A Dream of John Ball; and, A King's Lesson

we went along the hedge by the road, the leaders tore off leafy twigs from the low oak bushes therein, and

illmen stood in the corner of the two hedges, the road hedge and the hedge between the close a

but shoot straight and strong at whatso cometh towards us, till ye

oked at me

t once: forsooth I wot not why I brought thee hither. Wilt thou

uld see the play. Wh

en some, that these men-at-arms cannot run fast either to the play or from it, if they be a-foot; and if they come on a-horseback

s axe and buckler on to his girdle, and hung up his other attire on the nearest tree behind us. Then he opened his quiver and took out of i

y noted that they were women, all clad more or less like the girl in the Rose, except that two of them wore

like her father, somewhat comely, though no great beauty; but as they met, her eyes smiled even more than her mouth, and made her face look v

that ye bring all this artillery? Turn back, my girl, and set the pot on the

be no Crecy, then may I stop to see, as well as the

hou be hurt in it; and trust me the time may come, sweetheart, when even thou and such

hrough the orchard. I was going to say something, when Will Green held up his hand as who would bid us hearken. The noise of t

said Will Green; "the dance will soon begi

change that death is. Then for a while was almost silence; nor did our horns blow up, though some half-dozen of the billmen had leapt into the road when the bows first shot. But presently came a great blare of trumpets and horns from the other side, and therewith as it were a river of steel and bright coats poured into the field before us, and still their horns blew as they spread out toward the left of our line; the cattle in the pasture-field, heretofore feeding quietly, seemed frightened silly by the sudden noise, and ran abou

aces nigher, and they move not.

he shook his head and said nothing a

e the right folk, Jac

eants had a message from the grey-goose feather. Abide, for they have not crossed the road to our ri

k-frock or gabardine, like our field workmen wear now or used to wear, and in his helmet he carried instead of a feather a wisp of wheaten straw. He bore a heavy axe in his hand besides the sword he was

e knot of three men, the middle one on horseback, the other two armed with long-handled glaives; all three well muffled up in armour. As they came

us. Wilt thou that he spe

shall he have warning firs

s out in the field. The man on horseback put his trumpet to his mouth and blew a long blast, and then took a

ave no accursed lawyers and their sheep-ski

oke in in a lo

what will ye gat

ied Jac

his right and his devoir to do as he swore when he was crowned and anointed at Westminster on the Stone of Doom, and gainsay these thieves and traitors; and if he be too weak, then shall we help him; and if he will not be king, then shall we have one who will be, and that is the King's Son of Heaven. Now, therefore, if any withstand us on our lawful errand as we go to speak with ou

the summoner began again,

? Wot ye not that ye are doing or shall do gre

t, and then turned rein and turned tail, and scuttled back to the main body at his swiftest. Huge

, and which were plain enough to us in the dear evening. Presently the moving line faced us, and the archers set off at a smart pace toward us, the men-at-arms holding back a little behind them. I knew now that they had be

ed on the string; I watched them, and Will Green specially; he and his bow and its string seemed all of a piece, so easily by seeming did he draw the nock of the arrow to his ear. A moment, as he took his aim, and then-O t

her to our left their long-bow men had shot almost as soon as ours, and I heard or seemed to hear the rush of the arrows through the apple-boughs and a man's cry therewith; but with us the long-bow had been before the cross-bow; one of the arbalestiers fell outright, his great shield clattering down on him, and moved no more; while thr

in their places covered by their great shields and winding up their cross-bows for a second shot, as is the custom of such soldiers, ran huddling t

wards they always reckoned to kill through cloth or leather at five hundred yards, and they had let the cross-bow men come nearly within three hundred, and these were now all mingled and muddled up with the men-at-arms at scant five hundred

and three men armed from head to foot in gleaming steel, except for their short coats bright with heraldry, were with it. One of them (and he bore the three kine on his coat) turned round and gave some word of command, and an angry shout went up from them, a

k, their arms clashing about them and the twang of the bows and whistle of the arrows never failing all the while, but goi

Jack Straw shouted out, "Bills t

left hand, caught up his horn and winded it loudly. The men-at-arms drew near steadily, some fell under the arrow-storm, but not a many; for though the target was big, it was hard, since not even

e right seemed alive with armed men, for whatever could hold sword or staff amongst us was there; every bowman also leapt our orchard-hedge sword or axe in hand, and with a great shout, billmen, archers, and all, ran in on them; half-armed, yea, and half-naked some of them; strong and stout and lithe and light withal, the wrath of battle and the hope of better times lifting up their hearts till nothing could withstand them. So was all mingled together, and for a minute or two was a confused clamour over which rose a clatt

men-at-arms (the archers and arbalestiers had scattered before the last minutes of the play), I heard the confused sound of laughter and rejoicing down in the meadow, and close by me

t seen him in the street with coat and hood and the gear at his girdle and his u

hat is the tale for

ruel was he to make them cruel: and three bailiffs knocked on the head-stout men, and so witless, that none found their brains in their skulls; and five arbalestiers and one archer slain, and a score and a half of others, mostly men come back from the Fr

said, "And of our Fell

Pargetter hurt very sore on the shoulder with a glaive; and five more men of the Fellowship slain in the hand-play, and some few hurt, but not sorel

d to see how wrath and grief within him were contending with the ki

he cross yet, since these men broke off the telling of the tale; there shall we know what we are to t

t and anigh us, all turned towards the cross as we went over the