from all parts of England to
Orewell, his point of departure. His advisers, with the Archbishop of
Canterbury at their head, strove, but in vain, to restrain him. "Ye are
all in conspiracy against me," said he; "I shall go; and those who are
afraid can abide at home." And go he did on the 22d of June, 1340, and
aboard of his fleet "went with him many an English dame," says Froissart,
"wives of earls, and barons, and knights, and burghers, of London, who
were off to Ghent to see the Queen of England, whom for a long time past
they had not seen; and King Edward guarded them carefully." "For many a
long day," said he, "have I desired to fight those fellows, and now we
will fight them, please God and St. George; for, verily, they have caused
me so many displeasures, that I would fain take vengeance for them, if I
can but get it." On arriving off the coast of Flanders, opposite Ecluse
(or Sluys), he saw "so great a number of vessels that of masts there
seemed to he verily a forest." He made his arrangements forthwith,
"placing his strongest ships in front, and manoeuvring so as to have the
wind on the starboard quarter, and the sun astern. The Normans marvelled
to see the English thus twisting about, and said, 'They are turning tail;
they are not men enough to fight us.'" But the Genoese buccaneer was not
misled. "When he saw the English fleet approaching in such fashion, he
said to the French admiral and his colleague, Behuchet, 'Sirs, here is
the King of England, with all his ships, bearing down upon us: if ye will
follow my advice, instead of remaining shut up in port, ye will draw out
into the open sea; for, if ye abide here, they, whilst they have in their
favor sun, and wind, and tide, will keep you so short of room, that ye
will be helpless and unable to manoeuvre.' Whereupon answered the
treasurer, B6huchet, who knew more about arithmetic than sea fights,
'Let him go hang, whoever shall go out: here will we wait, and take our
chance.' 'Sir,' replied Barbavera, 'if ye will not be pleased to believe
me, I have no mind to work my own ruin, and I will get me gone with my
galleys out of this hole.' "And out he went, with all his squadron,
engaged the English on the high seas, and took the first ship which
attempted to board him. But Edward, though he was wounded in the thigh,
quickly restored the battle. After a gallant resistance, Barbavera
sailed off with his galleys, and the French fleet found itself alone a