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.