The Fall of the Grand Sarrasin | Page 2

Duke William, and of what befell me by the way of the pirates. 54
CHAPTER IX.
Of our battle on the rocks of Jersey Isle, and how Simon gave up his life, and how I was taken captive and brought back. 61
CHAPTER X.
How I was brought before Le Grand Sarrasin, and of his magnificence--How I saw Folly in his chamber, and was lodged in a cavern under earth. 65
CHAPTER XI.
By what means I was delivered from Le Grand Sarrasin, and how I found shelter with the priest of St. Apolline's. 72
CHAPTER XII.
Of my second setting-forth for Normandy, and in what guise I took passage. 80
CHAPTER XIII.
How I arrived at St. Malo, and, proceeding to the Abbey of St. Michael de Tombelaine, found friends to set me on my road. 85
CHAPTER XIV.
How, being given letters to Duke William by the Abbots of St. Michael and of Bec, I set out for Coulances, and of what befell me on my way. 93
CHAPTER XV.
How I saw an evil face at a casement, and how at my uncle's house of St. Sauveur I heard tell of my father--And of what happed on our getting forth for Valognes. 99
CHAPTER XVI.
How, at length I was brought before William, Conquestor Invictissimus, of all soldiers the greatest, and most invincible of dukes--Of the manner he received my mission, and of the expedition of Samson d'Anville. 106
CHAPTER XVII.
Of the journey of our ships to relieve the Brethren of the Vale, and how we fought a great battle with the Moors outside the Bay of L'Ancresse. 113
CHAPTER XVIII.
The story of the relief of Vale Castle. 122
CHAPTER XIX.
How we set forth to attack Le Chateau du Grand Sarrasin--Of the Normans' valour, and of the flight of our foes. 128
CHAPTER XX.
Of the sore slaughter in the glen of Moulin Huet, and on the shore, and how Le Grand Sarrasin was slain, and of his secret. 135
CHAPTER XXI.
Conclusion. How, the above matters being finished, I was made known to my father. 143

HISTORICAL NOTES.
PAGE
A. Archbishop Maugher 147
B. Vale Abbey 148
C. Vale Castle 148
D. Visit of Duke Robert 149
E. The Sarrazins in Guernsey 150
F. The Expedition of Samson d'Anville 150
CHAPTER I.
Of how I, Nigel de Bessin, was brought up by the monks of the Vale in Guernsey Island, and how on a certain day the abbot gave me choice of two lives, and which I chose.
This is the chronicle of me, Nigel de Bessin, of good Norman stock, being a cadet of the great house, whose elder branch is even to-day settled at St. Sauveur, in the Cotentin. And I write it for two reasons. First, for the sake of these grandchildren, Geoffrey, Guy, and William, who gather round me in the hall here at Newton, asking for the story of great deeds of old days, such as were the deeds of Tancred and Duke Rollo, and him I loved and fought for--loved, though stern he was and rude--William, who by his mighty conquest gave us our place in this fair realm. And second, since the winter days are long, and I go no more out to hunt or to fight as of old, to recall all this and more will have much sweetness, and delight my old heart with gentle memories, like the smell of lavender laid between robes or napery in the oak press yonder, as one takes this or that from the store.
And first, how came I to write it in such clerkly wise? Ay, that was through the foresight of my uncle, the Vicomte de Bessin, since I knew not then my father, and the good care of the monks of the Vale, and chiefly of Brother Bernard, a ripe scholar and a good, with whom I progressed so well in learning, that at fifteen I was more like to have put this grissled head under a cowl than under a soldier's helm. A fair place was L'Ancresse in the days of Abbot Michael, false Maugher, and the Grand Sarrasin. And a good school of manners and of learning of books and piety, that may aid men in their earthly life, was the Vale Cloister. I see it now--the quiet, sober place, with its great round arches, and its seats of stone, pleasant and cool in summer, bitter cold in winter, when the wind came in sharp from the Eastern sea, so that we wrapt our Norway furs about us, and shivered as we sat, till Brother Bernard said, "Up, lads; catch who catch can up to the Viking's tomb!" or "Haste ye now, and run to meet the pirates in Bordeaux Bay, and bring them to me to shrive, ere ye do them to death, as Normans should!" The blood ran free and warm then, and the limbs grew straight and strong, and the muscles of arms and legs like whipcord, and