Mary G. Chandler - "The Elements of Character"

Various - "Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, December 10, 1892"

Elinor Glyn - "Man and Maid"

James Parton - "Captains of Industry"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

At Agincourt

G >> G. A. Henty >> At Agincourt




"You will find my lady in at whatever hour you come, signor, for she has
resolved not to go abroad again until order is restored in Paris."

"The decision is a wise one," the Italian said; "though indeed I think not
that she would be in any danger, save that which every good-looking woman
runs in troubled times like these, when crime is unpunished, and those in
authority are far too occupied with their own affairs to trouble their
heads about a woman being carried off. But it is different with you and
your comrade. The butchers know well enough that it was your work that
caused their failure last night. Your appearance at the window was
noticed, and it was that tall archer of yours who played such havoc among
them. Therefore I advise you to be ever on your guard, and to purchase a
mail shirt and wear it under your doublet; for, however watchful you may
be, an assassin may steal up behind you and stab you in the back. You may
be sure that Caboche and the friends of Legoix will spare no pains to take
vengeance upon you."

Guy presently rejoined the archer in the street. "Henceforth, Tom," he
said, "you must always put on breast-and-back piece when you go out. I
have been warned that our lives will almost surely be attempted, and that
I had best put on a mail shirt under my doublet."

"Perhaps it would be best, Master Guy. I fear not three men if they stand
up face to face with me, but to be stabbed in the back is a thing that
neither strength nor skill can save one from. But as I care not to be
always going about in armour I will expend some of my crowns in buying a
shirt of mail also. 'Tis better by far than armour, for a man coming up
behind could stab one over the line of the back-piece or under the arm,
while if you have mail under your coat they will strike at you fair
between the shoulders, and it is only by striking high up on the neck that
they have any chance with you. A good coat of mail is money well laid out,
and will last a lifetime; and even if it cost me all the silversmith's
crowns I will have a right good one."

Guy nodded. He was wondering in his own mind how he should be able to
procure one. His father had given him a purse on starting, but the money
might be needed for emergencies. He certainly could not ask his mistress
for such a sum, for she too might have need of the money that she had
brought with her. He was still turning it over in his mind when they
reached the fencing-school. He was greeted with acclamations as he entered
by the young count and his friends.

"Here is our defender of houses," the former exclaimed. "Truly, Guy, you
have given a lesson to the butchers that they sorely needed. They say that
the king himself, who is in one of his good moods to-day, has interested
himself mightily in the fray last night, and that he has expressed a wish
to hear of it from the esquire who he has been told commanded the defence.
So it is not unlikely that there will be a royal message for you to attend
at the palace. Fortunately we had the first say in the matter this
morning. My father returned last night, and as he is rather a favourite of
his majesty, we got him to go to the king and obtain audience as soon as
he arose, to complain of the conduct of the butchers in attacking the
house of the provost of the silversmiths, and where, moreover, Dame
Villeroy, who had arrived here in obedience to his majesty's own commands,
was lodged. The king when he heard it was mightily offended. He said he
had not been told of her coming, and that this insult to her touched his
honour. He sent at once for the Maire and syndics, and upbraided them
bitterly for allowing such tumults to take place, and commanded them to
put a stop to them under pain of his severe displeasure.

"That accounts, you see, for the Maire's proclamation this morning. The
king desired my father to thank me and the other knights and gentlemen for
having put down the riot, and said that he would at once send off a
message to the Duke of Burgundy commanding him to pay no attention to any
reports the butchers might send to him, but to give them a stern answer
that the king was greatly displeased with their conduct, and that if any
fresh complaint about them was made he would straightway have all their
leaders hung.

"It is one thing to threaten, and another to do, Guy; but at any rate, so
long as the duke is away they will see that they had best keep quiet; for
when the king is in his right senses and is not swayed by others, he is
not to be trifled with.

"You can imagine what an excitement there was last night when that boy you
sent arrived. The ring was sent up first, and when I gave orders that he
should be admitted he came in well-nigh breathless. There were six or
eight of us, and all were on the point of leaving. Thinking that it might
be something private, they had taken up their hats and cloaks. The boy, as
he came in, said, 'Which of you is Count Charles d'Estournel?' 'I am,' I
said. 'You are the bearer of a message from Guy Aylmer?' 'I am, my lord.
He prays you hasten to his assistance, for the butchers and skinners are
attacking Maitre Leroux's house, and had begun to hammer on the door when
I was still in the street. If they make their way in, they will surely
kill all they find in there. They are shouting, 'Death to the Armagnacs!
Death to the English spies!'

"I called upon my comrades to join me, and all were eager to do so. We had
long been smarting under the conduct of these ruffians, and moreover I was
glad to discharge a part of my debt to you. So each ran to his lodgings
and despatched servitors to summon their men-at-arms, and to order the
horses to be saddled, and to gather in front of my lodging with all speed.
Two or three of my friends who had left earlier were also summoned; but
though we used all the speed we could it was more than an hour before all
were assembled. The men-at-arms were scattered, and had to be roused; then
there was the work of getting the stables open, and we had to force the
doors in some places to do it. I was on thorns, as you may well imagine,
and had little hope when we started that we should find any of you alive.
Delighted indeed we were when, on getting near enough, we could see the
crowd were stationary, and guessed at once that you were still holding
out--though how you could have kept so large a number at bay was beyond
us. We struck heartily and heavily, you may be sure, and chased the wolves
back to their dens with a will. I hear that, what with those you slew in
the house and street and those we cut down, it is reckoned that a couple
of hundred were killed; though as to this none can speak with certainty,
seeing that so many bodies were carried away before morning."

"I trust that none of you received wounds, Count Charles?"

"None of us; though several of the men-at-arms had gashes from the
rascals' weapons, but naught, I think, that will matter."

At this moment one of the attendants of the salon came in.

"An usher from the palace is here, my lords and gentlemen. He has been to
the lodging of Master Guy Aylmer, and has learned that he will most likely
be here. If so, he has the king's command to conduct him to the palace, as
His Majesty desires to have speech with him."

"I told you so, Guy; my father's story has excited the king's curiosity,
and he would fain hear all about it. Make the most of it, for His Majesty
loves to be entertained and amused."

"Had I better ask the usher to allow me to go back to my lodging to put on
a gayer suit than this?" Guy asked.

"Certainly not; the king loves not to be kept waiting. Fortunately no time
has been wasted so far, as this is on the road from the silversmith's to
the palace."

The Louvre at that time bore no resemblance to the present building. It
was a fortress surrounded by a strong embattled wall, having a lofty tower
at each corner and others flanking its gates. On the water-face the towers
rose from the edge of the river, so that there was no passage along the
quays. The building itself was in the castellated form, though with larger
windows than were common in such edifices. Eight turret-shaped buildings
rose far above it, each surmounted with very high steeple-like roofs,
while in the centre rose another large and almost perpendicular roof,
terminating in a square open gallery. The building was further protected
by four embattled towers on each side, so that if the outer wall were
carried it could still defend itself. In the court-yard between the outer
wall and the palace were rows of low barracks, where troops were lodged.
Two regiments of the best soldiers of Burgundy were quartered here, as the
duke feared that some sudden rising of the Armagnac party might put them
in possession of the king's person, in which case the Orleanists would
easily persuade him to issue proclamations as hostile to Burgundy as those
which were now published in, his name against the Orleanists. The Louvre,
indeed, differed but slightly from palaces of several of the great nobles
within the walls of Paris, as all of these were to some extent fortified,
and stood as separate fortresses capable of offering a stout resistance to
any attack by the populace.

"I would rather face those villains of last night for another hour than go
before the king," Guy said, as he prepared to follow the attendant; "but I
trust that good may come of my interview, and that I can interest the king
in the case of my mistress."

Joining the usher, who was waiting at the entrance, and who saluted him
courteously--for the manner in which the message had been communicated to
the usher showed him that the young squire was in no disgrace with the
king--Guy walked with him to the Louvre, which was a short half-mile
distant. Accompanied as he was by a royal officer, the guard at the gate
offered no interruption to his passage, and proceeding across the court-
yard he entered the great doorway to the palace, and, preceded by the
usher, ascended the grand staircase and followed him along a corridor to
the apartments occupied by the king.




CHAPTER XI

DANGER THREATENED


On being ushered into the royal apartment Guy was led up to the king, who
was seated in a large arm-chair. He was stroking the head of a greyhound,
and two or three other dogs lay at his feet. Except two attendants, who
stood a short distance behind his chair, no one else was present. The king
was pale and fragile-looking; there was an expression of weariness on his
face, for in the intervals between his mad fits he had but little rest. He
was naturally a kind-hearted man, and the troubles that reigned in France,
the constant contention among the great lords, and even among the members
of his own family, were a constant source of distress to him. Between the
Duke of Burgundy, the queen, his nephew of Orleans, and the other royal
dukes he had no peace, and the sense of his inability to remedy matters,
and of his position of tutelage in the hands of whoever chanced for the
moment to be in the ascendant, in no slight degree contributed to the
terrible attacks to which he was subject. At the present moment the Duke
of Burgundy was away, and therefore, feeling now comparatively free, he
looked up with interest when the usher announced Guy Aylmer.

"You are young, indeed, sir," he said, as Guy made a deep bow, "to be the
hero of the story that I heard this morning. I hear that you have been
slaying many of the good citizens of Paris!"

"Some have certainly been slain, sire; but I think not that any of them
could be considered as good citizens, being engaged, as they were, in
attacking the house of the worshipful provost of the silversmiths, Maitre
Leroux."

"I know him," the king said, "and have bought many rare articles of his
handiwork, and more than once when I have needed it have had monies from
him on usance. 'Tis a grave scandal that so good a citizen should thus be
attacked in my city, but I will see that such doings shall not take place
again. And now I would hear from your own lips how you and a few men
defended the house so long, and, as I hear, with very heavy loss to those
attacking it. I am told that you are English."

"Yes, sire, I have the honour to be an esquire to Sir Eustace de Villeroy,
and am here in attendance upon his dame, who, with her two children, have
been brought as hostages to Paris under your royal order."

A look of pain passed across the king's face. "Your lord is our vassal for
his castle at Villeroy?"

"He is, sire, and is also a vassal of England for the estates of his
wife."

"Since England and France are not at present on ill terms," the king said,
"he may well discharge both duties without treason to either Henry or
myself; but they told me that his vassalage to me has sat but lightly upon
him."

"His father and grandfather, sire, were vassals of England, as Villeroy
was then within the English bounds, but he is, I am assured, ready
faithfully to render any service that your majesty might demand of him,
and is willing to submit himself, in all respects, to your will. But since
he wishes not to take any part in the troubles between the princes, it
seems that both regard him with hostility. Two months since his castle was
attacked by some eight thousand men from Ham, led by Sir Clugnet de
Brabant. These he repulsed with heavy loss, and deemed that in so doing he
was acting in accordance with your majesty's proclamation, and was
rendering faithful service to you in holding the castle against your
enemies, and he had hoped for your majesty's approbation. He was then
deeply grieved when your royal herald summoned him, in your name, either
to receive a garrison or to send his wife and children hither as
hostages."

"I will see into the matter," the king said earnestly. "And so your
mistress was bestowed at the house of Maitre Leroux?"

"She was, sire, and is most hospitably entertained by him."

"Now let us hear of this defence. Tell me all that took place; withhold
nothing."

Guy related the details of the defence.

[Illustration: "THE KING EXTENDED HIS HAND TO GUY, WHO WENT ON ONE KNEE TO
KISS IT."]

"Truly it was well done, young sir, and I owe you thanks for having given
so shrewd a lesson to these brawlers, Maitre Leroux has good reasons for
being thankful to the duke for lodging your lady in his house, for he
would doubtless have lost his life had you and your four men not been
there. When the Duke of Burgundy returns I will take council with him
touching this matter of your mistress. I know that he gave me good reasons
at the time for the bringing of her hither, but in the press of matters I
do not recall what they were. At any rate, as she is here as my hostage
her safety must be ensured, and for the present I will give orders that a
guard be placed at the house."

He extended his hand to Guy, who went on one knee to kiss it and then
retired.

He took the news back to Dame Margaret.

"I knew well enough that the poor king had nothing to do with the matter,"
she said. "Were it otherwise I would myself have asked for an audience
with him; but I knew that it would be useless, he would but have replied
to me as he has to you, that he must consult the duke."

In the afternoon the Italian called with his daughter upon Dame Margaret.
The former was now dressed in accordance with his rank as an Italian
noble, and the girl, on laying aside her cloak, was also in the costume of
a young lady of position. Guy presented the count to his mistress.

"I am greatly indebted to you, Count Montepone," she said, "for the timely
warning that you sent us, and still more for the service rendered to us by
your daughter in summoning the Burgundian knights to our aid. Truly," she
added with a smile, "it is difficult to believe that it was this young
lady who was so busy on our behalf. I thank you, maiden, most heartily.
And, believe me, should the time ever come when you require a friend;
which I hope may never be the case, you will find one in me on whom you
can confidently rely.

"This is my daughter Agnes. She is, methinks, but a year or so younger
than yourself, though she is as tall or taller, and she will gladly be
your friend also."

Katarina replied quietly and composedly, and Guy, as he watched her and
Agnes talking together, was surprised at the way in which she adapted
herself to circumstances. As a boy she assumed the character so perfectly
that no one would suspect her of being aught else. She was a French gamin,
with all the shrewdness, impudence, and self-confidence of the class. As
he saw her at her father's in female attire something of the boy's nature
seemed still to influence her. There was still a touch of sauciness in her
manner, and something of defiance, as if she resented his knowledge of her
in her other character. Now she had the quiet composure of a young lady of
rank. As Dame Margaret had said, she was but little older than Agnes; but
though less tall than the English girl, she looked a woman beside her. Guy
stood talking with them while Dame Margaret and the count conversed apart.
Gradually as they chatted Katarina's manner, which had at first been
somewhat stiff, thawed, and Guy left her and Agnes together and went to
look through the window.

He could vaguely understand that Katarina at first, knowing that Dame
Margaret and Agnes must be aware of her going about as a boy, was standing
a little on her dignity. The simple straightforwardness of Agnes and her
admiration of the other's boldness and cleverness had disarmed Katarina,
and it was not long before they were chatting and laughing in girlish
fashion. There was a difference in their laughter, the result of the
dissimilar lives they had led. One had ever been a happy, careless child,
allowed to roam about in the castle or beyond it almost unattended, and
had only to hold herself as became the position of a maiden of rank on
special occasions, as when guests were staying in the castle; the other
had been for years her father's assistant, engaged in work requiring
shrewdness and quickness and not unattended at times with danger. She had
been brought into contact with persons of all ranks and conditions, and at
times almost forgot her own identity, and was in thought as well as manner
the quick-witted messenger of her father. After the latter had chatted for
some time with Dame Margaret he beckoned her to him.

"Dame Margaret has promised me to be your protector should aught befall
me, child," he said, "and I charge you now in her hearing should anything
happen to me to go at once to her castle at Villeroy, and should she not
be there to her castle at Summerley, which lies but twelve miles from the
English port of Southampton, and there to place yourself under her
guardianship, and to submit yourself to her will and guidance wholly and
entirely. It would be well indeed for you to have a quiet English home
after our troubled life. To Italy you cannot go, our estates are long
since confiscated; and did you return there you would find powerful
enemies and but lukewarm friends. Besides, there would be but one mode of
life open to you, namely, to enter a convent, which would, methinks, be of
all others the least suited to your inclinations."

"I can promise you a hearty welcome," Dame Margaret said kindly. "I trust
that you may never apply for it; but should, as your father says, aught
happen to him, come to me fearlessly, and be assured that you will be
treated as one of my own family. We shall ever be mindful of the fact that
you saved our lives last night, and that nothing that we can do for you
will cancel that obligation."

"I trust that I may never be called upon to ask your hospitality, Lady
Margaret," the girl said quietly, "but I thank you with all my heart for
proffering it, and I feel assured that I should find a happy home in
England."

"'Tis strange how it has all come about," her father said. "'Tis scarce a
month since I saw Dame Margaret enter Paris with her children, and the
thought occurred to me that it would be well indeed for you were you in
the charge of such a lady. Then, as if in answer to my thoughts, I saw her
young esquire in the crowd listening to me, and was moved at once to say
words that would induce him to call upon me afterwards, when I saw that I
might possibly in these troublous times be of use to his mistress. And
thus in but a short time what was at first but a passing thought has been
realized. It is true that there are among my clients those whose
protection I could obtain for you; but France is at present as much torn
by factions as is our native Italy, and none can say but, however highly
placed and powerful a man may be to-day, he might be in disgrace to-
morrow."

Carefully wrapping his daughter up in her cloak again, the Italian took
his leave, refusing the offer of Dame Margaret for two of her men-at-arms
to accompany them.

"There is no fear of trouble of any sort to-day," he said. "The loss that
was suffered last night was so severe that the people will be quiet for a
few days, especially as the king, as well as the city authorities, are
evidently determined to put a stop to rioting. Moreover, the fact that the
Burgundian nobles have, now that the duke is away, taken a strong part
against the butchers' faction has for the moment completely cowed them.
But, apart from this, it is my special desire to return to my house
unnoticed. It is seldom that I am seen going in and out, for I leave home
as a rule before my neighbours are about, and do not return till after
nightfall. I make no secret of my being a vendor of drugs at the fairs,
and there are few can suspect that I have visitors after dark."

"I like your astrologer, Guy," Dame Margaret said when they had left.
"Before I saw him I own that I had no great faith in his countship. Any
man away from his native country can assume a title without anyone
questioning his right to use it, so long as he is content to live in
obscurity, and to abstain from attracting the attention of those who would
be likely to make inquiries. But I have no doubt that our friend is, as he
represents himself, the Count of Montepone, and I believe him to be
sincere in the matter of his dealings with us. He tells me that he has
received more than one hint that the reports that he deals with the stars
and exercises divinations have come to the ears of the church, and it is
likely ere long he may be forced to leave Paris, and indeed that he would
have done so before now had it not been that some of those who have had
dealings with him have exercised their influence to prevent things being
pushed further.

"No doubt it is true that, as he asserts, he in no way dabbles in what is
called 'black art,' but confines himself to reading the stars; and he
owned to me that the success he has obtained in this way is to some extent
based upon the information that he obtains from persons of all classes. He
is evidently a man whose nature it is to conspire, not so much for the
sake of any prospect of gain or advantage, but for the pleasure of
conspiring. He has dealings with men of both factions. Among the butchers
he is believed to be an agent of the duke, who has assumed the character
of a vendor of nostrums simply as a disguise, while among the Armagnacs he
is regarded as an agent of Orleans. It is doubtless a dangerous game to
play, but it both helps him in his profession of astrologer and gives him
influence and power. I asked him why he thus mingled in public affairs. He
smiled and said: 'We are always conspiring in Italy; we all belong to
factions. I have been brought up in an atmosphere of conspiracy, and it is
so natural to me that I could scarce live without it. I am rich: men who
trade upon the credulity of fools have plenty of clients. My business of a
quack doctor brings me in an income that many a poor nobleman would envy.
I travel when I like; I visit alternately all the great towns of France,
though Paris has always been my head-quarters.

"'As an astrologer I have a wide reputation. The name of the Count
Smarondi--for it is under that title that I practise--is known throughout
France, though few know me personally or where I am to be found. Those who
desire to consult me can only obtain access to me through some of those
whose fortunes I have rightly foretold, and who have absolute faith in me,
and even these must first obtain my consent before introducing anyone to
me. All this mystery adds both to my reputation and to my fees. Could
anyone knock at my door and ask me to calculate his horoscope he would
prize it but little; when it is so difficult to obtain an introduction to
me, and it is regarded as a matter of favour to be allowed to consult me,
people are ready to pay extravagant sums for my advice. And,' he said with
a smile, 'the fact that ten days or a fortnight always elapses between the
time I am asked to receive a new client and his or her first interview
with me, enables me to make such minute inquiries that I can not only gain
their complete confidence by my knowledge of certain events in their past,
but it will aid me in my divination of their future.

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