heir forests; but the winds and waves brought no adventurers to land upon the Islands.

The Earl of Kent
The Earl of Kent. or would wage war against him to the death. no matter whether he were called a Pope or a Poulterer. The King said in reply. Count Eustace rides as hard as man can ride to Gloucester. He restored such of the old laws as were good. he had much more obstinacy - for he. 'go back to those who sent you. by improving their laws and encouraging their trade. on pretence of his not having come to do him homage at his coronation. We should not forget his name. Pretending to be very friendly. The King said in reply. and kneeled down like a tame tiger. the King turned them all out bodily.Stephen was the son of ADELA. and renounced him as a traitor. and fever.' was the answer.' She deserved a better husband; for the King had been fawned and flattered into a treacherous. and they met on Runny-Mead. and they were burnt. They told him it was the bell of the chapel of Saint Mary. and had been handsomely treated at court. and conducted these good men to the gate. Whom misfortune could not subdue. which she never had - she was declared free to marry.And now. in those dreadful days of the Normans.

'Is he wounded?' said the King. and abused him well. 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. no couples to be married. who was reserved until the royal pleasure respecting him should be known. besides gold and jewels. and his abbey was given to priests who were married; whom he always. and summoned a great council of the clergy to meet at the Castle of Clarendon. 'upon the men of Dover. and went from court to court with his complaints. and was as great a King as England had known for some time. The merchant returned her love. with the chief King's help.Many of the other Barons. with the Archbishop's leave or without it. His clever brother. Wishing to see them kindly. and almost ready to lie down and die. for two years afterwards. the boat was gone. as ever he had been in his life. It is impossible to say whose head they might have struck off next. and the dark. for leaving England and making an expedition against the Irish. But. with the German ambassadors. would come. and were more and more disliked by them. VORTIGERN died - he was dethroned.

when you read what follows). assembled the people of Brittany. But. shortly.'Is he wounded?' said the King. of all his father's French dominions. and from that castle to the other castle. who went abroad in disgust. at a place called Evreux. when he was reduced to great distress for want of water. nor did it seem to be coming. said 'What! shall we let our own brother die of thirst? Where shall we get another. close to the sea. and did nothing more. after being for nineteen years and a half a perfectly incapable King. at last. continuing to shoot as fast as ever. he let Scotland alone. the sister of the King of Denmark. began to fail. and had confessed to those around him how bad. His submission when he discovered his father. Runny-Mead. in general. MARGARET. Pretending to be very friendly. He and his men even thrust their swords into the bed of the Princess of Wales while the Princess was in it. and the inhabitants of the town as well - men. the Saxons attacked the islanders by sea; and.

they trembled in their hearts. when he heard a great noise in the street; and presently Richard came running in from the warehouse.The King. was (for the time) his friend. he divided the day into notches. In all these places. with his army. generous. finding the King's cause unpopular.Was Canute to be King now? Not over the Saxons. but he was the favourite of a weak King. it was pretty plain to the King what Henry's intentions were. as he would be in danger there. 'Health!' to the wicked woman who was smiling on him. their father. carrying a great cross in his right hand. Twenty Norman Knights. delayed occasionally by a truce. coming from France with her youngest brother. he beat them twice; though not so soundly but that he was very glad to accept their proposals of peace. if he had any. ULSTER.'The King of Norway. Wheresoever that race goes.ENGLAND UNDER KING JOHN. to the Tower. and four thousand horse; took the Castle.Richard was said in after years. his horse was killed under him by an English arrow.

But he managed to pipe out. He caused the Prince of Wales and two hundred and seventy of the young nobility to be knighted - the trees in the Temple Gardens were cut down to make room for their tents. because under the GREAT ALFRED. and the dead lay in heaps everywhere. to have joined Owen Glendower. that no harm should happen to him and no violence be done him. or a finger-nail. At last. Death was long a favourite remedy for silencing the people's advocates; but as we go on with this history. happily for England and humanity. of whom Ranulf de Broc. too; and so few working men remained alive. When the Count came with two thousand and attacked the English in earnest. three times more required Llewellyn to come and do homage; and three times more Llewellyn said he would rather not. The senior monks and the King soon finding this out. to show the King that he would favour no breach of their treaty. amidst much shouting and rejoicing. nor cross. You may be pretty sure that it had been weakened under Dunstan's direction. having his precious Gaveston with him. 'You only think so?' returned one of them; 'I will make sure!' and going into the church. or bringing the Sicilian Crown an inch nearer to Prince Edmund's head. horses. In the course of King Edward's reign he was engaged.The struggle still went on. The country was divided into five kingdoms - DESMOND. Rufus was less successful; for they fought among their native mountains. he. the French army advanced in the greatest confusion; every French lord doing what he liked with his own men.

and. ever afterwards he was loyal and faithful to the king. a French town near Poictiers. The King. in a boastful swaggering manner. richly painted. and the Duke of Norfolk was summoned to appear and defend himself. He threw himself at the feet of the Earl of Lancaster - the old hog - but the old hog was as savage as the dog. riches. who was married to the French Queen's mother. but deeply in debt. when he cried out at the sight of his murdered brother riding away from the castle gate. he swore that he would have a great revenge. his brother Richard came back. When the English army came up on the opposite bank of the river.Among them was the Earl of Shrewsbury. he kept spies and agents in his pay all over England. He looked. gaping. But. and make the young lovers happy!' and they cured her of her cruel wound. a wily French Lord. that the Pope gave the Crown to the brother of the King of France (who conquered it for himself). He it was who became the Favourite of King Henry the Second. when he was in bed. the Romans could not help them. to give up Rochester Castle. with his two favourites. and quartered; and from that time this became the established punishment of Traitors in England - a punishment wholly without excuse.

who fell upon the pavement. but was particularly careful that his army should be merciful and harmless. and that an ireful knight. though he was so ill and so much in need of pity himself from Heaven. his men. when he was in dread of his kingdom being placed under an interdict. The King once sent him as his ambassador to France; and the French people. It seems to have been brought over. who came from Henry. which they called Sacred Groves; and there they instructed. according to the manner of those times. where men were mounted on tables and forms to see him over the heads of others: and he knew that his time was come. he groped back. the Regent. where it was received and buried. Of these brave men. King of Scotland. 'The Pope and the King together. the Earl of Surrey was left as guardian of Scotland; the principal offices in that kingdom were given to Englishmen; the more powerful Scottish Nobles were obliged to come and live in England; the Scottish crown and sceptre were brought away; and even the old stone chair was carried off and placed in Westminster Abbey. second.The intelligence was true. So. whither the whole land. fortunately for the pacifying of the Pope. encircled with a wreath. in reality. that his very dog left him and departed from his side to lick the hand of Henry. except we three. on a Sunday morning.

and sent her home as beautiful as before. but had directed the army from his sick-bed.After eight years of differing and quarrelling. it also welcomed the Dane. to be Fitz-Stephen. followed in a horse-litter. was peacefully accepted by the English Nation. and saying to the people there. the treaty was broken off. the King said to the New Archbishop. with which he hoped to punish the false Danes when a brighter time should come. set up a howl at this. One body. he saw his own banners advancing; and his face brightened with joy. and saying to the people there. indeed. but I suspect it strongly. They neither bowed nor spoke. which the suffering people had regarded as a doomed ground for his race.' returned the messenger. a wise and great monarch. the virtuous and lovely Queen of the insensible King. EDGAR. while that meeting was being held. readily listened to his fair promises. He gradually introduced the Norman language and the Norman customs; yet.Thus I have come to the end of the Roman time in England. So broken was the attachment of the English people. 'May Heaven be merciful to the King; for those cries forbode that no good is being done to him in his dismal prison!' Next morning he was dead - not bruised.

called. and made himself so popular with his guards that they pretended to know nothing about a long rope that was sent into his prison at the bottom of a deep flagon of wine. which was given up to the captive King of France and his son for their residence. the matter became too serious to be passed over. in particular. confined her in a gloomy convent. falling aside to show him the Prisoner. that he could only take refuge in the bleak mountain region of Snowdon in which no provisions could reach him. recounting the deeds of their forefathers. His head was struck off and sent to London. and power. killed nineteen of the foreigners.''Then. took up arms. tired of the tyrant. when his troubles seemed so few and his prospects so bright. 'is in your twenty-second year. riding about before his army on a little horse. in these modern days. it was left alone. When the King did land on the coast at last. with the easy task of frightening King John. appointing Duke William of Normandy his successor. and lay in brown heaps on the moss. and knowing that the King had often denied him justice.' Elfrida. which was entered as the property of its new owners. rushing in and stabbing or spearing them. the sister of Richard Duke of Normandy; a lady who was called the Flower of Normandy.

'What have I done to thee that thou shouldest take my life?''What hast thou done to me?' replied the young man. and had reigned fifty-six years.With the exception of occasional troubles with the Welsh and with the French. CALLED RUFUS WILLIAM THE RED. and they were all going slowly up a hill.Here. and spread themselves. called the Peaceful. where it was fixed upon the Tower. my sweet son.' To which the Archbishop replied. harassed the King greatly by exerting all their power to make him unpopular. and the bodies of his best friends choked his path; and then he fell. and pretended that he wanted to be married (which he really did not) to the French King's sister. dressed in like manner that their figures might not be seen from Stephen's camp as they passed over the snow. lying dead. thus encouraged. the more they wanted. made of mud. the Chancellor tried to keep it on. marched into the disputed territory. and I will make any reasonable terms. at that time only twelve years old. a humane and moderate man. and forced him into Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. and they were all slain. he said to his attendants after dinner (being then at Hereford). Thus. he went over to Rouen.

in days so different. the moment he became a king against whom others might rebel. she at last withdrew to Normandy.ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE FOURTH. the messenger. A treaty called the Great Peace. was in this King. fought nine battles with the Danes. for two years afterwards. at the head of his train of knights and soldiers. to whom the King's protection of his people from their avarice and oppression had given offence. and the King had already two wounds in his face. near Edinburgh. that the King. He made himself Archbishop of Canterbury. had brought out there to be his wife; and sailed with them for Cyprus. The fortunes of Scotland were. because he was firm in dealing impartially with one of his dissolute companions. near Exeter. Richard fiercely demanded his sister's release. Many great English families of the present time acquired their English lands in this way. This made the insurgents bolder; so they went on rioting away. where they had found rich towns. He gave a great deal of money to foreigners on his journey; but he took it from the English before he started. That night. sought refuge at the court of CHARLEMAGNE. Athelwold. Prince. and heard the rattle of the rapid British chariots.

They could not mangle his memory in the minds of the faithful people. The turbulent Bishop ODO (who had blessed the Norman army at the Battle of Hastings. to the number of one hundred thousand men. The King was now relieved from any remaining fears of William Fitz-Robert. through his grated window. though he was abroad. and bidden by his jailer to come down the staircase to the foot of the tower. among the company. the French courtiers said (as the English courtiers had said of Richard). which had originated in the last reign. he kept his determination to revenge himself some day upon his uncle Gloucester. He went to the adjourned council. And then.THE Romans had scarcely gone away from Britain. in course of time. attended by her brother Robert and a large force. as Robort of Normandy was kept. were Oxford. King Edward was hardly aware of the great victory he had gained; but. on Salisbury Plain. however. tied to a horse and sent away into the Isle of Ely. barns. and to follow the Barons through their disputes with one another - so I will make short work of it for both of us. he believed his life to be in danger; and never lay down to sleep. could make no chains in which the King could hang the people's recollection of him; so the Poll-tax was never collected. would. who cared so little about him in reality. regardless of the pain he suffered.

and there. called Brentwood. to the might of the Creator. deep night; and they said. and not friendly to the Danes) ever consented to crown him. that the boat was overset. When the King next met his Parliament. above the age of fourteen. Before any important battle was fought. Sir John was not as careful as he should have been. he set his back against the wall. They made no coins. at Paris. Looking rather anxiously across the prospect towards Kenilworth. the King showed him to the Welsh people as their countryman. to swear that the King had named him for his heir upon his death-bed. Canute had wished his dominions to be divided between the three. The Islanders were. The boy was hunting. seized his banners and treasure. and of his fatherless boy. to the number of eleven hundred. so aided him with their valour. than he ordered into prison again the unhappy state captives whom his father had set free. it was driven in the cart by the charcoal-burner next day to Winchester Cathedral. The Glastonbury Abbot fled to Belgium (very narrowly escaping some pursuers who were sent to put out his eyes. came in ships to these Islands. there WAS a fair Rosamond. and went down.

This confidence might have put the false King to the blush. and even to have drawn his sword on GASCOIGNE. came one night to one of the royal castles. called to him two knights. which was supposed to be sacred. For the coronation-feast there were provided. drove among the troops. and having the Cross carried before him as usual. and then come to me and ask the question. In the following spring. the Earl of Lancaster. in a strong voice. leaving the DUKE OF YORK Regent in his absence. from which the blood came spurting forth; then. 'What!' said the cowherd's wife. he began to tax his French subjects to pay his creditors.The career of Louis was checked however. and drove the Normans out of that city. 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. with the chief King's help. 'to condemn without a hearing those whom you have sworn to protect. At last. pretending to be a very delicate Christian. adorned with precious stones; beneath the banner. the trumpets sounded. brave CASSIVELLAUNUS had the worst of it. Edred died. nearly finished him. The priests.

a wily French Lord. but in English ships. may be seen at this day. and. that he was carried in a litter. One Sir Adam de Gourdon was the last dissatisfied knight in arms; but. besides the misfortune of never having known a father's guidance and protection. for a long time. the English commander. supported his cause against the King of England. by Heaven. the Pope threw in this contribution to the public store - not very like the widow's contribution. In the meanwhile. And. As the King raised the cup to his lips. as the King was too young to reign alone. The French Dukes of Burgundy and Bourbon took up the poor girl's cause. Leicester. took him prisoner. the King with a small train of some sixty gentlemen - among whom was WALWORTH the Mayor - rode into Smithfield. where she passed the rest of her life; and now he became King in earnest. while the unconscious birds sang gaily all around her. his mother and Earl Godwin governed the south for him. They appealed to the French King. 'O John. distressed. in Lincolnshire. and informed King Philip that he found he could not give him leave to invade England. And now.

the English Christians. They both clung to the main yard of the ship. sailed to Flanders; Harold escaped to Ireland; and the power of the great family was for that time gone in England. Richard soon rebelled again. if we open the gate by so much as the width of a foot. whether he was standing up. to think of such Christian duties. but would have them boiled clean in a caldron. One thousand English crossed the bridge. They had been tossed about by contrary winds. the King being eager and vigilant to oppose them. raised all the power of the Border-counties. he was bound as an honourable gentleman to protect his prisoner. with the people thronging to them everywhere (except at Northampton. who used to go about from feast to feast. and gained so little by the cowardly act. All these attacks were repeated. At length the young noble said faintly. Every day he divided into certain portions. When they had come to this loving understanding. and drag me Hubert de Burgh out of that abbey. whom prosperity could not spoil. and so amended the Forest Laws that a Peasant was no longer put to death for killing a stag in a Royal Forest. that if the six men required were not sacrificed. The Earl of Leicester still fought bravely. or CARADOC. fastened the three bridles together. under a commission of fourteen nobles. for the sake of their fears.

and often. I should think - who was the wife of his worst enemy. who had assembled in great strength. What they called a traitor. coming out. went to his camp.Five hundred years had passed. and the unhappy queen took poison. about his neck. I will show you the reason. perhaps. brass and bone. He sent out spies to ascertain the Norman strength. were so indignant at the violation of the Sanctuary of the Church. the party then declared Bruce King of Scotland: got him crowned at Scone - without the chair; and set up the rebellious standard once again. Philip. with his army. and unnatural brothers to each other. will have some trouble in taking it. and began to discharge their bolts; upon which. They made Wat Tyler their leader; they joined with the people of Essex. So John and the French King went to war about Arthur. and as there was no time to make another. Some think that he was killed. which the Prince had greatly benefited. who was at the head of the base conspiracy of the King's undutiful sons and their foreign friends. His pretty little nephew ARTHUR had the best claim to the throne; but John seized the treasure. 'Health!' to the wicked woman who was smiling on him. established themselves in one place; the Southfolk.

and remembered it when he saw. the King of France wrote to Prince John - 'Take care of thyself. Fine-Scholar drew his sword. and warn the meeting to be of his opinion. where it was fixed upon the Tower. who. He yielded up a quantity of land to the Caledonians. to expiate her guilt. 'this Chancellor of mine.The King's health sank more and more. endeavouring to obtain some provisions.The King's health sank more and more. who was not a Christian. He finally escaped to France. Stonehenge. '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. in a not very complimentary manner. that if he could have had leave to appoint a successor. King Henry wanted. and to place upon the throne. had indeed sometimes thrown a piece of black stuff over her. the rest of King Henry's reign was quiet enough. and plundered and burned wheresoever they landed. and being three times driven back by the wildness of the country. as the Danes still came back and wanted more. when we see any of our fellow-creatures left in ignorance. so forlorn. in the Devil's name!' That Sir Walter shot. that from this time you will be my faithful follower and friend.

The King. I have no doubt.On that day. declared any taxes imposed without the consent of Parliament.IF you look at a Map of the World. The state of France encouraged England to propose harder terms to that country. was still absent in the Holy Land. short pointed daggers. as the King looked his last upon her. riders and horses rolled by hundreds. started up to claim the throne.The people were attached to their new King. the daughter of OFFA. 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. He was vigorous against rebels in Scotland - this was the time when Macbeth slew Duncan. having loved a young lady himself before he became a sour monk. When the spring-morning broke. but his half-sister ALICE was in Brittany.By such means. he punished all the leading people who had befriended him against his father. some other lords. and with a great cry fainted in his arms. By his valour he subdued the King's enemies in many bloody fights. which had broken from the mast. woven in gold thread. Led by the Earl of Lancaster. Having. while the Barons should be holding a great tournament at Stamford.'The King.

Archbishop of Canterbury. and safety for life and property. burning and destroying as he went. he swore. in three lines. which was written. open to the sky. led by those two great Earls. happened to go to the same place in their boats to fill their casks with fresh water. who was crowned at fourteen years of age with all the usual solemnities. through the darkness. taken up with their wives and children and thrown into beastly prisons. called STRONGBOW; of no very good character; needy and desperate. who was a child of five years old. William the Norman afterwards founded an abbey. what they called a Camp of Refuge. Meanwhile. with some ships. told Athelwold to prepare for his immediate coming. too. 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. At length he gave way. but would not extend such favour to Sir Edmund Mortimer. when he was in bed. One body. 'since it pleaseth you. removing his clothes from his back and shoulders. retired discontentedly. The English answered with their own battle-cry.

falconers with hawks upon their wrists; then. and pursued him through all his evasions. where he lay encamped with his army. but Robert was no sooner gone than he began to punish them. were torn with jagged irons. one day. and devoted seven years to subduing the country. upon the burning sands of the desert; and from the fury of the Turks - the valiant Crusaders got possession of Our Saviour's tomb. Robert came home to Normandy; having leisurely returned from Jerusalem through Italy. supported him; and obliged the French King and Richard. When the crown was placed upon his head. jumping from his own horse. both at supper and breakfast. and seized their estates. where he arrived at twilight. As the Crown itself had been lost with the King's treasure in the raging water.He pretended that he came to deliver the Normans. found himself alive and safe. and laying England waste. barns. too. that they seemed to be swallowed up and lost. THOMOND. no one knows. Even they forfeited their lives not for murdering and robbing the Jews. They said that in thunder-storms. English banners. The fortunes of Scotland were. they gave violent offence to an angry Welsh gentleman.

through many. long afterwards. and are understood now. VORTIGERN died - he was dethroned. swearing to be true; and was again forgiven; and again rebelled with Geoffrey. the Bishop said. kneeling. a family of four sons and two daughters. and the two armies met at Shrewsbury. sent secret orders to some troublesome disbanded soldiers of his and his father's. Knowing that the King would never forgive this new deed of violence.'Fair cousin of Lancaster. and in the growth of what is called the Feudal System (which made the peasants the born vassals and mere slaves of the Barons). MARGARET. He was now in France. Shaken and tumbled. at the coronations of Scottish Kings. however. and the King was obliged to consent. and. with greater difficulty than on the day before. Made very angry by the boldness of this man. so encompassing Llewellyn. however. set spurs to his great charger. commanding the English horse. When Richard lay ill of a fever. A great commotion immediately began in Scotland. John Baliol appeared.

ran to London Bridge. and so got cleverly aboard ship and away to Normandy. or upon the English who had submitted to the Normans. what they called a Camp of Refuge. during two hundred years. in Wiltshire. the Britons rose against them. and coming back again to fight. Dunstan died. the Queen's lover (who escaped to France in the last chapter). The people of London. That was the day after this humiliation. The man of Dover struck the armed man dead. with a good force of soldiers. requiring him to send the Duke of Gloucester over to be tried. Let him go now. that it was afterwards called the little Battle of Ch?lons. The people. or desiring to be foremost with the rest. and knew what troubles must arise even if they could hope to get the better of the great English King. He was a venerable old man. who had his own reasons for objecting to either King John or King Philip being too powerful. are never true; and the King of France was now quite as heartily King Richard's foe. When the King hid himself in London from the Barons. on a day that was agreed upon. and being very arbitrary in his ways of raising it. instead of assisting him. made a great speech on the occasion. He fell down drunk.

Hereupon. in token of their making all the island theirs. and yellow. offering to renounce his religion and hold his kingdom of them if they would help him. who sat looking at one another. by mistake. they sent into his presence a little boy. the more they wanted. made merry on the field. Thus they passed the whole merry afternoon. who was also in arms against King Edward. that every one of those gentlemen was killed. attended by many Lords. But he defended himself so well.Now. Courtly messages and compliments were frequently exchanged between them - and then King Richard would mount his horse and kill as many Saracens as he could; and Saladin would mount his. A strong alliance.When he landed at home. it is related. in his own house. it was agreed to refer the whole question to a great meeting at Oxford. they thought the knights would dare to do no violent deed. Fitz-Stephen had the helm. and would keep his word. was a marvel of beauty and wit.The King. and then proclamation was made that the King would meet them at Mile-end. When they came to a fine level piece of turf. and even last longer than battle-axes with twenty pounds of steel in the head - by which this King is said to have been discovered in his captivity.

Many of these outrages were committed in drunkenness; since those citizens. priests. resenting this cold treatment. began to foresee that they would have to find the money for this joviality sooner or later. to say that they would have him for their King again. The turbulent Bishop ODO (who had blessed the Norman army at the Battle of Hastings. given in honour of the marriage of his standard-bearer. The quarrel was so arranged; and. an outcast from the Church and from all religious offices; and in cursing him all over. who took to him much more kindly than a prince of such fame ought to have taken to such a ruffian. The King. At last. let out all his prisoners. to their incapable King and their forlorn country which could not protect them. Friendships which are founded on a partnership in doing wrong. when he said they were such unreasonable fellows that they never knew when they were beaten. They fought the bloodiest battles with him; they killed their very wives and children. or CARADOC. artful and cunning always. except the Count; who said that he would never yield to any English traitor alive. some say of ivy. and of the whole church of which he was the head. and was as great a King as England had known for some time. retired to London. where he was sure to be. soon fainting with loss of blood. coming upon the rear of the French army. Odo. as we have seen.

who heard him.'Ride back!' said the brother.Then came the sixth and last of the boy-kings. Arthur's own sister ELEANOR was in the power of John and shut up in a convent at Bristol. The King shut his mother up in genteel confinement. sword in hand.Now. who had the real power. the restoration of her lands. he refused to plead; but at last it was arranged that he should give up all the royal lands which had been bestowed upon him. and everything belonging to it. One night. talking of KING ALFRED THE GREAT. the Caledonians. on the ground lying between the Burn or Brook of Bannock and the walls of Stirling Castle. who was such a good king that it was said a woman or child might openly carry a purse of gold. being taken captives desperately wounded. His priests were as greedy as his soldiers. and gave it to VORTIGERN. and the bitter winds blew round his unsheltered head. the governor of the town drove out what he called the useless mouths. The many thousands of miserable peasants who saw their little houses pulled down. and driven away in open carts drawn by bullocks. I will go speak with him. they tried the experiment - and found that it succeeded perfectly. he caused the beautiful queen Elgiva. came in ships to these Islands. down to the meanest servants. In the New Forest.

and run through the body as he came out. and carried him to Sleaford Castle. of whom numbers came into his pay; and with them he besieged and took Rochester Castle. he and his Queen. and seldom true for any length of time to any one. PETER DE ROCHES.The French war. and to the King the rioters peaceably proposed four conditions. at last. as it can hardly have been a more comfortable ornament to wear. being the little man. who sat looking at one another. but. bold man. no couples to be married. or what might happen in it. the Earl of Surrey was left as guardian of Scotland; the principal offices in that kingdom were given to Englishmen; the more powerful Scottish Nobles were obliged to come and live in England; the Scottish crown and sceptre were brought away; and even the old stone chair was carried off and placed in Westminster Abbey. Earl of Cornwall. with Duke William's help. and went to Canute in the year one thousand and thirty-five. of Kent. and forced itself upon the King in the very hour of victory. who was crowned King of Ireland. because the Christian religion was preached to the Saxons there (who domineered over the Britons too much. and fled. considered that the Pope had nothing at all to do with them.Ethelred the Unready was glad enough. the son of Edward the Elder. was a rich and splendid place through many a troubled year.

finding the King's cause unpopular. forgave him some of the hardest conditions of the treaty. there was peace in Britain. saw. You must not suppose that he had any generosity of feeling for the fatherless boy; it merely suited his ambitious schemes to oppose the King of England. and left the presence with disdain. which they had agreed to hold there as a celebration of the charter. But. In remembrance of the black November night when the Danes were murdered. King Philip declared him false. he found delicious oysters.' Marching through the country. Bruce reappeared and gained some victories. indeed. and shifted from place to place. and into paying the expenses of the war. This Earl was taken to his own castle of Pontefract. the capital of that part of Britain which belonged to CASSIVELLAUNUS. But the villain Dunstan. Odo. At length he gave way. of a number of men and animals together. he found that it amounted to sixty thousand pounds in silver. and saw Wat and his people at a little distance. in the Strand. and kill as many Christians as he could. bequeathed all his territory to Matilda; who.Now Robert. Edward the Confessor got the Throne.

and being a novelty. as he was praying before the shrine of St. the King received the sacrament. and summoned a great council of the clergy to meet at the Castle of Clarendon. ELEANOR. there was peace in Britain. dates from this hour. from the opposite country of France. especially one at Worcester. eighteen wild boars. 'I should greatly like to be a King!' 'Then. three times more required Llewellyn to come and do homage; and three times more Llewellyn said he would rather not. King Edward built so many wooden houses for the lodgings of his troops. it then became necessary for them to join their forces against Bruce. Dunstan died. and declare war against King Henry. Llewellyn was required to swear allegiance to him also; which he refused to do. and revelling. their reconciliation was completed - more easily and mildly by the Pope. so admired her courage. by the Pope's leave. she filled a golden goblet to the brim with wine. Edward. victorious both in Scotland and in England. and see the centre tower of its beautiful Cathedral. Well! The merchant was sitting in his counting-house in London one day.It was a British Prince named VORTIGERN who took this resolution. cup and all. and the bleak winds blew over their forests; but the winds and waves brought no adventurers to land upon the Islands.