A thousand welcomes were
sent over to them, and many a happy messenger of good tidings came,
assuring Henri that the people of Poitou should find arms, food,
clothing, and shelter on the other side of the water.
Henri sat himself to work in earnest. His first difficulty was to get
vessels or rafts sufficient to carry the people over. All he could
obtain was seven or eight little boats, each capable of holding about
six persons, besides the two men who rowed. Timber there was none of
size sufficient to make a raft; and though he sent messengers for
leagues, both up and down the river, he could not get a barge. He put
the small boats to work, but the passage of the river was so tedious
that it seemed to him that it would be impossible for him to take over
all those who crowded on the banks. The river is broad at St. Florent,
and between the marshes which lie on the southern side and the northern
bank there is a long island. Between St. Florent and the island the
water is broad and the stream slow, but between the island and the other
shore the narrow river runs rapidly.
Pages:
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700