Each body of troops had come on the ground under its own
commander, and shouts, orders, and inquiries sounded from all quarters.
Many of the Frenchmen never dismounted all the night, thinking it better
to remain on horseback than to lie down on wet ground. Great fires were
lighted and the soldiers gathered round these, warming themselves and
drinking, and calculating the ransoms to be gained by the capture of the
king and the great nobles of England. Knights and men-at-arms rode about
in search of their divisions, their horses slipping and floundering in the
deep clay.
Passing along the line of the French army Guy and the officers proceeded
to the wood on the left, and satisfied themselves that neither there nor
on the other flank had any large body of men been posted. They then
returned and made their report to the king. Guy wrapped himself in his
cloak and lay down and slept until the moon rose at three o'clock, when
the whole army awoke and prepared for the day's work. The English king
ordered the trumpeters and other musicians who had been brought with the
army to play merry tunes, and these during the three hours of darkness
cheered the spirits of the men and helped them to resist the depressing
influence of the cold night air following upon their sleep on the wet
ground. The French, on the other hand, had no manner of musical
instruments with their army, and all were fatigued and depressed by their
long vigil.
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