Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-01

as all men could read for through the landWard gates
there rolled constant stream of wagons, pouring
down the Lbourne Road and bearing the booty of
Southern France. The town full OF loot
soldiers, for none but mounted men had been taken
by the Prince With sad faces and longing eyes they
watched the passing of the train of plunder-laden
carts, piled high with rich furniture, silks velvets
tapestries, carvings and precious metals which had
been the pride OF many lordly home IN talr Au-
vergne the wealthy Bourbonnais.
Let no think that in these wars England alone
was face to face with France. There is glory and
to spare without trfing with the truth. Two
Provinces in France, both rich and warike, had
become English through a royal marriage, and
these, Guenne and Gascony, furnished many of tie
most valiant soldiers under the island flag So poor
a country as England could not afford to keep
great force overseas, and must needs have lost
the with France through want of power to up
hold the struggle. The feudal system enabled an
army to be drawn rapidly together with small
expense; but at the end of few weeks it dispersed
again swiftly and only by well-hlled money
chest could it be held together. There was no such
chest in England, and the King forever at his
wits end how to keep his men in the field.
But Guenne and Gascony were full of knights
and squires who were always ready to assemble
from their isolated castles for raid into France,
and these with the addition of those English cav
alters who fought for honor, and few thousand of
the formidable archers, hired for fourpence day,
made an army with which a short campaign could
be carried Such were the materials of tie
Princes force, some eight thousand strong, who
were now riding in a great circle through Southern
France leaving broad vale of blaclened and ruined
country behind them
in English hands, still very warlike power,
far richer and populous than her rival Single
Provinces were SO great that they were stronger
than many Kingdom. Normandy in the north,
Burgundy in the east, Brittany in the west, and
Languedoc in the south each capable of fitting
out great army of their Therefore, the brave
and spirited John watching from Paris this insolent
raid into his dominions, sent messengers IN hot
haste to all these great feudatorles as well as to
Lorraine, Picardy, Auvergne, Hainaut, Vermandois
Champagne and to the German mercenaries over
his eastern border bidding all of them to ride hard
with bloody spur, day and night until they should
gather to head at Charities.
There great army had assembled early in Sep
tember whilst the Prince, all unconscious of its
presence, sacked towns and besieged castles from
Bourges to Issoudun, passing Romorantin, and so
onward to Vierzon and to Tours. From week to
week there merry skirmishes at barriers, brisk
assaults of fortresses in which much honor won,
knightly meetings with detached parties of French
men, and occasional spear-runnngs where noble
champions deigned to venture their persons Houses
too, were to be plundered, while wine and women
were in plenty. Never had either knights archers
had SO pleasant and profitable excursion, SO that
it was with high heart and much hope of pleasant