At Agincourt | Page 4

her
noble-looking husband. On her other side rode Sir Aylmer; then came
John Harpen, Sir Eustace's esquire; beside whom trotted Agnes, a
bright, merry-faced girl of twelve. Guy rode with the two boys; then
came twenty-four men-at-arms, many of whom had fought well and
stoutly at Shrewsbury; while Tom, the miller's son, or, as he was
generally called, Long Tom, strode along at the head of twenty-four
bowmen, each of whom carried the long English bow and quiver full of
cloth-yard arrows, and, in addition, a heavy axe at his leathern girdle.
Behind these were some servitors leading horses carrying provisions

for the journey, and valises with the clothes of Sir Eustace, his wife,
and children, and a heavy cart drawn by four strong horses with the
bundles of extra garments for the men-at-arms and archers, and several
large sheaves of spare arrows. The men-at-arms wore iron caps, as also
breast and back pieces. On the shoulders and arms of their leathern
jerkins iron rings were sewn thickly, forming a sort of chain armour,
while permitting perfect freedom of the limbs. The archers also wore
steel caps, which, like those of the men-at-arms, came low down on the
neck and temples. They had on tough leathern frocks, girded in at the
waist, and falling to the knee; some of them had also iron rings sewn on
the shoulders. English archers were often clad in green cloth, but Sir
Eustace had furnished the garments, and had chosen leather, both as
being far more durable, and as offering a certain amount of defence.
The frocks were sleeveless, and each man wore cloth sleeves of a
colour according to his fancy. The band was in all respects a
well-appointed one. As Sir Eustace wished to avoid exciting comment
among his neighbours, he had abstained from taking a larger body of
men; and it was partly for this reason that he had decided not to dress
the archers in green. But every man had been carefully picked; the
men-at-arms were all powerful fellows who had seen service; the
archers were little inferior in physique, for strength as well as skill was
required in archery, and in choosing the men Sir Eustace had, when
there was no great difference in point of skill, selected the most
powerful among those who were willing to take service with him.
Guy enjoyed the two days' ride to Southampton greatly. It was the first
time that he had been away from home, and his spirits were high at thus
starting on a career that would, he hoped, bring him fame and honour.
Henry and his brother and sister were also in good glee, although the
journey was no novelty to them, for they had made it twice previously.
Beyond liking change, as was natural at their age, they cared not
whether they were at their English or at their French home, as they
spoke both languages with equal fluency, and their life at one castle
differed but little from that at the other.
Embarking at Portsmouth in a ship that was carrying military stores to

Calais, they coasted along the shores of Sussex and of Kent as far as
Dungeness, and then made across to Calais. It was early in April, the
weather was exceptionally favourable, and they encountered no rough
seas whatever. On the way Sir Eustace related to Guy and his sons the
events that had taken place in France, and had led up to the civil war
that was raging so furiously there.
"In 1392, the King of France being seized with madness, the Dukes of
Burgundy and Orleans in a very short time wrested the power of the
state from the hands of his faithful councillors, the Constable de
Clisson, La Riviere, and others. De Clisson retired to his estate and
castle at Montelhery, the two others were seized and thrown into prison.
De Clisson was prosecuted before Parliament as a false and wicked
traitor; but the king, acting on the advice of Orleans, who had not then
broken with the Dukes of Burgundy and Berri, had, after La Riviere
and another had been in prison for a year, stopped the prosecution, and
restored their estates to them. Until 1402 the Dukes of Burgundy and
Berri were all-powerful, and in 1396 a great number of knights and
nobles, led by John, Count of Nevers, the eldest son of the Duke of
Burgundy, went to the assistance of the King of Hungary, which
country was being invaded by the Turks. They were, however, on the
28th of September, utterly defeated. The greater portion of them were
killed; Nevers and the rest were ransomed and brought home.
"In 1402 the king, influenced by his wife, Isobel, and his brother, the
Duke of Orleans, who were on terms of the