n-and-twenty thousand men. chandos hath

persuaded the prince to leave many behind, and indeed i think

that he is right, for there is little food and less water in

these parts for which we are bound. a man without his meat or a

horse without his fodder is like a wet bow-string, fit for

little. but voila, mon petit, here comes chandos and his

company, and there is many a pensil and banderole among yonder

squadrons which show that the best blood of england is riding

under his banners."

whilst aylward had been speaking, a strong column of archers had

defiled through the pass beneath them. they were followed by a

banner-bearer who held high the scarlet wedge upon a silver field

which proclaimed the presence of the famous warrior. he rode

himself within a spear's-length of his standard, clad from neck

to foot in steel, but draped in the long linen gown or parement

which was destined to be the cause of his death. his plumed

helmet was carried behind him by his body-squire, and his head

was covered by a small purple cap, from under which his snow-

white hair curled downwards to his shoulders. with his long

beak-like nose and his single gleaming eye, which shone brightly

from under a thick tuft of grizzled brow, he seemed to alleyne to

have something of the look of some fierce old bird of prey. for

a moment he smiled, as his eye lit upon the banner of the five

roses waving from the hamlet; but his course lay for pampeluna,

and he rode on after the archers.

close at his heels came sixteen squires, all chosen from the

highest families, and behind them rode twelve hundred english

knights, with gleam of steel and tossing of plumes, their harness

jingling, their long straight swords clanking against their

stirrup-irons, and the beat of their chargers' hoofs like the low

deep roar of the sea upon the shore. behind them marched six

hundred cheshire and lancashire archers, bearing the badge of the

audleys, followed by the famous lord audley himself, with the

four valiant squires, dutton of dutton, delves of doddington,

fowlehurst of crewe, and hawkstone of wainehill, who had all won

such glory at poictiers. two hundred heavily-armed cavalry rode

behind the audley standard, while close at their heels came the

duke of lancaster with a glittering train, heralds tabarded with

the royal arms riding three deep upon cream-colored chargers in

front of him. on either side of the young prince rode the two

seneschals of aquitaine, sir guiscard d'angle and sir stephen

cossington, the one bearing the banner of the province and the

other that of saint george. away behind him as far as eye could

reach rolled the far-stretching, unbroken river of steel-rank

after rank and column after column, with waving of plumes,

glitter of arms, tossing of guidons, and flash and flutter of

countless armorial devices. all day alleyne looked down upon the

changing scene, and all day the old bowman stood by his elbow,

pointing out the crests of famous warriors and the arms of noble

houses. here were the gold mullets of the pakingtons, the sable

and ermine of the mackworths, the scarlet bars of the wakes, the

gold and blue of the grosvenors, the cinque-foils of the

cliftons, the annulets of the musgraves, the silver pinions of

the beauchamps, the crosses of the molineux the bloody chevron of

the woodhouses, the red and silver of the worsleys, the swords of

the clarks, the boars'-heads of the lucies, the crescents of the

boyntons, and the wolf and dagger of the lipscombs. so through

the sunny winter day the chivalry of england poured down through

the dark pass of roncesvalles to the plains of spain.

it was on a monday that the duke of lancaster's division passed

safely through the pyrenees. on the tuesday there was a bitter

frost, and the ground rung like iron beneath the feet of the

horses; yet ere evening the prince himself, with the main battle

of his army, had passed the gorge and united with his vanguard at

pampeluna. with him rode the king of majorca, the hostage king

of navarre, and the fierce don pedro of spain, whose pale blue

eyes gleamed with a sinister light as they rested once more upon

the distant peaks of the land which had disowned him. under the

royal banners rode many a bold gascon baron and many a hot-

blooded islander. here were the high stewards of aquitaine, of

saintonge, of la rochelle, of quercy, of limousin, of agenois, of

poitou, and of bigorre, with the banners and musters of their

provinces. here also were the valiant earl of angus, sir thomas

banaster with his garter over his greave, sir nele loring, second

cousin to sir nigel, and a long column of welsh footmen who

marched under the red banner of merlin. from dawn to sundown the

long train wound through the pass, their breath reeking up upon

the frosty air like the steam from a cauldron.

the w