THE ELEVENTH CROSS.

Ogier del' Peyra had returned to Le Peuch Ste. Soure. His appearance greatly astonished the people, as his beard and moustachio had been shaved, and his hair, usually worn very thick and long, had been clipped close. So transformed was he in appearance that they could hardly recognise him. It was not till the story of the exploit of La Roque had reached them in its entirety that this transformation was understood.

Ogier would say nothing about what he had done. He relapsed into indifference and silence, and appeared morose and inaccessible. He took no interest in anything connected with his lands, none whatever in the great political events that ensued.

On September 20th, 1452, John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, disembarked on the coast of Medoc and entered Bordeaux on the 22d. Several small towns and fortresses surrendered. Then a large French army descended into Guyenne. On July 14th, 1453, the main body, under the command of the Count of PenthiÈvre and the Admiral Jean de Bueil, encamped at La Mothe-Montravel, and prepared to lay siege to Castillon that was held by the English. Talbot at once quitted Bordeaux, accompanied by between eight hundred and a thousand horsemen, and followed by from four to five thousand foot soldiers. He arrived before Castillon on the 17th of July.

At the approach of the English the French withdrew to their camp, and were followed by Talbot, who arrived breathless, his troops exhausted with a long march. Misinformed as to their numbers, believing that the French were retreating in alarm, without waiting to recruit his troops, the Earl of Shrewsbury resolved on storming the French camp.

The mistake was fatal. Not only did the French army vastly outnumber his own, not only was it fresh, whilst his troops were fagged, but their camp was well chosen and well defended with artillery that played upon the English from every side with disastrous effect. The defeat was complete. Talbot and his gallant son fell, and their death has been immortalised by Shakespeare. Nor has the great dramatist failed to point out the cause of the failure—the disunion among the English leaders.

This memorable battle prepared the way for the final deliverance of Guyenne and of France, not from English arms only, but from the plague of the Free Companies, which had grown and spread under the shadow of the English domination. At length the south—which as yet had not been in name even French—was absorbed into the kingdom, and partook of the benefits of union, and began to tingle with the lifeblood of the nation.

Ogier del' Peyra resigned all concern relative to his estates into the hands of his son, or rather the management was taken from him by Jean, because the old man could or would attend to nothing himself. Whether his mind had been affected by his imprisonment in the oubliette, or whether the inactivity was constitutional, and when the necessity for exertion and the motive for revenge were passed he could no longer rouse himself to action, remained uncertain. He had expressed no surprise when Jean brought NoÉmi to Le Peuch as its mistress. He accepted whatever happened as a matter of course.

For long he did absolutely nothing but sit in the sun and bite pieces of twig and straw. If addressed, he replied only with a "Yes" or "No," and gave tokens of annoyance if anyone was persistent in forcing a conversation. Whether he was thinking of the past, or thinking of nothing at all, none could say. Most certainly he gave no thought to the future, for he made no provision for the morrow and left everything to Jean.

At last he became feeble, and when feeble suddenly took it into his head to absent himself for a good part of the day.

On inquiry, Jean learned that he crossed the river taking with him a hammer and chisel; and he was informed that the old man had been seen scrambling up the slope to the ruins of l'Eglise Guillem. One day, accordingly, Jean went after him, and on reaching the cave-habitation found his father seated on the floor engaged in chipping with his tools.

"What are you doing, father?" asked Jean.

The old man did not answer with words, but pointed to the floor. He had been trimming into shapeliness the crosses that marked the lives taken at the storming of l'Eglise.

"But there are eleven, father," said Jean, pointing to one larger than the rest, fresh cut.

The old man nodded. "For Le Gros Guillem," he said. "I killed him."

THE END.

APPLETONS' TOWN AND COUNTRY LIBRARY.

PUBLISHED SEMIMONTHLY.

1. The Steel Hammer.By Louis Ulbach.

2. Eve.A Novel. By S. Baring-Gould.

3. For Fifteen Years.A Sequel to The Steel Hammer. By Louis Ulbach.

4. A Counsel of Perfection.A Novel. By Lucas Malet.

5. The Deemster.A Romance. By Hall Caine.

6. A Virginia Inheritance.By Edmund Pendleton.

7. Ninette: An Idyll of Provence.By the author of VÉra.

8. "The Right Honourable." By Justin McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed.

9. The Silence of Dean Maitland.By Maxwell Gray.

10. Mrs. Lorimer: A Study in Black and White.By Lucas Malet.

11. The Elect Lady.By George MacDonald.

12. The Mystery of the "Ocean Star." By W. Clark Russell.

13. Aristocracy.A Novel.

14. A Recoiling Vengeance.By Frank Barrett. With Illustrations.

15. The Secret of Fontaine-la-Croix.By Margaret Field.

16. The Master of Rathkelly.By Hawley Smart.

17. Donovan: A Modern Englishman.By Edna Lyall.

18. This Mortal Coil.By Grant Allen.

19. A Fair Emigrant.By Rosa Mulholland.

20. The Apostate.By Ernest Daudet.

21. Raleigh Westgate: or, Epimenides in Maine. By Helen Kendrick Johnson.

22. Arius the Libyan: A Romance of the Primitive Church.

23. Constance, and Calbot's Rival.By Julian Hawthorne.

24. We Two.By Edna Lyall.

25. A Dreamer of Dreams.By the author of Thoth.

26. The Ladies' Gallery.By Justin McCarthy and Mrs. Campbell-Praed.

27. The Reproach of Annesley.By Maxwell Gray.

28. Near to Happiness.

29. In the Wire-Grass.By Louis Pendleton.

30. Lace.A Berlin Romance. By Paul Lindau.

31. American Coin.A Novel. By the author of Aristocracy.

32. Won by Waiting.By Edna Lyall.

33. The Story of Helen Davenant.By Violet Fane.

34. The Light of Her Countenance.By H. H. Boyesen.

35. Mistress Beatrice Cope.By M. E. Le Clerc.

36. The Knight-Errant.By Edna Lyall.

37. In the Golden Days.By Edna Lyall.

38. Giraldi; or, The Curse of Love. By Ross George Dering.

39. A Hardy Norseman.By Edna Lyall.

40. The Romance of Jenny Harlowe, and Sketches of Maritime Life.By W. Clark Russell.

41. Passion's Slave.By Richard Ashe-King.

42. The Awakening of Mary Fenwick.By Beatrice Whitby.

43. Countess Loreley.Translated from the German of Rudolf Menger.

44. Blind Love.By Wilkie Collins.

45. The Dean's Daughter.By Sophie F. F. Veitch.

46. Countess Irene.A Romance of Austrian Life. By J. Fogerty.

47. Robert Browning's Principal Shorter Poems.

48. Frozen Hearts.By G. Webb Appleton.

49. Djambek the Georgian.By A. G. von Suttner.

50. The Craze of Christian Engelhart.By Henry Faulkner Darnell.

51. Lal.By William A. Hammond, M. D.

52. Aline.A Novel. By Henry GrÉville.

53. Joost Avelingh.A Dutch Story. By Maarten Maartens.

54. Katy of Catoctin. By George Alfred Townsend.

55. Throckmorton A Novel. By Molly Elliot Seawell.

56. Expatriation.By the author of Aristocracy.

57. Geoffrey Hampstead.By T. S. Jarvis.

58. Dmitri. A Romance of Old Russia. By F. W. Bain, M. A.

59. Part of the Property. By Beatrice Whitby.

60. Bismarck in Private Life. By a Fellow-Student.

61. In Low Relief. By Morley Roberts.

62. The Canadians of Old. A Historical Romance. By Philippe GaspÉ.

63. A Squire of Low Degree. By Lily A. Long.

64. A Fluttered Dovecote. By George Manville Fenn.

65. The Nugents of Carriconna. An Irish Story. By Tighe Hopkins.

66. A Sensitive Plant. By E. and D. Gerard.

67. DoÑa Luz. By Juan Valera. Translated by Mrs. Mary J. Serrano.

68. Pepita Ximenez. By Juan Valera. Translated by Mrs. Mary J. Serrano.

69. The Primes and their Neighbors. By Richard Malcolm Johnston.

70. The Iron Game. By Henry F. Keenan.

71. Stories of Old New Spain. By Thomas A. Janvier.

72. The Maid of Honor. By Hon. Lewis Wingfield.

73. In the Heart of the Storm. By Maxwell Gray.

74. Consequences. By Egerton Castle.

75. The Three Miss Kings. By Ada Cambridge.

76. A Matter of Skill. By Beatrice Whitby.

77. Maid Marian, and other Stories. By Molly Elliot Seawell.

78. One Woman's Way. By Edmund Pendleton.

79. A Merciful Divorce. By F. W. Maude.

80. Stephen Ellicott's Daughter. By Mrs. J. H. Needell.

81. One Reason Why. By Beatrice Whitby.

82. The Tragedy of Ida Noble. By W. Clark Russell.

83. The Johnstown Stage, and other Stories. By Robert H. Fletcher.

84. A Widower Indeed. By Rhoda Broughton and Elizabeth Bisland.

85. The Flight of the Shadow. By George MacDonald.

86. Love or Money. By Katharine Lee.

87. Not All in Vain. By Ada Cambridge.

88. It Happened Yesterday. By Frederick Marshall.

89. My Guardian. By Ada Cambridge.

90. The Story of Philip Methuen. By Mrs. J. H. Needell.

91. Amethyst: The Story of a Beauty. By Christabel R. Coleridge.

92. Don Braulio. By Juan Valera. Translated by Clara Bell.

93. The Chronicles of Mr. Bill Williams. By Richard Malcolm Johnston.

94. A Queen of Curds and Cream. By Dorothea Gerard.

95. "La Bella" and Others. By Egerton Castle.

96. "December Roses." By Mrs. Campbell-Praed.

97. Jean de Kerdren. By Jeanne Schultz.

98. Etelka's Vow. By Dorothea Gerard.

99. Cross Currents. By Mary A. Dickens.

100. His Life's Magnet. By Theodora Elmslie.

101. Passing the Love of Women. By Mrs. J. H. Needell.

102. In Old St. Stephen's. By Jeanie Drake.

103. The Berkeleys and their Neighbors. By Molly Elliot Seawell.

104. Mona Maclean, Medical Student. By Graham Travers.

105. Mrs. Bligh. By Rhoda Broughton.

106. A Stumble on the Threshold. By James Payn.

107. Hanging Moss. By Paul Lindau.

108. A Comedy of Elopement. By Christian Reid.

109. In the Suntime of her Youth. By Beatrice Whitby.

110. Stories in Black and White. By Thomas Hardy and Others.

110-1/2. An Englishman in Paris. Notes and Recollections.

111. Commander Mendoza. By Juan Valera.

112. Dr. Paull's Theory. By Mrs. A. M. Diehl.

113. Children of Destiny. By Molly Elliot Seawell.

114. A Little Minx. By Ada Cambridge.

115. Capt'n Davy's Honeymoon. By Hall Caine.

116. The Voice of a Flower. By E. Gerard.

117. Singularly Deluded. By Sarah Grand.

118. Suspected. By Louisa Stratenus.

119. Lucia, Hugh, and Another. By Mrs. J. H. Needell.

120. The Tutor's Secret. By Victor Cherbuliez.

121. From the Five Rivers. By Mrs. F. A. Steel.

122. An Innocent Impostor, and Other Stories. By Maxwell Gray.

123. Ideala. By Sarah Grand.

124. A Comedy of Masks. By Ernest Dowson and Arthur Moore.

125. Relics. By Frances MacNab.

126. Dodo: A Detail of the Day. By E. F. Benson.

127. A Woman of Forty. By EsmÈ Stuart.

128. Diana Tempest. By Mary Cholmondeley.

129. The Recipe for Diamonds. By C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne.

130. Christina Chard. By Mrs. Campbell-Praed.

131. A Gray Eye or So. By Frank Frankfort Moore.

132. Earlscourt. By Alexander Allardyce.

133. A Marriage Ceremony. By Ada Cambridge.

134. A Ward in Chancery. By Mrs. Alexander.

135. Lot 13. By Dorothea Gerard.

136. Our Manifold Nature. By Sarah Grand.

137. A Costly Freak. By Maxwell Gray.

138. A Beginner. By Rhoda Broughton.

139. A Yellow Aster. By Mrs. Mannington Caffyn ("Iota").

140. The Rubicon. By E. F. Benson.

141. The Trespasser. By Gilbert Parker.

142. The Rich Miss Riddell. By Dorothea Gerard.

143. Mary Fenwick's Daughter. By Beatrice Whitby.

144. Red Diamonds. By Justin McCarthy.

145. A Daughter of Music. By G. Colmore.

146. Outlaw and Lawmaker. By Mrs. Campbell-Praed.

147. Dr. Janet of Harley Street. By Arabella Kenealy.

148. George Mandeville's Husband. By C. E. Raimond.

149. Vashti and Esther.

150. Timar's Two Worlds. By M. Jokai.

151. A Victim of Good Luck. By W. E. Norris.

152. The Trail of the Sword. By Gilbert Parker.

153. A Mild Barbarian. By Edgar Fawcett.

154. The God in the Car. By Anthony Hope.

155. Children of Circumstance. By Mrs. M. Caffyn ("Iota").

156. At the Gate of Samaria. By William J. Locke.

157. The Justification of Andrew Lebrun. By Frank Barrett.

158. Dust and Laurels. By Mary L. Pendered.

159. The Good Ship Mohock. By W. Clark Russell.

160. Noemi. By S. Baring-Gould.

Each, 12mo. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, 75 cents and $1.00.

GEORG EBERS'S ROMANCES.

Cleopatra. Translated from the German by Mary J. Safford. 2 volumes.

A Thorny Path. (Per Aspera.) Translated by Clara Bell. 2 volumes.

An Egyptian Princess. Translated by Eleanor Grove. 2 volumes.

Uarda. Translated by Clara Bell. 2 volumes.

Homo Sum. Translated by Clara Bell. 1 volume.

The Sisters. Translated by Clara Bell. 1 volume.

A Question. Translated by Mary J. Safford. 1 volume.

The Emperor. Translated by Clara Bell. 2 volumes.

The Burgomaster's Wife. Translated by Mary J. Safford. 1 volume.

A Word, only a Word. Translated by Mary J. Safford. 1 volume.

Serapis. Translated by Clara Bell. 1 volume.

The Bride of the Nile. Translated by Clara Bell. 2 volumes.

Margery. (Gred.) Translated by Clara Bell. 2 volumes.

Joshua. Translated by Mary J. Safford. 1 volume.

The Elixir, and Other Tales. Translated by Mrs. Edward H. Bell. 1 vol.

Each of the above, 16mo, paper cover, 40 cents per volume; cloth, 75 cents. Set of 22 volumes, cloth, in box, $16.50.

Also, 12mo edition of the above (except "A Question," "The Elixir," "Cleopatra," and "A Thorny Path"), in 8 volumes, cloth, $1.00 each.

New York: D. APPLETON & CO., Publishers, 72 Fifth Avenue.

NOVELS BY HALL CAINE.

THE MANXMAN. By Hall Caine. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.

"A story of marvelous dramatic intensity, and in its ethical meaning has a force comparable only to Hawthorne's 'Scarlet Letter.'"—Boston Beacon.

"A work of power which is another stone added to the foundation of enduring fame to which Mr. Caine is yearly adding."—Public Opinion.

"A wonderfully strong study of character; a powerful analysis of those elements which go to make up the strength and weakness of a man, which are at fierce warfare within the same breast: contending against each other, as it were, the one to raise him to fame and power, the other to drag him down to degradation and shame. Never in the whole range of literature have we seen the struggle between these forces for supremacy over the man more powerfully, more realistically delineated, than Mr. Caine pictures it."—Boston Home Journal.

"'The Manxman' is one of the most notable novels of the year, and is unquestionably destined to perpetuate the fame of Hall Caine for many a year to come."—Philadelphia Telegraph.

"The author exhibits a mastery of the elemental passions of life that places him high among the foremost of present writers of fiction."—Philadelphia Inquirer.

THE DEEMSTER. A Romance of the Isle of Man. By Hall Caine. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.

"Hall Caine has already given us some very strong and fine work, and 'The Deemster' is a story of unusual power.... Certain passages and chapters have an intensely dramatic grasp, and hold the fascinated reader with a force rarely excited nowadays in literature."—The Critic.

"One of the strongest novels which has appeared for many a day."—San Francisco Chronicle.

"Fascinates the mind like the gathering and bursting of a storm."—Illustrated London News.

"Deserves to be ranked among the remarkable novels of the day."—Chicago Times.

"Remarkably powerful, and is undoubtedly one of the strongest works of fiction of our time. Its conception and execution are both very fine."—Philadelphia Inquirer.

CAPT'N DAVY'S HONEYMOON. A Manx Yarn. By Hall Caine. 12mo. Paper, 50 cts.; cloth, $1.00.

"A new departure by this author. Unlike his previous works, this little tale is almost wholly humorous, with, however, a current of pathos underneath. It is not always that an author can succeed equally well in tragedy and in comedy, but it looks as though Mr. Hall Caine would be one of the exceptions."—London Literary World.

"It is pleasant to meet the author of 'The Deemster' in a brightly humorous little story like this.... It shows the same observation of Manx character, and much of the same artistic skill."—Philadelphia Times.

New York: D. APPLETON & CO., 72 Fifth Avenue.