The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3), G. A. Henty [top business books of all time .txt] 📗
- Author: G. A. Henty
Book online «The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3), G. A. Henty [top business books of all time .txt] 📗». Author G. A. Henty
At A Distance Of Twenty Yards Within The Gate.
When It Was Seen That The Gates Were Yielding Edmund
Had Called Down His Own Band From The Walls And Formed
Them In A Half-Circle Ten Yards From The Gate. They Were Four
Deep, As In Their Usual Formation, With The Four Lines Of Spears
Projecting Towards The Gate. The Mound Behind Them He
Lined With Archers.
At Last The Gates Fell, And With An Exulting Shout The Danes
Poured In. As They Did So The Archers On The Mound Loosed
Their Arrows, And The Head Of The Danish Column Melted Like
Snow Before The Blast Of A Furnace. Still They Poured In And
Flung Themselves Upon The Spearmen, But They Strove In Vain
To Pierce The Hedge Of Steel. Desperately They Threw Themselves
Upon The Pike-Heads And Died There Bravely, But They
Were Powerless To Break A Passage.
The Archers On The Mound Still Shot Fast Among Them,
While Those On The Wall, Turning Round, Smote Them In The
Back, Where, Unprotected By Their Shields, They Offered A Sure
And Fatal Mark. Soon The Narrow Semicircle Inside The Gate
Became Heaped High With Dead, Impeding The Efforts Of Those
Still Pressing In. Several Of The Bravest Of The Danish Leaders
Had Fallen. The Crowd In The Fosse, Unaware Of The Obstacle
Which Prevented The Advance Of The Head Of The Column And
Harassed By The Missiles From Above, Grew Impatient, And After
Half An Hour Of Desperate Efforts, And Having Lost Upwards
Of Three Hundred Of His Best Men, The Danish King, Furious
With Rage And Disappointment, Called Off His Men.
On The Other Three Sides The Attack Equally Failed. The
Danes Suffered Heavily While Climbing The Steep Side Of The
Inner Mound. They Brought With Them Faggots, Which They
Cast Down At The Foot Of The Wall, But This Was Built So Near
The Edge Of The Slope That They Were Unable To Pile Sufficient
Faggots To Give Them The Height Required For A Successful
Part 3 Chapter 6 (The Saxon Fort) Pg 59Assault Upon It. Many Climbed Up On Their Comrades' Shoulders,
And So Tried To Scale The Wall, But They Were Thrust Down
By The Saxon Spears As They Raised Themselves To Its Level, And
In No Place Succeeded In Gaining A Footing. Over Two Hundred
Fell In The Three Minor Attacks.
There Were Great Rejoicings Among The Saxons, On Whose
Side But Twenty-Three Had Been Killed. A Solemn Mass Was
Held, At Which All Save A Few Look-Outs On The Walls Attended,
And Thanks Returned To God For The Repulse Of The Pagans;
Then The Garrison Full Of Confidence Awaited The Next Attack
Of The Enemy.
Stones Were Piled Up In The Gateway To Prevent Any Sudden
Surprise Being Effected There. The Danes In Their Retreat
Had Carried Off Their Dead, And The Next Morning The Saxons
Saw That They Were Busy With The Ceremonies Of Their Burial.
At Some Little Distance From Their Camp The Dead Were Placed
In A Sitting Position, In Long Rows Back To Back With Their
Weapons By Their Sides, And Earth Was Piled Over Them Until A
Great Mound Fifty Yards Long And Ten Feet High Was Raised.
Three Jarls And One Of Their Kings Were Buried Separately.
They Were Placed Together In A Sitting Position, With Their
Helmets On Their Heads, Their Shields On Their Arms, And Their
Swords By Their Sides. Their Four War-Horses Were Killed And
Laid Beside Them; Twenty Slaves Were Slaughtered And Placed
Lying Round Them, For Their Spirits To Attend Them In The
Walhalla Of The Gods. Golden Drinking-Vessels And Other
Ornaments Were Placed By Them, And Then A Mound Forty Feet
In Diameter And Twenty Feet High Was Piled Over The Whole.
The Whole Force Were Occupied All Day With This Work.
The Next Day Numbers Of Trees Were Felled And Brought To
The Camp, And For The Next Two Days The Danes Were Occupied
In The Manufacture Of War-Engines For Battering Down
The Walls. Edmund And Egbert Utilized The Time In Instructing
The Soldiers Who Did Not Form Part Of The Regular Band,
In The Formation Of The Quadruple Line Of Defence Which The
Danes Had Found It So Impossible To Break Through, So That If
More Than One Breach Was Effected, A Resistance Similar To
That Made At The Gate Could Be Offered At All Points. The
Skins Of The Oxen Killed For The Use Of The Garrison Were
Carefully Laid Aside, The Inside Being Thickly Rubbed
With Grease.
The Danish Preparations Were At Length Completed, The
War-Engines Were Brought Up And Began To Hurl Great Stones
Against The Wall At Three Points. The Saxons Kept Up A Constant
Fire Of Arrows At Those Employed At Working Them, But
The Danes, Though Losing Many Men, Threw Up Breastworks
To Protect Them.
The Saxons Manufactured Many Broad Ladders, And In
Part 3 Chapter 6 (The Saxon Fort) Pg 60The Middle Of The Night, Lowering These Over The Walls, They
Descended Noiselessly, And Three Strong Bodies Fell Upon The
Danes Guarding The Engines. These Fought Stoutly, But Were
Driven Back, The Engines Were Destroyed, And The Saxons Retired
To Their Walls Again And Drew Up Their Ladders Before
The Main Body Of Danes Could Arrive From The Camp. This
Caused A Delay Of Some Days In The Siege, But Fresh Engines
Having Been Constructed, The Assault On The Walls Was
Recommenced, This Time The Whole Danish Army Moving Out And
Sleeping At Night Close To Them.
After Three Days' Battering, Breaches Of From Thirty To
Fifty Feet Wide Were Effected In The Walls. The Saxons Had
Not Been Idle. Behind Each Of The Threatened Points They
Raised Banks Of Earth Ten Feet High, And Cut Away The Bank
Perpendicularly Behind The Shattered Wall, So That The
Assailants As They Poured In At The Gaps Would Have To
Leap Ten Feet Down.
Each Night The Masses Of Wall Which Fell Inside Were
Cleared Away, And When The Breach Was Complete, And It Was
Evident That The Assault Would Take Place The Next Morning,
The Hides Which Had Been Prepared Were Laid With The Hairy
Side Down, On The Ground Below. Through Them They Drove
Firmly Into The Ground Numbers Of Pikes With The Heads Sticking
Up One Or Two Feet, And Pointed Stakes Hardened In The
Fire. Then Satisfied That All Had Been Done The Saxons Lay
Down To Rest.
In The Morning The Danes Advanced To The Assault. This
Time They Were But Little Annoyed In Their Advance By The
Archers. These Were Posted On The Walls At Each Side Of The
Gaps To Shoot Down At The Backs Of The Danes After They Had
Entered. On The Inner Semicircular Mounds The Saxon Force
Gathered Four Deep.
With Loud Shouts The Danes Rushed Forward, Climbed
The Outer Mounds, And Reached The Breaches. Here The Leaders
Paused On Seeing The Gulf Below Them, But Pressed By
Those Behind They Could Not Hesitate Long, But Leapt Down
From The Breach On To The Slippery Hides Below.
Not One Who Did So Lived. It Was Impossible To Keep
Their Feet As They Alighted, And As They Fell They Were Impaled
By The Pikes And Stakes. Pressed By Those Behind, However,
Fresh Men Leapt Down, Falling In Their Turn, Until At Length
The Hides And Stakes Were Covered, And Those Leaping Down
Found A Foothold On The Bodies Of The Fallen. Then They
Crowded On And Strove To Climb The Inner Bank And Attack
The Saxons. Now The Archers On The Walls Opened Fire Upon
Them, And, Pierced Through And Through With The Arrows
Which Struck Them On The Back, The Danes Fell In Great
Numbers. Edmund Commanded At One Of The Breaches, Egbert At
Another, And Oswald, An Old And Experienced Warrior, At The
Part 3 Chapter 6 (The Saxon Fort) Pg 61Third.
At Each Point The Scene Was Similar. The Danes Struggled
Up The Mounds Only To Fail To Break Through The Hedge Of
Spears Which Crowned Them, Fast Numbers Dying In The Attempt,
While As Many More Fell Pierced With Arrows. For An
Hour The Danes Continued Their Desperate Efforts, And Not
Until Fifteen Hundred Had Been Slain Did They Draw Off To
Their Camp, Finding It Impossible To Break Through The Saxon
Defences.
Loud Rose The Shouts Of The Triumphant Saxons As The
Danes Retired, And It Needed All The Efforts Of Their Leaders To
Prevent Them From Pouring Out In Pursuit; But The Events Of
The Preceding Year Had Taught The Saxon Leaders How Often
Their Impetuosity After Success Had Proved Fatal To The Saxons,
And That Once In The Plain The Danes Would Turn Upon
Them And Crush Them By Their Still Greatly Superior Numbers.
Therefore No One Was Allowed To Sally Out, And The Discomfited
Danes Retired Unmolested.
The Next Morning To Their Joy The Saxons Saw That The
Invaders Had Broken Up Their Camp, And Had Marched Away
In The Night. Scouts Were Sent Out In Various Directions, And
The Saxons Employed Themselves In Stripping And Burying
The Danes Who Had Fallen Within The Fort, Only A Few Of The
Most Distinguished Having Been Carried Off. The Scouts
Returned With News That The Danes Had Made No Halt, But Had
Departed Entirely From That Part Of The Country. Finding That
For The Present They Were Free Of The Invaders, The Saxons Left
The Fort And Scattered Again, To Rebuild As Best They Might
Their Devastated Homes.
But If In The Neighbourhood Of Sherborne The Danes
Had Been Severely Repulsed, In Other Parts Of The Kingdom
They Continued To Make Great Progress, And The Feeling Of
Despair Among The Saxons Increased. Great Numbers Left
Their Homes, And Taking With Them All Their Portable
Possessions, Made Their Way To The Sea-Coast, And There Embarked
For France, Where They Hoped To Be Able To Live Peaceably And
Quietly.
Edmund Placed No Hindrance In The Way Of Such Of His
People Who Chose This Course, For The Prospect Appeared
Well-Nigh Hopeless. The Majority Of The Saxons Were Utterly
Broken In Spirit, And A Complete Conquest Of The Kingdom By The
Danes Seemed Inevitable. In The Spring, However, Of 877 King
Alfred Again Issued An Urgent Summons. A Great Horde Of
Danes Had Landed At Exeter And Taken Possession Of That Town,
And He Determined To Endeavour To Crush Them. He Sent To
Edmund Begging Him To Proceed At Once To Poole, Where The
King's Fleet Was Ready For Sea, And To Embark In It With What
Force He Could Raise, And To Sail And Blockade The Entrance To
The River Exe, And So Prevent The Danes From Reinforcing Their
Comments (0)