently cast a shoe or trodden
+upon a stone. Ralph had warned his party to make no sound when they came
+upon the fugitives. The sound of the horses' hoofs was deadened by the
+turf, and they were within a hundred yards of the marauders before they
+were perceived; then Ralph uttered a shout and brandishing their swords
+the party rode down at a headlong gallop.
+
+The dismounted men leaped to their saddles and galloped off at full
+speed, but their pursuers were now close upon them. Ralph and two of his
+companions, who were mounted upon Walter's best horses, gained upon them
+at every stride. Two of them were overtaken and run through.
+
+The man who bore Walter before him, finding himself being rapidly
+overtaken, threw his burden on to the ground just as the leader of the
+party had checked his horse and was about to deliver a sweeping blow at
+the insensible body.
+
+With a curse at his follower for ridding himself of it, he again
+galloped on. The man's act was unavailing to save himself, for he was
+overtaken and cut down before he had ridden many strides; then Ralph and
+his party instantly reined up to examine the state of Walter, and
+the two survivors of the band of murderers continued their flight
+unmolested.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX: BY LAND AND SEA
+
+
+Walter was raised from the ground, water was fetched from the cottage,
+and the blood washed from his head by Ralph, aided by two of the
+women. It had at once been seen that he was still living, and Ralph on
+examining the wound joyfully declared that no great harm was done.
+
+"Had Sir Walter been strong and well," he said, "such a clip as this
+would not have knocked him from his feet, but he would have answered it
+with a blow such as I have often seen him give in battle; but he was but
+barely recovering and was as weak as a girl. He is unconscious from
+loss of blood and weakness. I warrant me that when he opens his eyes and
+hears that the lady Edith has risen from her bed and came to send me to
+his rescue, joy will soon bring the blood into his cheeks again. Do one
+of you run to the hut and see if they have any cordial waters; since the
+plague has been raging there are few houses but have laid in a provision
+in case the disease should seize them."
+
+The man soon returned with a bottle of cordial water compounded of
+rosemary, lavender, and other herbs. By this time Walter had opened his
+eyes. The cordial was poured down his throat, and he was presently able
+to speak.
+
+"Be of good cheer, Sir Walter," Ralph said; "three of your rascally
+assailants lie dead, and the other two have fled; but I have better news
+still for you. Lady Edith, who you told me lay unconscious and dying,
+has revived. The din of the conflict seems to have reached her ears and
+recalled her to life, and the dear lady came to my room with the news
+that you were carried off, and then, while I was throwing on my clothes,
+roused the village to your assistance by ringing the alarm-bell. Rarely
+frightened I was when she came in, for methought at first it was her
+spirit."
+
+The good news, as Ralph had predicted, effectually roused Walter, and
+rising to his feet he declared himself able to mount and ride back at
+once. Ralph tried to persuade him to wait until they had formed a litter
+of boughs, but Walter would not allow it.
+
+"I would not tarry an instant," he said, "for Edith will be full of
+anxiety until I return. Why, Ralph, do you think that I am a baby? Why,
+you yourself were but this morning unable to walk across the room, and
+here you have been galloping and fighting on my behalf."
+
+"In faith," Ralph said, smiling, "until now I had forgotten that I had
+been ill."
+
+"You have saved my life, Ralph, you and my friends here, whom I thank
+with all my heart for what they have done. I will speak more to them
+another time, now I must ride home with all speed."
+
+Walter now mounted; Ralph took his place on one side of him, and one of
+his tenants on the other, lest he should be seized with faintness; then
+at a hand-gallop they started back for the castle. Several women of the
+village had, when they left, hurried up to the castle. They found Edith
+lying insensible by the rope of the alarm-bell, having fainted when she
+had accomplished her object. They presently brought her round; as she
+was now suffering only from extreme weakness, she was laid on a couch,
+and cordials and some soup were given to her. One of the women took her
+place at the highest window to watch for the return of any belonging to
+the expedition.
+
+
+
+Edith felt hopeful as to the result, for she thought that their
+assailants would not have troubled to carry away the body of Walter had
+not life remained in it, and she was sure that Ralph would press them so
+hotly that sooner or later the abductors would be overtaken.
+
+An hour and a half passed, and then the woman from above ran down with
+the news that she could see three horsemen galloping together towards
+the castle, with a number of others following in confused order behind.
+
+"Then they have found my lord," Edith exclaimed joyfully, "for Ralph
+would assuredly not return so quickly had they not done so. It's a good
+sign that they are galloping, for had they been bearers of ill news
+they would have returned more slowly; look out again and see if they are
+bearing one among them."
+
+The woman, with some of her companions, hastened away, and in two or
+three minutes ran down with the news that Sir Walter himself was one of
+the three leading horsemen. In a few minutes Edith was clasped in her
+husband's arms, and their joy, restored as they were from the dead to
+each other, was indeed almost beyond words.
+
+The plague now abated fast in Westerham, only two or three more persons
+being attacked by it. As soon as Edith was sufficiently recovered to
+travel Walter proceeded with her to London and there laid before the
+king and prince a complaint against Sir James Carnegie for his attempt
+upon their lives. Even in the trance in which she lay, Edith had
+recognized the voice which had once been so familiar to her. Walter,
+too, was able to testify against him, for the rough jolting on horseback
+had for a while restored his consciousness, and he had heard words
+spoken, before relapsing into insensibility from the continued bleeding
+of his wound, which enabled him to swear to Sir James Carnegie as one of
+his abductors.
+
+The king instantly ordered the arrest of the knight, but he could not
+be found; unavailing search was made in every direction, and as nothing
+could be heard of him it was concluded that he had left the kingdom. He
+was proclaimed publicly a false and villainous knight, his estates were
+confiscated to the crown, and he himself was outlawed. Then Walter and
+his wife returned home and did their best to assist their tenants in
+struggling through the difficulties entailed through the plague.
+
+So terrible had been the mortality that throughout England there was a
+lack of hands for field work, crops rotted in the ground because there
+were none to harvest them, and men able to work demanded twenty times
+the wages which had before been paid. So great was the trouble from this
+source that an ordinance was passed by parliament enacting that severe
+punishment should be dealt upon all who demanded wages above the
+standard price, and even more severe penalties inflicted upon those who
+should consent to pay higher wages. It was, however, many years before
+England recovered from the terrible blow which had been dealt her from
+the pestilence.
+
+While Europe had been ravaged by pestilence the adherents of France and
+England had continued their struggle in Brittany in spite of the terms
+of the truce, and this time King Edward was the first open aggressor,
+granting money and assistance to the free companies, who pillaged and
+plundered in the name of England. The truce expired at the end of 1348,
+but was continued for short periods. It was, however, evident that both
+parties were determined ere long to recommence hostilities. The French
+collected large forces in Artois and Picardy, and Edward himself
+proceeded to Sandwich to organize there another army for the invasion of
+France.
+
+Phillip determined to strike the first blow, and, before the conclusion
+of the truce, to regain possession of Calais. This town was commanded by
+a Lombard officer named Almeric of Pavia. Free communication existed,
+in consequence of the truce, between Calais and the surrounding
+country, and Jeffrey de Charny, the governor of St. Omer, and one of
+the commissioners especially appointed to maintain the truce, opened
+communications with the Lombard captain. Deeming that like most
+mercenaries he would be willing to change sides should his interest to
+do so be made clear, he offered him a large sum of money to deliver the
+castle to the French.
+
+The Lombard at once agreed to the project. Jeffrey de Charny arranged
+to be within a certain distance of the town on the night of the 1st of
+January, bringing with him sufficient forces to master all opposition
+if the way was once opened to the interior of the town. It was further
+agreed that the money was to be paid over by a small party of French
+who were to be sent forward for the purpose of examining the castle, in
+order to ensure the main body against treachery. As a hostage for the
+security of the detachment, the son of the governor was to remain in
+the hands of the French without, until the safe return of the scouting
+party.
+
+Several weeks elapsed between the conclusion of the agreement and the
+date fixed for its execution, and in the meantime the Lombard, either
+from remorse or from a fear of the consequences which might arise from
+a detection of the plot before its execution, or from the subsequent
+vengeance of the English king, disclosed the whole transaction to
+Edward.
+
+
+The king bade him continue to carry out his arrangements with De Charny,
+leaving it to him to counteract the plot. Had he issued orders for
+the rapid assembly of the army the French would have taken alarm. He
+therefore sent private messengers to a number of knights and gentlemen
+of Kent and Sussex to meet him with their retainers at Dover on the 31st
+of December.
+
+
+Walter was one of those summoned, and although much surprised at the
+secrecy with which he was charged, and of such a call being made while
+the truce with France still existed, he repaired to Dover on the day
+named, accompanied by Ralph and by twenty men, who were all who remained
+capable of bearing arms on the estate.
+
+He found the king himself with the Black Prince at Dover, where they had
+arrived that day. Sir Walter Manny was in command of the force, which
+consisted in all of 300 men-at-arms and 600 archers. A number of small
+boats had been collected, and at midday on the 1st of January the little
+expedition started, and arrived at Calais after nightfall.
+
+In the chivalrous spirit of the times the king determined that Sir
+Walter Manny should continue in command of the enterprise; he and the
+Black Prince, disguised as simple knights, fighting under his banner.
+
+In the meantime a considerable force had been collected at St. Omer,
+where a large number of knights and gentlemen obeyed the summons of
+Jeffrey de Charny. On the night appointed they marched for Calais, in
+number five hundred lances and a corresponding number of footmen. They
+reached the river and bridge of Nieullay a little after midnight, and
+messengers were sent on to the governor, who was prepared to receive
+them. On their report De Charny advanced still nearer to the town,
+leaving the bridge and passages to the river guarded by a large body of
+crossbow-men under the command of the Lord De Fiennes and a number
+of other knights. At a little distance from the castle he was met by
+Almeric de Pavia, who yielded his son as a hostage according to his
+promise, calculating, as was the case, that he would be recaptured by
+the English. Then, having received the greater portion of the money
+agreed upon, he led a party of the French over the castle to satisfy
+them of his sincerity. Upon receiving their report that all was quiet
+De Charny detached twelve knights and a hundred men-at-arms to take
+possession of the castle, while he himself waited at one of the gates of
+the town with the principal portion of his force.
+
+No sooner had the French entered the castle than the drawbridge
+was raised. The English soldiers poured out from their places of
+concealment, and the party which had entered the castle were forced
+to lay down their arms. In the meantime the Black Prince issued with a
+small body of troops from a gate near the sea, while De Manny, with
+the king under his banner, marched by the sally-port which led into
+the fields. A considerable detachment of the division was despatched to
+dislodge the enemy at the bridge of Nieullay, and the rest, joining the
+party of the Black Prince, advanced rapidly upon the forces of Jeffrey
+de Charny which, in point of numbers, was double their own strength.
+
+Although taken in turn by surprise the French prepared steadily for
+the attack. De Charny ordered them all to dismount and to shorten their
+lances to pikes five feet in length. The English also dismounted and
+rushing forward on foot a furious contest commenced. The ranks of both
+parties were soon broken in the darkness, and the combatants separating
+into groups a number of separate battles raged around the different
+banners.
+
+For some hours the fight was continued with unabating obstinacy on both
+sides. The king and the Black Prince fought with immense bravery, their
+example encouraging even those of their soldiers who were ignorant
+of the personality of the knights who were everywhere in front of the
+combat. King Edward himself several times crossed swords with the famous
+Eustace de Ribaumont, one of the most gallant knights in France. At
+length towards daybreak the king, with only thirty companions, found
+himself again opposed to De Ribaumont with a greatly superior force, and
+the struggle was renewed between them.
+
+Twice the king was beaten down on one knee by the thundering blows
+of the French knight, twice he rose and renewed the attack, until De
+Charny, seeing Sir Walter Manny's banner, beside which Edward fought,
+defended by so small a force, also bore down to the attack, and in the
+struggle Edward was separated from his opponent.
+
+The combat now became desperate round the king, and Sir Guy Brian, who
+bore De Manny's standard, though one of the strongest and most gallant
+knights of the day, could scarce keep the banner erect. Still Edward
+fought on, and in the excitement of the moment, forgetting his
+incognito, he accompanied each blow with his customary war-cry--"Edward,
+St. George! Edward, St. George!" At that battle-cry, which told the
+French men-at-arms that the King of England was himself opposed to them,
+they recoiled for a moment. The shout too reached the ears of the Prince
+of Wales, who had been fighting with another group. Calling his knights
+around him he fell upon the rear of De Charny's party and quickly
+cleared a space around the king.
+
+
+The fight was now everywhere going against the French, and the English
+redoubling their efforts the victory was soon complete, and scarcely
+one French knight left the ground alive and free. In the struggle Edward
+again encountered De Ribaumont, who, separated from him by the charge of
+De Charny, had not heard the king's war-cry. The conflict between them
+was a short one. The French knight saw that almost all his companions
+were dead or captured, his party completely defeated, and all prospects
+of escape cut off. He therefore soon dropped the point of his sword and
+surrendered to his unknown adversary. In the meantime the troops which
+had been despatched to the bridge of Nieullay had defeated the French
+forces left to guard the passage and clear the ground towards St. Omer.
+
+Early in the morning Edward entered Calais in triumph, taking with him
+thirty French nobles as prisoners, while two hundred more remained dead
+on the field. That evening a great banquet was held, at which the French
+prisoners were present. The king presided at the banquet, and the French
+nobles were waited upon by the Black Prince and his knights. After the
+feast was concluded the king bestowed on De Ribaumont the chaplet of
+pearls which he wore round his crown, hailing him as the most gallant of
+the knights who had that day fought, and granting him freedom to return
+at once to his friends, presenting him with two horses, and a purse to
+defray his expenses to the nearest French town.
+
+De Charny was afterwards ransomed, and after his return to France
+assembled a body of troops and attacked the castle which Edward had
+bestowed upon Almeric of Pavia, and capturing the Lombard, carried him
+to St. Omer, and had him there publicly flayed alive as a punishment for
+his treachery.
+
+Walter had as usual fought by the side of the Prince of Wales throughout
+the battle of Calais and had much distinguished himself for his valour.
+Ralph was severely wounded in the fight, but was able a month later to
+rejoin Walter in England.
+
+The battle of Calais and the chivalrous bearing of the king created
+great enthusiasm and delight in England, and did much to rouse the
+people from the state of grief into which they had been cast by the
+ravages of the plague. The king did his utmost to maintain the spirit
+which had been evoked, and the foundation of the order of the Garter,
+and the erection of a splendid chapel at Windsor, and its dedication,
+with great ceremony, to St. George, the patron saint of England, still
+further raised the renown of the court of Edward throughout Europe as
+the centre of the chivalry of the age.
+
+Notwithstanding many treaties which had taken place, and the near
+alliance which had been well-nigh carried out between the royal families
+of England and Spain, Spanish pirates had never ceased to carry on a
+series of aggressions upon the English vessels trading in the Bay of
+Biscay. Ships were every day taken, and the crews cruelly butchered
+in cold blood. Edward's remonstrances proved vain, and when threats of
+retaliation were held out by Edward, followed by preparations to carry
+those threats into effect, Pedro the Cruel, who had now succeeded to the
+throne of Spain, despatched strong reinforcements to the fleet which had
+already swept the English Channel.
+
+The great Spanish fleet sailed north, and capturing on its way a number
+of English merchantmen, put into Sluys, and prepared to sail back
+in triumph with the prizes and merchandise it had captured. Knowing,
+however, that Edward was preparing to oppose them, the Spaniards filled
+up their complement of men, strengthened themselves by all sorts of the
+war machines then in use, and started on their return for Spain with one
+of the most powerful armadas that had ever put to sea.
+
+Edward had collected on the coast of Sussex a fleet intended to oppose
+them, and had summoned all the military forces of the south of England
+to accompany him; and as soon as he heard that the Spaniards were about
+to put to sea he set out for Winchelsea, where the fleet was collected.
+
+The queen accompanied him to the sea-coast, and the Black Prince, now in
+his twentieth year, was appointed to command one of the largest of the
+English vessels.
+
+The fleet put to sea when they heard that the Spaniards had started,
+and the hostile fleets were soon in sight of each other. The number
+of fighting men on board the Spanish ships was ten times those of the
+English, and their vessels were of vastly superior size and strength.
+They had, moreover, caused their ships to be fitted at Sluys with
+large wooden towers, which furnished a commanding position to their
+crossbow-men. The wind was direct in their favour, and they could have
+easily avoided the contest, but, confiding in their enormously superior
+force, they sailed boldly forward to the attack.
+
+The king himself led the English line, and directing his vessel towards
+a large Spanish ship, endeavoured to run her down. The shock was
+tremendous, but the enemy's vessel was stronger as well as larger than
+that of the king; and as the two ships recoiled from each other it was
+found that the water was rushing into the English vessel, and that she
+was rapidly sinking. The Spanish passed on in the confusion, but the
+king ordered his ship to be instantly laid alongside another which was
+following her, and to be firmly lashed to her. Then with his knights he
+sprang on board the Spaniard, and after a short but desperate fight cut
+down or drove the crew overboard. The royal standard was hoisted on the
+prize, the sinking English vessel was cast adrift, and the king sailed
+on to attack another adversary.
+
+
+
+The battle now raged on all sides. The English strove to grapple with
+and board the enemy, while the Spaniards poured upon them a shower of
+bolts and quarrels from their cross-bows, hurled immense masses of stone
+from their military engines, and, as they drew alongside, cast into them
+heavy bars of iron, which pierced holes in the bottom of the ship.
+
+Walter was on board the ship commanded by the Black Prince. This had
+been steered towards one of the largest and most important of the
+Spanish vessels. As they approached, the engines poured their missiles
+into them. Several great holes were torn in the sides of the ship, which
+was already sinking as she came alongside her foe.
+
+"We must do our best, Sir Walter," the prince exclaimed, "for if we do
+not capture her speedily our ship will assuredly sink beneath our feet."
+
+The Spaniard stood far higher above the water than the English ship, and
+the Black Prince and his knights in vain attempted to climb her sides,
+while the seamen strove with pumps and buckets to keep the vessel
+afloat. Every effort was in vain. The Spaniard's men-at-arms lined the
+bulwarks, and repulsed every effort made by the English to climb up
+them, while those on the towers rained down showers of bolts and arrows
+and masses of iron and stone. The situation was desperate when the Earl
+of Lancaster, passing by in his ship, saw the peril to which the prince
+was exposed, and, ranging up on the other side of the Spaniard,
+strove to board her there. The attention of the Spaniards being thus
+distracted, the prince and his companions made another desperate effort,
+and succeeded in winning their way on to the deck of the Spanish ship
+just as their own vessel sank beneath their feet; after a few minutes'
+desperate fighting the Spanish ship was captured.
+
+The English were now everywhere getting the best of their enemies. Many
+of the Spanish vessels had been captured or sunk, and after the fight
+had raged for some hours, the rest began to disperse and seek safety
+in flight. The English vessel commanded by Count Robert of Namur had
+towards night engaged a Spanish vessel of more than twice its own
+strength. His adversaries, seeing that the day was lost, set all sail,
+but looking upon the little vessel beside them as a prey to be taken
+possession of at their leisure, they fastened it tightly to their sides
+by the grappling irons, and spreading all sail, made away. The Count
+and his men were unable to free themselves, and were being dragged away,
+when a follower of the count named Hennekin leapt suddenly on board the
+Spanish ship. With a bound he reached the mast, and with a single blow
+with his sword cut the halyards which supported the main-sail. The sail
+fell at once. The Spaniards rushed to the spot to repair the disaster
+which threatened to delay their ship. The count and his followers,
+seeing the bulwarks of the Spanish vessel for the moment unguarded,
+poured in, and after a furious conflict captured the vessel. By this
+time twenty-four of the enemy's vessels had been taken, the rest were
+either sunk or in full flight, and Edward at once returned to the
+English shore.
+
+The fight had taken place within sight of land, and Queen Philippa, from
+the windows of the abbey, which stood on rising ground, had seen the
+approach of the vast Spanish fleet, and had watched the conflict until
+night fell. She remained in suspense as to the result until the king
+himself with the Black Prince and Prince John, afterwards known as John
+of Gaunt, who, although but ten years of age, had accompanied the Black
+Prince in his ship, rode up with the news of the victory.
+
+This great sea-fight was one of the brightest and most honourable in the
+annals of English history, for not even in the case of that other great
+Spanish Armada which suffered defeat in English waters were the odds so
+immense or the victory so thorough and complete. The result of the fight
+was, that after some negotiations a truce of twenty years was concluded
+with Spain.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX: POITIERS
+
+
+After the great sea-fight at the end of August, 1350, England had peace
+for some years. Phillip of France had died a week before that battle,
+and had been succeeded by his son John, Duke of Normandy. Upon the part
+of both countries there was an indisposition to renew the war, for their
+power had been vastly crippled by the devastations of the plague. This
+was followed by great distress and scarcity owing to the want of labour
+to till the fields. The truce was therefore continued from time to time;
+the pope strove to convert the truce into a permanent peace, and on the
+28th of August, 1354, a number of the prelates and barons of England,
+with full power to arrange terms of peace, went to Avignon, where they
+were met by the French representatives. The powers committed to the
+English commissioners show that Edward was at this time really desirous
+of making a permanent peace with France; but the French ambassadors
+raised numerous and unexpected difficulties, and after lengthened
+negotiations the conference was broken off.
+
+The truce came to an end in June, 1355, and great preparations were made
+on both sides for the war. The King of England strained every effort to
+furnish and equip an army which was to proceed with the Black Prince to
+Aquitaine, of which province his father had appointed him governor, and
+in November the Prince sailed for Bordeaux, with the advance-guard of
+his force. Sir Walter Somers accompanied him. During the years which had
+passed since the plague he had resided principally upon his estates,
+and had the satisfaction of seeing that his tenants escaped the distress
+which was general through the country. He had been in the habit
+of repairing to London to take part in the tournaments and other
+festivities; but both he and Edith preferred the quiet country life to
+a continued residence at court. Two sons had now been born to him, and
+fond as he was of the excitement and adventure of war, it was with deep
+regret that he obeyed the royal summons, and left his house with his
+retainers, consisting of twenty men-at-arms and thirty archers, to join
+the prince.
+
+Upon the Black Prince's landing at Bordeaux he was joined by the Gascon
+lords, the vassals of the English crown, and for three months marched
+through and ravaged the districts adjoining, the French army, although
+greatly superior in force, offering no effectual resistance. Many towns
+were taken, and he returned at Christmas to Bordeaux after a campaign
+attended by a series of unbroken successes.
+
+The following spring the war recommenced, and a diversion was effected
+by the Duke of Lancaster, who was in command of Brittany, joining his
+forces with those of the King of Navarre, and many of the nobles of
+Normandy, while King Edward crossed to Calais and kept a portion of the
+French army occupied there. The Black Prince, leaving the principal
+part of his forces under the command of the Earl of Albret to guard the
+territory already acquired against the attack of the French army under
+the Count of Armagnac, marched with 2000 picked men-at-arms and 6000
+archers into Auvergne, and thence turning into Berry, marched to the
+gates of Bourges.
+
+The King of France was now thoroughly alarmed, and issued a general
+call to all his vassals to assemble on the Loire. The Prince of Wales,
+finding immense bodies of men closing in around him, fell back slowly,
+capturing and levelling to the ground the strong castle of Romorentin.
+
+The King of France was now hastening forward, accompanied by his four
+sons, 140 nobles with banners, 20,000 men-at-arms, and an immense force
+of infantry. Vast accessions of forces joined him each day, and on the
+17th of September he occupied a position between the Black Prince and
+Guienne. The first intimation that either the Black Prince or the King
+of France had of their close proximity to each other was an accidental
+meeting between a small foraging force of the English and three hundred
+French horse, under the command of the Counts of Auxerre and Joigny, the
+marshal of Burgundy, and the lord of Chatillon. The French hotly pursued
+the little English party, and on emerging from some low bushes found
+themselves in the midst of the English camp, where all were taken
+prisoners. From them the Black Prince learned that the King of France
+was within a day's march.
+
+The Prince despatched the Captal de Buch with 200 men-at-arms to
+reconnoitre the force and position of the enemy, and these coming upon
+the rear of the French army just as they were about to enter Poitiers,
+dashed among them and took some prisoners. The King of France thus first
+learned that the enemy he was searching for was actually six miles in
+his rear. The Captal de Buch and his companions returned to the Black
+Prince, and confirmed the information obtained from the prisoners, that
+the King of France, with an army at least eight times as strong as his
+own, lay between him and Poitiers.
+
+The position appeared well-nigh desperate, but the prince and his most
+experienced knights at once reconnoitered the country to choose the best
+ground upon which to do battle. An excellent position was chosen. It
+consisted of rising ground commanding the country towards Poitiers, and
+naturally defended by the hedges of a vineyard. It was only accessible
+from Poitiers by a sunken road flanked by banks and fences, and but wide
+enough to admit of four horsemen riding abreast along it. The ground on
+either side of this hollow way was rough and broken so as to impede the
+movements even of infantry, and to render the maneuvers of a large
+body of cavalry nearly impracticable. On the left of the position was a
+little hamlet called Maupertuis. Here on the night of Saturday the
+17th of September the prince encamped, and early next morning made his
+dispositions for the battle. His whole force was dismounted and occupied
+the high ground, a strong body of archers lined the hedges on either
+side of the sunken road; the main body of archers were drawn up in their
+usual formation on the hillside, their front covered by the hedge of the
+vineyard, while behind them the men-at-arms were drawn up.
+
+The King of France divided his army into three divisions, each
+consisting of 16,000 mounted men-at-arms besides infantry, commanded
+respectively by the Duke of Orleans, the king's brother, the dauphin,
+and the king himself. With the two royal princes were the most
+experienced of the French commanders. In the meantime De Ribaumont, with
+three other French knights, reconnoitered the English position, and on
+their return with their report strongly advised that as large bodies of
+cavalry would be quite useless owing to the nature of the ground, the
+whole force should dismount except 300 picked men designed to break the
+line of English archers and a small body of German horse to act as a
+reserve.
+
+Just as the King of France was about to give orders for the advance, the
+Cardinal of Perigord arrived in his camp, anxious to stop, if possible,
+the effusion of blood. He hurried to the King of France.
+
+"You have here, sire," he said, "the flower of all the chivalry of your
+realm assembled against a mere handful of English, and it will be
+far more honourable and profitable for you to have them in your power
+without battle than to risk such a noble array in uncertain strife. I
+pray you, then, in the name of God, to let me ride on to the Prince of
+Wales, to show him his peril, and to exhort him to peace."
+
+"Willingly, my lord," the king replied; "but above all things be quick."
+
+The cardinal at once hastened to the English camp; he found the Black
+Prince in the midst of his knights ready for battle, but by no means
+unwilling to listen to proposals for peace. His position was indeed
+most perilous. In his face was an enormously superior army, and he was
+moreover threatened by famine; even during the two preceding days his
+army had suffered from a great scarcity of forage, and its provisions
+were almost wholly exhausted. The French force was sufficiently numerous
+to blockade him in his camp, and he knew that did they adopt that course
+he must surrender unconditionally, since were he forced to sally out and
+attack the French no valour could compensate for the immense disparity
+of numbers. He therefore replied at once to the cardinal's application,
+that he was ready to listen to any terms by which his honour and that of
+his companions would be preserved.
+
+The cardinal returned to the King of France and with much entreaty
+succeeded in obtaining a truce until sunrise on the following morning.
+The soldiers returned to their tents, and the cardinal rode backward and
+forward between the armies, beseeching the King of France to moderate
+his demands, and the Black Prince to submit to the evil fortune which
+had befallen him; but on the one side the king looked upon the victory
+as certain, and on the other the Black Prince thought that there was at
+least a hope of success should the French attack him. All, therefore,
+that the cardinal could obtain from him was an offer to resign all he
+had captured in his expedition, towns, castles, and prisoners, and
+to take an oath not to bear arms against France for seven years. This
+proposal fell so far short of the demands of the French king that
+pacification soon appeared hopeless.
+
+Early on the Monday morning the cardinal once more sought the presence
+of the French king, but found John inflexible; while some of the leaders
+who had viewed with the strongest disapproval his efforts to snatch what
+they regarded as certain victory from their hands, gave him a peremptory
+warning not to show himself again in their lines. The prelate then bore
+the news of his failure to the Prince of Wales. "Fair son," he said, "do
+the best you can, for you must needs fight, as I can find no means of
+peace or amnesty with the King of France."
+
+"Be it so, good father," the prince replied, "it is our full resolve to
+fight, and God will aid the right."
+
+The delay which had occurred had not been without advantages for the
+British army, although the shortness of provisions was greatly felt.
+Every effort had been made to strengthen the position. Deep trenches
+had been dug and palisades erected around it, and the carts and baggage
+train had all been moved round so as to form a protection on the weakest
+side of the camp, where also a rampart had been constructed.
+
+Upon a careful examination of the ground it was found that the hill on
+the right side of the camp was less difficult than had been supposed,
+and that the dismounted men-at-arms who lay at its foot under the
+command of the Dauphin would find little difficulty in climbing it to
+the assault. The prince therefore gave orders that 300 men-at-arms and
+300 mounted archers should make a circuit from the rear round the
+base of the hill, in order to pour in upon the flank of the Dauphin's
+division as soon as they became disordered in the ascent. The nature
+of the ground concealed this maneuver from the enemies' view, and the
+Captal De Buch, who was in command of the party, gained unperceived the
+cover of a wooded ravine within a few hundred yards of the left flank
+of the enemy. By the time that all these dispositions were complete the
+huge French array was moving forward. The Black Prince, surrounded by
+his knights, viewed them approaching.
+
+"Fair lords," he said, "though we be so few against that mighty power
+of enemies, let us not be dismayed, for strength and victory lie not in
+multitudes, but in those to whom God give them. If He will the day be
+ours, then the highest glory of this world will be given to us. If we
+die, I have the noble lord, my father, and two fair brothers, and you
+have each of you many a good friend who will avenge us well; thus, then,
+I pray you fight well this day, and if it please God and St. George I
+will also do the part of a good knight."
+
+The prince then chose Sir John Chandos and Sir James Audley to remain by
+his side during the conflict in order to afford him counsel in case of
+need. Audley, however, pleaded a vow which he had made long before, to
+be the first in battle should he ever be engaged under the command of
+the King of England or any of his children. The prince at once
+acceded to his request to be allowed to fight in the van, and Audley,
+accompanied by four chosen squires, took his place in front of the
+English line of battle. Not far from him, also in advance of the line,
+was Sir Eustace D'Arnbrecicourt on horseback, also eager to distinguish
+himself.
+
+As Sir James rode off the prince turned to Walter. "As Audley must needs
+fight as a knight-errant, Sir Walter Somers, do you take your place by
+my side, for there is no more valiant knight in my army than you have
+often proved yourself to be."
+
+Three hundred chosen French men-at-arms mounted on the strongest
+horses covered with steel armour, led the way under the command of the
+Marechals D'Audeham and De Clermont; while behind them were a large body
+of German cavalry under the Counts of Nassau, Saarbruck, and Nidau, to
+support them in their attack on the English archers. On the right was
+the Duke of Orleans with 16,000 men-at-arms; on the left the Dauphin and
+his two brothers with an equal force; while King John himself led on the
+rear-guard.
+
+When the three hundred elite of the French army reached the narrow way
+between the hedges, knowing that these were lined with archers they
+charged through at a gallop to fall upon the main body of bowmen
+covering the front of the English men-at-arms. The moment they were
+fairly in the hollow road the British archers rose on either side to
+their feet and poured such a flight of arrows among them that in an
+instant all was confusion and disarray. Through every joint and crevice
+of the armour of knights and horses the arrows found their way, and the
+lane was almost choked with the bodies of men and horses. A considerable
+number, nevertheless, made their way through and approached the first
+line of archers beyond. Here they were met by Sir James Audley, who,
+with his four squires, plunged into their ranks and overthrew the
+Marechal D'Audeham, and then fought his way onward. Regardless of the
+rest of the battle he pressed ever forward, until at the end of the day,
+wounded in a hundred places and fainting from loss of blood, he fell
+from his horse almost at the gates of Poitiers, and was borne from the
+field by the four faithful squires who had fought beside him throughout
+the day.
+
+Less fortunate was Sir Eustace D'Ambrecicourt, who spurred headlong upon
+the German cavalry. A German knight rode out to meet him, and in the
+shock both were dishorsed, but before Sir Eustace could recover his seat
+he was borne down to the ground by four others of the enemy, and was
+bound and carried captive to the rear.
+
+In the meantime the English archers kept up their incessant hail of
+arrows upon the band under the French marshals. The English men-at-arms
+passed through the gaps purposely left in the line of archers and drove
+back the front rank of the enemy upon those following, chasing them
+headlong down the hollow road again. The few survivors of the French
+force, galloping back, carried confusion into the advancing division of
+the Dauphin.
+
+Before order was restored the Captal De Buch with his six hundred men
+issued forth from his place of concealment and charged impetuously down
+on the left flank of the Dauphin. The French, shaken in front by the
+retreat of their advance guard, were thrown into extreme confusion by
+this sudden and unexpected charge. The horse archers with the captal
+poured their arrows into the mass, while the shafts of the main body of
+the archers on the hill hailed upon them without ceasing.
+
+The rumour spread among those in the French rear, who were unable to see
+what was going forward, that the day was already lost, and many began
+to fly. Sir John Chandos marked the confusion which had set in, and he
+exclaimed to the prince:
+
+"Now, sir, ride forward, and the day is yours. Let us charge right over
+upon your adversary, the King of France, for there lies the labour and
+the feat of the day. Well do I know that his great courage will never
+let him fly, but, God willing, he shall be well encountered."
+
+"Forward, then, John Chandos," replied the prince. "You shall not see me
+tread one step back, but ever in advance. Bear on my banner. God and St.
+George be with us!"
+
+The horses of the English force were all held in readiness by their
+attendants close in their rear. Every man sprang into his saddle, and
+with levelled lances the army bore down the hill against the enemy,
+while the Captal De Buch forced his way through the struggling ranks of
+the French to join them.
+
+To these two parties were opposed the whole of the German cavalry, the
+division of the Dauphin, now thinned by flight, and a strong force
+under the Constable de Brienne, Duke of Athens. The first charge of the
+English was directed against the Germans, the remains of the marshal's
+forces, and that commanded by the Constable. The two bodies of cavalry
+met with a tremendous shock, raising their respective war-cries, "Denis
+Mount Joye!" and "St. George Guyenne!" Lances were shivered, and horses
+and men rolled over, but the German horse was borne down in every
+direction by the charge of the English chivalry. The Counts of Nassau
+and Saarbruck were taken, and the rest driven down the hill in utter
+confusion. The division of the Duke of Orleans, a little further down
+the hill to the right, were seized with a sudden panic, and 16,000
+men-at-arms, together with their commander, fled without striking a
+blow.
+
+Having routed the French and German cavalry in advance, the English now
+fell upon the Dauphin's division. This had been already confused by the
+attacks of the Captal De Buch, and when its leaders beheld the complete
+rout of the marshals and the Germans, and saw the victorious force
+galloping down upon them, the responsibility attached to the charge of
+the three young princes overcame their firmness. The Lords of Landas,
+Vaudenay, and St. Venant, thinking the battle lost, hurried the princes
+from the field, surrounded by eight hundred lances, determined to place
+them at a secure distance, and then to return and fight beside the king.
+The retreat of the princes at once disorganized the force, but though
+many fled a number of the nobles remained scattered over the field
+fighting in separate bodies with their own retainers gathered under
+their banners. Gradually these fell back and took post on the left of
+the French king's division. The Constable and the Duke of Bourbon with
+a large body of knights and men-at-arms also opposed a firm front to
+the advance of the English. The king saw with indignation one of his
+divisions defeated and the other in coward flight, but his forces were
+still vastly superior to those of the English, and ordering his men to
+dismount, he prepared to receive their onset. The English now gathered
+their forces which had been scattered in combat, and again advanced to
+the fight. The archers as usual heralded this advance with showers of
+arrows, which shook the ranks of the French and opened the way for the
+cavalry. These dashed in, and the ranks of the two armies became mixed,
+and each man fought hand to hand. The French king fought on foot with
+immense valour and bravery, as did his nobles. The Dukes of Bourbon and
+Athens, the Lords of Landas, Argenton, Chambery, Joinville, and many
+others stood and died near the king.
+
+Gradually the English drove back their foes. The French forces became
+cut up into groups or confined into narrow spaces. Knight after knight
+fell around the king. De Ribaumont fell near him. Jeffrey de Charny,
+who, as one of the most valiant knights in the army, had been chosen
+to bear the French standard, the oriflamme, never left his sovereign's
+side, and as long as the sacred banner floated over his head John would
+not believe the day was lost. At length, however, Jeffrey de Charny was
+killed, and the oriflamme fell. John, surrounded on every side by foes
+who pressed forward to make him prisoner, still kept clear the space
+immediately around himself and his little son with his battle-axe; but
+at last he saw that further resistance would only entail the death of
+both, and he then surrendered to Denis de Montbec, a knight of Artois.
+
+The battle was now virtually over. The French banners and pennons had
+disappeared, and nothing was seen save the dead and dying, groups of
+prisoners, and parties of fugitives flying over the country. Chandos now
+advised the prince to halt. His banner was pitched on the summit of a
+little mound. The trumpets blew to recall the army from the pursuit, and
+the prince, taking off his helmet, drank with the little body of knights
+who accompanied him some wine brought from his former encampment.
+
+The two marshals of the English army, the Earls of Warwick and Suffolk,
+were among the first to return at the call of the trumpet. Hearing that
+King John had certainly not left the field of battle, though they knew
+not whether he was dead or taken, the prince at once despatched the Earl
+of Warwick and Lord Cobham to find and protect him if still alive. They
+soon came upon a mass of men-at-arms, seemingly engaged in an angry
+quarrel. On riding up they found that the object of strife was the King
+of France, who had been snatched from the hands of Montbec, and was
+being claimed by a score of men as his prisoner. The Earl of Warwick and
+Lord Cobham instantly made their way through the mass, and dismounting,
+saluted the captive monarch with the deepest reverence, and keeping back
+the multitude led him to the Prince of Wales. The latter bent his knee
+before the king, and calling for wine, presented the cup with his own
+hands to the unfortunate monarch.
+
+The battle was over by noon, but it was evening before all the pursuing
+parties returned, and the result of the victory was then fully known.
+With less than 8000 men the English had conquered far more than 60,000.
+On the English side 2000 men-at-arms and 1500 archers had fallen.
+Upon the French side 11,000 men-at-arms, besides an immense number of
+footmen, had been killed. A king, a prince, an archbishop, 13 counts,
+66 barons, and more than 2000 knights were prisoners in the hands of
+the English, with a number of other soldiers, who raised the number
+of captives to double that of their conquerors. All the baggage of the
+French army was taken, and as the barons of France had marched to the
+field feeling certain of victory, and the rich armour of the prisoners
+became immediately the property of the captors, immense stores of
+valuable ornaments of all kinds, especially jewelled baldrics, enriched
+the meanest soldier among the conquerors.
+
+The helmet which the French king had worn, which bore a small coronet of
+gold beneath the crest, was delivered to the Prince of Wales, who sent
+it off at once to his father as the best trophy of the battle he could
+offer him.
+
+Its receipt was the first intimation which Edward III received of the
+great victory.
+
+As the prince had no means of providing for the immense number of
+prisoners, the greater portion were set at liberty upon their taking an
+oath to present themselves at Bordeaux by the ensuing Christmas in order
+either to pay the ransom appointed, or to again yield themselves as
+prisoners.
+
+Immediately the battle was over, Edward sent for the gallant Sir James
+Audley, who was brought to him on his litter by his esquires, and the
+prince, after warmly congratulating him on the honour that he had that
+day won as the bravest knight in the army, assigned him an annuity of
+five hundred marks a year.
+
+No sooner was Audley taken to his own tent than he called round him
+several of his nearest relations and friends, and then and there made
+over to his four gallant attendants, without power of recall, the
+gift which the prince had bestowed upon him. The prince was not to be
+outdone, however, in liberality, and on hearing that Audley had assigned
+his present to the brave men who had so gallantly supported him in the
+fight, he presented Sir James with another annuity of six hundred marks
+a year.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI: THE JACQUERIE
+
+
+ON the evening after the battle of Poitiers a splendid entertainment was
+served in the tent of the Prince of Wales to the King of France and
+all the principal prisoners. John, with his son and six of his highest
+nobles were seated at a table raised above the rest, and the prince
+himself waited as page upon the French king. John in vain endeavoured
+to persuade the prince to be seated; the latter refused, saying, that
+it was his pleasure as well as his duty to wait upon one who had shown
+himself to be the best and bravest knight in the French army. The
+example of the Black Prince was contagious, and the English vied with
+each other in generous treatment of their prisoners. All were treated
+as friends, and that night an immense number of knights and squires were
+admitted to ransom on such terms as had never before been known. The
+captors simply required their prisoners to declare in good faith what
+they could afford to pay without pressing themselves too hard, "for they
+did not wish," they said, "to ransom knights or squires on terms which
+would prevent them from maintaining their station in society, from
+serving their lords, or from riding forth in arms to advance their name
+and honour."
+
+Upon the following morning solemn thanksgivings were offered up on
+the field of battle for the glorious victory. Then the English army,
+striking its tents, marched back towards Bordeaux. They were unmolested
+upon this march, for although the divisions of the Dauphin and the Duke
+of Orleans had now reunited, and were immensely superior in numbers to
+the English, encumbered as the latter were, moreover, with prisoners and
+booty, the tremendous defeat which they had suffered, and still more the
+capture of the king, paralysed the French commanders, and the English
+reached Bordeaux without striking another blow.
+
+Not long after they reached that city the Cardinal of Perigord and
+another legate presented themselves to arrange peace, and these
+negotiations went on throughout the winter. The prince had received full
+powers from his father, and his demands were very moderate; but in
+spite of this no final peace could be arranged, and the result of the
+conference was the proclamation of a truce, to last for two years from
+the following Easter. During the winter immense numbers of the prisoners
+who had gone at large upon parole, came in and paid their ransoms, as
+did the higher nobles who had been taken prisoners, and the whole army
+was greatly enriched. At the end of April the prince returned to England
+with King John. The procession through the streets of London was a
+magnificent one, the citizens vying with each other in decorating their
+houses in honour of the victor of Poitiers, who, simply dressed, rode
+on a small black horse by the side of his prisoner, who was splendidly
+attired, and mounted on a superb white charger. The king received his
+royal prisoner in state in the great hall of his palace at Westminster,
+and did all in his power to alleviate the sorrows of his condition. The
+splendid palace of the Savoy, with gardens extending to the Thames, was
+appointed for his residence, and every means was taken to soften his
+captivity.
+
+During the absence of the Black Prince in Guienne the king had been
+warring in Scotland. Here his success had been small, as the Scotch had
+retreated before him, wasting the country. David Bruce, the rightful
+king, was a prisoner in England, and Baliol, a descendant of the rival
+of Robert Bruce, had been placed upon the throne. As Edward passed
+through Roxburgh he received from Baliol a formal cession of his rights
+and titles to the throne of Scotland, and in return for this purely
+nominal gift he bestowed an annual income upon Baliol, who lived
+and died a pensioner of England. After Edward's return to England
+negotiations were carried on with the Scots, and a treaty was signed by
+which a truce for ten years was established between the two countries,
+and the liberation of Bruce was granted on a ransom of 100,000 marks.
+
+The disorganization into which France had been thrown by the capture of
+its king increased rather than diminished. Among all classes men strove
+in the absence of a repressive power to gain advantages and privileges.
+Serious riots occurred in many parts, and the demagogues of Paris,
+headed by Stephen Marcel, and Robert le Coq, bishop of Leon, set at
+defiance the Dauphin and the ministers and lieutenant of the king.
+Massacre and violence stained the streets of Paris with blood. General
+law, public order, and private security were all lost. Great bodies of
+brigands devastated the country, and the whole of France was thrown into
+confusion. So terrible was the disorder that the inhabitants of every
+village were obliged to fortify the ends of their streets, and keep
+watch and ward as in the cities. The proprietors of land on the banks of
+rivers spent the night in boats moored in the middle of the stream, and
+in every house and castle throughout the land men remained armed as if
+against instant attack.
+
+Then arose the terrible insurrection known as the Jacquerie. For
+centuries the peasantry of France had suffered under a bondage to which
+there had never been any approach in England. Their lives and liberties
+were wholly at the mercy of their feudal lords. Hitherto no attempt at
+resistance had been possible; but the tremendous defeat of the French at
+Poitiers by a handful of English aroused the hope among the serfs that
+the moment for vengeance had come. The movement began among a handful of
+peasants in the neighbourhood of St. Leu and Claremont. These declared
+that they would put to death all the gentlemen in the land. The cry
+spread through the country. The serfs, armed with pikes, poured out from
+every village, and a number of the lower classes from the towns joined
+them. Their first success was an attack upon a small castle. They burned
+down the gates and slew the knight to whom it belonged, with his wife
+and children of all ages. Their numbers rapidly increased.
+
+Castle after castle was taken and stormed, palaces and houses levelled
+to the ground; fire, plunder, and massacre swept through the fairest
+provinces of France.
+
+The peasants vied with each other in inventing deaths of fiendish
+cruelty and outrage upon every man, woman, and child of the better
+classes who fell into their hands. Owing to the number of nobles who had
+fallen at Cressy and Poitiers, and of those still captives in England,
+very many of their wives and daughters remained unprotected, and these
+were the especial victims of the fiendish malignity of the peasantry.
+Separated in many bands, the insurgents marched through the Beauvoisis,
+Soissonois, and Vermandois; and as they approached a number of
+unprotected ladies of the highest families in France fled to Meaux,
+where they remained under the guard of the young Duke of Orleans and a
+handful of men-at-arms.
+
+After the conclusion of the peace at Bordeaux, Sir Walter Somers had
+been despatched on a mission to some of the German princes, with whom
+the king was in close relations. The business was not of an onerous
+nature, but Walter had been detained for some time over it. He spent a
+pleasant time in Germany, where, as an emissary of the king and one of
+the victors of Poitiers, the young English knight was made much of.
+When he set out on his return he joined the Captal De Buch, who, ever
+thirsting for adventure, had on the conclusion of the truce gone to
+serve in a campaign in Germany; with him was the French Count de Foix,
+who had been also serving throughout the campaign.
+
+On entering France from the Rhine the three knights were shocked at
+the misery and ruin which met their eyes on all sides. Every castle
+and house throughout the country, of a class superior to those of the
+peasants, was destroyed, and tales of the most horrible outrages and
+murders met their ears.
+
+"I regret," the Count de Foix said earnestly, "that I have been away
+warring in Germany, for it is clear that every true knight is wanted at
+home to crush down these human wolves."
+
+"Methinks," the Captal rejoined, "that France will do well to invite
+the chivalry of all other countries to assemble and aid to put down this
+horrible insurrection."
+
+"Aye," the Count said bitterly; "but who is to speak in the name of
+France? The Dauphin is powerless, and the virtual government is in the
+hands of Marcel and other ambitious traitors who hail the doings of the
+Jacquerie with delight, for these mad peasants are doing their work of
+destroying the knights and nobles."
+
+The villages through which they passed were deserted save by women, and
+in the small towns the people of the lower class scowled threateningly
+at the three knights; but they with their following of forty
+men-at-arms, of whom five were followers of Walter, fifteen of the
+Captal, and twenty of the Count de Foix, ventured not to proceed beyond
+evil glances.
+
+"I would," de Foix said, "that these dogs would but lift a hand against
+us. By St. Stephen, we would teach them a rough lesson!"
+
+His companions were of the same mind, for all were excited to fury by
+the terrible tales which they heard. All these stories were new to them,
+for although rumours had reached Germany of the outbreak of a peasant
+insurrection in France the movement had but just begun when they
+started. As far as the frontier they had traveled leisurely, but they
+had hastened their pace more and more as they learned how sore was the
+strait of the nobles and gentry of the country and how grievously every
+good sword was needed. When they reached Chalons they heard much fuller
+particulars than had before reached them, and learned that the Duchess
+of Normandy, the Duchess of Orleans, and near three hundred ladies,
+had sought refuge in Meaux, and that they were there guarded but by a
+handful of men-at-arms under the Duke of Orleans, while great bands of
+serfs were pouring in from all parts of the country round, to massacre
+them.
+
+Meaux is eighty miles from Chalons, but the three knights determined
+to press onward with all speed in hopes of averting the catastrophe.
+Allowing their horses an hour or two to rest, they rode forward, and
+pressing on without halt or delay, save such as was absolutely needed by
+the horses, they arrived at Meaux late the following night, and found to
+their delight that the insurgents, although swarming in immense numbers
+round the town, had not yet attacked it.
+
+The arrival of the three knights and their followers was greeted with
+joy by the ladies. They, with their guard, had taken up their position
+in the market-house and market-place, which were separated from the
+rest of the town by the river Maine, which flows through the city.
+A consultation was at once held, and it being found that the Duke of
+Orleans had but twenty men-at-arms with him it was determined that it
+was impossible to defend the city walls, but that upon the following
+morning they would endeavour to cut their way with the ladies through
+the peasant hosts. In the night, however, an uproar was heard in the
+city. The burghers had risen and had opened the gates to the peasants,
+who now poured in in thousands. Every hour increased their numbers.
+
+The market-place was besieged in the morning, and an hour or two
+afterwards a large body of the ruffians of Paris, under the command of a
+brutal grocer named Pierre Gille, arrived to swell their ranks.
+
+The attack on the market-house continued, and the Duke of Orleans held
+a consultation with the three knights. It was agreed that against such
+a host of enemies the market-place could not long be defended, and that
+their best hope lay in sallying out and falling upon the assailants.
+Accordingly the men-at-arms were drawn up in order, with the banners of
+the Duke of Orleans and the Count de Foix, and the pennons of the
+Captal and Sir Walter Somers displayed, the gates were opened, and with
+levelled lances the little party rode out. Hitherto nothing had been
+heard save yells of anticipated triumph and fierce imprecations and
+threats against the defenders from the immense multitude without; but
+the appearance of the orderly ranks of the knights and men-at-arms as
+they issued through the gate struck a silence of fear through the mass.
+
+Without an instant's delay the knights and men-at-arms, with levelled
+lances, charged into the multitude. A few attempted to fight, but more
+strove to fly, as the nobles and their followers, throwing away their
+lances, fell upon them with sword and battle-axe. Jammed up in the
+narrow streets of a small walled town, overthrowing and impeding each
+other in their efforts to escape, trampled down by the heavy horses
+of the men-at-arms, and hewn down by their swords and battle-axes,
+the insurgents fell in vast numbers. Multitudes succeeded in escaping
+through the gates into the fields; but here they were followed by the
+knights and their retainers, who continued charging among them and
+slaying till utter weariness compelled them to cease from the pursuit
+and return to Meaux. Not less than seven thousand of the insurgents
+had been slain by the four knights and fifty men, for ten had been left
+behind to guard the gates of the market-place.
+
+History has no record of so vast a slaughter by so small a body of men.
+This terrific punishment put a summary end to the Jacquerie. Already
+in other parts several bodies had been defeated, and their principal
+leader, Caillet, with three thousand of his followers, slain near
+Clermont. But the defeat at Meaux was the crushing blow which put an end
+to the insurrection.
+
+
+
+On their return to the town the knights executed a number of the
+burghers who had joined the peasants, and the greater part of the town
+was burned to the ground as a punishment for having opened the gates to
+the peasants and united with them.
+
+The knights and ladies then started for Paris. On nearing the city they
+found that it was threatened by the forces of the Dauphin. Marcel had
+strongly fortified the town, and with his ally, the infamous King of
+Navarre, bade defiance to the royal power. However, the excesses of the
+demagogue had aroused against him the feeling of all the better class
+of the inhabitants. The King of Navarre, who was ready at all times to
+break his oath and betray his companions, marched his army out of
+the town and took up a position outside the walls. He then secretly
+negotiated peace with the Duke of Normandy, by which he agreed to yield
+to their fate Marcel and twelve of the most obnoxious burghers, while
+at the same time he persuaded Marcel that he was still attached to
+his interest. Marcel, however, was able to bid higher than the Duke of
+Normandy, and he entered into a new treaty with the treacherous king, by
+which he stipulated to deliver the city into his hands during the night.
+Everyone within the walls, except the partisans of Marcel, upon whose
+doors a mark was to be placed, were to be put to death indiscriminately,
+and the King of Navarre was to be proclaimed King of France.
+
+Fortunately Pepin des Essarts and John de Charny, two loyal knights who
+were in Paris, obtained information of the plan a few minutes before
+the time appointed for its execution. Arming themselves instantly,
+and collecting a few followers, they rushed to the houses of the chief
+conspirators, but found them empty, Marcel and his companions having
+already gone to the gates. Passing by the hotel-de-ville, the knights
+entered, snatched down the royal banner which was kept there, and
+unfurling it mounted their horses and rode through the streets, calling
+all men to arms. They reached the Port St. Antoine just at the moment
+when Marcel was in the act of opening it in order to give admission to
+the Navarrese. When he heard the shouts he tried with his friends to
+make his way into the bastille, but his retreat was intercepted, and a
+severe and bloody struggle took place between the two parties. Stephen
+Marcel, however, was himself slain by Sir John de Charny, and almost all
+his principal companions fell with him. The inhabitants then threw open
+their gates and the Duke of Normandy entered.
+
+Walter Somers had, with his companions, joined the army of the duke,
+and placed his sword at his disposal; but when the French prince entered
+Paris without the necessity of fighting, he took leave of him, and with
+the Captal returned to England. Rare, indeed, were the jewels which
+Walter brought home to his wife, for the three hundred noble ladies
+rescued at Meaux from dishonour and death had insisted upon bestowing
+tokens of their regard and gratitude upon the rescuers, and as many of
+them belonged to the richest as well as the noblest families in France
+the presents which Walter thus received from the grateful ladies were of
+immense value.
+
+He was welcomed by the king and Prince of Wales with great honour, for
+the battle at Meaux had excited the admiration and astonishment of all
+Europe. The Jacquerie was considered as a common danger in all civilized
+countries; for if successful it might have spread far beyond the
+boundaries of France, and constituted a danger to chivalry, and indeed
+to society universally.
+
+Thus King Edward gave the highest marks of his satisfaction to the
+Captal and Walter, added considerable grants of land to the estates of
+the latter, and raised him to the dignity of Baron Somers of Westerham.
+
+It has always been a matter of wonder that King Edward did not take
+advantage of the utter state of confusion and anarchy which prevailed
+in France to complete his conquest of that country, which there is no
+reasonable doubt he could have effected with ease. Civil war and strife
+prevailed throughout France; famine devastated it; and without leaders
+or concord, dispirited and impoverished by defeat, France could have
+offered no resistance to such an army as England could have placed in
+the field. The only probable supposition is that at heart he doubted
+whether the acquisition of the crown of France was really desirable, or
+whether it could be permanently maintained should it be gained. To the
+monarch of a country prosperous, flourishing, and contented, the object
+of admiration throughout Europe, the union with distracted and divided
+France could be of no benefit. Of military glory he had gained enough
+to content any man, and some of the richest provinces of France were
+already his. Therefore it may well be believed that, feeling secure very
+many years must elapse before France could again become dangerous, he
+was well content to let matters continue as they were.
+
+King John still remained a prisoner in his hands, for the princes and
+nobles of France were too much engaged in broils and civil wars to think
+of raising the money for his ransom, and Languedoc was the only province
+of France which made any effort whatever towards so doing. War still
+raged between the Dauphin and the King of Navarre.
+
+At the conclusion of the two years' truce Edward, with the most
+splendidly-equipped army which had ever left England, marched through
+the length and breadth of France. Nowhere did he meet with any
+resistance in the field. He marched under the walls of Paris, but took
+no steps to lay siege to that city, which would have fallen an easy
+prey to his army had he chosen to capture it. That he did not do so is
+another proof that he had no desire to add France to the possessions of
+the English crown. At length, by the efforts of the pope, a peace was
+agreed upon, by which France yielded all Aquitaine and the town of
+Calais to England as an absolute possession, and not as a fief of the
+crown of France; while the English king surrendered all his captures in
+Normandy and Brittany and abandoned his claim to the crown of France.
+With great efforts the French raised a portion of the ransom demanded
+for the king, and John returned to France after four years of captivity.
+
+At the commencement of 1363 Edward the Black Prince was named Prince
+of Aquitaine, and that province was bestowed upon him as a gift by the
+king, subject only to liege homage and an annual tribute of one ounce
+of gold. The prince took with him to his new possessions many of the
+knights and nobles who had served with him, and offered to Walter a high
+post in the government of the province if he would accompany him. This
+Walter begged to be excused from doing. Two girls had now been added
+to his family, and he was unwilling to leave his happy home unless the
+needs of war called him to the prince's side. He therefore remained
+quietly at home.
+
+When King John returned to France, four of the French princes of the
+blood-royal had been given as hostages for the fulfilment of the treaty
+of Bretigny. They were permitted to reside at Calais, and were at
+liberty to move about as they would, and even to absent themselves from
+the town for three days at a time whensoever they might choose. The Duke
+of Anjou, the king's second son, basely took advantage of this liberty
+to escape, in direct violation of his oath. The other hostages followed
+his example.
+
+King John, himself the soul of honour, was intensely mortified at this
+breach of faith on the part of his sons, and after calling together the
+states-general at Amiens to obtain the subsidies necessary for paying
+the remaining portion of his ransom, he himself, with a train of two
+hundred officers and their followers, crossed to England to make excuses
+to Edward for the treachery of the princes. Some historians represent
+the visit as a voluntary returning into captivity; but this was not
+so. The English king had accepted the hostages in his place, and was
+responsible for their safe-keeping, and had no claim upon the French
+monarch because they had taken advantage of the excess of confidence
+with which they had been treated. That the coming of the French king was
+not in any way regarded as a return into captivity is shown by the
+fact that he was before starting furnished by Edward with letters of
+safe-conduct, by which his secure and unobstructed return to his own
+country was expressly stipulated, and he was received by Edward as an
+honoured guest and friend, and his coming was regarded as an honour and
+an occasion for festivity by all England.
+
+At the same time that John was in London the King of Cyprus, the King
+of Denmark, and the King of Scotland were also there, and the meeting
+of four monarchs in London was the occasion of extraordinary festivities
+and rejoicing, the king and his royal guests being several times
+entertained at sumptuous banquets by the lord-mayor, the ex-mayor Henry
+Pickard, and several of the aldermen.
+
+Six weeks after John's arrival in London he was seized with illness
+at the palace of the Savoy, and died on the 8th of April, 1364. The
+Dauphin, Charles, now succeeded him as Charles V, and the war between
+the houses of Navarre and Valois was carried on with greater fury than
+ever. The armies of Navarre were commanded by the Captal de Buch, who
+was a distant relation of the king; while those of Charles were headed
+by the Marechal de Boucicault and Bertrand du Guesclin, one of the most
+gallant of the French knights. A great battle was fought near Cocherel.
+Contrary to the orders of the Captal, his army, which consisted
+principally of adventurers, descended from the strong position he had
+chosen, and gave battle in the plain. They were completely defeated, and
+the Captal himself taken prisoner.
+
+In Brittany John of Montford and Charles of Blois had renewed their
+struggle, and King Charles, seeing the danger of Brittany falling into
+the hands of De Montford, who was a close ally of England, interfered in
+favour of Charles of Blois, and sent Du Guesclin to his assistance.
+
+This was a breach of the treaty of Bretigny, and De Montford at once
+sent to the Black Prince for assistance. The Prince did not treat the
+conduct of Charles as a breach of the treaty, and took no part himself
+in the war, but permitted Sir John Chandos, who was a personal friend of
+De Montford, to go to his aid. De Montford's army, after the arrival of
+Chandos with 200 spears, amounted to but 1600 men-at-arms and from
+800 to 900 archers, while Charles of Blois had 4000 men-at-arms and a
+proportionate number of infantry. De Montford tried to negotiate.
+He offered to divide the dukedom, and to agree that in case he died
+childless it should revert to the family of Charles. Charles, however,
+refused all terms, even to grant his adversary's request to put off
+the battle until the morrow, so as to avoid violating the Sabbath; and
+having given orders that all prisoners taken in the battle should be
+hung, he advanced upon De Montford.
+
+Both forces were divided in four bodies. The first on De Montford's side
+was commanded by Sir Robert Knolles, the second by Oliver de Clisson,
+the third by Chandos and De Montford, the fourth by Sir Hugh de
+Calverley. Du Guesclin led the front division of Charles's army, the
+Counts of Auxerre and Joigny the second, Charles himself the third, and
+the Lords of Roye and Rieux the reserve. The ducal arms of Brittany were
+displayed on both sides.
+
+
+By slow degrees the two armies closed with each other in deadly strife.
+Both parties had dismounted and fought on foot with lances shortened
+to five feet. Du Guesclin and his division attacked that of Knolles.
+Auxerre fell upon De Clisson, while the divisions of the two rival
+princes closed with each other. After desperate fighting numbers
+prevailed. De Montford was driven back, but Calverley advanced to his
+aid, fell upon the rear of the French, threw them into disorder, and
+then having rallied De Montford's men, retired to his former position in
+readiness to give succour again where it might be needed.
+
+In the meantime Clisson had been engaged in a desperate struggle with
+the Count of Auxerre, but was obtaining no advantage. Clisson himself
+had received the blow of a battle-axe which had dashed in the vizor of
+his helmet and blinded for ever one of his eyes. He was still leading
+his men, but the enemies' superior numbers were pressing him back,
+when Chandos, the instant the assistance of Calverley had relieved De
+Montford's division, perceiving his danger, drew off a few men-at-arms,
+and with them fell upon the rear of the Count of Auxerre, and dashing
+all who opposed him to the ground with his battle-axe, cleft his way to
+the very centre of the enemy. Pressed by De Clisson in front and broken
+by the sudden attack of Chandos in the rear, the French division gave
+way in every direction. Auxerre was desperately wounded, and he and
+Joigny both taken prisoners.
+
+Chandos then returned to De Montford, who had gallantly followed up the
+advantage gained by the confusion into which Charles's division had been
+thrown by the attack of Calverley. Charles was routed; he himself struck
+down and slain by an English soldier, and the division defeated with
+great slaughter. De Montford's whole force now gathered round Du
+Guesclin's division, which now alone remained, and after fighting
+gallantly until all hope was gone, the brave French knight and his
+companions yielded themselves as prisoners.
+
+The battle of Auray terminated the struggle between the houses of Blois
+and Montford. More than 1000 French men-at-arms died on the field, among
+whom were many of the noblest in Brittany. Two counts, 27 lords, and
+1500 men-at-arms were made prisoners. De Montford now took possession of
+the whole of Brittany, and at the suggestion of King Edward himself
+did homage to Charles V for the duchy, which he afterwards ruled with
+wisdom.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII: VICTORY AND DEATH
+
+
+While the Black Prince was with difficulty governing his province
+of Aquitaine, where the mutual jealousies of the English and native
+officers caused continual difficulties, King Edward turned all his
+attention to advancing the prosperity of England. He fostered trade,
+commerce, and learning, was a munificent patron of the two universities,
+and established such order and regularity in his kingdom that England
+was the admiration of all Europe. Far different was the state of France.
+The cessation of the wars with England and the subsequent disbandment of
+troops had thrown upon their own resources great numbers of men who had
+been so long engaged in fighting that they had no other trade to turn
+to. The conclusion of the struggle in Brittany after the battle of Auray
+and the death of Charles of Blois still further added to the number,
+and these men gathered in bands, some of which were headed by men of
+knightly rank, and scattered through France plundering the country and
+extracting heavy sums from the towns.
+
+These "great companies," as they were called, exceeded 50,000 men in
+number, and as almost all were trained soldiers they set the king and
+his nobles at defiance, and were virtually masters of France. The most
+tempting offers were made to them to lay down their arms, and the
+pope sent legates threatening excommunication, but the great companies
+laughed alike at promises and threats. At last a way of deliverance
+opened to France. Pedro, named the Cruel, of Castile, had alienated
+his people by his cruelty, and had defeated and driven into exile his
+half-brother, Henry of Trastamare, who headed an insurrection against
+him. Pedro put to death numbers of the nobles of Castile, despoiled
+the King of Arragon, who had given aid to his brother, plundered and
+insulted the clergy, and allied himself with the Moors.
+
+His quarrel with the clergy was the cause of his ruin. The pope summoned
+him to appear before him at Avignon to answer to the crimes laid to his
+charge. Pedro refused to attend, and the pope at once excommunicated
+him. The King of Arragon and Henry of Trastamare were then summoned to
+Avignon, and a treaty of alliance was concluded between them, and the
+pope declared the throne of Castile vacant owing to the excommunication
+of Pedro, and appointed Henry to it.
+
+These measures would have troubled Pedro little had it not been that
+France groaned under the great companies, and the French king and the
+pontiff at once entered into negotiations with them to support Henry in
+his war against his brother. It was necessary that a leader in whom
+the companies should have confidence should be chosen, and Du Guesclin,
+still a prisoner of Chandos, who had captured him at Auray, was
+selected, and the pope, the King of France, and Don Henry, paid between
+them the 100,000 francs demanded for his ransom. Du Guesclin on his
+release negotiated with the leaders of the great companies, and as the
+pope and king promised them large gratuities they agreed to march
+upon Spain. They were joined by a great number of French knights and
+men-at-arms.
+
+The expedition was under the nominal command of John of Bourbon, but the
+real guidance was in the hands of Du Guesclin. As the army marched past
+Avignon they worked upon the terrors of the pope until he paid them
+200,000 francs in gold. France was filled with joy at the prospect of a
+riddance of the free companies which had so long been a prey upon them.
+They were, too, eager to avenge upon the cruel King of Spain the murder
+of his queen, who was a princess of France. The same feeling animated
+the people of Aquitaine, and Calverley, D'Ambrecicourt, Sir Walter
+Hewitt, Sir John Devereux, Sir John Neville, and several other
+distinguished knights, with a large train of men-at-arms, joined the
+adventurers. The great army moved through Arragon, whose king in every
+way facilitated their progress. As they entered Castile the whole
+people declared in favour of Henry, and Pedro, deserted by all, fled to
+Bordeaux and besought aid from the Prince of Wales.
+
+Between Pedro and the English court a firm alliance had existed from
+the time when the former so nearly married the Princess Joan, and
+immediately the king heard of the expedition against him he issued
+orders that no English knights should take part in it. The order,
+however, came too late. The English knights had already marched into
+Spain with Du Guesclin. As for the English who formed no inconsiderable
+portion of the great companies, they had already declined to obey the
+king, when, at the insistence of the pope and the King of France, he had
+ordered them to disband.
+
+On Pedro's arrival at Bordeaux with his three daughters and his son,
+they were kindly received by the Black Prince, courtesy and kindness
+to those in misfortune being among the leading characteristics of
+his nature. Pedro, cruel and ruthless as he was, was a man of great
+eloquence and insinuating manners, and giving his own version of
+affairs, he completely won over the prince, who felt himself, moreover,
+bound in some degree to support him, inasmuch as he, an ally of England,
+had been dethroned by an army composed partly of English. Pedro made the
+most magnificent promises to the prince in return for his aid, ceding
+him the whole of the province of Biscay, and agreeing to pay the British
+troops engaged in his service when he regained his throne, the Black
+Prince engaging to pay them in the meantime.
+
+King Edward aided his son by raising an army in England, which sailed
+for Bordeaux under the command of the prince's brother, John of Gaunt,
+Duke of Lancaster. Walter formed part of this expedition. The king had
+issued his writs to him and other barons of the southern counties, and
+the Black Prince had himself written to ask him to join him, in memory
+of their former deeds of arms together.
+
+As it was now some years since he had taken the field, Walter did not
+hesitate, but with thirty retainers, headed by Ralph, joined the army of
+John of Gaunt.
+
+The Black Prince's first step was to endeavour to recall the Englishmen
+of the free companies, estimated to amount to at least 30,000 men.
+The news that he was taking up arms and would himself command the army
+caused Calverley and the whole of the other English knights to return
+at once, and 10,000 of the English men-at-arms with the great companies
+also left Don Henry and marched to Aquitaine. The road led through the
+territory of the King of Navarre, and the Black Prince advanced 56,000
+florins of gold to pay this grasping and treacherous king for the right
+of passage of the army.
+
+By Christmas, 1366, the preparations were complete, but the severity of
+the weather delayed the advance for some weeks. Fresh difficulties were
+encountered with Charles the Bad, of Navarre, who, having obtained the
+price for the passage, had now opened negotiations with Don Henry, and
+the governors of the frontier towns refused to allow Sir Hugh Calverley
+and the free companies, who formed the advance, to pass. These were
+not, however, the men to stand on ceremony, and without hesitation
+they attacked and captured the towns, when the King of Navarre at once
+apologized for his officers, and renewed his engagements. As, however,
+the Black Prince had received intelligence that he had formed a plan
+for attacking the English as they passed through the terrible pass of
+Roncesvalles, he compelled him to accompany the army. The invitation
+was couched in language which was friendly, but would yet admit of no
+denial.
+
+On the 17th of February the English army, 30,000 strong, reached the
+pass. It marched in three divisions, the first commanded by the Duke of
+Lancaster and Lord Chandos, the second by the Black Prince, the third
+by the King of Majorca and the Count of Armaguac. The divisions crossed
+over on different days, for the pass was encumbered by snow and the
+obstacles were immense. Upon the day when the prince's division were
+passing a storm burst upon them, and it was with the greatest difficulty
+that they succeeded in crossing. On the 20th of February, however, all
+arrived safe on the other side of the Pyrenees. Du Guesclin, who, seeing
+the storm which was approaching from Aquitaine, had returned to France
+and levied a French army, was nigh at hand, and kept within a few miles
+of the English army as it advanced, avoiding an engagement until the
+arrival of Don Henry, who was marching to join him with the great
+companies and 60,000 Spanish troops.
+
+Du Guesclin kept up secret communications with the King of Navarre, who
+was still forced to accompany the English army. The latter accordingly
+went out from the camp under pretence of hunting and was captured by a
+detachment of French troops.
+
+On the 1st of April, the Spanish army having joined the French, the
+Black Prince sent letters to Don Henry, urging him in mild but dignified
+language to return to obedience, and to resign the throne he had
+usurped, offering at the same time to act as mediator between him
+and his brother, and to do all in his power to remove differences and
+abuses. Henry, confident in his strength, replied haughtily and prepared
+for battle.
+
+The forces were extremely unequal. The Black Prince had under him 30,000
+men; while under Don Henry were 3000 men-at-arms on mail-clad horses,
+20,000 men-at-arms on horses not so protected, 6000 light cavalry,
+10,000 crossbow-men, and 60,000 foot armed with spear and sword.
+
+The night before the battle the Black Prince lodged in the little
+village of Navarretta, which had been deserted by its inhabitants.
+Walter had been his close companion since he started, and occupied the
+same lodging with him in the village.
+
+"This reminds me," the prince said, "of the day before Cressy. They
+outnumber us by more than three to one.
+
+"There were greater odds still," Walter replied, "at Poitiers, and I
+doubt not that we shall make as good an example of them."
+
+"They are more doughty adversaries," the prince replied. "There are nigh
+20,000 English in their ranks--all veterans in war--and they are led by
+Du Guesclin, who is a host in himself."
+
+"Their very numbers will be a hindrance to them," Walter replied
+cheerfully; "and never did I see a better army than that which you have
+under you. I would we were fighting for a better man, for Don Pedro is
+to my mind treacherous as well as cruel. He promises fairly, but I
+doubt if when he has gained his end he will keep his promises. He speaks
+fairly and smoothly, but his deeds are at variance with his words."
+
+"It may be, my lord," the prince replied, "that I am somewhat of your
+opinion, and that I regret I so quickly committed myself to his
+cause. However, he was my father's ally, and having fulfilled all his
+engagements had a right to demand our assistance. I am a bad hand,
+Walter, at saying no to those who beseech me."
+
+"It is so, Sir Prince," Walter said bluntly. "Would that your heart
+had been a less generous one, for your nobleness of disposition is ever
+involving you in debts which hamper you sorely, and cause more trouble
+to you than all your enemies!"
+
+"That is true enough," the Black Prince said with a sigh. "Since I was
+a boy I have ever been harassed with creditors; and though all Aquitaine
+is mine, I verily believe that there is not a man in my father's
+dominions who is so harassed and straitened for money as I."
+
+"And yet," Walter said, smiling, "no sooner do you get it than you give
+it away."
+
+"Ah!" the prince laughed, "I cannot deny it. It is so much pleasanter to
+give than to pay, that I can never find heart to balk myself. I am ever
+surrounded by suitors. Some have lost estates in my cause, others have
+rendered brilliant services in the field, some have burdened themselves
+with debts to put their retainers in arms--all have pleased to urge,
+and for the life of me I cannot say them nay. I trust, though," he added
+more seriously, "that Don Pedro will fulfil his promises to pay my army.
+I have bound myself to my soldiers for their wages, besides advancing
+large sums to Pedro, and if he keeps not his engagements I shall indeed
+be in a sore strait."
+
+"There is one thing," Walter said; "if he fail to keep his promises, we
+will not fail to oblige him to do so. If we win a kingdom for him, we
+can snatch it from him again."
+
+"We have not won it yet," the prince said.
+
+"We will do so tomorrow," Walter rejoined confidently. "I hope the
+fortunes of the day may bring me face to face with Du Guesclin. I am
+thrice as strong as when I fought at Cressy, and I should like to try my
+hand against this doughty champion."
+
+The next morning the two armies prepared for battle, the Black Prince
+dividing his army as before. The divisions were commanded as in the
+passage of the Pyrenees, and each numbered 10,000 men.
+
+Don Henry had also divided his force in three parts. In the first
+division, commanded by Du Guesclin, were 4000 veteran French knights and
+men-at-arms with 8000 foot-soldiers; the second was led by the prince's
+brother, Don Tillo, with 16,000 horse; while he himself commanded the
+third, in which were a multitude of soldiers, making up the gross total
+of 100,000 men.
+
+As on the night preceding the battle of Poitiers, the English army had
+lain down supperless. Soon after midnight the trumpets sounded, and the
+troops soon moved forward. At sunrise the prince and his forces reached
+the summit of a little hill, whence was visible the approaching host of
+Spain. The first division, under the Duke of Lancaster and Lord Chandos,
+immediately quickened its pace and charged the division of Du Guesclin,
+which received it with great steadiness, and a desperate conflict
+ensued. The Black Prince charged the division of Don Tillo, which gave
+way at the first attack, and its commander, with 2000 horse, at once
+fled. The remainder of the division resisted for some time, but was
+unable to withstand the steady advance of the English, who without
+much difficulty dispersed and scattered it from the field. The King of
+Majorca now joined his division with that of the Black Prince, and the
+two advanced against the great division led by Don Henry.
+
+The Spanish slingers opened upon the advancing force and for a time
+annoyed them greatly, but when the English archers arrived within
+bow-shot and opened fire they speedily dispersed the slingers, and the
+men-at-arms on both sides advanced to the attack. The conflict was
+long and desperate, and both sides fought with great gallantry
+and determination. Don Pedro--who, although vicious and cruel, was
+brave--fought in the ranks as a common soldier, frequently cutting his
+way into the midst of the Spaniards, and shouting to Don Henry to cross
+swords with him. Henry on his part fought with great valour, although,
+as he had the burden of command upon him, he was less able to
+distinguish himself by acts of personal prowess. Though fighting in the
+thickest of the press, he never lost his grasp of the general purpose of
+the battle. Three times, when his troops wavered before the assaults of
+the Black Prince and his knights, he rallied them and renewed the fight.
+
+While this battle was raging, a not less obstinate fight was proceeding
+between the divisions of Lancaster and Du Guesclin. For a long time
+victory was doubtful, and indeed inclined towards the side of the
+French. The ranks of both parties were broken, and all were fighting in
+a confused mass, when, in the midst of the melee, a body of French and
+Spaniards poured in upon the banner of Chandos. He was struck to the
+ground, and a gigantic Castilian knight flung himself upon him and
+strove to slay him as he held him down. Chandos had lost sword and
+battle-axe, but drawing his dagger, he held with one hand his opponent's
+sword-arm, and at last, after repeated strokes with his dagger, he found
+an undefended part of his armour and pierced him with his dagger to
+the hilt. The Spaniard relaxed his hold, and Chandos, throwing him off,
+struggled to his feet and rejoined his friends, who had thought him
+dead. They now fought with more enthusiasm than ever, and at last,
+driving back the main body of the French knights, isolated a body of
+some sixty strong, and forced them to surrender. Among these were Du
+Guesclin himself, the Marshal D'Audenham, and the Bigue de Vilaines.
+
+As these were the leaders of the division, the main body lost spirit and
+fought feebly, and were soon completely routed by Lancaster and Chandos.
+These now turned their attention to the other part of the field where
+the battle was still raging, and charged down upon the flank of Don
+Henry's army, which was already wavering. The Spaniards gave way at once
+on every side, and ere long the whole were scattered in headlong rout,
+hotly pursued by the English. The greater portion fled towards the
+town of Najarra, where they had slept the previous night, and here vast
+quantities were slaughtered by the English and Gascons. A number of
+prisoners were taken, and the palace and town sacked. The pursuit was
+kept up the whole day, and it was not until evening that the leaders
+began once more to assemble round the banner of the Prince of Wales.
+Among the last who arrived was Don Pedro himself. Springing from his
+charger he grasped the hand of the Prince of Wales, thanking him for his
+victory, which he felt would restore him to his throne.
+
+"Give thanks and praise to God, and not to me," the prince replied, "for
+from Him, and not from me, you have received victory."
+
+About 8000 men fell in the battle, the loss of the English, French, and
+Spaniards being nearly equal; but many thousands of the latter fell in
+the pursuit, and as many more were drowned in endeavouring to cross the
+river Ebro. Don Henry escaped after fighting till the last, and reaching
+the French territory in safety took refuge in the Papal court of
+Avignon.
+
+Upon the morning after the battle Don Pedro requested the Black Prince
+to give him up all the Castilian prisoners, in order that he might put
+them to death. The prince, however, was always opposed to cruelty,
+and asked and obtained as a boon to himself that the lives of all the
+Spanish prisoners, with the exception of one whose conduct had been
+marked with peculiar treachery, should be spared, and even induced Pedro
+to pardon them altogether on their swearing fealty to him. Even Don
+Sancho, Pedro's brother, who had fought at Najarra under Don Henry, was
+received and embraced by Pedro at the request of the Prince of Wales.
+The city of Burgos at once opened its gates, and the rest of the country
+followed its example, and resumed its allegiance to Pedro, who remounted
+his throne without further resistance.
+
+As Walter had fought by the side of the Black Prince his desire to cross
+swords with Du Guesclin was not satisfied; but his valour during the
+day won for him the warm approbation of the prince. Opposed to them were
+many of the great companies, and these men, all experienced soldiers and
+many of them Englishmen, had fought with great stubbornness. Walter had
+singled out for attack a banner bearing the cognizance of a raven. The
+leader of this band, who was known as the Knight of the Raven, had won
+for himself a specially evil notoriety in France by the ferocity of his
+conduct. Wherever his band went they had swept the country, and the most
+atrocious tortures had been inflicted on all well-to-do persons who
+had fallen into their hands, to extract from them the secret of buried
+hoards or bonds, entailing upon them the loss of their last penny.
+
+The Knight of the Raven himself was said to be as brave as he was
+cruel, and several nobles who had attempted to oppose his band had been
+defeated and slain by him. He was known to be English, but his name
+was a mystery; and the Black Prince and his knights had long wished to
+encounter a man who was a disgrace alike to chivalry and the English
+name. When, therefore, Walter saw his banner in the king's division
+he urged his horse towards it, and, followed by Ralph and some thirty
+men-at-arms, hewed his way through the crowd until he was close to the
+banner.
+
+A knight in gray armour spurred forward to meet him, and a desperate
+conflict took place.
+
+Never had Walter crossed swords with a stouter adversary, and his
+opponent fought with as much vehemence and fury as if the sight of
+Walter's banner, which Ralph carried behind him, had aroused in him a
+frenzy of rage and hate. In guarding his head from one of his opponent's
+sweeping blows Walter's sword shivered at the hilt; but before the Gray
+Knight could repeat the blow Walter snatched his heavy battle-axe
+from his saddle. The knight reined back his horse for an instant,
+and imitated his example, and with these heavy weapons the fight was
+renewed. The Knight of the Raven had lost by the change, for Walter's
+great strength stood him in good stead, and presently with a tremendous
+blow he beat down his opponent's axe and cleft through his helmet almost
+to the chin.
+
+The knight fell dead from his horse, and Walter, with his band pressing
+on, carried confusion into the ranks of his followers. When these had
+been defeated Walter rode back with Ralph to the spot where the Knight
+of the Raven had fallen.
+
+"Take off his helmet, Ralph. Let me see his face. Methinks I recognized
+his voice, and he fought as if he knew and hated me."
+
+Ralph removed the helmet.
+
+"It is as I thought," Walter said; "it is Sir James Carnegie, a recreant
+and villain knight and foul enemy of mine, a disgrace to his name and
+rank, but a brave man. So long as he lived I could never say that my
+life was safe from his machinations. Thank God, there is an end of him
+and his evil doings!"
+
+Walter was twice wounded in the fight, but upon neither occasion
+seriously, and he was soon able to take part in the tournaments and
+games which the Prince of Wales instituted partly to keep his men
+employed, partly for the amusement of the citizens of Burgos, outside
+whose walls his army lay encamped.
+
+The prince was now obliged to remind the king of his promise to pay his
+troops; but nothing was farther from the mind of the treacherous monarch
+than to carry out the promises which he had made in exile. He dared not,
+however, openly avow his intentions; but, trusting to the chapter of
+accidents, he told the prince that at Burgos he could not collect a
+sufficient sum; but if the army would march into Leon and take up their
+quarters near Valladolid, he himself would proceed to Seville, and would
+as soon as possible collect the money which he had bound himself to
+furnish. The plan was adopted. Edward marched his troops to Valladolid,
+and Don Pedro went to Seville.
+
+Some time passed on without the arrival of the promised money, and the
+prince was impatient to return to Aquitaine. Don Henry had gathered a
+force in France, secretly assisted by the French king, and had made
+an inroad into Aquitaine, where he obtained several successes, and was
+joined by many of the disinterested nobles of that province.
+
+"You were right," the prince said to Walter one day; "this treacherous
+king, who owes his kingdom to us, intends to break his plighted word. I
+know not what to do; my men are clamorous for their pay, and I am unable
+to satisfy them. Don Pedro still sends fair promises, and although I
+believe in my heart that he has no intention of keeping them, yet I can
+hardly march against him as an enemy, for, however far from the truth it
+may be, his pretext that the treasury has been emptied by his brother,
+and that in the disturbed state of the kingdom no money can be obtained,
+may yet be urged as valid."
+
+Scarcely had the army encamped before Valladolid when a terrible
+pestilence attacked the army. For a while all questions of pay were
+forgotten, and consternation and dismay seized the troops. Neither rank
+nor station was of avail, and the leaders suffered as severely as the
+men. Every day immense numbers died, and so sudden were the attacks, and
+so great the mortality, that the soldiers believed that Don Pedro
+had poisoned the wells in order to rid himself of the necessity of
+fulfilling his obligations.
+
+The Black Prince himself was prostrated, and lay for some time between
+life and death. A splendid constitution enabled him to pull through,
+but he arose from his bed enfeebled and shattered, and although for
+some years he lived on, he received his death-blow at Valladolid. His
+personal strength never came to him again, and even his mind was dulled
+and the brightness of his intellect dimmed from the effects of the
+fever. When he recovered sufficiently to inquire into the state of his
+forces, he was filled with sorrow and dismay. Four-fifths of the number
+were either dead or so weakened as to be useless for service again. The
+prince wrote urgently to Don Pedro for the money due; but the king knew
+that the English were powerless now, and replied that he had not been
+able to collect the money, but would forward it to Aquitaine, if the
+prince would return there with his army. Edward knew that he lied, but
+with only 6000 or 7000 men, many of whom were enfeebled by disease,
+he was not in a position to force the claim, or to punish the base and
+ungrateful king. Again, therefore, he turned his face north.
+
+Charles of Navarre had now allied himself with Don Henry, and refused to
+allow the remnants of the army to pass through his dominions, although
+he granted permission to the prince himself and his personal attendants
+and friends. The southern route was barred by the King of Arragon, also
+an ally of Don Henry; but with him the prince was more successful. He
+had a personal interview with the monarch, and so influenced him that
+he not only obtained permission for his troops to pass through his
+dominions, but detached him from his alliance with Don Henry, and
+induced him to enter into a friendly treaty with Pedro.
+
+A greater act of magnanimity was never performed. In spite of the base
+ingratitude with which he had been treated, and the breach of faith
+which saddled him with enormous liabilities and debts, which weighed him
+down and embittered the rest of his life, Edward remained faithful to
+the cause of his father's ally, and did his best to maintain him in the
+position which English valour had won for him. He himself with a few
+companions passed through Navarre, and arrived safely in Bordeaux, where
+his wife awaited him, and where he was received with rejoicings and
+festivities in honour of his glorious campaign in Spain.
+
+His health was now irreparably injured. Troubles came thick upon him in
+Aquitaine, and he had no longer the energy to repress them. Risings
+took place in all directions, and the King of France renewed the war.
+In addition to his own troubles from the debts he had incurred, and the
+enemies who rose against him, he was further shaken by the death of his
+mother Philippa, whom he tenderly loved. His friend Chandos, too, was
+killed in a skirmish. Unhappily, while thus weakened in mind and body
+the treachery of the bishop and people of Limoges, who, having bound
+themselves by innumerable promises to him, surrendered their city to the
+French, caused him to commit the one act of cruelty which sullied the
+brightness of an otherwise unspotted career, for at the recapture of the
+town he bade his soldiers give no quarter.
+
+This act, although common enough at the time, is so opposed to the
+principles of mercy and humanity which throughout all the previous acts
+of his life distinguished the conduct of the Black Prince that it cannot
+be doubted that his brain was affected by the illness which was fast
+hurrying him to the grave. Shortly afterwards he returned to England,
+and busied himself in arranging the affairs of the kingdom, which his
+father's failing health had permitted to fall into disorder. For the
+remaining four years of life he lived in seclusion, and sank on the 8th
+of June, 1376.
+
+Walter, Lord Somers, returned home after the conclusion of the campaign
+in Spain, and rode no more to the wars.
+
+Giles Fletcher and his wife had died some years before, but the good
+citizen Geoffrey the armourer, when he grew into years, abandoned his
+calling, and took up his abode at Westerham Castle to the time of his
+death.
+
+In the wars which afterwards occurred with France Walter was represented
+in the field by his sons, who well sustained the high reputation which
+their father had borne as a good and valiant knight. He and his wife
+lived to a green old age, reverenced and beloved by their tenants
+and retainers, and died surrounded by their descendants to the fourth
+generation.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Saint George for England, by G. A. Henty
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