"Our dead and dying countrymen lay heap'd; "Yet still he strove; I wonder'd at his valour! "There was not one who on that fatal day "Fought bravelier." "Fatal was that day to France," Exclaim'd the Bastard; "there Alençon fell, "Valiant in vain; there D'Albert, whose mad pride Brought the whole ruin on. There fell Brabant, "Vaudemont, and Marle, and Bar, and Faquenberg, “Our noblest warriors; the determin'd foe "Fought for revenge, not hoping victory, "Desperately brave; ranks fell on ranks before them; "The prisoners of that shameful day out-summ'd "Their conquerors!" "Yet believe not," Bertram cried, "That cowardice disgraced thy countrymen "All efforts fruitless there; and hadst thou seen, "Skilful as brave, how Henry's ready eye "Lost not a thicket, not a hillock's aid; "From his hersed bowmen how the arrows flew "Thick as the snow flakes and with lightning force, "Thou wouldst have known such soldiers, such a chief, "Could never be subdued. "But when the field "Was won, and they who had escaped the fight "The blunted sword of conquest. Girt around mercy "When lo! I heard the dreadful cry of death. "And in their helpless prisoners' naked breasts "They drove the blade. Then I expected death, "And at that moment death was terrible,.. "For the heat of fight was over; of my home "I thought, and of my wife and little ones "In bitterness of heart. The gallant man, "To whom the chance of war had made me thrall, "Had pity, loosed my hands, and bade me fly. "It was the will of Heaven that I should live "Childless and old to think upon the past, "And wish that I had perish'd!" The old man Wept as he spake. "Ye may perhaps have heard "Of the hard siege so long by Roan endured. "I dwelt there, strangers; I had then a wife, “And I had children tenderly beloved, "Who I did hope should cheer me in old age "And close mine eyes. The tale of misery May-hap were tedious, or I could relate "Much of that dreadful time.". The Maid replied, Anxious of that devoted town to learn. Thus then the veteran : "So by Heaven preserved, "From the disastrous plain of Agincourt "I speeded homewards and abode in peace. Henry as wise as brave had back to England "Led his victorious army; well aware "That France was mighty, that her warlike sons, 66 Impatient of a foreign victor's sway, Might rise impetuous, and with multitudes "Tread down the invaders. Wisely he return'd, "For the proud barons in their private broils "Wasted the strength of France. I dwelt at home, "And, with the little I possess'd content, "Lived happily. A pleasant sight it was "To see my children, as at eve I sate "Beneath the vine, come clustering round my knee, "That they might hear again the oft-told tale “Of the dangers I had past: their little eyes "Did with such anxious eagerness attend "In childhood, for it is a heavy lot "Ah me! when war the masters of mankind, "Woe to the poor man! if he sow the field, "He shall not reap the harvest; if he see "His offspring rise around, his boding heart "Aches at the thought that they are multiplied "To the sword! Again from England the fierce foe "Rush'd on our ravaged coasts. In battle bold, "Merciless in conquest, their victorious King Swept like the desolating tempest round. "Dambieres submits; on Caen's subjected wall "The flag of England waved. Roan still remain'd, "Embattled Roan, bulwark of Normandy; |