I have seen Frenchmen fight both in
open field, in the intaking and the defending of towns or
castlewicks, in escalados, camisades, night forays, bushments,
sallies, outfalls, and knightly spear-runnings. Their knights
and squires, lad, are every whit as good as ours, and I could
pick out a score of those who ride behind Du Guesclin who would
hold the lists with sharpened lances against the best men in the
army of England. On the other hand, their common folk are so
crushed down with gabelle, and poll-tax, and every manner of
cursed tallage, that the spirit has passed right out of them. It
is a fool's plan to teach a man to be a cur in peace, and think
that he will be a lion in war. Fleece them like sheep and sheep
they will remain. If the nobles had not conquered the poor folk
it is like enough that we should not have conquered the nobles."
"But they must be sorry folk to bow down to the rich in such a
fashion," said big John. "I am but a poor commoner of England
myself, and yet I know something of charters, liberties
franchises, usages, privileges, customs, and the like.
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