"We shall meet again," said Gonzaga. "At Herstmonceux, I hope," replied Geoffrey, as they shook hands once more. Half-an-hour later the young men were in Calais, and the _Santa Trinadad_ pursued her journey to Spain, whither she was bound. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XV CALAIS Calais was a petty fishing village in the tenth century, and its first appearance in the annals of history was when Baldwin the Fourth, Count of Flanders, took it under his fostering care and its earliest fortifications were built. Perceiving its natural advantages, Philip of France, Count of Boulogne, took serious steps for its defence. A citadel was built, forts were erected, a lofty watch-tower was constructed on the bastion fronting the sea, which for centuries was the chief light-house of Calais. The town was encircled by strong walls, deep moats were constructed, every art known to the engineers of that age was employed, and the town was thought to be impregnable. King Edward the Third captured it after the great battle of Crécy, and it took that warlike monarch eleven months ere he became master of the town, chiefly aided by the grim necessities of famine. It became an English town, and for two hundred years it had resisted the repeated efforts of France to reconquer it. The English rebuilt the cathedral of Notre Dame, whose lofty tower served as a landmark for sailors. When the sovereigns of England and France met on the "Field of the Cloth of Gold," much money was spent on the town by the English. Wolsey's keen eye marked the decrepitude of its walls, and he spent twenty thousand crowns in strengthening them. Yet vague rumours had lately gone abroad that its fortifications were tottering to a fall, undermined by the action of the sea; that the ancient artillery which defended its walls was but a vain show, and that its garrison of eight hundred men was not only inadequate, but it was untrustworthy from a military point of view. It had become a kind of depôt for old soldiers, ill watch was kept, and loose discipline was maintained. Alarmed by the reports which the Bishop of Acqs had conveyed to the French Government (all of which were known by him), Philip took serious alarm. In hot haste he laid these matters before the English Government, only to find his reports to be received with the utmost incredulity. The two hundred years of almost quiet possession had begotten a fatal sense of security on the part of the English. Again Philip sent to Cardinal Pole, who was the Queen's chief adviser, offering to garrison Calais with Spaniards at his own expense; but this offer was received coldly by the English Government, whose suspicion of the Spaniard, and of Philip himself especially, reigned supreme. Then Philip suggested a greatly increased garrison, of which one half should be English and the other Spanish. The offer was refused.