Agincourt Part 36

Thus saying he spurred on, meeting, ere he reached Pont St. Maxence, one or two small bodies of men-at-arms, who saluted him as he pa.s.sed, shouting "Burgundy! Burgundy!" and fell in behind the band of Richard of Woodville. The single street of the small town was crowded with people; and before the doors of the two inns which the place then possessed was seen the company of the Lord of Roucq, with the men dismounted, feeding their horses, but all armed, and prepared to spring into the saddle at a moment's notice.

The approach of the Duke was greeted by a loud shout of welcome--not alone from his own soldiers, but also from the people of the town; for in the northern and eastern provinces of France, as well as in the capital, John the Bold was the most popular prince of the time. De Roucq immediately advanced on foot to hold his stirrup, but his Lord grasped him by the hand and wrung it hard, saying, "I am safe, you see, old friend--thanks to your care, and this young gentleman's conduct."

"Ay, I thought he would do well," replied the old soldier, "for he is up in the morning early."

"He has done well," said the Duke, dismounting; and, turning to Woodville, who had sprung from his horse, he said, "You rightly deserve some honour at my hands. Though we have no spurs ready, I will dub you now; and we will arm you afterwards at Lille. Kneel down."

Richard of Woodville bent his knee to the ground before the crowd that had gathered round; and, drawing his sword, the Duke of Burgundy addressed to him, as usual, a short speech on the duties of chivalry, concluding with the words--"thus remember, that this honour is not alone a reward for deeds past, but an encouragement to deeds in future. It is a bond as well as a distinction, by which you are held to right the wronged--to defend the oppressed--to govern yourself discreetly--to serve your Sovereign Lord--and to be the friend and protector of women, children, and the weak and powerless. Let your lance be the first in the fight; let your purse be open to the poor and needy; let your s.h.i.+eld be the shelter of the widow and orphan; and let your sword be ever drawn in the cause of your King, your country and your religion. In the name of G.o.d, St. Michael, and St. George, I dub you knight. Be loyal, true, and valiant."

At each of the last words he struck him a light stroke with the blade of his sword upon the neck; and the crowd around, well pleased with every piece of representation, uttered a loud acclamation as the young knight rose; and the Duke took him in his arms, and embraced him warmly. Old De Roucq, and the n.o.blemen who had accompanied John the Bold from the forest, grasped the young Englishman's hand one by one; and the Duke, turning to the Lord of Lens, added, with a gracious smile, "I trust to do the same for you, young sir, ere long. In the meanwhile, that you may have occasion to win your chivalry, I name you one of my squires; and, by G.o.d's grace, you will not be long without something to do."

The youth kissed his hand joyfully; and the Duke retired to the inn.

Richard of Woodville paused for a moment to distribute some handfulls of money amongst the crowd, who were crying "Largesse" around, and then followed the old Lord of Roucq, to give him information of all that had taken place in the forest of Hallate, before they proceeded together to receive the farther orders of the Duke of Burgundy.[8]

[Footnote 8: Some authors, and especially Monstrelet, represent the Duke of Burgundy as effecting his escape from the forest of Villeneuve St. George; but the reader of course cannot entertain the slightest doubt that the author of the present veracious history is, like all other modern historians and critics, better acquainted with the events of distant times than the poor ignorant people who lived in them.]

CHAPTER XXVII.

A SUMMARY.

All was bustle and activity throughout Flanders and Burgundy after the return of John the Bold from Paris. Night and day messengers were crossing the country from one town to another, and every castle in the land saw gatherings of men-at-arms and archers; while, across the frontier from France, came mult.i.tudes of the discontented va.s.sals of Charles VI., pouring in to offer either service or council to the great feudatory, who was now almost in open warfare, if not against his Sovereign, at least against the faction into whose hands that Sovereign (once more relapsed into imbecility) had fallen. If, however, the country in general was agitated, much more so was the city of Lille, where the Duke prolonged his residence for some weeks.

There, day after day, councils were held in the castle; and day after day, not only from every part of the Duke's vast territories, but also from neighbouring states, came crowds of his friends and allies. The people of Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres sent their deputies; the Duke of Brabant, the Bishop of Liege, the Count of Cleves, appeared in person; and even the Constable of France, Waleran, Count of St. Paul, took his seat at the table of the Duke of Burgundy, and refused boldly to give up his staff to the envoys sent from Paris to demand it. The cloud of war was evidently gathering thick and black; and foreign princes looked eagerly on to see how and when the struggle would commence; but the eyes of both contending parties were turned anxiously to one of the neighbouring sovereigns, who was destined to take a great part, as all foresaw, in the domestic feuds of France. To Henry of England both addressed themselves, and each strove hard not only to propitiate the monarch, but to gain the good will of the nation. All Englishmen, either in France or Burgundy, were courted and favoured by those high in place; and Richard of Woodville was now especially marked out for honour by both the Duke of Burgundy and the young Count of Charolois.

The latter opened his frank and generous heart towards one, with whose whole demeanour he had been struck and pleased from the first; and that intimacy which grows up so rapidly in troublous times, easily ripened into friends.h.i.+p in the daily intercourse which took place between them. They were constant companions; and more than once, after nightfall, Richard was brought by the prince to his father's private cabinet, where consultations were held between them, not only on matters of war and military discipline--for which the young English knight had acquired a high reputation, on the report of the old Lord of Roucq--but also on subjects connected with the policy of the English Court, regarding which the Duke strove to gain some better information from the frank and sincere character of Woodville than he could obtain elsewhere. But, as we have shown, Richard of Woodville could be cautious as well as candid; and he replied guardedly to all open questions, that he knew naught of the views or intentions of his Sovereign; but that he was well aware Henry of England held in high esteem and love his princely cousin of Burgundy, and would never be found wanting, when required, to show him acts of friends.h.i.+p. Farther, he said, the Duke must apply to good Sir Philip de Morgan, a man well instructed, he believed, in all the King's purposes.

Both the Count of Charolois and his father smiled at this answer, and turned a meaning look upon each other.

"You have shown me, Sir Richard," said the Duke, "that you really do not know the King's mind on such subjects. Sir Philip de Morgan was his father's most trusted envoy; but is his own envoy not the most trusted? It is strange, your monarch's conduct in some things. He has added to his agents at our poor Court, a n.o.ble and wise man whom his father hated."

"Because, my most redoubted lord," replied the young knight, "he judges differently, and is differently situated from his father. Henry IV. s.n.a.t.c.hed the crown, as all men know, from a weak and vicious king, but found that those, who once had been his peers, were not willing to be his subjects. Though a mighty, wise, and politic prince, his life was a struggle, in which he might win victories indeed, and subdue enemies in the field, but he raised up new traitors in his own heart, new enemies within himself--I mean, my lord, jealousies and animosities. Our present King comes to the throne by succession; and his father has left him a crown divested of half its thorns. His nurture has been different too: never having suffered oppression, he has nothing to retaliate; never having struggled with foes, he has no fear of enmity. People say in my land, that one man builds a house and another dwells in it. So is it with every one who wins a throne; he has to raise and strengthen the fabric of his power, only to leave the perfect structure to another."

The Duke leaned his head upon his hand, and thought profoundly.

Ambitious visions, often roused by the very name of Henry IV., were reproved by the moral of his life; and though John the Bold might not part with them, he turned his thoughts to other channels, and strove to learn from Richard of Woodville the character and disposition of the English sovereign, if not his intentions and designs. On those points, the young knight was more open and unreserved. He painted the monarch as he really was, laughed when the Prince spoke of his youthful wildness, and said, "It was but a masking face, n.o.ble Duke, put on for sport, and, like a mummer's vizard, laid aside the moment it suited him to resume himself again. Those who judge the King from such traits as these will find themselves wofully deceived;" and he went on to paint Henry's energies of mind in terms which--though the Duke might attribute part of the praise to young enthusiasm--still left a very altered impression on the hearer's mind in regard to the real character of the English King.

I have said that these interviews took place more than once, and also that they generally took place in private; for the Duke did not wish to excite any jealousy in his Burgundian subjects; but, on more than one occasion, several of the foreign n.o.blemen who had flocked to the Court of Lille were present, and between the Count of St. Paul and Woodville some intimacy speedily sprung up. The Count, irritated by what he thought injustice, revolved many schemes of daring resistance to the Court of France. He thought of raising men, and, as the ally of Burgundy, opposing in arms the Armagnac faction and the Dauphin; he thought of visiting England, and treating on his own part with Henry V.; and from the young English knight he strove to gain both information and a.s.sistance. There was in that distinguished n.o.bleman many qualities which commanded esteem, and Woodville willingly gave him what advice he could; and yet he tried to dissuade him from being the first to raise the standard of revolt, pointing out that, although the state of mind of the King of France, and the absence of all legal authority in those who ruled, might justify a Prince so nearly allied to the royal family as the Duke of Burgundy, in struggling for a share of that power which he saw misused, especially as he was a sovereign Prince, though feudatory for some of his territories to the crown of France, yet an inferior person could hardly take arms on his own account without incurring a charge of treason, which might fall heavily on his head if the Duke found cause ultimately to abstain from war.

The Count listened to his reasons, and seemed to ponder upon them; and though no one loves to be persuaded from the course to which pa.s.sion prompts, he was sufficiently experienced to think well of one who would give such advice, however unpalatable at the moment.

Thus pa.s.sed nearly a month from the day on which the young Englishman quitted Ghent; and so changeful and uncertain were the events of the time, that he would not venture to absent himself from the Court of Burgundy even for an hour, lest he should miss the opportunity of winning advancement and renown. In that time, however, he had gained much. He was no longer a stranger. The ways and habits of the Court were familiar to him; he was the companion of all, and the friend of many, who, on his first appearance, had looked upon him with an evil eye; and many an occurrence, trifling compared with the great interests that were moving round, but important to himself, had taken place in the young knight's history. The ceremony of being armed a knight was duly performed, the Duke fulfilling his promise on the first occasion, and completing that which had been but begun at Pont St. Maxence. Yet this very act, gratifying as it was to one eager of honour, was not without producing some anxiety in the mind of the young Englishman. Such events were accompanied with much pageantry, and followed by considerable expense. Hitherto, all his charges had been borne by himself, and he saw his stock of wealth decreasing far more rapidly than he had expected. Though apartments had been a.s.signed to him in the Graevensteen at Ghent, none had been furnished him in the castle of Lille; and no mention was made of reimbursing him for anything he had paid.

One day, however, early in June, he was called to the presence of the Duke, and found him just coming from a conference with the deputies of the good towns of Flanders. The Prince's face was gay and smiling; and as he pa.s.sed along the gallery towards his private apartments, he exclaimed, turning towards some of his counsellors, "Let no one say I have not good and generous subjects. Ha! Sir Richard," he continued, as his eye fell upon the young Englishman, "go to the chamber of my son--he has something to tell you."

Richard of Woodville hastened to obey; but the Count de Charolois was not in his apartment when he arrived, and some minutes elapsed before the young Prince appeared. When he came at length, however, he was followed by three or four of his men bearing some large bags, apparently of money, which were laid down upon the table in the anteroom.

"Get you gone, boys," said the Count, turning to his pages; "and you, G.o.dfrey, see that all be ready by the hour of noon. Now, my friend,"

he continued, as soon as the room was clear, "I have news for you, and, I trust, pleasant news too. First, I am for Ghent, and you may accompany me, if you will."

"Right gladly, my lord the Count," replied Richard of Woodville; "for, to say truth, almost all my baggage is still there, and I have scarcely any clothing in which to appear decently at your father's court. I have other matters, too, that I would fain see to in Ghent."

"Some fair lady, now, I will warrant," replied the Count, laughing; "I have marked the ruby ring in your basinet; but, faith, we have more serious matters in hand than either fine clothes or fair ladies. I go to raise men, sir knight, and you have a commission to do so likewise.

My father would fain have you swell your company to fifty archers, taught and disciplined by your own men. The more Englishmen you can get the better, for it seems that you are famous for the bow in your land; but our worthy citizens of Bruges are not unskilful either."

"Good faith, my lord," replied Richard of Woodville, "I know not well how to obey the n.o.ble Duke's behest; for my riches are but scanty, and 'tis as much as I can do to maintain my band as it is."

"Ha! are you there, my friend?" said the young Prince, with a smile.

"Well, you have borne long and patiently with our poverty; but the good towns have come to our a.s.sistance now, and we will acquit our debt. One of these bags is for you, and you will find it contains wherewithal to pay you what you have spent, to reward your archers according to the rate of England, which is, I believe, six sterlings a day, for the month past--to pay them for three months to come, and to raise your band, as I have said, to fifty men. You will find therein one thousand _fleurs-de-lys_ of gold, or, as we call them, _franc-a-pieds_, each of which is worth about forty of your sterlings."

"Then there is much more than is needful, my good lord," replied the young knight. "One-half of that sum would suffice."

"Exactly," replied the Count; "but no one serves well the House of Burgundy without guerdon, my good friend. My father knighted you because you had done well in arms, both in England and in his presence; but knighthood is too high and sacred a thing to be made a reward for any personal benefit rendered to a prince. My father would think that he degraded that high order, if he conferred it even for saving him from death or captivity, as you were enabled to do. For that good deed therefore he gives you the rest; and I do trust that ere long you will have the means of winning more."

Richard of Woodville expressed his thanks, though, with the ordinary chivalrous affectation of the day, he denied all merit in what he had done, and made as little of it as possible. There was one difficulty in regard to increasing his band, however, which he had to explain to the young Count, and which arose from the promise he had given his own Sovereign, of holding himself ready to join him at the first summons.

But that was speedily obviated, it being agreed that in case of his services being demanded by King Henry, he should be at liberty to retire with the yeomen who then accompanied him, and that the rest of the troop about to be raised, should, in that case, be placed under the command of any officer the Duke might appoint.

As was then customary, a clerk was called in, and an indenture drawn up, specifying the terms on which the young knight was to serve in the Burgundian force, the number of the men-at-arms and archers which he was to bring into the field, the pay they were to receive, the arms and horses with which they were to appear, and even the Burgundian cloaks, or huques, which they were to wear. A copy was taken and signed by each party; and fortunate it was for Richard of Woodville, that the young Count suggested this precaution. The usual clauses regarding prisoners were added, reserving the persons of kings and princes of the blood from those whom the young knight might put to ransom as his lawful captives; but the Count specifically renounced his right to the third of the winnings of the war, which was not unusually reserved to the great leader with whom any knight or squire took service.

All these points being settled, Richard of Woodville hurried back to the inn, called the s.h.i.+eld of Burgundy, where he and his men were lodged, and prepared to accompany the Count to Ghent. When he returned to the castle, with his men mounted and armed, he found the court-yard full of knights, n.o.bles, and soldiery, all ready to set out at the appointed hour; and for a time he fancied that the young Prince might be going to Ghent with a larger force than the good citizens, jealous of their privileges, would be very willing to receive; but, as soon as the trumpet sounded, and the whole force marched out over the drawbridge into the streets of Lille, the seven or eight hundred men, of which the party consisted, separated into different bands, and each took its own road. One pursued its way towards Amiens, another towards Tournay, another towards Ca.s.sel, another towards Bethune, another towards Douay; and the Count and his train, reduced to about a hundred men, rode on in the direction of Ghent, which city they reached about four o'clock upon the following day.

Except the Lord of Croy, between whom and the young Englishman a good deal of intimacy had arisen, the Count de Charolois was accompanied by no other gentleman of knightly rank but Richard of Woodville; and, as that high military station placed him who filled it on a rank with princes, those two gentlemen were the young Count's princ.i.p.al companions on the road to Ghent, and received from him a fuller intimation of his father's designs and purposes than had been communicated to them before they quitted Lille. All seemed smiling on the fortunes of Richard of Woodville; the path to wealth and renown was open before him, and he might be pardoned for giving way to all the bright visions and glowing expectations of youth.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE FRIEND ESTRANGED.

Trumpet and timbrel were sounding in the streets of Ghent; the people, in holiday costume, were thronging bridge and market-place; the procession of the trades was once more afoot, with banners displayed; the clergy were hurrying here and there with cross and staff, and all the ensigns of the Romish Church. It was a high holiday; for the young Count had given notice, immediately on his arrival, that he would be ready an hour before compline, which may be considered about six o'clock in the evening, to receive the honourable corps of the good town, in order to return them thanks, in the name of his father, for the liberal aid they had granted him in a time of need; and flushed with loyalty to their Prince--well, I wot, a somewhat unusual occurrence--and with a full sense of their own meritorious sacrifices, each man pressed eagerly to be one of the deputies who were to wait upon the Count; and, if that might not be, to go, at least, as far as the palace gates with those who were to be admitted.

All the n.o.bles who had accompanied the Count from Lille were present in the great hall of the Cours des Princes, where the reception was to take place, except, indeed, Richard of Woodville. He, soon after he had arrived, had begged the Count's excuse for absenting himself from his train; and, hurrying to the inn where he had left Ned Dyram, with his horses and baggage, he dismounted from his charger, and cast off his armour.

To his inquiries for his servant, the host replied, that he had not been there since the morning, and, indeed, seldom appeared there all day; but Woodville seemed to pay little attention to this answer; and, merely was.h.i.+ng the dust from his face and neck, set out at a hurried pace on foot.

He thought that he knew the way to the place which he intended to visit well, though he had only followed it once; and pa.s.sing on, he was soon out of the stream of people that was still flowing on towards the palace. But he found himself mistaken in regard to his powers of memory; long tortuous streets, totally deserted for the time, lay around him; tall houses, princ.i.p.ally built of wood, rose on every side, throwing fantastic shadows across the broad suns.h.i.+ne afforded by the sinking sun; and when he at length stopped a workman to ask his way, the man spoke nothing but Flemish, and all that Woodville had acquired of that tongue was insufficient to make the artisan comprehend what was meant.

Leaving him, the young knight walked on, guided by what he remembered of the direction in which the house of Sir John Grey lay; for it is hardly needful to tell the reader that thither his steps were bent, when suddenly a cavalcade of some five or six hors.e.m.e.n appeared, coming at a slow pace up the street; and the tall graceful figure of a man somewhat past the middle age, but evidently of distinguished rank, was seen at their head. The garb was changed; the whole look and demeanour was different; but even before he could see the features, Richard of Woodville recognised the very man he was seeking, and, hurrying on to meet him, he advanced to his horse's side.

Sir John Grey gazed on him coldly, however, as if he had never seen him before; and Woodville felt somewhat surprised and mortified, not well knowing whether the old knight's memory were really so much shorter than his own, or whether fortune, with Mary's father, had possessed the power it has over so many, to change the aspect of the things around, and blot out the love and grat.i.tude of former days, as things unworthy of remembrance.