happen, and at any rate it costs no more to feed these men here than in
England."

The English archers and men-at-arms were well satisfied with their
quarters and food, and were soon on good terms with their French
associates. The garrison, before their arrival, had consisted of fifty
men-at-arms, and although these had no means of communicating verbally
with the new arrivals, they were not long in striking up such acquaintance
as could be gained by friendly gestures and the clinking of wine-cups.
Their quarters were beside those of the English, and the whole of the men-
at-arms daily performed their exercises in the court-yard together, under
the command of the castellan, while the archers marched out across the
drawbridge and practised shooting at some butts pitched there. To the
French men-at-arms their performances appeared astounding. The French had
never taken to archery, but the cross-bow was in use among them, and half
of the French men-at-arms had been trained in the use of this weapon,
which was considered more valuable in the case of sieges than of warfare
in the field. While they were able to send their bolts as far as the
bowmen could shoot their arrows, there was no comparison whatever in point
of accuracy, and the archers could discharge a score of arrows while the
cross-bowmen were winding up their weapons.

"_Pardieu_, master page," Jean Bouvard said one day as he stood with
Guy watching the shooting of the archers, "I no longer wonder at the way
in which you English defeated us at Cressy and Poitiers. I have heard from
my father, who fought at Poitiers, how terrible was the rain of arrows
that was poured upon our knights when they charged up the hill against the
English, but I had never thought that men could shoot with such skill and
strength. It was but yesterday that I set my men-at-arms to try and bend
one of these English bows, and not one of them could draw an arrow