Wallace was soon joined by several of the nobility; and, notwithstanding the many impediments he met with from the jealousies of some of the nobles, he maintained the struggle for eight years, but with various success. At one time he pushed his victorious arms into England; but at another his cause was nearly ruined at Falkirk, where Edward obtained a complete victory. At last, in 1305, he was betrayed into the hands of the English, who put him to death.

John Baliol had died in France the year A. D. 1305. before, and Robert Bruce, son of the former competitor, now stood alone as claimant of the throne of Scotland. He collected a small army; and the countess of Buchan, in whose family the right of crowning the king had been hereditary, placed the crown upon his head; her brother, who ought to have done it, being in the English interest. When Edward heard of this, he was enraged beyond measure, and vowed the destruction of The Bruce, whose escapes and adventures were very extraordinary ; and are related in an interesting manner by Sir Walter Scott in his Tales of a Grandfather.

Edward's next and last expedition began with a solemn oath, that he would march into Scotland, and never return till he had brought it into entire subjection. And he kept his vow; but not in the way he had intended, for he did not subjugate Scotland, and he never returned. He spent

many months in a vain pursuit of Bruce and his adherents, who contrived to conceal themselves in the fastnesses amongst the mountains, watching for favorable opportu nities of coming forth from their hiding-places, and annoying the English.

A. D. 1307.

At last Edward, exasperated by disap

pointment, sent for all the forces in his dominions to meet him at Carlisle. Before the army could arrive, the king became so ill as to be confined to his chamber. It was reported that he was dead, and to show the falsehood of the report he set out from Carlisle; but, when

What became of Wallace?

Who laid claim to the crown of Scotland A. D. 1305?
What was the king's last expedition?

Where did Edward I. die?

he had advanced a few miles, to a place called Burgh on the Sands, he was obliged to stop. He there expired in a tent by the road-side, on the 7th of July, 1307.

Edward was seventy years old, and had reigned thirtyfive years. He was twice married; first, to Eleanor of Castile, by whom he had fifteen children; and, secondly, to Marguerite, sister of the king of France, by whom he had two sons. Edward, before he died, charged his eldest son to send his heart to the Holy Land: to carry his body with the army into Scotland, and not to bury it, till he had made a complete conquest of that country; and never to recall Piers Gaveston, a wicked favorite of the son, whom the father had banished.

In the relations of son, husband, and father, Edward I. was exemplary: and yet this man, with all these fine and noble qualities, was the occasion of infinite misery to many thousands of people. The desire of possessing himself of the whole island had so beset his mind, that every other consideration gave way to it. To attain this end, he turned courage into mad ferocity, and prudence into deceit and craft, and instead of doing good to this subjects, and mankind, inflicted the evils of war to the utmost extent of his power.

Amongst the many violent acts of Edward was the banishment of the Jews. He drove them out of the country, and, leaving them only money enough to enable them to reach some foreign land, seized on all the rest of their property.

The first commercial treaty to which England was a party, was made between Henry the Third and the king of Norway. The trade of England was chiefly carried on by Germans. The principal commodities were wool, lead, and tin. These were brought to certain towns in different

What was the king's age, &c.?

How did Edward I. treat the Jews?

What was the state of commerce in England during the reign of Edward I.?

By whom was the most considerable trade of England carried on?

parts called the staple towns, where the collectors of the king's customs were appointed to receive the duty, which is a tax paid to the custom-house for the use of government on all articles brought from foreign countries.

The goods were then sold to the German traders, who were called the merchants of the staple; and these people exported them abroad, and imported gold, silver, and various goods in return. The Lombards also were foreigners who settled in England. Their business was chiefly to lend money on interest. Lombard-street in London, was so

named from them.

In respect to their pleasures the people of England imbibed something of the spirit of their monarch. Their very amusements were all of a martial sort; and the learning the use of arms was a necessary, perhaps may be added, a principal part of the education of a gentleman. To every castle belonged a paled court called the tilt-yard, where the young men used to practise all the exercises and manœuvres requisite to make them good warriors.

These exercises, and the mock combats in which they engaged, were always practised with blunt spears, and it was thought very dishonorable for them to wound each other. They had also many games in these tilt-yards which were excellently calculated to improve their strength and agility. Riding at the ring was one of these; the object of which was, while riding at full speed, to run the point of the spear through a small ring that hung suspended from a high post.

The Tournament was a favorite spectacle of the English nation. A tournament was a public meeting of knights, to display their skill and courage in mock combats. These meetings were commonly proclaimed for a long time beforehand, that knights from a distance might be able to attend. They were in general held by kings and princes; and queens, and the wives and daughters of the nobles, were among the spectators; and the most beau

What were the favorite amusements of the English people at this time?

Were mock combats safe, and what other games were practised by the English of the 14th century?

What was a Tournament ?

tiful lady, or the one of highest rank, commonly bestowed a scarf, or some such prize, on the knight, who acquitted himself best.

The reign of Edward the Second, is nothing but a detail of follies on the part of the king, and of violences on that of the nobles. The king began his reign with disobeying all the dying commands of his father. He recalled Gaveston from banishment; and, abandoning the invasion of Scotland, gave himself up to frivolous and idle amusements. He resembled his father in the beauty of his person, but not in the qualities of his mind. He was weak, passionate and irresolute, fond of trifling diversions, and, if we may believe historians, was addicted to the ignoble

Was Edward II. a weak, or a wise man?

vice of drinking to excess. He was devotedly attached to his favorites, who were, with no exception, ill chosen and unworthy persons.

A. D. 1307. Edward married Isabella, daughter of Philip the Fair, king of France; a most unfortunate marriage for him, though at first the queen had the greater cause for complaint, as the king neglected her society, and spent all his time with his favorite Gaveston.

Piers Gaveston was a native of Gascony; and his elevation to riches and honors above the old nobility of England made him an object of general dislike; a dislike which was greatly increased by his own conduct; for he treated the nobles with the utmost insolence, and used to divert himself and his royal master by turning them into ridicule, and giving them contemptuous nicknames.

This treatment they so highly resented, that they entered into a confederacy against him, at the head of which was the king's cousin, the earl of Lancaster, a very rich and powerful baron. The demand of the confederate nobles was, that Gaveston should be sent out of the country. Edward affected to comply with their demand; but instead of sending him back to Gascony, as they had meant, he made him lord deputy of Ireland, and the year after recalled him. The nobles, and indeed the whole nation, A. D. 1312. were so completely exasperated against the king and Gaveston, that a civil war broke out. earl of Lancaster, who was the leader of the barons' army, hearing that Gaveston was in Scarborough castle, despatched the earl of Pembroke against that place, who took Gaveston prisoner, and brought him to his own castle of Deddington in Oxfordshire.

The

One day when the earl of Pembroke was absent from his castle, it was beset by a party of troops, headed by Guy, earl of Warwick, who took Gaveston to Warwick, where Lancaster and the other confederate nobles were assembled. The next day they carried him to a neighbor

Whom did Edward II. marry?

Who was Piers Gaveston ?

How did the English nobles regard Gaveston?
Who took Gaveston prisoner?

In what cruel manner was Gaveston killed?