 St. Bartholomew's Eve by G.A. Hendy. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit LibriVox.org. Read by Anna Christensen. Chapter 13. At Laville. The queen was standing at the door of the house where she had lain down for a few hours' rest after her arrival. The prince was standing beside her. Here's our English friend, mother. He exclaimed, running forward to meet Philip. Welcome, Monsure Fletcher. When we found that you were not here on our arrival last night, we feared that some evil had been following you. Monsure Fletcher is well able to take care of himself, Prince. He has been having adventures enough. Gaston de Robert said, You must tell me about them as we ride. The prince said, I love adventures, Monsure Fletcher. They had now reached the queen. I am glad to see you, Monsure Fletcher. Of course it was in one way a relief to us when we crossed the river and did not find you there, for I was sure you would have been there to give us warning had there been danger on the way. But I thought you might have come in any case, and when we found that you had not arrived here before us, I was afraid that something might have befallen you. I have had some slight troubles, Your Majesty. And to my great regret, I was unable to meet you at the passage of the river. I should have been here long before daylight, but we were unable to find the road in the dark, and had to wait until we could inquire the way. Monsure Fletcher is pleased to say that he's had some slight troubles, Madame. Gaston said, But as the troubles included the slaying in a duel of Raou de Fontaine, one of the bitterest enemies of our faith, and moreover a noted dualist, and an escape from the castle of Augais, where he was confined as a suspected Huguenot and spy, the term slight does not very aptly describe them. What? A tall, soldierly old man standing next to the Queen exclaimed, Do you mean to say, D. Robert, that Monsure Fletcher has killed Raou de Fontaine in a duel? If so, I can graduate, Your Majesty. He was a bitter persecutor of the Huguenots, and one of the hottest-headed and most troublesome nobles in the province. Moreover, he can put a hundred and fifty men into the field, and although his cousin Louis, who is his heir, is also a Catholic, he is a man of very different kind, and is honored by Huguenot and Catholic alike. But how this gentleman could have killed so notable a swordsman is more than I can understand. He looks, if you will pardon my saying so, a mere youth. He rode beside Francois de la Nuit in the battles of Saint Denis, the Queen said, and as he was chosen by my cousin Condé, for the difficult and dangerous enterprise of carrying a communication to me. It is clear that whatever his years he is well-fitted to act a man's part. That is so, the Sénégal said heartily. I shall be glad to talk to you again, sir. But at present, madame, it is time to mount. The troops are mustering, and we have a long ride before us. If you will lead the way with infantry at once, Monsure de Robert, we will follow as soon as we are mounted. We must go your pace, but as soon as we start I will send a party to ride a mile ahead of you and see that the roads are clear. At starting the Queen rode with the Prince and the Sénégal at the head of the mounted party, some two hundred and fifty strong, and behind followed the nobleman and gentleman who had come up with her, and those who had accompanied the Sénégal. Philip, who knew no one, rode near the rear of the strain, behind which followed the armed retainers. In a short time a gentleman rode back through the party. Monsure de Robert, he said when he reached Philip. The Prince has asked me to say that it is his wish that you should ride forward and accompany him. Philip turned into the field and rode to the head of the party. The Prince, who was looking round, had once reigned in his horse and took his place beside him. No, Monsure Fletcher, you must tell me all about it. I am tired of hearing consultations about roads and Catholic forces. I want to hear a full account of your adventures, just as you told me the tale of your journey to Narach. During the course of the day several parties of gentlemen joined the little force. So well organized were the Huguenots, that during the last two or three days the news had passed from mouth to mouth throughout the province for all to assemble, if possible, at points indicated to them, and all knew the day on which the Sénégal would march forth from Villanouilly. Yet so well was the secret kept that the Catholics remained in total ignorance of the movement. Consequently at every village there were additions of force awaiting the Sénégal, and parties from ten to a hundred rode up and joined them on the march. After marching twenty miles they halted at the foot of a chain of hills, their numbers having been increased during the day to over twelve hundred men. The Queen and her son found rough accommodation in a small village. The rest be walked around it. At midnight three hundred cavalry and two hundred footmen started to cross the hills, so as to come down upon Birgara and seize the bridge across the Dordogne. Then at Dela the rest of the force marched. On reaching the river they found that the bridge had been seized without resistance. Three hundred gentlemen and their retainers, of the province of Paragore, had assembled within half a mile of the other side of the bridge, and had joined the party as they came down. A Catholic force of two hundred men in the town had been taken by surprise and captured, for the most part, in their beds. The Queen had issued most stringent orders that there was to be no unnecessary bloodshed, and the Catholic soldiers, having been stripped of their arms and armor, which were divided among those of the Huguenots who were ill provided, were allowed to depart unharmed the next morning. Some fifteen gentlemen being retained as prisoners. Three hundred more Huguenots rode into Birgaraq in the course of a day. The footmen marched forward in the afternoon, and were directed to stop at a village twelve miles on. As the next day's journey would be a long one, the start was again made early, and late in the afternoon the little army, which had been joined by two hundred more in the course of a day, arrived within sight of Paragore. Five hundred horsemen had ridden forward two hours before to secure the bridge. The seneschal had, after occupying Birgaraq, placed horsemen on all the roads leading north to prevent the news from spreading, and Paragore, a large and important town, was utterly unprepared for the advent of an enemy. A few of the troops took up arms and made a hasty resistance, but were speedily dispersed. The greater portion flooded the first alarm to the castle, where Descarres himself was staying. He had only two days before sent up a dispatch to the court, declaring that he had taken his measures so well that not a Huguenot in the province would take up arms. His force was still superior to that of the horsemen, but his troops were disorganized, and many in their flight had left their arms behind them, and he was therefore obliged to remain inactive in the citadel, and his mortification and fury were complete when the seneschal's main body marched through the town and halted for the night a league beyond it. The next day they crossed the drone at Bantame, and then turned to the west. The horses now opened to them, and with 2,000 men the seneschal felt capable of coping with any force that could be got together to attack them. A halt was made for a day to rest the men and horses, and four days later, after crossing the Paragore Hills, and keeping ten miles south of Angola May, they came within sight of Cognac. Messages had already been sent on to announce their coming, and five miles from the town they were met by the Prince of Condé and the Admiral. Your first message lifted a load from our minds, madame. The Admiral said, The last news I received of you was that you were still at Narraq, and as an intercepted dispatch informed us the orders had been sent from the court for your immediate arrest. We were in great uneasiness about you. We left Narraq just in time, the Queen said. For as you have learned, the Governor of Agais with a strong force left that city to affect our capture at the very hour that we started on our flight. Did you know where you would find us, madame? We sent off a message by trusty hands, but whether the gentleman reached you, we did not know. Indeed, he did, and has since rendered us great service, and Henry here has taken so great a fancy to him that since we left Filenouie, he has always ridden by his side. After Condé had presented the gentleman who had ridden out with him to the Queen, and the Seneschal in turn had introduced the most important nobles and gentlemen to the Prince and Admiral, they proceeded on their way. Have you taken Cognac, cousin? The Queen asked Condé. No, madame, the place still holds out. We have captured Saint-Jean-Diangoli, though Cognac is obstinate, and we have had no cannon with which to batter its walls. As soon, however, as the Queen arrived at the camp, a semen to assent in her name, and, influenced by this, and by the sight of the reinforcement she had brought with her, Cognac at once surrendered. As soon as Philip rode into camp, he was greeted joyously by his cousin Francois. We did not think when we parted outside New-Or that we were going to be separated so long, he said, after they had taken hands heartily. I was astonished indeed when two days later I met the Admiral outside the walls of the town again to hear that you had gone off to make your way through to Narac. I want to hear all about your adventures. We have not had much fighting. New-Or made bed of poor resistance, and Parthené surrendered without striking a blow. Then I went with a party that occupied Fortenet. The Catholics fought stoutly there, but we were too strong for them. Those three places have given La Rochelle three bulwarks to the north. Then we started again from La Rochelle, and marched to St. Jean d'Angolais, which we carried by storm. Then we came on here, and I believe we shall have a try at Saint-Ais, or Angolume. When we have captured them, we shall have a complete cordon of strong places round La Rochelle. We expect La Nuit down from Brittany every hour, with a force he has raised there, and in Normandy. And we have heard that a large force is gathered in Longourot, and is advancing to join us. And all is going so well, that I fancy if Manjour d'Angot does not come to us before long, we shall set out in search of him. So much for our doings. Now sit down comfortably in my tent and tell me all about your journey. I see you have brought Pierre and your two men back with you. We should be nearer the truth if you said that Paris and the two men had brought me back. Philip laughed. For if it had not been for them, I would not have been able to talk. That is a good beginning to the story, Philip. But tell me the whole proper order as it happened. Philip told the story at length, and his cousin was greatly pleased at the manner in which he had got through his various dangers and difficulties. The Queen remained but a few hours with the army after Cognac had opened its gates. After a long conference with the Prince of Condé, the Admiral, and the other leaders, she left under a strong escort for La Rochelle, leaving the young prince with the army, as his near connection with the royal family, and the fact that he was there as a representative of his mother, strengthened the Huguenot cause, which could no longer be described by the agents of the French court with foreign powers as a mere rising of slight importance, the work only of Condé, Coligny, and a few other ambitious and turbulent nobles. I asked my mother to appoint you as one of the gentlemen who are to ride with me in Mongeur Fletcher. The young prince said to Philip when he saw him on the day after the Queen's departure. But she and the Admiral both said no. It is not because they do not like you, you know. And the Admiral said that he could very well trust me with you. But when my mother told him that I had ridden with you for the last four days, he said that it would cause jealousy when there were so many young French nobles and gentlemen in the camp. If I were to choose you in preference to them as my companion, you being only French on your mother's side and having an English name, I'd beg them to let me tell those to you. If I would rather ride with you than with any of them, and I should not like you to think that I did not care to have you with me anymore. Or I think it's hard. They call me the commander of this army and I can't even have my own way in a little thing like this. Someday, Mongeur Fletcher, I shall be able to do as I please and then I hope to have you near me. I am greatly obliged to your highness, Philip said. But I am sure the council that has been given you is right and that it is far better for you to be in the company of French gentlemen. I have come over here solely to do what little I can do with my mother's relations and those oppressed for their faith. And though I am flattered by your wish that I should be near you, I would rather be taking an active share in the work that has to be done. Yes. The admiral said that. He said that while many are youth who be most gratified at being selected to be my companion, he was sure that you would far rather ride with your cousin, Mongeur de Laville, and that it would be a pity to keep one who bids fair to be a great soldier acting the part of nurse to me. I am not a nurse of that kind and would a thousand times rather ride as an Esquire to you and take share in your adventures. But the admiral is always plain spoken. Still, as I know well that he is good and wise and the greatest soldier in France. I do not mind what he says. Angoulomé and Santé were both captured without much difficulty and then moving south from Angoulomé the army captured Pons and Blayet and thus possessed themselves of a complete semi-circle of towns on our shell. A short time afterwards they were joined by a strong force of Huguenots from Mongodol and Provence. These had marched north without meeting with any enemy strong enough to give them battle and when they joined the force under the admiral they raised its total strength to a total of 3,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. By this time the royal army of the Prince Diangio having united with that race by the Gises had advanced to Poitiers. The season was now far advanced. Indeed winter had already set in. Both armies were anxious to fight but the royalist leaders bearing in mind the desperate valor that the Huguenots had displayed at Saint Denis were unwilling to give battle unless in a position that offered them every advantage for the movements of their cavalry in which they were greatly superior in strength to the Huguenots. The admiral was equally determined not to throw away the advantage he possessed in his large force of infantry and after being inside of each other for some time there were no further missions having taken place. Both armies fell back into winter quarters the severity of the winter being too great to keep the soldiers without tents or other shelter in the field. During these operations Philip and his cousin had again ridden with Francois de la Nuit who had rejoined the army after a most perilous march in which he and the small body of troops he had brought from Brittany had succeeded in making their way through the hostile country and in crossing the forwards of the intervening rivers and considerable loss. As soon as the intense cold had driven both armies to the shelter of the towns the count said to Francois you and Philip had better march at once with your troops to L'Eville it will cost far less to maintain them at the Chateau than elsewhere indeed the man can for the most part return to their farms but you must be watchful Francois now that a portion of Anjo's army is lying at Poitiers they may, should the weather break the country and as L'Eville is the nearest point to Poitiers held for us they might well make a dash at it the count has welcomed them back heartily but expressed great disappointment the season should have passed without the army's meeting it was the same last time it was the delay that ruined us with the best will in the world there are few who can afford to keep their retainers in the field for month after month and the men themselves are longing to be back to their farms and families we shall have to keep a keen lookout through the winter fortunately our harvest here is a good one and the greeneries are full so that we shall be able to keep the men at arms on to the winter without much expense I feel more anxious about the tenants than about ourselves yes mother there is no doubt there is considerable risk of the enemy trying to beat us up and we must arrange for signals that our people may have time to haul back Philip and I will think it over we ought to be able to contrive some scheme between us do so Francois I feel safe against surprise here but I never retired to rest without wondering whether the night will pass without the tenants' farms and stacks being set ablaze and they and their families slaughtered on their own heart stones I suppose Francois Philip said to him as they stood up they look out next morning there was not much doubt which way they would cross the hills coming from Portierre they would be almost sure to come by that road that we travelled by when we went to Châtillon it comes down over the hills just two miles to the west there it is you see you just catch sight of it when it crosses that shoulder your land does not go as far as that does it no it only extends a mile in that direction and four miles in the other and five miles out into the plain are there many Huguenots on the other side of the hill yes there are some but as you know our strength is in the other direction what are you thinking I was thinking that we might make an arrangement with someone in the village some seven or eight miles beyond the hills to keep a boy on watch night and day so that directly a body of Catholic troops were seen coming along he should start at full speed to someplace a quarter of a mile away and there set light to a beacon piled in readiness we on our part would have a watch set on the top of this hill behind us at a spot where the hill in which the beacon was placed would be visible then at night the fire and by day the smoke would serve as a warning our watchmen would at once fire an octopus and light another beacon which would be the signal for all within reach to come here as quickly as possible at each farmhouse a lookout must of course be kept night and day I should advise the tenants to send up as much of their corn hay as possible at once and that the cattle should be driven up close to the chateau at night I think that would be a very good plan Philip I am sure that among our men at arms must be some who have acquaintances and friends on the other side of the hill it will be best that they should make the arrangement for the firing of the signal beacon we might even station one of the men of the village there under the pretense that he had been knocked up with the cold and hardship and was desirous of staying quietly with his friends he would watch at night and could sleep by day as his friends would wake in him at once if any troops passed along the same afternoon one of the men at arms prepared to start for a village eight miles beyond the hill there is no rising ground near it he said to Francois that could well be seen from the top of the hill here but about a half a mile from the village there is an old tower it is in ruins and has been so ever since I can remember I have often climbed to its top when I was a boy at this time of year there is no chance of anyone visiting the place I could collect wood and pile it for a fire without any risk whatever I can point out the exact direction of the tower from the top of the hill so that the watchers would know where to keep their attention fixed well you had better go up with us at once then so that I shall be able to instruct the men who will keep watch who will build a hut up there for them and keep three men on guard so that they will watch four hours a piece day and night the distance was too great to make out the tower but as the soldier knew its exact position he drove two stakes into the ground three feet apart no, he said a man looking along the line of the tops of these stakes will be looking as near as may be at the tower the tenants were all visited and were warned to keep a member of their family always on the watch for fire or smoke from the little hut at the top of the hill as soon as the signal was seen night or day they were to make their way to the chateau driving their horses in most valuable stock before them and taking such goods as they could remove you had better let two horses remain with their harnesses on night and day and have a cart and readiness close to your house then when the signal is given the women will only have to bundle their goods and children into the cart while the men get their arms and prepare to drive in their cattle the Catholics will show no mercy to any of the faith they may find while as at the chateau we can make a stat resistance and you may be sure that it will not be long before help arrives from New York or La Rochelle arrangements were also made by the Huguenot gentry in the neighborhood that they should keep a look at for the signal and then observing it like other beacons so that the news could be spread rapidly over that part of the country as soon as the fires were seen the women and children were to take to the hills the cattle to be driven off by the boys and the men to arm themselves and mount of course the Countess said at a council where all these arrangements were made we must be guided by the numbers sent against us if by uniting your bands together you think you can raise the siege we will sell it out as soon as you attack and join you but do not attack unless you think that our united forces can defeat them if we could defeat them we should save your chateau and farms from fire and ruin if you find they are too strong to attack you might harass parties sent out to plunder and so save your houses while you dispatch men to ask for help from the admiral if however they are so strong in cavalry that you could not keep the field against them I should say it were best that you should right away and join any party advancing to our assistance a month passed quietly every day a soldier carrying wine and provisions rode to the hut that had been built on the crest of the hill three miles away 8 o'clock one evening towards the end of January the alarm bell rang from the lookout tower Philip and his cousin ran up there was a beacon light at the hut count the lookout said light this bonfire then Jules and keep the alarm bell going to horsemen he cried looking over the parapet bring out our horses with your own the men had been previously told off in two's and three's to the various farmhouses to aid in driving in the cattle and as soon as they were mounted they smashed off to its destination from the watch tower four or five fires could be seen blazing in the distance showing the lookouts had everywhere been vigilant and that the news had already been carried far and wide Francois and Philip rode up to the hut on the hill there is no mistake I hope Francois said as a quarter of a mile before they reached it they met the three minute arms coming down no count it was exactly in a line with the two stakes and I should think about the distance away that you told us the tower was it has died down now the beacon fire near the hut had been placed fifty yards below the crest of the hill so that its flame should not be seen from the other side this had been Philip's suggestion if it is put where they can see it he said they will feel sure that it is an answer to that fire behind them and will ride at full speed so as to get here before the news spreads if they see no answer in fire they may suppose that the first was by an accident they may even hold up the village and send off some men to see what has caused the fire or if they ride straight through they will be at some little distance before Simon has got to the fire and lighted it and may not care to waste time sending back at any rate it is better that they should see no flame up here they had often talked the matter over and had agreed that even if the column was composed only of cavalry it would be from an hour and a half to two hours before it arrived at the chateau as it would doubtless have performed a long journey while if there were infantry with them they would take double that time directly an alarm had been given two of the youngest and most active of the men at arms had set off to take posts at the point where the road crossed the hill their orders were to lie still till all had passed and then to make their way back along the hill at full speed to inform the garrison of the strength and composition of the attacking force when Philip and Francois returned to the chateau people were already pouring in from the neighboring farms the women staggering under heavy burdens and the men driving their cattle before them are leading strings of horses the seneschal and the retainers were at work trying to keep some sort of order directing the men to drive their cattle into the Countess's garden and the women to put their belongings in the courtyard where they would be out of the way meanwhile the Countess saw that her maids spread rushes thickly along by the walls of the rooms that were to be given up to the use of the women and children Cressets had been lighted in the courtyard but the bonfire was now extinguished so that the enemy on reaching the top of the hill should see nothing to lead them to suppose that their coming was known the alarm bell had ceased sending its loud summons into the air but there was still a variety of noises that were almost deafening the lowering of cattle disturbed and angered at the unaccustomed movement mingled with the shouts of men, the barking of dogs and the crying of frightened children I will aid the seneschal in getting things into order down here, Francois Philip said, while you see to the defence of the walls posting the men and getting everything in readiness to give them a reception I will look after the poster indoors and see that the planks across the moats are removed and the bolts and bars in place Francois nodded and bidding the men at arms who had already returned, stable their horses and follow him he proceeded to the walls This is enough to make one weep Paris said it's ox important to the courtyard and then to the archway that led into the Countess's garden What is Paris? Do you see all these poor women and children who are likely to behold their homesteads in flames before many hours? Well, I did not mean that master though I don't say that that is sad enough in its way but that is a fortune of war, as it were I meant the Countess's garden being destroyed the bees will trample down all the shrubs and in a week it will be no better than a farm yard Philip laughed That is a very little consequence, Paris A week's work with plenty of handles set that right again Still, no doubt it will vex the Countess who was very fond of her garden A week, Paris said Why sir, it will take years and years before those you-head just grow again Ah well, Paris If the Countess keeps her roof over her head she may well be content in these stormy times You would better go and see if she and her maids have got those chambers ready for the women If they have, get them all in as quickly as you can These beasts come into the quarter with such a rush that some of the people will be trampled upon if we do not get them out of the way Most of them have gone into the hall, sir The Countess gave orders to all where to get in as they came but I suppose the servants have been too busy to tell the latecomers I will get the rest in at once As soon as the farmers and their men had driven the animals into the garden they went up to the walls all having brought their arms in with them The boys were left below to look after the cattle Nothing can be done tonight Philip said to one of the men The cattle will come to no harm and as the boys cannot keep them from breaking down the shrubs they had best leave them alone or they will run the risk of getting hurt The boys will do more good by taking charge of the more valuable horses as they come in and fastening them up to the rings around the wall here The cart horses must go in with the cattle Several gentlemen with their wives and families came in with the fugitives Their houses were not in a condition to withstand a siege and it had long been settled that they should come to the chateau if danger threatened The ladies were taken to the Countess's apartments while the gentlemen went to aid Francois in the defense An hour and a half after the lads returned to the castle the men at arms who had been sent to watch the road came in They reported that the column approaching consisted of about 300 mounted men and 1500 infantry Roger had all this time been standing by the side of his settled horse Philip heard to tell him as soon as the men came in 300 horsemen and 1500 foot right at full speed to La Rochelle tell the admiral the numbers and request him in the name of the Countess to come to her assistance beg him to use all speed for no doubt they will attack hotly knowing that aid will soon be forthcoming to us Roger leapt to his saddle and galloped out through the gate A man had been placed there to mark off the names of all who entered from the lifts that had been furnished him Philip took it and saw that a cross had been placed against every name He therefore went up to the top of the wall The tenants are all in Francois Very well then I will have the drawbridge raised and the gates closed I am glad indeed that we have had time given us for them all to enter My mother would have been very grieved if harm had come to any of them I have everything in readiness here I have hosted men at every window and loophole where the houses rise from the side of the moat All the rest are on the walls I will take command here by the gate and along the wall Do you take charge of the defense of the house itself? However, you may as well stay here with me until we have had our first talk with them Pass the word along the walls for perfect silence In another half hour they heard a dull sound Presently it became louder and they could distinguish above the trampling of horses, the clash of steel It came nearer and nearer until within two or three hundred yards of the chateau Then it ceased Presently a figure could be made out creeping quietly forward until it reached the edge of the moat It paused a moment and then retired He has been sent to find out whether the drawbridge is down Francois whispered to Philip We shall see what they will do now There was a pause for ten minutes Then a heady mass of men could be seen approaching Doubtless they will have planks with them to push across the moat Philip said We will let them come within twenty yards Francois replied Then I think we shall astonish them Leaving that all in the chateau were asleep And that even the precaution of keeping a watchman on the walls had been neglected The assailants advanced eagerly Suddenly the silence on the walls was broken by a voice shouting Give fire And then from along the whole face of the battlement A deadly fire from archivists was poured into them A moment later half a dozen fireballs were flung into the column And a rain of crossbolts followed Shouts of astonishment, rage and pain broke from the mass And breaking up they were coiled in confusion While the shouts of the officers urging them forward could be heard The heady fire from the walls was, however, too much for men who had expected no resistance But had moved forward believing that they had butt to sack and plunder And in two or three minutes from the first shot being fired All who were able to do so had retired Though a number of dark figures dotting the ground Showed how deadly had been the fire of the besieged They will do nothing more tonight, I fancy One of the Huguenot gentlemen standing by the two friends remarked They expected to take you entirely by surprise Now that they have failed in doing so They will wait until morning to reconnight her and decide on the best points of attack Besides, no doubt they have marched far And are in need of rest before renewing the assault Well, gentlemen, Francois said It would be new this for you all to remain here And when they once begin in earnest There will be but slight opportunity of rest until relief reaches us Therefore, I beg you to go below You will find a table laid in the hall and two chambers roughly prepared for you And you can get a few hours sleep I myself with my own men will keep watch Should they muster for another attack My horn will summon you again to the wall Philip, will you go down and see that these gentlemen have all that they require? You can dismiss all save our own men from guard on the other side of the house The tenants and their men will all sleep in the hall Philip went down and presided at the long table The gentlemen receded near him While below them the tenants and other followers took their place There was enough cold meat, game, and pies for all And when they had finished The defenders of the wall came down half at a time for a meal When the gentlemen had retired to their apartments And the farmers and their men had thrown themselves down upon the rushes Driven on each side of the hall Philip went up to join Francois Any sign of them Francois? None at all I expect they are thoroughly tired out And are lying down just as they halted There is no fear that we shall hear any more of them tonight End of Chapter 13 Recorded September 2008 St. Bartholomew's Eve by G. A. Henty This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org Read by Anna Christensen Chapter 14 The Assault on the Chateau The night passed quietly Just as the sun rose a trumpet sounded Calling for a truce And two nights an armor rode forward Followed by an Esquire carrying a white flag They halted 30 or 40 yards from the gate And the Countess herself came up onto the wall When the night raised his visor Countess Amelia de la Ville I summon you in the name of His Majesty the King to surrender I have with me an ample force to overcome all resistance But His gracious Majesty and His clemency Has empowered me to offer to all within the walls their lives Save only that you and your son shall accompany to Paris There to be dealt with according to the law Under the accusation of having taken up arms Against His most sacred Majesty Me think, sir The Countess said in a loud, clear voice That it would have been better had you delayed Until this morning instead of attempting Like abandoned midnight thieves to break into my chateau I fancy we should have heard But little of His Majesty's clemency Had you succeeded in your attempt I am in arms, not against the King But against His evil councillors The men who persuade Him to break His pledged word And to treat His unoffending subjects As if they were the worst of malefactors Assuredly their royal highnesses The princes of Condé and Navarre Have no thought of opposing His Majesty But desire above all things That he should be able to act without pressure Or gieze, from Pope or King of Spain And when they lay down their arms I shall be glad to do so Did I know that the King himself of his own mind Had sent you here to summon me I would willingly accompany you to Paris To clear myself of any chargers brought against me But as your base attempt without summons or demand To break into my chateau last night Shows that you can have no authority From His Majesty to enter here I refuse to open my gates And shall defend this place until the last Against all who may attack it The knights rode away They had, they had, after their rough reception On their arrival, perceived that the Countess Was determined to defend the chateau And had only summoned her to surrender As a matter of form I wish we had never entered upon this expedition Deeper Zock They told us that the house was but poorly fortified And we thought we should assuredly carry it By surprise last night And that by taking this obstinate dame prisoner Burning her chateau And sweeping all the country round We gave a much-needed lesson to the Huguenots of the district One could not have expected to find the place crowded with men And everyone ready with lighted matches And drawn crossbows to receive us I believe now that fire we saw two or three miles In our rear as we came along them as a signal But even if there were one One would not have given them credit For gathering so promptly to stand us As for the place itself, it is, as we heard Of no great strength Just but a modern house Enclosed on three sides of the wall And surrounded by a moat of the same width With our force we should carry it in half an hour We know that the garrison consists of only fifty men Besides a score or so of grooms and servants So we heard, but I am mistaken If there are not more than double that number engaged on the wall Still, as you say There will be no great difficulty in carrying the place The ladders will be ready in a couple of hours And Die Bouvière will bring in from the farmhouses Plenty of planks and beams for throwing bridges across the moat It is two hours since he set out with the horsemen So as to catch the Huguenot farmers asleep As they returned to the spot where the men were engaged In cooking their breakfast While some were occupying constructing ladders From young trees that had been filled with a purpose A gentleman wrote in What is your news, Die Bouvière? The news is bad Die Bouvière asked me to write in to tell you That we find the farmhouses completely deserted And the whole of the cattle and horses Are disappeared, as well as the inhabitants Say, for some pigs in poultry We have nothing a living thing Suppressed The Huguenot dogs must have slept with one eye open Either they heard the firing last night And it once made off Or they must have learned we were coming And it must have gathered in the Chateau Their measures must have been indeed well planned And carried out for them all to have got the Alarm and time to gather here before our arrival I hope that is what they have done For we reckoned upon carrying off at least a thousand Head of cattle for the use of the army It was for that as much as to capture the Countess And strike a blow at this high of Huguenots That the expedition was arranged in the first place However, if they are all in there It will save us a trouble of driving them in In that case, Deeprazok The fifty men will have been reinforced By as many more at least I may be by a hundred and fifty With their farmers in all their hands But what are a mere hundred and fifty rustics And fifty men at arms against our force? Deeprazok had guessed pretty accurately The number of fighting men That could be mustard among the tenants of the Countess The training that they had undergone Had, however, made them more formidable opponents Than he supposed, and each man was animated By hatred of their persecutors And a stern determination to fight until the last In defense of their lives and freedom of worship They had been mustard at the first dawn of day In the courtyard, their arms inspected And all the efficiency made up from the armory Fifty men replaced under Philip's orders For the defense of that portion of the house That directly rose from the edge of the moat The lower windows were small and strongly barred And there was little fear of an entrance being forced The poster and gate here during the night Been strengthened with stone and articles Of heavy furniture piled against it A few men replaced the lower windows The main body on the first floor Where the casements were large And the rest distributed at the upper windows To vex the enemy by their fire as they approached Philip appointed Eustace to take command Of the men at the lower windows And Rangère on those on the upper floor He, with Jacqui, posting himself on the first floor Against which the enemy would attempt to fix their letters Great fires were lighted in all the rooms And cauldrons of water placed over them And boys with pale stood by these in readiness To bring boiling water to the windows when required The walls around the courtyard and garden Were not of sufficient thickness for fires to be lighted Along the narrow path on which the defenders were posted But fires were lighted in the courtyard And boiling water prepared their readiness To carry up when the assault began The Huguenot gentlemen were placed In command at the various points along the wall Most likely to be assailed Had the besiegers been provided with cannon The defence could not have lasted long For the walls would not have resisted battering by shot But cannon in those times were rare And were too clumsy and heavy to accompany an expedition Requiring to move with speed For a time the men at arms alone garrisoned the wall The farmers and their men being occupied In pumping water from the wells and carrying it into the cattle Of which some eight hundred had been driven in The granaries were open and a plentiful supply of food Was placed in large troughs At ten o'clock a trumpet called all the defenders To their posts. The enemy were drawn up in order And moved toward the house in six columns Two taking their way towards the rear To attack the house on that side While the others advanced toward different points In the wall. Ladders and long planks Were carried at the head of each column As they approached the assailants halted And the archibusters came forward and took Their posts in line to cover by their fire The advance of the storming parties As soon as these advanced the heavy fire Was opened by this besieged with crossbow and archivists The parapet was high and while they exposed Only their heads to fire and were altogether Sheltered while loading the assailants Were completely exposed Orders were given that the defenders Should entirely disregard the fire of the matchlock men And to direct their aim upon the storming parties These suffered heavily at first But urged forward by their officers They gained the edge of the moat Pushed the planks across and placed the ladders But as fast as these were put into position They were hurled down by the defenders Who, with long fork-sticks Thressed them out from the wall and hurled them backwards Sometimes allowing them to remain Until a line of men had climbed up And then pouring a pail of boiling water Over the wall upon them The farmers vied with the men at arms In the steadiness of their defense Being furious at the sight of columns of smoke Which rose in many directions Showing that the cavalry of the besiegers Were occupied in destroying their homesteads Sometimes when four or five ladders Managed to climb up to the level of the parapet But only to be thrust backward with pikes And cut down with swords and axes For two hours the assault continued And then, deeper zock Seeing how heavy was the loss And how they in the efforts To scale the wall at any point Ordered the trumpeters to sound the retreat And the besiegers drew off Gulled by the fire of the defenders Until they were out of range The attempt of the two columns Which had attacked the house itself Were attended with no greater success Than those of their followers To gain a footing in any of the rooms on the first floor Having been defeated with heavy loss The leaders of the assailants held a consultation After their troops had drawn off It is of no use, deeper zock said To repeat the attack on the walls They are too stoutly defended It is out of the question for us to think Of returning to Portierre We undertook to capture the place To harry the farms To destroy all the Huguenots And to return driving in all the cattle For the use of the army Of all this we have only so far Farmhouses and we have lost something Like a couple hundred of men This time we must try by fire The men must gather bundles of firewood And must attack in three columns The principal against the great gate The others against the two posterns The one at the back of the house itself The other nearest the angle where the walls join it If we had time to construct machines For battering the walls it would be an easy business But that is out of the question In a couple of days at the ladies We shall have them coming out Like a swarm of hornets from La Rochelle It is not likely when they had All their measures so well prepared That they admitted to send off word at once To Coligny and by tomorrow at noon We may have Condé in the admiral upon us Therefore we must make an end to this by 9-12 Have you any better plans to suggest gentlemen? There was no reply Several of those present had been wounded More or less severely and some terribly bruised By being hurled back from the ladders As they led the troops to the assault Five or six of the young nobles Who had joined what they regarded as an expedition To meet with but slight resistance had been killed And all regarded that they had embarked upon an affair That could bring them but small credit While they were unprovided with the necessary means For attacking a place so stoutly defended Deeper sock had once issued orders And strong parties of soldiers scattered And proceeded to cut down fences and bushes And to form large packets Their movements were observed by the men Placed in the semit of the tower And no debt was entertained of the intention of the enemy What do you think we better do, Phillip? Francois asked as they stood together at the top of the tower Watching the Catholics at work We may shoot a number of them But if they are determined they will certainly Be able to lay their faggots And in that case we shall be open to attack at three points And likely enough they will at the same time Renew their attacks on the walls That is the most dangerous part of it Phillip said, we ought to have no difficulty In holding the three entrances The post turns are narrow And 40 minutes each should be able to keep back a host And this would lead you 120 to hold the main gates But if we have to man the walls too The matter would be serious If we had time we might be able to pull down one of the outbuildings And build a thick wall behind the gates But in an hour they will be attacking us again He stood thinking for a minute or two And then exclaimed I have it, Francois Let us at once kill a number of the cattle And pile their carcasses up too deep against the gates They may burn them down if they like then But they can do nothing against that pile of flesh The weight of the carcasses will keep them in a solid mass At any rate, we might do that at the two post turns The great gates are perhaps too wide and lofty But if we form a barricade inside of them Say three bodies high A hundred men ought to be able to defend it And that will leave a hundred for the walls and house That is a capital idea, Phillip We must not lose a moment in carrying it out Two of the principal tenants were called up And told the siege at a slaughtering Instantly a sufficient cattle to pile too deep against the post turns Calling a number of men together These at once set about the business We will see to the other barricade ourselves, Phillip That is where the fighting will be The entrance behind the gateway was some 25 feet in width And as much in depth before it entered the courtyard The bullocks were brought up to the spot and slaughtered there The first line were about to be dragged into the place When Phillip suggested that they should be skinned What on earth do you want to skin them for, Phillip? Francois asked When they are arranged in a row I would throw the skins over them inside out The weight of the next row will keep the skins in their place And it will be impossible for anyone to obtain a footing on that slippery surface Especially if we pour the blood over it Francois once saw the point of the suggestion Excellent, Phillip I wish my brain were as civil as yours is The same course was pursued with the other two tiers of carcasses The hides of the upper row being firmly pegged into the flesh To prevent their being pulled off The breastwork was about five feet high And it was absolutely unclimable It could not be better, Francois said A solid work would not be half so difficult to get over Twenty men here could keep a hosted bay Another tier of unskinned carcasses was laid down Behind the breastwork for the defenders to stand on And the earth was paled over to afford a footing They had but just completed their preparations When the trumpet from above sounded the signal That the enemy was approaching All took the post that they had before occupied The enemy approached as they had expected in three bodies Each preceded by a detachment that carried in front of them Great faggots which served as a protection against the missiles of the besieged Among them were men carrying sacks What can they have there? Phillip asked one of the Huguenot gentlemen I should say it was earth, he replied Earth, Phillip repeated puzzled What can they want that for? I should think it is to cover the plank thickly Before they lay down the faggots Otherwise the planks would burn and perhaps fall bodily into the water Before the fire had done its work on the doors No doubt that is it Phillip agreed As soon as the heads of the columns approached within a hundred yards The men with archivists opened fire And those with crossbows speedily followed suit Four hundred men with archivists at once ran forward Until within a short distance of the moat And opened so heavy a fire against the defenders of the wall and house That these were compelled to stoop down under the shelter Some of them would have still gone on firing from the windows But Phillip ordered them to draw back It is of no use throwing away life, he said We cannot hope to prevent them planting their faggots and firing them He himself went up to a small turret partly overhanging the wall And through a loophole watched them at work The contents of the sack were emptied out upon the planks The latter having been first soaked with water drawn from the moat By a pail one of the men carried The earth was leveled a foot deep Then a score of buckets of water emptied over it Then the faggots were piled against the door A torch was applied to them And as soon as this was done the assailants fell back The defenders plying them a shot and crossbowled as they did so Phillip now paid a hasty visit to their walls Here the assailants had suffered heavily before they had planted their faggots The defenders being better able to return their fire Than were those at the windows In both cases however They had succeeded in laying and firing the faggots Although much hindered at the work by pails of boiling water emptied upon them Some ten of the defenders had been shot through the head as they stood up to fire Attempts were made by pouring water down upon the faggots to extinguish the fire But the time taken in conveying the water up from the courtyard Enabled the fire to get such hold that the attempt was abandoned It is just as well, Francois said If we could extinguish the fire we should lose the benefit of the surprise we had prepared for them A quarter of an hour light flames began to flicker at the edges of the great gates Do you stay here with me Phillip? Francois said Our own band will take the post here They are more accustomed to hand-to-hand fighting The tenants will guard the wall Want pace will be in command there Beg Dewey Belmaux to take command at the back of the house Tell him to send for aid to us if he is pressed I would put your own three men down at the poster in there I feel sure they can never move that double row of bullocks But it is as well to make certain And those three could hold the narrow poster until help reaches them Place a boy with them to send off for aid if necessary Bordeaux is stationed behind the other poster with three men It will be half an hour before the gates are down yet The two together made a tour of the defenses All was in readiness The men after their first success felt confident that they should beat off their assailants And even the women gathered round the great fires in the houses and courtyard With pales and readiness to carry boiling water to the threatened points Showed no signs of anxiety The younger ones laughing and chatting together as if engaged in ordinary work The countess went round with her maids carrying flag guns and cups And gave a drop of wine to each of the defenders The minister accompanied her As there was yet no wounded needing their care For all who had been hit had been struck in the head And death had in each case been instantaneous At last the great gates fell with a crash And a shot of exultation arose from the Catholics Answered by the Huguenots on the wall by one of defiance In half an hour the assailants again formed up The strongest column advanced toward the great gate The others against the posterns And four separate bodies with planks and ladders Moved forward to bridge the moat and attack at other points The defenders on the walls and at the windows were soon at work And the assailants suffered heavily from the fire as they advanced The fifty-minute arms behind the barricade remained quiet and silent A dozen of them with archivists lining the barricade With loud shouts the Catholics came on Deeming the chateau as good as one The archibusters poured their fire into them as they crossed the moat And then fell back behind their comrades Who were armed with pike and sword As they passed through the still-smoking gateway The assailants saw the barricade in front of them But this did not appear formidable And, led by a number of gentlemen in complete armor They rushed forward For a moment those in front were coiled as they reached the wall of slippery hides Then pressed forward from behind They made desperate attempts to climb it It would have been as easy to try to mount a wall of ice Their hands and feet of light failed to obtain a hold And from above the defenders with pike and sword thrust and cut at them While the archibusters, as fast as possible Discharged their pieces into the crowd Loaded each time with three or four balls For half an hour the efforts to force the barricade continued So many had fallen that the wall was now no higher than their waist But even this could not be surmounted in the face of the double line of pikemen And at last the assailants fell back, baffled At the two posterans they had failed to make any impression upon the carcasses that block their way In vain they strove by striking the curved points of their helberts into the carcasses To drag them from their place But the pressure of the weight above and the interior line of carcasses that were piled on the legs of the outside tiers Prevented the enemy from moving them in the slightest degree While so engaged those at work were exposed to the boiling water poured from above And the soldiers standing behind in readiness to advance when the entrance was won Were also exposed to the fire of the defenders The assaults on the wall and at the windows were far less obstinate than those in the previous attack As they were intended only as diversions to the main assaults on the poster and gate And when the assailants at these points fell back The storming parties also retreated They had lost an all near the 400 men in the second attack Of whom more than 150 had fallen in the assault upon the barricade The instant they were treated Francois and Philip let out their men Cleared the earth from the planks and threw these into the water They were not a moment too soon for just as they completed their task The Catholic cavalry thundered down to the edge of the moat Regardless of the fire from the walls which emptied many saddles Finding themselves unable to cross they turned and galloped off after the infantry We were just in time Philip Francois said if they had crossed the moat it would have gone hard with us Before with that bank of bodies lying against the breastwork They might have been able to leave it at any rate Their long vances would have driven us back and some would have dismounted and climbed over As it is, I think we have done with them After two such repulses as they have had and losing pretty nearly half their infantry They will never get the men to try another attack An hour later indeed the whole Catholic force, horse and foot Were seen to march off where they rode along which they had come As soon as they did so a trumpet summoned the defenders from the walls and house The women and children also poured out into the courtyard And the minister taking his place by the side of the countess on the steps of the chateau Offered a solemn service of thanksgiving to God For their preservation from the dangers that had threatened them It was now five o'clock and the short winter day was nearly over Many of the tenants would have started off to their farms But Francois begged them to remain until next morning The smoke told you what to expect He said, you will find nothing but the ruins of your houses And in this weather it would be madness to take your wives and families out In the morning you can go and view your homes If there are still any shed standing that you can turn into homeless for the time You can come back for your wives and families If not then they must remain here until you can get up shelter for them In this bitter cold weather you could not think of rebuilding your houses regularly Nor would it be of any use to do so until we get to the end of these troubles But you can fell and saw wood and erect cottages that will suffice for present use And serve as sheds when better times return The first thing to do is to attend to those who have fallen The dead must be removed and buried But there must be many wounded And these must be brought in and attended to There is an empty granary that we can convert into a hospital Before we do anything else Francois We must fish the planks from the moat To serve until a fresh drawer is constructed Eustis, do you get two heavy beams thrust over and blade the planks across them? Then with Roger, mount, cross the moat as soon as it is breached And follow the road after the Catholics They may not have gone far And might halt and return to attack us when we shall be off our guard Follow them about five miles Then, if they are still marching You would both better come back to us If they halt before that Do you remain and watch them and send Roger back with the news A hundred and thirty wounded men were brought in Some wounded by shot or crossbow bolt Some terribly scolded Others with broken limbs from being hurled backwards with their ladders They counted us with her maids and many of the women attended to them As they were brought in And applied selves and bandages to the wounds Among the mass that had fallen inside the gate Seven gentlemen who still lived were discovered These were brought into the chateau And placed in a room together The task was carried on by torchlight And occupied some hours Towards midnight the trampling of a large body of horse was heard Arms were hastily snatched up and steel caps thrust on And pike in hand they thronged to defend the entrance Francois ran to the battlements Who comes there? he shouted Halt and declare yourselves or we shall fire The horseman halted and a voice cried Is that you Francois? Yes, it is I, Dela Nui Francois shouted back joyously Is all well? Where are the enemy? Was asked in the admiral's well-known voice All is well, sir They retreated just before nightfall Leaving seven hundred of their infantry wounded Or dead behind them A shout of satisfaction arose from the horseman Take torches across the bridge Francois ordered It is the admiral come to our rescue A minute later the head of the column crossed the temporary bridge Francois had run down and received them the gateway What is this? the admiral asked Have they burnt your drawbridge and gate? Yes, sir How was it then that they did not succeed in capturing the place? Ah, I see, you formed a barricade here Two or three carcasses had been dragged aside to permit the men carrying the wounded to enter Why, what is it Francois? Skins or freshly slain oxen? Yes, sir, and the barricade has formed of their bodies We had neither time nor materials at hand And my cousin suggested bringing the oxen up and slaughtering them here In that way we soon made a barricade But we should have had hard work in holding it against such numbers Had not he also suggested our skinning them And letting the hides hang as you see with the raw sides outward Then we smeared them thickly with blood And though the Catholics drove their heart It's not one of them managed to get a footing on the top A rare thought indeed, the admiral said warmly Dylan O'wee, these cousins of yours are truly apt scholars in war The oldest soldier could not have thought of a better device And you say you killed seven hundred of them, Liville? That is the number, sir, counting in a hundred and thirty wounded Who are now lying in a granary here They must have fought stoutly, but what was your strength? We had fifty men at arms, sir Five or six Huguenot gentlemen with air retainers And a hundred and fifty men from our own estate All of whom fought as dottles as old soldiers could have done The enemy thought to take us by surprise yesterday evening But we were ready for them The discharge killed over fifty Then they drew off and left us until this morning They made two great attacks The first by throwing planks across the moat And placing rivers at three places The second by trying again to storm with ladders While other bands tried to force their way in at this gate And at the two posters Of course they had burned all the farms to the ground But the cattle were all safely driven in Now if you will enter, sir We will endeavor to provide for your wants No one is in bed yet We are too busy carrying out the dead And collecting the wounded to think of sleep The accountess was at the steps of a chateau To receive the admiral as he dismounted Except my heartiest thanks for the speed With which he had come to our aid admiral We did not expect you before tomorrow morning At the earthiest It has been a long ride, truly The admiral said Your messenger arrived at daybreak Having walked the last five miles For his horse had found her I flew to horse the moment I received the news Four hundred horsemen For the most part you were not gentlemen We started at once We halted for three hours in the middle of the day To rest our horses And again for an hour just after nightfall We feared that we should find you chateau in flames For although your messenger said that your son Thought you could hold out against all attacks For two days It seemed to us that so strong a force As was beluggering you Would carry the place by storm in a few hours I have to congratulate you on the galant defense That you have made I have had nothing to do with it They count us replied But indeed all have fought well Now if you will follow me in I will do my best to entertain you And the brave gentleman who have ridden so far To my rescue But I fear the accommodation will be of the roughest The horses were ranged in rows in the courtyard Haldred to ropes stretched out across it And an ample supply of food was given to each Some of the oxen that had done such good service Were cut up and were soon roasting over great fires While the women spread straw thickly In the apartments where the newcomers sleep on Where are the Catholics? The admiral asked They have halted at a village some seven miles away Francois said We sent two amount of men after them to make sure That they had gone well away And did not intend to try to take us by surprise in the night They returned some hours since with the news What do you say Deela Nui? The admiral exclaimed Shall we beat them up tonight? They will not be expecting us And after their march here and their days fighting They will sleep soundly I should like nothing better admiral But in truth I doubt whether our horses could carry us They have already made a 20 league journey We have at least 200 horses here admiral Francois said We have those in my own troop And fully 150 that were driven in by the tenants My own troop will of course be ready to go And you could shift your saddles onto the other horses There was not one of our men who would not Gladly march with you For although we have beaten the Catholics well The tenants do not forget that they are homeless And will I am sure Gladly follow up the blow Then so it shall be The admiral said 150 of the gentlemen who came with me Shall ride with your troops The rest of us will march with your tenants I think we are capable of doing that Even after our ride, gentlemen There was a chorus of assent from those standing round Deela Nui added After supper, admiral Certainly after supper Another hour will make no difference You may be sure they will not be moving before daylight If we start from here at three We shall be in ample time Philip at once went out and ordered the attendants And men at arms to lie down for two hours As the admiral was going to lead them To attack the Catholics at their halting place News which they received with grim satisfaction In the meantime, Francois gave a detailed account Of the events of the siege And the admiral insisted upon going at once To inspect by torchlight The novel manner in which the two posterans Had been blocked at Nothing could have been better, do you love you? He said Your English cousin is indeed full of resources Better material than this For blocking up a narrow gateway could hardly be contrived Fire, as it proved, was of no veil against it For it would be impossible to dislodge The carcasses by main force And even if they had came in The balls would not have penetrated this thickness of flesh Which must have been torn to pieces before it yielded The idea of covering the carcasses at the gate With their own raw hides was an equally happy one Upon my word, Dila Nui I do not think that if you or I had been in command here We could have done better than these two young fellows At three o'clock all was ready for a start Dila Nui took the command of the two hundred horsemen The admiral declined to ride And placed himself at the head of a column of infantry Which was three hundred strong Thirty of the original defenders Had been either killed or disabled And twenty being left as a guard at the chateau The surprise of the Catholics was complete Three hundred were killed Two hundred, including their commander Deeper Zock And thirty other gentlemen were made prisoners The remaining six hundred escaped into the darkness Their arms, armor, and the whole of the horses Falling into the hands of the victors Who halted at the village until morning Well, Deeper Zock The Count Dila Nui said as they started on their return The times have changed since you and I fought Under your father in Italy And we little thought that then some day Still less than I should be made your prisoner Dila Nui, the other left Well, we have made a nice business of this We thought to surprise Dila Ville Chateau Without having to strike a blow As we were going to return to Portier With at least a thousand head of cattle We were horribly beaten at the chateau Have now been surprised ourselves And you are carrying off our horses To say nothing of ourselves We marched up with eighteen hundred horse and foot And I don't think more than five or six hundred Outside have got away And that in the scantiest apparel And Jew will be furious when he hears the news When I am exchanged I expect That she'll be ordered to my estates How do you reveal some older heads to a system? No, he and the young cousin of Who was riding next to him acted entirely by themselves And the cousin, who was an English lad Is the one who invented that barricaded Blocks that stopped you That was a rare device, Deeper Zock said I fought my way to it once With no possibility of climbing it It is rather mortifying to my pride To have been so completely beaten by the device Of a lad like that He ought to make a great soldier someday Gila Nui End of chapter fourteen Recorded October 2008 St. Bartholomew's Eve by G. A. Henty This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer Visit LibriVox.org Read by Anna Christensen Chapter 15 The Battle of Jarnak While the two armies were lying inactive through the winter The agents of both were endeavouring to interest Other European powers in the struggle The Pope and Philip of Spain assisted the Gises While the Duke de Dupont was repairing to lead an army To the assistance of the Huguenots from the Partisan states of Germany The Cardinal Chation was in England eloquently Supporting the letters of the Queen of Navarre to Elizabeth For aid in munitions of war, men, and money The latter being required especially To fulfil the engagements made by the German mercenaries Elizabeth listened favourably to these requests While with her usual duplicity She gave the most solemn assurances to the quarter France That, so far from assisting the Huguenots She held on whore those who raised a standard of rebellion Against their sovereigns She lent, however, seven thousand pounds To the King of Navarre Taking ample security in the way of jewels And ordered Admiral Winter to embark six cannons Three hundred barrels of powder and four thousand bowls And carry them to La Rochelle The Admiral, well aware of the crooked policy of the Queen And her readiness to sacrifice any of her subjects In order to justify herself Absolutely refused to sail until he received an order signed By the Queen herself His caution was justified For upon the French ambassador, remonstrating with her Upon supplying the King's enemies She declared that the assistance was wholly involuntary For the Admiral Winter had entered the port of La Rochelle Simply to purchase wine and other merchandise For some ships that he was convoying The governor, however, had urged him so strongly to sell to him Some guns and ammunition That he, seeing that his ships were commanded by the guns of the forts Felt himself obliged to comply with the request The quarter France professed to be satisfied with the statement Although perfectly aware of its absolute untruth But they did not wish, while engaged in a struggle with the Huguenots To be involved in open war with England As soon as spring commenced Both armies again prepared to take the field The position of the Huguenots was by no means so strong As it had been when winter set in Considerable numbers had died from disease While large bodies had returned to their homes The nobles and citizens being alike Unable to continue any longer in the field Owing to the exhaustion of their resources Upon the other hand Although the army of Anjou had suffered equally from disease It had not been diminished by desertion As the troops were paid out of the royal treasury Two thousand, two hundred German horsemen A portion of the large force sent by the Catholic princes of Germany Had joined him, and the Count de Tonde Had brought three thousand soldiers from the south of France Other nobles came in as the winter broke With bodies of their retainers The southern Huguenot leaders, known as the Viscounts Remained in Guyane to protect the Protestant districts The plan of Conde and the Admiral Was to effect a junction with them And then to march and meet the army of the Duc de Dupont They therefore left Nior Which had for some time been their headquarters And marched south towards Cognac While the Duc de Anjou moved in the same direction Both armies reached the river Charente At the same time, but upon opposite sides The royalists seized a town of Chateau Nouf Halfway between Jarnac and Cognac And set to work to repair the bridge Which had been broken down by the Huguenots Their main army marched down to Cognac And made a pretense of attacking the town The Huguenots were spread over a long line And the Admiral, seeing the danger of being attacked While so scattered, sent to Conde Who commanded the most advanced part Of the army opposite Chateau Nouf Begging him to retire Conde, however, with his usual rashness Decline to fall back, exclaiming that A Bourbon never fled from a foe The troop of Francois de la Ville Was with a large body of horse Commanded by the Count de la Nuit Life had passed quietly at the Chateau After their repulsive attack For the occupation of New York By a large force under the Admiral Secured the Ville from any risk Of repetition of the attack The garrison and the whole of the tenetry After they had erected huts for their families Devoted themselves to the work Of strengthening their defenses Planking towers were erected at the angles of the walls The moat was doubled in width And their work erected beyond it The windows on the unprotected side Were all partially closed with brickwork Leaving only loopholes through which The defenders could fire The battlements of the walls were raised Two feet and pierced with loopholes So that the defenders would no longer be obliged To raise their heads above its shelter to fire And the narrow path was widened By the erection of a platform So as to give more room for the men To use their weapons A garrison, composed at fifty of the younger men On the farms, took the place of a troop When it rode away And Zhu had repaired several bridges And suddenly crossed the river On the night of the twelfth of March The movement being so well managed That even the Huguenot divisions in the neighborhood Were unaware until morning of what was taking place As soon as the admiral was informed That the enemy had crossed in great force Messengers were sent off in all directions To order the scattered divisions to concentrate The operation was a slow one Discipline was lax And many of the commanders Had taken up others where better accommodation Could be obtained And much time was lost before the orders reached them Even then their movements were slow And it was afternoon before those in the neighborhoods Were assembled And the admiral prepared to fall back Towards the main body of the army Which lay near their position occupied by Cunday He had taken part at Bazaq He had taken part at Bazaq A little village with an abbey With But Dila Nui's cavalry And a small number of infantry with him They could not check the advance of the enemy This is worse than St. Denis Francois Dila Nui said As he prepared to charge a vastly superior body Of the enemy's cavalry Advancing against the village However it must be done For unless an use advance is checked The battle will be lost before Cunday can arrive You and your cousin had best put yourself At the head of your own troop On reaching his men Francois gave the order No my men We must show that you have profited by your drill Keep in a solid body Do not break up and engage in single conflicts For if you do we must be overpowered By numbers Ride boot to boot Keep your eyes fixed on our plumes And when we turn do you turn also And follow us closely When Dila Nui's trumpet sounded the charge The band of horsemen burst down upon the Catholic Calvary broke their ranks And pierced far into them Francois and Philip were but a horse's length And the pressure of the enemy soon drove them back Into their ranks Keeping in a close and compact body They fought their way on until Francois Received that they were separated from the rest of the force Then he put the horn that he wore Slung over his shoulder to his lips And gave the command to wheel round It was obeyed and the line Which was for deep fought their way Around until facing the rear And then putting spurs to their horses They overthrew all opposition And cleft their way out to the enemy Back to Basac The village was lost And the defenders were falling back in his order Upon Dien de Loh Who with his division was just arriving to their assistance For a moment the fugitive of horse and foot Broke up his ranks But he rallied his men and advancing Drove the Catholics out of the village And we took the Abbey But as the whole army was opposed to him The success was but brief After desperate struggle the village was again lost And the Huguenots fell back On the ground, along the raised causeway The enemy were however They started flanking them And they were on the point of destruction When Conde arrived with 300 knights With whom he had ridden forward Leaving the infantry to follow As soon as Colognese's message for help Had reached him He himself was in no condition for battle His arm had been broken by a cannon shot And just as he reached the scene of battle His hip was fractured by the kick of a horse Written by his brother-in-law Nevertheless he did not hesitate But calling on his little band to follow him Road full at a body of 800 of the Catholic Calvary For a time the struggle was a desperate one The Huguenots performed prodigies of valor But the royalists were reinforced And the devoted band melted away One Huguenot nobleman Named Lovergne Fought, surrounded by 25 of his kinsmen Who he brought into the field He himself and 15 of his followers fell in a circle Most of the others were taken prisoners At last Condé's horse was killed under him And fell, pinning him to the ground Condé raised his visor And surrendered to two knights to whom he was known They raised him from the ground respectfully But as they did so Montesquieu, captain of Anjou's Guard Rowed up and drawn a pistol Shot Condé in the back Killing him almost instantaneously Several other Huguenot nobles Were killed in cold blood after they had surrendered But Condé's magnificent charge Had not been without effect For it had enabled the admiral to draw off from the field Without further loss The account of a number of killed and wounded differ But numerically it was very small The Huguenot infantry were not engaged at all With the exception of a small body Of the regiment of Ploupierre But of their cavalry, near their 400 Were killed or taken prisoners And of these 140 were nobles and gentlemen The flower of the Huguenot nobility Among the prisoners were La Nuit Subhisay La Lune And many others of distinction Coligny's retreat was not interfered with The satisfaction of the Catholics Of the death of Condé was so great That they weren't contented to rest upon their successes They were great rejoicings throughout France And the Catholic countries of Europe Over the exaggerated accounts Issued by Anjou of his victory And it was generally considered That the Huguenot cause was lost However, out of 128 troops Of cavalry Only 15 had been engaged And only 6 out of 200 companies of infantry The army retired to Cognac With a brave Queen of Navarde Once hurried on hearing the intelligence And herself addressed the army Reminding them that though the Prince Of Condé was dead The good cause was still alive And that God would provide fresh instruments For carrying on his work She then hurried away to La Rochelle To make provisions for the needs of the army The young Prince Henry was At Condé's death First in command of the army is General-in-Chief And he was joined by his cousin The young Prince of Condé Alive about his own age Dien Jou, one of the most despicable Of the princes of France Was so intoxicated by the success That he had gained That for a time he made no effort to follow up His advantage He disgraced himself by having the body of Condé Stripped and carried on a donkey to Cognac And they are exposed for four days By the house where he lodged And often writing Then glorious dispatches to all the Catholic Kings and princes At last he moved forward to the siege of Cognac Seven thousand infantry For the most part new levies Have been placed here by Coligny And these received the royal army with great Determination Not only were the assaults upon their walls Were pulsed with heavy loss But the garrison made many sallies And after wasting a month before the town And Jou, despairing of its capture He then besieged Saint Jean de Anglais Where the garrison commanded by Count Montgomery Also repulsed all the attacks Angulamé was attacked with an equal Want of success But Moussidon, a town to the southwest Of Paraguay, was captured The attack upon it however Caused the life of Deeper Sock One of his best officers A loss which endued revenge by the murder And cold blood of the garrison Which surrendered on condition that life And property should be spared As a set off to the success of the Huguenots They suffered a heavy blow In the death of the Gaulant de Andalot The Admiral's brother An officer of the highest ability Who had, before the outbreak of the Troubles Occupied the rank of Colonel General Of the French infantry His death was attributed by both parties To poison, believed to have been administered By an emissary of Catherine de Medici The fact however was not clearly established And possibly he fell a victim To arduous and unceasing toil And exertion Both Francois de la Ville And Philip Fletcher have been severely wounded In the battle of Gernot And some twenty of their troop had fallen in the flight They were able however To sit their horses until they reached Cognac The Admiral visited them as soon as he arrived there He had noticed the little band As it engaged unbroken from the charge And at once ranged itself up to aid him In retreating from the village of Vassac Until Condé's charge enabled him to draw off He praised the cussians highly for their conduct And as soon as they were able to be about again He bestowed on them both the honour of knighthood And then sent them to La Rochelle To remain there until perfectly cured The vacancies in the trip were filled up By young men from the estate Who responded to the summons of the Countess For men to take the place of those who had fallen In her son's command The young Prince of Navarre had, while at Cognac Paid frequent visits to Philip For whom he had taken a great liking And he again begged Collogne to appoint him As one of the knights told off as a special bodyguard The admiral however Repeated the argument he had before used He is very young Prince Though he has borne himself so well And it would create much jealousy among our young nobles Where I could choose a foreigner for so honourable a post But my counsellors are all Stayed men admiral And I want someone I can talk to without ceremony There are plenty of young Frenchmen Prince If you must choose one Why not take the Count de la Ville You were saying but yesterday that you liked him Yes, he is very young Prince But you liked him Yes, he is something like his cousin I think being together has given him Philip's manner If I cannot have Philip I should like to have him He would doubt let's feel it a great honour Prince While I doubt Where I'd offer the post to the young Englishmen If he would accept it He has not come here to seek honour But to fight for our faith I had a conversation with him one day And found that it was with that simple purpose that he came here And however honourable the post I am sure he would prefer one that gave him An opportunity for taking an active part With de la Ville it is different He is a French noble and maybe someday You will be king of France He is of a brave and adventurous spirit But me thinks that the young Englishman Has a greater genius for war His cousin, although older I observe generally appeals to him for his opinions And has frankly and nobly given him The chief credit in the affairs in which he has been engaged The admiral was not mistaken François When asked if he would like to be appointed As one of the gentlemen about the Prince's person At once embraced the offer Which, as he saw Offered him great openings for advancement in the future His only regret Was that it would separate him from Philip When he said as much to his cousin On informing him of the unexpected honour That had befallen him Philip replied at once Do not think of that François I shall of course be sorry But I shall see you often And you should be wrong to refuse such an offer François has no children His two brothers are unmarried And Jew is, from all accounts Reckless and disillet And Alonquin is sickly They alone stand between Henry of Navarre And the throne of France And should he succeed to it his intimates will gain Honours, ranks and positions There is not a young French noble But would he feel honoured by being selected for the post As for fighting No one can say how long this troubles may last And I am greatly mistaken at those round Henry of Navarre When he reaches manhood Will not have their full share of it Therefore, when the two newly made young knights Went to La Rochelle for quiet and seer It was with the understanding That as soon as her strength was thoroughly recovered François should resign the command Of the trip to Philip And would himself ride with the Prince of Navarre And his cousin Condé François had it once written to his mother With the news of his appointment And a few days after they reached La Rochelle Received an answer expressing her gratification I rejoice, she said Not only because it is a post of high honour But because it will take you somewhat Out of the heat of the fray I have not hesitated to let you risk your life In the cause, but you are my only son I am where you slain I should be alone in the world And the title will go to one of your cousins For whom I care nothing And it will be a comfort for me to know In the future that you will not be running Such fearful risks At La Rochelle they took up their abode And made her betroms and were most kindly received By him and his daughter It is but two years since you landed here with Madame Your mother, Mangeur Fletcher He were but a stripling then Though you gave wonderful promise of size and strength Now you are a man And I've won the honour of knighthood And me think that in Sioux and Sioux There are not many in our army who would overmatch you Oh yes there are, Major Bertrand Philip left I have a big frame like my father's I will admit And to look it may be as you say But I shall want many another year over my head That matches my size I am but just eighteen And men do not come to their full strength Till they are five and twenty You are strong enough for anything now The merchant said And I should not like to sting a downward blow from you In the best suit of armour ever forged I was glad to see that Rascal Parie came back with you He is a merry fellow Though I fear that he causes idleness among my servants For all the grey looks he puts on as he waits at your table Is he valiant? He has had no great opportunity of showing valor But he is cool and not easily ruffled And he fought stoutly in the defence of the Count de la Ville Chateau But of course it is not his business to ride behind me in battle Philip had corresponded regularly with his parents And had received letters and replied from them And also from his aunt and uncle Though these of course came irregularly As ships happened to be sailing for La Rochelle His father wrote but briefly But his letters expressed satisfaction I am right, he said To think that a fletcher is again cracking the skulls of Frenchmen I mean, of course, a Catholic Frenchman For I regard the Huguenots, being of our religion As half English, I don't say take care of yourself, my lad It is not the way of Englishmen to do that on the battlefield But it would be a grievous day for us all here If we heard that Ott had befallen you The letters of his mother and aunt were of a different character And dwelt strongly upon the sacred cause upon which he was engaged And both reduced greatly over the number of Huguenots He and François had rescued round New-Or His uncle's letters were more worldly Your aunt's letters to my wife, he said Speak very warmly and praise of you She said you have distinguished yourself highly That you have attracted the attention of the Prince of Condé And the admiral Have rendered services to the Queen of Navarre and her son And have received tokens of their esteem Also that you stand high in the regard of the Count Delannouie Who was in all respects a most accomplished gentleman And that he has told her that he hopes before long You will receive the honour of knighthood Worldly honours, Phillip, are not to be despised Especially when they are won by worthy service Although I know that my wife and your mother Think but lightly of them And that it is the fashion of those of our faith To treat them with contempt Such is not my opinion I am glad if I do think that the money I have made in trade Will descend to one of whom I can be proud And who in this country may occupy the position That his ancestors on his mother's side did in my own And to me it will be a matter of extreme gratification If I hear that you have won your spurs Especially at the hand of so great a leader And so worthy of one is Admiral Cologne I promise you that it shall be feasting among the poor Of Canterbury on the day when the news comes Of late you have drawn but slightly upon me For, as you say, you have few expenses Save the pay of your five men when staying at the veal But do not stint money should there be an occasion Upon rejoining the camp, Phillip found the time Hang somewhat heavily upon his hands François was necessary much with the Prince Captain Montpais looked after the troop And the Count Delannouie was in captivity A few days after he rejoined, however One of the admiral's pages came to his tent And requested him to call upon Cologne The camp will break up tomorrow, Chevalier Fletcher The latter said, we are going down to join the Viscons And to march to effect a junction With a duke de dupeaune Who we hear is now fairly set out on his forward march I wish to send a dispatch to him And know no one to whom I could better entrust it Than yourself, it is a mission of honour But of danger, however You have already exhibited such tact and discretion As well as bravery that I believe anyone Can reach the duke through the two royal armies That are trying to intercept him, you can do so Will you undertake the mission? I am greatly honoured by your entrusting me with it, sir And will assuredly do my best I do not propose that you should travel in disguise The admiral said, for disguise means slow motion And there is need for dispatch Therefore, I should say, take a small body Of well-mounted men with you And ride as speedily as you can How many to take I leave to your discretion The dispatches will be ready for you by ten o'clock tonight I will be ready to start at that hour, sir And Philip returned to his tent After sitting thinking for a few minutes He called a paris who was sitting outside Paris, I want your advice I am about to start on a journey to the east of France I do not go in disguise this time But ride straight through What to think you? How many men shall I take with me? One or fifty? Not fifty, certainly Paris said promptly There is money trouble in feeding fifty men Besides, you may have to pass a royalist And who can answer for the discretion of so many? Besides, if we have to turn and double There is no hiding fifty men If you ride through the smallest village at midnight The noise would wake the inhabitants And when the enemy came up They would get news of your passage I do not see that you can do better than to take Eustace And Roger and myself Henry will not be fit to ride for weeks yet And although Jacquees was recovering From the loss of his bridal arm You settled that he would go to the veal Where the countess would take him into our service And your neck lessened your force by half But I think that two will be as good as four On a journey like this Such a party can pass unnoticed It is but a gentleman with two retainers behind him From a neighbouring chateau That is what I concluded myself, Paris But I thought I would ask your opinion about it For you have shown yourself a shrewd fellow All your horses are in good condition And it is well that I exchange those you were before For some of the best of the three hundred Be captured from the assailants of the chateau Of course You will ride one of my horses Changing the saddle every day as your weight Is so much less than mine I shall not take armour with me The extra weight tells heavily on a long journey And besides, a knight in full armour Would attract more attention than one riding As it would seem for pleasure Let Eustace and Roger pick the two best horses When do we start, sir? We must be saddled and ready to start By ten tonight See that a bottle of wine, a cold vowel And a portion of bread for each Are brought along with us We shall have a long knight's ride To the palaces They add to their weight And look like travelling Let each man make a small canvas bag And place in it a change of linen It can be rolled up in the cloak And struck behind the saddle A dozen charges for each pistol Will be more than we shall be likely to require Tell them to take no more They must take their breast pieces And steal caps, of course They can leave the back pieces behind them I will go round to the hospital And say goodbye to Henry and Jacqui They will feel being left behind sorely After visiting his wounded followers He went to the house occupied By the Prince of Navarre Where Francois also was lodged So I hear you were going off again, Phillip The latter said As his cousin entered the salon Where two or three of the Prince's companions were sitting I should feel envious of you Worried not that we were also on the point of starting How did you know I was going off, Francois? The Prince told me half an hour since He heard it from the admiral He told me he wished he was going with you Instead of with the army He was always thirsting after our adventure He bade me bring you into him if you came I said you would be sure to do so The young Prince threw aside the book he was reading When they entered Ah, Monger Englishman He said So you were off again Like a veritable knight or want of romance In search of fresh adventures No, sir My search will be to avoid adventure Ah, well you are sure to find some Whether or not So prist But it is annoying to be born a Prince It has its advantages also, sir Phillip said smiling The Prince laughed merrily So I suppose But for my part I have not discovered them as yet I must hope for the future But it appears to me that now it can never be pleasant One is obliged to do this That and the other Because one is a Prince One always has to have one's head Full of politics To listen gravely to stupidities To put up with tiresome people And never to have one's own way in anything However I suppose my turn will come But at present I would rather be hunting the well goats in a bar Than pretending to be general and chief of an army When everyone knows That I am not even as free to go my own way As a common soldier I shall look to see you again Shabbat v. Phillip And shall expect you to have some more good stories To tell me Having handed him his dispatches The Admiral pointed out to him the position As far as he knew by recent report Of the forces under the dukes of Amel and Amir Possibly there will be other enemies The Admiral said For our friends and parrots have sent me word That the Spanish ambassador has at the King's request Written to beg the Duke of Elva And Mansfield Governor of Luxembourg To send troops to Aden barring the way To the Duke de Dupont I hope Elva has his hands full with his own Troubles in the Netherlands And although Spain is always lavish of promises It gives but little real aid to the King Then again On the road you may meet with bands of German mercenaries sent by the Catholic princes To join the Royal Force As you see The dispatches are written small And at your first halt It will be well if you sew them in the lining Of your boot There will escape observation there However closely you may be searched And they are but of little bulk And I have written them on the softest paper I could obtain So that it will not crackle to the touch I leave you to choose the route But I think that you could not do better Than take that one you before followed When you and Laville join me at Châtillon Thence keep well south through Lorraine The Royal Forces aren't met I can give you no further instructions For I cannot say how rapidly Dupont may move Or what route he may be obliged To the Royal Forces And now farewell, Mlad Remember that it is an important service You are rendering to our cause And that much depends on your reaching Dupont For the dispatches tell him the route By which I intend to move Indicate that which he had best followed In order that he may affect a junction And give him many details as to roads Fords and bridges That may be of vital importance to him Philip rode forty miles that night And put up just as daylight was breaking At the village of Arvège There they rested for six hours And then they rode on to Laville Where he was received with great joy by his aunt For whom he bore a letter from Francois After halting here for a few hours They continued their journey So far they had been riding through a friendly country But had now to travel with due precautions Journeying fast and yet taking care That the horses should not be overworked A sudden occasion might arise for speed Or endurance And as a journey was some eighteen hundred miles long It behooved him to carefully Husband the strength of the animals After riding another fifteen miles They stopped for the night at a village As Philip intended a journey by day For his arrival at Innes early in the morning Would excite comment The three men had been carefully instructed In the store they were to tell at the Innes Where they halted Their master was Manjour de Vibor Whose estate lay near the place At which they held it on the preceding night And he was going for a short visit to friends At the next town at which they would arrive If questioned as to his politics They were to say that he held aloof from the matter For he considered that undue violence Was exercised towards the Huguenots Who he believed If permitted to worship in their own way Would be good and harmless citizens So day by day they journeyed along Avoiding all large towns And riding quietly through small ones Where their appearance attracted no attention Whatever On the fourth day When as usual they had halted to Dunn And give their horses a couple hours rest Philip heard the trampling of horses That sighed the inn Going to the window he saw two gentlemen Retainers dismounting at the door The gentlemen wore the royalist colours At the same moment, Parie came into the room I have told Eustace and Roger to finish their meal quickly And then to get the horses settled To mount and take ours quietly to the end of the village And wait for us there, sir So that if there should be trouble We have but to leap through the casement And make a short run of it That was very well done, Parie Philip said, receding himself at the table While Parie took his place behind his chair As if he waited upon him The door opened and the two gentlemen entered They did not as usual remove their hats But seated themselves at a table And began talking noisily Presently one of them made a remark In a low tone to the other Who turned run in his chair And stared offensively at Philip The latter continued his meal Without paying any attention to him And to me you be young, sir The man said, rising and walking across the room I am not in the habit of answering questions Addressed to me by strangers Philip said quietly Par blue, custom or no custom You have to answer them now This is not a time when men can go about unquestioned You do not wear the royalist colours And a man to know who you are I would wear the royalist colours If I were on the way to join the royalist army Philip replied calmly As at present I am not doing so But I am simply travelling as a private gentleman I see no occasion for putting on badges You have not answered my question Who are you? I do not intend to answer the question My name is a matter which concerns myself only You insolent nave The man said angrily I will crop your ears for you Philip rose from the table And the other was for a moment surprised At the height and proportions of one Who may have taken for a mere lad I desire to have no words with you Philip said Eat your dinner in peace and let me eat mine For if it comes to cutting off ears You may find that you had better have left The matter alone The gentleman put his hand to the hilt of a sword And was in the act of drawing it when Philip Making a step forward Struck him full on the face with all his strength Knocking him backwards to the ground His companion leapt from his seat Drawing a pistol from his belt as he did so When Piree said to plate skimmy Across the room with great force It struck the man in the mouth Cutting his lips and knocking out some of his front teeth The pistol excluded harmlessly in the air While the sudden shock and pain staggered And silenced him And before he could recover sufficiently To draw his sword at a shout Philip and Piree leapt through the open casement And ran down the street End of Chapter 15 Recorded November 2008