The Duke of Burgundy had left Paris upon the day after he had received
Dame Margaret, and as the king had a lucid interval, the Duke of
Aquitaine, his son, was also absent with the army. In Paris there existed
a general sense of uneasiness and alarm. The butchers, feeling that their
doings had excited a strong reaction against them, and that several of the
other guilds, notably that of the carpenters, were combining against them,
determined to strike terror into their opponents by attacking some of
their leaders. Several of these were openly murdered in the streets, and
the houses of others were burnt and sacked. One evening when Guy had
returned at nine o'clock from a supper at Count Charles's lodgings, it
being the first time he had been out after dark since his first adventure,
he had but just gone up to his room, when he heard a loud knocking at the
door below. Going to the front window he looked out of the casement.
"Who is it that knocks?" he asked.
"It is I--the lad of Notre Dame."
He recognized the voice and ran down and opened the door.
"What is it, signora?"
"My father bids me tell you, sir, that he but learned the instant before
he despatched me that the butchers are going to attack this house this
evening, under the pretext that there are English spies here, but really
to slay the provost of the silversmiths, and to gratify their followers by
the sack of his house. I fear that I am too late, for they were to march
from the _abattoirs_ at nine, and it is already nearly half-past. Look! I
see torches coming up the street."
"It is too late, indeed, to fly, even if we wished to," Guy said. "Dame
Margaret and the children retired to bed an hour ago. Will you take this
ring," and he took off from his finger one that D'Estournel had given him,
"and carry it at once to the lodgings of Count Charles d'Estournel? They
are in the house on this side of the Hotel of St. Pol. He is still up, and
has some of his friends with him. Tell him from me that this house is
being attacked, and beg him to gather a party, if he can, and come to our
assistance. Say that we shall defend it until the last."
The girl took the ring and ran off at the top of her speed. The roar of
the distant crowd could now be distinctly heard. Guy put up the strong
bars of the door and then rushed upstairs. First he knocked at the door of
Maître Leroux.
"The butchers are coming to attack your house!" he shouted. "Call up your
servants; bid them take to their arms." Then he ran up to the room where
his men slept. Long Tom, who had met him at D'Estournel's door and
accompanied him home, sprang to his feet from his pallet as Guy entered.
"The butchers are about to attack the house, Tom; up all of you and arm
yourselves; bring down your bow and arrows. Where do the men-servants
sleep?"
"There are five of them in the next room, and the two who serve in the
shop are in the chamber beyond," the archer replied, as he hastily buckled
on his armour. Guy rushed to the door and awoke the inmates of the rooms,
telling them to arm and hasten down to defend the house, which was about
to be attacked. A moment later Maître Leroux himself appeared and repeated
the order.
"Art sure of what you say, Master Guy?" he asked.
"Look from the window and you will see them approaching," Guy replied, and
going to the casement window which was at the front of the house he threw
it open. Some four hundred yards away a dense throng was coming along; a
score of torches lighted up the scene.
"Resistance is vain," the silversmith said. "It is my life they seek; I
will go down to them."
"Resistance will not be in vain," Guy said firmly. "I have already sent
for aid, and we shall have a body of Burgundian men-at-arms here to our
assistance before long. Your life will not satisfy them; it is the plunder
of your shop and house that they long for, and you may be sure that they
will put all to the sword if they once break in. Now let us run down and
see what we can do to strengthen our defences."
"The shutters and doors are all strong," the provost said as they hurried
downstairs, followed by the four men-at-arms and the servants--for in
those days men removed but few of their garments as they lay down on their
rough pallets.
"In the first place," Guy said, "we must pile everything that we can find
below against these doors, so that when they yield we can still make a
defence here, before we retire. Are there other stairs than these?"
"No."
"So much the better. As soon as we have blocked the door we will barricade
the first landing and defend ourselves there. Jean Bart, do you take the
command below for the present. Seize everything that you can lay hands on,
logs from the wood-store, sacks of charcoal, cases, everything heavy that
you can find, and pile them up against the door. Tom, do you come with us;
an arrow or two will check their ardour, and it is not likely they have
brought bows or cross-bows with them. Try to parley with them as long as
you can, Maître Leroux, every minute is of value."
"What is all this, Guy?" Dame Margaret asked as she entered the apartment.
Having been aroused by the noise she had hastily attired herself, and had
just come into the front room.
"The butchers are about to attack the house, lady; we are going to defend
it. I have sent to D'Estournel, and we may hope for aid before long."
At this moment there was a loud knocking at the door and a hoarse roar of
voices from the street. The silversmith went to the casement and opened
it, and he and Guy looked out. A shout of fury arose from the street, with
cries of "Death to the English spies!" "Death to the Armagnac provost!"
Leroux in vain endeavoured to make his voice heard, and so tell the crowd
that his guests were not spies, but had been lodged at his house by the
Duke of Burgundy himself. A tall man on horseback, one of several who were
evidently leaders of the mob, pressed his way through the crowd to the
door and evidently gave some orders, and a din of heavy sledge-hammers and
axes beating against it at once mingled with the shouts of the crowd. The
horseman crossed again to the other side of the street and shook his fist
threateningly at Leroux.
"That is Jacques Legoix," the silversmith said, as he retired from the
window; "one of the great leaders of the butchers; his family, and the St.
Yons and Taiberts rule the market."
"Tom," Guy said to the archer, who was standing behind him. "Begin by
picking off that fellow on horseback opposite."
Tom had already bent his bow and had an arrow in readiness, a moment later
the shaft flew and struck the butcher between the eyes, and he fell dead
from his horse. A yell of consternation and rage rose from the crowd.
"Now you can distribute a few arrows among those fellows at the door," Guy
said.
The archer leant far out of the low casement. "It is awkward shooting,
Master Guy," he said quietly, "but I daresay I can make a shift to manage
it." Disregarding the furious yells of the crowd, he sent arrow after
arrow among the men using the sledges and axes. Many of them had steel
caps with projecting rims which sheltered the neck, but as they raised
their weapons with both hands over their heads they exposed their chests
to the marksman above, and not an arrow that was shot failed to bring down
a man. When six had fallen no fresh volunteers came forward to take their
places, although another horseman made his way up to them and endeavoured
by persuasions and threats to induce them to continue the work. This man
was clad in armour, and wore a steel cap in the place of the knightly
helmet.
"Who is that fellow?" Guy asked the merchant.
"He is the son of Caboche, the head of the flayers, one of the most
pestilent villains in the city."
"Keep your eye on him, Tom, and when you see a chance send an arrow home."
"That armour of his is but common stuff, Master Guy; as soon as I get a
chance I will send a shaft through it."
The man with a gesture of anger turned and gave instructions to a number
of men, who pushed their way through the crowd, first picking up some of
the fallen hammers and axes. The fate of his associate had evidently
taught the horseman prudence, for as he moved away he kept his head bent
down so as not to expose his face to the aim of the terrible marksman at
the window. He halted a short distance away and was evidently haranguing
the crowd round him, and in his vehemence raised his arm. The moment he
did so Tom's bow twanged. The arrow struck him at the unprotected part
under the arm-pit, and he fell headlong from his horse. Maddened with rage
the crowd no longer hesitated, and again attacked the door. Just as they
did so there was a roar of exultation down the street as twelve men
brought up a solid gate that they had beaten in and wrenched from its
hinges from a house beyond.
[Illustration: "TOM'S BOW TWANGED, AND THE ARROW STRUCK THE HORSEMAN UNDER
THE ARM-PIT."]
"You can shoot as you like now, Tom. I will go down and see how the men
are getting on below; the mob will have the door in sooner or later."
Guy found that the men below had not wasted their time. A great pile of
logs, sacks, and other materials was piled against the door, and a short
distance behind stood a number of barrels of wine and heavy cases ready to
be placed in position.
"Get them upstairs, Jean," Guy said; "they will make a better barricade
than the furniture, which we may as well save if possible."
The nine men set to work, and in a very short time a strong barricade was
formed across the top of the wide staircase.
"Have you all the cases out of the shop?"
"Yes, we have not left one there, Master Guy. If they are all full of
silver there must be enough for a royal banqueting-table."
Some, indeed, of the massive chests were so heavy that it required the
efforts of six men to carry them upstairs.
"How do matters go, Guy?" Dame Margaret asked quietly as he re-entered the
apartment.
"Very well," he replied. "I don't think the door will hold out much
longer; but there is a strong barricade behind it which it will take them
some time to force, and another on the landing here that we ought to be
able to hold for an hour at least, and before that yields we will have
another ready on the landing above."
"I will see to that," she said. "I will take Agnes and Charlie up with me,
and then, with the women, I will move out the clothes' and linen chests
and build them up there."
"Thank you, madame; I trust long before the barricade here is carried we
shall have D'Estournel and his friends to our assistance. Indeed, I doubt
whether they will be able to carry it at all; it is as solid and almost as
strong as a stone wall, and as there are thirteen or fourteen of us to
defend it, it seems to me that nothing short of battering the cases to
pieces will enable them to force a way."
"I wish I could do something," Agnes broke in; "it is hard not to be able
to help while you are all fighting for us. I wish I had brought my bow
with me, you know I can shoot fairly."
"I think that it is just as well that you have not," Guy said with a
smile. "I do not doubt your courage for a moment, but if you were placing
yourself in danger we should all be anxious about you, and I would much
rather know that you were safe with your mother upstairs."
Guy now went to the window. Maître Leroux had been directing his servants
in the formation of the barricades.
"I can do nothing to protect the door," the archer said; "they have propped
up that gate so as to cover the men who are hammering at it. I have been
distributing my arrows among the crowd, and in faith there will be a good
many vacancies among the butchers and flayers in the market tomorrow
morning. I am just going up to fill my quiver again and bring down a spare
armful of arrows."
"Leave those on the landing here, Tom, and bring your full quiver down
below. The door will not hold many minutes longer: I could see that it was
yielding when I was down there just now. I don't think that we shall be
able to make a long defence below, for with their hooked halberts they
will be able to pull out the logs, do what we will."
One of the servants now ran in.
"They have broken the door down, sir. It is only kept in place by the
things behind it."
Guy ran out, climbed the barricade--which on the landing was four feet
high, but as it was built on the edge of the top stair it was nine inches
higher on that face--let himself drop on to the stairs, and ran down into
the passage.
"I think, Maître Leroux," he said, "that you and your men had better go up
at once and station yourselves at the barricade. There is no room here for
more than five of us to use our arms, and when we retire we shall have to
do so quickly. Will you please fasten a chair on the top step in such a
way that we can use it to climb over the barricade without delay? We are
like to be hard pressed, and it is no easy matter to get over a five-foot
wall speedily with a crowd of armed men pressing hotly on your heels."
The provost told two of his men to pick out a square block of firewood, as
nearly as possible the thickness of the height of one of the steps. After
trying several they found one that would do, and on placing it on the
stair next to the top it formed with the step above it a level platform.
On this the chair was placed, a strong rope being attached to it so that
it could be pulled up over the barricade when the last of the defenders
had entered. By the time this was finished the battle below began in
earnest. The infuriated assailants had pulled the doors outwards and were
making desperate efforts to climb the pile of logs. This they soon found
to be impossible, and began with their halberts to pull them down, and it
was not long before they had dislodged sufficient to make a slope up which
they could climb. Their work had not been carried on with impunity, for
the archer had stationed himself on the top and sent his arrows thick and
fast among them.
"In faith, master," he said to Guy, who stood close behind, "methinks that
I am doing almost as much harm as good, for I am aiding them mightily in
making their slope, which will presently contain as many dead men as
logs."
As soon as they deemed the slope climbable the furious assailants charged
up. They were met by Guy and the four men-at-arms. Tom had now slung his
bow behind him and had betaken himself to his heavy axe, which crashed
through the iron caps of the assailants as though they had been eggshells.
But in such numbers did they press on that Guy saw that this barricade
could not be much longer held.
"Get ready to retire when I give the word!" he shouted to his companions.
"Tom, you and Jules Varoy and Robert Picard run first upstairs. When you
have climbed the barricade, do you, Tom, take your place on the top. Jean
Bart and I will come up last, and you can cover us with your arrows. Tell
Maître Leroux to remove the light into the room, so that they will not be
able to see what there is to encounter, while these torches here and those
held by the crowd will enable you to see well enough to take aim. Now!" he
shouted, "fall back!"
Tom and the two men-at-arms sprang up the stairs, Guy and Jean Bart
followed more slowly, and halted a few steps from the top.
"All up, master!" Tom shouted, and Jean and Guy were able to cross the
barricade before the foremost of their pursuers reached them. There had
indeed been confusion below, for several of those who had first climbed
the barricade had, instead of pressing hotly in pursuit, run along the
hall and through the door into the shop, in their eagerness to be the
first to seize upon the plunder. They expected the others to follow their
example, but one of their leaders placed himself in their way and
threatened to cut them down if they did not first assault the stairs.
"Fools!" he shouted, "do you think that the old fox has wasted the time we
have given him? You may be sure that the richest prizes have been carried
above."
There was an angry altercation, which was continued until those who had
first run into the shop returned with the news that it had been completely
stripped of its contents. There was now no longer any hesitation in
obeying their leader, and the men poured up the stairs in a mass. Suddenly
some torches appeared above, and those in front saw with consternation the
obstacle that stood between them and their prey. They had little time for
consideration, however, for the arrows from the archer now smote them, and
that with a force and rapidity that bewildered them. Five or six of those
in front fell shot through the brain.
"Heads down!" a voice shouted. There was no retreat for those in front,
for the mass behind pressed them forward, and, instinctively obeying the
order, they ran up. But neither helm nor breast-plate availed to keep out
the terrible English arrows, which clove their way through the iron as if
it had been pasteboard. Stumbling over the bodies of those who had fallen,
the front rank of the assailants at last reached the barricade, but here
their progress was arrested. A line of men stood behind the smooth wall of
massive cases, and those who strove to climb it were smitten with axe or
sword, while they themselves could not reach the defenders above them.
They could but thrust blindly with pike or halbert, for if a face was
raised to direct the aim one of the deadly arrows struck it instantly. In
vain they strove by the aid of the halberts to haul down a case from its
position, the weight was too great for one man's strength to move, and
before several could grasp the handle of the halbert to aid them, the
shaft was cut in two by the blow of an axe.
Hopeless as the attempt seemed, it was persevered in, for the crowd below,
ignorant of the nature of the obstacle, maddened with fury and with the
wine which had been freely served out before starting, still pressed
forward, each fearing that the silversmith's treasures would be
appropriated before he could obtain his share. For half an hour the fight
continued, then there was a roar in the street, and Dame Margaret, who,
after seeing the barricade above completed, had come down to her room and
was gazing along the street, ran out on to the landing.
"Help is at hand!" she cried, "the knights are coming!"
Then came the loud tramp of horses, mingled with shouts of "Burgundy!" The
crowd at the entrance at once turned and ran out, and as the alarm reached
those within, they too rushed down, until the stairs were untenanted save
by the dead. Bidding the others hold their places lest the assailants
should return, Guy ran in and joined Lady Margaret at the window. A fierce
conflict was going on in the street, with shouts of "Burgundy!" "A
rescue!" "A rescue!"
The knights, who were followed by some fifty men-at-arms, rode into the
mob, hewing them down with their swords. The humiliations that they had
received from the arrogance and insolence of the butchers had long rankled
in their minds, and they now took a heavy vengeance. The windows of all
the houses opposite, from which men and women had been peering timidly
out, were now crowded; women waving their handkerchiefs to the knights,
and men loudly shouting greetings and encouragements. The whole of the
traders of Paris were bitterly opposed to the domination of the market
guilds, and while they cared but little for the quarrel between the rival
dukes, the alliance between Burgundy and the butchers naturally drove them
to sympathize with the opposite party. The proof afforded by the charge of
the knights upon the mob delighted them, as showing that, allied with them
though they might be, the Burgundians were determined no longer to allow
the rioting and excesses of the men of the market guilds to continue.
In two or three minutes all was over. The resistance, though fierce, was
short, and the mob was driven down the side streets and chased until the
trading quarter was cleared of them. As the knights returned Guy went down
to the door, to which Maître Leroux had already descended to thank his
rescuers for their timely aid.
"I thank you, my lords and knights," the silversmith said, "for the timely
succour you have rendered me. I would pray you to enter and to allow me to
thank you in more worthy fashion, but indeed the stairs and passage are
encumbered with dead."
"Dame Margaret of Villeroy prays me to say that she also desires greatly
to thank you," Guy said.
"I feared that we should have been too late," Count Charles replied. "We
lost no time when your messenger came, Guy, but it took some time to rouse
the men-at-arms and to saddle our horses. You must have made a stout
defence indeed, judging by the pile of dead that encumber your passage."
"There are many more inside," Guy said, "and methinks that we could have
held out for another hour yet if it had been needed. Indeed, the only
thing that I feared was that they might set fire to the lower part of the
house."
"I should like to see your defences, Maître Leroux," Count Walter de
Vesoul said, "What say you, my friends, shall we mount and see the scene
of this battle? Methinks we might well gain something by it, for 'tis no
slight thing that an unfortified house should for over an hour defend
itself against a mob full a couple of thousand strong. I doubt not, too,
that Master Leroux will serve us with a flagon of wine; and, moreover, we
should surely pay our respects to this English lady,--who while a hostage
of the duke has been thus sorely ill-treated by the scum of Paris,--if she
will please receive us at this hour of the evening."
The other knights, of whom there were ten in number, at once dismounted.
The silversmith's servants brought torches, and after ordering two of them
to broach a cask of wine and to regale the men-at-arms, the provost led
the way upstairs.
"Wait a moment, good provost," the Count de Vesoul said, "let us
understand the thing from the beginning. I see that the knaves lying here
and many of those in the road are pierced by arrows, which, as I note,
have in some cases gone through iron cap or breast-piece; how comes that?"
"That is the work of one of my lady's retainers. He is an English archer,
and one of the most skilful. He comes from her English estate, and when
she chose him as one of the four men-at-arms to accompany her, he begged
leave to bring his bow and arrows, and has in truth, as you see, made good
use of them."
"That is the same tall fellow who, as I told you, Walter, did me such good
service in that fray," said D'Estournel.
"By Saint Anne, Guy, I would that I had a dozen such men among my varlets.
Why, there are a round dozen lying outside the door."
"There would have been more," Guy said, "had they not brought up that
great gate and used it as a screen while they battered in the door here."
"Then you built the barricade behind it?" Count Walter said as he climbed
over the heap of logs.
"Yes, Count, it was built against the door, but when that gave way they
pulled it down with halberts until they could climb over it. But, as you
see, no small portion of slope on the outside is composed of their bodies.
The archer's arrows did good execution as they worked at it, and when they
made the assault we--that is to say, Dame Margaret's four retainers and
I--held it for some time, then we retired up the stairs and defended that
barricade we had built across the top."
The knights picked their way among the bodies that encumbered the stairs.
"By Saint Denis, Charles, this is a strong work indeed!" the count said to
D'Estournel, as they reached the top; "no wonder the knaves found it too
much for them. What are all these massive cases?"
"They contain the goods from my shop," Maître Leroux said. "Master Aylmer
had them carried here while the archer was defending the door, and by so
doing not only made, as you see, a stout breast-work, but saved them from
being plundered."
"They were well fitted for it," Guy said, "for they are very weighty; and
though the fellows tried hard they could not move them with their hooks,
and as fast as they strove to do so the provost's men and ours struck off
the heads of the halberts with axes; and the work was all the more
difficult as our archer had always a shaft fitted to let fly whenever they
lifted their heads."
"But how did you manage to get over safely when they won the barricade
below?" D'Estournel asked; "it was not an easy feat to climb this wall
with a crowd of foemen behind."
Guy explained how they had arranged a chair to form a step. "There was,
however," he went on, "no great need for haste. The archer and two others
went first, and he took his stand on the top of the chests in readiness to
cover the retreat of the fourth man-at-arms and myself. But happily many
of the knaves wanted to sack the shop more than to follow us, and there
was such confusion below, that we had time to climb over and pull up the
chair before they had mustered to the attack."
While they were talking Long Tom and the others had removed one of the
chests and made a passage by which they could pass through, and Maître
Leroux led them into his private apartments, which were similar to,
although larger than, Dame Margaret's. A number of candles had already
been lighted, and in a minute Mistress Leroux entered, followed by two of
her maids carrying trays with great beakers of wine and a number of silver
goblets, and she and the provost then poured out the wine and offered it
with further expressions of thanks to the knights.
"Say naught about it, madame," Count Walter said; "it was high time that a
check was put on these rough fellows who lord it over Paris and deem
themselves its masters. I doubt not that they will raise some outcry and
lay their complaint before the duke; but you, I trust, and other worthy
citizens, will be beforehand with them, and send off a messenger to him
laying complaints against these fellows for attacking, plundering, and
burning at their will the houses of those of better repute than
themselves. We have come to your help not as officers of the duke, but as
knights and gentlemen who feel it a foul wrong that such things should be
done. Moreover, as Dame Margaret of Villeroy, a hostage of the duke, was
lodged here at his request, it was a matter that nearly touched his honour
that her life should be placed in danger by these scurvy knaves, and we
shall so represent the matter to the duke."
Just as the knights had drunk their wine, Guy, who had left them on the
landing, entered, escorting Dame Margaret and her two children. Count
Charles d'Estournel, after saluting her, presented his companions to her,
and she thanked each very heartily for the succour they had brought so
opportunely.
"In truth, lady," the Count de Vesoul said, "methinks from what we saw
that you might even have managed without us, so stoutly were you defended
by your esquire and your retainers, aided as they were by those of the
provost, though in the end it may be that these must have succumbed to
numbers; for I can well imagine that your assailants, after the loss that
they have suffered, would have spared no effort to avenge themselves, and
might indeed, as a last resource, have fired the house. This they would no
doubt have done long before had it not been that by so doing they would
have lost all the plunder that they counted on. This stout defence will no
doubt teach these fellows some moderation, for they will see that
citizens' houses are not to be plundered without hard fighting and much
loss. As for ourselves, we shall see the Duke of Burgundy's lieutenant to-morrow morning and lay the matter before him, praying him to issue a
proclamation saying that in order to suppress the shameful disorders that
have taken place, he gives notice that all who attack the houses of
peaceful citizens will henceforth be treated as evildoers and punished
accordingly."
After some further conversation the knights prepared to leave.
"I shall do myself the honour, sirs," Maître Leroux said, "of sending to
your lodgings to-morrow the cups that you have used, as a small testimony
of my gratitude to you, and as a memorial of the events of this evening."
While they were upstairs the men-at-arms and servants had been employed in
clearing the stairs, throwing the bodies that had encumbered it out into
the street. The men-at-arms of the knights had, after drinking the wine
that had been sent out to them, aided in clearing the passage; 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 been 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 of logs below, when things were for a time
brisk, it has been altogether too one-sided to please me."
"Most people would think that the one-sidedness was all the other way,"
D'Estournel laughed. "Well, men, you have all done your duty to your lady
right well this night, and there is not one of us here who would not
gladly have 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 below. These
slaughterers can doubtless strike a good blow with a pole-axe, but they
are but clumsy varlets with other weapons. But to give them their due,
they fought stoutly if with but little skill or discretion."
Several of the others also said a few words of commendation to the men.
The provost and Guy escorted the knights to the door below. The latter had
ordered twenty of their men-at-arms to remain in the house until morning,
after which ten were to stay there until the doors had been repaired 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 ascended 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 tomorrow I will set the
carpenters to work to make me an even stronger pair of doors than those
that have been spoilt."