V AT AGINCOURT 8 5 "guy aylmer saves the king's life at the battle of agincourt." AT AGINCOURT A TALE OF THE WHITE HOODS OF PARIS BY G. A. HENTY Author of" Beric the Briton," " St. Bartholomew's Eve," " In the Reign of Terror,' "St. George for England," " The Tiger of Mysore," etc. ..VUIT.H TWELVE' M.I.USXRATjaNSikY IVAl^l'AG'flt >' 1 1. ' J » I |> J ■* O . •J S * « t» J \, ' i -^ i i . o 9 j' » NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1896 Copyright, 1896, ev CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS '« • *. / . ■ I .. . • '! ' . ' • • . .. c . .... t •.« . V .. .»• •&•«>• • ■ Oft • . • • . . • . •< » . • '^ TROW DIRECTORT PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY NEW YORK PREFACE The long and bloody feud between the houses of Orleans and Burgundy — which for many years devastated France, caused a prodigious destruction of life and property, and was not even relaxed in tlie presence of a common enemy — is very fully recorded in the pages of Monstrellet and other contem- porary historians. I have here only attempted to relate the events of the early portion of the struggle — from its commence- ment up to the astonishing victory of Agincourt, won by a handful of Englishmen over the chivalry of France. Here the two factions, with the exception of the Duke of Bur- gundy himself, laid aside their differences for the moment, only to renew them while France still lay prostrate at the feet of the English concpieror. At this distance of time, even with all the records at one's disposal, it is diffi( ult to say which party was most to blame in tliis disastrous civil war. a war which (hd more to cripple llie power of France than was ever accomplished by F^ng- lish arms. Unquestionably Burgundy was the first to enter upon the struggle, but the terrible vengeance taken by the Arniagnacs, — as the Orleanists came to be called. — for the murders committed by the mob of Paris in alliance with him, 444988 VI PREFACE was of almost unexampled atrocity in civil war, and was mainly responsible for the terrible acts of cruelty afterwards perpetrated upon each other by both parties. I hope some day to devote another volume to the story of this desperate and unnatural struggle. G. A. HENTY. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. A Feudal Castle, r II. Troubles in France, 19 III. A Siege, .... . 36 IV. A Fatal Accident, . ■ 54 V. Hostages, .... 73 VI. In Paris, .... 91 VII. In the Streets of Paris, 109 VIII. A Riot, 125 IX. A Stout Defence, 141 X. After the Fray, 158 XI. Danger Threatened, 175 XII. In Hiding, .... 191 XIII. The Masters of Paris, . 211 XIV. Planning Massacre, . 22S XV. A Rescue, .... 246 XVI. The Escape, 263 XVII. A Long Pause, . 281 XVIII. Katarina, .... 29S XIX. Agincourt, .... • 315 XX. Penshurst, .... 332 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Guy Aylmer Saves the King's Life at the Battle of Agincourt Frontispiece, 326 Guy has his Head Bound up after a Bout at Quarter- staff 24 " The two men who lit the alarm fires rode into the castle," 36 " Sir Eustace gave a loud cry, for lying at the bottom OF the stair was the form of his son," . . .64 The Lady Margaret makes her Obeisance to the Duke of Burgundy, 90 Guy and Long Tom come to the Rescue of Count Charles, 117 "Tom's kow twanged, and the arrow struck the horse- man under the arm-pit," 146 " The king extended his hand to Guy, who went on one knee to kiss it, ' . 178 "Well, comrade," said Simon, "I suppose you are ihe MAN I was told would COME TO-NIGHT?" . . . 222 "Guy delivered a slashing blow on the butcher's cheek, AND dashed past HIM," 256 Guv WELCOMES THE CoUNT OF MONTEPONE AND HIS DAUGH- TER TO Villeroy. ........ 299 " KATARINA SWEPT A DEEP CURTSEY, AND WENT OFF WITH A merry LAUGH," 333 AT AGINCOURT CHAPTER I m FEUDAL CASTLE Nl) is it true that our lord and lady sail next week ■ for their estate in France? " " Ay, it is true enough, and more is the pity ; it was a sad day for us all when the king gave the hand of his ward, our lady, to this baron of Artois." " They say she was willing enough, Peter." " Ay, ay, all say she loved him, and, being a favourite with the queen, she got her to ask the king to accede to the knight's suit ; and no wonder, he is as proper a man as eyes can want to look on — tall and stately, and they say brave. His father and grandfather both were Edward's men. and held their castle for us ; his father was a great friend of the Black Prince, and he, too. took a wife from England. Since then things have not gone well with us in France, and they say that our lord has had difficulty in keeping clear of the (juarrels that are always going on out there between the great French lords; and, seeing that we have but little power in Artois, he has to hold himself discreetly, and to keep aloof as far as he 2 AT AGINCOURT can from the strife there, and bide his time until the king sends an army to win back his own again. But I doubt not that, although our lady's wishes and the queen's favour may have gone some way with him, the king thought more of the advantage of keeping this French noble, — whose fathers have always been faithful vassals of the crown, and who was him- self English on his mother's side, — faithful to us, ready for the time when the royal banner will flutter in the wind again, and blood will flow as it did at Cressy and Poitiers. " The example of a good knight like Sir Eustace taking the field for us with his retainers might lead others to follow his example ; besides, there were several suitors for our lady's hand, and, by giving her to this French baron, there would be less offence and heart-burning than if he had chosen one among her English suitors. And, indeed, I know not that we have suffered much from its being so; it is true that our lord and lady live much on their estates abroad, but at least they are here part of their time, and their castellan does not press us more heavily during their absence than does our lord when at home." " He is a goodly knight, is Sir Aylmer, a just man and kindly, and, being a cousin of our lady's, they do wisely and well in placing all things in his hands during their absence." "Ay, we have nought to grumble at, for we might have done worse if we had had an English lord for our master, who might have called us into the field when he chose, and have pressed us to the utmost of his rights whenever he needed money. ' ' The speakers were a man and woman, who were standing looking on at a party of men practising at the butts on the village green at Summerley, one of the hamlets on the estates of Sir Eustace de Villeroy, in Ham])shire. "Well shot! " the man exclaimed, as an archer pierced A FEUDAL CASTLE 3 a white wand at a distance of eighty yards. " They are good shots all, and if our lord and lady have fears of troubles in France, they do right well in taking a band of rare archers with them. There are but five-and-twenty of them, but they are all of the best. When they offered prizes here a month since for the bowmen of Hants and Sussex and Dorset, methought they had some good reason why they should give such high prizes as to bring hither the best men from all three counties, and we were all proud that four of our own men should have held their own so well in such company, and especially that Tom, the miller's son, should have beaten the best of them. He is captain of the band, you know, but almost all the others shoot nigh as well ; there is not one of them who cannot send an arrow straight into the face of a foe at a hundred and twenty yards. There were some others as good who would fain have been of the party, but our lady said she would take no married men, and she was right. They go for five years certain, and methinks a man fights all the better when he knows there is no one in England praying for his return, and that if he falls, there is no widow or children to bewail his loss. There are as many stout men-at- arms going too ; so the Castle of Villeroy will be a hard nut for anyone to crack, for I hear they can put a hundred and fifty of their vassals there in the field." " We shall miss Sir Aylmer's son Guy," the woman said ; " he is ever down at the village green when there are sports going on. There is ikjI one of his age who can send an arrow so straight to the mark, and not many of the men ; and he can hold his own with a <|uarter-staff too." "Ay, dame ; he is a stout lad. and a hearty one. They say that at the castle he is ever practising with arms, and that though scarce sixteen he can wield a sword and heavy battle- axe as well as anv nian-at-arms there." 4 AT AGINCOURT " He is gentle too," the woman said. " Since his mother's death he often comes down with wine and other goodies if anyone is ill, and he speaks as softly as a girl. There is not one on the estate but has a good word for him, nor doubts that he will grow up as worthy a knight as his lather, though gentler perhaps in his manner, and less grave in face, for he was ever a merry lad. Since the death of his lady mother two years ago he has gone about sadly, still of late he has gotten over his loss somewhat, and he can laugh heartily again. I wonder his father can bear to part with him." " Sir Eustace knows well enough that he cannot always keep the boy by his side, dame ; and that if a falcon is to soar well, he must try his wings early. He goes as page, does he not ? ' ' "Ay, but more, methinks, as companion to young Henry, who has, they say, been sickly from a child, and, though better now, has scarce the making of a stalwart knight in him. His young brother Charles is a sturdy little chap, and bids fair to take after his father ; and little Lady Agnes, who comes between them, is full of fire and spirit. " Yes; methinks Guy will have a pleasant time of it out there : that is, if there are no fresh troubles. I doubt not that in two or three years he will be one of our lord's es- quires, and if he has a chance of displaying his courage and skill, may be back among us a dubbed knight before many years have passed over our heads. France is a rare place for gaining honours, and so it may well l)e, for I see not that we gain much else by our king's possessions there." " There was plenty of spoil brought over, dame, after Cressy and Poitiers." " Ay, but it soon goes ; easy come, easy go, you know ; and though they say that each man that fought there brought A FEUDAL CASTLE home a goodly share of spoil, I will warrant me the best part went down their throats ere many months had passed." " 'Tis ever so, dame; but I agree with you, and deem that it would be better for England if we did not hold a foot of ground in France, and if English kings and nobles were content to live quietly among their people. We have spent more money than ever we made in these wars, and even were our kings to become indeed, as they claim, kings of France as well as England, the ill would be much greater, as far as I can see, for us all. Still there may be things, dame, that we country folks don't understand, and I suppose that it must be so, else Parliament would not be so willing to vote money always when the kings want it for wars with France. The wars in France don't affect us as much as those with Scotland and Wales. When our kings go to France to fight they take with them only such as are willing to go, men-at-arms and archers ; but when we have troubles such as took place but five or six years ago, when Douglas and Percy and the Welsh all joined against us, then the lords call out their vassals and the sheriffs the militia of the county, and we have to go to fight willy-nilly. Our lord had a hundred of us with him to fight for the king at Shrewsbury. Nigh thirty never came back again. That is worse than the French wars, dame." " Don't I know it, for wasn't my second boy one of those who never came back. Ay, ay, they had better be fighting in France, perhaps, for that lets out the hot blood that might otherwise bring on fighting at home." " That is so, dame, things are all for the best, though one does not always see it." A week later all the tenantry gathered in front of the castle to wish God - speed to their lord and lady, and to watch the following by which they were accom])anied. First there passed half a dozen mounted men-at-arms, who were to 6 AT AGINCOURT accompany the party but half a clay's march and then to re- turn with Sir Aylmer. Next to these rode Sir Eustace and Lady Margaret, still a beautiful woman, a worthy mate of her noble - looking husband. On her other side rode Sir Aylmer ; then came John Harpen, Sir Eustace's esquire ; be- side whom trotted Agnes, a bright, merry - faced girl of twelve. Guy rode with the two boys ; then came twenty- four men-at-arms, many of whom had fought well and stoutly at Shrewsbury; while Tom, the miller's son, or, as he was generally called. Long Tom, strode along at the head of twenty-four bowmen, each of whom carried the long English bow and quiver full of cloth-yard arrows, and, in addition, a heavy axe at his leathern girdle. Behind these were some servitors leading horses carrying provisions for the journey, and valises with the clothes of Sir Eustace, his wife, and children, and a heavy cart drawn by four strong horses with the bundles of extra garments for the men-at-arms and archers, and several large sheaves of spare arrows. The men-at-arms wore iron caps, as also breast and back pieces. On the shoulders and arms of their leathern jerkins iron rings were sewn thickly, forming a sort of chain armour, while permitting perfect freedom of the limbs. The archers also wore steel caps, which, like those of the men-at- arms, came low down on the neck and temples. They had on tough leathern frocks, girded in at the waist, and falling to the knee ; some of them had also iron rings- sewn on the shoulders. English archers were often clad in green cloth, but Sir Eustace had furnished the garments, and had chosen leather, both as being far more durable, and as offering a certain amount of defence. The frocks were sleeveless, and each man wore cloth Sleeves of a colour according to his fancy. The band was in all respects a well-appointed one. As Sir Eustace wished to A FEUDAL CASTLE 7 avoid exciting comment among his neighbours, he had ab- stained from taking a larger body of men ; and it was partly for this reason that he had decided not to dress the archers in green. But every man had been carefully picked ; the men- at-arms were all powerful fellows who had seen service ; the archers were little inferior in physique, for strength as well as skill was required in archery, and in choosing the men Sir Eustace had, when there was no great difference in i)oint of skill, selected the most powerful among those who were will- ing to take service with him. Guy enjoyed the two days' ride to Southampton greatly. It was the first time that he had been away from home, and his spirits were high at thus starting on a career that would, he hoped, bring him fame and honour. Ilcnry and his brother and sister were also in good glee, although the jour- ney was no novelty to them, for they had made it twice pre- viously. Beyond liking change, as was natural at their age, they cared not whether they were at their English or at their P'rench home, as they spoke both languages with equal fluency, and their life at one castle differed but little from that at the other. Embarking at Portsmouth in a ship that was carrying military stores to Calais, they coasted along the shores of Sussex and of Kent as far as Dungeness, and then made across to Calais. It was early in April, the weather was ex- ceptionally favourable, and they encountered no rough seas whatever. On the way Sir iMistace related to Guy and his sons the events that had taken place in l-'rance, and had led up to the civil war that was raging so furiously there. " In 1392, the King of France being seized with madness, the Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans in a very short time ' wrested the power of the state from the hands of his faithful councillors, the Constable de Clisson, La Riviere, and others. 8 AT AGINCOURT De Clisson retired to his estate and castle at Montelhery, the two others were seized and thrown into prison. De Clisson was prosecuted before Parliament as a false and wicked traitor ; but the king, acting on the advice of Orleans, who had not then broken with the Dukes of Burgundy and Berri, had, after La Riviere and another had been in prison for a year, stoppfed the prosecution, and restored their estates to them. Until 1402 the Dukes of Burgundy and Berri were all-power- ful, and in 1396 a great number of knights and nobles, led by John, Count of Nevers, the eldest son of the Duke of Bur- gundy, went to the assistance of the King of Hungary, which country was being invaded by the Turks. They were, however, on the 28th of September, utterly defeated. The greater portion of them were killed ; Nevers and the rest were ransomed and brought home. "In 1402 the king, influenced by his wife, Isobel, and his brother, the Duke of Orleans, who were on terms of the closest alliance, placed the entire government in the hands of the latter, who at once began to abuse it to such an extent, by imposing enormous taxes- upon the clergy and the people, that he paved the way for the return of his uncle of Bur- gundy to power. On the 27th of April, 1404, Philip the Bold of Burgundy died. He was undoubtedly ambitious, but he was also valiant and able, and he had the good of France at heart. He was succeeded by his son John, called the Fearless, from the bravery that he had displayed in the unfort- unate Hungarian campaign. The change was disastrous for France. John was violent and utterly unscrupulous, and capable of any deed to gratify either his passions, jealousies, or hatreds. At first he cloaked his designs against Orleans by an appearance of friendship, paid him a visit at his castle near Vincennes, where he was at the time lying ill. When he re- covered, the two princes went to mass together, dined at A FEUDAL CASTLE 9 their uncle's, the Duke of Bern", and together entered Paris; and the Parisians fondly hoped that there was an end of the rivalry that had done so much harm. It was, however, but a very short time afterwards that, on the 23d of November, 1407, as the Duke of Orleans was returning from having dined with the queen, and was riding with only two esquires and four or five men on foot carrying torches, twenty armed men sprang out from behind a house and rushed upon him. " ' I am the Duke of Orleans,' the prince cried ; but they hurled him from his mule, and as he tried to rise to his feet one blow struck off the hand he raised to protect his head, other blows rained down upon him from axe and sword, and in less than a minute the duke lay dead. The Duke of Bur- gundy at first affected grief and indignation, but at the coun- cil the ne.xt day he boldly avowed that Orleans had been killed by his orders. He at once took horse and rode to the frontier of Flanders, which he reached safely, though hotly chased by a party of the Duke of Orleans' knights. The duke's widow, who was in the country at the time, hastened up to Paris with her children, and appealed for justice to the king, who declared that he regarded the deed done to his brother as done to himself. The Dukes of Berri and Bour- bon, the Constable and Chancellor, all a.ssured her that she should have justice ; but there was no force that could hope to cope with that which Burgundy could bring into the field, and when, two months later. Burgundy entered Paris at the head of a thousand men-at-arms, no attempt was made at resistance, and the murderer was received with acclamations by the fickle populace. " The king at the time was suffering from one of his terri- ble fits of insanity, but a great assembly was held, at which princes, councillors, lords, doctors of law, and prominent citi- zens were present. A monk of the Cordeliers, named John 10 AT AGINCOURT Petit, then spoke for five hours in justification of the duke, and the result was that the poor insane king was induced to sign letters cancelling the penalty of the crime. For four months the duke remained absolute master of Paris, disposing of all posts and honours, and sparing no efforts to render him- self popular with the burghers. A serious rebellion breaking out at Liege, and the troops sent against the town being re- pulsed, he was obliged to leave Paris to put down the re- volt. As soon as he had left, the queen and the partisans of Orleans prepared to take advantage of his absence, and two months later Queen Isobel marched with the dauphin, now some thirteen years old, from Melun with three thousand men. " The Parisians received her with applause, and as soon as she had taken up her quarters at the Louvre, the Dukes of Berri, Bourbon, and Brittany, the Constable, and all the great officers of the court rallied round her. Two days later the Duchess of Orleans arrived with a long train of mourning coaches. A great assembly was held, and the king's advocate announced to them the intention of the king to confer the government upon the queen during his illness, aud produced a document signed by the king to that effect. The Duchess of Orleans then came forward, and kneeling before the dau- phin, begged for justice for the death of her husband, and that she might be granted an opportunity of refuting the calumnies that John Petit had heaped on the memory of her husband. A week later another great assembly was held, and the justi- fication of the duke was read, refuting all these imputations, and the duchess's advocate demanded that the duke should be forced to make public reparation, and then to be exiled for twenty years. The dauphin replied that he and all the princes of blood royal present held that the charges against the Duke of Orleans had been amply refuted, and that the demands A FEUDAL CASTLE 11 with reference to the Duke of Burgundy should be provided for in course of justice. " Scarcely had the assenibly broken up when it became known tliat Burgundy and his army was on the way back to Paris. Resistance was out of the question ; therefore, taking the young dauphin with her, and accom[)anied by all the members of the royal family, the queen retired to Tours. Burgundy, unscrupulous as he was, finding that although he might remain master of Paris, he could not hope to rule France, except when acting under the pretence of the king's authority, soon sent an embassy to Tours to endeavour to ar- range matters. He was able to effect this with the less diffi- culty, that the Duche.ss of Orleans had just died from grief at her husband's death, and at the hopelessness of obtaining ven- geance on his murderer. The queen was won to the cause of Burgundy by secret proposals submitted to her for a close league between them, and in March a treaty was concluded, and a meeting took place at Cliartres, at which the duke, the king, the queen, the royal ])rinces, and the young Duke of Orleans and his adherents were present. " The king declared that he pardoned the duke, and the princes of Orleans consented to obey his orders and to lay aside all hatred and thoughts of vengeance, and shortly after- wards Paris welcomed witli shouts of joy the return of the king and queen and the apparent reconciliation of all parties. But the truce was a brief one ; for the princes and adherents of Orleans might bend before circumstances at the moment, but their feelings were unchanged. " A head of the party was needed, and the young duke married the daughter of Count Bernard d'Armagnac, one of the most powerful and ambitious nobles of the south of France, who at once. — in concert with the Dukes of Berri and Brittany and other lords, — put himself at the head of the 12 AT AGINCOURT Orleans party. On the loth of July, 141 1, the three princes of Orleans sent a long letter to the king, complaining that no reparation whatever had been made for the murder of their father, and begging him that, as what was done at Chartres was contrary to every principle of law, equity, reason, and justice, the case should be reopened again. They also made complaints against the Duke of Burgundy for his conduct and abuse of power. "As the king was surrounded by Burgundy's creatures no favourable reply was returned, and a formal challenge or dec- laration of war was, on the i8th of July, sent by the princes to the Duke of Burgundy, and both parties began at once to make preparation for war. ' ' Now for my own view of this quarrel. King Henry sent for me a year since, and asked for whom I should hold my castle if Orleans and Burgundy came to blows, adding that Burgundy would be viewed by him with most favour. " ' My father and grandfather ever fought faithfully in the service of England,' I said ; ' but for years past now, the line betwixt your majesty's possessions and those of France has been drawn in, and my estates and Castle of Villeroy now lie beyond the line, and I am therefore a vassal of France as well as of your majesty. It being known to all men that even before I became Lord of Summerley, on my marriage with your majesty's ward. Mistress Margaret, I, like my father, held myself to be the liege man of the King of England. I am therefore viewed with much hostility by my neighbours, and right gladly would they seize upon any excuse to lay com- plaint against me before the king, in order that I might be deprived of my fief and castle. " 'This I would fain hold always for your majesty; and, seeing how it is situated but a few miles across the frontier, it is, I would humbly submit to you, of importance to your A FEUDAL CASTLE 13 majesty that it should be held l)y one faithful to you — since its possession in the hands of an enemy would greatly hinder any English army marching out from Calais to the invasion ot France. It is a place of some strength now ; but were it in French hands it might be made very much stronger, and would cost much time and loss of men to besiege. At present your majesty is in alliance with Burgundy, but none can say how the war will go, or what changes will take place ; and should the Orleanists gain the upper hand, they will be quick to take advantage of my having fought for Burgundy, and would confiscate my estates and hand them over to one who might be hostile to England, and pledged to make the castle a stronghold that would greatly hinder and bar the advance of an English army upon Paris. Therefore, Sire, I would, not for my own sake but for the sake of your majesty's self and your successors, pray you to let me for a while remain quietly at Summerley until the course of events in France is deter- mined.' "The king was pleased to see the force of what I urged. As far as I had inclinations in the case, they were towards the cause, not of Burgundy himself, whose murder of Orleans was alike treacherous and indefensible, but of his cause, seeing that Flanders is wholly under his authority, and that in Artois he is well - nigh paramount at i)resent. On the other hand, Amiens and Ponthieu, which lie but a short distance to the south of me, are strongly Orleanist, and I have therefore every motive for standing aloof. So far the fortune of war has been so changeable that one cannot say that the chances incline towards one faction more than the other. Even the Church has failed to bring about the end of the troubles. The Or- leanists have been formally placed under interdicts, and cursed l)y book, bell, and candle. The king's commands have been laid upon all to put aside their quarrels, but both the ban of 14 AT AGINCOURT the Church and the king's commands have been ineffectual. I am as anxious as ever to abstain from taking any part in the trouble, the more so as the alliance between our king and Burgundy has cooled somewhat. But I have received such urgent prayers from my vassals at Villeroy to come among them, since they are now being plundered by __both parties, that I feel it is time for me to take up my abode there. When the king stayed at Winchester, a month since, I laid the mat- ter before him. He was pleased to say that what I had urged a year ago had turned out to be as I foretold, and that he would give me leave to go over and establish myself at Ville- roy, and to hold myself aloof from both parties until the mat- ter should further ripen. What will come of it I cannot say. The English king seemed to me to be ailing, and I fear that it may not be long before young Henry comes to the throne. He is a wild young prince, but has already shown himself in the Northern war to be full of spirit and courage, and methinks that when he comes to the throne he will not long observe the peaceful policy of his father, but that we shall see the royal standard once again spread to the winds of France." "But, Sir Eustace," Guy said, when he had concluded, ' ' how do these matters affect you ? I thought that by the treaty the west part of Artois was English." "Ay, lad, it was so settled ; but at that time the strength of France had been broken at Poitiers, and the Black Prince and his army were so feared that his terms were willingly ac- cepted in order to secure peace. Much has happened since then : war has been constantly going on, sometimes hotly, sometimes sluggishly ; France has had her own troubles, and as the English kings have been more pacific, and England has become weary of bearing the heavy expenses of the war, the treaty has become a dead letter. Gascony, in which prov- ince x\rmagnac is the greatest lord, is altogether lost to Eng^ A FEUDAL CASTLE 15 land, as is the greater part of Guienne. A great proportion of the people there were always bitterly opposed to the change, and, as you know, even in the time of the Black Prince him- self there were great rebellions and troubles ; since then town after town and castle after castle has declared for France, and no real efforts have ever been made by the English to win them back again. 1, who in England am an English baron, and — so long as things go on as at present — a French noble while in France, am in a j^erilous position between my two Suzerains. Were an English army to land, I should join them, for 1 still hold myself to be a vassal of the king of Eng- land, as we have been for three generations. As to the French disputes, 1 fear that sooner or later 1 shall have to declare in favour of one party or the other, for it will be difficult to stand altogether aloof from these conflicts, because all men, at least all men of condition, are well-nigh forced to take one side or the other. The plea that 1 am a baron of England will be ot no avail, for both sides would turn against me and be glad of an excuse for pillaging and confiscating my estate. At pres- ent, then, I must regard myself solely as a French noble, for Villeroy has passed into the hands of France, just as for a while it passed into the hands of England, and if this war goes on we shall have to take a side." "And to which side do your thoughts incline, Sir Eustace, if I may ask you? " " I love not either side, Guy, and would fain, if it could be so, that my sword sliould remain in its sheath. I fear that 1 shall have to go witli Burgundy, for he is all-powerful in Artois ; but liad I been altogether free to choose, I should have sided with Orleans. In the first place, it is certain that the last duke was foully murdered by Burgundy, who thereby laid the foundation for the present troubles. There were jeal- ousies before, as there have always been between the great no- 16 AT AGINCOURT bles, but that act forced almost all to take sides. The Dukes of Berri and Brittany, who had been of the party of the late Duke of Burgundy, were driven by this foul act of his son to range themselves with Orleans. Armagnac is very powerful in the south, Berri's dukedom is in the north, that of Orleans to the north-east. Burgundy's strength lies in his own duke- dom, — which has ever been all but independent of France, — in Flanders, in Artois, and in Paris ; thus, generally, it is the north and east of France against the south and west. This is broadly the case, but in a civil war provinces and countships, neighbours, ay, and families, become split up into factions, as interest, or family ties, or the desire to increase an estate by annexing another next to it, may influence the minds of men. " So long as it is but a war between the great dukes and princes of France we smaller men may hope to hold aloof, but, as it goes on, and evil deeds are done on both sides, men's passions become heated, the spirit spreads until every man's hand is against his neighbour, and he who joins not against one or the other finds both ready to oppress and rob him. I should not have cared to bring out an English following with me had we been forced to march any distance through France ; but as Villeroy is but a few miles from the frontier, and of that distance well-nigh half is through my own estates, we can reach the castle almost unnoticed. Once there, the fact that I have strengthened my garrison will keep me from attack, for either party would be chary in attacking one who can de- fend himself stoutly. I was minded to leave your lady and the two younger children in England, but in truth she begged so hard to accompany me that I could not say her nay." The Castle of Villeroy was somewhat larger than the one in which Guy had been born and brought up. The plan, however, was very similar : there was the central keep, but, whereas at home this was the dwelling-house of the family, A FEUDAL CASTLE 17 it was here used as a storehouse, and the apartments of the count and countess were in the range of buildings that formed an inner court round the keep. In point of hixury the French were in advance of the Enghsh, and they had aheady begun to combine comfort with strengtli in their buildings. The apartments struck Guy as being wonderfully spacious in comparison to those with which he was accustomed. On the ground floor of one side of the square was the banqueting-hall. Its walls were decorated with arms and armour, the joists that supported the floor above were carved, the windows large and spacious, for, looking as they did into the inner court, there was no occasion for their being mere loopholes. Above the banqueting-hall was a room where Lady Margaret sat with her maids engaged in working at tapestry ; here the priest gave such slight instruction as was then considered necessary to Agnes and Charles; Henry had already passed out of his hands. Next to this room was the knight's sleeping apartment, or closet as it was then called, a room which would now be con- sidered of ridiculously straitened dimensions ; and close to it were the still smaller closets of the children. Beyond were a series of guest-chambers. Another side of the court-yard contained the apartments of the castellan, Jean Bouvard, a sturdy soldier of long experience, and those of the other offi- cers of the household ; the other two sides were occupied by the chapel, the kitchens, and the offices of the servants and retainers. All these rooms were loopholed on the side look- ing into the outer court. This was considerably wider and more extensive than the one surrounding the keep. Here were the stables, storehouses for grain and forage, and a build- ing, just erected, for the lodging of the English garrison. All these buildings stood against the outer wall, so that they would afford no shelter to an enemy wlio had obtained pos- 18 AT AGINCOURT session of the first defences and was making an attack against the second line. The outer wall was twelve feet in thick- ness, and thirty feet above the court ; outside the height was considerably greater, as there was a moat faced with stone fifteen feet deep entirely surrounding it, and containing seven or eight feet of water. Walls ran half across the outer court, and, from the end of these, light wooden bridges formed a communication with the wall of the inner court, so that in the event of the outer wall being stormed or the gates being carried by assault, the defenders could retire to the inner defences. The ends of these bridges rested upon irons projecting from the wall, and so arranged that they could be instantly withdrawn when the last of the defenders had crossed over, when the bridges would at once fall into the court-yard below. The inner wall was twelve feet higher than the outer one, and, like it, was pro- vided with a crenellated battlement four feet high ; there were projecting turrets at each corner, and one in the middle of each side. The keep rose twenty feet higher than the wall of the inner court. The lower portions of the cross walls of the outer court were carried on as far as the inner wall, thereby divid- ing the space into four; strong gates gave communication from one to the other. Into these could be driven the cattle of the tenantry, and one of them contained a number of huts in which the tenants themselves would be lodged. The court-yard facing the entrance was the largest of the areas into which the space between the outer and inner walls was divided, extending the whole width between the outer walls. Here the military exercises were carried on. Along the wall, at each side of the gate, were a range of stables for the use of the horses of guests, with rooms over them for the use of their retainers. There was a strong exterior work defending the TROUBLES IN FRANCE 19 approach to the drawbridge on the other side of the moat, and in all respects the castle was well appointed, and to Guy. it seemed almost impossible that it could be carried by as- sault, however numerous the foe. CHAPTER II TROUBLES IN FRANCE AS soon as it was heard that the lord and lady had returned, the vassals of Villeroy came in to pay their respects, and presents of fowls, game, and provisions of all kinds poured in. The table in the banqueting-hall was bountifully spread, casks of wine broached, and all who came received entertainment. As French was still spoken a good deal at the English court and among the nobles and barons, and was considered ])art of the necessary education of all persons of gentle blood, Guy, who had always used it in his conversa- tion with his father, had no difficulty in performing his duty of seeing that the wants of all who came were well attended to. In a few days guests of higher degree came in, the knights and barons of that part of the province; a few of these expressed surprise at the height of the sturdy men-at- arms and archers loitering about the court-yard. Sir Eus- tace always answered any remarks made on the subject by saying, "Yes, Dame Margaret and I thought that instead of keeping all our retainers doing nothing in our castle in Eng- land, where there is at present no use whatever for their ser- vices, we might as well bring a couple of score of them over here. I have no wish to take part in any of the troubles that 20 AT AGINCOURT seem likely to disturb France, but there is never any saying what may happen, and at any rate it costs no more to feed these men here than in England." The English archers and men-at-arms were well satisfied with their quarters and food, and were soon on good terms with their French associates. The garrison, before their arrival, had consisted of fifty men-at-arms, and although these had no means of communicating verbally with the new ar- rivals, they were not long in striking up such acquaintance as could be gained by friendly gestures and the clinking of wine-cups. Their quarters were beside those of the English, and the whole of the men-at-arms daily performed their exer- cises in the court-yard together, under the command of the castellan, while the archers marched out across the draw- bridge and practised shooting at some butts pitched there. To the French men-at-arms their performances appeared as- tounding. The French had never taken to archery, but the cross-bow was in use among them, and half of the French men-at-arms had been trained in the use of this weapon, which was considered more valuable in the case of sieges than of warfare in the field. While they were able to send their bolts as far as the bowmen could shoot their arrows, there was no comparison whatever in point of accuracy, and the archers could discharge a score of arrows while the cross - bow- men were winding up their weapons. " Pardieu, master page," Jean Bouvard said one day as he stood with Guy watching the shooting of the archers, '' I no longer wonder at the way in which you English defeated us at Cressy and Poitiers. I have heard from my father, who fought at Poitiers, how terrible was the rain of arrows that was poured upon our knights when they charged up the hill against the English, but I had never thought that men could shoot with such skill and strength. It was but yesterday that TROUBLES IN FRANCE 31 I set my men-at-arms to try and bend one of these English bows, and not one of them could draw an arrow anywhere near the head with all their efforts ; while these men seem to do so with the greatest ease, and the s[)eed with which they can shoot off arrow after arrow well-nigh passes belief. That tall fellow, who is tlieir chief, but now sent twenty arrows into a space no greater than a hand's- breadth, at a hundred and twenty yards, and that so tjuickly that he scarce seemed to take time to aim at all, and the others are well-nigh as skilful. Yesterday I put up a breastplate such as is worn by our men-at-arms and asked them to shoot at it at eighty yards. They fired a volley together at it. It was riddled like a col- ander ; not one of the five-and-twenty arrows had failed to pierce it." "Ay, at that distance. Captain, an English archer of fair skill could not miss it, and it needs Milan armour, and that of the best, to keep out their arrows." •' By our Lady," the captain remarked, " 1 should be sorry to attack a castle defended by them, and our lord has done well indeed to bring them over with him. Your men-at- arms are stalwart fellows. My own men feel well-nigh abashed when they see how these men take up a stone that they them- selves can with difficulty lift from the ground, and hurl it twenty yards away ; and they whirl their heavy axes round their heads as if they were reeds." " They are all picked men," Guy .said with a laugh. " You must not take it tliat all Englishmen are of equal strength, though no doubt Sir Eustace could have gathered five hun- dred as strong had he wished it." " If that be so," the captain said, " I can well believe that if France and England meet again on a field of battle France shall be beaten as she was before. However, there is one comfort, we shall not be among the defeated ; for our lord, 22 AT AGINCOURT and his father and his grandfather before him, have ever been with England, and Sir Eustace, having an EngUsh wife and mother, and being a vassal of the English crown for his estates in England, will assuredly take their part in case of a quarrel. Of course, at present we hold ourselves to be neutrals, and though our lord's leanings towards England give some umbrage to his neighbours, their enmity finds no expression, since for years now there has been no fighting to speak of between the two nations. How it will be if Orleans and Burgundy come to blows I know not; but if they do so, methinks our lord will have to declare for one or the other, or he may have both upon him. A man with broad estates, on which many cast covetous eyes, can scarce stand altogether aloof. However, if Villeroy is attacked, methinks that with the following Sir Eustace has brought with him across the sea even Burgundy himself will find that it would cost him so dearly to capture the castle that it were best left alone." " How about the vassals? " "They will fight for their lord," Jean Bouvard answered confidently. " You see their fathers and grandfathers fought under the Black Prince, and it is natural that their leanings should be on that side. Then they know that there is no better lord in all Artois than Sir Eustace, and his dame has made herself much beloved among them all. There is no fear that they will disobey our lord's orders whatever they be, and will fight as he bids them, for Orleans or Burgundy, England or France. He has never exercised to the full his rights of seigneur ; he has never called upon them for their fiiU quota of work ; no man has even been htmg on his estate for two generations save for crime committed ; no vassal's daughter has ever been carried into the castle. I tell you there is not a man for over fifty miles round who does not envy the vassals TROUBLES IN FRANCE 23 of Villeroy, and this would be a happy land indeed were all lords like ours. Were we to hoist the flag on the keep and fire a gun, every man on the estate would muster here before sun- set, and would march against the King of France himself did Sir Eustace order them to do so." "In that case what force could we put on the walls. Captain?" "Two hundred men besides the garrison, and we have provisions stored away in the keej) sufficient for them and their women and children for a three months' siege. Sir Eustace gave me orders yesterday to procure wood of the kind used for arrows, and to lay in a great store of it ; also to set the smiths to work to make arrow-heads. I asked him how many, and he said, ' Let them go on at it until further orders. I should like a store sufficient at least for a hundred rounds for each of these English archers, and if we had double that it would be all the better. They can make their own arrows if they have suitable wood.' It seemed to me that two hundred rounds was beyond all necessity, but now when I see that these men can shoot nigh twenty rounds a minute, I can well understand that a great supply for them is needful." The time passed very pleasantly at Villeroy. Sometimes Guy rode with his lord and lady when they went out hawk- ing or paid visits to neighbouring castles. Regularly every day they practised for two hours in arms, and although well instructed before, Guy gained much additional skill from the teaching of Jean Bouvard, who was a famous swordsman. The latter was surprised at finding that the page was able to draw the English bows as well as the archers, and that, al- though inferior to Long Tom ami three or four of the best .shots, he was quite as good a marksman as the majority. Moreover, though of gentle blootl he would join with the 24 AT AGINCOURT men in their bouts of quarter-staff, and took no more heed of a broken head than they did. ' ' Pardieii, master page, ' ' he said one day when Guy came in from the court-yard to have his head, which was stream- ing with blood, bound up, "our French pages would marvel indeed if they saw you. They all practise in arms as you do, save with the shooting; but they would consider it would demean them sorely to join in such rough sports with their inferiors, or to run the risk of getting their beauty spoiled by a rough blow. No wonder your knights strike so mightily in battle when they are accustomed to strike so heavily in sport. I saw one of your men-at-arms yesterday bury his axe to the very head in a block of oak ; he wagered a stoup of wine that no two of my men-at-arms would get the axe out, and he won fairly, for indeed it took four of the knaves at the handle to tug It out, and then indeed it needed all their strength. No armour ever forged could have withstood such a blow; it would have cracked both the casque and the skull inside like egg-shells. It seemed to me that a thousand such men, with as many archers, could march through France from end to end, if they kept well together, and were well supplied with meat and drink by the way — they would need that, for they are as good trenchermen as they are fighters, and indeed each man amongst them eats as much as three of my fellows." " Yes, they want to be well fed," Guy laughed, " and they are rarely pleased with the provision that you make for them; surely not one of them ever fed so well before." " Food does not cost much," the captain said ; " we have herds of our own which run half wild on the low ground near the river, which our lords always keep in hand for their own uses, and they multiply so fast that they are all the better for thinning ; we sell a few occasionally, but they are so wild that it scarce pays the trouble of driving them i;LY has his llKAli liolMJ UI' AKIKR A HOIT AT nUARTKRSTAFF. TROUBLES IN FRANCE 25 to the nearest market, and we are always ready to grant permission to any of the vassals, whose cattle have not done as well as usual, to go out and kill one or two for meat." "I hear from the Governor of Calais," Sir Eustace said, when he returned from a visit to that town, " that a truce has been agreed upon between F^ngland and France for a year; it is France who asked for it, I suppose. Both parties here wanted to be able to fight it out without interference. Here, in Artois, where the Burgundians are most numerous, they will profit, as they will have no fear of England trying to regain some of her lost territory, while in the .south it will leave Armagnac and his friends ecjually free from English incursions from Guienne. " " And how will it affect us, Eustace ? " his wife a.sked. "That I have not been able fiiUy to determine. At any rate they will have no excuse for attacking us upon the groimd that we are partly English, and wholly so in feeling ; but upon the other hand, if we are attacked either by Bur- gundians or Orlcanists, we cannot hope, as we should have done before, for aid from Calais, lying as we do some fifteen miles beyond tlie frontier. Amiens has already declared for Burgundy, in spite of the fact that a royal proclamation has been issued, and sent to every town and bailiwick through 1'' ranee, strictly commanding all pei"sons whatsoever not to interfere, or in any manner to assist the Dukes of Orleans or Burgundy in their quarrels with each other. I hear that the Duke of Burgundy has seized Roye, Nesle, and Ham. and a number of other i)laces, and that both parties are forti- fying all their towns. They say, too, that there is news that the king has again been seized with one of his fits of mad- ness. However, that matters little. He has of late been a tool in the hands of Burgundy, and the roval signature has no weight one way or the other. However, now that hos- 26 AT AGINCOURT tilities have begun, we must lose no time, for at any moment one party or the other may make a sudden attack upon us. Burgundy and Orleans may quarrel, but it is not for love of one or the other that most of the nobles will join in the fray, but merely because it offers them an opportunity for pillaging and plundering, and for paying off old scores against neighbours. Guy, bid John Harpen come hither." When the esquire entered, Sir Eustace went on : " Take two men-at-arms, John, and ride round to all the tenants. Warn them that there are plundering bands about, and that either the Burgundians or the Orleanists may swoop down upon us any day. Tell them that they had better send in here all their valuables, and at any rate the best of their cattle and horses, and to have everything pre- pared for bringing in their wives aftd families and the rest of their herds at a moment's notice. You can say that if they like they can at once send their wives and families in, with such store of grain and forage as they can transport ; the more the better. If the plunderers come, so much the more is saved from destruction ; if we are besieged, so much the more food have we here. Those who do not send in their families would do well to keep a cart with two strong horses ready day and night, so that no time would be lost when they get the signal. We shall fire a gun, hoist the flag, and light a bonfire on the keep, so that they may see the smoke by day or the fire by night. Tell Jean Bouvard to come to me." " There is trouble afoot, Jean, and at any moment we may be attacked. Place two men-at-arms on each of the roads to St. Omer, St. Pol, and Bethune. Post them your- self at the highest points you can find near our boundary. By each have a pile of faggots, well smeared with pitch, and have another pile ready on the keep, and a watch always TROUBLES IN FRANCE 27 Stationed there. He is to light it at once when he sees smoke or fire from either of the three points. Let the men at the outposts be reUeved every four Iiours. They must, of course, be mounted. Let one of the two remain by the fag- gots, and let the other ride three or four miles in advance, and so post himself as to see a long distance down the road. " If he sees a force advancing he must gallop back at full speed to his comrade, and light the fire. Have a gun always loaded on the keep, and have a brazier burning hard by, with an iron in it, so that tlie piece may be fired the instant smoke is seen. It might be two or three mi-nutes before the beacon would give out smoke enough to be noticed, and every minute may be of the greatest importance to the vassals. As soon as you return from setting the posts see that everything is in readiness here. I myself will make sure that the drawbridge works easily and the portcullis runs freely in its groove. I have already sent off John Harpen to warn the tenants, and doubtless many of them will be in this afternoon. Send Pierre with four men, and tell them to drive up a number of the cattle from the marshes. They need not trouble to hunt them all up to- day. Let them bring the principal herd, the others we will fetch in to-morrow, or let them range where they are until we have further news." In a few minutes the castle resounded with the din of preparations under the sujierintendence of Sir Eustace. The men-at-arms and archers carried up stones from the great l)ile that had been collected in the court-yard in readine.ss, to the various points on the walls that would be most exposed to assault. Others were employed in fixing barri- cades in tlie court -yard at the rear for the reception of the herd of half-wiUl cattle. The water was turned from the little rivulet running down to the Somme into the 28 AT AGINCOURT moat. Two or three bullocks were killed to furnish food for the fugitives who might come in, and straw was laid down thickly in the sheds that would be occupied by them. Machines for casting heavy stones were taken from the storehouse and carried up to the walls, and set up there. Large stone troughs placed in the court-yard were filled with water, and before nightfall everything was in readiness. As Sir Eustace had anticipated, most of the vassals whose farms lay at a distance from the castle came in with their wives and families in the course of the afternoon, bringing carts laden with their household goods, and a considerable number of horses and cattle. Lady Margaret herself saw that they were established as comfortably as possible in the sheds, which were large enough to contain all the women and chil- dren on the estate. As for the men, no such provision was necessary, as at this time of the year they could sleep in the open air. Guy was busy all day seeing that the orders of his lord were carried out, and especially watching the opera- tions of putting the ballistas and catapults together on the walls. Cannon, though now in use, had by no means super- seded these machines, for they were cumbrous and clumsy, and could only be fired at considerable intervals, and their aim was by no means accurate or their range extensive, as the charge of powder that could be used in them was comparatively small, and the powder itself ill -made and defective in strength. Guy was struck with the difference of demeanour between the men-at-arms and archers, especially among the English contingent, and that of the fugitives who poured in. What was a terrible blow to the latter was the cause of a scarce con- cealed gratification among the former. The two months that had been spent at the castle had, to the English, been a somewhat monotonous time, and the prospect of active ser- TROUBLES IN FRANCE 29 vice and of the giving and taking of blows made their blood course more rapidly through their veins. It was the prospect of fighting rather than of pay that liad attracted them to the service of Sir Eustace. Then, as for a century previous and until quite modern days, Frenchmen were regarded as the natural foes of England, and however large a force an English king wished to collect for service in France, he had never any difficulty whatever in obtaining the number he asked for, and they were ready cheerfully to give battle whatever the odds against them. The English archer's confidence in him- self and his skill was indeed supreme. Before the shafts of his forefathers the flower of the French chivalry had gone down like rushes before a scythe, and from being a mere ac- cessory to a battle the English archers had become the back- bone of the force. Their skill, in fact, had revolutionized warfare, had broken the power of cavalry, and had added to the dignity and value of infantry, who had become, as they have ever since continued to be, the prime factor in warfare. Consequently the Engli.sh archers and men-at-arms went about their work of preparation with a zest and cheerfulness that showed their satisfaction in it. " Why, Tom," Guy said to the tall leader of the archers, " you look as pleased as if it were a feast rather than a fray for which you were preparing." "And so I feel, Master Guy. For what have I been practising with the bow since I was eight years old but that I miglit, when the time came, send an arrow straight through the bars of a French vizor? In faith, I began to think that I should never have an oi)portunity of exercising my skill on anything more worthy than a target or peeled wand. Since our kings have given up leading armies across the sea, there was no way but to take service with our lord when I heard that he wanted a small com|)any of archers for the defence ol 30 AT AGINCOURT his castle over here, and since we have come it has seemed to us all that we were taking pay and food under false pretences, and that we might as well have stopped at home where, at least, we can compete in all honour and good temper against men as good as ourselves, and with the certainty of winning a few silver pennies, to say nothing of plaudits from the on- lookers. 'Tis with our people as with the knights of old ; if they win in a tournament they take the armour of the van- quished, the prize from the Queen of Beauty, and many a glance of admiration from bright eyes. It is the same with us ; for there is not an English maid but would choose an archer who stands straight and firm, and can carry off a prize when in good company, to a hind who thinks of naught but delving the soil and tending the herd." Guy laughed. "I suppose it is the same, when you put it so. Long Tom ; but there will be none of your English maids to watch your prowess here." "No, Master Guy; but here we shall fight for our own satisfaction, and prove to ourselves that we are as good men as our fathers were. I know naught of this quarrel. Had Sir Eustace taken us into the field to fight for one or other of these factions concerning which we know nothing, we should doubtless have done our duty and fought manfully. But we are all glad that here we are doing what we came for ; we are going to defend the castle against Frenchmen of some sort or other who would do ill to our lord and lady, and we shall fight right heartily and joyfully, and should still do so were it the mad king of France himself who marched against us. Besides, master, we should be less than men if we did not feel for the frightened women and children who, having done no wrong, and caring naught for these factions, are forced to flee from their homes for their lives ; so we shall strike in just as we should strike in were we to come upon a TROUBLES IN FRANCE 31 band of robbers ill - treating a woman at home. Think you that they will come, master ? " he added eagerly. "That I cannot say surely, Tom; but Sir Eustace has news that the Burgundians have already seized several towns and placed garrisons there, and that armed bands are tra\-ers- ing the country, burning and pillaging. Whether they will feel strong enough to make an attack on this castle I know not, but belike they will do so, for Sir Eustace, belonging as he does, and as his fathers have done before him, to the English party, neither of the others will feel any good-will towards him, and some of his neighbours may well be glad to take advantage of this troubled time to endeavour to despoil him of his castle and po.ssessions. ' ' " They will want to have good teeth to crack this nut, Master Guy — good teeth and strong ; and methinks that those who come to pluck the feathers may well go back without their own. We have a rare store of shafts ready, and they will find that their cross - bowmen are of little use against picked I'jiglish archers, even though there l)e but twenty-five of us in all." " You know very well, Long Tom, that you would have come over here whether there was any chance of your draw- ing your bow on a Frenchman or not." " That is true enough. Master C.iiy. Our lady wanted some bowmen, and I, who have been born and bred on the estate, was of coui-se bound to go with her. Then you see. Master Guy, haven't I taught you to use the bow and the cpiarter-staff, and carried you on my shoulder many a score of times when you were a little lad and I was a big boy? it would not have been natural for you to have gone out with a chance of getting into a figlit without my being there to draw a shaft when you needed it. Why, Ruth Gregory, whose sworn bachelor you know I am. wi)uld have cried shame 32 AT AGINCOURT on me if I had lingered behind. I told her that if I stayed it would be for her sake, and you should have seen how she flouted me, saying that she would have no tall lout hiding be- hind her petticoats, and that if I stayed, it should not be as her man. And now I must be off to my supper, or I shall find that there is not a morsel left for me." The gates of the castle were closed that night, but it was not considered necessary to lower the drawbridge. Two sentries were posted at the work beyond the moat, and one above the gate, besides -the watcher at the top of the keep. The next day things were got into better order. More bar- ricades were erected for the separation of the cattle ; a por- tion- was set aside for horses. The provisions brought in from the farms were stored away in the magazines. The women and children began to settle down more comfortably in their sheds. The best of the horses and cattle were re- moved into the inner court-yard. The boys were set draw- ing water and filling the troughs, while some of the farm men were told off to carry the fodder to the animals, most of which, however, were for the time turned out to graze near the castle. Many of the men who had come in had re- turned to their work on the farms. Daring the day wag- gons continued to arrive with stores of grain and forage; boys and girls drove in flocks of geese and turkeys and large numbers of ducks and hens, until the yard in wliich the sheds were was crowded with them. By nightfall every preparation was complete, and even Jean Bouvard himself could find nothing further to suggest. " If they are coming," he said to Sir Eustace, " the sooner they come the better, my lord ; we have done all that we can do, and had best get it over without more ado." " I still hope that no one will come, Bouvard, but I agree with you, that if it is to come the sooner the better. But TROUBLES IN FRANCE 33 there is no saying, it may be to-morrow, it may be months before we are disturbed. Still, in a war like this, it is likely that all will try and get as much as they can as quickly as pos- sible, for at any moment it may suit Burgundy and Orleans to patch up their quarrel again. Burgundy is astute and cun- ning, and if he sees that the Orleans i)rinces with Armagnac and the Duke of Bourbon are likely to get the best of it, he will use the king and queen to intervene and stop the fight- ing. Seeing that this may be so, the rogues who have their eye on their neighbours' goods and possessions will, you may be sure, lose no time in stretching out their hands for them." A week later came the news that Sir Clugnet de Brabant, who styled himself Admiral of France, had gathered two thousand men from the Orleanist garrisons and, with scaling- ladders and other warlike machines, had attacked the town of Rethel. The inhabitants had, however, notice of their coming, and resisted .so stoutly that the Orleanists had been forced to retreat, and had then divided into two parties, each of whom had scoured the country, making prisoners all whom they met, firing the villages and driving off the cattle, and then returned to the town of Haui and to" the various gar- risons from which they had been drawn. Some of the tenants had returned to their farms, ])ut when tlie news spread they again took refuge in tlie castle. It was probable that Artois, where almost all the towns were held I)y the Burgundian party, would be the next object of attack. The Orleanists remained quiet for eight days only, then the news came that they had moved out again from Ham eight thou- sand strong, and were marching west. Two days later several fugitives from the country round arrived at the castle with uiws that the Orleanists were advancing against Bapainne. and the next morning they heard that they had, after a fierce fight, won tiieir way to the gate 3 34 AT AGINCOURT of the town. The Burgundian garrison had then saUied out and at first met with success, but had been obHged to retreat within the walls again. The Orleanists, however, consider- ing the place too strong to be captured without a long siege, which might be interrupted by a Burgundian force from Flanders, had drawn off from the place, but were still march- ing north burning and plundering. " It is likely enough that they will come this way," Sir Eustace said as he and Jean Bouvard talked the matter over. "Assuredly Arras will be too strong for them to attempt. The straight line would take them to St. Pol, but the c^?*;lc there is a very strong one also. They may sack and burn Avesne and Auvigni, and then, avoiding both St. Pol and Arras, march between them to Pernes, which is large enough to give them much plunder, but has no force that could resist them. As Pernes is but four miles away, their next call may be here." " But why should they attack us. Sir Eustace? for here, too, they might reckon upon more hard blows than plunder." " It will depend upon whom they have with them," Sir Eustace replied. * " They say that our neighbour Hugh de Fruges went south ten days ago to join the Duke of Bourbon ; his castle is but a small place, and as most of Artois is Bur- gundian he might be afraid he might be captured. He has never borne me good-will, and might well persuade the duke that were my castle and estates in his possession he might do good service to the cause ; and that, moreover, standing as we do within twelve miles of the English frontier, its pos- session might be very valuable to him should the Orleanists ever have occasion to call in the aid of England, or to op- pose their advance should the Burgundians take that step." " Surely neither of these factions will do that. Sir Eustace." "Why not, Bouvard? Every time that English armies TROUBLES IN FRANCE 35 have passed into France they have done it at the invitation of French nobles who have embroiled themselves with their kings. Burgundy and Orleans, Bourbon and Brittany, each fights for his own hand, and cares little for France as a whole. They may be vassals of the Valois, but they regard them- selves as being nearly, if not altogether, their ecjuals, and are always ready to league themselves with each other, or if it needs be with the English, against the throne." At nine o'clock on the following evening Sir Eustace and his family were startled by the report of the gun on the kee'p, and, running out, saw the signal-fire beginning to blaze up. "Above there!" Sir Eustace shouted, "where is the alarm?" " A fire has just blazed up on the road to St. Pol," the warder replied. " Blow your horn, then, loudly and urgently." The news that the Orleanists were marching north from Bapaume had caused the greater portion of the farmers to come in on the previous day, and in a short time those who were nearest to the castle, and who had consequently de- layed as long as possil)le, began to arrive. The garrison were already under arms, and had taken the places assigned to them on the walls. All the tenants had brought their arms in with them, and were now drawn up in the court-yard, where a large bonfire, that had been for some days in readiness, was now blazing. The new-comers, after turning their horses into the inclosure with those already there, joined them. All had been acquainted with the share they were to bear should the i)lace be besieged. They were to be divided into two parties, one of which was to be on duty on the walls with the garrison, the other to be held in reserve, and was — every six hours when matters were quiet — to relieve the party on the walls, or, when an attack took place, to be under arms and 36 AT AGINCOURT ready to hasten to any spot where its aid was required. The men were now inspected by Sir Eustace, additional arms were served out from the armoury to those whose equipment was insufficient, and they were then dismissed to join their wives and famihes until called to the walls. CHAPTER III A SIEGE THE two men who had lit tlie alarm fires had already ridden in. They reported that they had, just as it be- came dark, seen flames rising from a village three miles from them, and that the man in advance had ridden forward until near enough to see that a great body of men were issuing from the village in the direction of the castle. Ten of the English men-at-arms, and as many French, were now posted in the outwork at the head of the drawbridge under the command of Jean Bouvard. Sir Eustace placed himself with his squire on the wall above the gate, and four men were stationed at the chains of the drawbridge in readi- ness to hoist it should the order be given. The English archers were on the wall beside Sir Eustace, as their arrows commanded the ground beyond the outwork. Half an hour after the first alarm was given the tale of the tenants was found to be complete, and the guards on the other two roads had also ridden in. Guy, to his great satisfaction, had been or- dered by Sir Eustace to don his armour and to take his place beside him. Till. 1 \VU MK.N WUU Lll IHK AI.AKM l-TRtS KUUt INTO THE _ CASTI.K." A SIEGE 37 It was upwards of an hour before a body of horsemen could be heard approaching. They came at a leisurely pace, for the bonfire on the road and that on the keep liad apprised tliem that their hope of taking the castle by surprise had been frustrated by the disobedience of some of their men, who, in defiance of the strictest orders to the contrary, had set fire to several houses in the village after having plundered them. Sir Eustace, accompanied by his esquire and Guy, descended from the wall and crossed the drawbridge to the outwork. As soon as the horsemen came within l)ow-shot of the castle they lighted some torches, and three knights, preceded by a troo])cr carrying a white flag, and two others with torches, came tow- ards the work. W^ien within fifty yards of the postern they halted. " Is Sieur Eustace de Villeroy present? " "1 am here," Sir ICustace replied, and at his order two niL-n with torches took tlicir jjlace one on each side of him. " Who are you that approach my castle in armed force? " " I am Sir Clugnet de Brabant, Admiral of France. These are Sir Manessier Guieret and Sir Hugh de Fruges, and we come in the name of the Duke of Orleans to summon you to admit a garrison of his highne.ss's troops." " I am neither for Orleans nor for Burgundy," Sir Eustace replied. " I am a simple knight, holding my castle and es- tate as a vassal of the c-rown, and am ready to obey the orders of the king, — and of liim only when he is in a condition of nn'nd to give such orders. Until then t shall hold my castle, and will admit no garrison whether of Orleans or of Bur- gundy." "We hold you to l)e but a false vassal of the crown, and we are told that at heart you are an enemy to France and de- voted to England." " I am a vassal of England for the estates of my wife in that M /« /• rioo 38 AT AGINCOURT , country," Sir Eustace said; "and as at present there is a truce between the two nations, I can serve here the King of France as faithfully as if, in England, I should serve the King of England." " Nevertheless, Sir Eustace, you will have to receive a gar- rison of Orleans. I have at my back eight thousand men, and if you compel me to storm this hold of yours I warn you that all within its walls will be put to the sword." " Thanks for your warning, Sir Knight ; and I on my part warn you that, eight thousand though you be, I shall resist you to the death, and that you will not carry eight thousand away. As for Sir Hugh de Fruges, I give him my open de- fiance. I know it is to him that I owe this raid ; and if he be man enough, I challenge him to meet me in the morning on fair ground outside this postern, with lance and battle-axe, to fight to the death. If he conquers, my castle shall be sur- rendered to him, upon promise of good treatment and a safe- conduct to depart where they will for all within it ; but if I slay him, you must give me your knightly oath that you and your following will depart forthwith." " The conditions would be hardly fair, Sir Eustace," Sir Clugnet said ; " and though I doubt not that Sir Hugh would gladly accept them, I cannot permit him to do so. I have brought some eight thousand men here to capture this castle, and hold it for the Duke of Orleans, and I see not why I should march away with them because you may perchance prove a better fighter than Sir Hugh. I am ready, however, to give a safe-conduct to all within the walls if you will surrender." " That will I not do, Sir Clugnet. I hold this castle neither for Burgundy nor Orleans, and am ready to give pledge that I will not draw sword for either of these princes; but if that will not content you, you must even take my castle if you can, and I give you fair warning that it will cost you dear." A SIEGE 39 " Then adieu, Sir Knight, until to-morrow morning, when we will talk in other fashion." " So be it," Sir Eustace replied, "you will not find me backward in returning any courtesies you may pay me." The knights turned away with their torch-bearers. " Keep a close watch to-night, Bouvard," Sir Eustace .said. " Mark you what the knight said, — adieu till the morning. Had I to deal with a loyal gentleman I could have slept soundly, but with these adventurers it is different. It may be that he truly does not intend to attack till morning, but it is more likely that he used the words in order to throw us off our guard." " We will keep close ward. Sir Eustace. All the men-at- arms have their cross-bows, and though I say not that they can shoot like these P^nglish archers, they can shoot straight enough to do good work should those fellows attempt in force to cross the small moat and attack the gate. But if they come, me- thinks it will l)e but to try if we are wakeful ; 'tis no light thing to attack even an outwork like this, with this loop from the moat surrounding it, without previous examination of the ground and reconnoitring of the castle." " They would not attempt to attack the fortress itself," Sir Eustace said ; " but if they could seize this outwork by sur- prise it would mightily aid them in their attack on the fortress ; at any rate I will send down five archers, and if any of the enemy crawl up to see how wide the water is here, and Jiow the attempt had best be made, I warrant that they will not re- turn if the archers can but get a sight of them. Post half your men on the wall, and let the others sleep ; change them every two hours — we want no sleepy heads in the morning." By this time the confused sound of a large number of men marching could be made out, and a cpiarter of an hour later three or four cottages, some five hundred yards away, were 40 AT AGINCOURT fired, and an angry murmur broke from the men as the flames shot up. After sending down the five archers, Sir Eustace re- turned to his post over the main gate. "Get cressets and torches in readiness to Hght if they at- tack the postern," Sir Eustace said; " we must have hght to see how things go, so that we may hoist the drawbridge as soon as our men are upon it, should the enemy get the better of them. Be sure that one is not left behind ; it were better that half a dozen of the enemy set foot on the drawbridge than that one of our brave fellows should be sacrificed." "I should think that there is no fear of their attacking until those flames have burnt down ; we should see them against the light," John Harpen .said. "No, there is no fear of their attacking; but the fire would be of advantage if any men were crawling up to spy. Of course they would not cross the slope in a line with the fire, but would work along on either side, reckoning, and with reason, that as our men would have the light in their eyes they would be all the less likely to make out objects crawling along in the shade by the side of the moat. Plant half a dozen bowmen at intervals on the wall, Tom, and tell them to keep a shrewd eye on the ground near the moat, and if they see aught moving there to try it with an arrow." There was shouting and noise up by the burning cottages, where the enemy were feasting on the spoils they had taken, and drinking from the wine-barrels that had been brought with them in carts from the last village that they had plun- dered. ' ' I wish we were somewhat stronger, or they somewhat weaker," Sir Eustace said ; "were it so, we would make a sally, and give the knaves a sharp lesson, but with only two hundred men against their eight thousand it would be mad- ness to try it ; we might slay a good many, but might lose A SIEGE 41 a score before we were back in the castle, and it would be a heavy loss to us." "I was thinking that myself, Sir Eustace," his esquire said. " That is the worst of being on the defence; one sees such chances but cannot avail one's self of them." In the castle everything was ([uiet, and all those not on duty were already asleej). Along the wall watchers stood at short intervals peering into the darkness, but the main body there were also stretched on the wall with their arms by their side until required to be up and doing. Now that Sir Eustace was himself at the gate his esquire went round the walls at short intervals to be sure that the men on watch were visjilant. Presently a loud cry was heard from the corner of the moat away to the right. " Go and see what is doing, Guy," Sir Eustace said, " and bring me news." Guy ran along to the angle of the wall. Here one of the archers was posted. " What is it, Dickon?" " A man crept up to that corner opposite, Master Guy. I could not have sworn to him, it is so i)esky dark, but I thought there was something moving there and shot almost at a venture, for I could scarce see the end of my arrow ; but il hit there or thereabouts, for I heard liini sliout. A moment later he was on his feet and running. I could see him more plainly then, so I shot again, and over he went. I fancy that in the morning you will see my arrow sticking up somewhere between his shoulder-blades, though there is no saying pre- cisely, for a nicety of shooting is not to be looked for in the dark." "You have done very well, Dickon. Keep your eyes open ; we may be sure tliere are more than one of these fel- lows about." 42 AT AGINCOURT Guy hurried back with the news. " That is good," said Sir Eustace, " and it was just as well that the archer did not kill him outright with his first arrow, the cry will show any of his comrades who may be about that they had best keep their distance from the walls." A minute's silence followed, and then Long Tom said, " There is another has had his lesson. Sir Eustace. I heard a bow twang across there, and as there was no cry you may be sure that the shaft sped straight, and that the man had no time to utter one." " He may have been missed altogether, Tom." "Missed altogether! no indeed, Sir Eustace, there is no fear of that. There is not one of the men on the wall who would miss a man whose figure he could make out at fifty yards' distance, and they would scarce see them until they were as close as that. No, my lord, I would wager a month's pay that when morning dawns there is a dead man lying somewhere in front of the outwork." "Now, Guy, you had best go up to your room and lie down until daylight," Sir Eustace said. "There will be naught doing to-night, and unless I am mistaken, we shall be busy from sunrise till sunset. 1 shall myself lie down for a couple of hours presently, and then send John Harpen to rest till daylight. Long Tom, see that you yourself and all your men take a short sleep by turns ; we shall need your eyes to be open above all others to-morrovv. " Guy promptly obeyed the order. Dame Margaret was still up. " Is everything quiet, Guy? " she asked as she entered. "So quiet, my lady, that Sir Eustace has ordered me to bed, and he said that he himself should come down for a short sleep presently. Two spies who crawled up have been slain by the archers. Sir Eustace is sure that no attack will be made before morning." A SIEGE 43 Then he went into his httle room and threw himself onto his pallet. During the first few minutes he hfted his head several times fancying that he heard noises ; then he fell into a sound sleep and did not awake until the day dawned. In a few minutes Guy was on the wall. The night had passed cjuietly ; so far as was known no fresh attempt at re- connoitring the works had been made, and as the moon had risen soon after he had gone to bed there was reason to believe that the fact that the two spies had not returned was so strong a proof of the vigilance of the garrison, that the enemy had been content to wait until morning. Just as the sun rose the three knights who had summoned the castle on the preceding evening appeared on the brow of the opposite slope, accom- panied by a body of men-at-arms, and rode slowly round the castle. From time to time they halted, and were evidently engaged in a discussion as to the point at which it could be best attacked. " Shall I shoot, my lord ? " Long Tom asked. " They are some two hundred and fifty yards away, but from this height methinks that I could reach them." " It would be useless," Sir Eustace said; "you could hit them, I doubt not, but you would not pierce their armour at this distance, and it is as well that they should not know how far our bows will carry until we are sure of doing execution when we shoot ; besides I would rather that they began the figlit. Tiie quarrel is not one of my seeking, and I will leave it to them to open the ball. It is true that they did so last night by sending their spies here, but we have balanced that account. Moreover, if they are to attack, the sooner the better. They may have gained news from Sir Hugh of the coming here of the English archers and the men-at-arms, but if they have not done so we shall have a rare surprise in store for them." After the knights had made a circuit of the castle they re- 44 AT AGINCOURT tired, and presently a dense mass of men appeared from behind the brow on which the cottages they had burned had stood. "They have bundles of faggots, Sir Eustace ! " Guy ex- claimed. " So they have, Guy ! Your eye is a good one. It seemed to me that the outline was a strange one, but doubtless it is as you say — that each man has a faggot on his shoulder. It is evident that they intend, in the first place, to assault the postern, and have brought the faggots to fill up the ditch." Then he turned to the gunners at the cannon. " Lay your pieces so as to bear on them when they come half-way down the hill," he said, " and shoot when they are fairly in the line of fire. Take the same orders, Guy, to the men working the ballistas and mangonels on the wall. Tell them not to loose their machines until after the guns are fired. If the fellows take to flight, tell them not to waste their missiles ; if they advance, let them be sure that they are well within range before they shoot." With loud shouts the enemy came down the slope. When they were half-way down the two guns roared out, and their shot ploughed two lanes in the crowded body. There was a movement of retreat, but the three knights and several others threw themselves in front, waving their swords and shouting, and the Orleanists rallied and moved forward, but at a much slower pace than before. They had gone but a short distance when the arrows of the archers in the outwork and the bolts of the cross-bows worked by the men-at-arms there, began to fall among them. So true was the aim of the archers that scarce a shaft was wasted. At the distance at which they were shooting they did not aim at the knights, whose vizors and coats of mail could not have been pierced, but shot at the commonalty, whose faces A SIEGE 45 and throats were for the most part unprotected. Man after man fell, and the cross-bow bolts also told heavily upon the crowd. They had come down but a short distance farther when Long Tom, and the archers with him on the wall, began to send their arrows thick and fast, and the machines hurled heavy stones with tremendous force among them. A moment later the French broke and fled up the slojie again, leaving some fifty of their number stretched on the ground. The knights followed more slowly. When they reached the crest a group of them gathered around Sir Clugnet de Brabant. "By my faith," the latter said bitterly, "we have reckoned without our host. Sir Knights. We- came to shear, but in good sooth we seem more likely to go back shorn. Truly those knaves shoot marvellously ; scarce an arrow went astray. ' ' "As I mentioned to you. Sir Clugnet," Sir Hugh de Fruges said, " Sir Eustace brought with him from England five-and-twenty bowmen, and I heard tell from men who had seen them trying their skill at targets that they were in no wise inferior to those with whom we have before had to deal to our cost." " Truly ye did so, Sir Hugh; but the matter made no impression upon my mind, except as a proof that the knight's inclinations were still with England, and that it were well that his castle were placed in better keeping ; but in truth these fellows shoot marvellously, both for strength and trueness of aim. I marked as we came back that of the men we passed lying there, nigh all those who had been struck with arrows were hit in the face or throat, and yet the distance must have been over a hundred and fifty yards." " I can answer for the force," one of the others said, " for 46 AT AGINCOURT a shaft struck me fairly on the chest, and hurled me to the ground as if it had been the shock of a lance, and it is well my mail was of the best work of Milan ; but nevertheless the arrow broke two of the links ; if the distance had been shorter, I doubt not that it would have slain me. Well, what shall we do next, gentlemen ? For very shame we cannot with eight thousand men march away having accom- plished nothing. The question is, where shall our next attack be delivered ? ' ' "Methinks," another knight said, "we delivered our attack too rashly. Had I known that there were English archers there I should have advised waiting until nightfall, and I think that it would be best to do so now. If we take our fellows up while there is light they will suffer so much from the stings of these wasps that they will soon lose heart. The knaves shoot not only straight and strong, but they shoot so fast that though, as you say, there may be but twenty -five of them, the air seemed full of arrows, and had you told us that there were two hundred archers shooting, I should have thought the estimate a reasonable one." They stood for some time discussing the best method of attack, and as soon as they had settled upon it the men were told to scatter. Some were to go to the farmhouses and bring up any hides that might be stored there, and to fetch all the hurdles they could lay hands upon ; a portion were to go to the woods and cut timber for making mantlets and cover, while two thousand were to remain under arms in case the garrison should make a sortie. Within the castle all were in high spirits at the easy repulse of the first attack. " Sir Clugnet must have learned from Sir Hugh of my having English archers and men-at-arms here," Sir Eustace said to his lieutenant, " and yet he advanced as carelessly A SIEGE 47 and confidently as if he had been attacking a place defended only by fat Flemish burghers ; however, he has had his lesson, and as it is said he is a good knight, he will doubtless profit by it, and we shall hear no more of him till after the sun has set. Run up to the top of the keep, Guy, and bring me back news what they are doing." In a few minutes the lad returned. "There are two or three thousand of tliem, my lord, drawn up in a body beyond the crest ; the rest of them are scattering in \arious direc- tions." "That is as I expected," Sir Eustace remarked; "they have gone to prepare materials for a regular attack. It may be delivered to-night, or may be delayed for a day or two ; however, we shall be ready for them. Jean Bouvard, do you go round the walls and tell all, save a few as sentries, to retire until the watchman blows his horn to warn us if they seem to be gathering for an attack ; and do you, Long Tom, give the same orders to your archers. There is no use wasting the men's strength till the work begins in earnest. If Sir Clugnet is wise he will march away at once. He would need heavy machines and cannon to make a breach in our walls, and even had he an abundance of them it would take him some time to do so. If he tries again, you may be sure that it will be the work of Sir Hugh de Fruges, who has no doubt a lively interest in the matter. He is a clever fellow, and will no doubt do his best to work on the feelings of the other knights by representing that it would l)e disgraceful for so large a force to abandon the enterprise merely because a first hasty attack, delivered without preparation, had Ijeen repulsed. The fact that they have made so careful an examination of the castle would seem in itself to show that they intended to renew the attempt in another form if the first onset failed, and, more- 48 AT AGINCOURT over, the scattering of the force afterwards while the knights still remained with a large body here points in the same direction." Guy on descending from the keep joined Sir Eustace and his wife in their apartments. "The lad has borne himself bravely," Sir Eustace said approvingly to his wife; "he was standing beside me when their shot was bringing down the dust round our ears, and he neither started nor flinched, though in truth it was far from pleasant, especially as we had nothing to do but to look on. It may be next time we shall have sterner fighting, and I doubt not that he will bear himself well." " Could I not come up and carry your messages, father? " Henry asked ; "I am not strong like Guy, but I could do that." "He is too young for it yet, Eustace," Dame Margaret broke in. " Nay, wife," the knight said gently, " the lad is not too young for such service. There will be little danger in it, for his head will not show over the battlements, and it is well that he should learn to hear without fear the whizz of an arrow or the shock of a great stone from a ballista, the clash of arms, and the shouting of men. As he says, he is not yet strong enough to bear arms, but he will learn to brace his nerves and show a bold front in danger ; that is a lesson that cannot be learned too young. Yes, Henry, you shall be my messenger. If they try an assault to-night, you shall put on for the first time the steel cap and breastpiece I had made for you in England ; there will be no danger of your being hit by cross- bow bolt or arrow, but there may be splinters of stone flying when a missile hits the battlement. Take no arms with you, only your dagger ; they would be useless to you, and would hamper your movements in getting past the men on the wall, A SIEGE 49 or in running up and down the steps leading to it. Now you had better He down ; both Guy and myself are going to do so. At sunset, if no alarm comes before, you will be called." " We must not coddle the boy, Margaret," he said as Guy and Henry went off. " I know that he is not physically strong as yet, and sorry I am that it should be so, but he might exert himself more than he does, and he is apt to think too much of his ailments. I was glad when he volunteered to do something, for it is at least as well that he should be able to stand fire even if he cannot learn the use of arms; moreover, it may be that after once bearing a part in a fray he may incline more warmly to warlike exercises than he has hitherto done; it may rouse in him a spirit which has so far been wanting. I have often thought that it would have been better if Agnes had been the boy and he the girl ; she has far more courage and fire than he has. You remember when that savage bull chased them, how she saw him first over the stile and got tossed over after him for her pains ? " Dame Margaret nodded. *' I am not likely to forget it, Eustace, seeing that her arm was broken and I had to nurse her for six weeks. Do you know that she was up on the top of the keep while the fighting was going on ? Of course I was there myself, and she begged so hard to be allowed to re- main with me that T had not the heart to say her nay." " Was Henry there too ? " "Oh, yes; and shouted with the best of them when the enemy fled over the hill. Even Charlie was there, and as excited as either of them. Of course, I had to hold him up sometimes for him to be able to see what was going on ; and he looked rather pale at first, when they opened fire, but he soon plucked u]) when he saw that their shot did no damage near us. You see he is a strong healthy boy ; while Henry 4 50 AT AGINCOURT has always been weak, although I do not think that he lacks courage." " He ought not, Avife ; he comes from a fighting stock on either side. But I fear that unless he changes greatly he is cut out rather for a monk than a man-at-arms. And now I will lie down, for you may be sure that I shall not close an eye to-night. Did you note the banner of Hugh de Fruges with the others ? ' ' " Yes, and I felt more uncomfortable after seeing it. He is a crafty man, Eustace." " He is not a brave one," the knight said scornfully. " I challenged him to meet me outside in a fair field, and the craven did not answer me, and Sir Clugnet had to make speech for him and decline the offer." "You will need all your vigilance, Eustace. I trust that every man within the walls is faithful to us ; but if there be a traitor, be sure that Sir Hugh will endeavour to plot with him, nay, he may already have done so." "They would have no chance of making communication with him were there a dozen of them, wife. Long Tom and his comrades will take good care that none come near enough for speech." The day passed away in perfect quiet. From time to time word came down from the look-out that the scattered soldiers were returning laden with a great quantity of young trees, wattles, and doors. Dame Margaret kept watch in her room, and allowed no messengers to enter her husband's apartments. " If there be need, I will wake him," she said; " but he knows well enough what the French have gone for, and there is naught to do until they advance to the attack." Guy slept but a short time, and as he frequently started up under the impression that the horn was sounding an alarm, in the afternoon he got up and went down into the court- A SIEGE 51 yard. For some time he wandered about in the quarters occupied by the tenants. These had now settled down ; the children were playing about as unconcernedly as if they had been on their fathers' farms ; women were washing clothes or preparing the evening meal over little charcoal fires. A cer- tain quantity of meat had been served out to each family, and they were therefore doing better than in their own houses, for meat was a luxury seldom touched by the French peasantry. Almost all who had entered the castle had brought with them a supply of herbs and vegetables ; these, with a hand- ful or two of coarsely-ground meal boiled into broth, consti- tuted their usual fare, and the addition of a portion of meat afforded them great satisfaction. Some of the men were still asleep, in preparation for a long night's work ; others were standing about talking in little groups; some were on the walls watching with gloomy faces the smoke wreaths that still rose from what had been their homes. Ducks, geese, and hens walked about unconcernedly looking for any stray grains that had passed unnoticed when they had last been fed, and a chorus of dissatisfied grunting arose from the pigs that had a large pen in the yard next to the huts. These were still smarting under a sense of injury excited not only by their re- moval from their familiar haunts, but by the fact that most of them had been hastily marked by a clipping of some kind in the ear in order to enable their owners to distinguish them from the others. Boys were carrying buckets of water from a well in the court-yard to the troughs for the cattle and horses, and the men-at-arms were cleaning their armour and polishing their steel caps. "Well, Tom, I hope we shall get on as well to-night as we did this morning," Guy said to the leader of the archers. " I hope so, Master Guy. but I would rather fight by day than by night; it is random work when you can neither see 5^ AT AGINCOURT your mark nor look straight along your arrow. If we had a moon we should do well enough, but on these dark nights skill does not go for much ; still, I doubt not that we shall five a good account of ourselves, for at any rate we shall be able to make them out before they come to close work. The women have been making a great store of torches to-day, and that will help us a bit, though I would that they could be l)lanted fifty yards beyond the moat instead of on the walls, for although they will be of some use to us they will be of even more to the enemy. What think you that their plan will be?" "I should say that they are intending to march forward covered by mantlets of wattles and hides. They will plant them near the edge of the moat, and throw up some earth- works to shelter them and their machines; no doubt they will use the doors they have fetched from all the farmhouses for the same purpose. ' ' "The doors will be more to the point, certainly," the bowman said. " As to their hides and wattles, at fifty yards I will warrant our arrows go through them as if they were paper ; but I cannot say as much about stout oaken doors — that is a target that I have never shot against ; I fear that the shock would shiver the shafts. The mantlets too would serve them to some purpose, for we should not know exactly where they were standing behind them. As for their machines, they cannot have many of them." " They had something like a score of waggons with them, Tom ; these would carry the beams for half a dozen big ballistas ; besides, they have their cannon." " I don't make much account of the cannon," the archer said ; " they take pretty nearly an hour to load and fire them, and at that rate, however hard a shot may hit, it would be some time before they wrought much damage on A SIEGE 53 the walls, it is the sound more than tlie danger that makes men afraid of the things, and, for my part, I would not take the trouble of dragging them about. They are all very well on the walls of a castle, though I see not that even there they are of great advantage over the old machines. It is true that they shoot further, but that is of no great use. It is when the enemy come to attack that you want to kill them, and at fifty yards I would kill more men with my shafts in ten minutes than a cannon would do with a week's firing. I wonder they trouble to carry them about with them, save that folks are not accustomed to their noise yet, and might open their gates when they see them, while they would make a stout defence if they had only ballislas and mangonels to deal with. I suppose when they have got the shelters close to the moat they will bring up planks to throw across." " Yes, no doubt they will try that, Tom ; hut the moat is over wide for planks, and I think it more likely that they will have provided themselves with sacks, and filled them with earth, so as to make a passage across with them." "As to the planks not being long enough. Master Guy, they could get over that easy enough. They would only have to send three or four swimmers across the moat, then thrust long beams over for those who had crossed to fix firmly, and then lay short planks across them." " So they would, Tom ; I did not think of that. Well, at any rate, I expect they will manage to get across the moat somehow and i)lant ladders against the wall." " And we shall chuck them down again," Tom said. " They won't care much for that. But as long as they cannot knock a breach in the walls I warrant that we can hold them." 54 AT AGINCOURT CHAPTER IV A FATAL ACCIDENT AS soon as the sun had set, the defenders gathered on the walls. Fires had already been lighted there and cauldrons of water and pitch suspended over them, and sacks of quick- lime placed in readiness to be emptied ; great piles of stone were placed at short intervals. "As long as they attack at only one or two places," Sir Eustace said to his wife, " I am quite confident that we shall repulse them. If they attack at a dozen they may suc- ceed, as we should only have a couple of archers and six or seven men-at-arms at each point, besides a score or so of the vassals. I have no doubt that these will fight stoutly, for the sight of their burning homes has roused them, and each man is longing to get a blow at those who have wrought them so much damage. Still, thirty men are but a small party to beat back an assault by hundreds. However, if they carry the outside wall they will have the second to deal with, and there we shall stand much thicker together, and they cannot attack from many points, while if we are driven into the keep, we shall be stronger still. Have you seen that the women and children are ready to retire into the keep as soon as the assault begins ? " " I have been round myself and given orders," Dame Margaret said. " I have told them that the inner gate will be closed as soon as fighting begins, and that those who do not come in before that must remain outside, or else mount to the walls and cross the bridges, for that on no account will the gates be opened again." A FATAL ACCIDENT 55 '* That is well, Margaret. I am now about to station two men-at-arms on the inner wall at the end of each of the three bridges, so that they may be ready on the instant to turn the catches and let the bridges fall behind our men as they rush across. The tenants have already driven as many more of their best horses and cattle into the inner court as can find standing room, so that their loss may be as small as possible. If the outer wall is carried, I have no great fear that the second wall will be taken ; the plunderers who form the mass of Sir Clugnet's force will have had enough and more than enough of fighting by tlie time that they capture the outer one. Whatever happens, do not show yourself on the walls to-night, and see that the children do not leave their beds ; you can do naught, and will see but little in the dark. To-morrow morning, wife, I will leave you free to go among the soldiers and give them encouragement as may be needed, but for to-night, I jjray you stir not out. I will send Henry from time to time to let you know how matters go." Rapidly the men gathered on the walls ; each had had his post a.ssigned to him, and when Sir Eustace made a tour of inspection he was glad to see how confidently each man bore him.self, and how well prepared to gi\-e the enemy a warm reception. As soon as it became dark, the outwork on the other side of the moat was abandoned, the defenders called into the castle, and the drawbridge raised, for it was evident to Sir Eustace that although it might be maintained in day- light, by the aid of the archers on the wall, it could not resist an attack by overwhelming numbers when deprived of that assistance. Sir Eustace, after inspecting the men's arms, ordered all those on the walls, with the e.xception of a few who were to remain on watch, to sit down with their backs against the battlement, and to maintain an absolute silence. "It is by sound rather than sight that we shall be able to 56 AT AGINCOURT judge of their movements," he said. " All sitting down may sleep, if it so pleases them, till they are roused." The sentries were ten in number, and were all taken from among the archers. Most of these men had been accustomed to the chase, were skilled in woodcraft, and accustomed to listen to the slightest noises that might tell of the movement of a stag and enable them to judge his position. Sir Eustace, for the present, posted himself in his old position over the gate. Jean Bouvard and Guy were with him, while Long Tom moved round and round the walls to gather news from his sentries. Sometimes Guy accompanied him. "They are moving," Tom the archer said as he stood listening intently on the wall at the rear of the castle. " It is an hour past sundown, and about the time the knaves will be mustering if they intend to make a regular attack on us. If it had been only an escalade there would have been no sound until nearly morning. I thought I heard them on the other side, but I am sure of it now." "I can hear singing up at their camp," Guy said, "but I don't hear anything else." "They are keeping that up to deceive us, I expect. But besides the singing there is a sort of rustle. I don't think that they are coming this way at present, or we should hear it plainer. It seems to me that it is spreading all round." " I will go back and tell Sir Eustace what you think, Tom." Guy hurried back to the other side of the castle. " Long Tom thinks. Sir Eustace, that he can hear a stir all round. ' ' "We have noticed it too — at least, all round this side. Tell him not to call the men to their feet until the enemy approaches more closely. I believe that it is the march of a large number of men, and that they are probably moving to A FATAL ACCIDENT 57 the positions assigned to them, but it may l^e another hour or two before they close in." In a short time the sound became more distinct ; from a rustle it rose to a deep confused murmur, then an occasional clink as of arms striking armour became audible. Most of the men on the walls were now on their feet gazing into the darkness. Presently the sound ceased, first on one side and then on another. '•' I fancy they are all at their stations now, Jean Bouvard ; we shall soon hear more of them. Do not let your archers shoot, Tom, until they can make them out very distinctly. We may be sure that they will come up with their mantlets, and it would be a waste of arrows to loose at them until they are close to the moat ; but of course if se[)arate figures can be distinguished your men will draw on them." In a quarter of an hour messengers came from various points on the wall saying that there was something moving within sight, and to those at the post over the gate a dark confused mass like a shadow seemed to be slowly coming down towards their outwork. " Touch off the guns, Jean," Sir Eustace said ; " we shall get no further chance of catching them in a body." The captain stooped, lit two touchfires at the lantern stand- ing in readiness, gave one to a man-at-arms, and went with the other to a cannon. Both the guns had been filled to the muzzle with bits of iron and nails, and had been laid to bear on the slope be)on(l the outwork. They were fired almost sinuiltaneously, and the sound was followed by yells of pain and dismay. The besiegers, seeing that there was nothing further to gain by concealment, burst into a shout that ran all round the castle, and were answered by one of defiance from the walls. The sound was succeeded by loud orders from the leaders of the various assaulting parties, and 58 AT AGINCOURT the objects before but dimly seen, now approached tne walls rapidly. Jean Bouvard hurried away to superintend the defence at other parts. "You may as well go the other way, Guy, and let me know from time to time how things are getting on. Henry, run down to your mother and tell her that the enemy are moving up to the moat, and that it will be some time before there is any hard fighting ; then come back here again." It was easier to see from the side walls than it had been in front, for in front there was a glow in the sky from the num- ber of fires burning beyond the crest of the slope, and Guy was able to make out what seemed to him a wall extending some fifteen yards, near the edge of the moat. The archers and crossbow-men gathered opposite to it had just begun to shoot. Behind this wall there were other dark masses irreg- ularly placed, and extending back as far as he could see. An occasional cry told that the arrows were doing execution upon the unseen assailants behind the mantlets, and soon the blows of cross-bow bolts against the wall and the sharp tap of arrows told that the enemy had also betaken themselves to their arms. A number of giant torches had been prepared, consisting of sheafs of straw soaked with pitch, and one of these was now lighted and elevated on a pole some fifteen feet above the battlement. Its light was sufficient to enable the scene beyond to be clearly made out. A row of mantlets some eight feet high had been placed by the moat, and others of the same height, and seven or eight feet long, elevated at short intervals behind these, were so placed as to afford shelter to the men coming down to the mantlets in front. They stood in two lines ; they were some twenty feet apart, but those in one line alternated with those in the other. Guy soon saw the object of this arrangement. Men were darting to and fro across the interval some six feet wide between the A FATAL ACCIDENT 59 two lines. Thus they had but ten feet to run from the shelter on one side to that on the other, and exposed them- selves but for an instant to the aim of the archers. Some of the men carried great bundles of faggots, others had sacks on their shoulders. "Do not heed the mantlets in front," said Dickon, who was in command of the six archers near Guy, " but pick off those fellows as they come down. Shoot in turn ; it is no use wasting two arrows on one man. Don't loose your shaft until a man is within three mantlets from the end ; then if one misses, the next can take him when he runs across next time. That is right, Hal," he broke off, as an arrow sped and a man with a sack on his shoulder rolled over. " Now, lads, we ought not to miss them by this light." Eleven men fell, out of the next twelve who attempted to carry their burdens down. Guy went back to Sir Eustace with the news of the manner in which the attack was being carried on, and of the effect of the archei"s' defence. " I have just heard the same from the other side ; there is one attack on each side and two behind ; Jean Bouvard has posted himself there. I am going round myself now ; I do not think there will be any attack made in front. 1 have sent the archers here to the rear, where they will be more useful ; the fellows in the outwork across there have enough to do to shelter themselves." This Guy could well understand, for although the guns could not be depressed sufficiently to fire down into the tete ifti pont, the mangonels were hurling stones into it, and the men-at-arms shooting cross-bow quarrels whenever a man showed himself The rear of the outwork was open and afforded no shelter to those who had taken possession of it, and already the greater portion had retired to the other side of the small moat surrounding it, where they lay sheltered by 60 AT AGINCOURT the outwork itself. It was not long before the assailants at the other points, finding that the plan they had formed was defeated by the skill of the archers, poured down in a mass between the two lines of mantlets, each man carrying his burden before him, thus sheltering him to a great extent. Against this method of attack the archers could do little, and now confined themselves to shooting at the men who, having thrown down the fascines or sacks by the edge of the moat, stood for a moment and hesitated before running back to the shelter of the mantlets, and not one in three got off scot- free. Guy on going round the wall found the same state of things at each of the other three points of assault. Numbers of the enemy were falling, but great piles of materials were accumulating at the edge of the moat. After a time a num- ber of knights and men-at-arms, fully protected by armour, came down and began to hurl the sacks and bags into the moat, their operations being covered as much as possible by a storm of missiles shot through holes in the mantlets. In a short time Sir Eustace ordered the archers to desist shooting, for they were obliged, in order to aim at those so much below them, to expose a considerable portion of their bodies, and three were killed by the enemy's missiles. "We can't prevent them from filling up the moat," he said, " and it is but throwing away life to try to do so." The archers were accordingly placed in the projecting turrets, where, without being themselves exposed, they could shoot through the loopholes at any point on the face of the walls. It was not long before the moat was bridged at all four points of attack. Ladders were then brought down. This the assailants were able to accomplish without loss, as, instead of carrying them, they were pushed backwards and forwards by men stationed behind the mantlets, and were so zigzagged down to the moat without the defenders being able A FATAL ACCIDENT 61 to offer any opposition. Then rushes were made by parties of knights, the ladders were placed, and the fight began in earnest. In the great court-yard the leader of the English men-at- arms was placed with twelve of his men as a reserve. They were to be summoned by one, two, three, or four blasts of a horn to the point at which their services were most required. The assaults were obstinate, but the walls were as stoutly de- fended. Sometimes the ladders were hurled back by poles with an iron fork at the end ; buckets of boiling water and tar were poured over on to the assailants as they clambered up, and lime cast over on those waiting to take their turns to ascend ; while with spear, axe, and mace the men-at-arms and tenants met the assailants as they endeavoured to get a footing on the wall. Guy had placed himself with the party to which he had first gone, and, taking a pike from a fallen man, was fighting stoutly. The archers from their turrets kei)t up a constant flight of arrows on the crowd below. Only once was the horn sounded for the aid of the reserve. Sir Eustace had taken the command at the rear, while Jean Bouvard headed the defence on the side opposite to that at which Guy was fighting. The defenders under Sir Eustace had the hardest work to hold their own, being assaulted at two points. This was evidently the main place of attack, for here Sir Clugnet himself and .several of his knights led the assault, and at one time succeeded in gaining a footing on the wall at one point, while Sir Eustace was at the other. Then the knight blew his horn, and at the same time called the archers from the turret nearest to him, while some of the otiier party on the wall rushed to aid him of their own accord and, pressing through the tenants, op]iosed themselves to the knights and men-at-arms who had obtained a footing on the wall. 62 AT AGINCOURT Their strength, and the power with which they wielded their heavy axes, so held the assailants in check that they could not gain space sufficient for others to join them, and when the reserve ran up, so fierce an attack was made upon the knights that several were beaten down and the rest forced to spring over the wall at the risk of hfe and limb. Sir Clugnet himself was the last to do this, and was carried away insensible. Two or three of his companions were killed by the fall, but the rest, leaping far enough out to alight beyond the solid ground at the foot of the walls, had their fall broken by the yielding mass of materials by which they had crossed the moat. A loud shout of triumph rose from the defenders, and was re-echoed by shouts from the other walls. As soon as the news of the repulse at the rear reached the other parties, and that Sir Clugnet was badly hurt, while several of the knights were killed, the assault ceased at once, and the Orleanists withdrew, followed by derisive cries from the de- fenders. "Thanks be to the saints that it is all over," Sir Eustace said, as he opened his vizor ; "it was a close thing here, and for a time I feared that the outer wall was lost. However, I think that there is an end of it now, and by the morning we shall find that they have moved off. They must have suf- fered very heavily ; certainly three or four hundred must have fallen, for we must admit that they fought stoutly. You have all done well, my friends, and I thank you heartily. Now, the first thing is to fetch the wounded down to the hall pre- pared for them. Father Gregory has all in readiness for them there. Guy, go round and find who have fallen, and see them carried reverently down to the court-yard, send me a list of their names, and place two men-at-arms at each point where the assault took i^lace. Tom, do you similarly dispose eight of your archers so that should they A FATAL ACCIDENT 63, send a spy up to see if we sleep, a message can be sent back, in the shape of a cloth-yard shaft. Bid all the tenants and retainers leave the wall ; a horn will recall them should there be need. I will myself visit them shortly, and thank them for their stout defence. I will send round a cup of spiced wine to each man on the wall as soon as it can be prepared, so that all may slake their thirst after their efforts." Sir Eustace then made his way down from the wall to liis apartments, where Dame Margaret was awaiting him. She hurried to meet him. " Wait, wife, till I have removed my helmet, and even then you must be careful how you embrace me, for methinks there is more than one blood -stain on my armour, though happily not of mine own. All has gone well, love, and me- thinks that we shall hear no more of them ; but they fought more stoutly than I had given them credit for, seeing that they were but a mixed rabble, with a small proportion of real men-at-arms among them. I suj^pose Henry brought you my message to close the inner gates, as they had gained a footing on the walls." " No, I received no message since the one he brought me half an hour ago, saying that all was going well, and I thought that he was with you. Where can he be, Eustace?" she asked anxiously. " I know not indeed, Margaret, but will search at once. While 1 do so will you go to the hall that you have prepared for the wounded, and give what aid you can tliere? Do not fear for the boy ; he turned and ran off when I spoke to him, and as his head reaches not to the top of the battlements no harm can have befallen him, thougli in truth I cannot think what can have delayed him." He called to two or three of the men below to take torches, and to accompany him at once, and sent others to the sheds 64 AT AGINCOURT to ask if lie had been seen there, then went up to the top of the inner wall and crossed the bridge at the back. " Have any of you seen aught of my son Henry? " he asked the men there. " No, my lord," one said in reply. " I marked him by our side just before the French got a footing at the other end of the wall, but I saw him not afterwards." " He ran towards the steps at the corner there," Sir Eus- tace said, " with a message from me that the inner doors were to be closed. Come along, men," he said to those with torches, and going to the corner of the wall descended the steps, which were steep and narrow. He took a torch from one of the men and held it over his head. As he neared the bottom he gave a low cry and ran down the last few steps, where, lying at the bottom, was the form of his son. He was stretched at full length, and there was a terrible gash on his forehead. The knight knelt beside him and raised his head, from which the steel cap had fallen ; there was a deep stain of blood on the pavement beneath. He placed his hand on the boy's heart and his ear to his lips, and the men with the torches stood silently round. It was but too evident what had hap- pened. In his haste to carry the message Henry's foot had slipped, and he had fallen headforemost down the steep steps, his head coming in contact with the edge of one of them. Without a word Sir Eustace raised the boy gently in his arms. His face was sufficient to tell the men the news ; their young lord was dead. Sir Eustace carried him through the inner gate and up to the boy's own room, and laid him down on his bed, then si- lently he went out again and crossed the court to the keep. Dame Margaret was seeing to the wounded being laid on the straw in the lower room, and did not notice him until he touched her. She turned sharply round, his face was sufficient 'SIR EUSIACE GAVE A LUUD CRY, loR LYING Al THE liUTTuM OF THE STAIR WAS THE FORM OF HIS SON." A FATAL ACCIDENT 65 to tell her the truth. She gave a low cry and stepped back a pace, and he moved forwards and drew her to him. " Love," he said tenderly, " God has taken him. He was fitter for heaven than any of us ; he was too gentle for this rough world of ours. We shall mourn for him, but with him it is well." Dame Margaret laid her head on his shoulder, and burst into a passion of tears. Sir Eustace let her weep for a time, then he whispered : " You must be brave, my love. There will be other mourn- ers here for their dear ones who have died fighting for us ; they will need your comfort. A Villeroy could not die bet- ter than doing his duty. It was not by man's hand that he fell, but God took him. His foot slipped in running down the stair from the wall, and lie must assuredly have died with- out a pang. Take the priest with you ; I will see to the wounded here. Father Gregory," he went on, raising his voice, " Dame Margaret has more need of you at the i)resent moment than have these brave fellows. A grievous misfortune has befallen us. My son is dead ; he fell while doing his duty. Do you take her to liis room ; I give her to your charge for the i)resent. I have my work to do, and will see that your patients are well cared for." There was a murmur of surprise and regret from the wounded and those who had brought them in. The poor lad had been a general favourite in the castle for his gentle and pleasant ways with all, though many a time the rough soldiers had said among themselves, " 'Tis a pity that lie was not a girl, and the Lady Agnes a boy. He is more fit for a priest than for a baron in times like these, for assuredly he will never grow into a stout man-at-arms like his father." That a soldier should have been killed in sucli a fight was to be e.\pected, but that a gentle boy like this should have fallen seemed strange and 5 66 AT AGINCOURT unnatural, and all sorrowed for him as well as for their lord and lady, and the men forgot for a time the smart of their wounds in their regret at his untimely death. Sir Eustace went about his work, quietly and earnestly, bound up the soldiers' wounds, and saw as far as might be to their comfort. Their number was not large, as it was only in the fight on the wall that aught save their heads had been ex- posed, and those struck by cross-bow bolts had for the most part fallen as they stood. The eight men brought in had with- out exception received wounds from the swords of the French knights, and though some of the gashes were broad and deep, none of them were likely to prove fatal. Just as the knight had finished, Guy entered. He had heard the news, which had .spread like wildfire through the castle. The lad's eyes were red, for he had been greatly attached to Henry, whose constant companion he had been whenever the family had been at their English home. "It is a strange fate, lad," Sir Eustace said, laying his hand upon Guy's shoulder. "You who have exposed your- self freely — for I marked you in the fight — have come through scatheless, while Henry, whom I thought to keep out of dan- ger, has fallen. And what is your news? " " There have been seventeen killed, my lord, besides Jean Bouvard, who was struck in the face by one of the last cross- bow bolts shot before they drew ofiF." " This is bad news indeed. I wondered why he came not to me as soon as we had beaten them off, but I thought not of this. He was a good and trustworthy fellow, and I shall miss him sorely. Seventeen, say you? It is too many; and yet there might have been more. Who are they ? " " Four of our archers. Sir Eustace, one of our English men- at-arms, and six of your French men-at-arms. These were all killed by cross-bow bolts and arrows. Two of your ten- A FATAL ACCIDENT 67 ants, Pierre Leroix and Jules Beaune, and four of their men fell on the wall when the French gained a footing there; three were, I hear, unmarried men, the other has left a wife and three children." " They shall be my care," the knight said. "The wives of Leroi.x and Beaune shall hold their farms free of dues until their eldest sons come of age. Does all seem quiet without ? " " All is quiet, my lord; but as I left the wall but now a knight with a white flag and four torch-bearers was coming down the slope towards the outwork." "I will go there myself," Sir Eustace said; " 'tis likely they do but come to ask for leave to carry off the dead and wo.inded, which we will gladly let them do, for it will .save us much trouble to-morrow." It was as the knight had supposed, and he at once gave the permission asked for, and in a short time a great number of men with torches came down the slope and for the ne.\l two hours were occupied in carrying off their dead and wounded comrades. A close watch was maintained all night, though there was small fear of a renewal of the attack. At daybreak the rear-guard of the enemy could be seen retiring, and a l)arty of men-at-arms, under Sir Eustace himself, on going out to reconnoitre, found that none had remained behind. A mound marked the place where their dead had been buried in one great grave. Many of the mantlets had been removed, and they doubted not that these had been used as litters for the conveyance of the wounded. They afterwards heard that some four hundred and fifty men had been killed, and that over a hundred, too sorely wounded to be able to walk, had been carried away. In the afternoon Henry was buried beneath the chapel in the castle, while the men-at-arms and others were laid in the inner court-yard. Having learned that the Orleanists, greatly 68 AT AGINCOURT disheartened at their heavy repulse, had marched away to the south, the gates of the castle were opened. A small number of the garrison were retained in the ca3tle, anci the rest were sent out to aid the tenants in felling trees and getting up tem- porary shelters near their former homes until these could be rebuilt as before. For the time their wives and families were to remain in the castle. All fear of another attack by the Orleanists speedily passed away. Artois was, upon the whole, strongly Burgundian, and an army marching from Flanders speedily brought the whole province over to that side. Nothing was done towards com- mencing the work of rebuilding the farmhouses, for it was evi- dent that the castle might at any moment be again belea- guered. Two months passed quietly. Sir Eustace busied himself in seeing that the tenants were comfortably re-established in their temixirary homes. The Burgundians had again obtained sev- eral advantages, and as Sir Clugnet was known to have marched away with his following to the assistance of the Or- leanists, who had of late fared badly, there was no fear of any fresh attack being made upon the castle. One day a messen- ger rode in from the Governor of Calais, who was personally known to Sir Eustace. The letter that he carried was an im- portant one. After the usual greeting it read : — For the love I bear you, Sir Eustace, I write to let you know that there is a change in affairs. It seems that the Duke of Burgundy has hut been playing with our King Henry, and that the offer of a marriage was made only in order to obtain assist- ance and the countenance of the king. Beifig now, as it would seem, powerful enough to hold his own against his enemies with- out such aid, the matter has fallen through. I have received a royal order, which has also been sent to the governors of other A FATAL ACCIDENT GO English (owns, and it has been proclaimed e"oerywhcre by sound of trumpets y that none of Henrf s subjects of whatever rank should in any way interfere betiveen the two factions in France, nor go into France to serve either of them by arms or otherwise under pain of death and confiscation of fortune. But I juould tell you for your private ear, that I have news that our king is in correspondence with the Dukes of Berri, Orleans, and Bourbon, and that it is like that he will shortly declare for that party, being grievously offended at the treatment that he has received at the hatids of the Duke of Burgundy after having given him loyal help and assistance which had, in no slight degree, assisted him in making good his cause against his ene- mies. In a short time, indeed, the English from Calais, and from other places held by them in France, began to make sorties and to carry off much plunder from the country round, and especially took by storm the Castle of Banelinghen near Ardres, notwithstanding the truce that prevailed. The intentions of the King of England were made still more manifest by his writing a letter to the Flemish towns, saying that, having heard that the Duke of Burgundy was gathering an army of l'"lemings to march into Aquitaine to wage war upon and de- stroy his subjects, and particularly his very dear and well-be- loved cousins the Dukes of Berri, Orleans, and Bourbon, and the Counts of Alenqion and Armagnac, and the Lord d' Albreth, he therefore begged them to inform him whether they were willing to conform to the truce concluded between them and England without in any way assisting their lord in his wicked purpose. The Flemish towns replied that they desired in no way to infringe the truce between the two countries, but that they would serve and assist the King of France, their sovereign lord, 70 AT AGINCOURT and their Count the Duke of Burgundy, as heretofore, to the utmost of their power. In a short time, indeed, it became known that a solemn treaty had been conchided between the King of England and the Orleanist nobles, they engaging to aid him to recover Guienne and the parts of Aquitaine he had lost, while he promised to put an army in the field to assist them. The position of Sir Eustace was now very difficult. It was uncertain when the English would move, and it was likely enough that if an army set sail it would land in Guienne, and that Calais would be able to render no assistance, so that he would be exposed to the attacks of the Burgundians. Nor was his position improved when he learned that on the 15th of July the two French factions, urged by the Count of Savoy, the Grand Master of Rhodes, and many others, had agreed to terms of peace between them, and that the Orleanists had for- mally renounced the English alliance. At the meeting of the leaders of the party, the Duke of Aquitaine, the king's son, presided. For a time all the differ- ences were patched up. The news, however, came too late to arrest the embarkation of the English. Eight thousand men fended at La Hogue, under the Duke of Clarence, overran a wide extent of country, being reinforced by 800 Gascons, who had, according to the agreement with the Orleanists, been raised to join them. They advanced towards Paris, declaring, however, that they would retire if the Duke of Berri and his party kept their engagement with them, and paid them the two hundred thousand crowns he had agreed to do. The Duke had not, however, the means to pay this amount, and the English therefore continued to ravage the country, while a large force from Calais, under the Earl of Warwick, capt- ured the town of Saumer-au-Bois and the Castle of Ruissault. This, however, was scarcely an invasion, and Sir Eustace, be- A FATAL ACCIDENT 71 ing doubtful whether Henry meditated operations upon a large scale now that he had no longer allies in France, took no part in the matter, but remained quietly in his castle. Towards the end of March, 141 3, a royal herald appeared before the gate. He was at once admitted, and was received with all honour in the great hall by Sir Eustace. " Sir Eustace de Villeroy," he said, " 1 come to you in the name of the King of France, yuur lord and suzerain. He bids me to say that he has heard with satisfaction that you re- fused entry to your castle to those who demanded it altogether without authority from him ; but that, seeing the importance of the castle in case of trouble with England, and that you are a vassal of England for estates in that country, he deems it necessary that its safety should be assured, and therefore calls upon you to send, in [troof of your loyalty to and affection for him, your wife and children to Paris, where they shall be cared for in all honour and as becomes their condition ; or to receive a garrison of royal troops of such strength as to defend it from any fresh assault that may be made upon it, either on the part of those who before attacked it, or of England. He charges you on your fealty to accept one or otlier of these conditions, or to be deemed a false vassal, whi( h he cannot believe you are, knowing you to be a brave and worthy knight. Here is a document with the king's signature and seal to the effect which I have delivered to you." "His Majesty's demands come upon me as a surprise," the knight said gravely, "and I i)ray you to abide with me till to-morrow, by which lime I shall have had leisure to con- sider the alternative and be ready to give you answer." " Your request is a reasonable one, Sir Eustace," the her- ald replied, "and I will await the answer for twenty-four hours." The herald was then conducted to the guest-chamber, and 72 AT AGINCOURT Sir Eustace went out into the court-yard and for some time busied himself with tlie usual affairs of his estate and talked to the tenants as to their plans ; then he went up on to the wall and there paced moodily backwards and forwards think- ing over the summons that he had received. He knew that Margaret had been in the gallery in the hall and had heard the message the herald had delivered, and he wished to think it well over before seeing her. His position was, he felt, a perilous one. The last treaty of peace between France and England had drawn the frontier line more straitly in. After Cressy was fought, but a few miles away, Villeroy had stood within the English line as far as it now stood without it. That Henry, who although now old and averse to war, must yet ere long again renew the war that had so long languished he had little doubt ; but he had no hope of succour at present, and felt that though able to withstand any sudden attack like that he had recently repulsed, he could not hope to make a successful defence against a great force provided with batter- ing machines. The message from the king was indeed but a message from Burgundy, but if Burgundy was all-powerful just at present it had the same effect as if it were the king and not he who had sent the summons. He could see no way of temporizing save that Margaret and the children should go as hostages, and the idea of this was wholly repugnant to him. Were he to admit a French garrison the castle would be virtually lost to him ; for once powerless, he could easily be set aside in favour of one of Burgundy's followers. The only alternative then seemed to be that he should altogether forsake the castle and estate so long held by his ancestors, and retire to England, until maybe some day Henry might again place him in pos- session of it. He regretted now that he had not told Mar- garet that she had best keep her chamber, for she then would HOSTAGES 78 liave known nothing of tlie alternative tfiat slie shonkl go as a hostage — an alternative, he foresaw, that she was likely to favour, as by so doing the necessity for making an absolute decision and choosing between France and England would be postponed. At length, still undecided in his mind, he de- scended from the wall and went up to his wife's apartments. CHAPTER V HOSTAGES MARCrARET rose to meet her husband when he entered. She had looked pale in her dress of deep mourning be- fore, but he thought tliat she looked paler now. She, too, had evidently been thinking over the summons that he liad received, and there was an expression of firmness and resolu- tion in her face that seemed to say that she had arrived at a more definite conclusion than he had done. " 'Tis a knotty question, wife," Sir Eustace said. "In the first place, it is clear we cannot liope to defend the castle successfiilly against an attack by Burgundy. The last was but of the character of a raid, the next would be a serious siege by experienced soldiers j^rovided witli all proper means and appliances. Before, it was certain that Sir Clugnet would, if he tarried here, be shortly attacked by the Burgundians, whereas now there would be no prospect of assistance. There is no hope of help from England, for there is no force in Calais that could contend with that which would probably be sent against me ; therefore I take it that if attacked the castle must in the end fall, in which case probably its defend- 74 AT AGINCOURT ers would all be put to the sword. I myself should most likely be killed, the estates forfeited, and you and the chil- dren taken prisoners to Paris. Now it seems to me that that is not to be thought of. It remains to decide, tlierefore, whether we shall abandon the castle and journey to England, or whether we will admit a Burgundian garrison, which will in fact, we may be sure, be the first step towards losing the castle and estate altogether. It seems to me that the first will be the best plan. I see no chance of it at present, but in time Henry may invade France; and as we lie only some seven or eight miles from the frontier he would doubtless re- capture Villeroy, and we should again. become its masters." "You have not mentioned the other alternative, Eustace, namely, that I and the children should go to Paris as hos- tages ; and this, it seems to me, is the best of the three to fol- low. If there were indeed a chance of an English invasion I should not say so, but I think not that there is any such pros- pect. It is many years since England has done aught in earnest, and during all that time her power in France has been waning. I would not that our children should lose this fair estate when it can well be preserved by some slight sacrifice on my part. Were I and the children to go to Paris it would put an end to all doubts as to your loyalty, and you would hold the castle and estates. The peace now patched up between the parties will not last, and as soon as they are engaged with each other, and have no time to spare to think of attacking you here, I will endeavour to escape with the children and rejoin you. I shall assuredly have no cause for complaint. I shall, of course, have honourable treatment, and apartments fitting to our rank assigned to me. It would be no great hardship, and even were it so it would be worth enduring in order that our son Charles should inherit his father's estate," " I could not part from you, love." HOSTAGES 75 " Nay, Eustace, as I have said, it cannot be for long; and you must remember that twice when the children were in- fants I remained in England with them while you were some months here. It would be no worse now. I would take Guy with me ; the lad has sense and courage, the children are both fond of him, and I myself could, if occasion arose, take counsel with him. Then I could have two or three stout men-at-arms wlio might ride in my train in peaceful garb as retainers. As to a maid I can, if I need one, hire her in Paris. Surely, husband, it would be far better so than that we should lose castle and land. There could be little danger to one in Paris at any time, still less to the wife of a vassal of the crown, least of all to a hostage. 1 shall be but staying at the court. If you peril life and limb, Eustace, in defence of your castle, surely it is not much tliat I should put myself to tlie slight inconvenience of a stay in Paris for a while." " I like it not," the knight said moodily. " I see well enough that what you say is true, and that you should be safe at Charles's court, indeed safer than here. The citizens of Paris are indeed turbulent, whether they shout for Orleans or Burgundy, but what if Henry of England should again lead an army here ? " "But why imagine what is not likely to happen? Long ere Henry comes I may have joined you again ; should it be otherwise I might perhaps escape, or at the very worst of all they could but keej) me in duress in my chamber. Who ever heard of a woman lieing ill-treated for the disobedience of her lord? All that they could do would be to make you pay ransom for my return." " I would rather go as a hostage myself" " Nay, husband, that could hardly be. Who would then take care of your castle? It is not a hard thing that the king asks, merely that I and the children shall for a time live 76 AT AGINCOURT at his court as a proof that you, his vassal, hold your castle for him. Even if the worst comes to the worst we can but lose castle and land, as we must lose it now if I do not go. Nay, my dear lord, do not wrinkle your brow, we cannot strive against the might of France ; and at present we must bow our heads and wait until the storm has passed, and hope for better times. There may be an English war ; ere long Henry may again extend his frontiers, a«d you might again become a vassal of England for these possessions of yours even as your fathers were." " I see that reason is on your side, Margaret, and yet I cannot bring myself to like the plan." " Nor do I like it, husband ; yet I feel that it were a thou- sand times better that I should be separated from you for a time than that we should ri.sk another siege. The last has cost us dear enough, another might take you from me." " Well, well, dear, I suppose you must have your way ; in- deed I do not see that harm can possibly come to you, and it will at any rate ensure peace for a time and enable us to re- pair our tenants' losses. I shall send over a message at once to Sir Aylmer, and beg him to choose and send me another fifty archers — with that reinforcement I could make head against any attack save in the greatest force — for there is no saying how things may go. The five-and-tvventy did wonders, and with thrice that force I should feel confident that Villeroy could withstand any attack save by an army with an abun- dance of great machines. ' ' Well, Margaret, since you have decided for me that you are to go — and indeed I myself plainly see that that alterna- tive is really the best — let us talk over who you had best take with you. I quite approve of your choice of Guy ; he is a good lad, and will make a brave knight some day. I shall now make him one of my esquires, and as such he will always HOSTAGES 77 l)e in attendance on you ; and assuredly Agnes and Charlie will, as well as yourself, benefit by his presence. He will be able to take them out and look after them, and as he talks French as well as English the lad will be useful to you in many ways. Have you any preference as to the four men-at- arms ? ' ' "Could you spare Tom, the leader of the archers? I should like to have another Englishman with me, and he is very good-temi)ered and obliging. He is shrewd too, and with his strength and courage 1 should (eA that I could wholly rely upon him in any strait, though indeed 1 see not that there is any probability of such occurring." " Certainly you can have him, Margaret, and I shall be glad to know that he is with you. Dickon, who is next under him, can act as captain of the archers wliilc he is away. I have noticed that Tom is picking up the language fast. He is always ready to do little kindnesses to the women and chil- dren, and I have often heard him talking with them. He will soon get to si:)eak the language fairly. As to the others have you any choice? " "No, I think you had better choose them for me, Eus- tace." " They had better be French," he said ; "it would not do for yon to surround yourself entirely l)y English, although of ct)urse it is natural enough that you .should have an ICnglish scjuire and .servant. I think that you could not do better than take Jules Varey and Albert Hongarde. They are both stout men-at-arms, prudent fellows, and not given to the wine-cuj). As a fourth I would say Joan I'icard's son ; he is a stout fel- low too, and 1 know that, but for his father's hopes that he will one day succeed him as butler, he would have taken ser- vice regularly as a man-at-arms. He fought stoutly when the French gained the wall, and 1 marked him exchanging blows 78 AT AGINCOURT with Sir Clugnet himself, and bearing himself as well as any man there. You could choose no better." "So be it," she said. " I think, Eustace, that with four such defenders, to say nothing of young Guy, you need not feel uneasy about us." "I don't think that I shall feel uneasy, Margaret; but I know that I can ill spare you. You have ever been at my side since we were married, save when, after the birth of Agnes and Charles, you were forced to stay in England when I came over here. I felt it a dreary time then, and shall feel it so now ; but I doubt not that all will go well with you, though it will be a very different life to that to which you have been accustomed." " I shall do well enough," Margaret said cheerfully, " and maybe I shall get so fond of court that you will have to take me to that of Henry when we return to England." " Now you had best begin to make your preparations. I will speak to Guy and the others myself." Sir Eustace went into the court-}ard, where Guy was super- intending the issue of provisions for the women. "■ This can go on without you," he said ; " Gervaise will see to it. I would speak to you. You were at the meeting this morning, Guy, and you heard what the herald of France said. The position is a hard one. T cannot hold the castle against the strength of France, while if we take a Burgundian garrison I should cease to be its master, and it would doubt- less soon pass into other hands. Again, if I go to England, it would equally be lost to us. Therefore my wife has re- solved, in order to gain time until these disorders are over, to go to Paris with the children as a hostage for me. In no case, as it seems to me, are Dame Margaret and the children likely to be in danger ; nevertheless, I am greatly loth for them to go. However, seeing no other way out of the business, I have HOSTAGES 79 consented, and we have arranged that you shall accompany her. You will go as my esquire, and I shall install you as such this afternoon. You will take Long Tom, two of the men-at-arms, and Robert Picard, all good men and true ; but at the same time the burden and responsibility must rest upon your shoulders. You are young yet for so grave a charge, and yet I feel that I can confide it to you. You will have to be the stay and support of your mistress, you will have to be the companion and friend of my children, and I shall charge the four men-at-arms to take orders from you as from me. 'I'om will be a valuable fellow. In the first place, he is, I know, much attached to you, besides being shrewd, and a very giant in strength. The other three are all honest varlets, and you can rely upon them in any pinch." " I will do my best, my lord," Guy said quietly ; " and I am grateful to you indeed for the confidence that you show in me, and I shall, 1 hope, prove worthy of it, and of my father." The news soon spread through the castle that Dame Mar- garet was going to Paris. The maids wept at the thought, as did many of the tenants' wives, for since the siege began, her kindness and the pains that she had taken to make them com- fortable had endeared her greatly to them. On her previous visits they had seen comparatively iiltle of her ; she had been to them simply their lord's English wife, now they knew her as a friend. Nevertheless, their regret at her leaving was softened by the thought that her going to be near the king insured peace for them, and that they would now be able to venture out to the houses that were fast rising on the ruins of their former homes, and to take up their life again as they had left it. Early next morning the little cortege mustered in the court-yard in readiness for a start. Sir Eustace and his wife had said good-bye to each other in their chamber, and she 80 AT AGINCOURT looked calm and tranquil as she mounted her horse; for, hav- ing been accustomed from a child to ride with her father hunting and hawking, she could sit a horse well, and scorned to ride, as did so many ladies, on a pillion. Guy rode by her side, with Agnes on a pillion Ijchind him. Long Tom, with Charhe perched in front of him, followed them, and the three men-at-arms brought up the rear. Charlie was in high spirits ; he regarded the trip as a sort of holiday, and had been talking, ever since he got up, of the wonders that he should see in Paris. Agnes better understood the situation, and nothing but the feeling that she ought to emulate the calm- ness of her mother restrained her from bursting into tears when her father lifted her on to her seat. The herald led the way, followed by his two pursuivants. Dame Margaret checked her horse in the middle of the court-yard, and said in a loud clear voice to the tenants and men-at-arms round : ' ' Adieu, good friends ; I trust that I shall not be long away from you. I go to stay for a time at the court in Paris, and I leave you with the surety that you will have peace and rest until I return, and be able to repair the damages you suffered from the attack made upon us by men who regard not the law." She turned and waved her hand to Sir Eustace, who was standing immovable on the steps, and then, touching the horse with her heel, they moved on after the herald. "Do not fear to speak, Tom," Dame Margaret said, after they had left the castle behind them ; " the journey is a long one, and it will go all the quicker for honest talk. What think you of this expedition to Paris?" "I would as lief go there as anywhere else, my lady. Indeed, men say that it is a fine city, and as I have never seen a bigger town than Southampton, I doubt not that I shall find plenty to interest me at times when you may not require our services." HOSTAGES 81 " I see that you have brought your bow with you." "Ay, my lady, I could not bring myself to part willi it. Sir Eustace told me that I could not carry it, as its length would be a matter of remark, and point me out at once as being an Englishman, seeing that the French archers carry no bows of such length; so I have, even as you see, wrapped it round with straw, and fastened it to the saddle beneath my leg. I have also put fourscore arrows among the \alises on the pack-horses." " There is no chance of your needing them, Tom." " I trust that it is so," the archer replied ; " but, indeed, there is never any saying, and an archer without his bow is but a poor creature, — though, indeed, I trust that I can swing an axe as well as another." "And much better than most, Tom ; still, I hope that neither a.\e nor bow will be required." " To that I say amen also ; for, although a fray may some- times be to my taste, I have no desire to be mixed up in a melee without some of my own stout comrades with me." "Shall we get to Paris to-night, Lady Mother?" Charlie asked. " No, indeed ; it will be five days, if not six, for I see by the way that we are travelling we are bearing east, and shall sleej) at Lille or may be at Tournay; then, doubtless, we shall bear south, and may stop the next night at Cambrai, and make to Noyon on the following day, and thence to Compiegne or to Senlis, and the next day will take us to Paris. It all depends how far and how fast we ride each day. But these matters will be arranged by the herald. Were we to go by the shortest route we .should get there more quickly ; but Amiens is held by the |)arly to whom the men who at- tacked our castle belong, and by the way we are travelling we 82 AT AGINCOURT shall keep for some time in Artois, and so escape all risk of trouble on the road." "I don't care for trouble," Charlie said stoutly; "we have got Long Tom and Robert Picard and the other two, and Guy can fight also." ''That would be all very well, my son," his mother said smiling, "if we were only attacked by half a dozen vagrants, but brave as they all are they could do naught if a large body surprised us ; but be assured that there is no fear of that — by the way we are travelling we shall meet with none but friends." "I should like to be attacked by the vagrants, mother. The last time you made us stay with you when there was fighting going on, except just at the first, but here we should see it all." " Well, I don't want to see it, Charlie, and I am glad that we are not likely to do so ; and you must remember that you and I and Agnes would sorely hamper our friends." Nevertheless whenever a party of peasants was met upon the road Charlie looked out hopefully and heaved a sigh of dis- appointment when, after doffing their caps in respect, they passed on quietly. Several times they encountered bodies of knights and men-at-arms, but the presence of the royal herald saved them from all question. At each halting-place Dame Margaret, her children and maid, were lodged in the house of one of the principal citizens, while Guy and the men-at-arms lay at an inn. The troubled state of the times was only manifest by the number of men-at-arms in the streets, and the strict watch kept at the gates of the towns. Many of these were kept shut, and were only opened once an hour to let peo- ple pass in and out. This, however, did not affect the trav- ellers, for the gates were opened the moment the emblazon- ings on the surcoat of the herald could be made out. HOSTAGES S3 "We have assuredly nothing to complain of so far, Guy," Dame Margaret said., as they set out on their last day's jour- ney ; "had we been the king's special guests we could not have been more honourably treated, and I have no doubt that although we shall be much less important personages at Paris than as travellers under the royal protection, we shall yet be made comfortable enough, and shall have naught to grieve over save the separation from our lord." "I cannot doubt that it will be so, lady," Guy replied; "and that at any rate there will be no trouble, unless the Armagnacs lay siege to Paris or there are riots in the city. I heard last night at the i)in iVom some travellers who had just left it, that although the majority of the people there are in favour of Burgundy, yet that much discontent exists on account of the harsh measures of the officers he has appointed, and especially of the conduct of the guild of butchers, who, as it seems, are high in favour with the duke, and rule the city as if it belonged to them." " It matters little to us, Guy, though it seems strange that the nobles of France and the respectable citizens of Paris should allow themselves to be ruled over by such a scum as that; but it was the same in Flanders, where Von Artevelde, our ally, a great man and the chief among them, was murdered by the butchers who at the time held sway in Ghent, and wlio were conspicuous for many years in all the tumults in the great towns there." "I hear, madam, that the king is ill, and can see no one." "Yes, I have heard the same from the herald. It will be John of Burgundy who will, for the time, be our master." "I could desire a better," Guy said bluntly; "but we shall at any rate know that his fair words are not to be trusted. For my part, however, I wonder that after the 84 AT AGINCOURT murder of the Duke of Orleans, with whom he had sworn a solemn peace, any man should hold converse with him." " Unfortunately, Guy, men's interests count for more than their feelings, and a great noble, who has it in his power to grant favours and dispense honours, will find ad- herents though he has waded through blood. Burgundy, too, as I hear, has winning manners and a soft tongue, and can, when it pleases him, play the part of a frank and honest man. At least it must be owned that the title of ' Fearless ' does not misbecome him, for, had it been otherwise, he would have denied all part in the murder of Orleans, in- stead of openly avowing that it was done by his orders." They had started at an earlier hour than usual that morning, as the herald had pointed out to Dame Margaret, that it were best to arrive in Paris as early as possible, in order that the question of their lodging might be settled at once. Accordingly, they had been up at daybreak, and arrived in Paris at noon. " How long will it be, I wonder," Dame Margaret said, as they rode through the gates, " before we shall pass through here again ? ' ' "Not very long I hope, my lady," Guy said; "but be sure that if at any time you wish to leave we shall be able to procure disguises for you all, and to make our way out without difficulty." "Nay, Guy, you forget that it is only so long as we are here that Villeroy is safe from attack. Whatever happens, nothing, save the news that an English army has landed at Calais, and is about to invade France, would leave me free to attempt an escape. If not released before that, I must then, at all hazards, try to escape, for Sir Eustace, knowing that I am here, would be placed in a sore strait indeed ; both by his own inclinations and as a vassal of England, for HOSTAGES 85 he would want to join the English as soon as they advanced, and yet would be hindered by the knowledge that I was a hostage here. It would be for me to relieve him of that fear ; and the same feeling that induced me to come hither would then take me back to Villeroy." " Then, madam, I fear that our stay here will be a long one, for Henry has never pushed on the war with France vigorously, and though [)lenty of cause has been given by the capture of his castles in Guienne, he has never drawn sword either to regain them or to avenge the insults put upon the English flag." "King Henry is old, Guy; and they say that his son is as full of spirit and as fiery as his father is peaceful and indisposed for war. When the king dies, my lord thinks that it will be but a short time before the English banner will be unfurled in France ; and this is one of the reasons why he consented to my becoming an hostage, thinking that no long time is likely to elapse before he will liave English backing, and will be able to disregard the threats of France." " How narrow and sombre are these streets ! " Guy said, after a pause, "one seems to draw one's very breatli with difficulty." " They are well-nigh as narrow in London," his mistress replied ; " but they are gay enough below. See how crowded they are, and how l)rilliant are some of the co.stumes ! " " Some of them indeed, madam, but more are poor and miserable ; and as to the faces, they are so scowling and sombre, truly were we not on liorseback I should keep my hand tight upon my pouch, though in truth there is nothing in it worth stealing." "Ay, ay. Master Guy," I-ong Tom broke in, " methinks that there are a good many heads among these scowling 86 AT AGINCOURT knaves that I would gladly have a chance of cracking had I my quarter - staff in my hand and half a dozen stout fellows here with me. See how insolently they stare ! " " Hush, Tom ! " Dame Margaret said, turning round, " if you talk of cracking skulls I shall regret that I brought you with me." '•'I am not thinking of doing it, my lady," the archer said apologetically. " I did but say that I should like to do it, and between liking and doing there is often a long distance." " Sometimes, Tom, but one often leads to the other. You must remember that above all things it behoves us to act prudently here, and to avoid drawing the attention of our foes. We English are not loved in Paris, and the less you open your mouth here the better ; for when Burgundians and Armagnacs are ready to cut each other's throats over a name, fellow-countrymen though they be, neither would feel any compunction about killing an Eng- lishman." After riding for half an hour they entered the court-yard of a large building, where men-at-arms and varlets wearing the cognizance of Burgundy were moving about, a group of nobles were standing on the steps, while some grooms were walking their horses round the court -yard. The herald made his way to the door, and here all alighted. "Whom have we here, I wonder?" one of the young nobles said to another as they came up. "A royal herald and his pursuivants ; a young dame and a very fair one ; her daughter, I suppose, also fair; the lady's esquire; and a small boy." "Hostages, I should say," the other replied, "for the good conduct of the lady's lord, whoever he may be. I know her not, and think that she cannot have been at HOSTAGES 87 court for the last ten years, for I could hardly have for- gotten her face." Dame Margaret took the hands of her two children and followed the herald up the steps. She had made a motion of her head to Guy to attend her, and he accordingly fol- lowed behind. " A haughty lady as well as a fair one," the young knight laughed. "She did not so much as glance at us, but held her head as high as if she were going in to rate Burgundy himself. I think that she must be English by her looks, though what an English w^oman can be doing here in Paris is beyond my understanding, unless it be that she is the wife of a knight of Guienne ; in that case she would more likely be with Orleans than here." " Yes, but you see the herald has brought her. It may be her lord's castle has been captured, and she has come under the safe-conduct of a herald to lay a complaint ; but I think with you that she is English. The girl was fair too, though not so fair as her mother, and that curly - headed young esquire is of English stock too." " He is a stout-looking fellow, De Maupas, and will make a powerful man ; he looks as if he could strike a shrewd blow even now. Let us question their knaves, one of whom, by the way, is a veritable giant in point of height." He beckoned to the four men, and Robert Picard came forward. " Who is your lady, young man? " " Dame Margaret de Villeroy, may it please you, sir. She is the wife of Sir Eustace de Villeroy." " Then we were right, De Maupas, for De Villeroy is, I know, a va.ssal of England for his wife's estates, and his peo- \)\c have always counted themselves English, because for over a hundred years their castle stood inside the English line." 88 AT AGINCOUKT " He is a stout knight. We heard a month ago how bravely he held his castle against Sir Clugnet de Brabant with 8000 Orleanists, and l)eat him off with a loss of five knights and 400 men. Sir Clugnet himself was sorely wounded. We all ought to feel mightily obliged to him for the check, which sent them back post-haste out of Artois, where they had already done damage enough, and might have done more had they not been so roughly handled. I wonder what the lady is here for? " " It may be that he would have fought the Burgundians as stoutly as he fought the Armagnacs," the other said, " and that the duke does not care about having so strong a castle held by so stout a knight within a few miles of the English Hne." The other shrugged his shoulders. " The English are sleeping dogs," he said ; " there is no Edward and no Black Prince to lead them now." "No, but you must remember that sleeping dogs wake up sometimes, and even try to bite when they do so; moreover we know of old that these particular dogs can bite hard." " The sooner they wake up the better, I say, De Maupas. We have a long grudge to wipe off against them, and our men are not likely to repeat the mistakes that cost us so dearly before. Besides, the English have had no real fighting for years, and it seems to me that they have altogether given up any hope of extending their possessions in France." " One can never tell, De Revelle. For my part I own that I care not that they should again spread their banner on this side of the sea. There can be no doubt that they are stout fighting-men, and seeing how France is divided they might do sore damage did they throw their weight into one side of the scale. ' ' " Methinks that there is no fear of that. The dukes both HOSTAGES 80 know well enough that their own followers would not fight side by side with llic English; and though they might pro- pose an alliance with the Islanders, it would only be for the purpose of bringing the war to a close by uniting both parties against our old enemy." In the meantime Dame Margaret had followed her con- ductor to the great chamber, where John of Burgundy held audience in almost royal state. Several nobles were gathered round him, but at the entrance of the herald these fell back, leaving him standing l)y himself An eminently politic man, the duke saw at once by the upright figure and the fearle.ss air with which Dame Margaret entered the hall, that this was a case where courtesy and deference were far more likely to bring about the desired end of winning her husband over to his interests, than any menaces or rough .speaking; he there- fore advanced two or three steps to meet her. " My lord duke," the herald said. " tliis lady. Dame Mar- garet of Villeroy, has journeyed hither with me in accordance with the wish expressed by His Majesty the king." " As the king's representative in Paris, lady," the duke said to Margaret, " I thank you for your promptness in thus conceding to his wish." " His Majesty's wish was naturally a command to me. Sir Duke," Margaret said with quiet dignity. " We, my lius- band and 1, understood that some enemy had been influenc- ing His Majt^ty's mind against my lord, and in order to assure him of my lord's loyalty as a faithful va.ssal for the land he holds, I have willingly journeyed here with my children, although in mu( h grief for the loss of my eldest son, who died in the attack lately made upon our castle by a large body of men, of whom we knew naught, save that they did not come in the name of our lord the king." " I have heard of the atta< k, lady, and of the gallant and 90 AT AGINCOURT successful defence made by Sir Eustace, and the king was greatly pleased to hear of the heavy check thus inflicted upon the men who had raised the banner of revolt, and were harass- ing His Majesty's faithful subjects." "That being so, my lord duke," Margaret said, "'tis strange, after my lord had shown how ready and well pre- pared he was to protect his castle against ill-doers, that he should have been asked to admit a garrison of strangers to aid him to hold it. Sir Eustace has no desire to meddle with the troubles of the times ; he holds his castle as a fief directly from the crown, as his ancestors have held it for two hundred years ; he wishes only to dwell in peace and in loyal service to the king." "Such we have always imderstood, madam, and gladly would the king have seen Sir Eustace himself at his court. The king will, I trust, shortly be recovered from his malady; until he is so I have — for I was made acquainted with your coming by me.ssenger sent forward by Monjoie — arranged for you to be lodged in all honour at the house of Master Leroux, one of the most worshipful of the citizens of Paris, and pro- vost of the guild of silversmiths. My chamberlain will at once conduct you thither." "I thank you, my lord duke," Margaret said with a stately reverence, " and trust that when I am received by my lord the king I shall be able to prove to him that Sir Eus- tace is his faithful vassal, and can be trusted to hold his castle for him against all comers." " I doubt it not, lady," the duke said courteously. " Sir Victor Pierrepoint, I pray you to see this lady to the en- trance. Sir Hugo will already be waiting her there." IIIK \.\l'\ MAK(,.\K1 I M \kl> lll.K i Hihl.-^A.NCh Hi IJIK LUKI, 01-" BURGUNDY. IN PARIS 91 CHAPTER VI IN PARIS " A BOT.D dame and a fair one," John of Burgundy said l\ to the gentlemen round him wlien Margaret left the chamber. " Methinks that she would be able to hold Ville- roy even should Sir Eustace be away." " That would she," one of the knights said with a laugh. " I doubt not that she would buckle on armour if need were. But we must make some allowance for her heat ; it is no pleasant thing to be taken away from her castle and brouglit hither as a hostage, to be held for how long a time she knows not." " It was the safest way of securing the castle," the duke said. '* Can one doubt that, with her by his side, her hus- band would open his gates to the Engli.sh, should they appear before it? He himself is a vassal both of England and France, and should the balance be i)laced before him, there can be little doubt that her weight would inc line him to England. How well these English women keep their youth ! One might believe her to be but a few years i)ast twenty, and yet she is the mother of tliat girl, who is well-nigh as tall as her- self." "And who liids to be as fair, my lord duke." " And as English, l)e Porcelet. She would be a difficult eaglet to tame, if I mistake not ; and had she been the spokeswoman, methinks she would have answered as haughtily as did her mother. But it might lie no bad plan to mate her to a Frenchman. It is true tliat there is the boy, but the fief might well be bestowed upon her if so mated, on the ground 92 AT AGINCOURT that the boy would likely take after his father and mother and hold Villeroy for England rather than for France. How- ever, she is young yet ; in a couple of years, De Porcelet, it will be time for you to urge your suit, if so inclined." There was a general smile from the circle standing round, but the young knight said gravely, " When the time comes, my lord duke, I may remind you of what you have said. Tis a fair young face, honest and good, though at present she must naturally feel with her mother at being thus haled away from her home." Sir Victor escorted Margaret to the court-yard. As they appeared at the entrance a knight came up and saluted her. " I am intrusted by the duke with the honour of escorting you to your lodgings," he said ; "I am Hugo de Chamfort, the duke's chamberlain." After assisting her into the saddle he mounted a horse which an attendant brought up and placed himself by her side. Two men-at-arms with their surtouts embroidered with the cognizance of Burgundy led the way, and the rest of the party followed in the same order in which they had come. The distance was short, and beyond a few questions by the knight as to the journey and how she had been cared for on the way, and Margaret's rejilies, little was said until they reached the house of the provost of the silversmiths. As they rode up to tlie door Maitre Leroux himself came out from the house. " Welcome, lady," he said, " to my abode. My wife will do all that she can to make you comfortable." " I am sorry indeed, good sir," Margaret said, " to be thus forced upon your hospitality, and regret the trouble that my stay will impose upon you." " Say not so, lady," he said, " we deem it an honour that his grace the Duke of Burgundy should have selected us for IN PARIS 93 the honour of entertaining you. The house is large, and we have no family. Chambers are already prepared for yourself, your daughter, and son, while there are others at your dis- posal for your following." " I would not trespass too much upon you," she said. '' My daughter can sleep with me, and I am sure that my esciuire here, Master Guy Aylmer, will gladly share a room with my boy. I can obtain lodgings for my four followers without. ' ' " You will grieve me much if you propose it, lady. There is a large room upstairs unoccupied, and I will place pallets for them there ; and as for their meals they can have them apart. ' ' By this time they had mounted a fine flight of stairs, at the top of which Dame Leroux was standing to receive her guests. She was a kindly-looking woman between thirty and forty years of age. " Welcome, Lady Margaret," she said with a cordiality that made Margaret feel at once that her visit was not re- garded as an infliction. " We are (juiet people, but will do our best to render your stay here a pleasant one." "Thanks indeed, mistress ! " Margaret rei)lied. " I feared much that my presence would be Iclt as a burden, and had hardly hoped for so kind a welcome. Iliis is my daughter Agnes, and my son Charles." Then she turned to Sir Hugo: " I pray yon to give my thanl-cs to his grace the Duke of Burgundy, and to thank him for having so well bestowed me. I thank you also for your courtesy for having conducted me here." " I will convey your message to the duke," he said, " who will, 1 am sure, be pleased to hear of your contentment." Maitre Leroux accompanied the knight downstairs again, and when he had mounted and ridden off he called two 94 AT AGINCOURT servitors, and bade one carry the luggage upstairs, and the other conduct the men to the stables he had taken for the horses. " After you have seen to their comfort," he said to Robert Pi card, " you will return hither; you will find a meal pre- pared for you, and will be bestowed together in a chamber upstairs. ' ' In the meantime his wife had ushered Dame Margaret into a very handsomely furnished apartment. " This is at your entire service. Lady Margaret," she said. "The bed- room behind it is for yourself, the one next to it for your daughter, unless you would prefer that she should sleep with you." " I thank you. I was telling your husband that I should prefer that ; and my son and esquire can therefore occupy the .second room. But I fear greatly that I am disturbing yourself and your husband." "No, indeed; our sitting-room and bedroom are on the other side of the landing. These are our regular guest- chambers, and your being here will make no change what- ever in our arrangements. I only regret that the apartments are not larger." " Do not apologize, I beg of you, madam. I can assure you that the room is far liandsomer than that to which I have been accustomed. You citizens of Paris are far in advance of us in your ideas of comfort and luxury, and the apartments both at Villeroy and in my English home cannot compare with these, except in point of size. I never dreamt that my prison would be so comfortable. ' ' "Say not prison, I pray you, lady. I heard, indeed, that your visit to the court was not altogether one of your own choice ; but, believe me, here at least you will be but a guest, and an honoured and welcome one. I will leave you IN PARIS 95 now. If tliere is aught that you desire, I pray you to ring that bell on the table; refreshments will be quickly served. Had I known the precise hour at which you would come we should have been in readiness for you, but I thought not that you would arrive till evening." " I hojje that you will give me much of your comj)any, mistress," Margaret said warmly. "We know no one in this great city, and shall be glad indeed if, when you can spare time, you will sit with us." "Well, children, what do you think of this?" she asked wlien their hostess had left the room. " It is lovely, mother," Agnes said. " Look at the inlaid cabinets, and the couches and tables, and this great warm rug that covers all the floor, how snug and comfortable it all is. Why, mother, I never saw anything like this." " You might have seen something like it had you ever been in the house of one of our rich London traders, Agnes; at least so I have heard, though in truth I have never myself been in so luxuriously furnished a room. I only hope that we may stay here for some time. Tlie l)est of it is that these good people evidently do not regard us as a burden. No doubt they are pleased to oblige the Duke of Burgundy, but, beyond that, their welcome seemed really sincere. Now let us see our bedroom. I supj)osc that is yours, Charlie, through the door in the corner." The valises had already been brouglit to the rooms by an- other entrance, and Margaret and her daughter were charmed with their bedroom. A large ewer and ba.sin of silver stood on a table which was covered with a white cloth, snowy towels hung beside it ; the hangings of the bed were of dam- ask silk, and the floor was almost covered by an F!astern carpet. An exquisitely carved wardrobe stood in one corner. "It is all lovely!" Agnes said, clapping her hands. 96 AT AGINCOURT ' ' You ought to have your room at home fitted up hke this, mother. ' ' "It would take a large slice out of a year's revenue, Agnes," her mother said with a smile, "to furnish a room in this fashion. That wardrobe alone is worth a knight's ransom, and the ewer and basin are fit for a king. I would that your father could see us here; it would ease his anxiety about us. I must ask how I can best despatch a messenger to him." When they returned to the other apartment they found the table already laid, and in a short time a dainty repast was served. To this Guy sat down with them, for except when there were guests, when his place was behind his lord's chair, he had always been treated as one of the family, and as the son of Sir Aylmer rather than as a page. " Well, Master Guy, what think you of affairs? " "They seem well to the eye, mistress, but I would not trust that Duke of Burgundy for an hour. With that long face of his and the hooked nose and his crafty look he re- sembles little a noble of France. He has an evil face, and one which accords well with the foul murder of the king's brother. However, as I see not that he has aught to gain by holding you here, — save that he thinks it will ensure our lord's keeping his castle for him, — tliere is no reason why he should not continue to treat you honouraljly and courteously. We have yet to learn whether Master Leroux is one of his party, or whether he is in favour of Armagnac." "I should think that he cannot be for Armagnac," she said, "or Duke John would hardly have quartered us upon him. No doubt it was done under the semblance of good- will, but most men would have considered it a heavy tax, even though, as I expect, we shall not remain here long. Doubt- less, however, the trader considers that his complaisance in IN PARIS 97 the matter would I)e taken Ijy the duke as a sign of his de- sire to show that at least he is not hostile to liiui." When they rose from the table Guy, at his mistress's sug- gestion, went below and found the four men sitting in the great kitchen, where they had just iinished an ample meal. "You have seen to the horses, Robert?" "Yes, Master Guy, they are comfortably bestowed, witli an abundance of provender. " "I am going out to see how matters stand in the town. Our lady says that at all times two of you must remain here, as it may be necessary to send messages, or should she wish to go out, to escort her, but the other two can be out and about as they please, after first inquiring of me whether there is aught for them to do. You can arrange among yourselves which shall stay in, taking turns off duty. Tom, you had better not go out till after dark. There is something in the cut of your garments which tells that you are not French. Robert will go out with me now, and find a clothier, and l)id him .send garments here for you to choose from, or if he has none to fit, which may likely enough be, send him to meas- ure you. It nn'ght lead to broils and troubles were any of the ral)l)le to notice lluit you were a stranger." "That is right enough, Master Guy; and in sooth I have no desire to go out at present, for after riding for the last si.\ days I am well content to sit quiet and take my ease here." Guy then started with Rol)ert Picard. ICxcept in the streets where the i)rincii.al nurchanls dwelt, the town struck him as gloomy and sombre. The palaces of the nobles were veritable fortresses, the streets were ill i)aved and evil-smell- ing, and the people m the poorer quarters had a sinister aspect. " I should not rare to wander about in this district after nightfall, Robert," Guy said to the man-at-arms, who kept close to his elbow. 7 98 AT AGINCOURT " Nor I," the man growled. "It is as much as I can do to keep my hands off my dagger now, for methinks that nine out often of the fellows loitering about would cut our throats willingly, if they thought that we had but a crown in our pockets. ' ' Presently they found themselves on the quays, and, hailing a boat, rowed up the river a little beyond the walls. Hear- ing the sound of music tliey landed, and on seeing a number of people gather round some booths they discharged the boat and went on. They found that it was a sort of fair. Here were sword-players and mountebanks, pedlars who vended their wares at a lower price than those at which they were sold within the limits of the city, booths at which wine and re- freshments could be obtained. Here many soldiers were sit- ting drinking, watching the passers-by, and exchanging ribald jests with each other, and sometimes addressing observations to the wives and daughters of the citizens, amid fits of laugh- ter at the looks of indignation on the part of their husbands or fathers. "It is evidently a holiday of some sort," Guy remarked, as they found that the fair extended for a considerable dis- tance, and that the crowd was everywhere large. They stopped for a minute or two in front of a booth of more pre- tensions than the generality. In front of it a man was beat- ing a drum, and a negro walking up and down attired in showy garments. The drum ceased and the latter shouted : "Those of you who wish to see my master, the famous Elminestres, the most learned doctor in Europe, who can read the stars, cast your horoscope, foretell your future, and cure your ailments, should not lose this opportunity." The curtains opened behind, and a man dressed in dark garments with a long black cloak spotted with silver stars came forward. IN PARIS 99 "You have heard, good people, what my slave has said. He speaks with knowledge. I saved his life in the deserts of Africa when he was all but dead with fever, by administering to him one of my wonderful potions; he at once recovered and devoted himself to my service. I have infallible reme- dies for every disease, therefore do you who are sick come to me and be cured ; while for you who do not suffer I can do as much or more, by telling you of your future, what evils to avoid and what chances to grasp." He stood for a minute silent, his eyes wandering keenly over the spectators. " I see," he said, '-one among you who loves a fair maiden standing beside him. At present her parents are unfavourable to his suit, but if he will take my advice he will be able to overcome their objections and to win tlie damsel. Another I .see wlio has come to Paris with the intention of enlisting in the .service of our good duke, and who, I foresee, will attain rank and honour and become a distinguished soldier if he does but act prudently at the critical moment, while if he takes a wrong turn misfortune and death will befall him. I .see a youth of gentle blood who will become a brave knight, and will better his condition by marriage. He has many dangers to go through before that, and has at present a serious charge for one so yotmg ; but as lie has circumspection as well as courage he may pass through them unharmed. To him too I could give advice that may be valuable, more especially as he is a stranger to the land, as are tho.se of whom he is in charge." " It is wonderful. Master Guy ! " Robert Picard whispered in Guy's ear in a tone of astonished awe. " The knave doubtless saw us ride in this morning, and recognized me again. There is naught of magic in it, but the fellow must be shrewd, or he would not have so quickly 100 AT AGINCOURT drawn his conclusions. I will go in and speak to him pres- ently, for though I believe not his prophecies one jot, a fellow of this sort may be useful. Let us be meving on at present." They passed two monks, who were scowling angrily at the man, who was just exciting the laughter of the crowd by asserting that there was a holy man present who usually preferred a flask of good wine to saying his vespers. " Rogues like this should be whipped and branded, Brother Anselmo." " Ay, ay," the other agreed : " and yet," he added slyly, " it may be that he has not altogether missed his mark this time. We are not the only two monks here," he went on as the other turned upon him angrily, " and it may well be that among them is one who answers to the fellow's lewd description." On the outskirts of the fair were many people of higher degree. Knights and ladies strolled on the turf exchanging greetings, looking for a minute or two at the gambols of a troupe of performing dogs, or at a bout of cudgel play — where two stout fellows belaboured each other heartily, and showed sufficient skill to earn from the crowd a shower of small pieces of money, when at last they ceased from pure exhaustion. Half an hour later Guy returned to the booth of the doctor, and went in by a side entrance, to which those who wished to consult the learned man had been directed by the negro. The latter was at the entrance, and, observing that Guy's condition was above that of the majority of his master's clients, at once took him into an inner apartment divided from the rest of the tent by a hang- ing. Over the top of this was stretched a black cloth spotted with silver stars, and similar hangings surrounded it; thus all light was cut off, and the room was dimly illuminated IN PARIS 101 by two lamps. A table with a black cloth stood at the back. On this stood a number of phials and small boxes, together with several retorts and alembics. The doctor was seated on a tripod stool. He rose and was about to address Guy in his usual style, when the latter said : " So you saw us ride in this morning, Master Doctor, and guessed shrewdly as to our condition and nationality. As to the latter, indeed, it needed no sorcery, for it must have been plain to the dullest that my mistress and her daughter were not of French blood, and though I am much less fair, it was a pretty safe guess to suppose that I also was of their country. I need not tell you that 1 have not come here either for charms or nostrums, but it seemed to me that being, as you said, strangers here, we might l)enefit by the advice of one who like yourself notes things quickly, and can form his own conclusions." The doctor removed his tall conical cap, and placed it on the table. "You guess rightly," he said with a smile. "I was in the crowd and marked you enter, and a soldier standing next to me observed to a comrade that he had heard that Bur- gundy had sent the herald to demand llie surrender of a castle held by one Sir Eustace, a knight who Avas known to have friendly leanings towards the English, being a vassal of their king for estates that had come to him with an P^nglish wife, and that doubtless this was the lady. When my eye fell on you in the crowd 1 said : Here is a youth of shrewd- ness and parts, he is alone and is a foreigner, and maybe I can be of service to him ; therefore I shot my shaft, and, as you see, with success. I said to myself: This youth, being a stranger, will know of no one to whom he can turn for in- formation, and I can furnish him with almost any that he may require. I come in contact with the highest and the 102 AT AGINCOURT lowest, for the Parisians are credulous, and after dark there are some of rank and station who come to my doors for filtres and nostrums, or to have their horoscope cast and their futures predicted. You will ask why one who has such clients should condescend to stand at a booth and talk to this rabble ; but it has its purpose. Were I known only as one whom men and women visit in secret, I should soon become suspected of black arts, tlie priests would raise an outcry against me, and one of these days I might be burned. Here, however, I ostensibly earn my living as a mountebank vendor of drugs and nostrums, and therefore no one troubles his head about me." " There is one thing that you have not told me," Guy said when he ceased speaking. '' Having, as you say, good clients besides your gains here, why should you trouble to interest yourself in our affairs? " " Shrewdly put, young sir. I will be frank with you. I too am a stranger, and sooner or later I may fall into dis- credit, and the power of the church be too much for me. When I saw your mistress to-day I said to myself : Here is an English lady of rank, with a castle and estate in England ; §hould I have to fly — and I have one very dear to me, for whose sake I value my life — it might be well for me that I should have one friend in England who would act as pro- tectress to her should aught befall me. Your mistress is a stranger here, and in the hands of enemies. I may be of use to her. I know this population of Paris, and can perhaps give her better information of what is going on both at the court and in the gutter than any other man, and may be able to render her assistance when she most needs it ; and would ask but in payment that, should I come to England, she will extend her protection to my daughter until I can find a home and place her there. You see I am playing an open game with you." IN PARIS 103 " I will reply as frankly," Oiiy said. " When T came in here it was, as I told the man-at-arnis my companion, with the thought that one wlio had noticed us so shrewdly, and had recognized me so cjuickly in the crowd, was no ordinary mountebank, but a keen, shrewd man who had some motive for thus addressing me, and I see that my view was a right one. As to your proposal I can say naught before I have laid it before my mistress, but for myself I may .say at once that it recommends itself to me as excellent. We are, as you say, strangers here, and know of no one from wliom we might obtain information as to what is going on. My mistress, if not an actual prisoner, is practically so, being held with her children as hostages for my lord's loyaUy to France. She is the kindest of kidies, and should she authorize me to enter into further communication with \ou, you may be sure that she would execute to the full the midertaking you ask for on behalf of your daughter. \\'here can I see you again ? This is scarce a place I could often resort to without my visits being noticed, if, as is likely enough, the Duke of Burgundy may occasionally set spies to inform him as to wliat we are doing, and whether my mistress is in communication with any who are regarded as either doubtful or hostile to his faction." " If you will be in front of Notre Dame this evening at nine o'clock, I will meet you there and conduct you to my abode, where you can visit me free of any fear of observa- tion." " What name shall I call you ? " Cliiy asked. " My name is Montepone. 1 belong to a noble family of Mantua, but mixing myself up with the factions there, I was on the losing side, and unfortunately it hai)pened that in a fray I killed a noble connected with all the ruling families ; sentence of death was passed upon me in my ab.sence, my property was confiscated. Nowhere in Italy should I have 104 AT AGINCOURT been safe from the dagger of the assassin, therefore I fled to France, and for ten years have maintained myself by the two arts which so often go together, astrology and buffoonery. I had always been fond of knowledge, and had learned all that could be taught in the grand science of astrology, so that however much I may gull fools here, I have obtained the con- fidence of many [wwerful ])ersonages by the accuracy of my forecasts. Had Orleans but believed my solemn assurance he would not have ridden through the streets of Paris to his death that night, and in other cases where I have been more trusted I have rendered valuable assistance. ' ' The belief in astrology had never gained much hold upon the mass of the English people, many as were the superstitions that prevailed among them. Guy had never even given the matter a thought. Montepone, however, evidently believed in his powers of foreseeing the future, and such j^owers did not in themselves .seem altogether impossible to the lad ; he there- fore made no direct reply, but saying that he would not fail to be at the appointed place at nine that evening, took his leave. " Truly, Master Guy, I began to be uneasy about you," Robert Picard said when he rejoined him, "and was medi- tating whether I had best enter the tent, and demand what had become of you. It was only the thought that there might have been others before you, and that you had to wait your turn before seeing him, that restrained me. You have not been taking his nostrums, I trust ; for they say that some of those men sell powders by which a man can be changed into a wolf." Guy laughed. "I have taken nothing, Robert, and if I had I should have no fear of such a change happening to me. I have but talked to the man as to how he came to know me, and it is as I thought, — he saw us as we entered. He is a shrewd fellow, and may well be of some use to us." IN PARIS 105 " I like not chafferinj; with men who have intercourse with the devil," Picard said, shaking his head gravely ; " nothing good comes of it. My mother knew a man who bought a powder that was to cure his wife of jealousy ; and indeed it did, for it straightway killed her, and he was hung. I think that I can stand up against mortal man as well as another, but my blood ran cold when I saw you enter yon tent, and 1 fell into a sweat at your long absence." " The man is not of that kind, Robert, so you can reassure yourself. I doubt not that the nostrums he sells are perfectly harmless, and that though they may not cure they will cer- tainly not kill." They made their way back to the house of the i)rovost of tlie silversmiths. "Well, what do you think of Paris, Guy?" Dame Mar- garet asked when he entered. " Tt is a fine city, no doubt, lady, but in truth I would rather be in the country than in this wilderness of narrow streets. But indeed I have had somewhat of an adventure, and one which 1 think may prove of advantage;" and he then related to his mistress his visit to the booth of the supposed doctor. " Do you think that he is honest, Guy? " she asked when he concluded. " I think so, madam. He spoke honestly enough, and there was a ring of truth in what he said ; nor do I see that he could have had any motive for making my acquaintance save what he stated. His story seemed to me to be a natural one ; but I .shall be able to judge better when I see him in iiis own house and with this daughter he speaks of; that is, if your ladyship is willing that 1 should meet him." " I am willing enough," she said, " for even if he is a spy of Burgundy's there is nothing that we wish to conceal. I 106 AT AGINCOURT have come here willingly, and have no thought of making my escape, or of mixing myself up in any of the intrigues of the court. Therefore there is no harm that he can do us, while on the other hand you may learn much from him, and will gather in a short time whether he can be trusted. Then by all means go and meet him this evening. But it would be as well to take Tom with you. It does not seem to me at all likely that any plot can be intended, but at any rate it will be well that you should have one with you whom you can thoroughly trust, in case there is any snare set, and to guard you against any lurking cut-throats." "■ I will tell him to be in readiness to go with me. It will be his turn to go out with one of the others this evening, and he might not be back in time if I did not warn him." " What arms shall I take with me? " Long Tom said, when Guy told him of their expedition. " Nothing but your sword and quarter-staff. I see that many of the beggars and others that one meets in the streets carry long staffs, and yours is not much longer than the gen- erality. You brought it tied up with your bow, so you would do well to carry it, for in a street broil, where there is room to swing it, you could desire no better weapon, in such strong hands as yours, Tom. Besides, you can knock down and dis- able with it and no great harm is done, whereas if you used your sword there would be dead men ; and although by all I hear these are not uncommon objects in the streets of Paris, there might be trouble if the town watch came up, as we are strangers. I shall carry a stout cudgel myself, as well as my sword." Accordingly at half-past eight they set out. Guy put on a long cloak and a cap such as was worn by the citizens, but strengthened inside by a few bands of steel forming sufficient protection to the head against any ordinary blow. This he IN PARIS 107 had purchased at a stall on his way home. Tom had put on the garments that had been bought for him that afternoon, consisting of a doublet of tanned leather that could be worn under armour or for ordinary use, and was thick enough to afford considerable protection. The streets were already al- most deserted ; those who were abroad hurried along looking with suspicion at all whom they met, and walking in the mid- dle of the road so as to avoid being taken by suri)rise by any- one lurking in the doorways or at the corners of alleys. Once or twice men came out and stared at Guy and liis companion by the light of the lanterns suspended acro.ss the streets, but there was nothing aljout their appearance to encourage an at- tack, and the stalwart figure of the archer promised hard blows rather than plunder. Arriving at the square in front of Notre Dame they waited awhile. Here there were still people about, for it was a rendezvous botli for roistering young gallants, thieves, and others starting on midnight adventures. After walking backwards and forwards two or three times Guy .said, " You had best stand here in the shadow of this buttress while I go and place myself beneath that hanging lamp ; seeing that we are together, and he, looking perhaps only for one, may not recognize me." On reaching the lamp, Guy took off his hat, so that the light should fall on his face, waited for a minute, and then replaced it. As soon as he did so a slightly-built lad came up to him. " Were you not at the fair by the river to-day, sir, and are you not exjjecting some one to meet you here? " " That is so, lad. If you will tell me whom I am e.xpecting I shall know that lie has sent you, though, indeed, I looked to meet himself and not a messenger." " Montepone," the lad said. *' That is right. Why is he not here himself? " " He received a message before starting that one whose 108 AT AGINCOURT orders he could not neglect would call upon him this evening, and he therefore sent me to the rendezvous. I have been look- ing anxiously for you, but until now had not seen you." '' I have a companion with me ; being a stranger here in Paris, I did not care to be wandering through the streets alone. He is a countryman of mine, and can be trusted." " It is indeed dangerous to be out alone. It is seldom that I am in the streets after dark, but the doctor came with me and placed me in a corner of the porch, and then returned by himself, telling me to stir not until I saw you ; and that should you not come, or should I not be able to make you out, I was to remain until he came for me even if I waited until morn- ing." "I will fetch my follower," Guy said, "and am ready to accompany you." The lad was evidently unwilling to be left there for a mo- ment alone, and he walked back with Guy to the buttress where the archer was standing. " This is our guide, Tom," Guy said, as the archer stepped out to join him ; " the person I expected was unable to come himself Now, lad, I am ready ; you see we are well guarded." The boy nodded, evidently reassured by the bulk of the archer, and was about to step on ahead of them, when Guy said, "You had best walk with us. If you keep in front, it will seem as if you were guiding us, and that would point us out at once as strangers. Is it far to the place you are taking us to?" " A short quarter of an hour's walk, sir." IN THE STREETS OF PARIS 109 CHAPTER VII IN THE STREETS OF PARIS THEY crossed the bridge to tlie right bank of the river, and followed the stream down for some distance. Pass- ing through some narrow lanes, they presently emerged into a street of higher pretensions, and stopped at the door of a small house wedged in between two of much larger size. The boy took a key from his girdle, opened the door, and entered. "Stand here a moment, I pray you," he said; "I will fetch a light." In a few seconds he appeared with a lantern. He shut and barred the door, and then led the way upstairs and showed them into a small but well-furnished room, which was lighted by a hanging lamp. He then went to a buffet, brought out a flask of wine and two goblets, and said: "Will it please you to be seated and to help yourselves to the wine ; my mas- ter may possibly be detained for some little time before he is able to see you." Then he went out and closed the door be- hind him. "It is evident, Tom," Guy said, as he took off his hat and cloak, and seated himself, " that the doctor has a good idea of making himself comfortable. Sit down, wc may have to wait some time." " Do you think that it will be safe to touch the wine. Mas- ter Guy? perchance it may be drugged." " Why should it be ? " Guy a.sked. " We are not such im- portant personages that anyone can desire to make away with us. I am convinc cd that the dortor was in earnest when he told me that story that I rcjiealed to you this evening. It is 110 AT AGINCOURT possible that he may not be able to give us as much informa- tion as he said, but that he means well by us I am certain ; and I think we may be sure that his wine is as good as his apartments are comfortable." This turned out to be the case ; the wine was excellent, and the archer soon laid aside any doubt he might have entertained. From time to time steps could be heard in the apartment above, and it was evident that it was here that the interview between the doctor and his visitor was taking place. Pres- ently a ring was heard below. "Another visitor," Guy said. Getting up, he slightly drew aside a thick curtain that hung before a casement, a moment later he let it fall again. " There are two men-at- arms standing on the other side of the street and one at the door." He heard the door opened, then the boy's step was heard on the stairs, two or three minutes later there was a movement above and the sound of the footsteps of two men coming down. Presently the outside door closed, two or three minutes elapsed ; then the door opened and the Italian entered. ' ' I regret that I have kept you so long, ' ' he said courte- ously, " but my visitor was not to be got rid of hastily. It was a lady, and there is no hurrying ladies. When a man comes in, I have already ascertained what he desires to know ; he listens to my answer and takes his departure. A woman, on the contrary, has a tliousand things to ask, and for the most part they are questions quite beyond my power to an- swer." " I have, as you see, Signor Montepone, brought my tall countryman with me; as you noticed me, I doubt not for a moment that you also marked him when we entered the city. Knowing nothing of the ways of Paris, but having heard that the streets were very unsafe after dark, I thought it best to IN THE STRF.F.TS OF I'AKIS 111 bring him with me ; and I am indeed glad that I did so, for we met with several very rough-looking characters on our way to Notre Dame, and had 1 been alone I miglit liave had trouble." "You did quite right," the Italian said; "I regretted afterwards that I did not myself advise you to bring some one with yon, for indeed it is not safe for one man to go abroad alone after dark. And now, will you accom])any me ujistairs; this tall fellow will doubtless be able to pass the time with that flask of wine until you return." " He should be able to do so," Guy said with a smile, " for indeed it is the best wine 1 ha\e tasted, so far as my judgment goes, since I crossed the Channel, and indeed the best I have ever tasted." " 'Tis good wine. I received a cask of it from the grower, a Burgundian noble, who had, as he believed, gained some advantage from following my advice." The man led the way upstairs. The room he entered there was much larger than that which tliey had left, extending over the whole floor. It was draped similarly to that in the booth, but was far more handsomely and elaborately got up. The hangings were of heavy cloth sprinkled with stars, the ceiling was blue with gold stars, a planis|)here and astrolabe stood in the centre of the room, and a charcoal fire burned in a brazier beside them. A i)air of huge l)ats with outstretched wings hung by wires from the ceiling, their white teeth glis- tening in the light of four lamps on stands, some six feet high, one in each corner of the room. The floor was covered with a dark Eastern carpet, a large chair with a footstool in front stood at a short distance from the iilanis|)hcre ; at one end was a massive table on which were retorts, glass globes, and a variety of apparatus new to duy. At the other end of the room there was a frame some eight feet square on which a white sheet was stretched tightly. 113 AT AGINCOURT " Now, Master Guy," the Italian said, " firstly, I beg you to give me the date of your birth and if possible the hour, for I would for my own information if not for yours, cast your horoscope. I like to know for my own satisfaction, as far as may be, the future of those with whom I have to deal. If I perceive that misfortunes and perhaps death threaten them, it is clearly of no use my entering into relations with them. In your case, of course, it is with your mistress that I am chiefly concerned ; still as your fortunes are at present so closely mixed up with hers, I may learn something of much utility to me from your horoscope." " I was born on the 8th of December, 1394, and shall be therefore seventeen in a fortnight's time. I was born a few minutes after midnight, for I have heard my mother say that the castle bell had sounded but a few minutes before I was born. She said that she had been anxious about it, because an old woman had predicted that if she ever had a child born on the 7th day of the month, it would be in every way unfort- unate ; so my mother was greatly pleased that I had escaped the consequences predicted." " And now," the Italian went on, having made a note in his tablets, " what said your lady? " " She bid me say, sir, that she was very sensible of the ad- vantage that it would be to her to receive news or warning from one so well informed as yourself; and that she on her part promises that she will befriend and protect your daughter .should you at any time bring her to her castle in England, or should .she come alone with such tokens from you as that she might be known ; and this promise my lady vows on the sac- raments to keep." " Then we are in agreement," the Italian said ; " and right glad am I to know that should aught befall me, my daughter will be in such good hands. As far as worldly means are con- IN THE S'IRKETS OF PARIS 113 cerned her future is assured, for I liave laid out much of the money I have received in jewels of value, which will produce a sum thai will he an ample dowry for her. Now I can give you some news. The Duke of Berri with the ([ueen came two days since from Melun to C'orbeil, ami ],ouis of liavaria came on here yesterday to the Duke of Acpiitaine with a message to Burgundy and to the butchers, asking that they would allow him to attend the queen to Paris, and that she might reside in his house of Nasle. Burgundy was minded to grant her leave, but at a meeting of the chiefs of the guild of butchers this afternoon they resolved to refuse the request ; and this evening they have broken every door and window of the Duke of Berri's house, and committed great damages there, so that it should not be habitable; they resolved that Berri should not enter Paris, but that the cpieen might come. I hear that it has been determined that the king shall be placed in the Louvre, where the citizens of Paris can keep guard over him and preven': any attempt by the Orleanists to carry him away. ''All this will make no difference to your mistress directly; the point of it is that the power of these butchers, with whom go the guild of skinners and others, is so increasing that even the Duke of Burgundy is forced to give in to them. Some of the other guilds and the greater part of the respectable traders are wholly opposed to these men. They themselves may care little whether Orleans or Burgundy sways the court and the king, but this usuri)ation of the butchers, who have behind them the scum of Paris, is regarded as a danger to the whole city, and the feeling may grow into so hot a rage that there may be serious rioting in the streets. 1 tell you this that you may be prepared. Assuredly the butchers are not likely to in- terfere with any save such of the townspeople as they may deem hostile to iIilmu, and no harm would intentionally be done to her or lo any other hostage of Burgundy. But the 8 114 AT AGINCOURT provost of the silversmiths is one of those who withstands them to the best of his power, and should matters come to serious rioting his house might be attacked. The leaders of the butchers' guild would be glad to see him killed, and their followers would still more like to have the sacking of his rich magazine of silver goods and the spoiling of his furniture. " I say not that things are likely to come to that yet, but there is no telling bow far they may be carried. It is but a dark cloud in the distance at present, but it may in time burst into a storm that will deluge the streets of Paris with blood. I may tell you that, against you as English there is no strong feeling at present among the Burgundians, for I am informed that the duke has taken several bodies of English archers into his pay, and that at Soissons and other towns he has enlisted a score or two of these men. However, I am sure to gain in- formation long before matters come to any serious point, ex- cept a sudden outbreak arise from a street broil. I may tell you that one result of the violence of the butchers to-day may be to cause some breach between them and the Burgundian nobles, who are, I am told, greatly incensed at their refusing to give permission to the Duke of Berri to come here after Burgundy had acceded to his request, and that these fellows should venture to damage the hotel of one of the royal dukes seemed to them to be still more intolerable. The Duke of Bur- gundy may truckle to these fellows, but his nobles will strongly resent their interference and their arrogant insolence, and the duke may find that if he is to retain their support he will have to throw over that of these turbulent citizens. Moreover, their conduct adds daily to the strength of the Orleanists among the citizens, and if astrong Armagnac force approaches Paris they will be hailed by no small portion of the citizens as dehv- erers. ' ' ^'In truth I can well nnderstand; Signor Montepone, that IN THE STREETS OF PARIS 115 the nobles should revolt against lliis association with butchers and skinners; 'tis past all bearing that fellows like these should thus meddle in [Kiblic affairs." "The populace of Paris has ever been turbulent," the Italian reijlied. " In this it resembles the cities of Flanders, and the butchers are ever at the bottom of all tumults. Now I will introduce my daughter to you ; it is well that you should know her, for in ca.se of need she may serve as a messenger, and it may be that I may .some day ask you to present her to your latly." He opened the door. " Katarina ! " he said without rais- ing his voice, and at once a girl came running up from the floor below. " This is my daughter, Master Aylmer ; you have seen her before." Katarina was a girl of some fourteen years of age. She was dressed in black, and was tall and slight. Her com- plexion was fairer than that of her father, and she already gave promise of considerable beauty, (juy bowed to her as she made her reverence, while her face lit up with an amused smile. " Your father says I have seen you before, signora, but in sooth I know not where or how, since it was but this morn- ing that I arrived in Paris." "We parted but half an hour since, monsieur." "Parted?" Guy repeated with a puzzled expression on his face. " Surely you are jesting with me." " Do you not recognize my messenger? " the Italian said with a smile. " iMy daughter is my a.ssistant. In a business like mine one cannot trust a stranger to do one service, and as a boy she could come and go unmarked when she carries a message to persons of quality. She looks a saucy page in the daytime when she goes on the business, but after nightfall 116 AT AGINCOURT she is dressed as you saw her this evening. As a girl she could not traverse the streets unattended, and I am far too busy to bear her company ; but as a boy she can go where she likes, and indeed it is only when we are alone, and there is little chance of my having visitors, that she appears in her proper character." " You must be very courageous, signora," Guy said ; " but, indeed, I can well imagine that you can pass where you will without anyone suspecting you to be a girl, for the thought that this was so never entered my head." ** I am so accustomed to the disguise," she said, " that I feel more comfortable in it than dressed as I now am, and it is much more amusing to be able to go about as I like than to remain all day cooped up here when my father is abroad." "And now, Master Aylmer, that you have made my daughter's acquaintance, and I have told you what news I have gathered, it needs not that I should detain you longer ; the hour is getting late already, and your lady may well be getting anxious at your absence. Can you read?" "Yes, signor ; the priest at my lady's castle in England, of which my father is castellan during my lord's absences, in- structed me." "It is well; for sometimes a note can be slipped into a hand when it would not be safe to deliver a message by word of mouth. From time to time if there be anything new you shall hear from me, but there will be no occasion for you to come hither again unless there is something of importance on which I may desire to have speech with you, or you with me. Remain here, Katarina, until my return ; I will see monsieur out, and bar the door after him." Passing downstairs Guy looked in at the room where he ULV AM< lAI.NL, lu.M (.U.ME lu lilt. Kl-.M 1 L ill- lol M (llARLtS. IN THE STREETS OF PARIS 117 had left the arclier. The latter sprung to his feet as he entered with a somewhat dazed expression on his face, for indeed, he had fallen off into a sound sleep. " We are going now, Tom," (iuy said. " I have con- cluded my business with this gentleman. We will not go back the way we came," he went on, as they issued into the street, "for I am sure we should never find our way through those alleys. Let us keep along here until we come to a broader street leading the way we wish to go ; fortimately, with the river to our left, we cannot go very far wrong." They presently came to a street leading in the desired direction. They had .scarcely entered it when they heard ahead of them llic sound of a fray. A loud cry arose, and there was a clashing of sword-blades. "Come on, Tom ! " Guy said; "it may be that some gentleman is attacked by these ruffians of the streets." Starting off at a run, they soon arrived at the scene of combat, the features of which they were able to see by the light of the lamp that himg in the centre of the street. A man was standing in a narrow doorway, which prevented his being attacked except in front, and the stej) on which he stood gave him a slight advantage over his adversaries. These were nearly a dozen in number, and were evidently, as Guy had supposed, street ruffians of the lowest class. Without hesitation Guy and the archer fell upon them, with a shout of encouragement to tlie defender of the doorway, who was evidently sorely pressed. Tom's (piarter-staff sent two of the men rolling on the ground almost before they realized that they were attacked, while Guy ran another through the body. For a moment the assailants scattered, but then, seeing that they were attacked by only two men, they fell upon them with fury. Guy defended himself stoutly, but he would have fared 118 AT AGINCOURT badly had it not been for the efforts of Long Tom, whose staff descended with such tremendous force upon the heads of his assailants that it broke down their guard, and sent man after man on to the pavement. Guy himself received a sharp wound in the shoulder, but cut down another of his assail- ants ; and the defender of the door, leaving his post of van- tage, now joined them, and in a couple of minutes but four of the assailants remained on their feet, and these, with a shout of dismay, turned and took to their heels. Guy had now opportunely arrived. As the latter took off his hat he saw time to look at the gentleman to whose assistance he had so that the stranger was but a year or two older than himself. "By our Lady, sir," the young man said, " you arrived at a lucky moment, for I could not much longer have kept these ruffians at bay. I have to thank you for my life, which, assuredly, they would have taken, especially as I had disposed of two of their comrades before you came up. May I ask to whom I am so indebted? I am Count Charles d'Estournel." "My name is Guy A.ylmer, sir; I am the son of Sir James Aylmer, an English knight, and am here as the esquire of Dame Margaret de Villeroy, who arrived but this morning in Paris." " x\nd who is this stalwart fellow whose staff has done more execution than both our sword -blades ? " the young count asked ; " verily it rose and fell like a flail on a thrash- ing-floor." " He is one of Dame ALirgaret's retainers, and the captain of a band of archers in her service, but is at present here as one of her men-at-arms." " In truth I envy her so stout a retainer. Good fellow, I have to thank you much, as well as Monsieur Guy Aylmer, for your assistance. ' ' J IN THE STREETS OF PARIS 119 "One is always glad of an opportvniity to stretch one's arms a bit when there is but a good excuse for doing so," the archer said; "and one needs no better chance than when one sees a gentleman attacked by such scum as these ruf- fians," and he motioned to the men lying stretched on the ground. "Ah, you are English ! " D'Estournel said with a slight smile at Tom's very broken French. " I know all about you now," he went on, turning to Guy. " 1 was not present to- day when your lady had audience with Burgundy, but I heard that an P^nglish dame had arrived, and that the duke canie but badly out of the encounter in words with her. Rut we had best be moving on or wemay ha\e the watch on us, and we should be called upon to account for these ten felloes lying here. I doubt not but half of them are only stunned and will soon make off, the other si.x will have to be carried away. We have a good account to give of ourselves, but the watch would probably not trouble themselves to ask any questions, and I have no fancy for spending a night locked up in the cage with perhaps a dozen unsavoury malefactors. Which way does your course lie, sir ? " " We are lodged at the house of Maitre Leroux, provost of the silversmiths." "Then you are going in the wrong direction. You return up this street, then turn to your right; his liou.se is in the third street to the left. I shall do myself the honour of call- ing in the morning to thank )i)u more fully for the service you have rendered me, which, should it ever fall into my power, you can count on my returning. My way now lies in the op])Osite direction." After mutual salutes they parted, and Guy followed the di- rections given to them. "That was a sharp skirmish, Master Guy," Long Tom 120 AT AGINCOURT said contentedly ; " the odds were just enough to make it in- teresting. Did you escape scatheless? " "Not altogether, Tom, I had a sword - thrust in my shoulder; but I can do with it until I get back, when I will get you to bandage it for me." "That will I; I did not get so much as a scratch. A quarter-staff is a rare weapon in a fight like that, for you can keep well out of the reach of their swords. In faith I have not had so pleasant an exercise since that fight Dickon and I had in the market-place at Winchester last Lammas fair." " lam afraid Dame Margaret will scold us for getting into a fray." ' ' Had it not been for your wound we need have said noth- ing about it ; but you may be sure that you will have to carry your arm in a sling for a day or two, and she will want to know the ins and outs of the matter." " I think the affair has been a fortunate one, for it has ob- tained for me the friendship of a young Burgundian noble. Friendless as we are here, this is no slight matter, and I by no means grudge the amount of blood I have lost for such a gain. There is a light in Dame Margaret's casement ; she said that she should sit up till my return, and would herself let me in, for the household would be asleep two hours ago ; and as Maitre Leroux and his wife have shown themselves so kindly disposed towards us, she should not like the household disturbed at such an hour. I was to whistle a note or two of Richard Mon Roi, and she would know that we were without." He whistled a bar or two of the air, they saw a shadow cross the casement, then the light disappeared, and in a minute they heard the bolts undrawn and the door opened. "You are late, Guy," she said; " I have been expecting you this hour past. Why, what has happened to you ? ' ' she broke off as she saw his face. IN THE STREETS OF PARIS 121 " It is but a trifle, lady," he said ; " a sword-thrust in the shoulder, and a little blood. Long Tom will bind it up. Our delay was cau.sed i)artly by the fact that the Italian was engaged, and it was half-an-hour before I could see him. Moreover, we had been kept at the trysting-place, as the guide did not recognize me owing to 'i om being with me ; and lastly, we were somewhat delayed by the matter that cost me this sword-thrust, which I in no way grudge, since it has gained for us a friend who may be useful." Tom had by this time barred the door and had gone up- stairs, "lam disappointed in you, Guy," Dame Margaret said severely when they entered the room. "I told you to keep yourself free from frays of all kinds, and here you have been engaged in one before we have been twelve hours in Paris." " I crave your pardon, madam, but it is not in human nat- ure to stand by without drawing a sword on behalf of a young gentleman defending himself against a dozen cut-throats. I am sure that in such a case your ladyship would be the first to bid me draw and strike in. The matter did not last three minutes. Tom disposed of six of them with his quarter-staff, the gentleman had killed two before we arrived, and I man- aged to di.spose of two others, the rest took to their heels. The young gentleman was Count Charles d'Estournel ; he is, as it seems, in the Duke of Burgundy's train; and as we un- doubtedly saved his life, he may turn out a good and useful friend." "You are right. C.ny ; I sjioke perhaps too hastily. And now about the other matter." Guy told her all that had taken place. "And what is this man like?" she asked when he had concluded. " Now that I saw him without the astrologer's robe and in 122 AT AGINCOURT his ordinary costume he seemed to me a very proper gentle- man," Guy replied. " He is my height or thereabouts, grave in face and of good presence. I have no doubt that he is to be trusted, and he has evidently resolved to do all in his power to aid you, should it be necessary to do so. He would scarce have introduced his daughter to me had it not been so." "He must be a strange man," Dame Margaret said thoughtfully. " He is certainly no common man, lady. As I have told you, he believes thoroughly in his science, and but adopts the costume in which I first saw him and the role of a quack vendor of nostrums in order that his real profession may not be known to the public, and so bring him in collision with the church." "It seems to me, Guy," Dame Margaret said the next morning, " that as you have already made the acquaintance of a young French noble, and may probably meet with others, 'twill be best that, when we have finished our breakfast, you should lose no time in sallying out and i)roviding yourself with suitable attire. Spare not money, for my purse is very full. Get yourself a suit in which you can accompany me fitly if I again see the duke, or, as is possible, have an interview with the queen. Get two others, the one a quiet one, and not likely to attract notice, for your ordinary wear ; the other a more handsome one, to wear when you go into the company of the young men of station like this Burgundian noble whom you succoured last niglit. Your father being a knight, you may well, as the esquire of my lord, hold your head as high as other young esquires of good family in the train of French nobles." On Agnes and Charlie coming into the room, the latter ex- claimed, " Why have you got your arm in a scarf, Guy ? " " He was in a fray last night, Charlie. He and Tom came I i IN THE STREETS OF PARIS 123 a upon a number of ruffians fighting a young gentleman, so they joined in and helped him, and Guy was wounded in the shoulder." " Did they beat the bad men, mother? " " Yes, dear; Guy liad taken a sword with him, as it was after dark, and 'Ibm had his quarter-staff." "Then the others can have had no chance," Charlie said decidedly. " I ha\e often seen Long 'I'om playing with the quarter-staff, and he could beat anyone in the castle. I war- rant he laid about him well. I should have liked to have been there to have seen it, mother." " It will be a good many years yet, Charlie, before you will be old enough to go out after dark in such a place as Paris." " But I saw real fighting at the castle, mother, and I am sure I was not afraid even when the cannon made a great noise. ' ' " No, you behaved very well, Charlie ; but it is one thing to be standing on the top of a keep and another to be in the streets when a fray is going on all round." " Did you kill anyone, Guy ? " the boy asked eagerly. " Some of them were wounded," Guy replied, " but I can- not say for certain that anyone was killed." '' They ought to be killed, these bad men who attack peo- ple in the street. If I were King of France I would have all their heads chopped off." " It is not so easy to < atcii them, Charlie. When the watch come upon tliem when tliey are doing such things there is not much mercy shown to them." As soon :is breakfast was over Guy went out, after learning from Maitre Lerou.v the address of a tradesman who generally kept a stock of garments in store, in readiness for those passing through Paris, who might not ha\c time to stop while clothes were specially made fassage; buckets of water had been thrown down on the stairs, and the servitors by a vigorous use of brooms had removed most of the traces of the fray. The work had just ijeen finished, and Dame Margaret's men had, by Guy's orders, stationed themselves on the landing to do honour to the knights as they set out. *' Ah, my tall friend," D'Estournel said to the archer, "so you have been at work again, and I can see that you are even more doughty with the bow than with that long staff of yours. Well, this time there must have been enough fighting to please even you." " It has been an indifferent good fight, my lord," Tom said ; " but in truth, save for the stand on that pile o( logs below, when things were for a time brisk, it has been alto- gether too one-sided to please me." " Most people would think that the one-sidedness was all the other way," D'l'^stournel laughed. "Well, men, you have all done your duty to your lady right well lliis night, and there is not one of us here who would not gkidly liave such brave fellows in his service. I see that you are all four wounded." " They are scarce to be called wounds, Sir Count, seeing that they are but flesh cuts from their halberts which we got in the fray bchjw. These slaughterers can doubtless strike a good blow with a jKile-axe, but they are but clumsy varlets with other wea])ons. Puit to give them their due, they fought stoull)- if with but link- skill ur discretion." Several of the others also said a few words of commenda- tion to the men. 'I'he provost and (luy escorted the knights to the door below. 'l"he latter had ordered twenty of their 158 AT AGINCOURT men-atirms to remain in the house until morning, after which ^en were to stay there until the doors had been re- paired and refixed. As soon as the knights had ridden off the silversmith ordered several bundles of rushes to be strewn in the shop for the guard, and a meal of cold meat to be set for their supper. Two of them were posted as sentinels at the door. " I shall not open the shop to-morrow," he said as he as- cended the stairs with Guy, " nor indeed shall I do so until things have settled down. There will be for some time a mighty animosity on the part of these butchers and skinners against me, and it is only reasonable that after such an attack I should close my shop. Those who have dealings with me will know that they can do their business with me in private. And now methinks we will retire to bed ; 'tis past midnight, and there is no fear of our being disturbed again. If they send anyone to spy out whether we are on the watch, the sight of the Burgundian soldiers below will suffice to tell them that there is nothing to be done. The first thing to- morrow I will set the carpenters to work to make me an even stronger pair of doors than those that have been spoilt." CHAPTER X AFTER THE FRAY ON going into Dame Margaret's apartments Guy found that she had again retired to rest, and at once threw himself on his bed without disrobing himself further than taking off his armour, for he felt that it was possible the assailants might return after finding that the Burgundian knights and men-at- AFTER THE FRAY 159 arms had ridden away. He had told the men-at-arms to keep watch by turns at the toj) of the stairs, where the barri- cade still remained, and to run in to wake him should they hear any disturbance whatever at the door below. He slept but lightly, and several times went out to see that the watch was being well kept, and to look up and down the street to assure him.self that all was quiet. "You did nobly last night, Guy," Dame Margaret said as she met him in the morning; "Sir Eustace himself could have done no better had he been here. When I next write to my lord I shall tell him how well you have protected us, and pray him to send word of it to your father." " I did my best, lady ; but it is to Long Tom that it is chiefly due that our defence was made good. It was his shooting that caused the long delay in breaking open the door, and that enabled us to hold the barricade below-, and he also stoutly aided in the defence of the landing." " Nevertheless, Guy, it was under your direction that all things were done. It is to the leader who directs that the first praise is due rather than to the strongest and bravest of his men-at-arms. It was, too, owing to your interference on behalf of Count Charles d'Elstournel that we owe it that succour came to us; it was his friendship for you that prompted him to gather his friends to come to our aid ; and it was the warning, short though it was, sent us by that strange Italian that enabled you to send to the count for aid. I must see his daughter and thank her personally for the part she played in the matter. No, Guy, had it not been for you this house would now have been an empty shell, and all of us would have been lying under its ruins. I have been thinking during the night that you must be most careful when you go abroad ; you know that the son of that monster Caboche, the leader of the skinners, and doubtless many leaders of the 160 AT AGINCOURT butchers, among them Legoix, were killed, and their friends are certain to endeavour to take vengeance on you. They saw you at the window, they will know that you are my esquire, and will doubtless put down their defeat entirely to you. You cannot be too careful, and, above all, you must not venture out at night save on grave occasion. Agnes," she broke off as the girl entered the room, "you too must thank our brave esquire for having so stoutly defended us." "I do thank you most heartily, Guy," the girl said, " though I felt it very hard that I could do nothing to help you. It was terrible sitting here and hearing the fight so close to us, and the dreadful shouts and screams of those people, and to have notliing to do but to wait. Not that I was frightened, I felt quite confident that you would beat them, but it was so hard to sit quiet. I should not have minded so much if I could have been standing there to see the brave deeds that were being done." " Like the queen of a tournament, Agnes," her mother said with a smile. "Yes, indeed, it is one of the hardships of us women. It is only when a castle is besieged and her lord is away that a woman may buckle on armour and set an example to her retainers by showing herself on the wall and risking the enemies' bolts, or even, if necessary, taking her place with her retainers on the breach; at other times she must be passive and wait while men fight." " If I had only had my bow," Agnes said regretfully, " I could really have done something. You would have let me go out then, mother, would you not ? " " I don't know, dear ; no, I don't think I should. It was anxious work enough for me as it was. If you had gone out I must have done so, and then Charlie would have wanted to go too. No ; it was much better that we all sat together as AFTER THE FRAY 161 we did, waiting quietly for what miglit come, and praying for those who were fighting for us. ' ' " I was glad that Madame Leroux stayed upstairs with her maid instead of coming down here as you asked her, mother ; she looked so scared and white that I do think it would have been worse than listening to the fighting to have had to sit and look at her." Dame Margaret smiled. " Yes, Agnes, but I think that she was more frightened for her husband than for herself, and I don't suppose that she had ever been in danger before. In- deed, I must say that to look out at that crowd of horrible creatures below, brandishing their weapons, shouting and yelling, was enough to terrify any quiet and peaceable woman. As a knight's wife and daughter it was our duty to be calm and composed and to set an example, but a citizen's wife would not feel the same obligation, and might show her alarm without feeling that she disgraced herself or her husband." On going out Guy found their host already engaged in a conference with a master carpenter as to tlie construction of the new doors. They were to be very strong and heavy, made of the best oak. and protected l)y thick sheets of iron ; the hinges were to l)c of great strength to bear the weight. A smith had also arrived to receive instructions for making and setting very strong iron bars before the shop, the front of which would retpiire to be altered to allow of ma.ssive shutters being erected on the inside. Iron gates were also to be fixed before the door. " That will make something like a fortress of it, AFaster Aylmer," the silversmith said, " and it will then need heavy battering-rams to break into it. Several others of my craft similarly protect their shops ; and certainly no one can blame me, after the attack of last night, for taking every means to defend myself. 1 intend to enlist a party of ten 162 AT AGINCOURT fighting men to act as a garrison until these troubles are all over." " I think that you will act wisely in doing so," Guy said. " Your servants all bore themselves bravely last night, but they had no defensive armour and were unaccustomed to the use of weapons. Only I would advise you to be very careful as to the men that you engage, or you may find your guard within as dangerous as the mob without." " I will take every pains as to that, you may be sure, and will engage none save after a careful inquiry into their char- acters. ' ' The streets had already been cleared of the slain. All through the night little parties had searched for and carried off their dead, and when at early morning the authorities sent a party down to clear the street there remained but some twenty-five bodies, evidently by their attire belonging to the lowest class, and presumably without friends. That day pe- titions and complaints were sent to the king by the provosts of the merchants, the gold and silver smiths, the cloth mer- chants, the carpenters and others, complaining of the tumults caused by the butchers and their allies, and especially of the attack without cause or reason upon the house of Maitre Le- roux, the worshipful provost of the silversmiths. Several skirmishes occurred in the evening between the two parties, but an order was issued in the name of the king to the Maire and syndics of Paris rebuking them for allowing such disturb- ances and tumults, and ordering them to keep a portion of the burgher guard always under arms, and to repress such dis- turbances, and severely punish those taking part in them. Maitre Leroux and his wife paid a formal visit to Dame Margaret early in the day to thank her for the assistance that her retainers had given in defending the house. "You were good enough to say, madame," the silversmith AFTER THF. FRAY 103 said, " that you regretted tlie troidjle that your stay here gave us. We assured you tlien, and truly, tliat the tr()ul»]e was as nothing, and that we felt your presence as an honour ; now you see it has turned out more. Little did we think when you came here but a few days since that your coming would be the means of preserving our lives and property, yet so it has been, for assuredly if it had not been for your es(iuire and brave retainers we should have been murdered last night. As it is we have not only saved our lives but our property, and save for the renewal of the doors we shall not have been the losers even in the value of a crown i)iece. Thus, from being our guests you have become our benefactors ; and one good result of what has i)a.ssed is, that henceforth you will feel that, however long your stay here, and however much we may try to do for you, it will be but a trifle towards the discharge of the heavy obligation under which we feel to you." After a meeting of the city council that afternoon, a guard of ten men was sent to the silversmith's to relieve the Burgun- dian men-at-arms. l''ive of these were to be on duty night and day until the house was made secure b)' the new doors and iron grill erected in front of the shop. Guy proposed to Dame Margaret that he should give up his visit to the sallc (farmcs, but this she would not hear of. "I my.self and the ( hildren will go no more abroad tmtil matters become more settled, but it is on all accounts well that you should go to the sc;hool of arms. Already the friends that you have made have been the means of saving our lives, and it is well to keep them. We know not what is before us, but assuredly wc need friends. Maitre Leroux was telling me this morning that the Armagnacs are fast approaching, and that in a few days they will be within a short distance of Paris. Their apjiroach will assuredly embitter the hostility between the factions here, anil should they threaten the town 164 AT AGINCOURT there may be fierce fighting within the walls as well as with- out. At present, at any rate, there are likely to be no more disturbances such as that of last night, and therefore no occa- sion for you to remain indoors. Even these butchers, arro- gant as they are, will not venture to excite the indignation that would be caused by another attack on this house. That, however, will make it all the more likely that they will seek revenge in other ways, and that the house will be watched at night and any that go out followed and murdered. ' ' You and Tom the archer are no doubt safe enough from the attack of ordinary street ruffians, but no two men, how- ever strong and valiant, can hope to defend themselves suc- cessfully against a score of cut-throats. But I pray you on your way to the school go round and thank, in my name, this Italian and his daughter, and say that I desire much to thank the young lady personally for the immense service she has rendered me and my children. Take the archer with you, for even in the daytime there are street brawls in which a single man who had rendered himself obnoxious could read- ily be despatched." "In faith. Master Guy," Long Tom said as they sallied out, " it seems to me that if our stay in Paris is a prolonged one I shall return home rich enough to buy me an estate, for never did money so flow into my pocket. We have been here but a short time, and I have gained as much and more than I should do in a year of hard service. First there was that young French count, the very next morning when he called here he gave me a purse with thirty crowns, telling me pleas- antly that it was at the rate of five crowns for each skull I cracked on his behalf. Then this morning Maitre Leroux came to me and said, ' Good fellow, it is greatly to your skill and valour that I owe my life, and that of my wife; this will help you to set up housekeeping when you return home,' AFTER THE FRAY 165 and he gave me a purse with a luinclred crowns in it ; what think you of that, master? The other tiuee also got purses of fifty crowns each. If that is the rate of i)ay in Paris for a couple of hours' fighting, I do not care how often I take a share in a fray." " You are doing well indeed, Tom, but you must remem- ber that sooner or later you might go into a fray and lose your life, and with it the chance of buying that estate you speak of. ' ' " We must all take our chances, master, and there is no winning a battle without the risk of the breaking of cas(iues. Are we going to the house we went to the first night we came here, Master Guy? Mcthinks that this is the street we stopped at." " Yes, Tom. It was the man who lives here who sent me word that the butchers were going to attack the provost's house, by the same messenger who met us before Notre Dame, and who last night, after warning me, carried my message to Count Charles, praying him to come to our aid." " Then he did us yeoman service," the archer said warmly, " though I think not that they would have carried the barri- cade had they fought till morning." "Perhaps not, though I would not say so for certain, for they might have devised some plan such as they did for cov- ering themselves while they assaulted the door. F5ut even had they not done so they would have been sure before they retired to have fired tlie hou.se." "That is what I thought of when they were attacking us," the archer said, "and wondered why they should waste men so freely when a torch would have done their business just as well for them." " That would have been so, Tom. had they only wished to kill us; but though, no doubt, the leaders desired chiefly the life of the provost, the mob simply fought for plunder. If 166 AT AGINCOURT they had found all the jeweller's store in his shop, they would have fired the house very quickly when they discovered that they could not get at us. But it was the plunder that they wanted, and it was the sight of those chests full of silver-ware that made them venture their lives so freely, in order to have the handling of it. I do not think that I shall be long here, Tom. Do not wait for me at the door, but stroll up and down, keeping a short distance away, so that I can see you when I come out." A decrepit old woman opened the door, and on Guy giving his name she said that she had orders to admit him if he called. The girl came out dressed in her female attire as he went upstairs. " Ah, signor," she said, " I am glad indeed to see that you are safe. ' ' "Thanks to you," he said warmly; "we are all your debtors indeed." " I had but to run a mile or two," she said; "but what was there in that? But indeed I had an anxious time, I so feared that I should be too late. When I had seen the Count d'Estournel and delivered your message to him and had shown him your ring, and he and his friends had declared tliat they would call up their men and come at once to your aid, I coufd not go back and wait until this morning to learn if they arrived in time, so I ran to your street again and hid in a doorway and looked out. Just as I got there they broke in the door and I saw some of them rush in. But there was a pause, though they were all pressing to enter. They went in very slowly, and I knew that you must be defending the entrance. At last there was a sudden rush, and I almost cried out. I thought that it was all over. A great many entered and then there was a pause again. The crowd outside became more and more furious ; it was dreadful AFTER THE FRAY 167 to hear their shouts and to see the waving of torches and weapons. ■' They seemed to be ahiiost mad to get in. The crush round the door was terrible, and it was only when two or three horsemen rode in among them shouting, that the press ceased a little. One horseman obtained silence for a moment by holding up liis hand. He told them that their friends inside were attacking a barricade, and would soon carry it, and then there would be silver enough for all ; but that by pressing forward they did but hamper the efforts of their com- rades. It seemed, oh, such a long, long time before I saw the Burgundians coming along, and I could not help throwing my cap up and shouting when they charged into the crowd. I waited until it was all over, and then I ran back home and had a rare scolding for being out so late ; but I did not mind that much, after knowing that yon were all safe." At this moment a voice from the landing above said : " Are you going to keep Master Aylmer there all day with your chat- tering, Katarina? " The girl made a little face and nodded to Guy to go upstairs. " Katarina is becoming a madca])," the astrologer said, as he led Guy into the room. " I cannot blame her altogether ; I have made a boy of her, and I ought not to be shocked at her acting like one. But she gave me a rare fright last night when she did not return until close on midnight. Still, it was natural for her to wish to see how her mission had turned out." " Her quickness saved all our lives," Guy said. " Had it not been for her carrying my message to the Count d'Estonr- nel we should have been burnt alive before morning." " It was unfortiuiate that I sent you the message .so late. Master Aylmer. I was busy when a medical student who sometimes gathers news for me in the butchers' quarter came 168 AT AGINCOURT here, and left a missive for me. Had he sent up a message to me that it was urgent, I would have begged the personage I had with me to wait a moment while I read the letter. As it was, it lay downstairs till my visitor departed. When I learned the news I sent off Katarina at once. She had but a short time before come in, and was fortunately still in her boy's dress, so there was no time lost. I went out myself at ten o'clock to see what was going on, and must have been close to her without either of us knowing it. I looked on for a short time ; but seeing that nothing could be done, and feeling sure that the house must be taken, — knowing nothing of the chance of the Burgundians coming to the rescue, — I returned here and was surprised to find that Katarina had not returned. " I did not think that she could have reached the shop and warned you before the mob arrived, and therefore I became greatly alarmed as the time went by without her appearing. Indeed, my only hope was that she must have been looking on at the fight and would return when it was all over, as indeed it turned out ; and I should have rated her much more soundly than I did had she not told me how she had fetched the Bur- gundians and that they had arrived in time. I hear that there is a great stir this morning. The number of men they have lost, and specially the deaths of Legoix and of the young Caboche, have infuriated the butchers and skinners. They have already sent off two of their number to lay their com- plaint before the Duke of Burgundy of the conduct of some of his knights in attacking them when they were assailing the house of a noted Armagnac. But they feel tliat they them- selves for the moment must remain quiet, as the royal order has emboldened the Maire, supported by the traders' guilds, and notably by the carpenters, who are a very strong body, to call out a portion of the city guard, and to issue an order I AFTER THE FRAY 169 that all making disturbances, whomsoever they may be and under whatsoever pretext they are acting, will be summarily hung if captured when so engaged. " In spite of this there will no doubt be troubles ; but they will not venture again to attack the house of the silversmith, at any rate until an order comes from the Duke of Burgundy to forbid his knights from interfering in any way with their doings." "Which T trust he will not send," Guy said; "and I doubt if the knights will obey it if it comes. They are already much enraged at the insolence of the butchers, and the royal proclamation this morning will justify them in aiding to put down disturbances whatsoever may be the duke's orders. And now. Sir Count, I have come hither this morning on behalf of my lady mistress to thank you for sending the news, and still more for the service your daughter rendered in sum- moning the knights to her assistance. She desires much to return thanks herself to your daughter, and will either call here to see her or would gladly receive her at her lodging should you prefer that." " I should prefer it. Master Aylmer. Your lady can scarce pass through the streets unnoticed, for her English appearance marks her at once ; and as all know she lodges at the silver- smith's, she will be more particularly noticed after the events of last night, and her coming here will attract more attention to me than I care for. Therefore I will myself bring Katarina round and will do myself the honour of calling upon your lady. I can wrap the girl up in a cloak so that she shall not attract any observation, for no one knows, save the old woman below, that I have a daughter here ; and with so many calling at the house, and among them some reckless young court gallants, I care not that it should be known, if for no other reason than, were it so, it would be soon suspected that the lad who goes so 170 AT AGINCOURT often in and out is tlie girl in disguise, and I could then no longer trust her in the streets alone. ' ' " You will find my lady in at whatever hour you come, signor, for she has resolved not to go abroad again until order is restored in Paris." '' The decision is a wise one," the Italian said; "though indeed I think not that she would be in any danger, save that which every good-looking woman runs in troubled times like these, when crime is unpunished, and those in authority are far too occupied with their own affairs to trouble their heads about a woman being carried off. But it is different with you and your comrade. The butchers know well enough that it was your work that caused their failure last night. Your appearance at the window was noticed, and it was that tall archer of yours who played such havoc among them. There- fore I advise you to be ever on your guard, and to purchase a mail shirt and wear it under your doublet; for, however watchful you may be, an assassin may steal up behind you and stab you in the back. You may be sure that Caboche and the friends of Legoix will spare no pains to take ven- geance upon you." Guy presently rejoined the archer in the street. " Hence- forth, Tom," he said, "you must always put on breast-and- back piece when you go out. I have been warned that our lives will almost surely be attempted, and that I had best put on a mail shirt under my doublet." " Perhaps it would be best, Master Guy. I fear not three men if they stand up face to face with me, but to be stabbed in the back is a thing that neither strength nor skill can save one from. But as I care not to be always going about in armour I will expend some of my crowns in buying a shirt of mail also. 'Tis better by far than armour, for a man coming up behind could stab one over the line of the back-piece or AFTER THE KRAV 171 under the arm, while if you have mail under your coat they will strike at you fair between the shoulders, and it is only by striking high up on the neck that they have any chance with you. A good coat of mail is money well laid out, and will last a lifetime ; and even if it cost me all the silversmith's crowns I will have a right good one." Guy nodded. He was wondering in his own mind how he should be able to procure one. His father had given him a purse on starting, but the money might be needed for emer- gencies. He certainly could not ask his mistress for such a sum, for she too might have need of the money that she had brought with her. He was still turning it over in his mind when they reached the fencing-school. He was greeted with acclamations as he entered by the young count and his friends. ''Here is our defender of houses," the former exclaimed. "Truly, Guy, you have given a lesson to the butchers that they sorely needed. They say that the king himself, who is in one of his good moods to-day, has interested himself mightily in the fray last night, and that he has expressed a wish to hear of it from the esquire who he has been told com- manded the defence. So it is not unlikely that there will be a royal message for you to attend at the palace. Fortunately we had the first say in the matter this morning. My father returned last night, and as he is rather a favourite of his majesty, we got him to go to the king and obtain audience as soon as he arose, to com[)lain of the conduct of the butchers in attack- ing the house of the provost of the silversmiths, and where, moreover. Dame Villeroy, who had arrived here in obedience to his majesty's own commands, was lodged. The king when he heard it was mightily offended. He said he had not been told of her coming, and that this insult to her touched his honour. He sent at once for the Maire and syndics, and 173 AT AGINCOURT upbraided them bitterly for allowing such tumults to take place, and commanded them to put a stop to them under pain of his severe displeasure. "That accounts, you see, for the Maire's proclamation this morning. The king desired my father to thank me and the other knights and gentlemen for having put down the riot, and said that he would at once send off a message to the Duke of Burgundy commanding him to pay no attention to any re- ports the butchers might send to him, but to give them a stern answer that the king was greatly displeased with their con- duct, and that if any fresh complaint about them was made he would straightway have all their leaders hung. " It is one thing to threaten, and another to do, Guy; but at any rate, so long as the duke is away they will see that they had best keep quiet; for when the king is in his right senses and is not swayed by others, he is not to be trifled with. " You can imagine what an excitement there was last night when that boy you sent arrived. The ring was sent up first, and when Igave orders that he should be admitted he came in well-nigh breathless. There were six or eight of us, and all were on the point of leaving. Thinking that it might be something private, they had taken up their hats and cloaks. The boy, as he came in, said, ' Which of you is Count Charles d'Estournel? ' 'I am,' I said. 'You are the bearer of a message from Guy Aylmer ? ' 'I am, my lord. He prays you hasten to his assistance, for the butchers and skinners are attacking Maitre Leroux's house, and had begun to hammer on the door when I was still in the street. If they make their way in, they will surely kill all they find in there. They are shouting, ' Death to the Armagnacs ! Death to the English spies ! ' " I called upon my comrades to join me, and all were eager AFTER THE FRAY 173 to do SO. We had long been smarting under the conduct of these ruffians, and moreover I was glad to discharge a part of my debt to you. So each ran to his lodgings and despatched servitors to summon their men-at-arms, and to order the horses to be saddled, and to gather in front of my lodging with all speed. Two or three of my friends who had left earlier were also summoned ; but though we used all the speed we could it was more than an hour before all were assembled. The men-at-arms were scattered, and had to be roused; then there was the work, of getting the stables open, and we had to force the doors in some places to do it. I was on thorns, as you may well imagine, and had little hope when we started that we should find any of you alive. Delighted indeed we were when, on getting near enough, we could .see the crowd were stationary, and guessed at once that you were still hold- ing out — though how you could have kept so large a number at bay was beyond us. We struck heartily and heavily, you may be sure, and chased the wolves back to their dens with a will. I hear that, what with those you slew in the house and street and those we cut down, it is reckoned that a couple of hundred were killed ; though as to this none can speak with certainty, seeing that so many bodies were carried away be- fore morning." " I trust that none of you received wounds, Count Charles?" ''None of us; though several of the men-at-arms had gashes from the rascals' weapons, but naught, I think, that will matter." At this moment one of the attendants of the salon came in. "An usher from the palace is here, my lords and gentle- men. He has been to the lodging of Master Guy Aylmer, and. has learned that he will most likely be here. If so, he 174 AT AGINCOURT has the king's command to conduct him to the palace, as His Majesty desires to have speech with him." "I told you so, Guy; my father's story has excited the king's curiosity, and he would fain hear all about it. Make the most of it, for His Majesty loves to be entertained and amused." " Had I better a.sk the usher to allow me to go back to my lodging to put on a gayer suit than this ? " Guy asked. "Certainly not; the king loves not to be keiJt waiting. Fortunately no time has been wasted so far, as this is on the road from the silversmith's to the palace." The Louvre at that time bore no resemblance to the present building. It was a fortress surrounded by a strong embattled wall, having a lofty tower at each corner and others flanking its gates. On the water-face the towers rose from the edge of the river, so that there was no passage along the quays. The building itself was in the castellated form, though with larger windows than were common in such edifices. Eight turret- shaped buildings rose far above it, each surmounted with very high steeple-like roofs, while in the centre rose another large and almost perpendicular roof, terminating in a square open gallery. The building was further protected by four em- battled towers on each side, so that if the outer wall were carried it could still defend itself. In the court-yard be- tween the outer wall and the palace were rows of low bar- racks, where troops were lodged. Tw^o regiments of the best soldiers of Burgundy were quartered here, as the duke feared that some sudden rising of the Armagnac party might put them in possession of the king's person, in which case the Orleanists would easily persuade him to issue proclamations as hostile to Burgundy as those wdiich were now published in his name against the Orleanists. The Louvre, indeed, differed but slightly from palaces of several of the great nobles within DANGER THREATENED 175 the walls of Paris, as all of these were to some extent fortified, and stood as separate fortresses capable of offering a stout re- sistance to any attack by the populace. " I would rather face those villains of last night for another hour than go before the king," Guy said, as he prepared to follow the attendant; " but 1 trust that good may come of my interview, and that I can interest the king in the case of my mistress." Joining the usher, who was waiting at the entrance, and who saluted him courteously — for the manner in which the message had been conmiunicated to the usher showed him that the young sf|uire was in no disgrace with the king — Guy walked with him to the Louvre, which was a short half- mile distant. Accompanied as he was by a royal officer, the guard at the gate offered no interruption to his passage, and proceeding across the court-yard he entered the great door- way to the palace, and, preceded by the Uvsher, ascended the grand staircase and followed him along a corridor to the apartments occupied by the king. CHAPTER XI DANGER THREATENED ON being ushered into the royal a])artment Guy was led up to the king, who was seated in a large arm-chair. He was stroking the head of a greyhound, and two or three other dogs lay at his feet. E:nglantl.' .\t any rate, after all he has told me 1 feel thai he has it in his power to be a very use- 186 AT AGINCOURT fill friend and ally to us here ; I am convinced that he is truly desirous of being so." " And how did you like the girl, Agnes? " she said, rais- ing her voice. Agnes had fetched Charlie in, and they -were looking together down into the street while their mother was talking to Guy. " I hardly know, mother ; she seemed to be so much older than I am. Sometimes when she talked and laughed, I thought I liked her very much, and then a minute later it seemed to me that I did not understand her one bit. But I do think that she would be very nice when one came to know her thoroughly." " She has lived so different a life to yourself, Agnes, that it is no wonder that you should feel at first that you have noth- ing in common with her. That she is very clever I have no doubt, and that she is brave and fearless we know. Can you tell us anything more, Guy ? " " Not very much more. Lady Margaret. I should say that she was very true and loyal. I think that at present she enters into what .she has to do in something of the same spirit as her father, and that she thoroughly likes it. I think that she is naturally full of fun and has high spirits, and that she enjoys performing these missions with which she is entrusted as a child enjoys a game, and that the fact that there is a certain amount of danger connected with them is in itself attractive to her. I am glad that yon have told me what he said to you about himself, for I could not understand him before. I think I can now, and understanding him one can understand his daughter. ' ' At eight o'clock all retired to bed. They had had little sleep the night before, and the day had been full of events. Guy's last thought was that he was .sorry for the king, who seemed to wish to do what was right, but who was a mere DANGER THREATENED 187 puppet in the hands of Burgundy or Queen Isobel, to be used as a lay figure when required by whichever had a temporary ascendency. For the next fortnight Guy worked hard in tlie salle d' amies, being one of the first to arrive and the last to depart, and after taking a lesson from one or other of the masters he spent the rest of the morning in practising with anyone who desired an adversary. Well trained as he was in English methods of fighting, he mastered with a cpiickness that sur- jn'ised his teachers the various thrusts and parries that were new to him. At the end of that time he was able to hold his own with the young Count d'Estournel, who was regarded as an excellent swordsman. The attendance of the Burgundian nobles had now fallen off a good deal. The Armagnac army had approached Paris, St. Denis had opened its gates to them, and there were fre- quent skirmishes near the walls of Paris between parties of their knights and the Burgundians. Paris was just at present more quiet. Burgundy was still absent, and the future seemed so uncertain, that both factions in the city held their hands for a time. The news that a reconciliation between Orleans and Bur- gundy had been fully effected, and that the great lords would soon enter Paris together, was received with a joy that was modified by recollections of the past. Burgundy and Orleans had once Ijefore sworn a solemn friendship, and yet a week or two later Orleans lay dead in the streets of Paris, murdered by the order of Burgundy- Was it likely that the present patching u|) of the (juarrel would have a much longer dura- tion ? On the former occasion the quarrel was a personal one between the two great houses, now all P'raiu e was divided. A vast amount of blood had been shed, tlu're had been cruel massacres, executions, and wrongs, and the men of one faction 188 - AT AGINCOURT had come to hate those of the other ; and although neither party had dared to put itself in the wrong by refusing to listen to the mediators, it was certain that the reconciliation was a farce, and that it was but a short truce rather than a peace that had been concluded. Nevertheless Paris rejoiced out- wardly, and hailed with enthusiasm the entry of the queen, the Dukes of Aquitaine, Burgundy, Berri, and Bourbon. The Duke of Aquitaine was now acting as regent, though without the title, for the king was again insane. He had mar- ried Burgundy's daughter, but it was rumoured that he was by no means disposed to submit himself blindly to the advice of her father. The only effect of the truce between the parties was to add to the power of the Burgundian faction in Paris. But few of the Armagnac party cared to trust themselves in the city that had shown itself so hostile, but most of them re- tired to their estates, and the great procession that entered the town had been for the most part composed of adherents of Burgundy. Three days after their arrival in the town Guy, on leaving the salle cf amies, found Katarina in her boy's at- tire waiting for him at the corner of the .street. " My father wouldspeak with you. Master Guy," she said shy- ly, for in the past two months she had always been in her girl's dress when he had met her. " Pray go at once," she said ; " I will not accompany you, for I have other matters to attend to." "Things are not going well," the count said when Guy entered the room ; " the Orleanists are discouraged and the butchers triumphant. At a meeting last night they determined that a body of them should wait upon the Dukes of Aquitaine and Burgundy to complain of the conduct of the knights who fell upon them when attacking the silversmith's, and demand in the name of Paris their execution." " They would never dare do that ! " Guy exclaimed in- dignantly. DANGER THREATENED 189 "They will assuredly do it, and 1 see not how they can be refused. The duke has no force that could oppose the Parisians. They might defend the Louvre and one or two of the strongly fortified houses, but the butchers would surround them with twenty thousand men. Burgundy's vassals might come to his assistance, but the gates of Paris would be closed, and it would need nothing short of an army and a long siege before they could enter Paris. When they had done so they might punish the leaders, but Burgundy would thereby lose for ever the support of the city, which is all-important to him. Therefore if you would save your friends you must warn them that it will be necessary for them to make their way out of Paris as quickly and as quietly as may be. In the next place, and principally, you yourself will assuredly be murdered. There was a talk of the meeting demanding your execution and that of your four men ; but it was decided thai there was no need to do this, as you could all be killed without trouble, and that possibly the Duke of Aquitaine might refuse on the ground that, as your lady had come here under safe-conduct as a royal hostage, you were entitled to protection, and it would be con- trary to his honour to give you up. " There are others who have displeased the Parisians whose lives they will also demand, and there are several women among them; therefore, it is clear that cwn tlie sex of your lady will not save her and her children from the fury and longing for revenge, felt by the family of Legoix and by Caboche the skinner. The only question is, where can they be bestowed in safety? 1 know what you would say, that all this is monstrous, and that it is incredil)le that the Parisians will dare to take such steps. I can assure you that it is as I say; the peril is most imminent. Probably to-night, but it' not, to-morrow the gates of Paris will Ik- < losed, and there will be no escape for any whom these people have doomed to death. 190 AT AGINCOURT In the first place, you have to warn your Burgundian friends ; that done, you must see to the safety of your four men. The three Frenchmen may, if they disguise themselves, perchance be able to hide in Paris, but your tall archer must leave the city without delay, his height and appearance would betray him in whatever disguise he were clad. " Now as to your lady and the children, remain where they are they cannot. Doubtless were she to appeal to the Duke of Burgundy for protection he would place her in the Louvre, or in one of the other castles— that is, if she could persuade him of the intentions of the Parisians, which indeed it would be difficult for her to do ; but even could she do so she would not be safe, for if he is forced to surrender some of his own knights and ladies of the court to these miscreants, he could not refuse to hand over Lady Margaret. They might, it is true, possibly escape from Paris in disguise, but I know that there is already a watch set at the gates. The only resource that I can see is that she should with her children come hither for a time. This is but a poor jjlace for her, but I think that if anywhere she might be safe with me. No one knows that I have had any dealings whatever with you, and no one connects me in any way with politics. What should a vendor of nos- trums have to do with such affairs? Thus, then, they might remain here without their presence being in the slightest degree suspected. At any rate I have as good means as any for learn- ing what is being done at their councils, and should receive the earliest information were it decided that a search should be made here ; and should this be done, which I think is most unlikely, I shall have time to remove them to some other place of concealment. " Lastly, as to yourself, I take it that nothing would induce you to fly with your Burgundian friends while your lady is in hiding in Paris? " IN HIDING 191 " Assuredly not ! " Guy said. " My lord appointed me to take charge of her and watch over her, and as long as I have life I will do so." " You will not be able to aid her, and your presence may even add to her danger. Still, I will not say that your reso- lution is not honourable and right. But, at least, you must not stay here, for your detection would almost certainly lead to hers. You, however, can be disguised ; I can darken your skin and hair, and, in some soiled garb you may hope to pass without recognition. AVHiere to bestow you I will talk over with my daughter. As soon as it becomes dusk this evening she will present herself at the house-door of Maitre Leroux. She will bring with her disguises for your lady, the children, and yourself — I have many of them here — and as soon as it is quite dark she will guide here Dame Margaret with her daugh- ter and son. You had best not sally out with them, but can follow a minute or two later and join them as soon as they turn down a side street. As to the men, yon must arrange with them what they had best do. My advice is that they should this afternoon saunter out as if merely going for a walk. They ought to go sei:)arately ; you can decide what they had best do when outside." CHAPTER XII IN HIDING THE news of this terrible danger was so wholly unexpected that Guy for a moment felt almost paralyzed. " It seems almost incredible that such wickedness could take place ! " he exclaimed. " My information is certain." the count replied. " I do 192 AT AGINCOURT not say that I think your Burgundian friends are in so much danger as some of those of the king's party, as Burgundy's influence with these Parisians goes for something; still, he might not be able to save them if they waited till the demand was made, although he might warn them if he learned that they were to be among those demanded." " Does the duke, then, know what is intended? " The count smiled. "We know what followed the last reconciliation," he said, "and can guess pretty shrewdly at what will happen now. Then the duke murdered Orleans, now he may take measures against the supporters of the present duke. It was certain that the struggle would begin again as soon as the kiss of peace had been exchanged. Last time he boldly avowed his share in the murder ; this time, most con- veniently for him, the Parisians are ready and eager to do his work for him. Dismiss from your mind all doubt ; you can rely upon everything that I have told you as being true. Whether you can convince these young knights is a matter that concerns me not ; but remember that if you fail to con- vince your mistress, her life and those of her children are for- feited ; and that, so far as I can see, her only hope of safety is in taking refuge here." " I thank you with all my heart," Guy said, " and will now set about carrying out your advice. First, I will return to my lady and consult with her, and see what we had best do with the men. As to Count Charles d'Estournel and his friends, I will see them as soon as I have arranged the other matter. Their case is not so pressing, for, at least, when once beyond the gates they will be safe. I will see that my lady and the children shall be ready to accompany your daughter when she comes for them." " Look well up and down the street before you sally out," the count said ; "see that there are but i^^i people about. It IN HIDING 193 is a matter of life and death that no one who knows you shall see you leave this house." Guy followed his advice, and waited until there was no one within fifty yards of the door, then he went out, crossed the street, took the first turning he came to, and then made his way back to the silversmith's as fast as he could. " What ails you, Guy? " Dame Margaret said as he entered the room, "you look sorely disturbed, and as pale as if you had received some injury." " Would that that were all, my lady. I have had news from the Count of Montepone of so strange and grave a nature that I would not tell you it, were it not tliat he is so much in earn- est, and so well convinced of its truth that I cannot doubt it." He then related what the count had told him, and repeated the offer of shelter he had made. " This is, indeed, beyond all bounds," she said. " What, is it credible that the Duke of Burgundy and the king's son, the Duke of Aquitaine, can hand over to this murderous mob of Paris noble gentlemen and ladies? " " As to Burgundy, madame, it seems to me from what the count said that he himself is at the bottom of the affair, though he may not know that the Parisians demand the lives of some of his own knights as well as those of his opponents. As he did not of old hesitate to murder Orleans, the king's own brother, we need credit him willi no scruples as to how he would rid himself of others lie considers to stand in his way. As to A(iuitaine, he is a young man and powerless. There are no Orleaiiist nobles in the town to whom he might look for aid ; and if a king's brother was slain, why not a king's son? It seems to me that he is powerless." " That may be ; but I cannot consent to what the count proposes. A\'hat ! disguise myself I and hide from this base mob of Paris ! It would be an unworthy action." 13 194 AT AGINCOURT " "It is one that I knew you would shrink from, madame; but pardon me for saying that it is not your own life only, but those of your children that are at stake. When royal princes and dukes are unable to oppose these scoundrel Parisians, women and children may well bend before the storm." Dame Margaret sat for some time with knitted brows. At last she said : " If it must be, Guy, it must. It goes sorely against the grain; but for the sake of the children I will demean myself, and will take your advice. Now' you had best summon the four men-at-arms and talk over their case with them." Guy went upstairs and fetched the four men down. "We have sure news, my friends," Dame Margaret said calmly, " that to-night we and many others shall be seized by the mob and slain." An exclamation of rage broke from the four men. " There will be many others slain before that comes about," Long Tom said. " That I doubt not, Tom, but the end would be the same. An offer of refuge has been made to me and the children, and for their sake, unwilling as I am to hide myself from this base mob, I have brought myself to accept it. My brave esquire will stay in Paris in disguise, and do what may be to protect us. I have now called you to talk about your- selves. The gates will speedily be guarded and none allowed to sally out, therefore what is to be done must be done quickly." "We will all stay and share your fate, madame. You could not think that we .should leave you," Robert Picard said, and the others murmured their agreement. " You would add to my danger without being able to benefit me," she said, "and my anxiety would be all the IN HIDING 195 greater. No, you must obey my commands, wiiicli are that you forthwith quit Paris. Beyond that I must leave you to judge your own course. As French men-at-arms none would question you when you were once beyond the gate. You may find it difficult t(j travel in this disturbed time, but )-ou are slirewd enough to make up some story that will account for your movements, and so may work your way back to Villeroy. Tlie ditliculty is greater in the case of your English comrade — his height and that light hair of his and ruddy face would mark him anywhere, and if lie goes with you would add to your danger, especially as his tongue would be- tray him as being luighsh the first time he spoke. However^ beyond ordering you to cpiit Paris, I must leave this matter in your hands and his, and he will doubtless take counsel with my escjuire and see if any di.sguise can be contrived to suit him. I will see you again presently. You had best go with them, Guy, and talk the matter over." " This thing cannot be done, Master Guy," the archer said doggedly when they readied their apartments; "it is not in reason. What should 1 say wlien I got home and told them at Sunnnerley that I saved my own skin and left our dear lady and the cliildren to be murdered without striking a blow on their behalf? 'i'he thing is beyond all reason, and I will maintain it to be so." " I can understand what you say, Tom, for I feel exactly as you do. The (piestion is, how is the matter to be ar- ranged? " 'I'hcn he broke into French, which the archer by this time understood well enough, thougli he could speak it but poorly. "Tom is saying that he will not go, men," lie said, " and I doubt not that you feel as he does. At the same time our lady's orders must be carried out in the first place, and you must leave Paris. But I say not that you need travel to any 196 AT AGINCOURT distance ; on the contrary, I should say that, if it can be ar- ranged, you must return here in a few days, having so changed your attire and aspect that there is no fear of your being re- cognized, and bestow yourself in some lodging where I may find you if there be need of your services." "That is what will be best, Master Guy," Robert Picard said. " We have but to get steel caps of another fashion to pass well enough, and if need be we can alter the fashion of our hair. There are few here who have noticed us, and I consider that there is no chance whatever of our being recog- nized. There are plenty of men among the cut-throats here wlio have served for a while, and we can easily enough get up some tale that will pass muster for us three. That matter is simple enough, the question is, what are we to do with Tom? We cannot shorten his stature, nor give his tongue a French twist." " No, that is really the difficulty. We might dye that hair of his and darken his face, as I am going to do myself. There are tall men in France, and even his inches would not matter so much; the danger lies in his speech." "I would never open my mouth, Master Guy; if need were I would sooner cut out my tongue with a dagger." " You might bleed to death in the doing of it, Tom. No ; we must think of something better than that. You might perhaps pass as a Fleming, if we cannot devise any other dis- guise." " Leave that to me. Master Guy, I shall think of some- thing. I will at any rate hide somewhere near Paris, and the lads here will let me know where they are to be found, and I shall not be long before I join them in some such guise as will pass muster. But it will be necessary that we should know where you will be, so that you can communicate with us." IN HIDING 197 " That I don't know myself yet ; but 1 will be every evening in front of Notre Dame when the bell strikes nine, and one of you can meet me there and tell me where you are bestowed, so that I can always send for you in case of need. Now I think that you had better lose no time, for we know not at what hour a guard will be placed on the gate. You had better go out in pairs as if merely going for a walk. If you are stopped, as may well hapi)en, return here ; but as you come purchase a length of strong rope, so that you may let yourselves down from the wall. Now that peace has been made, there will be but slight watch save at the gates, and you should have no difficulty in evading the sight of any who may be on guard." "That will be easy enough," Roljcrt Picard said confi- dently. "We had best not come back here, for there may. be a watch set upon the house and they may follow us." " The only thing that troubles me," Tom said, " is that I must leave my bow behind me." "You can get another when you get back toVilleroy; there are spare ones there." " Yes, yes, l)ut that is not the same thing, Master Guy ; a man knows his own bow, and when he takes to a fresh one his shooting is sjwilt until he gets to know it well. Every bow has its niceties ; for rough shooting it makes but little matter, but when it comes to aiming at the slit in a knight's vizor at eighty yards one makes poor shooting with a strange bow." "Well, you must i)ractise with your new one, that is all, Tom ; and if you hide yours here it may be that you will be able to recover it before we start for Villeroy. You must leave your bundles behind, it would look suspicious if you were to attempt to take them with you. I should advise you to put on one suit over the other, it will not add greatly to your 198 AT AGINCOURT bulk. When you are ready to start, come below and our lady will say good-bye to you. Do not give her a hint that you are thinking of staying near Paris; if .she asks any questions say that you intend to disguise Tom, and he will travel with you." A few minutes later there was a tapping at Dame Margaret's door; Guy opened it and the four men entered. " I wish you good fortunes, my friends," Dame Margaret said. " Here is a letter, Robert, that I have written to my lord telling him that you have all served me faithfully and well, and that I commend you to him. I have told him that you are leaving me by my special orders, and tliat you would willingly have stopped and shared ray danger, but that, as I feel that force would avail nothing and your presence might lead to the discovery of my hiding - place, I bid you go. Here are four purses to pay the ex])enses of your journey and of any disguises you may find it necessary to adopt. And now farewell. Tarry not an instant, my heart will be hghter when I know that you are beyond the walls." She held out lier hand to them; each in turn knelt and kissed it, the three Frenchmen in silence but with tears run- ning down their cheeks. Tom was the last, and said as he rose : " I am obeying your orders. Lady Margaret, but never be- fore have I felt, as I feel now, that I am doing a mean and cowardly action. I would rather stay by your side, though I knew that I should be cut in pieces this very night, than leave you thus." " I doubt it not, Tom. I know well how your inclinations lie, and yet I feel that it is necessary that you should go. If the great nobles cannot withstand this cruel mob of Paris, the arm of a single man can avail nothing, and your presence would bring danger rather than safety to me." IN HIDING 199 " I feel that, \uy lad} ; clitl 1 not do so I would not go even at your command. Vou are my liege lady, and I have a right to give my life tor )ou, and would do it were it not that I see that, as you say, my staying here would bring danger upon you." As soon as they had gone Dame Margaret said : "Now, Guy, I will detain you no longer ; hasten and warn your friends." Guy hurried away ; he found that Count Charles was on the point of mounting to go for a ride with some of his friends. " Stay a moment I beg of you. Count," Guy said as he hurried up, " 1 iia\e a matter of most serious import to tell you." "Wait, my friends," the young count said to Sir Pierre Es- telle, Count Walter de Vesoul, and the Sieur John de Perron, who were already mounted; "1 shall not detain you many minutes." "Well, what is it. friend Guy?" he asked as he entered his room. " 1 have come to warn you of a great danger, Count. This evening a mob of Parisians, I know not how numerous, but at least of great strength, will demand from Burgundy and the Duke of A([uitaine the surrender to them of you and the others who took part in defeating them the other night, be- sides other gentlemen, and, as 1 hear, ladies." ^^ Pardieu ! if it be so the duke will give the impudent knaves their answer." " Ten thousand armed men are not apt to take an answer. Count. You know that many times already the Duke of Burgundy has been o\erl>orne by the leaders of these Parisians and forced to do things that must have displeased him, as they displeased you all. therefore 1 implore you to ride off while 200 AT AGINCOURT you may. Even now it is possible that the gates may be closed, but if so, they are not likely to be strongly guarded. It is evident that your going would at any rate save the duke from grave embarrassment." " Are you sure that this news is true? " the count asked. " Absolutely certain. If you would save yourself and your friends I pray you to call upon them at once to mount and ride in a body to one of the gates. You may bid some of your retainers mount and follow you at a short distance, and if you find the gates closed and the fellows will not let you out, call them up and fight your way out. You can stay for to-night at Sevres, and if you find in the morning that I have not spoken truly you can return and upbraid me as you will. If, however, you find that strange events have happened here, then you had best ride away to Burgundy and stay there un- til you find that these villainous knaves here have been re- duced to order, which methinks it will need an army to undertake. ' ' The count went to the Avindow, opened it, and called his friends below to come up. " No, no," D'Estelle said laughing ; "if we once come up we shall stay there. If you cannot come now, join us at the Lion d'Or at Sevres, where you will find us eating the dinner that we have sent on to order. ' ' "The matter is urgent," D'Estournel said. "1 am not joking with you, but pray you to come up at once." Seeing that the matter was serious the three knights dis- mounted and went up. They were at first absolutely incred- ulous when they heard from Count Charles what Guy had told them. "That the knaves owe us no good -will 1 know well enough," Count Walter said, "for they have over and over again laid their complaint against us before the duke ; but it IN HIDING 201 is hard to believe that they would dare to demand what Bur- gundy would never grant." Guy repeated the arguments that he had used with D'Es- tournel. " There is no limit," he said, " to the arrogance of these knaves, and in truth it cannot be denied that they are masters here, and that even the duke cannot altogether withstand them; and you know, moreover, how essential is their good- wall to him. But even should he ever so obstinately refuse their demands they might well take their way without his leave. What can he, with a handful of knights and a feu- hundred armed men, do against the mob of Paris? I earn- estly pray you, gentlemen, to treat the matter as serious. ^Vavn your eight friends without delay ; bid your retainers mount and ride to the gate. If it is open, all the better, it is but a party of pleasure bound for Sevres, and if you learn to-morrow morning that all is quiet here you can return. If it seems better to you, and this may save you much argument, merely ask your friends to mount and ride with you to dine there ; if any refuse, say you have a motive that they will learn when they get there, and almost compel them to go with you. I pledge you my honour that you will have no reason to regret having taken my advice." "Well, what do \ou say, gentlemen?" Count Walter a.sked. "As Master Aylmer says, it will at worst be but a carouse, which I hope he will share with us." "That I would right gladly do," Guy replied, " but I have the safety of my lady and her children to look after, for she too, as well as our four men-at-arms, have incurred the enmity of these butchers. I have sent the men out of the town, and a place of safety has been prepared for her and the children. I shall see them safely bestowed there at night- fall." 202 AT AGINCOURT "Since you have thought such preparations necessary we will at any rate act on the information that you have given us, and will promise not to blame you unduly should it turn out that the affair you speak of does not come off. Let us lose no time, gentlemen ; let us each go to two of our friends and take no denial from them to our invitation to dine with us at Sevres. Let us say nothing to them about bringing their men-at-arms and grooms with them. We can ourselves mus- ter some thirty fighting men, and that should be enough with our own swords to bring these knaves to reason if they keep their gates shut against us." "As my arrangements are all made," Guy said, "and I have an hour to spare, I shall walk down towards the gate and see what coimes of it." The four gentlemen at once mounted and rode off, — after giving directions to their grooms to order their men-at-arms to mount at once and to wait for them at a spot a quarter of a mile from the gate, — and Guy strolled off in the same direc- tion. In half an hour he had the satisfaction of seeing the men-at-arms ride up and halt as ordered. Walking a little further on he saw that something unusual had happened. Groups of people were standing about talking, and each man who came up from the gate was questioned. Joining one of the groui)s he soon learned that the excitement was caused by the unusual closing of the gates, no one being allowed either to enter or pass out. None could account for this proceeding. It was certain that it had not been done by the orders either of the Dukes of Aquitaine or Burgundy, — for there were no royal guards or men-at-arms with the duke's cognizance, — but by men of the city, who, as all agreed, must be acting under the orders of the butchers. " It is a bold deed," one .said, " for which they will have to account. It is a usurpation of authority, and one the Duke IN HIDING 203 of Aquitaine, who is now king in all but name, will surely re- sent hotly." " How strong is the party? " one of the bystanders asked, putting the question that Guy had on his lips. "Some forty or fifty, all stout fellows with steel caps and breast-pieces, and well armed." Guy turned and walked back to the spot where the Bur- gundian men-at-arms were drawn up. In ten minutes D'Ks- tournel and his party rode up. Guy was glad to see that he had with him the whole of his comjjanions. He at once went up to them. " The gates are closed, C'ount, and held by forty or fifty of the townsmen in arms, so you see that my information was correct. Had you not better tell your friends of the truth now, for otherwise they might hesitate to take so grave a step as to attack them ? ' ' D'Estournel nodded, and, riding to the others, said in a low voice: "Gentlemen, we had not intended to let you into this little mystery until we had left Paris, l)ut I find it neces- sary to do so now. I have learned surely that the rabble of Paris have resolved upon massacring us to-night for the share we took in that little affair at the provost of the silversmiths. To that end they have shut the gates, and hold it with some fifty armed men. It is as well that some of us have brought our men-at-arms here. I can hardly fancy that these ra.scals will try to prevent us from passing out, seeing that they have no warrant but their own for closing the gates against us, but if they do there is nothing for it but to oi)cn them ourselves. Let us ride forward at once, gentlemen, for these fellows may receive a reinforcement at any time." So saying, he jMit spurs to his horse, calling upon the men- at-arms to follow. His three companions, who were already in the secret, joined him at once ; and the others, after a 304 AT AGINCOURT pause of astonishment and almost incredulity, followed, in no way loath at the chance of another fight with the followers of the butchers. As they approached the gate the townsmen hastily drew up in front of it. " What means this? " Count Walter de Vesoul said haugh- tily, as he reined up his horse a few paces from the line. ' ' By what authority do you dare close the gates and thus stand armed before them ? ' ' " By the authority of the city of Paris," the leader of the party said insolently. "I recognize no such authority while the king and the Duke of Aquitaine, who holds his full powers, are resident here. Clear the way, my man, and open the gates, or I will ride over you." The butcher answered him with a derisive laugh. " It Avill cost you your lives if you attempt it," he said. " Gentlemen, draw your swords and give these rough fel- lows the lesson they need ; " and, setting the example, he rode at the butcher and cut him down. The idea that the Burgundian knights would venture to force a passage in the teeth of the prohibition of the master of the butchers had ap- parently not so much as entered the minds of the guard, and as soon as the knights and their followers fell upon them, the greater portion of them flung down their arms and fled, a few only fighting stoutly until overpowered. As soon as the skir- mish was over the keys were brought out from the guard-room, and the sate unlocked and the massive bars taken down. In the meantime some of the men-at-arms had run up on to the wall, hoisted the portcullis, and lowered the drawbridge across the fosse. As soon as they returned and mounted the party rode through. As they did so, four men ran out from a lane near the wall and followed them ; and Guy at once recognized in them the archer and his three companions. Greatly IN HIDING 205 pleased, he returned to the city and informed Dame Margaret of what had taken place. "No doubt," he said, " when they found the gates shut they remembered what I had said, that I Avas going to warn Count Charles and his friends, and went back to observe what these were doing ; and the sight of their retainers going tow- ards the gate must have told them which way they intended to leave ; and they, no doubt, went down and hid up near the gate to watch the conflict, and to take advantage of it, if a chance offered, to get off themselves." "That is indeed a satisfaction, Guy; and I am glad, too, that your friends got away. There can be no doubt now that the count's information was accurate ; the gates having been closed, as he said they would be, vouches for this. Katarina has been here ; she was dressed this time as an apprentice in the service of some trader, and brought a large box containing our disguises and yours. For you there is a bottle of dye for your hair, a mixture for darkening your skin, and clothes — the latter such as would be worn by a workman. Charlie is to wear a girl's dress, at wliicli he is mightily offended ; nor is Agnes better pleased, for a boy's suit has been sent for her. My disguise is simply a long cloak with a hood, such as is worn by the wives of small traders. Katarina explained that it had been thought better to change the sex of Agnes and Charlie, so that, when a hue and cry is raised for a missing woman, with a girl of fourteen, and a boy of ten, no one should asso- ciate the woman wiili two lads and a little girl, whom they passed in the street, as being the party for which search is be- ing made. And now, Guy, do you not think that we should warn our good host of the danger that threatens, for, doubt- less, he also has been marked out as a victim ? " " I will see him at once, and will tell him as much as it is necessary for him to know. Assuredly it is now too late 3G6 AT AGINCOURT for him to escape beyond the walls, unless he were to take his wife with him, and bring his serving-men to let them down from the walls ; but this, 1 should think, he will not do, he would rather take refuge in the house of some of his friends." The silversmith listened gravely when Guy told him that he had received sure information that the butchers would that evening make a slaughter of some of their opponents, that they would be in such force that resistance would be hopeless, and that the few royal troops and the followers of Burgundy would be insufhcient to make head against them. " Your news does not surprise me, and though I know not how you came by it, I fear that it is true. The news that the city gates have been all shut and are being guarded by strong parties of the butchers' rabble, shows but too surely that there is danger in the air. In the first place, there is your lady to be thought of ; I must endeavour to obtain for her also shelter among my friends. ' ' " We have already arranged for a hiding-place lor her and the children, Maitre Leroux. I mav not name where it is to anyone, but suffice that it is a quiet house where there is little fear of any suspicions resting upon them, and where they will be able to remain until order is restored." " I fear that that will be a long time," the silversmith said. "The butchers boast that they can place 20,000 men under arms, and indeed the terror excited by them is so great, that very many who hate their doings as much as T do myself have been forced to make a semblance of joining them. Next about your men-at-arms, they are brave fellows and I owe them much." " They are all safe outside the walls. Some Burgundian knights, indignant that this rabble should dare stop them, cut their way out through the Port St. Denis, and our men took advantage of the gates being open to follow them." IN HIDING 207 " And as to yourself, Master A) liner? " "I have dyes to blacken my hair and a tincture for darken- ing my face. I have also a disguise by which I may pass as - an apprentice to a trader. I shall at all hazards remain in Paris, but what I shall yet do 1 know not. And now about yourself and Madame Leroux — you will not, I hope, think of defending the house as you did before." " Certainly not ; it would not avail to save our lives, and would assuredly cost those of my servitors and most likely of the women. I have friends, who will, I hope, gladly take us in. Maitre Lepelletiere, the Master Carpenter, who has been doing my doors, is an old friend of mine, and after the last attack, urged me to withdraw for a time from the attention of the mob, and offered me refuge in his place. He lives in the Rue des Fosses ; which is close to the old inner wall that is now for the most part in ruins. You pass along by the hospital, and when beyond the old wall turn to the right ; 'tis the third doorway. There are no houses facing it, but it looks straight upon the wall, the ground between being some thirty or forty yards wide ; and doubtless when the house was built, it was before the i)resent wall was erected, and stood on the outer side of the fosse round the old one. There are many others of the same trade who live in that quarter, and as they are for the most part opposed to the butchers, I doubt not that my friend will have no difficulty in obtaining a lodg- ing for you among them should no other have been settled upon." "Thank you indeed," Guy replied; " the arrangement has been made by others, and I know not for certain what has yet been decided u])on. but should not a suitable place have been chosen I will gladly accept your offer." " And now I must set to work," the silversmith said, " In what way ? " Guy asked in surprise. 208 AT AGINCOURT " In hiding my wares. In a city like Paris, with its sieges and its tumults, a prudent man having goods of great value will assuredly prepare a place of safety for them. I will set my men to work at once ; the business must be finished be- fore it becomes dark, for as soon as it does so we must leave the house and close it." "I have nothing to do at present, and shall be glad to help your men," Guy said. He followed the silversmith downstairs. Maitre Leroux called his head man. "We must move, Jacques, and that quickly; you have heard that the gates are shut." " Yes, master, people are talking of nothing else." "I have news that there will be trouble to-night, so we must set to work at once to place the chests in safety. First let them clear out the wood-cellar." This was done in a few minutes by the seven men, then Jacques told the others to go back into the shop and pack up all the silver goods in the chests. As soon as they were gone Jacques looked inquiringly at his master, who nodded. Then he touched a brick in the wall some seven feet above the floor ; it sprung back. " Will you lift me up? " the man said to Guy. The lad did as he was asked, and the man thrust his arm into the orifice. A moment later he asked Guy to set him down. " Go to the doorway," he said, and hurried across to where Maitre Leroux was standing ; then kneeling down he pushed his hand under the sill of the doorway and then stood up. " Do you hear that ? " the silversmith said. "I hear a dull rumbling somewhere," Guy replied. As he spoke he saw half the floor, which was apparently of solid flags, beginning to rise. IN HIDING son " This was done in my father's time," Maitre Leroux said, "and it was made for him by Maitre Lepelletiere's father with the aid of two or three good smiths, who put the machinery together at his house and were in ignorance where it was intended to be placed." The trap-door was now raised, and Guy to his astonish- ment saw a stream of running water three feet below the opening. " Whence comes this? " he asked in astonishment. " No wonder you are surprised," the silversmith said ; " it was a piece of rare good-luck that my father hit upon it. A map that he had showed him that in the old days, before there were any houses on this side of the river, a narrow branch left the stream some hundred yards above the position of his house, made a circuit and came into it again as much below. He inquired among some old men, and learned that they had heard their grandfathers say that they knew that at some time or other this stream had been built over when Paris began to grow in this direction. After he had con- trived this apparatus that jou see, which is worked by a heavy counterpoise in the wall, he began to dig, and a foot below the surface came upon an arch of brickwork, so my father concluded that his house was exactly over the old stream . "On breaking through the crown he discovered, as yoti see, that the water still flowed through this tunnel, which is some three and a half yards wide and eight feet deep. My men, all of whom are trusty fellows, know of the existence of this hiding-place, but Jacques is the only one besides myself who knows the secret of the opening. Now, Jacques, fetch the chests along as fast as they are ready." The chests were soon brought up and one by one lowered. Chains were attached from the handle of each to that of the 14 210 AT AGINCOURT one that followed ; they were almost the weight of the water and sank until within an inch or two of the surface. Each was floated down as it was lowered, until twenty great chests had been taken down. Then one more heavy and ponderous than the rest was attached to the train, and a sloping board being placed from the cellar floor to the bottom of the stream, the case was allowed to slide down this until it rested on the bottom several feet beyond the trap-door. " There you see," the silversmith said, "even if they dis- covered the trap -door and broke up the floor with sledge- hammers, which would be no easy matter, and probed the stream with lances, they would find nothing. As you saw, there is a chain to the end of the last box, which is, as it were, an anchor to the rest; this chain Jacques will now at- tach to a strong wire, and fasten that to a ring below the water's edge, and a foot beyond the trap-door, so that when danger is past we shall haul up. the chain and recover the cases one by one in the order in which they have been sent down." As soon as Jacques had fastened the wire to the ring he touched another heavy spring under the sill, then pulled hard on the trap -door; this gradually began to sink, and in a minute was in its place again. At the same time the brick that had been pushed in above came out into its place again, dust was then swept into the crack at the edge of the trap- door, and no one who had not seen the latter raised would have dreamt of its existence. THE MASTERS OF PARIS 211 CHAPTER XIII THE MASTERS OF PARIS 1"^HE trap-door closed, die firewood was carried back again, and Guy went upstairs, where he found that Dame Margaret, Agnes, and Charlie had already put on their dis- guises. 'J'heir faces had been slightly darkened ; Agnes had coiled her hair up under a cap, while Dame Margaret's would be completely hidden under the hood. She and Charlie could have passed very well even in daylight, but Agnes by no means looked her character. Her mother had darkened the skin at the back of her neck as well as on her face, but the girl's evident discomfort and shyness were so unboylike that they would at once be noticed. Cuy fetched a short cloak reaching only to his hips from his room and brought it in to her. "I think that you will be more comfortable in this," he said. '' Yes, indeed," she exclaimed gratefully, as she put it over her shoulders ; " I shall not mind now." It reached nearly down to her knees, and the high collar concealed the back of her head effectually. " I did not expiMK TO-Mi;ilT?" THE INIASTERS OF PARIS 223 " The butchers and skinners are all right, never fear," the man said ; " and if there are others in the quarter who may not be quite so hot in the matter as we are, they know better than to open their mouths. Of course, in the other quarters there may be a strong party who would thwart us; the smiths and the carpenters and masons are ever jealous of us of the markets, but they have no leaders, and hold not together as we do. Besides, they know that we have Burgundy witli us, so whatever they think they are not likely to say much, for if it came to a battle we could sweep them out of the city." "Yes, yes, 1 know that there is no fear of that, the great thing is to make sure that some of those who seem to be hottest in the matter, are not taking money from the other party; there are one or two I am specially to observe." " I understand you, comrade. I myself have never had much confidence in John de Troyes nor his medical students. He is good at talking, no one will deny that ; but for myself I would rather that we kept among ourselves and had nothing to do with such cattle, who have no interest in the privileges of the guilds, and who take part with us no one knows why. But I am sleepy ; that bundle of fresh rushes in the corner is yours, I got them in the hay-market to-day when I heard that you were coming. You can keep beside me to-morrow morn- ing and I will get you a good place in the ranks. From whence shall I say that you come, as man)- will ask the ques- tion, seeing that your face is strange? " "You can say I am from Nancy." "Yes, that will be good enough ; that is the right quarter of France for a man to have come from just at present." Guy was thoroughly fatigued with the long excitement of the day. At eleven in the morning everything had been going on as usual, now Dame Margaret and the two children 224 AT AGINCOURT were in hiding, her four men-at-arms fugitives, and Paris was virtually in a state of insurrection against the royal authority, stirred up thereto by the Duke of Burgundy, who had thus openly leagued himself with the scum of Paris. That what he had seen that evening was but the beginning of a series of crimes, Guy could not doubt ; and although this man had ex- pressed his confidence in the power of the market-men to sweep the craftsmen out of Paris, he felt sure from what he had heard, that this could not l)e done until a fierce and doubtful battle had been fought in the streets. At eight next morning he 'went out with his companion. "It is well not to go into a place where we shall meet many till your face is better known," the latter said ; and he led the way to a small trattoir a quarter of a mile away. Here they sat down and breakfasted, then they returned to the market where the White Hoods were mustering. Simon, who was evidently well known to most of the butchers, took his place near the head of the column, and at nine o'clock it got into motion. When it issued from its own quarters it was evident that its approach excited general apprehension. The streets were deserted as it passed along. None of the case- ments were opened, and although the traders dared not put up their shutters, none of them appeared at the doors, where their apprentices and workmen gathered to look at the proces- sion. Passing along steadily and in good order, and headed as before by the knights of the Duke of Burgundy's household, they drew up before the palace of the Duke of Aquitaine. Caboche, John de Troyes, and one of the butchers entered the house. The guards having no orders, and seeing how strong was the force that was at their back, did not venture to oppose their entrance, and they pushed on into the private apart- ments of the duke and informed him that they, on behalf of the good town of Paris and for the welfare of his father and I THE MASTERS OF PARIS 235 himself, required the delivery to them of certain traitors now in the hotel. The duke, furious at their insolence, told them that such affairs were not their business, and that there were no traitors in the hotel. In the meantime many of the White Hoods had followed their leaders, Simon and Guy entering with them. They scattered through the apartments and seized the duke's chancellor, the Duke of Bar, a cousin of the king, and twelve other knights and gentlemen, some of whom were in the apartment of the Duke of Aquitaine himself. While this was going on the Dukes of Burgundy and Lorraine arrived, and Aquitaine, turning to the former angrily, said: " Father-in-law, this insurrection has been caused by your advice ; those of your household are the leaders of it ; you shall some day repent of this. The state shall not be always governed according to your will and pleasure." However, in sj)ite of his indignation and remonstrance, the twelve gentlemen were carried away and confined in diiTerent prisons ; and [presently discovering the king's secre- tary, they killed him and tlirew the body into the river. They compelled the Duke of Aquitaine himself to leave his palace, and with the king, his father, to take up his abode in the Hotel de St. Pol. Placing a strong guard round it, so as to prevent them from leaving Paris, the mob then com- pelled all the nobles and even the prelates, they met, to put on white hoods, and their leaders sent off letters to the chief towns in France to inform them that what they had done was for the welfare of the king and kingdom, and rciiuiring them to give aid should there be any necessity for it ; they then published an edict in the name of the king ordering that it should be proclaimed in every bailiwick that no person, under penalty of death and confiscation of goods, should obey any summons from their superior lord to take up arms or to trouble 15 226 AT AGINCOURT the kingdom. The mad king was made to sign this after the Dukes of Aquitaine, Berri, and Lorraine, and other nobles of the council had put their names to it. At nine o'clock that evening Guy went to the square be- fore Notre Dame. Here many groups of people were talking over the events of the day. Guy had, as soon as he left the market quarter, taken off his white hood, and before starting he put on his dress as an apprentice. There was no doubt that the opinion of the great majority of those in the square was hostile to the authors of the events of the day, and that the consternation among the citizens was very great. After thus forcing the great nobles to obey their will and outraging the palace of the Duke of Aquitaine, there was no saying to what length they would go, and fears were expressed that ere long they might sack the whole of the better quarters of Paris. It was so evident, however, that they had the support of the Duke of Burgundy that no one saw any way out of their trouble, and that nothing but the arrival of a powerful army of Orleanists could relieve them from their peril. As Guy had no real expectation of seeing any of his followers, — although the gates had been opened that afternoon after the seizure of the knights, — he attended more to the conversations going on about him than to the matter on which he had come. Pres- ently, however, he saw a rough-looking fellow watching him attentively. He walked close to him, but not recognizing him would have passed on, had not the man taken a step for- ward and said in a low voice : ''Villeroy! " "Is it you, Robert? In faith I did not recognize you in that attire." ''And I was not sure that it was you, Master Guy; I should certainly not have known you by your face. Your figure and walk, when a short distance away, attracted my THE MASTERS OF PARIS 227 attention, and knowing your disguise was that of an ap- prentice I made sure it was you. Then as you came closer I doubted, and though I ventured upon saying the name of our lord, I scarce thought that you would reply." " Where are the others, Robert? " " They are walking about separately seeking for you. We are to meet on the steps of the cathedral at half-past nine." " What has become of Tom ? " The man laughed. " If you will come along this way, master, you will see." They went to a quiet corner of the square. As they approached it they heard angry voices, and standing under a lamp Guy saw a tall man of wild and un- kempt appearance, with black hair and a begrimed face, and a basket of vegetables strapped to his shoulders, threatening angrily with a staff three or four gamins who were making fun of him. He spoke in a wild, incoherent way, and seemed to be half-witted. " What are you worrying this poor fellow for ? " Robert said angrily to the boys. " If you do not be off, and that quickly, I will lay my cudgel about your shoulders." This threat was much more efficacious than those of the half-witted man had been, and the boys at once took to their heels. The tall man shuffled towards the new-comers. " Is it really you, Tom ? " Guy said in a low tone. "It is me, sure enough, Master Guy. 1 should not know myself, and am not surprised that )0u do not know me ; in faith, my back aches with walking with a stoo}). and m\- legs with shuffling alon" as if I had scarce the use of them, instead of stepping out manfully. Is all well ? We have heard of strange doings — that the butchers have, with the countenance of Burgundy, liearded the Duke of Aquitaine, and even carried off some of his friends from before liis face ; also that the houses of three of those who had withstood them had been '228 AT AGINCOURT burned, among them that of Maitre Leroux ; also that two traders had been killed, though which two they were we have not been able to learn." " All is well, Tom; our lady and her children were safely bestowed, as was also the silversmith and his wife." " I am right glad of that ; they were a worthy couple. And so his house is burned and sacked ? ' ' " Burned, but not sacked, Tom ; for he had, before they came, stowed away in a hiding-place where they could not be found all those chests of his, and not a single piece of silver fell into the hands of the butchers." " That was well done," the archer said, rubbing his hands. " I should like to have seen the dogs' faces when they burst in and found nothing. And my bow, Master Guy ? " " I fear that the flames will not have spared it. I went past the hou.se to - day, and naught but the bare walls are standing." At this moment the bell of the cathedral struck the half- hour, and Robert Picard said: " Will you stay here, Master Guy ? I must go and meet the others, and forthwith bring them to you here." CHAPTER XIV PLANNING MASSACRE IN a short time Robert Picard returned with his two com- panions, and leaving the square, they all went along the quays to a quiet spot. "We cannot be overheard here," Guy said, "and now, in the first place, let me know how you have fared. I knew that you had got safely away, for PLANNING MASSACKi; 229 I was near the gate of St. Denis when the Burgundians fought their way out, and 1 saw you follow." " We had no difficulty," Robert I'icard said. " We went into the wood, and thence I went across to St. Cloud and bought these garments that you see us in, and we hid away our steel caps and harness in some bushes in the heart of the wood, where they are not likely to be found. Then after a long talk with Tom we agreed that he had best go as a half- witted man with a basket of vegetables for sale, and 1 went into St. Cloud again, dressed as I now am, and found a little shop where they sold rags and old garments, and got his outfit for a couple of francs, and dear at that. ^Ve thought in that way he would not have to say much, and that any confusion of speech would be set down to the fact that his brain was weak. Hearing that the gates were open this afternoon, we came in just before they were closed for the night. We have got a room in a lane which honest folk would not care to pass through even in daylight ; 'tis a vile hole, but consorts well with our ap]jearance. " " I will try and find you a better place to-morrow, Robert. J am going to see the people with whom Maitre Leroux is in hiding. I hear that they have no sympathy with these butchers, and when I tell them that you are stout fellows and good fighters methinks they will find quarters for you ; and you may be able to put on safer disguises than those you wear at present, e.xcept that of Tom's, which 1 think we cannot better. Besides, he can lie there (piietly, and need not, e.x- cept when he chooses, sally out. I myself am lodging at l)resent among the butchers. I hear that (abocheand the Legoix are fiirious at our having slip|)ed through their fingers, and they declare that, as we cannot have escaj^ed from Paris, they will lay hands on \is very soon." "I should like to lav hands on a few of them mvself. 230 AT AGINCOURT Master Guy," Tom said earnestly, "say out in that wood there with a quarter-staff, and to deal with four of them at a time. They have burnt my bow, and I shall not get even with them till I have cracked fully a dozen of their skulls. " "I shall be Ukely to be near you in the quarter where I hope to get you lodging, Tom, for I too am going to have a room there, though I shall generally live where I now am, as I can there obtain news of all that is going on, and might be able to warn our lady in time if they should get any news that may set them on her track. Heard you aught at St. Cloud of any Orleanist gathering ? ' ' " I heard a good deal of talk about it, but naught for certain; but methinks that ere long they will be stirring again. The news that I have heard of the insolence of the mob here to the Duke of Aquitaine, and of the seizure of their friends who were with him, is like to set them on fire, for they will see that all the promises made by Burgundy meant nothing, and that, with the aid of the Parisians, he is determined to exercise all authority in the state, and to hold Aquitaine as well as the king in his hands." The next morning Guy went to the house of Maitre de Lepelletiere, and inquired for Philip Sampson. Maitre Le- roux was in. ■ "I have spoken to my friend about you," he said, after they had talked over the events of the last two days, " and he has arranged for a room for you in a house three doors away : and I have no doubt that your four men can be lodged there also, for 'tis a large house, and is let out, for the most part, as he told me, to journeymen carpenters. But since the troubles began there has been little building, and men who can find no work here have moved away to seek for it in places less afiiicted by these troubles. That is one of the reasons why the carpenters have not made a firmer stand PLANNING MASSACRE 231 against the butchers. I will ask him to come up here. You already know him, as you have spoken with him several times when he was looking after his men putting up the new doors." The master carpenter soon came in. " I will gladly get a lodging for your men," he said, when Guy had explained the matter to him. " We may come to blows with these market people, and four stout fellows are not to be despised. There will be a meeting of the council of our guild this afternoon, and on my recommendation they will give me the necessary documents, saying that the men — you can give me their names — have received permission to work as carpenters in Paris. They can then put on dresses suitable for craftsmen, and the pa- pers will suffice to satisfy anyone who may inquire as to their business. I think that your tall archer may safely lay aside the disguise you say he has assumed, it might be likely to get him into trouble ; the change in the colour of the hair and the darkening of his eyebrows should be quite sufficient dis- guise, and if he is always when abroad with one of his com- rades, he has but to keep his mouth shut, and if questioned the man with him can say that he is dumb." " That would be excellent," Guy said, " and I am greatly obliged to you. Doubtless, too, they will .soon make ac- quaintance with some of the other workmen, and by mixing with these there will be less suspicion excited than if they always went about together." " I will tell my foreman to present them to the men who work for me. and tliev will soon get known in the quarter. Five or six of my men lodge in the house where I took the room for you. It might be useful, too, were I to give you a paper of apprenti( eship, and if you were similarly introduced. In that case it might be convenient to exchange the small room that I have taken for you tor a larger one ; as an ap- 232 AT AGINCOURT prentice you would ordinarily lodge with your master, and if you did not you would scarce have a room to yourself, but were you to lodge with your four men it would seem natural enough." " That would be a capital plan, Maitre Lepelletiere." " You see, in that way, too," the carpenter went on, " you would only have to place a plank on your shoulder and then go where you will without exciting the least attention. I will furnish you with a list of the houses where I have men at work, and this again would be an assistance to you. It is my foreman who took the lodging for you ; I am expect- ing him here shortly for orders, and he shall go round with you. As you say that your fellows are dressed at present in rough fashion it will be as well that they should provide them- selves with their new disguises before they come here, as, if they were seen in tlieir present guise, it would prejudice them with the others in the house, for craftsmen look down greatly upon the rough element of the street." "They shall do so," Guy said, "and I will come with them myself this evening." Guy presently went in with the foreman and arranged for a large attic with a dormer window, at the top of the house. At midday he met Robert Picard and told him the arrange- ments that had been made, supplying him with money for the purchase of the four dresses. " As soon as it becomes dark," he said, "you had best go to some quiet spot and change them. Bring the clothes you now have on in a bundle, for they may yet prove useful, and meet me at eight o'clock at the corner of the Rue des Fosses. ' ' Guy then went to the Italian's and told Dame Margaret of the arrangements he had made. " Since you have managed it all so well, Guy, I am glad to hear that the men are all back in Paris. I before v/ished PLANNING MASSACRE 333 that they should make straight for Villeroy, but since they are so safely bestowed it were best perhaps that they should be within reach. Long Tom is the only one 1 shall feel anxious about, for of course he is less easy to disguise than the others. ' ' "He has plenty of shrewdness, my lady, and will, I have no doubt, play his part well. I know that I myself feel very glad that there are four true men upon whom we can rely if any difficulty should arise." " Some evening, mother," Agnes said, " when I have grown more accustomed to this boy's dress I will go with Katarina to this house so that I can carry a message there, should she happen to be away when there is need for sending one." Lady Margaret hesitated, but Guy said : " By your leave, my lady, I think that the idea is a very good one, saving that I myself will escort the two ladies there as soon as Mistress Agnes feels confident enough to go." " In that case 1 should have no objection, Guy. Under your charge I have no doubt Agnes would be perfectly safe, but I could hardly bring myself to let her go out without escort in so wild a city as this is at present." The Italian and his daughter presently joined them, and heard with satisfaction where Guy and the four men had ob- tained a safe lodging. " Still," he said, " I should advise you sometimes to sleep at your lodging by the market-place. Simon is not the sort of companion you would choose. I have only seen him once, and I was then so disguised that he would not recognize me again — for none of tho.sc with whom 1 have dealings know who I am or where I live — but that once was sufficient to show me that the fellow might be trusted to serve me well as long as he was paid well, especially as he believed that I was 234 AT AGINCOURT an agent of the duke's ; still, he is a rough and very un- savoury rascal, and had I been able to think at the moment of anywhere else where you could for the time safely shelter I should not have placed you with him." " I do not mind," Guy said ; " and at any rate with him I have opportunities of seeing what is going on, as, for ex- ample, when they insulted the Duke of Aquitaine, and it is certainly well to be able to learn what the intentions of the fellows are. As an Englishman I care naught for one party or the other, but as one of gentle blood it fills me with anger and disgust to see this rabble of butchers and skinners lording it over nobles and dragging knights and gentlemen away to prison ; and if it were in ray power I would gladly upset their design, were it not that I know that, for my lady's sake, it were well to hold myself altogether aloof from med- dling in it." "You are right," the Italian said gravely. " I myself am careful not to meddle in any way with these affairs. I try to learn what is doing, because such knowledge is useful to me and gains me credit as well as money with those who consult me, and may possibly be the means of saving their lives if they do but take my warning. Thus, having learned what was proposed to be done yesterday morning, I was able to warn a certain knight who visited me the evening before that it might cost him his life were he to remain in Paris twelve hours. He was incredulous at first, for I would give him no clue as to the nature of the danger ; however, by a little trick I succeeded in impressing him sufficiently for him to resolve to leave at daybreak. This he did ; at least they searched for him in vain at the Duke of Aquitaine's, and therefore I have no doubt that he took my advice, engaged a boat, and made his escape by the river. It was his first visit to me, and I doubt not that henceforth he will be a valuable client, PLANNING MASSACRE 235 and that he will bring many of his friends to me. If I mistake not, 1 shall have more opportunities of doing such services and of so increasing my reputation ere long." For a time things went on quietly. Tom and his com- panions were on friendly terms with the other men in the house, who all believed them to be carpenters who had come to Paris in search of employment. Long Tom was supposed by them to be dumb, and never opened his lips save \\hen alone with his companions, and seldom left the house. The room was altogether unfurnished, but furniture was regarded as by no means a necessity in those days. Five bundles of rushes formed their beds, and Guy, as there was little to learn in the markets, generally slept there. An earthenware pan, in which burned a charcoal fire over which they did what cooking was necessary, a rough gridiron, and a cooking pot were the only purchases that it was necessary to make. Slices of bread formed their platters, and saved them all trouble in the matter of washing up. Washing was roughly performed at a well in the court-yard of the house. Things had i^ow quieted down so much that a considerable number of great nobles resorted to Paris, for the king had now a lucid interval. Among them were the Dukes of Berri, Burgundy, and Lorraine, with Duke Louis of Bavaria, the queen's brother, with the Counts de Nevers, De Cha- rolais, De St. Pol, the Constable of France, and many other great lords and prelates. The queen was also with her husband. "There will shortly be trouble again," the Italian said one day to Guy. " Simon told my daughter yesterday evening that the butchers were only biding their time to get as many fish into their net as possible, and that when they would draw it they would obtain a great haul. You have not been down there for some time; it were best that you put on 236 AT AGINCOURT your butcher's garb again and endeavour to find out what is intended." " I was expecting you," Simon said, when that evening Guy entered his room. " There will be a meeting at mid- night in the butchers' hall, and I cannot take you in with me, but I will tell you what happens." " That will do as well as if I went myself," Guy said, " though in truth I should like well to see one of these councils." " No one is admitted save those known to be, like my- self, thoroughly devoted to the cause." "That I can well understand, Simon; a traitor might mar all their plans." "Some time I may take you," Simon said, " for doubt- less I could smuggle you in; but to-night — " and he hesi- tated, "to - night it will be specially important, and they have to be more particular than usual as to who are ad- mitted." Guy noticed the hesitation, and replied carelessly that one occasion would be as good as another for him, and presently lay down in his corner. He wondered to himself what the business could be that his companion was evidently anxious that he should hear nothing of. He might wish that he should alone have the merit of reporting it, or it might be something that it was deemed the Duke of Bur- gundy himself, the butchers' friend and ally, would not ap- prove of. At any rate he was determined, if possible, to find it all out ; he therefore feigned sleep. At eleven o'clock Simon got up and went down ; Guy waited for two or three minutes and then rose and followed. As soon as he was out of the door he made direct for the hall of the butchers' guild. He knew that Simon was not going straight there, as the meeting was not, he said, for an hour, and that he PLANNING MASSACRE 237 would be stopping to drink at some cabaret with his asso- ciates. The hall was but a short distance away. When Guy approached it he saw that as yet it was not lighted up. On three sides it was surrounded by a garden with high trees ; near the front entrance some twenty men were gathered talking together. He, therefore, went round to the back ; several trees grew near the wall, and the branches of one of these extended over it. With consider- able difficulty Guy succeeded in climbing it, and made his way along the branch and got upon the top of the wall. This was about fourteen feet high, and, lowering himself by his arms, he dropped into the garden and crossed to the building. He took off his white hood and tlirust it into his doublet. The windows were six feet from the ground, and were, as usual at this time, closed by wooden shutters on the inside. Putting his fingers on the sill he raised himself up. There was plenty of room for him to stand, and, holding on by the iron bars, he took out his dagger and began to cut a hole in the shutter. The wood was old, and after half an hour's hard work he succeeded in making a hole three inches long and an inch wide. By the time this was finished the hall had been lighted up with torches, and men were pouring in through the doors at the other end. Across the end next to him was a plat- form on which was a table. For a time no one came up there, for the members as they entered gathered in groups on the floor and talked earnestly together. After a few minutes ten men came up on to the platform ; by this time the body of the hall was full, and the doors at the other end were closed. A man, whom Guy recognized as John de Troyes, stepped forward from tlie others on the platform and, stand- ing in front of the table, addressed his comrades. "My friends," he said, "it is time that we were at work 238 AT AGINCOURT again. Paris is becoming infested by enemies of the people, and we must rid ourselves of them. The nobles are assem- bled for the purpose, as they say, of being present at the mar- riage of Louis of Bavaria with the widow of Peter de Na- varre, but we know well enough that this is but a pretext ; they have come to consult how best they can overthrow the power of our Duke of Burgundy and suppress the liberty of this great city. The question is, are we tamely to submit to this? " A deep shout of <' No ! " ran through the multitude. " You are right, we will not submit. Were we to do so we know that it would cost the lives of all those who have made themselves prominent in the defence of the liberties of Paris ; they might even go so far as to suppress all our privileges and to dissolve our guilds. In this matter the Duke of Burgundy hesitates and is not inclined to go with us to the full, but we Parisians must judge for ourselves what is necessary to be done. The duke has furnished us with a list of twelve names; these men are all dangerous and obnoxious to the safety of Paris. But there must be a longer list, we must strike at our own enemies as well as at those of the duke, and the council has therefore prepared a list of sixty names, which I will read to you." Then, taking out a roll of paper, he read a list of lords and gentlemen, and also, to Guy's indignation, the names of several ladies of rank. "These people," he said when he had finished, " are all obnoxious, and must be cast into prison. They must be tried and condemned." , Even among the greater portion of those present the boldness of a proposal that would array so many powerful famihes against them created a feeling of doubt and hesita- tion. The bolder spirits, however, burst into loud applause, PLANNING MASSACRE 239 and in this the others speedily joined, none hking to appear more lukewarm than the rest. Then up rose Caboche, a big, burly man with a coarse and brutal expression of face. " I say we want no trials," he cried, striking one hand on the palm of the other. "As to the number, it is well enough as a beginning, but 1 would it were si.\ hundred instead of sixty. I would that at one blow we could destroy all the nobles, who live upon the people of France. It needs but a good example to be set in Paris for all the great towns in France to follow it. Still, paltry as the number is, it will, as I said, do as a beginning. But there must be no mistake ; if trials they must have, it must be by good men and true, who will know what is necessary and do it ; and who will not stand ui)on legal tricks, but will take as evidence the fact that is known to all, that those people are dangerous to Paris and are the enemies of the king and the Duke of Bur- gundy. Last time we went, we marched with five thousand men ; this time we must go with twenty thousand. They must see what force we have at our command, and that Paris is more powerful than any lord or noble even of the highest rank, and that our alliance must be courted and our orders obeyed. The Duke of Burgundy may pretend to frown, but at heart he will know that we are acting in his interest as well as our own ; and even if we risk his dis- plea.sure, well, let us risk it. He needs us more than we need him. Do what he will, he cannot do without us. He knows well enough that the Orleanists will never either trust or forgive him, and he committed himself so far with us last time that, say what he will, none will believe that he is not with us now. For myself, I am glad that De Jacqueville and his knights will not this time, as last, ride at our head; 'tis best to show them that Paris is independent even of Burgundy, and that what we will we can do." 240 AT AGINCOURT The hall rang with the loud acclamations, then John de Troyes got up again. " I agree, we all agree, with every word that our good friend has spoken, and can warrant me that the judges shall be men in whom we can absolutely trust, and that those who enter the prisons will not leave them alive. The day after to-morrow, Thursday, the nth of May, we shall hold a great assembly, of which we shall give notice to the king and the royal dukes, and shall make our proposals to the Duke of Aquitaine. Now, my friends, let each come forward with a list of the number of his friends who he will engage shall be present on Thursday." At this point, Guy, seeing that the main business of the meeting had been declared, and that there now remained but to settle the details, got down from his post. With the aid of some ivy he climbed the wall and dropped down be- yond it, and made his way back to his lodging. When Simon returned an hour later, Guy was apparently as fast asleep as before. When sleeping at the butchers' quarter he always rose at a very early hour, so that none who might have noticed him in his butcher's attire should see him go out in that of an apprentice, and he was obliged to walk about for some time before he could call at the count's. As soon as he thought that they would be likely to be stirring he knocked at the door. The old woman opened it. " Is your master up yet ? " he asked. She nodded, and without further question he made his way upstairs to the Italian's chamber. "You are early. Master Aylmer," the latter said in sur- prise as he entered. "Have you news of importance? " "I have indeed. Count," and he at once related all that he had heard through the hole in the shutter. "The insolence of these people surpasses all bounds," the PLANNING MASSACRE 241 count said angrily as he walked up and down the room. "Were there any force in tlie town that could resist them I would warn the Duke of Aquitaine what was intended, but as it is, nothing would l)e gained by it. You can only remember the eight or ten names that you have given me?" " That is all ; they were names that 1 was familiar witli, while the others were strange to me. ' ' " Two or three of them I can at least save from the grasp of these rascals," he said, " but I will take them all down on my tablets. What need was there for you," he went on after he had done this, " to run such risk as you did — for you would assuredly have been killed without mercy had they caught you spying upon them — when Simon, who you say was present, could have sent me full i)ariiculars of all that passed ? ' ' Guy stated his reasons for fancying that u])on this occasion Simon did not intend to send a full account. "I thought so before I started," he said, " but I was well assured of it when I heard tliat, although Burgundy had given the names of twelve persons whom he desiretl to be arrested, he would go no further in the matter, and that he had no knowledge of their further pretensions. It seems to me, Count, that, believing as he does that you are an agent of the duke's, he was unwilling to say anytliing about this matter, as Burgundy might thwart the intentions of the butchers. The man is heart and soul with them, and though he is willing to sell you information that can do no harm to their plans, he will say nothing that might enable Burgundy to thwart them." " If T thought that Burgundy could, or would do so, I would inform him as well as Aciuitaine what is doing ; but in the first place he has not the power, and in the second he would i6 243 AT AGINCOURT not have the will. What are a few score of lives to him, and those mostly of men of the Orleanist faction, in comparison with the support of Paris ? I am vexed, too, at this failure of Simon, that is to say, if it be a failure. That we shall know by mid-day. My daughter will meet him in the Place de Greve at eleven, and we shall hear when she comes back how much he has told her. I am going after breakfast to my booth outside the walls, where you first saw me. I must send notes to the three gentlemen whom I know, begging them to see me there." " Can I take them for you? I have nothing to do, and shall be glad of anything to occupy me." ' ' I shall be obliged if }'Ou will ; you are sure to find them in at this hour." He sat down and wrote three short communications. The wording was identical, but the times fixed for the interview were an hour apart. They ran as follows : ' 'My Lord, — Consulting the stars last night I find that danger menaces you. It may be averted if yon quit Paris when you receive this, for it seems to me that it is he?'e only that your safety is menaced. Should you wish to consult me before doing so, come, I pray you, to my booth in the fair at two, but come mounted. ' ' Instead of a signature a cabalistic figure was drawn below it, and then the words were added : The bearer can be trusted. The slips of parchment were then rolled up and sealed ; no addresses were put on. " If they question you," he said, " say nothing, save that I told you that the matter contained in the letter was sure and certain, and that a great risk of life would assuredly be run unless my advice was taken. Deliver them into the hands of PLANNING MASSACRE 243 those they concern, and trust them to no others, Master Ayl- mer. If you cannot obtain access to them, say to the varlets that they are to inform their lords that one from the man in the Rue des Essarts desires urgently to see them, and that should be sufficient if the message is given. If they refuse to take it, then I pray you wait outside for a while on the chance of the gentlemen issuing out. This, on which you see I have made one dot, is for the Count de Rennes, who is at present at the Hotel of St. Pol, being in the company of the Duke of Berri ; this is for Sir John Rembault, who is at the Louvre, where he is lodging with the governor, who is a relation of his ; the third is for the Lord of Roubaix, who is also lodged at the Louvre." "They shall have them," Cluy said as he placed them in his doublet, "if I have to stop till midnight to get speech with them ; the matter of waiting a few hours is but a trifle in comi)arison with the life of a man. I would that I could warn others." The Italian shook his head. " It could not be done with- out great danger," he said. " Were you to carry an anony- mous letter to others you might be seized and questioned. The three to whom you now carry notes have all reason for knowing that my predictions are not to be despised, but the others would not accept any warning from an unknown person. They might take it for a i)lot, and you might be interrogated and even put to torture to discover who you are and whence you obtained this information. 'Ihings must go on as they are ; assuredly this is no time for meddling in other ]^eoi)le's affairs. We are only at the beginning of troubles yet, and know not how great they may grow. Moreover, you have no right to run a risk for strangers when your life may be of vital service to your mistress. Should you succeed in handing these three letters to the gentlemen to whom they are written by noon, I 244 AT AGINCOURT shall be glad if you will bring the news to me at my booth, and I shall then be able to tell you how much information the butcher has sent of the proceedings last night." Guy went first to the Louvre. As many people were go- ing in and out, no question was asked him, and on reaching the entrance he inquired of some varlets standing there for the lodgings of the Lord de Roubaix and Sir John Rembault. " I am in the service of the Lord de Roubaix ; what would you with him ? " " I am charged with a message for him ; I was told to de- liver it only to himself." " From whom do you come? I cannot disturb him with such a message from I know not who." "That is reasonable," Guy replied, "but if you tell him that 1 come from the man in the Rue des Essarts I warrant that he will see me. You don't suppose that I am joking with you," he went on as the varlet looked at him suspiciously, " when I should likely be whipped for my pains. If you will give the message to your lord I doubt not that he will give me audience. ' ' " Follow me," the varlet said, and led the way upstairs and through several corridors, then he motioned to him to wait, and entered a room. He returned in a minute. " My lord will see you," he said, and led the way into the room. " This is the person, my lord," he said, and then re- tired. The Lord of Roubaix was a tall man of some forty years of age. Guy bowed deeply and handed to him the roll of parch- ment. The count broke the seal and read it, and when he had finished looked fixedly at Guy. " The writer tells me that you are to be trusted? " " I hope so, my lord." " Do you know the contents of this letter? " PLANNING MASSACRE 245 " I know so much, my lord, that the writer told me to as- sure you that the matter was urgent, and that he could not be mistaken as to what was written in the letter." The (ount stood irresolute for a minute or two ; then he said : " Tell him that I will act upon his advice. He has before now proved to me that his warnings are not to be neglected. You seem by your attire to be an apprentice, young sir, and yet your manner is one of higher degree." "Disguises arc convenient in times like these, my lord," Guy said. "You are right, lad." He put his hand to his pouch, but Guy drew back with a smile. " No, my lordj had you offered me gold before you re- marked that 1 was but jilaying a part, I should have taken it in order to keep up that i)art ; as it is I can refuse it without your considering it strange that 1 should do so." The count smiled. " Whoexer you are, you are shrewd and bold, young sir. I shall doubtless see you when I return to Paris." Guy then left, and delivered the other two missives. In each case those who received them simply returned an answer that they would beat the place at the hour named, and he then went beyond the walls, observing as he pa.ssed out through the gates that a party of White Hoods had stationed them- selves there. However, they interfered with no one passing in or out. On reaching the booth he informed the count of the success of his visits. "I doubt, however," he said, "whether either of the three gentlemen will be here at the time appointed, for the White Hoods are watching at the gate." "I think that they will not stop anyone to-day. Master Aylmer. They intend to make a great haul to-morrow, and would not wish to e.Kcite suspicion by seizing anyone to-day. 246 AT AOINCOURT Were it known that they had done so, many others who have reason to believe they are obnoxious to Burgundy or to the Parisians, might conceal themselves or make their escape in various disguises. I hear that a request has been made that a deputation of the citizens of Paris shall be received by the Duke of Aquitaine to-morrow morning, and that the great lords may be present to hear the request and complaints of the city. ' ' CHAPTER XV A RESCUE GUY had found his mornings hang heavy on his hands, as of course he had been obliged to give up attending the fencing-school. Going down to the river now, he sat there Avatching the passing boats until nearly one o'clock, and then returned to the fair. Before reaching the booth Katarina joined him. "I have been watching for you, Monsieur Guy. Father said it was as well that you should not, twice in a day, be seen entering his place. He bade me tell you that the three gen- tlemen have been to him and will not re-enter Paris." " Did you see Simon this morning? " " Yes, he only told me that the market men would have an interview with the Duke of Aquitaine to-morrow, and would demand the arrest of those whom the Duke of Bur- gundy had pointed out as his enemies. He said that they would go in such force that the duke would be unable to refuse their request. Although it was so early, I think that the man had been drinking. My father, when I told him, said I should go no more to meet him." A RESCUE 247 ''I am very glad to hear it," Guy said. ''He is a low scoundrel, and though I say not but that the information ob- tained from him may have been of some advantage, for indeed it was the means of my being enabled to save our lives and those of my Burgundian friends, I like not the thought of your going to meet him ; and 1 am sure that if he were to take the idea into his thick head that it was not for the advan- tage of the Duke of Burgundy that the information he had given was being used, he is capable of denouncing you." " I did not mind meeting him," the girl said. " I never went into the rough quarters, but always met him in one of the better squares or streets. Still, I am glad that I have not to go again. T think that he had been drinking all night, and with his unwashed face and his bloodshot eyes and his foul attire I was ashamed even in my present dress to speak with him." " I hope that I have done with him too," Guy said. " Of course, for my mistress's sake, I shall go again if there be aught to be learnt by it, but as it seems he is now no longer to be trusted it is not likely that any advantage is to be gained by visiting him. However, I shall hear what your father thinks this evening." Upon talking over the matter with the astrologer the latter at once said that he thought that it would be better for him not to go to Simon's again. " When he finds that my daughter meets him no more he will feel aggrieved. T myself shall go in disguise to-morrow- to meet him in the Pla( c de Greve, and tell him tliat for the present there will be no occasion for him to come to the ren- dezvous, as the events of the meeting wliich will have taken place before I see him show that there can be no doubt that the butchers are ready to go all lengths against the Orleanist party ; but that if any change should occur, and private infer- 248 AT AG IN COURT mation be reciuired, you would go to his lodging again. I shall make no allusion to his having given me none of the names save those furnished by the duke, or remark on tiie strangeness that, having been at the meeting, he should have heard nothing of the measures proposed against the others ; his own conscience will no doubt tell him that his failure is one of the causes of my no longer desiring any messages from him. I have other means of gaining information, as I have one of the medical students who follow that cracked-brained fellow, John de Troyes, in my i)ay. Hitherto I have not employed him largely, but shall now, if need be, avail myself of his services. But I do not think that I shall have any oc- casion to do so. After the demand by the Parisians for so many nobles and gentlemen to be arrested, it will be clear to all adhering to Orleans that Paris is no longer a place for them, and even the followers of Burgundy will see that those the duke regarded as his servants have become his masters, and there will be but few persons of quality remaining in Paris, and therefore, save when some citizen wishes to consult me, I shall have little to do here save to carry on my work as a quack outside the gates. Ev^en this I can drop for a time, for the people of Paris will not be inclined for pleasure when at any moment there may be fierce fighting in the streets. I shall be well content to look on for a time. I have been almost too busy of late. And it was but yesterday that I received news from a Carthusian monk, — whom I thought it as well to engage to let me know what is passing, — that there have been debates among some of the higher clergy upon re- ports received that persons, evidently disguised, call upon me at late hours, and that I practise diabolic arts. A determina- tion has been surrived at that an inquisition shall be made into my doings, my house is to be searched, and myself ar- rested and tried by the judge for having dealings with the A RESCUE 249 devil. This news much disturbed me; however, when you told me that the Archbishop of Bourges was among those on the list of accused, and also Boisratier, confessor to the queen, it is evident that these good ecclesiastics will have ample mat- ter of another sort to attend to, and are not likely to trouble themselves about sorcery at present." On the following morning some twelve thousand ^Vhite Hoods marched to the Hotel de St. Pol, and the leaders, on being admitted, found all the great lords assembled. After making various i)roi)ositions they presented a roll to the Duke of Aquitaine containing the names of those they charged with being traitors. He at first refiused to take it; but so many of their followers at once poured into the great hall that he was obliged to do so, and to read out the names. Twenty of those mentioned in the list were at once, in spite of the pro- test of the duke, arrested and carried off; a proclamation was made by .sound of trumpet in all the sfjuares of Paris summon- ing the other forty named to appear within a few days, under penalty of having their property confiscated. A week later the king, basing recovered his health, went to the church of Notre Dame, he and all the nol)Ies with him wearing white hoods. Four days later the Parisians ro.se again, seized the gates, drew up the bridges, placed strong guards at each l)oint, and a cordon of armed men outside the walls all round the city, to prevent any from escaping by letting themselves down from the walls. Parties of ten armed men were placed in every street, and the sheriffs and other leaders marched a large body of men to the Hotel de St. Pol and surrounded it by a line three deep. They then entered and found the king, dukes, and nobles all assembled in the great hall. They then ordered a Carmelite friar, named Eustace, to preach to the king. He took for his text, " Except the Lord 250 AT AGINCOURT keep the city, the ivatchman waketh but in vain,'''' and upon this discoursed on the bad state of the government of the kingdom, and of the crimes committed. The Chancellor of France demanded of the friar when he had concluded who were those who had incited him thus to speak, and the leaders at once said they had done so, and called up a number of other leaders, Avho on bended knees declared to the king that Father Eustace had spoken their sentiments ; that they had the sincerest love for the king and his family, and that what they had done had been for the welfare of himself and the king- dom. While this was going on, the Duke of Burgundy, at once indignant and alarmed at this insolence of the Parisians, had gone out, and, finding the lines of armed. men surround- ing the hotel, had earnestly entreated them to retire, saying that it was neither decent nor expedient that the king, who had but just recovered from his illness, should thus see them drawn up in battle array round his abode. Those he addressed replied like the leaders within, that they were there for the good of the kingdom, and then gave him a roll, saying that they should not depart until those written on it were deliv- ered up to them. With the names of Louis of Bavaria, five knights, an arch- bishop and priest, were those of nine ladies of high rank, in- cluding the eldest daughter of the constable. The duke found that neither his authority nor powers were of the slight- est avail, and returning to the queen, showed her the list. She was greatly troubled, and begged him to go with the Duke of Aquitaine and beg the Parisians in her name to wait for eight days, and that she would at the end of that time allow them to arrest her brother. The two dukes went out to the Parisians, but they positively refused to grant the request, and declared that they would go up to the queen's apartments and take those named by force, even in her or the king's pres- A RESCUE 251 ence, unless they were given u[). On their return to the queen they found Louis of Bavaria and the king with her. On their report of tlie Parisians' demands the Duke of Bavaria went out and begged them to take him into custody, and that if he were found guilty they could punish him, but that if found innocent he should be allowed to go back to Bavaria, under a promise not to return to France again. He begged them to be content with taking him a prisoner, and to arrest no others. They would not, however, abate one jot of their pretensions, and the whole of those demanded were at once brought out, including the ladies. They were put two and two on horse- back, each horse escorted by four men-at-arms, and were car- ried to various prisons. The Duke of Burgundy now, with his usual craft, professed to be well satisfied with what the Parisians had done, and handed over to them the Duke of Bar and the other prisoners confined in the Louvre, for whose security he had solemnly pledged himself. The Parisians then obliged the king to appoint twelve knights, nominated by themselves, and six examiners, to try the prisoners and punish all found guilty, while the dukes were obliged to draw up a statement and send it to the University for their seal of ap- proval of what had been done. The University, however, to their honour, stood firm ; and while king and nobles had quailed before the violence of the crowd, they declared in full council before the king that they would in nowise intermeddle or advise in the business; and that so far from having advised the arrests of the dukes and other prisoners, they were much displeased at what had taken place. The University was a power ; its buildings were strong, and the students were numerous, and at all times ready to take part in brawls against the Parisians ; and even the butchers, violent as they were, were afraid to take steps against it. They foresaw, however, that the position taken up by the 252 AT AGINCOURT University might lead some day to an inquiry into their con- duct, and therefore obtained from the king an edict declaring that all that had been done was done by his approval and for the security of his person and the state, and that the arrests and imprisonments were therefore to be considered and re- garded as having been done for the true honour and profit of the crown, and that he accordingly commanded all his coun- cillors, judges, and officers to proclaim that this was so in all public places. This was signed by the king in council, the Dukes of Berri and Burgundy, and several other nobles and ecclesiastics, by the Chancellor of Burgundy, and other knights attached to the duke. Many nobles quitted Paris at once, either openly or in dis- guise, including many of the Burgundian party, who were to the last degree indignant at what was going on ; for the mock trials were at once commenced, and many of the prisoners, without regard to sex, were daily either put to death in prison or drowned in the Seine. Some of the bodies were exhibited on gibbets, the heads of others were fixed on lances, and some of them were beheaded in the market-place. During this time Paris remained in a state of terror, bands of armed butchers parading the streets were loud in tlieir threats as to what would be done to all who did not join heartily with them. None of the better class ventured from their houses, and the mob were absolute masters of the city. The leaders, however, maintained for the time a certain degree of order. For the time they were anxious to appear in the light of earnest friends of the king, and as carrying out in his name the punishment of his enemies. But many tumults, murders, and conflagrations occurred in the city, and the country in general soon perceived the real nature of their doings. It was known that the Orlean- ist forces were marching against the city. The Count d'Eu had left Paris and returned to his estates, where he raised two A RESCUE 253 thousand men-at-arms and marched to Verneuil, where the Dukes of Orleans, Brittany, and Bourbon were assembled, with a number of great lords, among whom were the Counts of Vettus and D'Alenc^on, the king's sons. The former had made his escape from Paris, and brought letters from the Duke of Aquitaine declaring that he himself, with the king and queen, were prisoners in the hands of the Parisians. All these nobles, met in a great assembly, and letters were written to the king, his great council, and to the Parisians, ordering them to allow the Duke of Aquitaine to go wherever he pleased, and to set at liberty the Dukes of Bar and Bavaria and all other prisoners. Should they refuse to comply, they declared war against the town of Paris, which they declared they would destroy, with all within it except the king and the princes of royal blood. The Parisians compelled the king to send a friendly answer, putting them off with excuses, and in the meantime to despatch commissaries to all the towns and baronies of France assuring them that the trials and executions of the traitors had been fairly conducted and their guilt proved, and calling upon the country to take up arms to aid Paris against various nobles who were traitorously advancing against it. During this time Guy remained quietly in his lodging with the four retainers, seldom stirring abroad. The men were now- regarded by all their neighbours as honest carpenters, and they shared the indignation of the great body of the craft at this usurpation by the market men of the government of France, and at the murders of knights and ladies that were daily tak- ing place. At present, however, the opponents of the butchers dared not resort to arms. So great had been the fear that they excited that most men, however much at heart opposed to them, had been constrained to appear to side with and agree with them, and as there was no means of knowing how 254 AT AGINCOURT many could be counted upon to join the carpenters were these to take up arms, the latter could not venture alone to enter the lists against the armed host of the other party. One evening Guy, who had not been near the Italian's for over a fortnight, received a message from Dame Margaret to say that she wished to speak to him, for that she had deter- mined, if any way of escape could be decided on, to quit Paris, and to endeavour to make her way to Villeroy. He was greatly pleased at the news. He had himself ventured to urge this step on the day after the Duke of Bar and his com- panions were seized, pointing out that it was evident that the Duke of Burgundy had neither the power nor the inclination to thwart the Parisians, and that although both parties were now nominally hostile to the English, neither were Hkely, at so critical a time, to give so much as a thought to Villeroy. . Dame Margaret had agreed to this, but considered the diffi- culties of getting out of Paris and traversing the intervening country were so great that she preferred to wait until some change took place in the situation of Paris. But it was now too evident that the changes were entirely for the worse, and that if discovered the butchers would undoubtedly add her and her children to their long list of victims. His companions were equally glad when Guy told them the news. "The sooner the better, Master Guy," Long Tom said. " I own that I should like to have a tussle with these rascals be- fore I go ; their doings are so wicked that every honest man must want to get one fair blow at them. Still, I don't see any chance of that, for although the good fellows round here grumble under their breath, there does not seem any chance of their doing anything. There is not an hour passes that my heart is not in my mouth if I hear a step on the stairs, thinking that they may have found out where my lady is hidden." A RESCUE 255 Guy had just turned into the street where the astrologer dwelt when he heard loud voices from a little group in front of him. Four armed men, whose white hoods showed that they were one of the butchers' patrols, were standing round a slight figure. " It is well you stopped him, comrade," a voice said, that Guy recognized at once as being that of Simon Boucher. " I know the young fellow ; he has been to me many a time on the part of a knave who professed to be an agent of Bur- gundy's, making inquiries of me as to the doings in our quar- ter. I have found out since that the duke employed no such agent, and this matter must be inquired into. We will take him with us to the market ; they will soon find means of learning all about him and his employer." Guy felt at once that if Katarina were carried to the butch- ers, not only would the consequences to herself be terrible, but that she would be forced to make such disclosures as would lead to the arrest of the count, and to the discovery of Dame Margaret. He determined at all hazards to get her out of these men's hands. The girl made a sudden attempt to free herself, slipped from the grasp that one of the men had of her shoulder, dived betw^een two others, and would liave been off had not Simon seized her by the arm. Guy sprung forward and threw himself on the butcher, and with such force that Simon rolled over in the gutter. " Run, run ! " he shouted at the same moment to Katarina, wlio darted down a lane to the left, while he himself ran for- ward and turned down the first lane to the right with the three men in hot pursuit of him. Young, active, and unencum- bered by armour, he gained on them rapidly; but when he neared the end of the lane he saw some five or six White Hoods, whose attention had been called by the shouts of his pursuers, running to meet him. He turned and ran back till 256 AT AGINCOURT close to those who had been following him, and then suddenly sprung into a doorway when they were but three or four paces from him. They were unable to check their speed, and as they passed he brought his sword down on the neck of the one nearest, and as he fell to the ground Guy leapt out and ran up the street again. He had gone but ten paces when he met Simon, who rushed at him furiously with an uplifted- axe. Springing aside as the blow descended he delivered a slashing cut on the butcher's cheek, dashed past him, and kept on his way. He took the first turning, and then another, leading, like that in which he had been intercepted, towards the river. His pursuers were fifty yards behind him, but he feared that at any moment their shouts would attract the attention of an- other patrol. More than once, indeed, he had to alter his direction as he heard sounds of shouts in front of him, but at last, after ten minutes' running, he came down on to the main thoroughfare at the point where the street leading to the bridge across to the island issued from it. His pursuers were still but a short distance away, for fresh parties who had joined them had taken up the chase, and Guy was no longer running at the speed at which lie had started. His great fear was that he should be stopped at the gate at the end of the bridge ; but as there was no fear of attack this had been left open, so as not to interfere with the traffic between that quarter of the city on the island and those on the oppo- site banks. Guy was now again running his hardest, in order to get across far enough ahead of his pursuers to enable him to hide himself, when a strong patrol of some twenty White Hoods issued from the gate at the other side of the bridge. Without a moment's hesitation he climbed the parapet and threw himself over. It would, he knew, be as bad for his mistress were he captured as if Katarina had. fallen into their hands, for if caught he felt sure that tortures would be applied 'UIV DKl.IVEREU A SLASHING HLUW ON I 1 1 K liUrCUliK's lHM,K, AND hasiikh rA>r iiiM."' A RESCUE 257 to discover who he was and where his mistress was hidden, and he had made up his mind that if he was overtaken he would fight until killed rather than be captured. When he came to the surface of the water Guy turned on his back and suffered himself to float down until he recovered his breath. When he did so he raised his head and, treading the water, listened attentively. He was now nearly a (juarter of a mile below the bridge. There was no sound of shouting behind him, but he felt sure that the pursuit was in no way abandoned. Already torches were flashing on the quay be- tween the wall and the river, and in a short time others ap- peared on his left. On both sides there were dark spaces where the walls of the great chateaux of the nobles extended down to the water's side, and obliged those pursuing him along the quays to make a detour round them to come down again to the bank. He could hardly succeed in reaching one of these buildings without being seen, for the light of the torches on the opposite shore would be almost certain to be- tray his movements as soon as he began to swim, and even if he did reach the shore unseen he might at once l)e handed over to the White Hoods by those in the liolel. He tlierefore remained floatintr on his l)ack, and in twenty minutes was be- yond the line of the city wall. He could now swim without fear of being discovered, and made for the southern shore. It was now the middle of June, and the water was fairly warm, but he was glad to be out of it. So far as Guy had heard he had not been caught sight of from the moment that he had sprung from the l)ridge. It might well be supposed that he had been drowned. Climbing up the bank he gained, after walking a quarter of a mile, the forest that surrounded Paris on all sides. Going some distance into it he threw him- self down, after fust taking off his doublet and hanging it on a bush to dry. He had escaped the first pressing danger, that 17 258 AT AGINCOURT of being taken and tortured into confession, and the rest was now comparatively easy. He had but to obtain another dis- guise of some sort and to re-enter Paris ; he would then be in no greater danger than before, for in the sudden attack on Simon, and in the subsequent flight through the ill-lighted streets, he was certain that beyond the fact that he was young and active, and that he was evidently not a noble, no one could have noted any details of his dress, and certainly no one could have had as much as a glance at his face. He started at daybreak, walked through the woods up to Meudon, and thence to Versailles, which was then little more than a village. By the time that he reached it his clothes had thoroughly dried on him, and being of a dark colour they looked little the worse, save that his tight pantaloons had shrunk considerably. The stalls were just opening when he arrived there, and he presently came upon one where gar- ments of all sorts were hanging. The proprietor's wife, a cheery-looking woman, was standing at the door. " I have need of some garments, madame," he said. " You look as if you did," she said with a smile, glancing at his ankles. " I see that you are an apprentice, and for that sort of gear you will have to go to Paris ; we deal in country garments." ' ' That will suit me well enough, madame. The fact is that, as you see, I am an apprentice ; but having been badly treated, and having in truth no stomach for the frays and alarms in Paris (where the first man one meets will strike one down, and if he slays you it matters not if he but shout loud enough that he has killed an Orleanist), I have left my master, and have no intention of returning as an apprentice. But I might be stopped and questioned at every place I pass through on my way home did I travel in this 'prentice dress, and I would, therefore, fain buy the attire of a young peasant." A RESCUE 259 The woman glanced up and down the street. "Come in," she said. "You know that it is against the law to give shelter to a runaway apprentice, but there are such wild doings in Paris that for my part I can see no harm in assisting anyone to escape, whether he be a noble or an a|)prt*nlice, and methinks from your speech that you are as like to l)e the former as the latter. But," she went on, seeing that Guy was about to speak, " tell me nauglit about it. My husband, who ought to be here, is snoring upstairs, and I can sell what I will; therefore, look roimd and take your choice of garments, and go into the parlour behind the shop and don them :] so as to have a freer use of their arms eitlier for bow or axe. Each man phicked up his stake, and the whole inuxed tor- ward in orderly array until witliin bow-shot of the enemy. Then the archers again stuck their stakes into the ground, and, taking up their position as before, raised a mighty shout as they let fly a volley of arrows into the enemy. The shout was echoed from the wood on the French left, and the archers there at once plied their bows, and from both flank and front showers of arrows fell among the French. As originally formed up, the latter's van should have been covered by archers and cross-bowmen, but, from the anxiety of the knights and nobles to be first to attack, the footmen had been pushed back to the rear, a position which they were doubtless not sorry to occupy, rememljering how at Crecy the cross - bowmen had been trampled down and slain by the French knights, desirous of getting through them to attack the English. Therefore, there stood none between the archers and the French array of knights, and the latter suf- fered heavilv from the rain of arrows. Sir Clucnet de Bra- bant was the first to take the offensive, and with twelve hun- dred men-at-arms charged down ui)on the archers with loud shouts. The horses, however, were stiff and weary from standing so long in order; the deep and slippery ground, and the weight of their heavily-armed riders caused them to stagger and stumble, and the storm of arrows that smote them as soon as they got into motion added to the disorder. So accurate was the aim of the archers, that most of the arrows struck the knights on their helmets and vizors. Many fell shot through the brain, and so terrible was the rain of arrows that all had to bend down their heads so as to save their faces. Many of the archers, too, shot at the horses ; some of these were killed and many wounded, and the latter swerving and turning aside added to the confiision. And 384 AT AGINCOURT when at length Sir Chignet and the leaders reached the line of stakes in front of the archers, only ab®ut a hundred and fifty of the twelve hundred men were behind them. The horses drew uj) on reaching the hedge of stakes. Their riders could give them no guidance, for without deign- ing to move from their order the archers continued to keep up their storm of arrows, which at such close quarters pierced all but the very finest armour, while it was certain death to the knights to raise their heads to get a glance at the situation. The horses, maddened with the pain of the arrows, soon set- tled the matter. Some turned and rushed off madly, carrying confusion into the ranks of the first division, others galloped off to the right or left, and of the twelve hundred men who charged, three only broke through the line of stakes, and these were instantly killed by the bill-hooks and axes of the archers. The second line of battle was now in disorder, broken by the fugitive men and horses of Sir Clugnet's party, smitten with the arrows to which they had been exposed as that party melted away, and by those of the English archers in the wood on their flank. The confusion heightened every moment as wounded knights tried to withdraw from the fight, and others from behind struggled to take their places in front. Soon the disorder became terrible. The archers plucked up their stakes and ran forward ; the French line recoiled at their approach in order to get into fairer order; and the archers, with loud shouts of victory, slung their bows behind them, dropped the stakes, and with axe and bill-hook rushed at the horsemen. These were too tightly wedged together to use their lances, and as they had retired they had come into newly-ploughed ground, which had been so soaked by the heavy rain that the horses sank in the deep nuid to their knees, iiiany almost to their bellies. Into the midst of this helpless crowd of armed AGINCOURT 33§ men the English arcliers bin-st. Embarrassod by their strug- gling horses, scarcely able to wield their amis in the press, see- ing but scantily, and that only in front through the narrow slits of their vizors, the chivalry of France died almost unre- sistingly. The Constable of France and many of the highest nobles and most distinguished knights fell, and but few of the first line made their escape ; the.se, passing through the second di- vision, in order to draw up behind, threw this also into some confusion. The Duke de Brabant, who had just arrived on the field, charged down upon the flank of the archers. These met him fearlessly, and he and most of those with him were killed. This fight had, however, given time to the second division to close up their ranks. The archers would have attacked them, but the king caused the signal for them to halt to be sounded, and riding up formed them in order again. The French were unable to take advantage of the moment to try and recover their lost ground, for the horses were knee- deep in the ground, upon which they had all night been trampling, and into which the weight of their own and their riders' armour sunk them deeply. " Now, my lords," the king said, turning to those around him, "our brave archers have done their share; it is our turn;" and then, as arranged, all dismounted and marched forward against the enemy. In accordance with his orders, Sir Eustace de V'illeroy and Guy were posted close to the king, while John Harpen led the men-at-arms from Summerley. For u time the battle raged fiercely. Jn the centre fought tJK- king with his nobles and knights ; while the archers, who had most of them thrown off their shoes and were able to move lightly over the treacherous ground, threw themselves upon the enemy's flanks, and did dreadful execution there. In the centre, however, the prog- B2Q AT AGINCOURT ress of the English was slower. The French knights made the most desperate efforts to attack the king himself, and pressed forward to reach the royal banner. His brother, the Duke of Clarence, was wounded, and would have been killed had not the king himself, with a few of his knights, taken post around him, and kept off the attacks of his foes until he recovered his feet. Almost immediately afterwards a band of eighteen knights, under the banner of the I>ord of Croye, who had bound themselves by an oath to take or kill the king, charged down upon him. One of them struck him so heavy a blow on the head with a mace that the king was beaten to his knee, but his knights closed in round him, and every one of his assailants was killed. The Duke of Alen<;on next charged down with a strong following ; he cut his way to the royal standard, and struck the Duke of York dead with a blow of his battle-axe. Henry sprung forward, but Alenc^on's weapon again fell, and striking him on the head clipped off a portion of the crown which Henry wore round his helmet. But before the French knight could repeat the stroke Guy Aylmer sprung forward and struck so heavy a blow full on the duke's vizor that he fell from his horse dead. His fall completed the confusion and dismay among the French, and the second division of their army, which had hitherto fought gallantly, now gave way. Many were taken prisoners. The third division, although alone vastly superior in numbers to the English, seeing the destruction of the others, began to draw off. They had moved but a short distance when loud shouts were heard in the English rear. Two or three French knights, with a body of several hundred armed peasants, had suddenly fallen upon the English baggage and horses which had been left at Maison- celles. Many of the guard had gone off to join in the battle, so that the attack was successful, a portion of the baggage, AGINCOURT 337 including the king's own wardrobe, and a great number of horses being captured. Ignorant of the strength of the attacking party, Henry believed that it was the reinforcements under the Duke of Brittany that had come up. At the same moment the third division of the French, whose leaders were also similarly deceived, halted and faced round. Believing that he was about to be attacked in front and rear by greatly superior forces, Henry gave the order that all prisoners should be killed, and the order was to a great extent executed before the real nature of the attack was discovered and the order countermanded. The third division of the French now con- tinued its retreat, and the battle was over. There remained but to examine the field and see who had fallen. The king gave at once the name of Agincourt to the battle, as this village possessed a castle, and was therefore the most important of those near which the fight had taken place. Properly the name should have been Azincourt, as this was the French spelling of the village. The loss of the French was terrible, and their chivalry had suffered even more than at Poitiers. Several of the relations of the French king were killed. The Duke of Brabant, the Count de Nevers, the Duke of Bar and his two brothers, the constable, and the Duke of Alengon all perished. No less than a hundred and twenty great lords were killed, and eight thousand nobles, knights, and esquires lost their lives, with some thousands of lower degree, while the Duke of Orleans, the Duke of Bourbon, and many others were taken prisoners. The accounts of the English loss differ considerably, the highest placing it at sixteen hundred, the lowest at one- fourth of that number. The plunder taken by them in the shape of costly armour, arms, rich garments, and the trap- pings of horses, was great ; but of food there was but little, 338 AT AGlNCOrRT and many of the victors lay down supperless around the village of Maisoncelles. The knights who had led the peasants to the attack of the baggage-train, instead of joining in the fight, and had thereby caused the unfortunate massacre of so many prisoners, fell into great disgrace among the French for their conduct, and were imprisoned for some years by the Duke of Burgundy. That evening the English king knighted many esquires and aspirants of noble families, among them Guy Aylmer, who was indeed the first to receive the honour. "No one fought more bravely than you did, young knight," he said, as Guy rose to his feet after receiving the accolade ; " I will see that you have lands to support your new dignity. Twice you were at my side when I was in the greatest danger, and none have won their spurs more fairly." John Harpen would also have been among those knighted, but he declined the honour, saying that he was not come of gentle blood, and wished for nothing better than to remain his lord's esquire .so long as he had strength to follow him in the field. The next morning the army marched to Calais. The king turned aside with Sir Eustace, and with a strong party rode to Villeroy. Guy had gone on with the men-at-arms at daybreak, and a banquet had been prepared, and twenty cart- loads of grain and a hundred bullocks sent off to meet the army on its march. " 'Tis a fine castle. Sir Eustace," the king said as he rode in, " but truly it is perilously situated. If after this I can make good terms with France I will see that the border shall run outside your estates ; but if not, methinks that it were best for you to treat with some French noble for its sale, and I will see that you are equally well bestowed in AfilNCOUFiT 329 England, for in truth, after fighting for us at Agincourt, you are like to have but little peace here." "■ I would gladly do so, my lord king," Sir Eustace replied. "During the last three years it has been a loss rather than a gain to me. I have had to keep a large garrison here ; the estate has been wasted, and the houses and barns burned. Had it not been that there was for most of the time a truce between England and France I should have fared worse. And now 1 may well be attacked as soon as your majesty and the army cross to England." " You will have a little breathing time," the king said ; " they will have enough to do for a wliiie to mourn their losses. I will not leave behind any of your brave fellows who have fought so hard iiere, but when I arrive at Calais will order two hundred men of the garrison to come over to reinforce you until you can make arrangements to get rid of the castle, if it is not to remain within my territory." Sir Eustace introduced Sir John .'Vylmer as the father of the newly-made knight. " You have a gallant son. Sir John," the king said, " and one who is like to make his way to high distinction. I doubt not that before we have done with the French he will have fresh opportunities of proving his valour." After the meal was over the king went round the walls. " 'Tis a strong place," he said, " and yet unless aid reached you, you could not resist an army with cannon and machines." " I have long seen that, your majesty, and have felt that I should have to choose between Fingland and F" ranee, for that, when war broke out again, I could not remain a vassal of both countries. " It shall be my duty to show you that you have not chosen wrongly. Sir Eustace. I cannot promise to maintain you here, for you might be attacked when I have no army 330 AT AGINCOURT with which I could succour you. As soon as I return home and learn which of those who have fallen have left no heirs, and whose lands therefore have come into my gift, I will then make choice of a new estate for you." The army marched slowly to Calais. It was weakened by sickness and hunger, and every man was borne down by the weight of the booty he carried. On arriving there the king held a council, and it was finally determined to return to England. The force under his command was now but the skeleton of an army. Fresh men and money were required to continue the war, and he accordingly set sail, carrying with him his long train of royal and noble prisoners. The news of the victory created the greatest enthusiasm in Eng- land. At Dover the people rushed into the sea and carried the king to shore on their shoulders. At Canterbury and the other towns through which he passed he received an enthu- siastic welcome, while his entry into London was a triumph. Every house was decorated, the conduits ran with wine in- stead of water, and the people were wild with joy and en- thusiasm. Great subsidies were granted him by Parliament, and the people in their joy would have submitted to any taxation. However, throughout his reign Henry always showed the greatest moderation ; he kept well within con- stitutional usages, and his pleasant, affable manner secured for him throughout his reign the love and devotion of his subjects. On his arrival at Calais Guy discovered that among the prisoners was his friend Count Charles d'Estournel. " I am grieved indeed to see you in this plight," he ex- claimed as he met him. " 'Tis unfortunate truly, Aylmer, but it might have been worse ; better a prisoner than among the dead at Agincourt," the light-hearted young count said; " but truly it has been AGINCOURT 331 an awful business. Who could have dreamt of it ? I thought myself that the council were wrong when they refused all the offers of the towns to send bodies of footmen to fight beside us ; had they been there, they might have faced those terrible archers of yours, for they at least would have been free to fight when we were all but helpless in that quagmire. I see that you have knightly spurs on, and I con- gratulate you." "Now, Count, what can I do to ensure your release at once ? Whose prisoner are you ? ' ' " I surrendered to one John Parsons, an esquire, and I shall, of course, as soon as we get to England, send home to raise money for my ransom." "I know him well," Guy said; "his lord's tent was pitched alongside that of Sir Eustace, before Harfleur, and we saw much of each other, and often rode together on the march. If I gave him my guarantee for your ransom, I doubt not that he will take your pledge, and let you depart at once." " I should be glad indeed if you would do so, Aylmer." " At any rate he will take the guarantee of Sir Eustace," Guy said, "which will, I know, be given readily, after the service you rendered to his dame, and it may be that you will have it in your power to do him a service in return." He then told the count of the intention of Sir Eustace to sell the estate, or rather to arrange for its transfer. "It is held directly from the crown," he said, "but just at present the crown is powerless. Artois is everywhere Burgundian, and it would certainly be greatly to the advan- tage of Burgundy that it should be held by one of his fol- lowers, while it would be to the safety of France that it should be held by a Frenchman, rather than by one who is also a vassal of England." 332 AT AGINCOURT " I should think that that could be managed," the count said thoughtfully. " 1 will speak to my father. I am, as you know, his second son, but through my mother, who is a German, 1 have an estate on the other side of the Rhine. This I would gladly exchange — that is to say, would part with to some German baron — if I could obtain the fief of Villeroy. I have no doubt that Burgundy would not only consent, but would help, for, as you know by the manner in which your lady was made a hostage, he looked with great jealousy on this frontier fortress, which not only gives a way for the English into Artois, but which would, in the hands ot an Orleanist, greatly aid an invasion of the prov- ince from Pontoise and the west. And, although the court would just at present object to give the fief to a Burgundian, it is powerless to interfere, and when the troubles are over, the duke would doubtless be able to manage it." Guy had no difficulty in arranging the matter with D'Estournel's captor, to whom Sir Eustace and he both gave their surety that his ransom should be paid ; and, be- fore sailing, Guy had the satisfaction of seeing his friend mount and ride for St. Omar with a pass through the Eng- lish territory from the governor. CHAPTER XX PENSHURST AFTER accompanying the king to London Sir Eustace and Guy rode to Summerley, where Long Tom and his com- panions had already arrived, having marched thither direct from Dover. There were great rejoicings at the castle. Not "KAIAKINA s\VI II A HKll' ( I K 1 >K\ , A M i W IM i i| i- Willi A MKRRV LAUGH." PENSHURST 333 only the tenants, bnt people from a long way round came in to join in welcoming home two of the heroes of Agin- court. The archer had already brought news of Guy having been knighted, and he was warmly congratulated by Dame Margaret and by Agnes, who received him with her usual sisterly affection. Katarina, also, congratulated him, but it was with less warmth of manner. In the evening, how ever, her mood changed, and she said to him : " Though I do not say much, you know that I am pleased, Sir Guy." " I am not sure. Countess Katarina — since we are to be ceremonious to each other — that I do quite know, for since I returned from France last time, 1 have seldom understood you ; one moment you seem to me just as you used to be, at another you hold me at a distance, as if I were well-nigh a stranger." Katarina shrugged her shoulders. " What would you have, Guy ? One can't be always in the same humour." " You are always in the same humour to Dame Margaret and Agnes," he said ; "so far as I can see I am the only one whom you delight to tease." " Now that you are a belted knight, Sir Guy, 1 shall not presume to tease you any more, but shall treat you with the respect due to your dignity." Then she swept a deep curtsey, and turning, went off with a merry laugh, while Guy looked after her more puzzled thaji ever. That evening he received the news that during the absence of Sir Eustace and himself Sir William Bailey, a young knight who.se estates lay near, had asked for the hand of Agnes, and that, although Dame Margaret had been unable to give an answer (hiring her lord's absence, Agnes would willingly submit herself to her father's orders to wed Sir William. 334 AT AGIN COURT Guy remained for some months quietly at Summerley. The Emperor Sigismund had paid a visit to England, and then to Paris, to endeavour to reconcile the two countries. His mediation failed. Henry offered, as a final settle- ment, to accept the execution, on the part of France, of the treaty of Trepigny. Nothing, however, came of it, for there was no government in France capable of making a binding treaty. In spite of the disgrace and the slaughter of the nobles at Agincourt there was no abatement of the in- ternal dissensions, and the civil war between Burgundy and Armagnac was still raging, the only change in affairs being that the vicious and incapable Duke of Aquitaine had died, and the queen had once again gone over to the Burgundian faction. Count Charles d'Estournel had carried into effect the mission with which he had charged himself. Burgundy had eagerly embraced the opportunity of attaching to his side the castle and estates of Villeroy, and he and the Count d'Estournel between them raised a sum of money which was paid to Sir Eustace for the relinquishment to Burgundy of the fief, which was then bestowed upon Count Charles. The sum in no way represented what would now be con- sidered the value of the estate, but in those days, when fiefs reverted to the crown or other feudal superior upon the death of an owner without heirs, or were confiscated upon but slight pretence, the money value was far under the real value of the estate. Sir Eustace was well satisfied, however, with the sum paid him. Had his son Henry lived he had in- tended that the anomalous position of the lord of Villeroy, being also a vassal of England, should have been got rid of by one of his sons becoming its owner, and a vassal of France, while the other would inherit Summerley, and grow up a vassal of England only. Henry's death had put an end to the possibility of this arrangement, and Charlie would now PENSHURST 335 become, at his father's death, Lord of Summerley and of such other English lands as could be obtained with the money paid for the surrender of the fief of Villeroy. In the first week of July there were great rejoicings at Summerley over the marriage of Agnes with Sir William Bailey. The king had not forgotten his promise to Sir Eustace, and had raised him to the title of Baron Eustace of Summerley, and had presented him with a royal manor near Winchester. Guy was summoned to court to take part in the festivities that were held during the visit of Sigismund, and the king said to him pleasantly one day : " I have not forgotten you, Sir Guy; but I have had many to reward, and you know importunate suitors, and those who have powerful connections to keep their claims ever in front, obtain an advantage over those who are content to hold them- selves in the back -ground." " I am in all ways contented, your majesty. I have lived all my life in the household at Summerley, and am so much one of my lord's family that I have no desire to quit it. Moreover, my father has just returned from Villeroy with the garrison of the castle, and it is a great pleasure to me to have his society again." " I thought that some day you would have married Dame Margaret's fair daughter, after acting as their protector in the troubles in Paris, but I hear that she is betrothed to Sir WiUiam Bailey." " Such an idea never entered my mind, your majesty. She was but a child in those days, not so much in years as in thought, and brought up together as we were I have always regarded her rather in the light of a sister." Guy's quiet stay at Summerley came to an end suddenly. A fortnight after the marriage of Agnes, Harfleur was be- sieged by the French by land and water, and the Earl of 336 AT AGINCOURT Dorset, its governor, sent to England for aid. The king sent hasty orders to his vassals of Kent, Surrey, and Hamp- shire, to march with their retainers to Rye, where a fleet was to gather for their conveyance. A body of archers and men- at-arms were also sent thither by the king, and the Duke of Bedford, his brother, appointed to the command of the ex- pedition. Sir Eustace was suffering somewhat from the effects of a fever, the seeds of which he had contracted in France, and he accordingly sent his contingent, thirty archers and as many men-at-arms, under the command of Guy. " I had hoped that we had done with Harfleur," Long Tom said as they started on their march to the seaport. " I don't mind fighting, that comes in the way of business, but to see men rotting away like sheep with disease is not to my fancy." " We shall have no fighting on land, Tom," Guy replied, " at least I expect not. When the French see that the garri- son is reinforced they will probably give up the siege, though we may have a fight at sea with the French ships that are blockading the town and preventing provisions from reaching the garrison. Doubtless we shall take a good store of food with us, and the French will know well enough that as we had such hard work in capturing the town, they can have no chance whatever of taking it by assault when defended by us." Guy and his party had a small ship to themselves, with which he was well content, as, being but a newly-made knight, he would, had he been in a large ship, have been under the orders of any others who chanced to be with him ; while he was now free to act as he chose. The voyage was favourable, but when the fleet arrived off" the mouth of the Seine they found that the work before them was far more serious than they had expected. In addition to their own fleet, which was itself considerably stronger than the English, the besiegers had hired the aid of some great Genoese vessels, and a number of PENSHURST 337 galleys, caravels, and many high -decked ships from Spain. They occupied a strong position off the town, and could be supported by some of the siege batteries. The English fleet lay to at the mouth of the Seine, and at night the captains of the troops on board the various ships were rowed to Bedford's ship, which displayed a light at the mast-head, so that the fleet could all lie in company round her. Here after much discussion a plan for the battle next day was agreed upon. The enterprise would have been a very hazardous one, but, happily, at daybreak the French ships were seen coming out to give battle. Confident in their superior numbers, and anx- ious to revenge their defeat at Agincourt, the French com- manders were eager to reap the whole glory of victory with- out the assistance of their allies, whose ships remained anch- ored in the river. Bedford at once made the signal to attack them, and a des- perate fight ensued. Great as was the slaughter in those days in l)attles on land, it was far greater in sea-fights. Except to knights and nobles, from whom ransom could be obtained, quarter was never given to prisoners either by land or sea, consequently as soon as soldiers in a land battle saw that fort- une was going against them they fled. But on sea there was no escape; every man knew that it was either death or vic- tory, and therefore fought with determination and obstinacy to the end. The two first French ships that arrived were s|)eedily captured, but wlicn the rest came up a desperate bat- tle took i)lace. Guy was on the point of ordering his ship to be laid alongside a French craft little larger than his own, when his eye fell upon a great ship carrying the flag of a French admiral, and at once diverting the course of his vessel, he ran alongside her. The archers were on the bow and stern castles of his ship, and as they came within a short distance of the Frenchman, they sent their arrows thick and fast into the 22 338 AT AGINCOURT crowded mass on her deck. Two grapnels, to each of which were attached twenty feet of chain, were thrown into the shrouds of the French vessel, and Guy shouted to the men-at- arms in the waist to keep the enemy from boarding by holding the vessels apart by thrusting out light spars and using their spears. The French had a few cross-bowmen on board, but Guy, running up on to the castle at the bow, where Long Tom him- self was posted, bade him direct the fire of his men solely against them, and in a very short time the discharge of mis- siles from the French ship ceased. In vain the French at- tempted to bring the ships alongside each other by throwing grapnels ; the ropes of these were cut directly they fell, and although many of the English spears were hacked in two, others were at once thrust out, and the spars, being inclined so as to meet the hull of the enemy below the water-line, could not be reached by their axes. The wind was light, and there was no great difference in point of sailing. The English sail- ors were vigilant, and when the Frenchman brailed up his great sail, so as to fall behind, they at once followed his example. At the end of a quarter of an hour the effect of the arrows of the thirty archers was so great that there was much confusion on board the enemy, and Guy thought that, comparatively small as his force was, an attack might be made. So the spars were suddenly drawn in and the chains hauled upon. The archers caught up their axes and joined the men-at-arms, and as the vessels came together they all leapt with a great shout upon the enemy's deck. The French knights, whose armour had protected them to some extent from the slaughter that the arrows had effected among the soldiers, fought bravely and rallied their men to resistance; but with shouts of " Agincourt ! " the men-at- arms and archers, led by Guy, — who now for the first time PENSHURST 339 fought in his knightly armour, — were irresistible. They had boarded at the enemy's stern so as to get all their foes in front of them, and after clearing the stern castle they poured down into the waist and gradually won their way along it. After ten minutes' hard fighting the French admiral and knights were pent up on the fore castle, and defended the lad- der by which it was approached so desperately that Guy or- dered Tom, with a dozen of the archers, to betake themselves to the English fore castle and to shoot from there, and in a short time the French leaders lowered their swords and sur- rendered. The French flag at the stern had been hauled down and that of England hoisted as .soon as they boarded, and the latter was now run up to the mast-head amid the loud hurrahs of the English. The moment the French surrendered, Guy called to his men to cease from slaying and to disarm the prisoners, who were still much more numerous than themselves. The com- mon men he told to take to their boats and row away, while the admiral and knights were conducted to the cabin, and a guard placed over them. As soon as this was done Guy looked round ; the battle was still raging and many of the French ships had been captured, but others were defending themselves desperately. Twelve of Guy's men had been killed, and several of the others more or less severely wounded, and seeing that his countrymen did not need his assistance, he ordered the decks to be cleared and the dead bodies thrown overboard. In a cpiarter of an hour, the last French ship had been taken. There was now breathing time for half an hour, during which the Duke of Bedford, whose shiji lay not far from Guy's prize, had himself rowed on board. "All have done well to-day. Sir Guy Aylmer, but as- suredly the feat you have performed surpasses any of the others, seeing that you have captured this great ship with one 340 AT AGINCOURT of the smallest in our fleet. Their crew must have been three or four times as strong as yours, which was, as I know, but sixty strong. Has the Count de Valles fallen ? " "No, my lord duke, he is. with six of his knights, a prisoner in the cabin." " I will see him later," the duke said ; " we are now going to attack the Genoese and Spaniards. Is there aught that I can do for you ? " " Some twenty of my men are dead or disabled," Guy said, "and I must leave ten in charge of this prize. I have suffered the French soldiers, after disarming them and the sailors, to leave in their boats, and ten men will therefore be sufficient to hold her. If your grace can spare me thirty men- at-arms I will go on in my own ship to attack the Genoese." " I will do so," the duke replied. "I will send ten to keep this ship, and twenty to fill the jilaces of those of your men who have fallen. I can spare ten from my own ship and will borrow twenty from such of the others as can best spare them . ' ' In a few minutes the thirty men came on board, with a sub- officer to take charge of the prize. Guy returned with his own men and twenty new-comers to his vessel, and sailed in with the fleet to attack the great ships of the Cienoese and Spaniards at their moorings. As they approached they were received with a heavy cannonade from the enemy's ships and shore batteries, but witliout replying they sailed on and ranged themselves alongside the enemy, their numbers per- mitting them to lay a vessel on each side of most of the great caravels. Their task was by no means an easy one, for the sides of these ships were fifteen feet above those of the low English vessels, and they were all crowded with men. Never- theless, the English succeeded in boarding, forcing their way in through port-holes and windows, clambering up the bows PENSHURST 341 by the carved work, or running out on their yards and swing- ing themselves by ropes on to the enemy's deck, while the cannon plied them with shot close to the water-line. Most of the ships were taken by boarding, some were sunk with all on board, a few only escaped by cutting their cables and running up the Seine into shallow water. The loss of life on the part of the French and their allies in this brilliant British victory was enormous. With the exception of those on board the few ships which escaped, and the men sent off in the boats by Guy, the whole of the crews of the French, Genoese, and Spaniards, save only the nobles and knights put to ransom, were killed, drowned, or taken prisoners, and during the three weeks that the English fleet remained off Harfleur, the sailors were horrified by the immense number of dead bodies that were carried up and down by the tide. Harfleur was revictualled and put into a state of defence, and the Duke of Bedford then sailed with his fleet to England, hav- ing achieved the greatest naval victory that England had ever won save when Edward the Third, with the Black Prince, completely defeated a great Spanish fleet off the coast of Sus- sex, with a squadron composed of ships vastly inferior both in size and number to those of the Sj^iniards, which contained fully ten times the number of fighting men carried by the English vessels. This great naval victory excited unbounded enthusiasm in England. The king gave a great banojuet to the Duke of Bedford and his principal officers, and by the duke's orders Ciuy attended. Before they sat down to the table the duke presented his officers individually to the king. Guy. as the youngest knight, was the last to be introduced. "The duke has already spoken to me of the right valiant deeds that you accomplished. Sir Guy Aylmer," the king said as he bowed before him, " and that with but a small craft 342 AT AGINCOURT and only sixty men-at-arms and archers you captured the ship of the French admiral, which lie estimates must have carried at least three hundred men. We hereby raise you to the rank of knight-banneret, and appoint you to the fief of Penshurst in Hampshire, now vacant by the death without heirs of the good knight Sir Richard Fulk. And we add thereto, as our own gift, the two royal manors of Stoneham and Piverley lying adjacent to it, and we enjoin you to take for your coat- of-arms a great ship. The fief of Penshurst is a sign of our royal approval of your bravery at Harfleur, the two manors are the debt we owe you for your service at Agincourt. We have ordered our chancellor to make out the deeds, and to- morrow you will receive them from him and take the oaths." Guy knelt and kissed the hand that the king held out to him, and acknowledged the royal gift in fitting words. On the following day, after taking the oaths for his new pos- sessions, he mounted, and the next day rode into Summerley. Here to his surprise he found the Count of Montepone, who had arrived, by way of Calais and Dover, a few days pre- viously. He was suffering from a severe wound, and when Guy entered rose feebly from a chair by the fire, for it was now October and the weather was cold. His daughter was sitting beside him, and Lady Margaret was also in the room. Lord Eustace and Sir John Aylmer had met Guy as he dis- mounted below. " So you have gone through another adventure and come out safely," the count said after Guy had greeted him. " Truly you have changed greatly since you left Paris, well- nigh three years ago. It was well that Maitre Leroux had the armour made big for you, for I see that it is now none too large. I too, you see, have been at war ; but it was one in which there was small honour, though, as you see, with some risk, for it was a private duel forced upon me by one of the PENSHURST 343 Armagnac knights. Up to that time my predictions had wrought me much profit and no harm. I had told Aquitaine and other lords who consulted me that disaster would happen when the French army met the English. That much I read in the stars. And though, when Henry marched north from Harfleur with so small a following, it seemed to me that victory could scarce attend him against the host of France, I went over my calculations many times and could not find that I had made an error. It was owing greatly to my predic- tions that the duke readily gave way when the great lords persuaded him not to risk his life in the battle. " Others whom I had warned went to their death, in some cases because they disbelieved me, in others because they preferred death to the dishonour of drawing back. One of the latter, on the eve of the battle, confided to a hot-headed knight in his following that I had foretold his death ; and in- stead of quarrelling with the stars, the fool seemed to think that I had controlled them, and was responsible for his lord's death. So when in Paris some months since, he publicly in- sulted me, and being an Italian noble as well as an astrologer, I fought him the next day. I killed him, but not before I re- ceived a wound that laid me up for months, and from which I have not yet fairly recovered. While lying in Paris I de- cided upon taking a step that I had for some time been medi- tating. I could, when Katarina left Paris with your lady, have well gone with her, with ample means to live in comfort and to furnish her with a fortune not unfitted to her rank as my daughter. " During the past three years the reputation I gained by my success in saving the lives of several persons of rank, increased so rapidly that money has flowed into my coffers beyond all belief. There was scarcely a noble of the king's party who had not consulted me. and since Agincourt the Duke of Aqui- 344 AT AGINCOURT taine and many others took no step whatever without coming to me. But I am weary of the everlasting troubles of which I can see no end, and assuredly the aspect of the stars affords no ground for hope that they will terminate for years ; there- fore, I have determined to leave France, and to practise my art henceforth solely for my own pleasure. I shall open ne- gotiations with friends in Mantua, to see whether, now that twelve years have elapsed since I had to fly, matters cannot be arranged with my enemies ; much can often be done when there are plenty of funds wherewith to smooth away difficul- ties. Still, that is in the future. My first object in coming to England was to see how my daughter was faring, and to enjoy a period of rest and quiet while my wound was healing, which it has begun to do since I came here. I doubted on my journey, which has been wholly performed in a litter, whether I should arrive here alive." "And now, father," Katarina said, " let us hear what Sir Guy has been doing since he left ; we have been all full of impatience since the news came four days ago that the Duke of Bedford had destroyed a great fleet of French, Spanish, and Genoese ships. ' ' " Guy has had his share of fighting, at any rate," Lord Eustace said, as he entered the room while the girl was speak- ing, " for fifteen of our men have fallen ; and, as Long Tom tells me, they had hot work of it, and gained much credit by capturing single-handed a great French ship." "Yes, we were fortunate," Guy said, " in falling across the ship of the French admiral, Count de Valles. Our men all fought stoutly, and the archers having cleared the way for us and slain many of their crew, we captured them, and I hold the count and five French knights to ransom." " That will fill your purse rarely, Guy. But let us hear more of this fighting. De Valles's ship must have been a great PENSHURST 345 one, and if j'Oii took it with but your own sixty men it must have been a brilhant action." Guy then gave a full account of the fight, and of the sub- sequent capture of one of the Spanish carracks with the aid of another English ship. "If the Duke of Bedford himself came on board," Lord Eustace said, -'and sent you some reinforcements, he must have thought highly of the action ; indeed he cannot but have done so, or he would not have come personally on board. Did he speak to the king of it ? " "He did, and much more strongly, it seems tome, than the affair warranted, for at the banquet the day before yester- day his majesty was graciously pleased to appoint me a knight-banneret, and to bestow upon me the estates of Pens- hurst, adding thereto the royal manors of Stoneham and Piverley." " A right royal gift ! " Lord Eustace said, while exclama- tions of pleasure broke from the others. " I congratulate you on your new honour, which you have right worthily earned. Sir John, you may well be ])roud of this son of yours." "I am so, indeed," Sir John Aylmer said heartily. "I had hu]jcd well of the lad, but had not deemed that he would mount so rapidly. Sir Richard Fulk had a fine estate, and joined now to the two manors it will be as large as those of Summerley, even with its late additions." "I am very glad," Dame Margaret said, "that the king has apportioned you an estate so near us, for it is scarce fifteen miles to l^enshurst, and it will be but a morning ride for you to come hither." " Methinks, wife," Lord Eustace said with a smile, "we were somewhat hasty in tliat matter of Sir William Bailey, for had we but waited Agnes might have done better." 346 AT AGINCOURT " She chose for herself," Dame Margaret replied with an answering smile. ' ' I say not that in my heart I had not hoped at one time that she and Guy might have come to- gether, for I had learnt to love him almost as if he had been my own, and would most gladly have given Agnes to him had it been your wish as well as theirs ; but I have seen for some time past that it was not to be, for they were like brother and sister to each other, and neither had any thought of a still closer relation. Had it not been so I should never have fa- voured Sir William Bailey's suit, though indeed he is a worthy young man, and Agnes is happy with him. You have not been to your castle yet, Guy?" she asked, suddenly chang- ing the subject. " No, indeed. Lady Margaret, I rode straight here from London, deeming this, as methinks that I shall always deem it, my home." ' ' We must make up a party to ride over and see it to-mor- row," Lord Eustace said. " We will start early, wife, and you and Katarina can ride with us. Charlie will of course go, and Sir John. We could make a horse-litter for the count, if he thinks he could bear the journey. " Methinks that I had best stay quietly here," the Italian said. " I have had enough of litters for a time, and the shak- ing might make my wound angry again." " Nonsense, child! " he broke off as Katarina whispered that she would stay with him ; "I need no nursing now ; you shall ride with the rest." Accordingly the next day the party started early. Charlie was in high spirits ; he had grown into a sturdy boy, and was delighted at the good fortune that had befallen Guy, whom he had regarded with boundless admiration since the days in Paris. Katarina was in one of her silent moods, and rode close to Lady Margaret. Long Tom, who was greatly rejoiced PENSHURST 347 on hearing of the honours and estates that had been bestowed on Guy, rode with two of his comrades in the rear of the party. Penshurst was a strong castle, though scarcely equal in size to Summerley ; it was, however, a more comfortable habi- tation, having been altered by the late owner's father, who had travelled in Italy, with a view rather to the accommoda- tion of its inmates than its defence, and had been furnished with many articles of luxury rare in England. " A comfortable abode truly, Guy ! " his father said. " It was well enough two hundred years since, when the country was unsettled, for us to pen ourselves up within walls, but there is little need of it now in England, although in France, where factions are constantly fighting against each other, it is well that every man should hold himself secure from attack. Rut now that cannon are getting to so great a point of perfec- tion, walls are only useful to repel sudden attacks, and soon crumble when cannon can be brought against them. Methinks the time will come when walls will be given up altogther, es- pecially in England, where the royal power is .so strong that nobles can no longer war with each other." " However, Guy," Lord Eustace said, "'tis as well at pres- ent to have walls, and strong ones ; and though I say not that this place is as strong as Villeroy, it is yet strong enough to stand a siege." Guy spent an hour with the steward, who had been in charge of the castle since the death of Sir Richard Fulk, and who had the day before heard from a royal messenger that Sir Guy had been appointed lord of the estates. The new owner learned from him much about the extent of the feu, the number of tenants, the strength that he would be called upon to furnish in case of war, and the terms on \\ hich the vassals held their tenure. " Your force will bo well-nigh doubled," the steward said 348 AT AGINCOURT in conclusion, " since you tell me that the manors of Stone- ham and Piverley have also fallen to you." " 'Tis a fair country," Guy said as the talk ended, " and one could wish for no better. " I shall return to Summerley to-day, but next Monday I will come over here and take pos- session, and you can bid the tenants, and those also of the two manors, to come hither and meet me at two o'clock." " Well, daughter," the Count of Montepone said to Kata- rina as she was sitting by his couch in the evening, " so you think that Penshurst is a comfortable abode ? " " Yes, father, the rooms are brighter and lighter than these and the walls are all hung with arras and furnished far more comfortably." " Wouldst thou like to be its mistress, child ? " A bright flush of colour flooded the girl's face. "Dost mean it, father?" she asked in a voice hardly above a whisper. "Why not, child? You have seen much of this brave young knight, whom, methinks, any maiden might fall in love with. Art thou not more sensible to his merits than was Mistress Agnes ? ' ' " He saved my life, father." " That did he, child, and at no small risk to his own. Then do I understand that such a marriage would be to your liking?" " Yes, father," she said frankly, " but I know not that it would be to Sir Guy's." " That is for me to find out," he said. " I asked Lady Margaret a few days ago what she thought of the young knight's inclinations, and she told me that she thought indeed he had a great liking for you, but that in truth you were so wayward that you gave him but little chance of showing it." " How could I let him see that I cared for him, father, PENSHURST 349 when I knew not for certain that he thought aught of me, and moreover, I could not guess what your intentions for me might be." " I should not have sent you where you would often be in his company, Katarina, unless 1 had thought the matter over deeply. It was easy to foresee that after the service he had rendered you you would think well of him, and that, thrown together as you would be, it was like enough that you should come to love each other. I had cast your horoscope and his and found that you would both be married about the same time, though I could not say that it would be to each other. 1 saw enough of him during that time in Paris to see that he was not only brave, but prudent and discreet. I saw, too, from his affection to liis mistress, that he would be loyal and honest in all he undertook, that it was likely that he would rise to honour, and that above all I could assuredly trust your happiness to him. He was but a youth and you a girl, but he was bordering upon manhood and you upon womanhood. I marked his manner with his lady's daugliter and saw that she would be no rival to you. Had it been otherwise I should have yielded to your prayers, and have kept you with me in France. Matters have turned out according to my expecta- tion. I can give you a dowry that any English noble would think an ample one with his bride ; and though Guy is now himself well endowed he will doubtless not object to such an addition as may enable him, if need be, to place in the field a following as large as that which many of the great nobles are bound to furnish to their sovereign. I will speak to him on the subject to-morrow, Katarina." Accordingly, the next morning at breakfast the count told Guy that there was a matter on which he wished to consult him, and the young knight renjained behind when the other mem- bers of the family left the room to carry out their avocations. 350 AT AGINCOURT " Hast thought of a mistress for your new castle, Sir Guy ? ' ' the count began abruptly. Guy started at the sudden question, and did not reply at once. " I have thought of one, Count," he said ; " but although, so far, all that you told me long ago in Paris has come true, and fortune has favoured me wonderfully, in this respect she has not been kind, for the lady cares not for me, and I would not take a wife who came not to me willingly." " How know you that she cares not for you ? " the count asked. " Because I have eyes and ears, Count. She thinks me but a boy, and a somewhat ill-mannered one. She mocks me when I try to talk to her, shuns being left alone with me, and in all ways shows that she has no inclination towards me, but very much the contrary." "Have you asked her straightforwardly?" the count in- quired with a smile. " No, I should only be laughed at for my pains, and it would take more courage than is required to capture a great French ship for me to put the matter to her." " I fancy. Sir Guy, that you are not greatly versed in female ways. A woman defends herself like a beleaguered fortress. She makes sorties and attacks, she endeavours to hide her weakness by her bravados, and when she replies most disdainfully to a summons to capitulate, is perhaps on the eve ol surrender. To come to the point, then, are you speaking of my daughter ? ' ' " I am. Sir Count," Guy said frankly. " I love her, but she loves me not, and there is an end of it. 'Tis easy to understand that, beautiful as she is, she should not give a thought to me who, at the best, can only claim to be a stout man-at-arms ; as for my present promotion, I know that it goes for nothing in her eyes." PENSHURST 351 " It may be as you say, Sir Guy ; but tell me, as a soldier, before you gave up the siege of a fortress and retired would you not summon it to surrender ? ' ' " I should do so," Guy replied with a smile. " Then it had better be so in this case. Sir Guy. You say that you would willingly marry my daughter. I would as willingly give her to you. The difficulty then lies with the maiden herself, and it is but fair to you both that you should yourself manfully ask her decision in the matter." He went out of the room, and returned in a minute lead- ing Katarina. " Sir Guy has a question to ask you, daugh- ter," he said; "I pray you to answer him frankly." He then led her to a seat, placed her there and left the room. Guy felt a greater inclination to escape by another door than he had ever felt to fly in the hour of danger, but after a pause he said : " I will put the question, Katarina, since your father would have me do it, though 1 know well enough before- hand what the answer will be. I desire above all things to have you for a wife, and would give you a true and loyal affection were you willing that it should be so, but T feel only too well that you do not think of me as I do of you. Still, as it is your father's wish that I should take your answer from your lips, and as, above all things, I would leave it in your hands without any constraint from him, I ask you whether you love me as one should love another before plighting her faith to him ? " " Why do you say that you know what my answer will be, Guy ? Would you have had me show that I was ready to drop like a ripe peach into your mouth before you opened it ? Why should I not love you ? Did you not save my life? Were you not kind and good to me even in the days when I was more like a boy than a girl ? Have you not smce 352 AT AGINCOURT borne with my humours ? I will answer your question as frankly as my father bade me." She rose now. " Take my hand, Guy, for it is yours. I love and honour you, and could wish for no better or happier lot than to be your wife. Had you asked me six months ago I should have said the same, save that I could not have given you my hand until I had my father's consent." During the next month Guy spent most of his time at Penshurst getting everything in readiness for its mistress. Lord Eustace advanced him the monies that he was to re- ceive for the ransoms of Count de Valles and the five knights, and the week before the wedding he went up with the Count of Montepone to London, and under his advice bought many rich hangings and pieces of rare furniture to beautify the private apartments. The count laid out a still larger sum of money on Eastern carpets and other luxuries, as well as on dresses and other matters for his daughter. On jewels he spent nothing, having already, he said, " a sufficient store for the wife of a royal duke." On his return Guy called upon the king at his palace at Winchester, and Henry declared that he himself would ride to Summerley to be present at the wedding. " You stood by me," he said, " in the day of battle, it is but right that I should stand by you on your wedding-day. Her father will, of course, give her away, and it is right that he should do so, seeing that she is no ward of mine; but I will be your best man. I will bring with me but a small train, for I would not inconvenience the Baron of Summerley and his wife, and I will not sleep at the castle ; though I do not say that I will not stay to tread a measure witli your fair bride." Two days later a train of waggons was seen approaching Summerley ; they were escorted by a body of men-at-arms with two officers of the king. Lord Eustace, in some sur- PENSHURST 353 prise, rode out to meet them, and was informed that the king had ordered them to pitch a camp near the castle for himself and his knights, and that he intended to tarry there for the night. As soon as the waggons were unloaded the attendants and men-at-arms set to work, and in a short time the royal tent and six smaller ones were erected and fitted with their furniture. Other tents were put up a short dis- tance away for the grooms and attendants. This greatly re- lieved Lady Margaret, for she had wondered where^ she could bestow the king and his knights if, at the last moment, he determined to sleep there. For the ne.xt three days the castle was alive with prepara- tions. Oxen and swine were slaughtered, vast quantities of game, geese, and poultry were brought in, two stags from the royal preserves at Winchester were sent over by the king, and the rivers for miles round were netted for fish. At ten o'clock Guy rode in with fifty mounted men, the tenants of Pens- hurst, Stoneham, and Piverley, and these and all the tenants of Summerley rode out under Lord Eustace and (iuy to meet the king. They had gone but a mile when he and his train rode up. He had with him the lOarl of Dorset and five of the nobles who had fought at Agincourt and were all personally acquainted with (iuy. The church at Summerley was a large one, but it was crowded as it had never been before. The king and his nobles stood on one side of the altar, while Lord Eustace, his wife, Agnes, and Charlie were on the other. Guy's tenants occupied the front seats, while the rest of the church was filled by the tenants of Simimerley, their wives and daughters, and the retainers of the castle, among them Long Tom, with his pretty wife beside him. When every- thing was in order the Count of Montepone entered tlie church with his daughter, followed by the six prettiest maidens on the Summerley estate. 23 354 AT AGINCOURT "In truth, Sir Guy," the king whispered as the bride and her father came up the aisle, ' ' your taste is as good in love as your arms are strong in war, for my eyes never fell on a fairer maid." After the ceremony there was a great banquet in the hall, while all the tenants, with their wives and families, sat down to long tables spread in the court-yard. After the meal was over and the tables removed, the king and the party in the banqueting-hall went out on the steps and were received with tremendous cheering. Guy first returned thanks for himself and his bride for the welcome that they had given him, and then, to the delight of the people, the king stepped forward. "Good people," he .said, "among whom there are, I know, some who fought stoutly with us at Agincourt, you do well to shout loudly at the marriage of this brave young knight, who was brought up among you, and who has won by his valour great credit, and our royal favour. Methinks that he has won, also, a prize in his eyes even greater than the honours that we have bestowed upon him, and I doubt not that, should occasion occur, he will win yet higher honours in our service." A great shout of " God bless the king ! " went up from the assembly. Then the party returned to the hall, while casks of wine were broached in the court-yard. As Lord Eustace had sent for a party of musicians from Winchester, first some stately dances were performed in the hall, as many as could find room being allowed to come into it to witness them. The king danced the first measure with Katarina, the Earl of Dorset led out Lady Margaret, and Guy danced with Lady Agnes, while the other nobles found partners among the ladies who had come in from the neighbourhood. After a few dances the party adjourned to the court-yard, where games of various kinds, dancing and feasting were kept up until a PENSHURST 355 late hour, when the king and his companions retired to their tents. At an early hour next morning the king and his retinue rode back to Winchester. Until he signed the marriage contract before going to the church, Guy was altogether ignorant of the dowry that Kata- rina was to bring, and was astonished at the very large sum of money, besides the long list of jewels, entered in it. " She will have as much more at my death," the count said ([uietly; "there is no one else who has the slightest claim upon me." Consequently, in the course of the wars with France, Guy was able to put a contingent of men-at-arms and archers, far beyond the force his feudal obligations required, in the field. Long Tom was, at his own request, allowed by his lord to exchange his small holding for a larger one at Penshurst, and always led Guy's archers in the wars. Sir John Aylmer remained at Summerley, refusing Guy's pressing invitation to take up his abode at Penshurst. " No, lad," he said ; "Lord Eustace and I have been friends and companions for many years, and Lady Margaret has been very dear to me from her childhood. Both would miss me sorely did I leave them, the more so as Agnes is now away. Moreover, it is best that you and your fair wife should be together also for a time. 'Tis best in all respects. You are but two hours' easy riding from Summerley, and I shall often be over to see you." Four years after his marriage the king promoted Guy to the rank of Baron of Penshurst, and about the same time the Count of Montepone, who had been for some months in Italy, finding that his enemies at Mantua were still so strong that he was unable to obtain a reversal of the decree of banishment that had been passe dagainst him, returned to Penshurst. " I have had more than enough of wandering, and would 356 AT AGINCOURT fain settle down here, Guy, if you will give me a chamber for myself, and one for my instruments. I shall need them but little henceforth, but they have become a part of myself, and, though no longer for gain, I love to watch the stars, and to ponder on their lessons ; and when you ride to the wars I shall be company for Katarina, who has long been used to my society alone, and I promise you that I will no longer employ her as my messenger." Once established at Penshurst the count employed much of his time in beautifying the castle, spending money freely in adding to the private apartments, and decorating and furnish- ing them in the Italian style, until they became the wonder and admiration of all who visited them. In time he took upon himself much of the education of Katarina's children, and throughout a long life Guy never ceased to bless the day when he and Dame Margaret were in danger of their lives at the hands of the White Hoods of Paris. THE END. " Wherever English is spoken one imagines that Mr. Henty's name is known. One cannot enter a sclioolroom or look at a boy's bookshelf without seeing half-a-dozen of his familiar volumes. Mr. Henty is no doubt the most successful writer for boys, and the one to whose new volumes they look forward every Christmas with most p\&isu.rQ."— Review of Reviews. ^ CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS' CATALOGUE OF BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ^ INCLUDING NEW WORKS BY G. A. HENTY, G. M. FENN, S. BARING - GOULD, KIRK MUNROE, F. FRANKFORT MOORE, GORDON STABLES, ROBERT LEIGHTON, HARRY COLLINGWOOD, ROSA MULHOLLAND, ALICE CORKRAN, ETC. «^ 153 TO 157 Fifth Avenue, New York BOOKS FOR TOUSG PEOPLE BY G. A. HENTY NEW STORIES FOR THE SEASON OF 1896 AT AGINCOURT A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Walter Paget. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. The story begins in a grim feudal castle in Normandie, on the old frontier between France and Englaud, where the lad Guy Aylmer had gone to join his father's old friend Sir Eustace de Villeroy. The times were troublous and soon the French king compelled Lady Margaret de Villeroy with her children to go to Paris as hostages for Sir Eustace's loyalty. Guy Aylmer went wi h her as her page and body-guard. Paris was turbulent and the populace riotous. Soon the guild of the butchers, adopting white hoods as their uniform, seized the city, and besieged the house where our hero and his charges lived. After desperate fighting, the white hoods were beaten and our hero and his charges escaped from ttie city, and from France. He came back to share in the great battle of Agincourt, and when peace followed returned with honor to England. ON THE IRRAWADDY A Story of the First Burmese War. With 8 full-page Illus- trations by W. H. OvEKEND. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, !$1.50. The hero having an vmcle, a trader on the Indian and Burmese rivers, goes out to join him. Soon after war is declared by Bur- mah against England and he is drawn into it. His familiarity with the Burmese cu>toms and language make him of such use that he is put upon Sir Archibald Campbell's staff He has many experiences and narrow escapes in battles and in scouting. With half-a-dozen men he rescues his cousin who had been taken prisoner, and in the flight they are besieged in an old ruined temple. His escape and ultimate successful return to England shovv what a clear head with pluck can do. WITH COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS A Tale of the Exploits of Lord Cochrane in South American Waters. With 12 full-page Illustrations by W. H. Maegetson. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. The hero of this story, an orphaned lad, accompanies Cochrane as midshipman, and serves in the war between Chili and Peru. He has many excting adventures in battles by sea and land, is taken prisoner and condemned to death by the Inquisition, but escapes by a long and thrilling fliagic disappoint- ments, are found all the excitements of romance, as well as the fascination which belongs to real events. BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden, By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, ^1.50. The adventures of the son of a Scotch officer in French service. The boy, brought up by a Glasgow bailie, is arrested for aiding a Jacobite agent, escapes, is wrecked oa the French coast, reaches Paris, and serves with the French army at Dettmgen. He kills his father's foe in a duel, and escaping to the coast, shares the adventures of Prince Charlie, but finally setDles happily in Scotland. UNDER DRAKPS FLAG A Tale of the Spanish Main. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. A story of the days when England and Spain struggled for the suprem- acy of the sea. Tae heroes sad as lads witli Drake in the PaLitic . xpe- dition. and in his great voyage of circumnavigation. The historical portion of the story is absolutely to be relied upon, but this will perhaps be less attractive than the great vari^-ty of exciting adventure through which the young heroes pass in the course of their voyages. WITH WOLFE IN CANADA Or, The Winning of a Continent. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. Mr. Henty here gives an account of the struggle between Bri'ain and Prince for supremacy in the No-th American continent. The fall of Quebec decided that' the Ancrlo-Saxon race should predominatp in the New World; and that Enjlish and American commerce, the English language, and English literature, should spread right round the globe. books; for rouxG people BY G. A. HENTY ' Mr. Henty Is one of the best of story-tellers for young people."— Spectator. BY PIKE AND DYKE A Tale of the Pdse of the Dutch Kepublic. By G. A. Hentt. With 10 full-page Illustrations by Maynakd Brown, aud 4 Maps. Crowu 8vo, olivine edges, S1.50. In this .'Story Mr. Henty traces the adventures and brave deeds of an English boy in the household of the ablest man of his age -William the Silsnt. Edward Martin, the son of an Eni^lish sea-captain, enters the service of the Princj as a volunteer, and is employed by him in many dangerous and responsible missi ns, in the discharge of wrhich he passes through the great sieges of the time. BY ENGLAND'S AID Or, The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-1G04). By G. A. Henty. With 10 fnll-pag(> Illustrations by Alfked Pearse, and 4 Maps. Crown Svo, olivine edges, §1.50. The story of two English lads who go to Holland as pages in the service of one of "'"the lighting Veres " After many adventures by sea and land, one of the lads finds himself on board a Spanish ship at the time of the defeat of the Armada, and escapes only to fall into the hands of the Cor- sairs. He is successful in getting back to Spain, and regains his native country after the capture of Cadiz. IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES A Story of Adventure in Colorado. By G. A. Henty. With 8 "full-page Illustrations by G. C. Hindley. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, §1.50. From first to hist this is a story of splendid hazard. The hero, Tom Wade, goes to seek his uncle m Colorado, who is a hunter and gold- digger, and he is discovered, after raa-iy dangers, out on the plains wit,h some comrades, doing in quest of a gold mine the little band is spied by Indians, chased across the Bad Lands, and overwhelmed by a snow- storm in the mountains. BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST Or, With Cortcz in Mexico. By G. A. Henty. With 10 full- page Illustrations by W. 8. Stacey, aud 2 Maps. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, §1.50. With the Conquest of Mexico as the ground-work of his story, Mr. Henty has interwoven the adventures of an English youth. He is beset by many periU among the natives, but by a ruse he obtains the protectii>n of the Spaniards, and .ifter the fall of Mexico he succeeds in regaining his native shore, with a fortune and a charming Aztec bride. BOOKS FOR TOUSG PEOPLE BY G. A. HENTY " No living writer of books for boys writes to better purpose than Mr. G. A. "Realy."— Philadelphia Press. TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG A Tale of the American War of Indej^endence. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, f 1.50. A graphic and vigorous story of the American Revolution, which paints the scenes with great power, and does full justice to the pluck and de- termination of the soldiers during the unfortunate struggle. THE LION OF ST. MARK A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth Century. By G. A. Henty. With 10 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $51.50. A story of Venice at a period when her strength and splendor were put to the severest tests. The hero displays a fine sense and manliness which carry him Fafely through an atmosphere of intrigue, crime, and blood- shed. He contriljutes largely to the victories of the Venetians at Porto d'Anzo and Chioggia. and finally wins the hand of the daughter of one of the chief men of Venice. THE LION OF THE NORTH A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of Eeligion. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full page Illustrations by John ScHONBERG. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. In this story Mr. Henty gives the history of the first part of the Thirty Years' War. The issue had its importance, which has extended to the present day, as it estab ished religious freedom in Germany. The army of the chivalrous King of Sweden was largely composed of Scotchmen, and among these was the hero of the story. IN GREEK WATERS A Story of the Grecian War of Independence (1821-1827). By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by W. S. Stagey, and a Map. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50, Deals with the revolt of the Oreeks in 1821 against Turkish oppression. Mr. Beveridge and his son Horace fit out a privateer, load it with military stores, and set sail for Greece. They rescue the Christians, relieve the captive Greeks, and fight the Turkish war vessels. BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE BY G. A. HENTY " Mr. Henty's books never fall to interest boy readers."— J:cademy. WITH CLIVE IN INDIA Or, The Beginnings of an Empire. By G. A. Hentt. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gokdon Browne, and a Map. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, SL^JO. The period botween the landing of Clive in India and the close of his career was eventful in the extreme. At its commencement the English were traders existing on sufferance of the native princes; at its close they were masters of Bengal and of the greater part of Southern India. The author lias given a full account of the events of that stirring time, while he combines with his narrative a thrilling tale of daring and adventure. THE YOUNG CARTHAGINIAN A Story of the Times of Hannibal. By G. A. Henty. With I'i full-page Illustrations by C. J. St.vniland, E.I. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, ^1.50. There is no better field for romance-writers in the whole of history than the momentous struggle between the liomans anrtr<'ss was vainly besieged and bombarded. The hero of the tale, an Eiigli'h lad resident in Gibraltar, takes a brave and worthy part in the long defence, and it is through his varied experiences that we learn with what bravery, resource, and te- nacity the Rock was held for England. 12 660KS FOR rOUJ^G PEOPLE BY G. A. HENTY " Among writers of stories of adventures for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very first laxi^."— Academy. FOR NAME AND FAME Or, Tlii'ongli Afghan Passes. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full- page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, .fl.GO. An interesting story of the last war in Afghanistan. The hero, after being wreoked and going through many stirring adventures among the Malays, finds Ids way to Calcutta and enlists in a regiment proceeding to join the army at the Afghan passes. He accompanies the force under General Roberts to the Peiwar Kotal, is wounded, taken prisoner, carried to Cabul, whence he is transferred to Candahar, and takes part in the final defeat of the army of Ayoub Khan. ORANGE AND GREEN A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. By G. A. Hentt. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. The record of two typical families — the Davenants, who, having come over with Strongbow, had allied themselves in feeling to the original in- habitants ; and the Whitefoots, who had been placed by Cromwell over certain domains of the Davenants. In the children the spirit of conten- tion has given place to friendship, and though they take opposite sides in the struggle between James and William, their good-will and mutual service are never interrupted, and in the end the Davenants come hap- pily to their own again. MAORI AND SETTLER A Story of the New Zealand War. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Alfred Pearse. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, .f 1.50. The Renshaws emigrate to New Zealand during the period of the war with the natives. Wilfrid, a strong, self-reliant, courageous lad, is the mainstay of the household. He has for his friend Mr. Atherton, a botan- ist and naturalist of herculean st ength and unfailing nerve and humor. In the adventures among the Maoris, there are many breathless moments in which the odds seem hopelessly against the party, but they succeed in estahlishing themselves happily in one of the pleasant New Zealand valleys. A FINAL RECKONING A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by W. B. "Wollen. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. The hero, a young English lad. after rather a stormy boyhood, emi- grates to Australia and gets employment as an oificer in the mounted police. A few years of active work on the frontier, where he has many a brush with l)oth natives and bush-rangers, gain him promotion to a cap- taincy, and he eventually settles down to the peaceful life of a squatter. BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 13 BY G. A. HENTY " Mr. Henty'B books are welcome visitors lu the home circle."— Da«j/ News. THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE Or, With PeterboroTigb iu Spain. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by H. M. Paget. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, ^1.50. There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. This is largely due to the fact that they were overshadowed by the glory and successes of Marlborough. His career as General extended over little more than a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed. THE DRAGON AND THE RAVEN Or, The Davs of King Alfred. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full- page Illustrations by C. J. Staniland, R.I. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. In this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle between Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the ravages of the sea-wolves. The hero, a young Saxon thane, takes jiart in all the battles fought by King Alfred. He is driven from his home, takes to the sea, and resists the Danes on their own element, and being pursued by them up the Seine, is present at the long and desperate siege of Paris. FACING DEATH Or, The Hero of the Vauglian Pit, A Tale of the Coal Mines. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Bkoa^-ne. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, .^1.50. "Facing Death " is a story with a purpose. It is intended to show that a lad who makes up his mind firmly and resolutely that he will ri.se in life, and who is prepared to face toil and ridicide and hardship to carry out his determination, is sure to succeed. The hero of the story is a typical British hoy, dogged, earnest, generous, and thous,'h "shamefaced" to a degree, is ready to face death in the discliarge of duty. BY SHEER PLUCK A Tale of the Ashanti War. ]3y G. A. Henty. With S full- page Illustrations by Gokdun Bkowne. Crown 8vo, oli\dne edges, Sl-50. The author h.is woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details of the Ashanti campaign, of which he was himself a witness. His hero, after many exciting a^l ventures in the interior, is detained a prisoner by the king jiist before the outbreak of the war, but escapes, and accum- panies the English expedition on their march to Coomassie. 14 BOOKS FOR TOUNG PEOPLE BY G. A. HENTY " Mr. Henty mlglit with entire propriety be called the boys' Sir Walter Scott."— Philadelphia Pt^ess. THE CAT OF BUBASTES A Story of Ancient Egypt. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full- page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, $1.50. A story which will give young readers an unsurpassed insight icto the customs of the Eg} ptian people. Amuba, a prince of the Rebu nation, is carried with his charioteer Jethro into slavery. They become inmates of the house of Ameres, the Egyptian high-priest, and are happy in his service until the priest's son accidentally kills the sacred cat of Bubastes. In an outburst of popular fury Ameres is killed, and it rests with Jethro and Amuba to secure the escape of the high-priest's son and daughter. ONE OF THE 28th A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Il- lustrations by W. H. OvEKEND, and 2 Maps. Crown 8vo, olivine edges, !$1.50. The hero of this story, Ralph Conway, has many varied and exciting adventures. He enters the army, and after some rough service in Ire- land takes part in the Waterloo campaign, from which he returns with the loss of an arm, but with a substantial fortune. STURDY AND STRONG Or, How George Andrews made his Way. By G. A. Henty. With 4 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, f 1.00. The history of a hero of everyday life, whose love of truth, clothing of modesty, and innate pluck, carry him, naturally, from poverty to af- fluence. George Andrews i* an example of character with lothing to cavil at, and stands as a good instance of chivalry in domestic life. TALES OF DARING AND DANGER By G. A. Henty. With 2 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 75 cents. Containing five stories, varied in scene and character, but all of ad- venturous interest and telling of youthful heroism under dangerous and trying circumstances on land and on sea. YARNS ON THE BEACH By G. A. Henty. With 2 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 75 cents. This book should find special favor among boys. The yarns are spun by old sailors, and are admirably calculated to foster a manly spirit. BOOKS FOR rOUXG PEOPLE 15 BY KIRK MUNROE THE "WHITE CONQUERORS" SEHIES THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE A Tale of the Seminole War. By Kirk Munroe. AVitli 8 full- page Illustrations by Victor Pekaed. Crown 8vo, §1.25. In this new story Mr. Munroe opens to view an exceedingly interesting period of American history — the period of the Seminole War in Florida. Coacoochee, the hero of the story, is a young Indian of noble birth, the .son of Philip the chieftain of the tSeniinoIe.'i. He is a boy at the time of the beginning of the Seminole troubles and grows up to lead his tribe in the long struggle which resulted in the Indians being driven from the north of Florida down to the distant southern wilderness. It is a dramatic story, set in scenes of rich tropical luxuriance, and peopled with the strangely contrasted characters of the place and period — the Spaniards, the English, the American soldiers, and the slave dealers, the negroes, the Indians, and the half-breeds. It is fidl of strange adventure, of stirring incident and rapid action, and it is a true and faithful picture of a period of history little known to young readers. Tlie pictures will be highly appreciated by the reader, for they are well drawn, are full of life, and admirably illustrate the te.\t. AT WAR WITH PONTIAC Or, The Totem of tlie Bear. A Tale of Redcoat and Redsldn. By Kirk Munroe. With 8 full-page Illii.stratiou.s by J. FiNNEiioRE. 12mo, §1.25. A story of old days in .\merica when Detroit was a frontier town and the shores of Lake Erie were held by hostile Indians untler Pontiac. The hero, Donald Hester, goes in search of his sister Edith, who has been captured by the Indians. Strange and terrible are his experiences; for he is wounded, takm prisoner, condemned to be burned, and con- trives to escape. In tlie eml there is peace between i'ontiac and the English, and all things terminate happily for the hero. One dares not skip a page of this enthralling story. THE WHITE CONQUERORS A Tale of Toltec and Aztec. By Kirk Muxroe. With 8 full- page Illustratious by W. S. St.vcey. 12mo, §1.25. This story deals with the Conquest of Mexico by Cortes and his Spaniards, tlie " White Conin(jwo()i>. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, ^1.00. In this story the aim of the author has been, not only to interest and amuse, but also to stimulate a taste for scientific study. THE MISSING MERCHANTMAN By Harry Collingwooi>. With 6 full-page Pictures by W. H. OvEREND. Crown 8vo, .51.00. A fine Australian clipper is seized by the crew ; the passengers are landed on one deserted island, the captain and a junior officer on another ; and tiie young hero of the story is kept