Part 22 (1/2)

”Ho! ho! ho!” laughed Sir John. ”A clever trick, but, methinks, 'twill not pa.s.s another time. And Pembroke hath sent an urgent message to the King for aid, didst thou say?”

”Ay, directly our s.h.i.+p tied up alongside the quay at Southampton the messenger rode off at headlong speed to Windsor, although he could scarce keep his seat by reason of sea-sickness.”

”Then, Raymond,” exclaimed the Constable, turning to his squire, ”the summons will be here anon. But, mark my word, this will be no child's-play, for, methinks, the King will be loth to let Guienne slip through his fingers. And now, bring me the tally of the bows, arrows, and spears, for no time must be lost.”

Joyfully the squire hastened away to get the required information, and the castle was soon alive with excitement at the thought of active service.

The old knight was not wrong; the call to arms came, and, thanks to his sagacity and forethought, the Constable was soon ready to take the field. Ere June had arrived Sir John's company had marched into Southampton to await the King's good pleasure.

Raymond saw great changes as he gazed around the old familiar place.

The walls had been raised and strengthened; larger houses had taken the place of the charred ruins that the French invaders had left behind them, while a fleet of large s.h.i.+ps showed that Southampton had quickly recovered from the horrors of pillage.

The fleet was typical of the resources of Hamps.h.i.+re, for Southampton contributed twenty-one s.h.i.+ps manned by 476 mariners, Lymington sent nine, Portsmouth five, Leepe, Newtown, and Yarmouth two each, while the county of Dorset supplied twenty-five vessels, of which Weymouth sent twenty-one and Poole four.

Farther down the Water towards Hythe lay a larger fleet, composed of vessels from the Cinque Ports, London, Ipswich, and Great Yarmouth, while towards the Netley side were the West Country s.h.i.+ps from Dartmouth, Sutton, Fowey, and Falmouth.

Altogether there were not far short of eight hundred sail, a.s.sembled in less than fourteen days, to bear across the Channel the huge army destined for the conquest of France.

On Midsummer Day, the Feast of St. John the Baptist, the news came that the King had left the Queen in the care of his cousin, the Earl of Kent, and was on the road to Southampton.

Instantly the work of embarking the troops, horses, and baggage began, and never before did the good townsmen of Southampton behold such a fair and martial sight. Throughout the long June day the task proceeded, and a seemingly endless procession wended through the West Gate, each division having its appointed order.

The Portsmouth s.h.i.+ps were to form the rearguard, so that it was the duty of the Constable of Portchester to embark last of all. From his quarters, close to the West Gate, Sir John watched the embarkation, pointing out to his squires the respective devices and banners of the various contingents.

From all parts of the kingdom, save the northern counties, whose men were required to watch the restive Scots, had this army foregathered, the flower of chivalry and the stoutest of the yeomen of England.

There were the lions rampant of the Percies, Mowbrays, and d'Albini, each distinguishable by the ”field,” the ruddy chevrons of the de Claves, the gilded c.o.c.kle-sh.e.l.l of the de Malets, and the more complicated devices of de Montfichet, Quince, Fortibus, de Bohun, de.

Vere, and Fitz-Walter. Each baron had his following of men-at-arms and archers, the former having to lower the points of their long slender spears as they pa.s.sed beneath the vaulted archway. After the feudal army, numbering four thousand men-at-arms and ten thousand archers, came a horde of fierce-eyed, hairy men of short stature, each armed with a long knife and a double-bladed axe.

”Ah,” exclaimed Sir John, noting the look of inquiry on Raymond's face. ”Heaven help the Frenchman who falls wounded in the field, for these are the Welsh levies. I have marked their method of fighting before to-day, and, certes, I am of no mind to praise them for it.”

The Welshmen were succeeded by a straggling body of tall, gaunt-looking men, armed with a small s.h.i.+eld and short spear. They lacked the grim stolidity of the Englishmen, and marched with merry laugh and careless jest uttered in a strange tongue.

”The Irish levies from Leinster,” remarked the Constable, ”good-natured in peace, honest fighting-men, yet terrible when roused. I can recall a little affair before Cadsand, but 'tis too long to relate at the moment. But hark!”

Redoubled cheering echoed down the narrow sloping street, and the knight and his squires strained their ears to ascertain the cause.

The last of the troops had pa.s.sed, yet still the archers who lined the route pushed back the excited townsmen with their six-foot staves.

”The King!” exclaimed the Constable.

Attended by a number of lords and barons, Edward rode slowly through the crowded street, acknowledging the acclamations by the faintest inclination of his head. He was then in his thirty-fourth year, yet the cares of his kingdom and the claims of his Lombard and Flemish creditors had made him look considerably older. A longish dark beard partially concealed a hard, firm mouth, while his dark piercing eyes, glittering beneath his broad forehead and bushy eyebrows, betokened a war-like temperament. His coat of plate-armour, fas.h.i.+oned in the latest style, was covered by a surcoat, upon which were embroidered his newly-a.s.sumed arms, the fleur-de-lis of France, quartered with the silver lions of England, while a velvet cap took the place, for the time being, of his plumed bascinet.

At his right hand rode his fifteen-year-old son, Edward, afterwards known to fame as The Black Prince; while at his left rode Lord G.o.dfrey of Harcourt, the King's much-esteemed councillor.

Burning with ill-concealed impatience Edward, with his suite, embarked that very evening, and ere morning dawned the fleet had left the shelter of Southampton Water, and was heading westward for the English Channel, the Portsmouth s.h.i.+ps, with the Constable and his company, rolling sluggishly in the rear, about a league astern of the main body.

With the favouring north-easterly breeze all went well, and steadily the floating army neared the coasts of France; but on the third day came a flat calm, so that the s.h.i.+ps were compelled to use their sweeps to prevent themselves drifting into one another.