rank behind rank, thirty-two deep, only the foremost could act; the rest could hardly see the enemy. 8 Henry placed his archers in front, and they began the battle with a deadly discharge. The French general, hoping to put a stop to the flight of their arrows, bade two squadrons move forward, one from the right and one from the left, to spear them. With much hard spurring the knights floundered on, but hardly a tenth of them reached the English front. Many had been slain by a company of bowmen that Henry had hidden in a wood; many had fallen and lay sprawling on the ground, unable to arise; some of the wounded horses, mad with fear and pain, dashed upon the first division of the French, plunging through the close ranks and causing terrible confusion. Henry then ordered an advance. His archers, slinging their bows behind, betook themselves to the axes with which they had been provided. When they had 9 hewn their way through the first division, they attacked the second. The third (which alone was twice as large as the whole English army) fled from the field without striking a blow. The battle thus decided, the victors began taking prisoners, for in those days the chief reward of a soldier was the 10 ransom of his captives. When an immense number had been seized, Henry heard a terrible noise in his rear. Word was brought him that the French were plundering his 11 baggage; and as the third division seemed about to 12 rally, he thought the fight was going to be renewed. In order that his men might not be hampered, he told them to kill their prisoners. When many had been slain it was discovered that the alarm in the rear had been caused by the peasants of the neighbourhood coming to plunder the camp, and then the king at once commanded the slaughter to be stayed. Altogether there fell that day ten thousand of the French. After the battle the victors marched to Calais and sailed thence to England, where they were welcomed with boundless joy. Two years later Henry again invaded France, and in course of time conquered Normandy. In 1420 a treaty was made at 13 Troyes. While Charles VI. lived, Henry was to govern the country in his name; when Charles died, Henry was to succeed him; Henry was also to marry the daughter of Charles. The English king did not live long to enjoy his triumph; in 1422 he died, leaving as his heir a baby boy not nine months old. 8 1 Bramham Moor, between Leeds and Tadcaster. 2 hostile, belonging to an enemy, hateful. 4 3 original, first. mainly, chiefly. 5 flank, side. 6 mail, armour. 7 laboriously, with much labour, with great difficulty. squadron, a body of horse soldiers. 9 hew, to cut. 10 ransom, money paid for setting a prisoner free. 11 baggage, the whole goods of an army, such as tents, clothes, etc. 12 rally, to reunite, get into order again. Troyes, on the Seine south-east of Paris. 13 THE RELIEF OF ORLEANS. Two months after the death of Henry V., Charles VI. died. By the treaty of Troyes the son of Henry should have succeeded Charles, but the son of Charles was acknowledged by the French. The Duke of Bedford, a man almost unequalled in that age for wisdom as a ruler, or skill as a general, was governor and commander in France for the boy king, his nephew. Little by little he spread the English power, till he had brought under it almost the whole of the country north of the Loire. To open up a way into the south, he ordered 2 Orleans to be besieged, and the city was about to surrender when it was saved in a manner so 3 marvellous as to seem 4 miraculous. At 5 Domremy, a little village on the borders of Champagne and Lorraine, lived a peasant girl named Joan Darc. She was in her eighteenth year, tall, of 7 favour "likesome," "of person strongly made," "of courage great." She lived a simple, loving, pious life. She delighted in the solitude of the fields and the forest, birds and beasts came at her call, and she fancied that she heard the voices of angels and saints speaking to her. Though Joan dwelt in a distant part of the kingdom, the horrors of war had been brought home to her. The surrounding district was reduced almost to a desert, the church wherein she worshipped was burnt, and her family was more than once forced to flee for refuge to the woods. JOAN MINDING HER FATHER'S SHEEP. The girl's heart was filled with boundless pity for the "fair realm of France," and her mind was haunted by an old prophecy, that out of the neighbouring forest should come a virgin who would save the country. One day when Joan was alone, tending her father's sheep, she thought she heard the "voices" tell her she was the woman who was to deliver the land. Having persuaded the captain of the next town to send her to Charles, she told the young king that by her aid he would be crowned at 10 Rheims, and after much consideration her help was accepted. The French force then within Orleans was much larger than the English force without; but the English fought with the boldness of men who feel sure of winning, while the French fought with the lack of spirit which arises from the certainty of losing. The coming of Joan changed those feelings. The French believed she had been sent by God to assist them, and that, with her at their head, nothing could withstand them. The English, on the other hand, thought she had been sent by the devil, and that it was useless to oppose her. Joan entered Orleans by the river, and at once the 11 garrison, led by her, began making furious 12 sallies. The forts which had been built round the city were attacked, and one by one taken. When the Maid appeared, clad in armour, mounted on a white horse, and carrying a banner, the English lost heart. Within a week of her arrival the siege was raised, and the besiegers were in full retreat. 5 7 favour 1 Duke of Bedford, brother to Henry V. 2 Orleans, on the Loire, about seventy miles south of Paris. 3 marvellous, wonderful, very strange. 4 miraculous, done by a miracle. Domremy, a village on the river Meuse, about 160 miles east of Paris. 6 Darc, often written in French d'Arc, which means "of Arc." likesome, pleasing looks. 8 solitude, loneliness. 9 the forest. Domremy was on the borders of a forest. 10 Rheims, about eighty miles north-east of Paris, and 150 from Orleans. In the cathedral there the French kings were crowned. The town was in the hands of the English. 11 garrison, the soldiers defending a place. sally, a coming out to attack. 12 |