CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Men might say Till this time pomp was single, but now married To one above itself.--Shakspere.
Many were the anxious eyes turned towards the sky on the morning ofthe seventh of June, the day appointed for the meeting of the twokings of France and England; for some inauspicious clouds had usheredin the dawn, and several of those persons who take a delight inprognosticating evil, whenever they can find occasion; who enjoymingling the sour with whatever is sweet in life--in short, thelemon-squeezers of society--had taken care to affirm that they hadfelt several drops of rain, and to prophesy that it would pour beforenight. To put their vaticinations out of joint, however, the jollysummer sun came like a cleanly housemaid, towards eight o'clock, andwith his broom of rays swept all the dirty clouds from the floor ofheaven. By this time the bustle of preparation had begun at the townof Guisnes. All was in activity amongst the tents, and many a lord andgentleman was already on his horse arraying his men in order of battleunder the walls of the castle, from the gates of which presentlyissued forth the archer-guard of the king of England, and took thefront of the array. Not long after, Lord Essex, the earl marshal,appeared on the plain, and riding along the line of foot, gave thestrictest orders to the various officers for maintaining regularityand tranquillity through the day; well knowing that the excitedhilarity of such occasions often creates more serious evils than doinfinitely worse feelings. Another cause, however, seemed likely tohave interrupted the general good-humour; for, in the midst of hisinjunctions to maintain order and propriety of demeanour towards theirFrench allies, an officer was seen spurring at full speed from theside of Ardres, and as he rode up, it was very evident by hiscountenance that the good captain, Richard Gibson, was not the bestpleased man in the world. All eyes were turned upon him, and a deadsilence ensued amidst the archers, while the earl demanded, "Why! hownow, Gibson? what is the matter?"
"So please you, my lord," replied the officer, "the four pennons ofwhite and green, which, by your command, I set up on the edge of thehill, above the valley of Andern, have been vilely thrown down by theFrench lord ch?telaine, who says, that as the French have none on theother hill, he wills not that we have any either."
A loud murmuring made itself heard at this news amongst the footmen;and one of the young gallants, riding near the earl, put spurs to hishorse, as if to ride away to the scene of the dispute.
"Silence!" cried the earl, over whose cheek also an angry flush hadpassed at the first, but who speedily recovered his temper. "Brian,come back! come back, I say, sir! let not a man stir!"
"What! must we stand tamely and be insulted by the French?" cried theyouth, unwillingly reining in his horse.
"They do not insult us, sir," replied Lord Essex, wisely determinednot to let any trifling punctilio disturb the harmony of the meeting,yet knowing how difficult it was to rule John Bull from his surlyhumour. "They do not insult us. The pennons were set up for theirconvenience, to show them the place of meeting, which is within theEnglish pale. If they choose to be such fools as to risk missing theway, and go a mile round, why, let them; we shall but laugh at themwhen they come."
The matter thus turned off, he whispered a few words to Gibson, andsending him back to the vale of Andern, proceeded, with the aid ofheralds and other officers at arms, to arrange all the ceremonies ofthe march. However, various were the reports that spread amongst thepeople concerning the intentions of the French, some declaring openlythat they believed they intended to surround the field with a greatforce, and take the king of England prisoner. Others shook the wisehead, and implied much more than they ventured to say; and many a poorrogue, amongst those who "talk of court news as if they were God'sspies," pretended that they had been with the French power and heardall about it; so that they would tell you the very cunning of thething, and its fashion, and when it was to be.
While rumour was thus exercising her hundred tongues, and, as usual,lying with them all, the warning-gun was fired from the castle ofGuisnes, giving notice that the King of England was ready to set out,and all hurried to place themselves in order. In a few minutes thedistant roar of another large piece of artillery was heard fromArdres, answering the first; and for the five minutes before theprocession was formed, like the five minutes of tuning before aconcert, all was noise, clamour, and confusion. The sounding of thetrumpets to horse, the shouts of the various leaders, the loud criesof the marshals and heralds, and the roaring of the artillery from thecastle, as the king put his foot in the stirrup, all combined to makeone general outcry, rarely equalled.
Gradually the tumult subsided; gradually also the confused assemblageassumed a regular form. Flags, and pennons, and banderols, embroideredbanners and scutcheons, silver pillars, and crosses, and crooks,ranged themselves in long line, and the bright procession, aninterminable stream of living gold, began to wind across the plain.First came about five hundred of the gayest and wealthiest gentlemenof England, below the rank of baron; squires, knights, and bannerets,rivalling each other in the richness of their apparel and the beautyof their horses; while the pennons of the knights fluttered abovetheir heads, marking the place of the English chivalry. Next appearedthe proud barons of the realm, each with his banner borne before him,and followed by a custrel with the shield of his arms. To these againsucceeded the bishops, not in the simple robes of the Protestantclergy, but in the more gorgeous habits of the church of Rome; whileclose upon their steps rode the higher nobility, surrounding theimmediate person of the king, and offering the most splendid mass ofgold and jewels that the summer sun ever shone upon.
Slowly the procession moved forward, to allow the line of those onfoot to keep an equal pace. Nor did this band offer a less gay andpleasing sight than the cavalcade; for here might be seen the athleticforms of the sturdy English yeomanry, clothed in the various splendidliveries of their several lords, with the family cognizanceembroidered on the bosom or the arm, and the banners and banderols oftheir particular houses carried in the front of each company. Herealso was to be seen the picked guard of the King of England,magnificently dressed for the occasion, with the royal banner carriedin their centre by the deputy standard-hearer, and the banner of theircompany by their own ancient. In the rear of all, marshalled byofficers appointed for the purpose, came the band of those whose rankdid not entitle them to take place in the cavalcade, but who hadsufficient interest at court to be admitted to the meeting. Though ofan inferior class, this company was not the least splendid in thefield; for here were all the wealthy tradesmen of the court, habitedin many a rich garment, furnished by the extravagance of those thatrode before; and many a gold chain hung round their necks, that notlong ago had lain in the purse of some prodigal customer.
Thus marched on the procession at a walking pace, with steedsneighing, with trumpets sounding, banners and plumes fluttering in thewind, and gold and jewels sparkling in the sunshine; while loudacclaim, and the waving of hats, and hands, and handkerchiefs, fromthose that stayed behind, ushered it forth from the plain of Guisnes.
They had ridden on some way, when a horseman spurred up to the spotwhere the king rode, and doffing his high plumed hat, bent to hissaddle-bow, saying, "My king and my sovereign, I have just been withthe French party, and I hold myself bound, as your liege, to informyou that they are at least twice as numerous as we are. Your gracewill act as in your wisdom you judge fit; but as a faithful and lovingsubject I could not let such knowledge sleep in my bosom."
An instant halt took place through the whole cavalcade, and the kingfor a moment consulted with Wolsey, who rode on his left hand; butLord Shrewsbury, the lord steward, interposed, assuring the king thathe had been amongst the French nobles the night before, and thatamongst them the same reports prevailed concerning the English."Therefore, sir," continued he, "if I were worthy to advise, yourgrace would march forward without hesitation; for sure I am that theFrench mean no treachery."
"We shall follow your advice, lord steward," replied the king; "let u
smarch on."
"On before! On before!" cried the heralds at the word. The trumpetsagain sounded, and the procession, moving forward, very soon reachedthe brow of the hill that looks into the vale of Andern. A gentleslope, of not more than three hundred yards, led from the highest partof each of the opposite hills into the centre of the valley, in themidst of which was pitched the most magnificent tent that ever aluxurious imagination devised. The canopy, the walls, the hangings,were all of cloth of gold; the posts, the cones, the cords, thetassels, the furniture, were all of the same rare metal. Wherever theeye turned, nothing but that shining ore met its view, so that itrequired no very brilliant fancy to name it at once, the _Field of theCloth of Gold_.
On reaching the verge of the descent, the cavalcade spread out, liningthe side of the hill for some way down, and facing the line of thevalley. Each cavalier placed himself unhesitatingly in the spotassigned him by the officers at arms, while the body of foot was drawnup in array to the left by the captains of the king's guard, so thatnot the least confusion or tumult took place; and the whole multitude,in perfect order, presented a long and glittering front to theopposite hill, before any of the French party appeared, except a fewstraggling horsemen sent to keep the ground.
As soon as the whole line was formed, and when, by the approachingsound of the French trumpets, it was ascertained that the Court ofFrance was not far distant, Henry himself drew out from the ranks,ready to descend to the meeting; and never did a more splendid or moreprincely monarch present himself before so noble a host. Tall,stately, athletic, with a countenance full of imperial dignity, andmounted on a horse that seemed proudly conscious of the royalty of itsrider, Henry rode forward to a small hillock, about twenty yards inadvance of his subjects; and halting upon the very edge of the hill,with his attendants grouped behind him, and a clear background ofsunny light throwing nil figure out from all the other objects, heoffered a subject on which Wouvermans might well have exercised hispencil. Over his wide chest and shoulders he wore a loose vest ofcloth of silver, damasked and ribbed with gold. This was plaited, andbound tightly towards the waist, while it was held down from the neckby the golden collars of many a princely order, and the broad baldrickstudded with jewels, to which was suspended his sword. His jewelledhat was also of the same cloth; and in the only representation of thisfamous meeting that I have met with, which can be relied upon, havingbeen executed at the time, he appears with a vast plume of feathers,rising from the left side of his hat, and falling over to his saddlebehind. Nor was the horse less splendidly attired than the rider. Itshousings, its trappers, its headstall, and its reins, were allcuriously wrought and embossed with bullion, while a thousand fancifulornaments of gold filigree-work hung about it in every direction.
Behind the king appeared Sir Henry Guilford, master of the horse,leading a spare charger for the monarch; not indeed with anylikelihood of the king's using it, but more as a piece of stateornament than anything else, in the same manner as the sword of statewas borne by the Marquis of Dorset. A little behind appeared nineyouths of noble family, as the king's henchmen, mounted on beautifulhorses trapped with golden scales, and sprinkled throughout theirhousings with loose bunches of spangles, which, twinkling in thesunshine, gave an inconceivable lightness and brilliancy to theirwhole appearance.
Shortly after this glittering group had taken its station in front ofthe English line, the first parties of the French nobility began toappear on the opposite hill, and spreading out upon its side, offereda corresponding mass of splendour to that formed by the array ofEngland. Very soon the whole of Francis's court had deployed; andafter a pause of a few minutes, during which the two hosts seemed toconsider each other with no small admiration, and in profound silence,the trumpets from the French side sounded, and the constable Duke ofBourbon, bearing a naked sword upright, began to descend the hill.Immediately behind him followed the French monarch superbly arrayed,and mounted on a magnificent Barbary horse, covered from head to footwith gold. Instantly on beholding this, the English trumpets replied,and the Marquis of Dorset, unsheathing the sword of state, movedslowly forward before the king. Henry, having the lord cardinal on hisleft, and followed by his immediate suite, now descended the hill, andarrived in the valley exactly at the same moment as Francis. The twosword-bearers who preceded them fell back each to the right of his ownsovereign; and the monarchs, spurring forward their highly-managedhorses, met in the midst and embraced each other on horseback.Difficult and strange as such a man[oe]uvre may seem, it was performedwith ease and grace, both the kings being counted amongst the mostskilful horsemen in Europe; and in truth, as the old historianexpresses it, it must have been a marvellous sweet and goodly sight tosee those two princes, in the flower of their age, in the height oftheir strength, and in the dignity of their manly beauty, commandingtwo great nations, that had been so long rivals and enemies, insteadof leading hostile armies to desolate and destroy, meet in thatpeaceful valley, and embrace like brothers in the sight of the choicenobility of either land.
Two grooms and two pages, who had followed on foot, now ran to holdthe stirrup and the rein, each of his own monarch; and springing tothe ground, the kings embraced again; after which, clasped arm in arm,they passed the barrier, and entered the golden tent, wherein twothrones were raised beneath one canopy.
"Henry of England, my dear brother," said the King of France, as soonas they were seated, "thus far have I travelled to see you and do youpleasure; willing to hold you to my heart with brotherly love, and toshow you that I am your friend: and surely I believe that you esteemme as I am. The realms that I command, and the powers that I possess,are not small; but if they may ever be of aid to my brother, ofEngland, I shall esteem them greater than before."
"The greatness of your realms, sir, and the extent of your power,"replied Henry, "weigh as nothing in my eyes, compared with your highand princely qualities; and it is to interchange regard with you, andrenew in person our promises of love, that I have here passed the seasand come to the very verge of my dominions."
With such greetings commenced the interview of the two kings, who sooncalled to them the cardinal, and seating him beside them, with muchhonour, they commanded him to read the articles which he had drawn upfor the arrangement and ordering of their future interviews. Wolseycomplied; and all that he proposed seemed well to please both themonarchs, till he proceeded to stipulate, that when the King ofEngland should go over to the town of Ardres, to revel with the queenand ladies of France, the King of France should at the same timerepair to the town of Guisnes, there to be entertained by the Queen ofEngland. At this Francis mused: "Nay, nay, my good lord cardinal,"said he, "faith, I fear not to trust myself with my brother of Englandat his good castle of Guisnes, without holding him as a hostage in mycourt for my safe return; and, marry, I am sure he would put equalconfidence in me, though I stayed not in his city till he was on hisjourney back."
"This clause is not inserted, most noble sovereign," replied Wolsey,"from any doubt or suspicion that one gracious king has of the other;for surely all trust and amicable confidence exist between ye: but itis for the satisfaction of the minds of your liege subjects, who, notunderstanding the true nature of princely friendship, might be filledwith black apprehensions, were they to see their monarch confidehimself, without warrant of safety, in the power of another nation."
"Well, well, my good lord," replied Francis, "let it be; time willshow us." And from that moment he seemed to pay little attention toall the precautionary measures by which the cautious Wolsey proposedto secure the future meetings of the two kings from the least dangerto either party. The generous mind of the French monarch revolted atthe suspicious policy of the cardinal; and agreeing to anything thatthe other thought proper, he mentally revolved his own plans forshaming the English monarch and his minister out of their cold andinjurious doubts.
The arrangement of these articles was the only displeasingcircumstance that cast a shadow upon the meeting: all the rest passedin gaiety and joy. A sumptuous ba
nquet was soon placed before them,and various of the nobles of England and France were called to minglein the royal conversation while the monarchs were at table.
In the meanwhile the two courts and their retainers remained arrangedon the opposing sides of the hill; the Englishmen, with theircharacteristic rigidity, standing each man in his place as immoveableas a statue, while the livelier Frenchmen, impatient of doing nothing,soon quitted their ranks, and, falling into broken masses, amusedthemselves as best they might; many of them crossing the valley, andwith national facility beginning to make acquaintance with their newallies, nothing repulsed by the blunt reception they met with. Notthat the English were inhospitable; for having, as usual, taken goodcare that no provision should be wanting against the calls of hungeror thirst, they communicated willingly to their neighbours of thecomforts they had brought with them, sending over many a flagon ofwine and hypocras, much to the consolation of the French, who hadtaken no such wise precautions against the two great internal enemies.
In about an hour, the hangings of the tent were drawn back, and thetwo kings re-appeared; ready to separate for the day. The grooms ledup the horses; and Francis and Henry, embracing with many professionsof amity, mounted and turned their steps each to his several dwelling.
The English procession marched back in the same order as it came, andarrived without interruption at the green plain of Guisnes, whereHenry, ordering the band of footmen to halt, rode along before them,making them a gay and familiar speech, and bidding them be merry ifthey loved their king. Shouts and acclamations answered the monarch'sspeech, and the nobles, joining in his intent, showered their largesseupon their retainers as they followed along the line. The last bandthat Henry came to was that of the privileged tradesmen of the court,most of whom he recognised, possessing, in a high degree, that trulyroyal quality of never forgetting any one he had once known. To eachhe had some frank, bluff sentence to address; while they, with headsuncapped and bending low, enjoyed with proud hearts the honour ofbeing spoken to by the king, and thought how they could tell it to alltheir neighbours and gossips when they got to England. As he rode on,Henry perceived in the second rank a face that he remembered, which,being attached to a very pliable neck, kept bending down with manifoldreverences, not unlike the nodding of a mandarin cast in china-ware.
"Ha! my good clothier, Jekin Groby!" cried the king; "come forth, man!What! come forth, I say!"
Jekin Groby rushed forward from behind, knocking on one side the royalhoney merchant, and fairly throwing down the household fishmonger whostood before him; then, casting himself on his knees by the side ofthe king's horse, he clasped the palms of his hands together, andturned up his eyes piteously to the monarch's countenance, exclaiming,"Justice! justice! your grace's worship, if your royal stomach be fullof justice, as folks say, give me justice."
"Justice!" cried Henry, laughing at the sad and deplorable face poorJekin thought necessary to assume for the purpose of moving hiscompassion. "Justice on whom, man--ha? Faith, if any man have donethee wrong, he shall repent it, as I am a king; though, good Jekin, Isent for thee a month ago to furnish cloth for all the household, andthou wert not to be found."
"Lord 'a mercy!" cried Jekin, "and I've missed the job! but it oughtall to be put in the bill. Pray, your grace's worship, put it in thebill against that vile Sir Payan Wileton, who kidnapped me on your ownroyal highway, robbed me of my bagfull of angels, and sent me to sea,where I was so sick, your grace; you can't think how sick! And thenthey beat me with ropes' ends, and made me go up aloft, and damned mefor a land-lubber, and a great deal more: all on account of that SirPayan Wileton!"
"Ha!" cried the king; "Sir Payan Wileton again! I had forgot him.However, good Jekin, I cannot hear you now; come to my chamberto-morrow before I rise--ha, man! then I will hear and do you justice,if it be on the highest man in the land. There is my signet: the pagewill let you in. At six o'clock, man, fail not!"
"I told you so!" cried Jekin, starting upon his feet, and lookinground him with delight as the king rode away; "I told you he wouldmake that black thief give me back my angels. I knew his noble heart;Lord 'a mercy! 'tis a gracious prince, surely."