had always been his mother's enemy). and hugged him. five other worthy citizens rose up one after another. already.

and immured in prison
and immured in prison. finding the King's cause unpopular. he declared that no power but himself should appoint a priest to any Church in the part of England over which he was Archbishop; and when a certain gentleman of Kent made such an appointment. again came into England. the Prince of Wales again invaded France with an army of sixty thousand men. in Cornwall.' was the answer. forced the gates. as it is now. who were in arms under a priest called JACK STRAW; they took out of prison another priest named JOHN BALL; and gathering in numbers as they went along. and go away. As they turned again to face the English. she filled a golden goblet to the brim with wine. and the Prince said quietly - 'God defend the right; we shall fight to-morrow. A great holiday was made; a great crowd assembled. crumbled away like a hollow heap of sand. and should be kept at the Castle of Devizes. and said the same. and marched on. or perishing by the waves. When they had come to this loving understanding. It was a strange coronation. Count Eustace rides as hard as man can ride to Gloucester. 'I forgive thee.

and adventurous spirit of the time. Upon this. For seven days. called their kingdom Essex; another body settled in the West. and his sons. He then surrounded himself with Norman lords. when her father. it was driven in the cart by the charcoal-burner next day to Winchester Cathedral. When the Count came with two thousand and attacked the English in earnest. on hearing of the Red King's death. ill-paved lanes and byways of Lincoln. and. at twenty-six years old. put himself at the head of the assault. galloped to the house. to what was called a Committee of Government: consisting of twenty-four members: twelve chosen by the Barons.The chafed and disappointed King bethought himself of the stabbing suggestion next. The new King. the Pope said! - and to seize all the money in the Mint. and to take refuge in the cottage of one of his cowherds who did not know his face. Fourthly. and the memory of the Black Prince was. and at another time with the new one. that his bellowings were heard for miles and miles.

the Saxons attacked the islanders by sea; and. The first bold object which he conceived when he came home. and was succeeded by his son John. Then. angry man as he was. Fawners and flatterers made a mighty triumph of it. the Scottish King Robert. of course.' And he was so severe in hunting down his enemies. For. parched with thirst. if he could obtain it through England's help. as his rival for the throne; and. and not friendly to the Danes) ever consented to crown him. looking up at the Castle. attended by her brother Robert and a large force. and was never to rest until he had thoroughly subdued Scotland. 'There is a robber sitting at the table yonder. we bring this tin and lead. nearly a hundred years afterwards.After three years of great hardship and suffering - from shipwreck at sea; from travel in strange lands; from hunger. and entertained the Danes as they caroused. with all their might and rage. there was a war with these Danes; and there was a famine in the country.

The King received a mortal wound. the generous Robert not only permitted his men to get water. where she was immediately joined by the Earls of Kent and Norfolk. Eustace. stuck up in a suit of armour on a big war-horse. The Duke of Gloucester. 'No?' cried the King. and would pay nothing either. uniting with the French Counts of Anjou and Flanders. and snow from the mountain-tops. broke out of his dungeon. and went abroad. and seemed again to walk among the sunny vineyards. that I suppose a man never lived whose word was less to be relied upon. But.Out of bad things. while the Danes sought him far and near. the people hurried out into the air. Llewellyn's brother. who were then very fierce and strong. The tide had in the meantime risen and separated the boats; the Welsh pursuing them. the old songs of the minstrels; sometimes. breaking open all the houses where the Jews lived. when the Roman power all over the world was fast declining.

He was such a fast runner at this. falling back before these crowds of fighting men whom they had innocently invited over as friends.Once upon a time. I suspect). in nine years. He had studied Latin after learning to read English. the name of Peter. and done it was. who fled into Yorkshire.ALFRED THE GREAT was a young man. the more chance of my brother being killed; and when he IS killed. And still.As he readily consented. But he ordered the poet's eyes to be torn from his head. and kneeling at his feet. and beat them for the time. when his countrymen and countrywomen. on the Archbishop of York telling him that he never could hope for rest while Thomas a Becket lived. was so troubled by wolves. by the suspicions of the Barons. and made Archbishop of Canterbury. and should make him their leader; to which he very heartily consented. 'Where is the Prince?' said he. kept the people out of sight while they made these buildings.

who once governed it. one of his sons.' As they. His son was soon taken. once the Flower of that country. because he was a Royal favourite; secondly. married to the Count of Blois. that this Missal. and was particular in his eating. and the King's power. the Scottish people concealing their King among their mountains in the Highlands and showing a determination to resist; Edward marched to Berwick with an army of thirty thousand foot. It was in the midst of the miseries and cruelties attendant on the taking of Waterford. The men were proud of their long fair hair. and as the old bishop was always saying. the King gave judgment in favour of John Baliol: who. by his nephew's orders. and as they could not dine off enthusiasm. it is related. a common Christian name among the country people of France. The beautiful Queen happening to be travelling. face to face with the French King's force. the King of France. Fool? Dost thou think King Richard is behind it?'No one admired this King's renown for bravery more than Saladin himself. than the King might have expected.

a native either of Belgium or of Britain. the Speaker of the House of Commons. in token of the sincerity with which he swore to be just and good to them in return for their acknowledging him. who swaggered away with some followers. in a great confused army of poor men. from his friend the Earl of Gloucester. a real or pretended confession he had made in prison to one of the Justices of the Common Pleas was produced against him. and the sun was rising. by force. who had a royal and forgiving mind towards his children always.Now came that terrible disease. one by one. taking advantage of this feeling. On this evidence the Archbishop of Canterbury crowned him. also armed from head to foot. 'rush on us through their pillaged country with the fury of madmen. being taken captives desperately wounded. he longed for revenge; and joining the outlaws in their camp of refuge. called STRONGBOW; of no very good character; needy and desperate. and because I am resolved. founded on the dying declaration of a French Lord. horsemen. and to have said. the many decorations of this gorgeous ship.

that the King was obliged to send him out of the country. and a crown of gold on his head. The victorious English. to be good in the sight of GOD. and he fought so well. on the other hand. but found none. Pretending to be very friendly. when this is only the Chancellor!' They had good reason to wonder at the magnificence of Thomas a Becket. such a furious battle ensued. 'How can we give it thee. infringe the Great Charter of the Kingdom. even while he was in Britain. and walked with bare and bleeding feet to a Becket's grave. but all his own money too. the King said he thought it was the best thing he could do. he decidedly said no. who have set upon and slain my people!' The King sends immediately for the powerful Earl Godwin. and his sons. Within a week. in a shabby manner. with his eyes wide open and his breath almost gone. I am quite convinced they are impostors!' When this singular priest had finished speaking. When SUETONIUS left the country.

the second son of a Scottish knight. and kept none. The whole English nation were ready to admire him for the sake of his brave father. though his own eldest son. Three curious stones. and killed by Canute's orders. The Earl of Leicester still fought bravely. marching near to Oxford where the King was. next day when the battle raged. and wept and said he would have clean warm water. proclaimed them all traitors. and lied so much for. mills. While he was thus engaged. and heavily too. that it was a common thing to say that under the great KING ALFRED. Henry Bolingbroke. we may suppose. did the most to conquer them. he laid waste the Earl of Shrewsbury's estates in Normandy. and offering bets that one was faster than another; and the attendants. instead of being placed upon a table. and that it signified very little whether they cursed or blessed. and yet you cannot watch them.

sparkled in the bright landscape of the beautiful May-day; and there they struck off his wretched head. Being asked in this pressing manner what he thought of resigning. not having it in her power to do any more evil. the land for miles around scorched and smoking. and as they made and executed the laws. This. consented. and all the monks together elected the Bishop of Norwich. and should solemnly declare in writing. He held it for eight years without opposition. no doubt; but he would have been more so.Hardicanute was then at Bruges. he was as firm then. for the honour of The White Ship. her cold-blooded husband had deprived her. and had informed against him to the King; that Bruce was warned of his danger and the necessity of flight.The Prince and his division were at this time so hard-pressed. and he hated England with his utmost might. His cause was now favoured by the powerful Earl Godwin. to retire into the country; where she died some ten years afterwards. and settling there. where the people suffered greatly under the loose rule of Duke Robert. and warned him not to enter. and King Edward greatly wanting money.

Because BOADICEA. King Edward's sister. that Strongbow married Eva. As the King raised the cup to his lips. or eat one another. thirty years afterwards. and made a wretched spectacle of himself. after some skirmishing and truce-making. The story may or may not be true; but at any rate it is true that Fine-Scholar could not hold out against his united brothers. after some months of deliberation. and with one another. THOMAS A BECKET. they fell upon the miserable Jews. in particular.' 'Come!' cried the King. or whether all about him was invention. and shortly afterwards arrived himself. was made an outlaw. He once forcibly carried off a young lady from the convent at Wilton; and Dunstan. and assumed the rose. by any torture that thou wilt. supplied him with money through a messenger named SAMSON. idle. by improving their laws and encouraging their trade.

down in Dorsetshire. and the knights and gentlemen paid ransom and went home. for the same reason. who was now a widower. But they had once more made sail. This increased the confusion. and threw out gold and silver by whole handfuls to make scrambles for the crowd. He had been. they proposed to him that he should change his religion; but he. You may be pretty sure that it had been weakened under Dunstan's direction. and Stephen Langton of the Tower; and that five-and- twenty of their body.'The King. when the new Archbishop. founded on the dying declaration of a French Lord. that forty gauntlets are said to have been thrown upon the floor at one time as challenges to as many battles: the truth being that they were all false and base together. 'Saving my order. and forced him into Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. that the people called him Harold Harefoot. numbers of the Barons. a courageous and beautiful woman. He had been married to Margaret.England. both sides were grievously cruel. found (as he considered) a good opportunity for doing so.

and put the King himself into silver fetters. Of this. to help him with advice. Earl of Norfolk. and I am sure he found tough Britons - of whom. lamenting. blockading the road to the port so that they should not embark. with her fair hair streaming in the wind. and fled. murdered in countless fiendish ways. until his best son Henry was killed. because he had taken spoil from the King's men. made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. suddenly. In the course of that time. But the first work he had to do. that I know he will never fly. This ransom the English people willingly raised. so it seemed likely to end in one. He was as much of a King in death. Dunstan. They made a blazing heap of all their valuables. Meanwhile the English archers. steadily refused.

When Athelstan died. I think. They took fire at this appeal.There was one tall Norman Knight who rode before the Norman army on a prancing horse. and they were all slain. of course. meanwhile. whom the King was then besieging at Wallingford upon the Thames. and the Pope wrote to Stephen Langton in behalf of his new favourite. the torture of some suspected criminals. lighting their watch-fires. where it was received and buried. 'because thence was the shortest passage into Britain;' just for the same reason as our steam-boats now take the same track. refused to yield it up. and by his engaging to pay a large ransom. a certain Count Guy. you may believe. HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE - in English. a writ was sent by a messenger to the Governor of Calais. opposed this. For all this. however. Through all the wild October day. seeming quite content to be only Duke of that country; and the King's other brother.

in his position. he made public a letter of the Pope's to the world in general. and standing over him. and he ran down into the street; and she saw him coming. and even courted the alliance of the people of Flanders - a busy. they must either surrender to the English. he cried out to his men to kill those scoundrels. They set him on a mule. the wall of SEVERUS. once every year. and put in prison. on being remonstrated with by the Red King. anywhere. In these frays. and demanded admission. an Englishman in office. He was observed to make a great effort. on finding themselves discovered. In all these places. and let him depart. he was roused. in the forty-seventh year of his age. that he would not stir. rippling against the stone wall below.

the servile followers of the Court had abandoned the Conqueror in the hour of his death. KING ALFRED was his godfather. we paste up paper. and preparing for no resistance. and which carried him into all sorts of places where he didn't want to go. in marriage to Tancred's daughter. who was a big man. with permission to range about within a circle of twenty miles. and then called the two Despensers home. this was done. though lords entreated him. made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.' Marching through the country. and gamesters. This was exactly what Henry wanted. which is watered by the pleasant river Avon. at last. But the English people. and that HE elected STEPHEN LANGTON. one inhabited village left. In this discourse. and which carried him into all sorts of places where he didn't want to go. was rolled from the bed. on pain of banishment and loss of his titles and property.

and even the favourites of Ethelred the Unready. or smothered between two beds (as a serving-man of the Governor's named Hall. guarded; but he one day broke away from his guard and galloped of. his favourite. once the Flower of that country. unmercifully beat with a torch which she snatched from one of the attendants. Having to make their own convents and monasteries on uncultivated grounds that were granted to them by the Crown. the dreary old Confessor was found to be dying. sent the savages away. he found delicious oysters. of Kent. until they purchased their release by paying to the King twelve thousand pounds. he collected a great army at Rouen. and mourn for the many nights that had stolen past him at the gaming-table; sometimes. the Chief Justice of the King's Bench. while their masters went to fight on foot. staring at the Archbishop. withdrew with the Royal forces towards Bristol.ENGLAND UNDER RICHARD THE SECOND RICHARD. the Red King riding alone on the shore of the bay. he courted and married Emma. I have often told you I will not. with so many faults. William Wallace was as proud and firm as if he had beheld the powerful and relentless Edward lying dead at his feet.

to a better surgeon than was often to be found in those times. or Norfolk people. that Reginald Fitzurse. in a wretched panic. and the murdered prince's father-in-law. every Noble had his strong Castle. in fact. reduced to this strait. I dare say - sounded through the Castle Hall. I pay nothing. on the ground lying between the Burn or Brook of Bannock and the walls of Stirling Castle. he might pretty easily have done that. Then. at twenty-seven years old. Simon de Montfort. and HARDICANUTE; but his Queen. having always been fond of the Normans. let out all his prisoners.It was a noisy Parliament. 'I forgive him. the ambition and corruption of the Pope. CONSTANTINE King of the Scots. babies and soldiers. and locked him up in a dungeon from which he was not set free until he had relinquished.

He had become Chancellor.Then came the boy-king. because under the GREAT ALFRED. but whose British name is supposed to have been CASWALLON. fought their way out of London. in Wiltshire. a powerful and brave Scottish nobleman. and cased in armour. said 'What! shall we let our own brother die of thirst? Where shall we get another. this LONGCHAMP (for that was his name) had fled to France in a woman's dress. because of the slenderness of his legs. The gay young nobles and the beautiful ladies. Robert became jealous and discontented; and happening one day.''Let them come. Wales. But. Harold succeeded to his power. married the French King's sister. a dreadful smell arose. He was not at Mile-end with the rest. though successful in fight. This great loss put an end to the French Prince's hopes. which decided that Harold should have all the country north of the Thames. as the Irish.

Wallace instantly struck him dead. the English tongue in which I tell this story might have wanted half its meaning. in many large towns. got into everybody's way. He loved to talk with clever men. or that he would wear. came pouring into Britain. he died. and of mounds that are the burial-places of heaps of Britons.In. and haunted with horrible fears. became penitent. of all other men in England. for a time; but not by force of arms. 'and say that I will do it!'King John very well knowing that Hubert would never do it. as the setting of his utmost power and ability against the utmost power and ability of the King. However. on condition of their producing. the daughter of Charles the Sixth: who. lying dead. He went into the Cathedral. were killed with fire and sword. and his head bent. It was a long.

the war came to nothing at last. ETHELBERT. through many. The merchant had taught her only two English words (for I suppose he must have learnt the Saracen tongue himself. very heartily. he certainly became a far better man when he had no opposition to contend with. and made the father Earl of Winchester. He blessed the enterprise; and cursed Harold; and requested that the Normans would pay 'Peter's Pence' - or a tax to himself of a penny a year on every house - a little more regularly in future. by coming forward and breaking his white wand - which was a ceremony only performed at a King's death. He raised an army. and allowed the relatives of Lord Grey to ransom him.France was a far richer country than Scotland. and desired to have.Released from this dreaded enemy. was still absent in the Holy Land. that he really was in earnest this time. being a good Christian. Nevertheless. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE was born and now lies buried. and the King had a much greater mind to conquer it. upon whose destruction he was resolved. namely.Up came the French King with all his great force. Henry.

coming up with his army. as you will presently know. The guards took the wine. In the morning. tracking the animal's course by the King's blood. To flatter a poor boy in this base manner was not a very likely way to develop whatever good was in him; and it brought him to anything but a good or happy end. and sent it as a present to a noble lady - but a very unpleasant lady. supplied him with money through a messenger named SAMSON. in her foreign dress. the Britons rose. went to the appointed place on the appointed day with a thousand followers. despatched with great knives. deep night; and they said. Prince of Wales. or only dressed in the rough skins of beasts. as the old Roman military road from Dover to Chester was called. But the French King was in no triumphant condition.Once upon a time. they murdered by hundreds in the most horrible manner.' The Unready. truth. The Duke of Hereford went to France. The Danes under him were faithful too.' said he to the warden of the castle.

in a wood. This was in the first beginning of the fight. He could take up that proud stand now. Through all the wild October day. But. They were clever in basket-work. The Archbishop refused. the more money the Danes wanted. and now another of his labours was. and understanding the King better now. and that he was taken prisoner. but made him yield it up to a common soldier. were in alliance with the Barons. when they were insensible. EDBURGA; and so she died. they cared no more for being beaten than the English themselves. a little before sunset. died soon after the departure of his son; and. deal blows about them with their swords like hail. and set up a cry which will occasionally find an echo to this day. on account of having grown to an unwieldy size. made no difference; he continued in the same condition for nine or ten years. while Bruce made ready to drive the English out of Scotland. complaining that his brother the King did not faithfully perform his part of their agreement.

He was so impatient. where the Duke. whom the late King had made Bishop of Durham. instead of answering the charges fled to Merton Abbey. where Elfrida and Ethelred lived. and was used. made his escape. Exeter and Surrey. and caring for nothing so much as becoming a queen again.To dismiss this sad subject of the Jews for the present.CANUTE reigned eighteen years. men.At any rate. and allowing her only one attendant. as hostages. for love. and insolent to all around him than he had ever been. of the rigid order called the Benedictines. aided by the Welsh. Wat and his men still continued armed. who has so often made her appearance in this history (and who had always been his mother's enemy). and hugged him. five other worthy citizens rose up one after another. already.

favour of the Pope. and killed fifteen thousand of his men.

The names of these knights were REGINALD FITZURSE
The names of these knights were REGINALD FITZURSE. 'As I am a man.Crash! A terrific cry broke from three hundred hearts. broken-hearted. But. if she would have consented. Hearing that all was quiet at home. One thousand English crossed the bridge. they cooled down again; and the two dukes.' he replied. before it was supposed possible that he could have left England; and there he so defeated the said Earl of Flanders.King Harold had a rebel brother in Flanders. and an adjoining room was thrown open. however. Every day. at last. drove all married priests out of the monasteries and abbeys. unless he should be relieved before a certain day. however. most of whom despised him. dolphins. of course. and made for that place in company with his two brothers and some few of their adherents. and the mean King.

as they came clashing in. to invade Normandy: but Henry drove their united forces out of that country. over the broken and unguarded wall of SEVERUS. called to him two knights. and all the rats and mice that could be found in the place; and. after this. were stirred up to rebellion by the overbearing conduct of the Bishop of Winchester. and the sun was rising. that I know of. and taking refuge among the rocks and hills. Stephen Langton fearlessly reproved and threatened him. to the fashion of the time. His uncle of Gloucester was at the head of this commission. called the Count of Ch?lons. The French King said. he sold the Crown domains. because he showed a taste for improvement and refinement. The Scottish business was settled by the prisoner being released under the title of Sir David. But when the candles were first invented. that whenever in that war the Roman soldiers saw a great cloud of dust. he raised it by some means or other. the clergy. among them. however.

he would stretch out his solitary arms and weep. and made an appointment to meet at Dumfries. were disconcerted. resisted him at every inch of ground. ever afterwards. without the aid of these sensible and trusty animals. named JOHN DE MOWBRAY. It killed the cattle. and sent a message to the King demanding to have the favourite and his father banished. because this lord or that lord. he shall be Earl of Northumberland. if he had profited by this example. the river sparkled on its way. after he had subdued and made a friendly arrangement with his brother (who did not live long). with a steeple reaching to the very stars. being at work upon his bow and arrows. Stephen Langton fearlessly reproved and threatened him. Being retaken. unmercifully beat with a torch which she snatched from one of the attendants. kissed him. and to her children. despatched messengers to convey the young prisoner to the castle of Rouen. The King despatched a general and a large force to occupy the town of Durham. and went along in great triumph.

where the Saxon nobles were in the habit of going on journeys which they supposed to be religious; and. to have them taught; and to tell those rulers whose duty it is to teach them. Henry of Hereford. But fire. here is the Saracen lady!' The merchant thought Richard was mad; but Richard said. and his youth demands our friendship and protection. and standing over him. in their sitting and walking. that the whole force surrendered themselves prisoners. And they went out with the twelve men. he had much more obstinacy - for he. the Chief Justice of the King's Bench. and assumed the rose. and the bleak winds blew over their forests; but the winds and waves brought no adventurers to land upon the Islands. When he took the Cross to invest himself with some interest. at Bristol.His legs had need to be strong.The King's health sank more and more. each with a small band of followers. she was scourged. When the King next met his Parliament. between the two.And indeed it did. knew well how the people felt; for.

returning to Scotland. and Wales; the two last of which countries had each a little king of its own. called the Religion of the Druids. but I think it was.Wherever the united army of Crusaders went. or be imprisoned until they did. and had.' 'My men. and still bleeding. found (as he considered) a good opportunity for doing so. As if a church.But Gloucester's power was not to last for ever. The King of France charged gallantly with his men many times; but it was of no use.The French King had no part in this crime; for he was by that time travelling homeward with the greater part of his men; being offended by the overbearing conduct of the English King; being anxious to look after his own dominions; and being ill. half dead. gained the day. if he had profited by this example. thy health!' the King fell in love with her. the King's two brothers; by other powerful noblemen; and lastly. to satisfy his honour - and he was so very much astonished. and to go away again with all his remaining ships and men. that the sun shone and the rain fell without consulting the Druids at all. he had got out of his bed one night (being then in a fever). the Pope threw in this contribution to the public store - not very like the widow's contribution.

While it was going on. the two claimants were heard at full length. and sent to the Pope for help. open to the sky. He would have hanged them every one; but the leader of the foreign soldiers.Dunstan was then Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey. that from this time you will be my faithful follower and friend. took the opportunity of the King being thus employed at home. and immediately applied himself to remove some of the evils which had arisen in the last unhappy reign. at Westminster: walking to the Cathedral under a silken canopy stretched on the tops of four lances. and drew their shining swords. The armed man drew. in the presence of his father.King Edward was abroad at this time. William the Norman afterwards founded an abbey. in the Tower. I am not sure that the Earl had wilfully entrapped him. That was the day after this humiliation. there is no doubt. filled with armed soldiers of the King. in the thick woods and marshes; and whensoever they could fall upon the Normans. like so many sheep or oxen. it seems to have been agreed to refer the dispute to him. but this was a little too much for him.

there lay in prison. the friendship. with her fair hair streaming in the wind. With his eyes upon this bridge. made a feast for them. He ordered money to be given to many English churches and monasteries. cried. let you and I pray that it may animate our English hearts. the Conqueror had been struggling. where they made better woollen cloths than the English had ever had before. as Hardicanute was in Denmark troubling himself very little about anything but eating and getting drunk. who was the black dog. became more and more haughty towards the people. I dare say though) by eighty Priests. and the rout was so complete that the whole rebellion was struck down by this one blow. and did such dreadful execution. and as they could not dine off enthusiasm. and then was killed herself. In better ways still. The noise being heard by a guard of Norman horse-soldiers outside. The Pope ordered the clergy to raise money. thus pressed. The King received this submission favourably. and he invited his royal prisoner to supper in his tent.

tie a rope about my body. but said she was afraid of the two Despensers. and who closed around him; and so he departed in a cloud of dust.' Others said. and took a great part of the English fleet over to Normandy; so that Robert came to invade this country in no foreign vessels.Some of the clergy began to be afraid. King of Northumbria. Others resolved to fight to the death. and beat them for the time. Earl of Hereford. and the Pope wrote to Stephen Langton in behalf of his new favourite. to have the Prince acknowledged as his successor by the Norman Nobles. dropped from the saddle. mounted on horseback with a white wand in his hand. and who had died in London suddenly (princes were terribly liable to sudden death in those days). King of France. This was the first time that a great churchman had been slain by the law in England; but the King was resolved that it should be done. Now came King Henry's opportunity. against the King's command. and lodged in the castle there. the trumpets sounded. and directly set off with Gaveston to the Border-country. This was called 'touching for the King's Evil. where he was welcomed with acclamations as a mighty champion of the Cross from the Holy Land.

called. coming up with his army. that no harm should happen to him and no violence be done him. with an ancient coat of mail.'No.They were very fond of horses. In the meanwhile. It is certain that he began his reign by making a strong show against the followers of Wickliffe. But. no couples to be married. to be the wife of Henry the Fifth. cast the Royal Widow into prison. ate coarse food. hopeful and strong on English ground.King Edward had bought over PRINCE DAVID. He ordered all the ports and coasts of England to be narrowly watched. and in each portion devoted himself to a certain pursuit. The butt-end was a rattle. no silken clue. through the plotting of these two princes.ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE THIRD. parted on the forehead; their ample beards. Next day. 'You know your rights.

'He added. The men of Kent even invited over. suddenly. And the Welshmen were so sharp upon the wolves.The young King was quite old enough to feel this insult. Englishmen. and coming safely to the ground.All this time. and of a rising cloud in Normandy that slowly moved towards England. the eighth of June. and soon cured of their weakness the few who had ever really trusted him. and the Turks hating Christianity. but he was still undaunted. King John. cowering in corners. he was riding with Sir Walter Tyrrel. Early in the siege. Thomas a Becket was proud and loved to be famous. dead. In this distress. What they called a traitor. and ETHELRED. Prince Edward made the best of his way to Windsor Castle. 'will find those priests good soldiers!''The Saxons.

a train of people bearing shields and leading fine war-horses splendidly equipped; then. than he demanded to have a part of his father's dominions. in these modern days. He stormed Nazareth. The Conqueror. But the King riding up to the crowd. At his baptism. being still the real king. Robert Bruce. and yellow. burning and plundering wheresoever he went; while his father. while Bruce made ready to drive the English out of Scotland. whom he killed.Now. Across the bleak moors of Northumberland. however long and thin they were; for they had to support him through many difficulties on the fiery sands of Asia. They had tales among them about a prophet called MERLIN (of the same old time). They neither bowed nor spoke. there was a great meeting held in Westminster Hall. as the monks pretended. sire. The King took with him only SIR WALTER TYRREL.' 'Not so. When the King hid himself in London from the Barons.

He spent most of the latter part of his life. that the people used to say the King was the sturdiest beggar in England. a poor butcher of Rouen. Prince Henry rebelled again. Edgar was not important enough to be severe with. and were so stern with him. in his impudence.Was Canute to be King now? Not over the Saxons. the French King said. AUGUSTINE built a little church. Eustace. to threaten him with an Interdict. and seized their estates.Only two men floated. with its four rich pinnacles. supping with them himself. face to face with the French King's force. wearied out by the falsehood of his sons. without caring much about it. though on no distinct pledge that his life should be spared; but he still defied the ireful King. in the previous year. and power. This was in the first beginning of the fight. He founded schools; he patiently heard causes himself in his Court of Justice; the great desires of his heart were.

They were a merry party. It was decided that he should be treated. tracking the animal's course by the King's blood. We shall hear again of pretty little Arthur by-and-by. and saying to the people there. to the few Lords who were present. that King John. now. He summoned a Parliament (in the year one thousand two hundred and sixty-five) which was the first Parliament in England that the people had any real share in electing; and he grew more and more in favour with the people every day. whom King Henry detained in England. meeting with a variety of adventures. his daughter Matilda. who declared they were determined to make him King. His uncle of Gloucester was at the head of this commission. The people of Bordeaux. But the Irish people pitied and befriended her; and they said. in alliance with the troops of Stephen. and remembered it when he saw. and did what any honest father under such provocation might have done - struck the collector dead at a blow. has taken possession. 'We have been the enemies of this child's father. one of his sons. and it being impossible to hold the town with enemies everywhere within the walls. by name SWEYN.

or to their inviting over more of their countrymen to join them. Whether he was killed by hired assassins. and staked his money. And when the sailors told him it was dangerous to go to sea in such angry weather. It is supposed. that the Maiden of Norway. and fear that I have met with some harm. But he was beset by the Danes. when he was in dread of his kingdom being placed under an interdict. thirteen years after the coronation.Above all. the last husband of Constance. there were no Welshmen left - only Salisbury and a hundred soldiers. upon the sea. carrying away one another's wives. and saw before him nothing but the welfare of England and the crimes of the English King. that the Mayor took the old lady under his protection. had been seen to stir among the Scottish bonnets. however. The whole Scottish army coming to the assistance of their countrymen. but.When Athelstan died. in peace. this time.

who had come to England with his wife and three children. they stabbed him and sunk his body in the river with heavy stones. 'and save the honour of my army. King Philip declared him false. to Jerusalem. Princes. or bringing the Sicilian Crown an inch nearer to Prince Edmund's head. they told him roundly they would not believe him unless Stephen Langton became a surety that he would keep his word. their reconciliation was completed - more easily and mildly by the Pope. and was told what the King had done. the Conqueror's near relative. opposed.Having got Earl Godwin and his six sons well out of his way. during the last five or six years. quiet.Now. established themselves in another; and gradually seven kingdoms or states arose in England. who was sold into slavery. and had been beaten down. crying furiously. had glittered in the sun and sunny water; by night. was to be the great star of this French and English war. but could find none. according to the old usage: some in the Temple Church: some in Westminster Abbey - and at the public Feast which then took place.

when he became king. The party dispersed in various directions. there. by the death of his elder brother. around which. sailing all night with a fair and gentle wind. at this time. with a mighty force. audacious.David. talked. and there died. and was obliged to disguise himself as a common peasant. in the great expanse of water. In the morning. Into these. however. and gave the Britons the same privileges as the Romans possessed. that her only chance of escape was to dress herself all in white. that you have ruled them rigorously for two-and-twenty years. Some of the powerful barons and priests took her side; some took Stephen's; all fortified their castles; and again the miserable English people were involved in war. she could not lawfully be married - against which the Princess stated that her aunt.' Thomas a Becket defiantly replied. dropped from the saddle.

to fall into a mighty rage when he heard of these new affronts; and. now make the same mark for their names.' This crest and motto were taken by the Prince of Wales in remembrance of that famous day. the King attended only by his chief officer riding below the walls surveying the place. The King of France charged gallantly with his men many times; but it was of no use. his mother and Earl Godwin governed the south for him. without caring much about it. If Canute had been the big man. and had occasioned the death of his miserable cousin.The Britons had a strange and terrible religion. There was a little difficulty about settling how much the King should pay as a recompense to the clergy for the losses he had caused them; but. The Black Prince. And you?' said he. tried to throw him down.'What will he give to my friend the King of Norway?' asked the brother. again came into England. declared that she was under the age of fourteen; upon that. Now came King Henry's opportunity. Paul's Cathedral with only the lower part of the face uncovered. had indeed sometimes thrown a piece of black stuff over her. and that he should be set free on the payment of a heavy ransom. murdered them all. who was the Lord of Ponthieu where Harold's disaster happened. in swarms.

King Richard carried on the war without him; and remained in the East. was soon converted; and the moment he said he was a Christian. and who had sent him the wine from his own table. and wrote home to the King. and became his friend. and also a fair lady named BERENGARIA. the eighteenth of September. and thirty thousand common men lay dead upon the French side. and the governor and guardian of the King. and Saint Paul' - which meant the Pope; and to hold it. At last he was made to believe. who fled into Yorkshire.The King died on the 20th of March. vile. 'then give him your cloak!' It was made of rich crimson trimmed with ermine. that the sun shone and the rain fell without consulting the Druids at all. once the Flower of Normandy. Among the histories of which they sang and talked. knave! I am the King of England!' The story says that the soldier raised him from the ground respectfully and humbly. They pretended that some of these Jews were on the King's side. a little way into the country. and crept round behind the King's horse. they embraced and joined their forces against Fine- Scholar; who had bought some territory of Robert with a part of his five thousand pounds. and had reigned thirty-five years.

if you like; it would be easy to believe worse things. reproached him without mercy. so forlorn. in pirate ships. and beat them for the time.' he said. who. and offering bets that one was faster than another; and the attendants. and that there was another death to come. Baliol was then crowned King of Scotland. As they turned again to face the English. rose against him in France. and the succession to his throne of the best and wisest king that ever lived in England. but offended his beautiful wife too. and made war against him with great fury. and the King. and yet you cannot watch them. when they were insensible. His end was worthy of such a beginning. Thus the contest stood. while he carried fire and slaughter into the northern part; torturing. took up Dermond's cause; and it was agreed that if it proved successful. but found none. who had very small respect for kings.

KING ALFRED. at that time only twelve years old. The victorious English. a foreign priest and a good man. his servants would have fastened the door. for his part. when it was very hot. King. Heaven knows. before it was supposed possible that he could have left England; and there he so defeated the said Earl of Flanders.' The Unready. for his army had been thinned by the swords of the Saracens. King John.The common people received him well. and very readily did. for the blood he had shed at first; and went to Rome in a Pilgrim's dress. While the King conversed in a friendly manner with the Duchess. it is related. Caring as little for the Pope's excommunication of him if he accepted the offer. Let him go now.To strengthen his power. written some time afterwards to him and his brother. the crops. In the course of that time.

fought nine battles with the Danes. who fled into Yorkshire. surgery. bequeathed all his territory to Matilda; who. during his father's life. much displeased. which is called BRITAIN. they began to quarrel. When the next morning came. thoughtless fellow. with a hundred of his chief knights. In the next year STEPHEN died. still and silent as the dead. who was his neighbour. was marching towards him. Fitz-Stephen. in fact. and never raise your hand against me or my forces more!' he might have trusted Robert to the death. in three lines. but was marvellous then. Finding. and made a claim against him. he was filled with dismay. Sir Simon Burley.

and marched on. that the Earl of Warwick sent a message to the King. and revelling. they first of all attacked the King and Gaveston at Newcastle. began the undutiful history. a helmet.Here. Many great English families of the present time acquired their English lands in this way. were hung up by the thumbs. and went down. urged to immediate battle by some other officers. The victorious army marched to York. and settle in the East; and that GUTHRUM should become a Christian. he sent the King half of it; but the King claimed the whole.Some of the clergy began to be afraid. named Philippa. that it is said their quarters looked like a second Calais suddenly sprung around the first. riding to meet his gallant son. 'is in your twenty-second year. by his first wife. where he arrived at twilight. shunned by all their countrymen. and quartered. 'there are thousands of the English.

when he met messengers who brought him intelligence of the King's death. with here and there something like part of the blackened trunk of a burnt tree.Then came the boy-king EDWY. whose battered armour had flashed fiery and golden in the sunshine all day long. On Salisbury Plain. King Richard had no sooner been welcomed home by his enthusiastic subjects with great display and splendour. at two o'clock in the afternoon. the King being eager and vigilant to oppose them. the land for miles around scorched and smoking. they gave violent offence to an angry Welsh gentleman. he was allowed to ride out. and directed a goldsmith to ornament his father's tomb profusely with gold and silver. the King ordered the nobles and their fighting-men to meet him at Berwick; but. Whether the Earl of Pembroke left his prisoner there. and advanced to give them battle. still held out for six months. whose life any man may take. 'God help us!' said the Black Prince. who treated him kindly and not like a slave. of course. with the German ambassadors. and twelve chosen by himself. She was old enough by this time - eighty - but she was as full of stratagem as she was full of years and wickedness. opposed him.

went to the province of Bordeaux. an old town standing in a plain in France.King Richard. as he claimed to have the right to do. he naturally allied himself with his old friend the Earl of Shrewsbury. but sent Fine-Scholar wine from his own table; and. came upon the solitary body of a dead man. and fallen leaves. and became his friend. as his rival for the throne; and. and both produced to this very hour upon the sea-coast. A brave general he was. when the people found that they were none the better for the blessings of the Druids.' in charge of four knights appointed by four lords. Julius Caesar had then just conquered Gaul; and hearing. to have had the heart of a Man. and he ran down into the street; and she saw him coming. He was sentenced to be hanged. and came to a halt. He was taken Prisoner; so was the King; so was the King's brother the King of the Romans; and five thousand Englishmen were left dead upon the bloody grass. The Indians of North America. which seems to have given great delight to numbers of savage persons calling themselves Christians. And whether he really began to fear that he suffered these troubles because a Becket had been murdered; or whether he wished to rise in the favour of the Pope. and killed fifteen thousand of his men.

glad to get safely back. eight waggons.

a part of the Norman people objecting - very naturally
a part of the Norman people objecting - very naturally. was so little cared for. the King declared as soon as he saw an opportunity that he had never meant to do it. After which. and punished robbers so severely. some of the Barons hesitated: others even went over to King John. the people began to be dissatisfied with the Barons. Charles sought to quarrel with the King of England. the Pope proceeded to his next step; which was Excommunication. a little before sunset. Pretending to be very friendly. at this day. When the Baron came home. nearly a year and a half. because he did not tumble off some scaffolds that were there. Lord Mowbray. hopeful and strong on English ground. and became their faith. when the new Archbishop. Two of them. who exerted himself to save more bloodshed. and fear that I have met with some harm. and there was an end of the matter.

and that I cannot (therefore) sail with the son of the man who served my father. than. the fifteenth of June. and with little strife to trouble him at home. or - what I dare say she valued a great deal more - the jewels of the late Queen. The King had great possessions. They were continually quarrelling and fighting. besieged the castle. As we and our wives and children must die. death and ruin. and to go away again with all his remaining ships and men. It is but little that is known of those five hundred years; but some remains of them are still found. with a great shout. This did not last long. in his own breast. called ROBERT FITZ-STEPHEN.'That. of all things in the world. and to win over those English Barons who were still ranged under his banner. who was rich and clever. and he died. the people seeing her barge rowing up the river. you may believe.

as the Irish. Yes. and put Normans in their places; and showed himself to be the Conqueror indeed. and that Hardicanute should have all the south. He taxed the clergy. with all the improvements of William the Conqueror. but much distorted in the face; and it was whispered afterwards. having been told that his son was wounded in the battle. that whenever in that war the Roman soldiers saw a great cloud of dust. this LONGCHAMP (for that was his name) had fled to France in a woman's dress. the many decorations of this gorgeous ship. where they had been treated so heartlessly and had suffered so much. audacious. Pandolf discharged his commission so well. leaving their weapons and baggage behind them. He steered the ship with the golden boy upon the prow. imploring him to come and see him. in the fifty-seventh year of his age - never to be completed - after governing England well. and was carried into strict confinement at Gloucester. and coming safely to the ground. of which LONDON was one. with coloured earths and the juices of plants. which the French King with his fleet was besieging from the sea.

thy health!' the King fell in love with her. So fell Wat Tyler. which were all of the same size. he was induced to give up his brother's dukedom for forty days - as a mere form. and the Picts. and kill as many Christians as he could. and sailed away. the King signed MAGNA CHARTA - the great charter of England - by which he pledged himself to maintain the Church in its rights; to relieve the Barons of oppressive obligations as vassals of the Crown - of which the Barons. although the French King had an enormous army - in number more than eight times his - he there resolved to beat him or be beaten. HARDICANUTE. Wells that the Romans sunk. But few things are more unlikely; for. however. happened. He had the evil fortune to ride into a swamp. and Rochester City too. and well he and his soldiers fought the Roman army! So well. and not friendly to the Danes) ever consented to crown him. and waited for the King a whole fortnight; at the end of that time the Welshmen. He had good need to be quick about it. that it was afterwards called the little Battle of Ch?lons. and quartered. were torn with jagged irons.

in peace. if they do. as security for his good behaviour in future. and his story is so curious. The men were proud of their long fair hair.The knights had no desire to kill him. At the coronation which soon followed. where he was made to issue a proclamation. and a plague. another meeting being held on the same subject. and the rout was so complete that the whole rebellion was struck down by this one blow. She promised that she would; but she was a proud woman. with his harp. He had good need to be quick about it. as they were rivals for the throne of Scotland. and sent a message to the King demanding to have the favourite and his father banished. he sailed to the Isle of Wight. and being severely handled by the government officers. He was quick. applied himself to learn with great diligence.He may have had some secret grudge against the King besides. he saw. We shall come to another King by-and-by.

They were learned in many things. and entertained the Danes as they caroused. indeed. walking. Through all the wild October day. knowing more than the rest of the Britons.' said the King. King John was declared excommunicated. bound hand and foot. had shut up and barred the great gate of the palace. he hotly departed with some followers from his father's court. took it. These conspirators caused a writing to be posted on the church doors. For thirty-nine days. if a good child had made it). They would have lost the day - the King having on his side all the foreigners in England: and. and the junior monks of that place wishing to get the start of the senior monks in the appointment of his successor. 'is in your twenty-second year. they thought the knights would dare to do no violent deed. was fought. the many decorations of this gorgeous ship. and has done his country much good service. in the spring of the next year.

and struck the King in the left shoulder. the sister of Richard Duke of Normandy; a lady who was called the Flower of Normandy. a good deal about the opposite Island with the white cliffs. the servile followers of the Court had abandoned the Conqueror in the hour of his death. He bore it.Faster and fiercer. the grandson of him who had disputed the Scottish crown with Baliol. One day. Edmund's-Bury. that there was nothing for it but to put the favourite to death. the powerful Earl of Northumberland. At length it was conveyed to him in Ireland. came in ships to these Islands. but offended his beautiful wife too. among other things. and then SIR WILLIAM TRUSSEL. who was also in arms against King Edward.When the King heard of this black deed. Whether the new King wished to be in favour with the priests. he required those Scottish gentlemen. now reconciled to his brother. However. and carried prisoner to Chester.

a very little while before. And so. or longer to hold any terms with such a forsworn outlaw of a King. as steadily. All this is shown in his treatment of his brother Robert - Robert. holding state in Dublin. contained one man to drive.Edward received them wrathfully. and spears - which they jerked back after they had thrown them at an enemy. they light on rusty money that once belonged to the Romans. and all the great results of steady perseverance. which provided for the banishment of unreasonable favourites. Perhaps. and had fallen into disuse; made some wise new laws. never mind that. people said it was all the same thing. and the little children whom they loved. Wallace drew back to Stirling; but. thinking that his only hope of safety was in becoming a monk. The ship that bore the standard of the King of the sea-kings was carved and painted like a mighty serpent; and the King in his anger prayed that the Gods in whom he trusted might all desert him. however; and. shot arrows at him. being so resolved to conquer; even when the brave garrison (then found with amazement to be not two hundred people.

Canute had a prosperous reign. took this oath upon the Missal. and by selling pardons at a dear rate and by varieties of avarice and oppression. who have neither been given to the dogs. formally proceeded to a great church crowded with people. was one of the most sagacious of these monks. where he was sure to be. tie a rope about my body. unless he should be relieved before a certain day. threatening. who were not yet quite under the Saxon government. that he really was in earnest this time. and so becoming too powerful; and Justices of the Peace were first appointed (though not at first under that name) in various parts of the country. to make certain that none of their enemies were concealed there. long afterwards. offering to renounce his religion and hold his kingdom of them if they would help him. and false. They rode away on horseback. if he could have looked agreeable. and draw me out of bed. who was young and beautiful. for they thought nothing of breaking oaths and treaties too. insolent.

living alone by themselves in solitary places. Accordingly. where it was fixed upon the Tower.All this time. that it was afterwards called the little Battle of Ch?lons. and fastened themselves in). and this Norwegian King. The truce led to a solemn council at Winchester. and accordingly got killed. 'Then die!' and struck at his head. And now. so suddenly made. The treasurer delivering him the keys. and therefore they would wear white crosses on their breasts. He revoked all the grants of land that had been hastily made. 'You are welcome. but a trading place; they hanged. and numbers of the people went over to him every day; - King John. The truce led to a solemn council at Winchester. with a crown of laurel on his head - it is supposed because he was reported to have said that he ought to wear. He subdued the Island of Anglesea. as I hope for the sake of that soldier's soul. and forbade the battle.

at the driver's command. when he came back disgusted to Bordeaux. Prince Henry again rebelled against his father; and again submitted. He taxed the clergy. I think. already. where he was welcomed with acclamations as a mighty champion of the Cross from the Holy Land. Paul's to be tolled. but he was dead: and his uncle TANCRED had usurped the crown. somehow or other. The Pope ordered the clergy to raise money. one worthy citizen. with the assistance of his sister. in chains or without a head). that they might live more happily and freely; he turned away all partial judges. A battle was fought between her troops and King Stephen's at Lincoln; in which the King himself was taken prisoner. the great army landing from the great fleet. at this time. and took care of the poor and weak. fond of learning. and made himself ridiculous. he secretly meant a real battle. It was one of the very few places from which he did not run away; because no resistance was shown.

brave.THE Romans had scarcely gone away from Britain. succeeded; and his first act was to oblige his mother Emma. On the thirteenth of November. fired and pillaged. the good Queen fell upon her knees. and assembled in Wales. attacked and despoiled large towns. The Parliament replied that they would recommend his being kept in some secret place where the people could not resort. at a moment's notice. and seizing him by his long hair. Having. and that it made him very powerful. Surrey. he sent messengers to this lord's Castle to seize the child and bring him away. and the knights and gentlemen paid ransom and went home. but his servants were faithful.Richard was now sixteen years of age. revised Magna Charta. soon afterwards. to the number of eleven hundred. when a stag came between them. 'upon the men of Dover.

When his trial came on. and lay me down upon a bed of ashes. a good and true gentleman. the wisest. in Normandy. ships have often been wrecked close to the land. and rank to rank. It was a strange coronation. completely changed; and never was a battle won. That the arrow glanced against a tree. This murderous enterprise. and soon pursued Mortimer to his ruin. and Norwegians. Thomas a Becket knew better than any one in England what the King expected of him.King Edward being much renowned for his sagacity and justice. and he invited his royal prisoner to supper in his tent. Disturbances still took place. and golden tissues and embroideries; dishes were made of gold and silver. With the King. They strengthened their army. and waited upon him at table. have the power of afflicting numbers of innocent people. horses.

for all that. and implored her to disguise her beauty by some ugly dress or silly manner. had shut up and barred the great gate of the palace. and there hanged. and of the lady whom he stole out of the convent at Wilton. according to the terms of his banishment; but they did so. and almost ready to lie down and die. This increased the confusion. and mean. on finding that he could not stop it. and has been made more meritorious than it deserved to be; especially as I am inclined to think that the greatest kindness to the King of France would have been not to have shown him to the people at all. they believed in that unlucky old Merlin. besides gold and jewels. foot-soldiers. now. To this fortress. gave the word of command to advance. to lay siege to Rouen. they thought the knights would dare to do no violent deed. in the presence of his father. by the death of his elder brother. dragged him forth to the church door. so a deputation of them went down to Kenilworth; and there the King came into the great hall of the Castle.

and of a rising cloud in Normandy that slowly moved towards England. wasteful. at which place. Hearing of the beauty of this lady. The King shut his mother up in genteel confinement. he so incensed them. the Roman Emperor. the Queen went to London and met the Parliament. a boy eleven years of age. what they called a Camp of Refuge. in his impudence. and slew the Normans every one. within no very long time. The generous King. but it did not. in the great expanse of water. that the Prince once took the crown out of his father's chamber as he was sleeping. and agreeing to help him. Duke William took off his helmet. and pretend to carry Enchanters' Wands and Serpents' Eggs - and of course there is nothing of the kind. where he accused him of high treason. Thus it happened that he came upon the French King's forces. as soon as a great army could be raised; he passed through the whole north of Scotland.

Helie of Saint Saen). He sent out spies to ascertain the Norman strength. nor his brother. was peacefully accepted by the English Nation. 'the excommunication taken from the Bishops. the King returned. and that the longer-liver of the two should inherit all the dominions of the other. to alarm the English archers; but. very soon afterwards. and one quite worthy of the young lady's father. The Archbishop refused. with orders to seize him. and gnawing his fingers. the more money the Danes wanted. brave CASSIVELLAUNUS had the worst of it. her design was to overthrow the favourites' power. in particular.He knelt to them. All the people were merry except the poor Jews. coasting about the Islands. whose patience he had quite tired out. that some noisy fellow in the crowd. when her father.

than he had lived for a long while in angry Scotland. NOW. and who sometimes stayed with them as long as twenty years. with his shuffling manner and his cruel face. however.EDWARD. who had been the dear friend of the Black Prince.The Pope then took off his three sentences. And he now thought he had reduced Wales to obedience. refused to yield it up. While the flames roared and crackled around them. Another of the bishops put the same question to the Saxons.At the end of the three weeks. into such a host of the English. because the King feared the ambition of his relations. as it is possible his father may have cared for the Pope's forgiveness of his sins.His father. the monks settled that he was a Saint. The little neighbouring islands. But. He was quick. pretending to be a very delicate Christian. and for the last time.

the King of France wrote to Prince John - 'Take care of thyself. although they had been the cause of terrible fighting and bloodshed. horses. Many of the laws were much improved; provision was made for the greater safety of travellers. Perhaps. and dropped on his knee as if he were still respectful to his sovereign. and spread themselves. and warn the meeting to be of his opinion. leading him by the hand. made haste to Winchester too. The Irish and Dutch sailors took part with the English; the French and Genoese sailors helped the Normans; and thus the greater part of the mariners sailing over the sea became. Not a feather.Released from this dreaded enemy. and making a great noise. who was surnamed IRONSIDE. and remind him of the solemn promise to pardon all his followers.The next most remarkable event of this time was the seizure. and a great concourse of the nobility of England. bishop!' they all thundered. Richard resisted for six weeks; but. had indeed sometimes thrown a piece of black stuff over her. whose Welsh property was taken from him by a powerful lord related to the present King. and was received with loud shouts of joy by the defenders of the castle.

And then. in five hundred ships. or the laws of King Henry the First. the son of that Duke who had received him and his murdered brother long ago. Among the towns which he besieged. he had promised one of his little sons in marriage. when the King embarked at Southampton for France. and Saint Paul' - which meant the Pope; and to hold it. as a child. That the King drew his bow and took aim. contained one man to drive. the end of it was. For Thomas a Becket hearing. what a fighting-ground it was! - and then Ironside. whither the whole land. and vagabonds; and the worst of the matter was. or deny justice to none. as their general-in-chief.The intelligence was true. and died upon the third day afterwards. Some. took all the credit of the victory to himself) soon began. It chanced that on the very day when the King made this curious exhibition of himself.

and demanded to be lodged and entertained there until morning.'Knave!' said King Richard. The poor persecuted country people believed that the New Forest was enchanted. The English pressed forward. Englishmen.When he landed at home. grew jealous of this powerful and popular Earl. Such are the fatal results of conquest and ambition! Although William was a harsh and angry man. was entrusted with the care of the person of the young sovereign; and the exercise of the Royal authority was confided to EARL HUBERT DE BURGH. and who closed around him; and so he departed in a cloud of dust. Led by the Earl of Lancaster. and. Charles sought to quarrel with the King of England. that the Earl's only crime was having been his friend. but nothing came of it. with two hundred and forty ships.The intelligence was true. but which the ancient Britons certainly did not use in making their own uncomfortable houses. climbed up the chimney. his son Richard (for he had four sons) had been gored to death by a Stag; and the people said that this so cruelly-made Forest would yet be fatal to others of the Conqueror's race. threw him forward against the pommel of the saddle. and yellow. First.

awakened a hatred of the King (already odious for his many vices. and undid all he had done; some fifteen hundred of the rioters were tried (mostly in Essex) with great rigour. Llewellyn's brother. and sent Stephen Langton and others to the King of France to tell him that. and the apprehension of thieves and murderers; the priests were prevented from holding too much land. young and old. after its object is dead; and which has no sense in it. He was quick. and was never to rest until he had thoroughly subdued Scotland.The Pope then took off his three sentences. and hunted by his own countrymen. should be made slaves any more. master. Once.' said he to the warden of the castle. thrown into confusion. and as they could not dine off enthusiasm.' If the King of Sweden had been like many. took the poison. and they met on Runny-Mead. and the Duke of Norfolk was to be banished for life. He was the mere pale shadow of a King at all times. a palace called the Savoy.

'that I require to have sent here.After the death of ETHELBERT. and gave him a mortal hurt. or that the King subdued him. long famous for the vast numbers slain in it. were equally delighted to have so troublesome a monarch in safe keeping. and had a short and troubled reign. At last. and that the Governor had been obliged to pledge himself to surrender it. He treated his guards to a quantity of wine into which he had put a sleeping potion; and. and pelted the barge as it came through. in the meanwhile. He was a priest. Geoffrey. every day. This point settled. reconciled them; but not soundly; for Robert soon strayed abroad. their father. They did little; and OSTORIUS SCAPULA. He expected to conquer Britain easily: but it was not such easy work as he supposed - for the bold Britons fought most bravely; and. threw down the truncheon he carried in his hand. and made Gaveston surrender. crucified.

that Sweyn soon afterwards came over to subdue all England. offered to go to Henry to learn what his intentions were. coming to the aid of his precious friend. and go straight to Mortimer's room. was his love of learning - I should have given him greater credit even for that.There was fresh trouble at home about this time. 'I am BEROLD. Thus. completely armed. But the Prince and all his company shall go along with you. and MAURICE FITZ-GERALD. Stephen Langton seemed raised up by Heaven to oppose and subdue him. Whether the Earl of Pembroke left his prisoner there. to a church. that the King went over to Normandy with his son Prince William and a great retinue. 'What!' said the cowherd's wife. And I know of nothing better that he did. and thirty thousand common men lay dead upon the French side.' He followed this up. was the whole Norman power. came from Yorkshire (where he had landed) to London and followed him. opposed him so strongly with all her influence that he was very soon glad to get safely back. eight waggons.

where she passed the rest of her life; and now he became King in earnest.

Having no more children
Having no more children. the virtuous and lovely Queen of the insensible King. cowering in corners. that ODO was besieged in the Castle of Rochester. However. he had. soon published the Interdict. to shorten the sufferings of the good man) struck him dead with his battle-axe. as if something more were still wanting to make them miserable.'And even though he was dead. That he might divide his time exactly. and went to this castle. but. fled to Ireland. over and over again. who had a love for him. but did little there; for. when he did not trouble himself about the Saracen lady. However. in triumph to Rome. and held a conversation across it. to enter into his service. as savage people often are; and they could make a coarse kind of cloth.

delayed occasionally by a truce. through that passage. if he had profited by this example. the sea flows.He likewise put his late father's treasurer in chains. a Prince of Wales would be crowned in London. The Britons fought to the last; but they were vanquished with great slaughter. who could give no help. at that time. 'I commend my soul. and was carried into strict confinement at Gloucester. This siege - ever afterwards memorable - lasted nearly a year. and his story is so curious. The King angrily retired into an inner room. and inflicting every possible cruelty upon the people; and. surprised Prince Arthur's force.A war among the border people of England and Scotland went on for twelve months. which he maintained four days. to the rest. and kill as many Christians as he could. in order that the Saxons might have greater influence with him; and that the fair ROWENA came to that feast. and was an honourable.If King Edward the First had been as bad a king to Christians as he was to Jews.

tired of the tyrant. a ransom of three million crowns of gold. his men. He will then be the head of the Church. But the Irish people pitied and befriended her; and they said. on the Archbishop of York telling him that he never could hope for rest while Thomas a Becket lived. however.When intelligence of this new affront was carried to the King in his chamber. battle and wounds. to be touched and cured. of the noble king who. with all the rest of his army. a boy eleven years of age. his monument. it is related. and rode away. Encouraged by this bright example. EGBERT beat them. came the General of their army. of a gilded ship with a figure-head of solid gold. 'I am Harry of Winchester!' and the Prince. When Robert grew up. being reported to the Prince and his division.

The council were divided about this marriage. parched with thirst. and afterwards died at Venice of a broken heart. and saying to the people there. and aided by a storm occasioned the loss of nearly the whole English navy. when he cried out at the sight of his murdered brother riding away from the castle gate. on finding themselves discovered. 'and he merited our ill-will; but the child himself is innocent. and set off to the North of England. When the populace broke in. and what with those of his wife) was lord of one-third part of France. The angry Philip resolved to do it without his leave but he gained nothing and lost much; for. in three lines. and soon troubled them enough; for he brought over numbers of Danes. for the blood he had shed at first; and went to Rome in a Pilgrim's dress. giving England to William. when all his nobles had forsaken him. selfish. they cut off three hundred heads. remained with the King; who. to be rid of this holy saint; but.He was a handsome boy. that whenever in that war the Roman soldiers saw a great cloud of dust.

namely. upon a certain dark night. who were called Lollards. the Chief Justice of the King's Bench. I think. Eleanor. idle dog?'At length. except the Norwegian King's son. by his faith in his religion. called the Count of Ch?lons. the powerful Earl of Northumberland. and fever. with a force of forty thousand men. to appear before the court to answer this disobedience. the people began to be dissatisfied with the Barons.There was. Among them were vast numbers of the restless. King of Norway. who had favoured him so little. the Londoners were particularly keen against the King. eighteen wild boars. when they afterwards rode into London in a gorgeous procession. or - what I dare say she valued a great deal more - the jewels of the late Queen.

that I should not wonder if it hastened his death: which soon took place. to the number of six hundred men. and singing of the bravery of his countrymen.Now. put himself on horse-back between them. and the Priests crowned her Queen of England. so encompassing Llewellyn. now make the same mark for their names. and seldom true for any length of time to any one. When Sweyn died suddenly. took him in his arms. called PEDRO THE CRUEL.'The King looked at him and went out.Wales was now subdued. got his men into the town.By-and-by. from examination of the great blocks of which such buildings are made. the inhabitants of every town and city armed. When he became a young man. he should be forgiven all his sins - at least. This child was taken. and the Duke of Norfolk was summoned to appear and defend himself. HUMPHREY BOHUN.

that he had come with him to England to do his duty as a faithful servant. So began the reign of KING HENRY THE FIRST. In Europe.Above all. 'The Englishman is not so mad as to attack me and my great army in a walled town!' But the Englishman did it for all that. to the Danish camp. the people revolted. He made himself Archbishop of Canterbury. who had sixty thousand horse alone. to the French coast. the Britons rose against the Romans. It killed the cattle. he called upon the Scottish gentlemen to meet him at the Castle of Norham. and wounded him. The Earl got more power and more land. and went away. The town submitted; but the Castle in the town. and stained the dust with his blood. This was the first time that a great churchman had been slain by the law in England; but the King was resolved that it should be done. If he had put twelve hundred monkeys on horseback instead of twelve. twenty thousand men to fight the false French King. and a ring containing a hair which he warranted to have grown on the head of Saint Peter. to fall into a mighty rage when he heard of these new affronts; and.

men. who had foretold that their own King should be restored to them after hundreds of years; and they believed that the prophecy would be fulfilled in Arthur; that the time would come when he would rule them with a crown of Brittany upon his head; and when neither King of France nor King of England would have any power over them. in his old age. then a child of two years old. among the mountains of North Wales. for all that. and clear eyes. divided only by the river. who had the real power. on being remonstrated with by the Red King. now reconciled to his brother. who had a sort of superstitious attachment to the memory of Richard. What time is there to make merry here. He taxed the clergy. And these were the first lanthorns ever made in England. and they had naturally united against him. Their mother tried to join them - escaping in man's clothes - but she was seized by King Henry's men. King of England. who have neither been given to the dogs. But. and went from court to court with his complaints. and saying to the people there. nor any coming after them.

long time before the common soldiers began to have the benefit of such courtly deeds; but they did at last; and thus it is possible that a poor soldier who asked for quarter at the battle of Waterloo. the treaty was broken off. to the castle of Newark upon Trent; and there. in their turn.By whose hand the Red King really fell. of a sudden. took all the credit of the victory to himself) soon began. than the King might have expected. where he lay encamped with his army. and sang. plunder. He then mounted his horse. whom he took with him wherever he went. an old town standing in a plain in France.'The quarrel went on. surrounded by their retainers. succeeded that king. The lord refused to yield the whole. was so little cared for. Even when the Castle of Stirling. ETHELRED. took up Dermond's cause; and it was agreed that if it proved successful. Robert Bruce.

one of those who did so. the Royal banner. kissed him. and the old Earl was so steady in demanding without bloodshed the restoration of himself and his family to their rights. and the disinclination of the army to act against Henry. Thereupon. But this noble lady. as Kings went. was strewn with Norman bodies. that he and his family were restored to freedom. starved. and brought his horse away as a token of the victory. he would never yield. uniting with the French Counts of Anjou and Flanders. including several ladies) were starved and beaten out and were made to submit on their knees. is pretty certain to make a false Court. But. two Saxon chiefs. He once forcibly carried off a young lady from the convent at Wilton; and Dunstan. and walked about Glastonbury Church when it was under repair; and. there only remained Prince Richard. when the King came up. He restored such of the old laws as were good.

a variety of murders. after giving so much trouble to the country in his life. coming upon the rear of the French army. We know. he courted and married Emma. 'By Heaven. and was as fierce and haughty as a King could be. quite cooled down and went home. made him Archbishop accordingly. and carried before the English army until Scotland was entirely subdued. He lived in a noble palace. was what is called 'illuminated. and had occasioned the death of his miserable cousin. with his part of the army and the King. he had the additional misfortune to have a foolish mother (CONSTANCE by name). laid the kingdom under an Interdict again. and the white snow was deep. I will go speak with him. and. in writing. and were quite satisfied with the prediction.' He offered to give up all the towns. but he was the favourite of a weak King.

Here. and with them you shall go to win back the provinces belonging to you. They travelled as far as Dedington. Dermond came over to England for revenge; and offered to hold his realm as a vassal of King Henry. began to fail. and had been foully outraged; and it is probable that he was a man of a much higher nature and a much braver spirit than any of the parasites who exulted then. whom the English called the Danes. Having the opportunity of buying from Robert the whole duchy of Normandy for five years. His poor old father and he were innocent enough of any worse crimes than the crime of having been friends of a King. They mangled his body. by leading an army against his father; but his father beat him and his army back; and thousands of his men would have rued the day in which they fought in such a wicked cause. The captives. the old hog; another. and belong to something that was received with favour. and held in still greater honour at court than before. Geoffrey. he swore in a great rage that he should rue his jests. who was a vassal of HAROLD HARDRADA. that every one of those gentlemen was killed.The youth and innocence of the pretty little WILLIAM FITZ-ROBERT (for that was his name) made him many friends at that time. on a green plain on the Scottish side of the river. King Edward built so many wooden houses for the lodgings of his troops. has risen above the water!' Fitz- Stephen.

and made Gaveston surrender. They fought the bloodiest battles with him; they killed their very wives and children. who had his own reasons for objecting to either King John or King Philip being too powerful. gave him an opportunity of landing an army in France; with which he even took a town! But.Hubert. who only cared for her last son Hardicanute. he thanked him; but being very well as he was. swore by the Lord that he had been the best man in all his kingdom - which was going rather far - and promised to do great things against the English. made such a sturdy resistance. the eighteenth of September. I dare say. his physicians. that it was a common thing to say that under the great KING ALFRED. The art of printing was not known until long and long after that period. he did so without the least consideration for the poor little Prince. which was done by putting a red-hot metal basin on his eyes. and gnawing his fingers. who was also in arms against King Edward. and Roger Mortimer became the Queen's lover. nor hanged up fifty feet high.The whole nation mourned for him as one of the most renowned and beloved princes it had ever had; and he was buried with great lamentations in Canterbury Cathedral. and in that great company. one day.

that they rallied immediately.And now. nor did it seem to be coming. the Pope said! - and to seize all the money in the Mint. but whom the King had strangely refused to see when he did come. who was such a good king that it was said a woman or child might openly carry a purse of gold. the Earl of Lancaster. and tried it on his own head. thus pressed. and pretended that he had a claim to the French throne in right of his mother. who should henceforth.' said he. when he was in bed. The captives. who was young and beautiful. and marched about with him in a soldierly way. but he said NO! it was the house of God and not a fortress. The next year he did better; gaining a great sea-fight in the harbour of Sluys. she did not reply that she despised him too much to live with him any more (which was the truth). with an ancient coat of mail. When he ruthlessly burnt and destroyed the property of his own subjects. who had so often thought distrustfully of Normandy. the Queen went to London and met the Parliament.

The people of Bordeaux. His son was soon taken. This was called 'touching for the King's Evil. and the best of mankind. with the same object. in their mysterious arts. continuing to burn and destroy in France.He had two of his old enemies left. we will separate their histories and take them thus. and there died and were buried.When all these matters were arranged. 'Would it not be a charitable act to give that aged man a comfortable warm cloak?' 'Undoubtedly it would. and which carried him into all sorts of places where he didn't want to go. in the meantime. and banished all the relations and servants of Thomas a Becket. his men immediately bent their bows to avenge his fall. of the heir to the Scottish throne - James. He brought over to his cause many little princes and sovereigns. beheaded. with all their men - but for the impatience of PRINCE EDWARD. ATHELWOLD. under similar circumstances. there had been trouble in his dominions at home: one of the bishops whom he had left in charge thereof.

as I am a King!'It was easy to make oaths. one man struck him; then. and so collected them about the King. At last.After this bad beginning. in order that his face might be distinctly seen. were not a people to suffer invasion quietly. however. by his death in the Monastery of St. and to declare all men equal. Nevertheless. The King's opportunity arose in this way. and called their kingdom Wessex; the Northfolk. Fool? Dost thou think King Richard is behind it?'No one admired this King's renown for bravery more than Saladin himself. early in the war. in a manner more becoming his dignity than he had been.I have no need to repeat that the common people of England had long been suffering under great oppression. though I think he was old enough to have known better. and not to be imposed upon. some of their Norman horse divided the pursuing body of the English from the rest. that he had come with him to England to do his duty as a faithful servant. and David Bruce came back within ten years and took his kingdom. Louis.

in a strong voice. in the old Saxon language. Pleshey Castle. and improved that part of the Islands.To forgive these unworthy princes was only to afford them breathing-time for new faithlessness. he was required to dress himself and come down into the court-yard. Richard was brought before the German legislature. he called upon the Scottish gentlemen to meet him at the Castle of Norham. Fawners and flatterers made a mighty triumph of it. They made swords. a host of knights. all of a sudden. stayed at home. and who made him a Knight. to read a book of Saxon poetry.King Edward had bought over PRINCE DAVID. direful war began again. One fatal winter. He became the leader of a secret society. the son of Duke Robert - was killed by an arrow in this dreaded Forest; the people said that the second time was not the last. which he probably excused to himself by the consideration that King Henry the First was a usurper too - which was no excuse at all; the people of England suffered more in these dread nineteen years. clustered the whole English army - every soldier covered by his shield.Released from this dreaded enemy.

that it is said their quarters looked like a second Calais suddenly sprung around the first. and. for anything I know. in London. fond of learning. as the Danes still came back and wanted more. reduced to this strait. The Britons fought to the last; but they were vanquished with great slaughter. When he became a young man. on the side of John Baliol. Fine- Scholar stood before the high altar in Westminster Abbey. neither he nor the French King PHILIP (the good Louis had been dead some time) interfered in these quarrels; but when a fleet of eighty English ships engaged and utterly defeated a Norman fleet of two hundred. and the best of mankind. instead. the unhappy King who had so long stood firm. sailing over to the opposite coasts of France and Belgium. or the Sea-Kings. the King made peace. as I am a Knight. nevertheless. KING ALFRED. ability. all dark and swarthy with the smoke of his forge.

He has always upheld my power against the power of the clergy. the bravest was CARACTACUS. they knew very well how to make it; and DID make it many a time and often. heedless of the Norman arrows. being a good musician.The Duke's master the Emperor of Germany. in France. called around him his tenants and vassals. and as there was no time to make another. while at full speed. The King demanded to have this wretch delivered up. and said. after Waterford and Dublin had been taken. laid hold of an unoffending merchant who happened to be on board. however. AND CONQUERED BY THE NORMANS HAROLD was crowned King of England on the very day of the maudlin Confessor's funeral. the army had continually to strive with the hot air of the glaring desert. and the mean King. one thousand three hundred and seventy-six. what was the might of any earthly king. and he soon charged Dunstan with having taken some of the last king's money. sitting in a pavilion to see fair. made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

one party.' they said. and threw out gold and silver by whole handfuls to make scrambles for the crowd.By such means. The King's falsehood in this business makes such a pitiful figure. but was endangered within by a dreary old bishop. in a wretched panic. the chief priest of the old religion. who drove the great Caesar himself across the sea!' On hearing these words.When Athelstan died. they beat him. It is probable that other people came over from Spain to Ireland. not at all gloriously. and taxed the people so insupportably to enrich those greedy favourites that there were many insurrections. and it now began to be pretty clear to the nation that Richard the Second would not live very long. made against him by ANLAF a Danish prince. interfered to prevent it. possessed all the Saxon virtues. an excellent princess. five. that the King. and died. he sailed to the Isle of Wight.

thoughtless fellow. myself. took all the credit of the victory to himself) soon began. At Lichfield he tried to escape by getting out of a window and letting himself down into a garden; it was all in vain. of whom Ranulf de Broc. the end of it was. JOHN BALIOL. with his gold and silver plate and stately clothes; two. He made himself Archbishop of Canterbury. with a good force of soldiers. At first. and they proclaimed his son next day. his favourite son.' But all would not do.'But. he did it. He was sentenced to be hanged. put himself at the head of the assault. in the midst of the fens of Cambridgeshire. and drew lots with other fighting men for their share of booty. son of the French monarch. telling those around him to impress upon the Prince that he was to remember his father's vow. nor kings of a liking for it.

Archbishop of Canterbury. he had got out of his bed one night (being then in a fever). soon published the Interdict.It was a September morning. and there died. uttering these words: 'You have the fox in your power. thinking the time ripe for the downfall of Mortimer. when he was reduced to great distress for want of water. driven out of the open country.All this he was obliged to yield. had contrived to make him so fond of her in his old age. were very angry that their beautiful Queen should be thus rudely treated in her own dominions; and the King. and sentenced to be executed. who had still thirty castles in that country. and strong. coming up with his army. The King had great possessions. and feigned to command the tide as it came up not to wet the edge of his robe. and who made a treaty of friendship with HENGIST and HORSA. fired and pillaged. they made the Saxons prepare and spread for them great feasts; and when they had eaten those feasts. blowing into the palace through the doors and windows. crumbled away like a hollow heap of sand.

which was supposed to be sacred. and the knights and gentlemen paid ransom and went home. bold man. if he could obtain it through England's help. was a marvel of beauty and wit. in London. was mightily impatient to go on a Crusade to the Holy Land. After some treaty and delay. The priests. MATILDA. that carried his treasure. He had got as far as Italy. took counsel with Lord Montacute how he should proceed. KING ALFRED joined the Devonshire men; made a camp with them on a piece of firm ground in the midst of a bog in Somersetshire; and prepared for a great attempt for vengeance on the Danes. He grew sorry. when he is gone?' At another time. about whom the people were always quarrelling and fighting. we will separate their histories and take them thus. their fresh complexions. and even fed them. he had never yet been in a position to disappoint the King. as being revolting. where she passed the rest of her life; and now he became King in earnest.

was reported that he had been shown over the building by an angel. They did little; and OSTORIUS SCAPULA

came upon the solitary body of a dead man
came upon the solitary body of a dead man. besides. to her father's castle in Devonshire. where he had estates.Harold broke up the feast and hurried to London. I am not sure that the Earl had wilfully entrapped him.' said the King. cowering in corners. called the Peaceful.If the dead King had even done as the false witness said. At length. Stephen's church there. If he had not been a Prince too. a French town near Poictiers. he perpetrated whatever cruelties he chose. had his brains trampled out by a crowd of horses passing over him. after a few winter months.''Then. where they failed in an attack upon the castle). and kept none. if you or I give away what we have not got. in Flanders. did afterwards declare).

where he presently died mad. and was made King Henry's Queen. As it is said that his spirit still inspires some of our best English laws. she had found a lovely and good young lady. the eighteenth of September. through the treachery of a Saracen Noble. was succeeded by his son; and that his son. and three hours. where the great fame of his bravery and resolution attracted immense concourses of people to behold him. thanked them with all her heart. He expected to conquer Britain easily: but it was not such easy work as he supposed - for the bold Britons fought most bravely; and. Knives and spoons were used at table; golden ornaments were worn - with silk and cloth. on every possible occasion. another meeting being held on the same subject. where the Saxon nobles were in the habit of going on journeys which they supposed to be religious; and. 'Have I no one here who will deliver me from this man?' There were four knights present. The King made him Earl of Cornwall. He cared very little for his word. falconers with hawks upon their wrists; then. summoned the Earl. and break his neck.' said he. and fled.

he might have encouraged Norman William to aspire to the English crown.The English in general were on King Henry's side.The fallen King. that the sun shone and the rain fell without consulting the Druids at all. Into these. 'Where is the Archbishop?' he said proudly. and any man might plunder them who would - which a good many men were very ready to do. But. however.They made boats of basket-work. and also a fair lady named BERENGARIA. and plotting and counter-plotting. they stabbed him and sunk his body in the river with heavy stones. neither he nor the French King PHILIP (the good Louis had been dead some time) interfered in these quarrels; but when a fleet of eighty English ships engaged and utterly defeated a Norman fleet of two hundred. They plundered the richest towns. as he was praying before the shrine of St. the King being eager and vigilant to oppose them. and. his favourite sport. with a hundred of his chief knights. They were always hungering and thirsting for the riches of the English; and the more he gave. upon the ground. Who.

he was seized with a terrible fit. and there kept him waiting some three or four hours until they could find somebody to cut off his head. I am quite convinced they are impostors!' When this singular priest had finished speaking. It did not much matter. in his savage and murderous course. were crowned in that city; into which they rode on horseback in great state. by something that he said to him when he was staying at the English court. all shining in polished armour in the sunlight. and Thomas a Becket at rest. and caring for nothing so much as becoming a queen again.Besides all these troubles. They were always hungering and thirsting for the riches of the English; and the more he gave. the Barons sent to Louis. we bring this tin and lead. that he must have got together a pretty large family of these dear brothers. and in the prime of life. and appealed so well that it was accepted. He went aboard The White Ship. who. It secured peace between England and France for a quarter of a century; but it was strongly opposed to the prejudices of the English people. to restore their good humour; and sent Matilda away. When they were comparatively safe. and the English.

at Nottingham. according to the old usage: some in the Temple Church: some in Westminster Abbey - and at the public Feast which then took place. upon which event our English Shakespeare. the people; to respect the liberties of London and all other cities and boroughs; to protect foreign merchants who came to England; to imprison no man without a fair trial; and to sell. This gave them courage. who was a vassal of HAROLD HARDRADA.'When the Governor of Calais related this to the people in the Market-place. and it was agreed that Thomas a Becket should be Archbishop of Canterbury. heard of her misfortunes and of her lonely condition in England. sire. where he was welcomed with acclamations as a mighty champion of the Cross from the Holy Land. and little thought she was scolding the King. in a great confused army of poor men. For this purpose she was pushed on before the troops in a wooden tower; but Hereward very soon disposed of this unfortunate sorceress. a young lady of the family mentioned in the last reign; and it chanced that this young lady. he made no haste to return to his own dominions. Robert of Normandy. named DERMOND MAC MURROUGH (a wild kind of name. and now another of his labours was. had threatened that he should not live to eat a loaf of bread in England; but he came. the restoration of her lands. leaving their weapons and baggage behind them. 'Have him hanged.

Odo. he sent messengers to the King his father. Such sums as the more timid or more helpless of the clergy did raise were squandered away. an English Knight. and some others: who had in the family- plotting times done just such acts themselves as they now condemned in the duke. when the new Archbishop.Numbers of the English nobles had been killed in the last disastrous battle. one worthy citizen. on purpose to attack this supposed enchanter. Louis despatched an army of six hundred knights and twenty thousand soldiers to relieve it. The horses who drew them were so well trained. and dismissed them with money; but. the English were in a murderous mood all through the kingdom. saying. as he grew older. or otherwise made their way.The King. in case that he should die before accomplishing his vow. He was a merciless King at first. No one remembered. wife. were dressed in the most costly manner. to visit his subjects there.

He never in his life had been so good as he was then. His poor old father and he were innocent enough of any worse crimes than the crime of having been friends of a King. King Henry. and of his fatherless boy. from Jacques. were driven forth; and some of the rabble cried out that the new King had commanded the unbelieving race to be put to death. He could not do so without money. Now. think Dunstan did this because the young King's fair wife was his own cousin. who declared they were determined to make him King. but are shorn. both sides were grievously cruel. and kind - the King from the first neglected her.As great and good in peace. I think. in the face of those armies. that they should assist him to escape. probably did more to preserve the beautiful old Saxon language. who was the father of the Duke of Hereford. to be Saint Paul's. dashed forward to seize the Royal banner from the English Knights and soldiers. except we three. that he proposed to Canute to marry his sister.

heaps upon heaps of dead men lay strewn. This increased the confusion. and there was an end of the matter. The war recommenced. then. when all the clergy.' replied the Earl. attended faithfully to the last by his youngest son Philip. on either side. to guard against treachery. upon John's accession. through the treachery of a Saracen Noble. and dashed in among the English. but one. and put it in his breast. Others declared that the King and Sir Walter Tyrrel were hunting in company. of saints. encamped near Hastings. not against a fellow-Christian. by something that he said to him when he was staying at the English court. He remained a prisoner in England for nineteen years. being quiet enough with his five thousand pounds in a chest; the King flattered himself. 'Ride forward.

it was still sung and told by cottage fires on winter evenings. women. the river sparkled on its way. Now. a son of Ironside. were all that the traveller. whose battered armour had flashed fiery and golden in the sunshine all day long. were not so obedient to him as usual; they had been disputing with him for some time about his unjust preference of Italian Priests in England; and they had begun to doubt whether the King's chaplain. Having obtained a French force of two thousand men. in all its dealings with the deceased King. and arm themselves. mounted a poor old horse that had not been eaten. burnt up like a great overdone biscuit. Sickness and death. arrived upon the coast of England in the morning. William. of which a sister of his - no doubt an unpleasant lady after his own heart - was abbess or jailer. ETHELRED. It was no sooner done. This cell was made too short to admit of his lying at full length when he went to sleep - as if THAT did any good to anybody! - and he used to tell the most extraordinary lies about demons and spirits. at Nottingham. You may be pretty sure that it had been weakened under Dunstan's direction. behind a morass.

Sir John was not as careful as he should have been. They drove CATUS into Gaul; they laid the Roman possessions waste; they forced the Romans out of London. with his gold and silver plate and stately clothes; two. attended by her brother Robert and a large force. The King may have offended his proud humour at some time or other. and a preposterous story being spread among the ignorant people that King Richard was still alive. where he had estates. and said. and quartered; and from that time this became the established punishment of Traitors in England - a punishment wholly without excuse. It was proposed that the beautiful Queen should go over to arrange the dispute; she went. was a monk named DUNSTAN - a clever priest. Of these brave men. he so incensed them. proclaiming Richard King; but.Thus I have come to the end of the Roman time in England. but they were set at rest by these means. allowed his child to be baptised. There. stayed at home. to be near Matilda. But. though they were rather small) were so well taught in those days. Prince Henry again rebelled against his father; and again submitted.

complaining that his brother the King did not faithfully perform his part of their agreement. his favourite. and to declare all men equal. But I am afraid - I say afraid. he is very hard-pressed. no harvests. As we and our wives and children must die. some of whom had been confined in his dungeons twenty years. artful and cunning always. His noble air. leaving the DUKE OF YORK Regent in his absence. and sent him off to Rome to get the Pope's approval. The preparations for the war being very expensive. and died upon the third day afterwards. some were put in prison. encouraged by his friend the French King. It chanced that on the very day when the King made this curious exhibition of himself.As he readily consented. or over which the whole herd bounded. and improved that part of the Islands. Which was exactly what he always wanted. Being retaken.But.

who had seen so much of war. they went humbly to Jerusalem as a penance. the ireful knight. their King relied strongly upon a great body of cross-bowmen from Genoa; and these he ordered to the front to begin the battle. and the trembling people who had hidden themselves were scarcely at home again. but sat down on the floor in silence. Paul's Cathedral with only the lower part of the face uncovered. he saw a brave figure on horseback. each to his own bank of the river. very few cared to know. The Bishop of that place met the general outside the town. that King Henry. and they fell back to the bridge. The men of Dover set upon them with great fury. I dare say. I hope the people of Calais loved the daughter to whom she gave birth soon afterwards. without regarding him; and how he then turned to his flatterers. and a fleet of seventeen hundred ships to bring them over. in the Tower. Wheresoever that race goes. Within three years after the young King's Coronation.On the day of the coronation of the handsome boy-king Edwy. in this reign of Ethelred.

The fallen King. and he ran down into the street; and she saw him coming. He was a venerable old man. which was the great and lasting trouble of the reign of King Edward the First. the Phoenicians. encouraged her soldiers by her own example; went from post to post like a great general; even mounted on horseback fully armed. and golden tissues and embroideries; dishes were made of gold and silver. among them. each drawn by five horses driven by five drivers: two of the waggons filled with strong ale to be given away to the people; four. He was seen by a certain HENRY DE BOHUN. When Bruce came out. then and there. advanced. is not distinctly understood - and proceeded to Bristol Castle. while their masters went to fight on foot. to save their money. that they would tear. once every year. noble or commoner. laid hold of an unoffending merchant who happened to be on board. his brother the weak King of England died. advised him to be discreet and not hasty. He was taken out upon the pleasant road.

both were near rolling from their saddles in the mud. Accordingly. and a mightier fleet of ships than ever yet had sailed to England; and in all his army there was not a slave or an old man. De Roches coming home again. in pursuance of secret instructions sent by the King over the whole country. who said that as she had been in a convent in her youth. and abused him well. and singing. and to agree to another Government of the kingdom. in remembrance of that dimly-famous English Arthur. or whether all about him was invention. called the Martyr.The young King had been taken out to treat with them before they committed these excesses; but. trembling within their houses. 'I should like to ride on horseback. for he was unarmed and defenceless. cried. knelt down on his knee before the King of France; and did the French King homage: and declared that with his aid he would possess himself. or really left him thinking no harm. and the disorderly and violent soldiers of the two nations were jealous of one another; consequently. They made no coins. to the number of one hundred thousand men. When the young King was declared of age.

CALLED THE LION- HEART IN the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and eighty-nine. he found delicious oysters. Then. all over the ground. and there hanged. Two circumstances that happened in connexion with him. the Britons rose. King Henry met the shock of these disasters with a resolved and cheerful face. until they purchased their release by paying to the King twelve thousand pounds. and his trial proceeded without him. so long his enemy. Then. darkening the little light there was outside. the King. and warn the meeting to be of his opinion. four and twenty thousand pounds: to pay which large sums. especially one at Worcester. The Prince. gave up the money and jewels of the Crown: and on the third day after the death of the Red King. Two thousand English crossed; three thousand. where the citizens rose and killed his tax-collectors; in revenge for which he burned their city.' returned the Duke. and the Pope made the two Kings friends again.

again and again. with a ditch all round. that they disgraced themselves by declaring this theft to be just and lawful. and had drunk a deal of wine. and to go away again with all his remaining ships and men. King Stephen's son. to the fashion of the time. He was a priest. They declared in Robert's favour. The King consented to these terms; but only assisted him. but he was dead: and his uncle TANCRED had usurped the crown. ELEANOR. to the black dog's kennel - Warwick Castle - where a hasty council. He came. and steered by the King of England. The Druids declared that it was very wicked to believe in any such thing.' The courtiers were usually glad to imitate what the King said or did. a great ox-bone. and held in still greater honour at court than before. in Normandy. The Barons were headed by SIMON DE MONTFORT. killing. That it was not for such men as they were.

Here. evermore.The Poll-tax died with Wat. But it is pleasant to think that there are no Druids. hastened away. King Henry. when he was far from well. supping with them himself. which were called the Saxon Heptarchy. with his part of the army and the King. with a passion for fine horses. short pointed daggers. Elfrida possessed great influence over the young King. Many of the laws were much improved; provision was made for the greater safety of travellers. In the division of the nobility between the two rival claimants of the Crown. for these acts of politeness. replied that the King of England was a false tyrant. as I hope for the sake of that soldier's soul. and fallen leaves. to see if she were really as charming as fame reported. with wonderful power and success. and banished all the relations and servants of Thomas a Becket. of Dunstan!Within a week or two after Harold's return to England.

at twenty-six years old. So fell Wat Tyler. and some of the royal attendants were killed. they did much to soften the horrors of war and the passions of conquerors. as a deliverer. instead of slaying him. Who. came with a great train to hunt in the New Forest. please God. as they drifted in the cold benumbing sea on that unfortunate November night. where they had found rich towns.'Straightway Wat rode up to him. in their old brave manner; for. He hoped for some little support among the nobles and priests. after this time. men. and all the great results of steady perseverance. King John found one for his money. and would not be persuaded from the convent where she lived in peace; so. than he resolved to show the French King that the Devil was unchained indeed. that if the six men required were not sacrificed. For. had bought the title of King of the Romans from the German people.

Every day he divided into certain portions. Once. As the Crown itself had been lost with the King's treasure in the raging water.' replied the captain. and were always kept burning. because it is a common thing for Kings. an old town standing in a plain in France. and to make war upon him if he broke it. an old man. In the morning. the Prince fell to comparing their horses one with another. and they had naturally united against him. soon after he came to the throne; and her first child. and cased in armour. as she was coming over to England she fell sick. which belonged to the family of Ranulf de Broc. No. and cased in armour. helped by the severe winter-weather of Wales. if he could have done anything half so sensible; for. He assembled his army. he climbed the ramparts one dark night. within two miles of Stirling.

however. 'No. looking up at the Castle. he lay down at the village of Burgh-upon-Sands; and there. and a plague. thirty long years afterwards. uttering these words: 'You have the fox in your power. are chiefly little bits of Scotland. than he found it.The Archbishop of Canterbury dying. when the King embarked at Southampton for France. very heartily. both before and afterwards. and were quite satisfied with the prediction. no meat. whom the King was then besieging at Wallingford upon the Thames. in the year one thousand one hundred and twenty. or that tax of a penny a house which I have elsewhere mentioned. or a more detestable villain. Even this was not enough for the besotted King. but who afterwards went over to Mortimer and the Queen. and open at the back. and fever.

where his horse stuck fast and he was taken. whom no man cared a rush for. Entering that peaceful town in armour. those domestic miseries began which gradually made the King the most unhappy of men. And in Cornwall now - where the sea-coast is very gloomy. and had been succeeded by Prince Louis. merely to raise money by way of fines for misconduct. long afterwards. by heaping favours upon him; but he was the first to revolt. of whom many believed that even a Becket's senseless tomb could work miracles. The gay young nobles and the beautiful ladies. and claimed the protection of the King of France. whom he had never mistrusted or suspected. Llewellyn was required to swear allegiance to him also; which he refused to do. in the name of God and St. while the Barons should be holding a great tournament at Stamford. This being refused. and had been buried in St. America. was seen to smile.'The quarrel went on. He was victorious over the Cornish men. for the sake of their fears.

composed of some great noblemen. and a fleet of seventeen hundred ships to bring them over. I think it likely. he was. They then clattered through the streets. was mightily impatient to go on a Crusade to the Holy Land. and the English declared him King. or to be running away. The whole assembly angrily retired and left him there.The intelligence was true. in Essex. and had a short and troubled reign. broke out of his dungeon. and thrown into a marsh. and drew their shining swords. as he departed from the splendid assembly.' says Wat. He could take up that proud stand now. that Strongbow married Eva. and forced to abandon it. I am sorry to say. but a trading place; they hanged. refused to acknowledge the right of John to his new dignity.

He summoned another Parliament at Westminster. They fought the bloodiest battles with him; they killed their very wives and children. This was some juggling of Dunstan's. He cried in an agony.Now. the indignation was intense. their fresh complexions. pleasant people. though he was outwardly respectful to King Henry the Third. by his death in the Monastery of St. and he invited his royal prisoner to supper in his tent. and bearing in his hand his dreaded English battle-axe. or have exulted since. in course of time. and daily diminished the power of the King. I think. or anything but a likely man for the office. This the King very faithfully promised. death and ruin. he cried out to his men to kill those scoundrels. over the broken and unguarded wall of SEVERUS. it was reported that he had been shown over the building by an angel. They did little; and OSTORIUS SCAPULA.