THE ENTERPRISE.
The young Count of Charolois stood in the court-yard of the inn, about
nine o'clock on the morning that followed his arrival in Lille, with a
letter in his hand, and a countenance not altogether well pleased.
There was a gentleman beside him, somewhat advanced in years, bearing
knightly spurs upon his heels, and armed at all points but the head,
the grey hair of which was partly covered with a small velvet cap, and
to him the Prince spoke eagerly; while the various persons who had
attended him from Ghent stood at a respectful distance, waiting his
commands as to their future proceedings. Richard of Woodville had not
remarked the old knight with the band before; and turning to one of
the young nobles with whom he had formed some acquaintance, he asked
who he was.
"Why, do you not know?" exclaimed his companion. "That is Sir Walter,
Lord of Roucq, one of our most renowned leaders. He has just arrived
from Douay, they say; but the Count seems angry with that letter the
courier brought him from Paris. Things are going ill there, I doubt,
and we shall soon have a levy of arms. That Court is full of faitours
and treachers--a crop of bad corn, which wants Burgundian hands to
thin it."
"I trust that you will permit a poor Englishman to put in a sickle,"
said Woodville, laughing; "or at least to have the gleanings of the
field."
"Oh! willingly, willingly!" replied the young lord, with better wit
than might have been expected. "I cannot but think your good
sovereigns in England have but been hesitating till other arms have
begun the harvest, in order to take full gleanings of that poor
land--but see, the Count is looking round to us."
"Hearken, my lords," said the Count. "It is my father's will that I
should remain in Lille, while this noble knight rides on an expedition
of some peril to the side of Tournay. He says the Lord of Roucq has
men enough for what is wanted, and that some of you must abide with me
here; but still I will permit any gentlemen to go who may choose to do
so, provided a certain number stay with me; so make your election."
The young nobles of Burgundy were rarely unwilling to take the field;
but in the present instance, there were two or three motives which
operated to make them in general decide in favour of staying with the
Count of Charolois. In the first place, they knew of no enterprise
that could be achieved on the side of Tournay which offered either
glory or profit. There were a few bands of revolted peasantry and
brigands in that quarter, whom the Count had threatened to suppress;
but such a task was somewhat distasteful to them. In the second place,
they were not insensible to the fact, that by choosing to stay with
the Prince, they offered him an indirect compliment, which was
especially desirable at a moment when he seemed angry at not being
permitted to lead them himself; and, in the third place, the Lord of
Roucq was inferior in rank to most of them, though superior in
military reputation; and he was, moreover, known to be a somewhat
strict disciplinarian, a quality by no means agreeable either to the
French or Burgundian gentlemen.
"I came to serve under you, my lord the Count," said the young Ingram
de Croy; "and if you do not go, and I am permitted to choose, where
you stay I will remain."
The old Lord of Roucq gazed at him coldly, but made no observation;
and the same feeling was found general, till the Count turned with a
smile to Richard of Woodville, asking his choice.
"Why, my noble lord," replied the young Englishman, "if I could serve
you here, I should be willing enough to stay; but, as that is not the
case, I had better serve you elsewhere; and wherever this good knight
goes, doubtless there will be some honour to be gained under his
pennon."
Walter of Roucq still remained silent, but he did not forget the
willingness of the foreign gentleman; and one very young noble of
Burgundy, whose fortune and fame were yet to make, taking courage at
Woodville's words, proposed to go also.
"I have but few men with me, my lord the Count," he said, with the
modesty which was affected, if not felt, by all young men in
chivalrous times; "and, as you know, I have but small experience;
wishing to gain which, I will, by your good leave, serve under the
Lord of Woodville here, who, I think you said, had been already in
several stricken fields, and was a comrade of the noble King of
England."
"King Henry calls him his friend, Monsieur de Lens, in his letter to
me," replied the Count; "and I know he has gained _los_ in several
battles, though I have been told that he was disappointed of his spurs
at Bramham Moor (he did not pronounce the word very accurately);
because such was the trust placed in his discretion, that he was sent
to the late King just before the fight, when no one else could be
trusted."
Again Richard of Woodville marvelled to find his whole history so well
known; but the Count went on immediately to add to the young
Englishman's troop ten of his own men-at-arms. "You, Monsieur de Lens,
brought seven, I think," he said; "so that will be some small
reinforcement to your _menee_, my Lord of Roucq;" and drawing that
gentleman aside, the Prince whispered to him for some moments.
"Willingly, willingly, fair sir," replied the old knight, to whatever
it was he said. "God forbid I should stay any noble gentleman anxious
to do doughty deeds. He shall have the cream of it, and it shall go
hard if I give him not the means to win the spurs. Monsieur de
Woodville, I set out in half an hour. I will but have some bread and a
cup of wine, and then am ready for your good company."
But little preparation was needed, for all had been kept ready to set
out at a moment's notice. Nevertheless, in the little arrangements
which took place ere they departed, there sprang up between Richard of
Woodville and the Lord of Lens what may be called the intimacy of
circumstances. The young Burgundian, though brave, and well practised
in the use of arms, was diffident, from inexperience, of more active
and perilous scenes than the tilt-yard of his father's castle, or the
jousting-lists in the neighbouring town; and he was well satisfied to
place himself under the immediate direction of one who, like Richard
of Woodville, had fought in general engagements, and served in regular
armies. He had also some dread of the Lord of Roucq; but by fusing his
party into the English gentleman's band, he placed another between
himself and the severe old soldier, so that he trusted to escape the
harsh words which their commander was not unaccustomed to use. To
Woodville, then, he applied for information regarding every particular
of his conduct; how he was to place his men, where he was to ride
himself, and a thousand other particulars, making his companion smile
sometimes at the timidity which he had personally never known, from
having been accustomed, even in boyhood, to the troublous times and
continual dangers which followed the usurpation of the throne by the
first of the Lancasterian House.
While they were conversing over these matters, one of the pages of the
Count of Charolois joined them from the inn, and bade the English
gentleman follow him to the Prince. The Count was alone in a small
bed-room up stairs, and the temporary vexation which his countenance
had expressed some time before, had now quite passed away. He met
Richard with a laughing countenance, and, holding out his hand to him,
exclaimed, addressing him by the name he had given him ever since
their first interview, "God speed you, my friend. These rash nobles of
ours have taken themselves in; and though stern old De Roucq does not
wish it mentioned that he is going on such an errand, I would have you
know it, that you may take advantage of opportunity. I love you better
for going with him than staying with me, as you may well judge, when I
tell you that his object is to meet my father, and guard him from
Paris to Lille, if the Duke can effect his escape from the French
court. My father would not have me come, for he is likely to be
pursued, it seems; and he says in his letter, that should mischance
befall him, while I remain in Lille there will still be a Duke of
Burgundy to crush this swarm of Armagnac bees, even should they sting
him to death. However, you must not tell De Roucq that I have given
you such tidings; for if he knew it, he would scold me like a Nieuport
fishwoman, with as little reverence as he would a horse-boy."
"I will be careful, my good lord," replied Richard of Woodville; "but
if such be the case, had we better not have more men with us? Six or
seven and twenty make but a small band against all the chivalry of
France."
"Oh! he has got two hundred iron-handed fellows beyond the gates,"
replied the Prince. "But, hark! there is his voice. Quick! quick! you
must not stay!" and hurrying down into the little square before the
hostel, the young Englishman found the men drawn up, and the Lord of
Roucq, with a page holding his horse, and his foot in the stirrup.
"Ah! you are long, sir," said the old knight, swinging himself slowly
up into the saddle. Nevertheless, Richard of Woodville was on
horseback before him; for, laying his hand upon his charger's
shoulder, he vaulted at once, armed at all points as he was, into the
seat, and in another instant was at the head of his men.
"A boy's trick!" said the old soldier, with a smile. "Never think,
young gentleman, that you can make up for present delay by after
activity: it is a dangerous fancy."
"I know it, my good lord," replied Richard of Woodville; "but I had to
speak with my lord the Count before I departed."
"Well, sir, well," answered the Lord of Roucq; and, wheeling round his
horse, he gazed over the little band, marking especially the fine
military appearance, sturdy limbs, and powerful horses of the English
archers, with evident satisfaction. "Ah!" he said, "good stuff, good
stuff! Have they seen service?"
"Most of them," replied Richard of Woodville.
"They shall see more, I trust, before I have done with them," rejoined
the old knight. "Come, let us go. March!"--and, leading the way
through the streets of Lille, a little in advance of the rest of the
party, while Richard of Woodville and the young Lord of Lens followed
side by side at the head of their men, he soon reached the gates of
the city, without exchanging a word with any one by the way.
"Why, this is strange," said the Lord of Lens to his companion, in a
low voice, as they turned up towards the side of Douay, instead of
taking the road to Tournay. "This is not the march that the Count said
was laid out for us. The old man knows his road, I suppose?"
"No fear of that," replied Richard of Woodville; "our business,
comrade, is to follow, and to ask no questions. Perhaps there is
better luck for us than we expected. Commanders do not always tell
their soldiers what they are leading them to;" and turning his head as
they came forth into the broad open road which extended to Peronne,
through the numerous strong towns at that time comprised in the
Flemish possessions of the House of Burgundy, he gave orders, in
French and English, for his men to form in a different order--nine
abreast. Some little embarrassment was displayed in executing this
man[oe]uvre; and he had to explain and direct several times before it
was performed to his satisfaction.
The Lord of Roucq looked round and watched the whole proceeding, but
made no observation; and, after proceeding for about two miles farther
on the way, Woodville again changed the order of his men, when the old
commander suddenly demanded, "What are you playing such tricks for?"
"For a good reason, sir," replied Richard of Woodville; "I have men
under me who have never been accustomed to act together--my own
people, those of this young lord, and the men-at-arms of my lord the
Count. I know not how soon you may call upon us for service, or what
that service may be; and it is needful they should have some practice,
that they may be alert at their work. I have learnt that, in time of
need, it does not do to lose even a minute in forming line."
"Ay, you Englishmen," replied the old lord, "were always better aware
of that fact than we are. There would never have been a Cressy, if
Frenchmen would have submitted to discipline. They will fight like
devils; but each man has such an opinion of himself, that he will
fight in his own way, forgetting that one well-trained man, who obeys
orders promptly, is better than a hundred who do nothing but what they
like themselves. Ride up and talk with me, young men; I do not see why
we should not be friends together, though those satin jackets at Lille
did not choose to march with old Walter de Roucq." After speaking with
some bitterness of the turbulent spirit and insubordination which
existed in all continental armies, the Lord of Roucq led the
conversation to the military condition of England, and inquired
particularly into the method, not only of training the soldiers of
that country, but of educating the youths throughout the land to the
early use of arms, which he had heard was customary there.
"Ay, there is the difference between you and us," he said, when
Woodville had explained the facts to him;--"you are all soldiers; and
your yeomen, as you call them, are as serviceable as your knights and
gentlemen. With us, who would ever think of taking a boor from the
plough, to make a man-at-arms of him? No one dares to put a steel cap
on his head, unless he has some gentle blood in his veins, though it
be but half a drop, and then he is as conceited of it as if he were
descended from Charlemagne. I have charge to give you, sir, the best
occasions," he continued, still addressing Woodville, "and I will not
fail; for I see you know what you are about, and will do me no
discredit."
"I beseech you, my good lord, to let me share them with him," said
Monsieur de Lens; "I am as eager for renown as any man can be."
"You will share them, of course, as one of his band," replied the old
soldier, "and I doubt not, young gentleman, will do very well. I will
refuse honour to no one who wins it;" and thus conversing, they rode
on as far as Pont a Marq, where they found a large body of men-at-arms
waiting for the old Lord of Roucq.
Richard of Woodville remarked that they were most of them middle-aged
men, with hard and weather-beaten countenances, who had evidently seen
a good deal of service; but he observed also that--probably, from the
unwillingness of the Burgundian nobility to submit to anything like
strict discipline--there seemed to be few persons of distinction in
the corps, and not one knight but the old Lord himself. Without any
pause, the whole party marched on to Douay, the young Englishman
losing no opportunity of exercising his men in such evolutions as the
nature of the ground permitted, and many of the old soldiers of De
Roucq watching his proceedings in silence, but with an attentive and
inquiring eye.
At Douay they halted for an hour and a half, to feed their horses and
to take some refreshment; and then marching on, they did not draw a
rein again till Cambray appeared in sight. Here all the party expected
to remain the night; for Cambray, as the reader well knows, is a good
day's march from Lille, especially for men covered with heavy armour,
and for horses who had to carry not only the weight of their masters
and their masters' harness, but steel manefaires, testieres, and
chanfrons of their own. The orders of the commander, however, showed
them, before they entered the gates, that such repose was not to fall
to their lot, for he directed them to seek no hostel, but to quarter
themselves, without dividing, in the market-place, and there to feed
their beasts.
"'Tis a fine evening," he said, "and you shall have plenty of food and
wine; but we must march on, for an hour or two, at night, that we may
be in time to-morrow. If we have more space than enough in the
morning, why the destriers will be all the fresher."
No one ventured to make any reply, though the men-at-arms of the Count
of Charolois felt somewhat weary with their unwonted exertion, and
would fain have persuaded themselves that their beasts could go no
farther that night. Their leader, or vingtner, who held the rank of a
sergeant of the present day, and usually commanded twenty men, went so
far as to hint his opinion on this subject to Richard of Woodville;
but the young Englishman stopped him in an instant, replying coldly,
"If your horses break down we must find you others. We have nothing to
do but to obey."
The young Englishman took care, however, that the chargers of his
whole party should have everything that could refresh them, and he
spared not his own purse to procure for them a different sort of food
from that which was provided for the rest. The crumb of bread soaked
in water was a favourite expedient with the English of that day, as it
is now with the Germans, for restoring the vigour of a wearied horse;
and he made bold to dip the bread in wine, which, on those beasts that
would take it, seemed to produce a very great effect.
After halting for two hours, the march was renewed; and wending slowly
onward, they reached the small town--for it was then a town--of
Gonlieu, having accomplished a distance of nearly eighteen leagues. It
was within half an hour of midnight when they arrived, and the good
people of the place had to be roused from their beds to provide them
with lodgings; but a party of two hundred men-at-arms was not in that
day to be refused anything they might think fit to require; and, in
the different houses and stables of the town, they were all at length
comfortably housed.
Richard of Woodville was not one of those men who require long sleep
to refresh them after any ordinary fatigue; and though, with the care
and attention of an Arab, he spent a full hour in inspecting the
treatment of his horses before he lay down to rest, yet, after a quiet
repose of about four hours and a half, he awoke, and instantly sprang
from the pallet which had been provided for him. He then immediately
roused the young Lord of Lens, who, with five or six others, slept in
the same chamber; but the poor youth gazed wildly round him, at first
seeming to have forgotten where he was; and it required a hint from
his English friend, that the old Lord of Roucq was a man likely to be
up early in the day, ere he could make up his mind to rise.
Woodville and his companion had been in the stable about five minutes,
and were just setting the half-awakened horse-boys to their work, when
a voice was heard at the open door, saying, "This is well!--this is as
it should be!" and, turning round, they saw the figure of the old
knight moving slowly away to the quarters of another party.
In an hour more, they were again upon the road; but their march was
this day less fatiguing; and Woodville remarked that their veteran
leader seemed to expect some intelligence from the country into which
they were advancing; for at each halting place he caused inquiries to
be made for messengers seeking him, and more than once stopped the
peasantry on the road, questioning them strictly, though no one
clearly seemed to understand his drift. He seemed, too, to be somewhat
undecided as to his course, and talked of going on to Orvillers, or at
least to Conchy; but he halted for the night, however, at Tilloloy,
and quartered his men in that village and St. Nicaise.
Woodville and his party were lodged in the latter, where also the old
commander slept; but about three in the morning the young Englishman
was roused by voices speaking, followed by some one knocking at a
neighbouring door; and half-raised upon his arm, he was listening to
ascertain, if possible, what was the cause of this interruption of
their repose, when the door of the room was opened, as far as the body
of one of the English yeomen, who slept across it, would permit.
"Halloo! Master Woodville," said the voice of the Lord of Roucq. "Up,
and to horse--your beasts are not broken down, I trust?"
"They have had time to rest since six last night," replied Woodville,
"and will be found as fresh as ever, for they feed well."
"Like all true Englishmen," answered the old soldier. "Join me below
in a minute; I have something to say to you."
Dressing himself, and giving hasty orders for the horses to be fed and
led out, the young Englishman went down to the ground-floor, where
everything was already in bustle, and perhaps in some confusion. The
Lord of Roucq was surrounded by several of his own officers, and was
giving them orders in the sharp tones of impatience and hurry.
"Ha! Sir Englishman," he exclaimed, as ho saw Woodville, "how long
will it take you to be in the saddle?"
"Half an hour," replied Richard of Woodville.
"And these men want two hours!" cried the old leader. "Well, hark
ye!"--and leading Woodville aside, he whispered, "'Tis as well as it
is: there will be no jealousy. Get your horses out with all speed, and
you shall have the cream of the affair, as I promised the young Count.
You must know I am bound to meet our good Duke at Pont St. Maxence. He
makes his escape from Paris this morning; and as he brings but four
men with him, I fear there may be those who will try to stop him. His
plan is, to go out to hunt with the King in the forest of Hallate, and
there to be met by some one bringing him letters, as if from Flanders,
requiring his hasty return. Then he will decently bid the King adieu,
and ride away. I was in hopes to have had time enough to be near at
hand with my whole force, to give him aid if they pursue or stay him,
though he tells me in the packet just received, to meet him at Pont
St. Maxence. However, it is as well that some should proceed farther;
and if you can get the start of us, you can take the occasion."
"I will not miss it," replied Woodville; "but two things may be
needful--one, a letter to the Duke; and another, some one who knows
the road and the forest."
"What sort of letter?" demanded De Roucq, sharply. "What is the letter
for?"
"To call the Duke back to Flanders," replied Richard of Woodville. "I
will be the person to deliver it, should need be."
"Ay, that were as well," answered the old knight; "though doubtless he
has arranged already for some one to meet him; yet no harm of two. It
shall be written as if others had been sent before. I will call my
clerk, for of writing I know nought."
"In the meanwhile I will see for a guide," answered Woodville; and
going forth, he inquired, amongst the attendants of the young Lord of
Lens and the men-at-arms of the Count of Charolois, for some one who
was acquainted with the forest of Hallate. One of the latter had been
there in former days, and remembered something of the roads, with
which amount of information Richard of Woodville was forced to content
himself, trusting to meet with some peasant on the spot who might
guide him better. He then gave orders for bringing out the horses
without farther delay, and for charging each saddle with two feeds of
corn; and returning to the Lord of Roucq, he found him dictating a
letter, by the light of a lamp, to a man with a shaven crown. Before
it was finished, for the style of the good knight was not fluent, the
jingle of arms and the tramp of horses' feet were heard before the
inn; and looking round, with a well-satisfied smile, the old soldier
exclaimed, "Ha! this is well!--This is the way to win _los_. There,
that will do, Master Peter; fold and seal it. Then for the
superscription, as you know how."
Some five minutes, however, were spent upon heating the wax, tying up
the packet, and writing the address, during which time Richard of
Woodville looked on with no small impatience, fearing that he might be
forestalled by others in executing a task which promised some
distinction. At length all was complete; and, taking the letter
eagerly, he hurried out and sprang into the saddle.
The Lord of Roucq added various cautions and directions, walking by
the young Englishman's horse for some way through the village; but at
length he left him; and putting his troop to a quicker pace, Woodville
rode on towards Pont St. Maxence.