Saint George for England | Page 4

that if not in itself the very highest of
virtues, it is the parent of almost all the others, since but few of them
can be practised without it. The courage of our forefathers has created
the greatest empire in the world around a small and in itself
insignificant island; if this empire is ever lost, it will be by the
cowardice of their descendants.
At no period of her history did England stand so high in the eyes of
Europe as in the time whose events are recorded in this volume. A
chivalrous king and an even more chivalrous prince had infected the
whole people with their martial spirit, and the result was that their
armies were for a time invincible, and the most astonishing successes
were gained against numbers which would appear overwhelming. The
victories of Cressy and Poitiers may be to some extent accounted for by
superior generalship and discipline on the part of the conquerors; but
this will not account for the great naval victory over the Spanish fleet
off the coast of Sussex, a victory even more surprising and won against
greater odds than was that gained in the same waters centuries later
over the Spanish Armada. The historical facts of the story are all drawn
from Froissart and other contemporary historians, as collated and
compared by Mr. James in his carefully written history. They may
therefore be relied upon as accurate in every important particular.
Yours sincerely,
G. A. HENTY.

CHAPTER I
: A WAYFARER
It was a bitterly cold night in the month of November, 1330. The rain

was pouring heavily, when a woman, with child in her arms, entered
the little village of Southwark. She had evidently come from a distance,
for her dress was travel-stained and muddy. She tottered rather than
walked, and when, upon her arrival at the gateway on the southern side
of London Bridge, she found that the hour was past and the gates
closed for the night, she leant against the wall with a faint groan of
exhaustion and disappointment.
After remaining, as if in doubt, for some time, she feebly made her way
into the village. Here were many houses of entertainment, for travelers
like herself often arrived too late to enter the gates, and had to abide
outside for the night. Moreover, house rent was dear within the walls of
the crowded city, and many, whose business brought them to town,
found it cheaper to take up their abode in the quiet hostels of
Southwark rather than to stay in the more expensive inns within the
walls. The lights came out brightly from many of the casements, with
sounds of boisterous songs and laughter. The woman passed these
without a pause. Presently she stopped before a cottage, from which a
feeble light alone showed that it was tenanted.
She knocked at the door. It was opened by a pleasant-faced man of
some thirty years old.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I am a wayfarer," the woman answered feebly. "Canst take me and my
child in for the night?"
"You have made a mistake," the man said; "this is no inn. Further up
the road there are plenty of places where you can find such
accommodation as you lack."
"I have passed them," the woman said, "but all seemed full of roisterers.
I am wet and weary, and my strength is nigh spent. I can pay thee, good
fellow, and I pray you as a Christian to let me come in and sleep before
your fire for the night. When the gates are open in the morning I will go;
for I have a friend within the city who will, methinks, receive me.
The tone of voice, and the addressing of himself as good fellow, at once
convinced the man that the woman before him was no common
wayfarer.
"Come in," he said; "Geoffrey Ward is not a man to shut his doors in a
woman's face on a night like this, nor does he need payment for such
small hospitality. Come hither, Madge!" he shouted; and at his voice a

woman came down from the upper chamber. "Sister," he said; "this is a
wayfarer who needs shelter for the night; she is wet and weary. Do you
take her up to your room and lend her some dry clothing; then make her
a cup of warm posset, which she needs sorely. I will fetch an armful of
fresh rushes from the shed and strew them here: I will sleep in the
smithy. Quick, girl," he said sharply; "she is fainting with cold and
fatigue." And as he spoke he caught the woman as she was about to fall,
and laid her gently on the ground. "She is of better station than she
seems," he said to