This is not a book of battles and sieges--those fire-works of history
which explode with a brief space of brilliant light, and leave nothing
but dust, and tinder, and darkness. The man who gave an account of the
three great battles of the world, and explained that he meant those
which had permanently affected the destinies of the human race,
probably named three too many. There is nothing so insignificant as a
battle. The invention of the steam-engine was worth a thousand of the
greatest victories that ever were achieved.
This is no hook of battles and sieges, and, therefore, I will pass
over lightly the events of the two succeeding days. Suffice it, the
counts of Richmond, Clermont, and Marche pressed the Castle of Bourges
with all the means and appliances they could command. They attacked it
from the country side; they attacked it from the city; they assailed
the gates and barriers sword in hand; they endeavored to escalade the
walls; but they were met at every point with stern and determined
resistance, and though by no means well prepared for defense, the
château held out; the besiegers lost many men, and gained nothing.
In the midst of these scenes, Jean Charost was not inactive. Now on
the walls, now at the barricades, and now quietly sitting in the high
upper chamber of the round tower, with Agnes, and his mother, and
their maids plying the busy silk with trembling fingers, he tried to
give encouragement to the soldiery, and to restore confidence and
calmness to the women. There was something in his aspect, something in
the perfect serenity of his look and manner, in the absence of every
sign of agitation and anxiety on his face, which was not without its
effect, and the news which he brought of the speedy coming of the King
of France to the relief of his faithful vassals besieged in Bourges
afforded bright hope and expectation. The services of himself and
those whom he brought were great to the defenders of a citadel too
large for the numbers it contained; and his quiet, unassuming bravery,
his activity and ready presence of mind, won for him that respect
which pretension, even well founded, could not have gained.
"I always knew he would make a good soldier," said Juvenel de Royans,
somewhat proud of his friendship and their long companionship; and
Blondel himself, one of the first knights of France, admitted that he
had never seen a clearer head or stronger hand exercised in the hour
of danger.
At first sight, it may seem strange to say that the news of the king's
march, which brought hope and relief to the whole garrison--and, in
one sense, to himself also--filled him, when considered in another
point of view, with grief and alarm. But when Jean Charost considered
what must necessarily be the consequence--at a moment when more than
one half of France was in possession of a foreign invader, and the
first vassal of the crown in arms against his sovereign--of an actual
struggle between the monarch in person, and three of those who had
been his chief supporters, his heart sunk as he thought, what might be
the fate of France. During many a moment throughout the first and
second day, when a pause took place in the attack, he meditated
somewhat sadly of these things; but he was not a man only to meditate,
without action; and toward evening he took De Blondel aside to confer
with him as to what was to be done. A few words presented the subject
to the mind of the other in the same light in which it appeared to
himself, and he then said, "I wish you very much to consider this,
Monsieur De Blondel, as I think an opportunity is afforded you of
rendering great service to France. Were I in your place, I would open
negotiations at once with the constable, and represent to him the
consequences that are likely to ensue. It would be no slight honor to
you if you could induce him to cease the attack, and draw off his
forces, even before the king appears, and little less if you could
commence a negotiation which might be carried on after his majesty's
arrival, and heal these unhappy dissensions."
"By the Lord," cried Blondel, "if I were the king, I would have the
head of every one of them, who by his insolent ambition and rebellious
spirits gives strength to the arm of our foreign adversary, and takes
away the strength of France. Nevertheless, I suppose he is obliged to
temporize. But there are many difficulties in the way, my good friend.
You are a negotiator, I am told, as well as a soldier. I know nothing
of such things, and should only make a blunder. I should never know
how to use the knowledge we possess of the king's coming without
betraying the secret to the enemy."
"Well, leave it to me," said De Brecy. "I will act in your name."
De Blondel mused for a minute. "On the condition," he said, at length,
"that there is no talk of surrendering the castle; and also that you
say nothing of the king's movements till he is actually in sight. But
who will you get to go? On my life, the task is somewhat perilous; for
Richmond is just the man either to hang any one who pretends to oppose
his will, or drown him in a sack, as he did Giac."
"I will go," replied De Brecy. "I have no fear. The constable is
violent, haughty, domineering; but at heart he has a sincere love for
France, a bitter hatred of the English, and devotion to the royal
cause. Giac he scorned, as well as hated; and besides, Giac stood in
his way. Me he neither scorns nor hates, nor wishes to remove. By your
leave, I will send out for a safe-conduct by a flag of truce, and you
shall give me a general authority to treat, though, of course, not to
conclude."
De Blondel was easily led in such matters. A good soldier and a
gallant man, he commanded skillfully and fought well; but his
political views were not very far-sighted, and he was one of those
persons who fancy they save themselves half the trouble of decision by
looking only at one side of a question. The authority was given as
amply as Jean Charost desired, and nearly in words of his own
dictation: a flag of truce was sent out to demand a pass for the
Seigneur De Brecy, in order to a conference with the lord constable,
and the bearer speedily returned with the paper required, reporting
that he had remarked much satisfaction among the rebel leaders at the
message which he had carried them, in which they doubtless saw an
indication of some intention to capitulate.
A slight degree of agitation was apparent upon Blondel's face, as Jean
Charost, divested of his harness, and armed only with sword and
dagger, prepared to set out upon his enterprise. "I do not half like
to let you go, sir knight," he said. "This Richmond is a very furious
fellow. There is no knowing what he may do."
"I do not fear," repeated Jean Charost. "But, in case of any accident,
De Blondel, I trust in your honor and your kindness to protect the
ladies whom I leave here with you. They have some thirty or forty men
with them who would each shed the last drop of his blood in their
defense; but the honor of a knight, and that knight De Blondel, is a
surer safeguard than a thousand swords."
The gates of the castle were soon passed; and the first barricade
which the assailants had raised in the Rue du Château was reached
without question. Some half dozen men were lying on a pile of straw
behind, lighted by a solitary lantern; but two of them started up
immediately, and, though neither of them could read a word of the
pass, they both seemed to have been previously informed of what they
had to do; for they insisted upon bandaging De Brecy's eyes, and
leading him on blindfold, as if conducting him through the works of a
regular fortress. He submitted with a smile; for he knew every step of
the city of Bourges from his childhood, and could almost tell every
house that they passed as he was led along. The tread of the broad
stone sill of the gateway where they at length stopped was quite
familiar to him; and it was without surprise that, on the bandage
being removed, he found himself in the court-yard of his old friend
Jacques C[oe]ur.
Conducted up a narrow stair-case, in one of the congregation of square
towers, of which the building principally consisted, he was introduced
into a small, but very tall cabinet, lined with gilt leather hangings.
In the midst stood a table, with three gentlemen surrounding it, and a
lamp, swinging overhead and showing a mass of papers on the board, the
stern, square-cut head of the constable bent over them, the mild and
rather feeble expression of the Count La Marche, and the sharp,
supercilious face of the Count of Clermont.
"Here is Monsieur De Brecy, I presume," said the latter, addressing
Richmond.
The constable started up, and held out his hand frankly, saying,
"Welcome, welcome, De Brecy. Sit down. There's a stool. Well," he
continued, as soon as the guard was gone, and the door closed, "what
cheer in the castle?"
"Very good cheer, my lord," replied De Brecy. "We have not yet
finished the pullets, and horse-flesh is afar off."
The Count La Marche laughed; but Richmond exclaimed, somewhat
impatiently, "Come, let us to the point. You are frank and free
usually, De Brecy. Say what terms of capitulation you demand, and you
shall speedily have my answer."
"You mistake my object altogether, my lord," replied De Brecy. "The
castle is less likely to capitulate than when first you sat down
before it. There are now men enough within to defend it for a month
against five times your force, unless you shoot better than you have
done these last two days; and we have provisions for some months, as
well for our own mouths as for those of the culverins."
"Then, in the devil's name, what did you come here for?" exclaimed
Richmond, angrily.
"Upon business, my lord," replied De Brecy, "which I should wish to
communicate to you alone."
"No, no. No secrets from these gentlemen," said the constable; and
then added, with a hard, dry laugh, "we are all chickens of one coop,
and share the same grain and the same fate. Speak what you have to say
before them."
"Be it so, if you desire it, my lord," replied De Brecy. "I came to
offer an humble remonstrance to you, sir, and to point out a few facts
regarding your own situation"--Richmond gave an impatient jerk in his
chair, as if about to interrupt him; but De Brecy proceeded--"and that
of the citadel, which I think have escaped your attention."
"Ay, ay; speak of the citadel," answered Richmond. "That is what I
would fain hear of."
"I have told you, my lord," replied De Brecy, "that the citadel can
and will hold out for more than a month, and nothing that you can do
will take it. Long before that month is at an end, the king himself
will be here to give it relief."
"Well, let him come," exclaimed Richmond, impatiently. "We may have
the citadel before he arrives, for all you say."
"I think not, sir," answered De Brecy; "and if you knew as much of the
affair as I do, you would say so too. But let us suppose for a moment
that the castle does hold out, and that the king arrives before you
can take it--"
"Perhaps we can deal with both," cried Richmond.
"And ruin France!" answered De Brecy. "I will never believe that the
Count of Richmond--the loyal, faithful Count of Richmond--that the
Count of La Marche, allied to the royal race; or the Count of
Clermont, well known for his attachment to the throne, would be seen
fighting against their sovereign at the very moment when, surrounded
by foreign enemies, he is making a last desperate struggle for the
salvation of his country and your own."
He turned slightly toward the Count La Marche as he spoke, and
Richmond exclaimed, in a furious tone, "Speak to me, sir. I am
commander here. By the Lord, if you attempt to corrupt my allies, I
will have your head off your shoulders."
"You forced me to speak in their presence, my lord," replied Jean
Charost, coolly; "and, whatever I have to say must be said as boldly
as if they were not here."
"Nay, nay; let him speak, good cousin," said the Count La Marche. "It
is but right we should hear what he has to say."
"My noble lord constable," said Clermont, "can not blame Monsieur De
Brecy for acting on his own orders. We were his dear allies a moment
ago, and partners of all his secrets. Why should we not hear the
young gentleman's eloquence?"
"Would I were eloquent!" replied De Brecy. "I would then show you, my
lords, what a spectacle it would hold up to the world, to see one of
the first officers of the crown of France, and two of the first
noblemen of the land, from some small personal disgusts at the king's
prime minister, violating their allegiance, frustrating all their
sovereign's efforts to save his country, plunging the state, already
made a prey to enemies by military factions, into greater danger and
confusion than ever, and destroying the last hope for safety in
France."
Richmond rolled his eyes from the speaker to the two counts, and from
their faces to that of De Brecy again, while his fingers clasped
ominously round the hilt of his dagger. "Let him do us justice," he
cried; "let him do us justice, and we will sheathe the sword."
"Even if he have not done you justice," said De Brecy, boldly, "is
this a moment to unsheathe the sword against your lord--that sword
which he himself put into your hands? Is this a time, when every true
son of France should sacrifice all personal considerations, and shed
the last drop of his blood, were it necessary, for the deliverance of
his country, to take advantage of the difficulties of his sovereign in
order to wring concessions from him by force of arms? But has he not
done you justice, my lord constable? Twice has his minister been
sacrificed to your animosity. A third time you quarrel with the
minister whom you yourself forced upon him, and plunge your unhappy
country, already torn to pieces by strangers, into civil war, because
the king will not, for the third time, submit to your will. Are his
ministers but nine-pins, to be set up and knocked down for your
pleasure? Are they but tools, to be used as you would have them? and
are you an officer of the king, or his ruler?"
The constable started up, with his drawn dagger in his hand, and would
probably have cast himself on De Brecy, had not the Count La Marche
interposed.
"Hold, hold!" he cried, throwing himself in the way. "No violence,
Richmond. On my life, he speaks well and truly. We are here for the
public good--"
"At least we-pretend so," said the Count of Clermont. "Really, my lord
constable, you had better let Monsieur De Brecy go on, and speak
quietly. We presume that he can say nothing that you would not wish us
to hear, being chickens of the same coop, as you yourself have said;
and the sharp arguments you seemed about to use might convince him,
but could not convince us."
Richmond threw himself into his seat again, and thrust the dagger back
into its sheath.
"Let us consider calmly," said the Count La Marche, "what are to be
the consequences if the king does come to the relief of this castle
before we have taken it."
"Simply that we shall be besieged in the good city of Bourges," said
the Count of Clermont, "and pass three or four months very pleasantly,
with such diet and exercise as a besieged city usually affords."
"Merely to get rid of La Trimouille," said the Count La Marche.
The door suddenly opened as he spoke, and a gentleman, armed all but
the head, entered in haste. "I beg your pardon, my lords," he said;
"but I have thought fit to bring you instant intelligence that
trumpets have been heard in the direction of Pressavoix, and some of
the peasantry report that the king is there with a large force."
"So soon!" said Richmond.
"Got between us and Paris!" said the Count of Clermont.
"The very movement is a reproach, my lords," replied De Brecy. "It
shows that the king, unhappily, has been led to infer, from the
surprise of Bourges, that three of the noblest men in France are in
league with the common adversary. Oh, wipe away such a stain from
your names, I beseech you! Send somebody to the king to make
representations, if nothing more; and let not the Englishmen see true
Frenchmen shedding each other's blood, while they are riding
triumphant over the land. My life for it, if you have any real
grievances, they will be redressed when properly represented."
"It is false!" cried Richmond, vehemently, catching at some of De
Brecy's words, and not heeding the rest. "We have no league with the
enemy. We are faithful vassals of the crown of France; but we can be
loyal to the king without being servile to his minister."
"I doubt you not in the least, my lord," replied De Brecy. "Had I
believed you disloyal, I never would have come hither. I have sought
but to show you what language your actions speak, without ever
questioning the truth and, fidelity that is in your heart. All I
beseech you now to do, is to send some one at once to the king to
negotiate terms of accommodation, and to show the loyalty you feel,
before passion lead you into absolute treason."
"I think the proposal is a very good one," said the Count La Marche.
"We can do no harm by negotiating."
"At all events, it will put our adversaries in the wrong," said
Clermont. "What say you, Richmond?"
"Well, well," said the constable, "I say yea also, although I have
known more great successes cut short, more mighty enterprises
frustrated, more good hopes crushed by small negotiation than by
battle or defeat. However, so be it. Let some one go, though, good
faith, I know not who will be the man, being sure of one thing, that,
were I Tremouille, and a sleek-faced negotiator were to come with
pleasant words from Richmond, La Marche, or Clermont, I would write my
answer on his forehead, and hang him on the first tree I found. When
men have gone as far as we have, to my mind there is no going back.
However, I yield to better judgment. Send some one, if you can find
him."
Clermont and La Marche consulted together for a moment or two in a low
tone, and, to say sooth, they seemed sorely puzzled. But at length La
Marche looked up, saying, with some hesitation, "Perhaps Monsieur De
Brecy would undertake the task?"
"Good Lord!" exclaimed the constable, slightly raising his hands and
eyes.
"I will go willingly," replied De Brecy; "but it can only be, my
lords, to open the negotiation for you. Carry it on I can not, as I am
not of your faction. I shall require a letter under the hand of one or
more of you assuring his majesty of the loyalty of your intentions,
and begging him to appoint persons to confer with yourselves or your
deputies in regard to certain grievances of which you complain. In
this I think I shall succeed; but I will bear you back his majesty's
answer, and after that can take no further share in the affair."
"What, then," exclaimed the constable, in a tone of affected surprise,
"you do not propose to rise upon our tombs to higher honor and
preferment?"
"Not in the least," replied De Brecy. "I am here, even at this present
moment, merely as the envoy of Monsieur De Blondel, who sent me to
you, as this authority will show."
"Pooh, pooh!" said Richmond, in a contemptuous tone. "De Blondel has
no wits either for the conception or the execution of such projects.
But one thing I must exact, Monsieur De Brecy: if we send you to the
king, you must hold no consultations in the castle before you go."
De Brecy meditated for a moment, and then replied, "See Monsieur De
Blondel I must, my lord; for I came from him to you, and must render
him an account of what I have done. That account, however, may be very
short. I can have him called to the barriers, and any one of you may
hear what passes. I must, however, have horses and some of my train."
"Be it so," said the constable. "I will go with you. You, Clermont,
are a scribe, so write the letter to the king. It will be ready when
we come back. Doubtless you will make it dutiful enough, and you need
not say, unless you wish it, that Richmond is the only obstacle."
With this sneer he rose, put his bonnet on his head, and accompanied
De Brecy out of the room. As they went he said little, and at the
barrier, both while Jean Charost waited for Blondel's coming and
during their short conference, stood silent, with his arms crossed
upon his breast. The governor of the castle, indeed, noticed the
constable first, saying, "Give you good-night, my lord;" but Richmond
only bent his head gravely in reply, and spoke but once during the
whole interview, saying, when Jean Charost had given directions
regarding his horses and men, "Send them down to Jacques C[oe]ur's
house, De Blondel, and that as quick as may be, for fear La Marche
should have time to change his mind, and Clermont to fill his letter
so full of tropes that no one can understand it."