laring full in their eyes. But Philip, too
confident to heed any such trifles, impatiently, nay, angrily, ordered
them to the front, and bade them shoot a volley against the English
archers, who stood opposite.

So these foreigners stepped forward, and, as their manner was, gave
three leaps in the air, with the idea of terrifying the foes, and then
raised their bows to their cheeks, and let fly their arrows wildly in
the direction of the English.

The trusty English archers, with the sun behind them, were not the men
to be intimidated by leapings into the air, nor panic-struck by a
discharge so ill-aimed that scarce one arrow in ten even grazed their
armour.

Their reply to the Genoese was a sudden step forward, and a sharp,
determined twang of their bow-strings. Then the air was white with the
cloud of their arrows, and next moment the foremost ranks of the Genoese
were seen to drop like one man.

This was enough for those already dispirited hirelings. They fell back
in panic disorder; they cut their bow-strings; they rushed among the
very feet of the horsemen that Philip, in his rage, had ordered "to ride
forward and cut down the cowardly villains!" Then the confusion of the
French army was complete.

The English followed up their first advantage steadily and quickly.
Knight after knight of the French dropped from his horse, troop after
troop fell back, standard after standard tottered.

Nowhere was the fight fiercer than where the young Black Prince led the
van of the English; and from a windmill on a near hill, the eager eyes
of King Edward watched with pride that figure clad in black armour ever
in the thick of the fight, and never halting an instant where danger or
duty called.

It would be too long to tell of all the fighting that day. Philip, with
his great army, could not dislodge his compact foe from their position;
nor could he shelter his men from the deadly flight of their arrows.
Bravely he rushed himself into the fray to rally his men, but to no
avail. Everywhere they fell back before their invincible enemy.

Once, indeed, it seemed as if his brave knights would surround and drive
back the division of which the boy prince was leader. An English noble
sent post-haste a message to Edward to say, "Send help; the prince is in
danger."

But Edward knew more of battles than most of his officers. He replied
coolly--

"Is the prince slain?"

"No."

"Is he wounded?"

"No."

"Is he stru