"But now we will go forth and you shall see for yourselves how matters stand with us. First, we will inspect the Castle itself, and I will show you our magazines. And we go unattended, remembering that your mission is a secret one. The garrison is being drilled in the great courtyard at this moment. You shall see the men under arms."
The Governor had ordered a full muster this morning, and the courtyard presented a scene full of life and animation when the whole garrison presented arms as the Earl and his guests made their appearance.
The envoys passed between the lines and closely inspected the men and their equipment. The review was soon completed, and the men went to their quarters with a great beating of drums and blowing of trumpets.
"What think you of them?" asked the Governor, as he and his guests moved on to the bastions.
The envoys consulted together for a brief space, and then Geoffrey, as spokesman, gave their opinion.
"The men were gallant English soldiers, but they were chiefly old men, some of them surely past the usual age for men on service. Their weapons were older still, and the arquebusiers were astonishingly few in number," such was their verdict.
The Governor sighed as he admitted that the criticism was just, and he now proceeded to lead the party to the Castle wall.
Many of the great guns were so old that it would be dangerous to use them; one wondrous piece of artillery dated back to the days of Crécy.
"But others are on their way hither," the Governor explained. "They were at Dover waiting for shipment," according to his latest information.
Then a circuit of the fortifications was made, and it was all too evident that many towers were crumbling to ruin.