Unwillingly, and not without a considerable effort, the surgeon tore the head of the lance out of the wound; but, contrary to his expectation; very little blood followed. The Earl bled inwardly.
He seemed to feel instant relief, however, saying--"Ah, that is comfort! keep that steel, my friend, as the instrument that sent De Montfort to heaven. Now mark me, lords and nobles," he continued, in a firm voice--"mark me and never forget, that at his last hour, going to meet his Saviour in judgment, De Montfort declares that those who accuse him of ambition do belie him. I say now, as I have said ever, that my every act and every thought have been for my country's good. I may have been mistaken--doubtless, have been so often; but that my intentions have been pure, I do most fervently call Heaven to witness. So much for that; and now, my friends, I am fast leaving you. My sun, like yonder orb, is setting rapidly: I for ever--he to rise again. He may yet shine brightly on the cause I can no longer support, but it must be upon another field, and upon another day. Preserve yourselves for that time, my friends, I exhort, I beseech you! Basset, Monthermer, Le Despeuser, this battle is lost; but you may yet, as night is coming, effect your retreat in safety. It is no dishonour to quit a well-fought but unequal field. Show, a firm face to the enemy; gather all our poor soldiers together; retire as orderly as may be till night covers you, then disperse, and each man make the best of his way to his own stronghold. Monthermer, you shake your head!"
"I have sworn, De Montfort," said his old friend, kneeling down and grasping his hand, "not to quit this field so long as there is light in yonder sky to strike a stroke, and I must keep my vow."
"You are going, my noble friend," said Lord Ralph Basset--"you are going on a journey where you must have companions. I am with you, Leicester, and that right soon."
"Good bye, De Montfort," said Lord le Despenser. "Go on; I will not make you wait. We shall meet again in half an hour."
A faint smile came upon the lip of the dying man. "Must it be so?" he asked. "Well, then, range your men! Upon them altogether! and let the traitors, who have betrayed their country, make such a field, that Evesham plain shall be sung and talked of so long as liberty is dear to the hearts of Englishmen.--Hark, they are coming!" he continued, in a faint voice, with his eye rolling languidly from side to side.
"No, my lord, that is thunder," said the surgeon.
"Ha!" replied De Montfort, vacantly, "thunder!--I am very thirsty."
Some one ran and brought him a little water from the stream. It seemed to refresh him; and, raising himself for an instant upon his arm, he gazed around with a countenance, full of stern enthusiasm, exclaiming aloud, "Do your devoir!" and with those words he fell back into the arms of the priest, a corpse.
A dozen voices, replied, "We will!" and each man springing on his horse, regained the head of his band. Just as Edward's troops were once more in movement to advance, the word was given along the whole of the confederate line, the trumpets blew to the charge, and the army, which had held its firm position up to that hour, rushed forward to meet the adversary like a thunder-cloud rolling down a hill.