three otner scas, who died young, ar.d four daughters. The five sons of Edward III. were all made dukes by their father. They were the first persons who bore that title in England. The Black Prince was the first duke of Cornwall.

Edward III. founded the order of the Knights of the Garter. He rebuilt and enlarged the castle of Windsor. He also rebuilt St. Stephen's chapel at Westminster, where the house of commons held its assemblies till 1834, when it was consumed by fire. Its first assemblies were held in the chapter-house at Westminster.

The division of the house of parliament into lords and commons, the exact commencement of which is not known, was thoroughly established in this reign.

The laws and statutes were in this reign commanded to be written in English, having been written in Norman French ever since the Conquest.

It has been supposed that Edward owed the first of his victories to he use of gunpowder, which was first used,

What order of knights was founded by Edward III.?

What edifices were built in this reign?

What was thoroughly established in this reign?

When were English laws first written in the English language? When was gunpowder first used by he English, and by whom was it nvented?

it is said, in war, in the battle of Cressy. Gunpowder was first invented by Friar Bacon, as some say, though Schwartz, a German, also claims the merit of the dis covery

Among the customs of European courts and great families was that of keeping a professed jester. Kings ard nobles amongst the number of their attendants, had one whose business it was to play the fool, and who was privileged to say or do any thing that was ridiculous for the sake of diverting those about him.

The fool's dress was motley; that is, made of different colors. He also wore a cap made with two great ears, to resemble asses' ears, and he had little sheep-bells fastened to different parts of his dress.

All the diversions of the English, whatever they may be now, were formerly of a noisy and tumultuous kind. When a nobleman opened his castle to his guests, on occasions of public festivity, the courts and halls were crowded with minstrels, mimics. jugglers, and tumblers; and there was a confusion and mixture of feasting, drinking, dancing, singing, tumbling, and buffoonery, which would appear very disreputable now in any nobleman's mansion.

There was not at that time a playhouse in the whole kingdom. Jugglers, &c. used to travel about the country, and, when they were not received into private houses, they exhibited their tricks in carts in the open streets. The streets used then to be scenes of great gaiety; for we are told that the servants of the citizens of London were accustomed on summer evenings to dance before their masters' doors.

Queens and persons of high rank were occasionally conveyed in horse-litters. These litters were like a bedstead fastened by shafts before and behind to two horses. Over the litter there was a canopy held, supported on four long poles, each pole carried by a man on foot; so that this mode of travelling was not a very expeditious one.

Who were professed jesters and how did they dress?
How did the English divert themselves in the 14th century?
Were there houses for jugglers, &c. to exhibit in?

What carriages were used by people of rank in, the reign of Edward UL.?

CHAPTER XVII.

RICHARD II.

[Years after Christ, 1377 1399.]

Richard of Bordeaux was the only surviving child of Edward the Black Prince, and was proclaimed king on the death of his grandfather. There was no regent appointed; but the young king's three uncles took the direction of affairs upon themselves. John of Gaunt, the eldest of the three had a high spirit, and great ambition. Being a man of activity and exertion, he had had, even in his father's lifetime, great authority in the state. The duke of York was well meaning but indolent, and of slender capacity. The duke of Gloucester was turbulent, bold and meddling; but John being the oldest, had the chief sway in their councils. Yet he soon showed himself ill qualified to be the leader of affairs, and plunged the country into great distresses by several unprofitable expeditions both into France and Scotland.

A poll-tax of a shilling a head, levied A. D 1381. on all persons throughout the kingdom above the age of fifteen, raised the discontents of the lower orders of the people to the greatest pitch. This tax was very oppressive in that age, when a shilling would buy ten times as much food as it will now buy, and was therefore equal to ten shillings at present, and very few poor people could earn a shilling.

One of the persons employed to collect this tax having been killed in a quarrel with a tyler at Deptford, called Walter, a crowd collected; and from this small beginning a serious disturbance broke forth. Wat Tyler, as he is called, took upon himself the command of the insurgents and sent messages into the neighboring counties, inviting

Who was Richard II., and who were directors of English affairs dur ing his minority?

What tax was levied upon the English people in 1381, and why wus it very oppressive?

Who instigated the oppressed people to rebellion?

the common people to join together, to shake off the yoke of servitude, and to take vengeance on their oppressive

masters.

The people willingly obeyed the summons, and leaving their employments, hastened to Blackheath, the place of rendezvous, burning the houses and plundering the estates of the nobility and gentry as they passed. The mob, when assembled at Blackheath amounted to 300,000 men. Wat Tyler and another man, called from his business as a thresher, Jack Straw, were appointed leaders, and they all set off towards London. The king's uncles were absent from the kingdom; and this insurrection was so sudden, that no preparations had been made for checking it. The king, with his mother, and a small number of the nobility, took refuge in the Tower of London.

It is needless to repeat all the violences of this mob, but it is but justice to the courage of the young king to relate that he determined to meet these enraged people and hear their grievances. The next day, June the 14th, the king, with a few unarmed attendants, left the tower, and proceeded to the appointed place, where he found about 60,000 persons assembled. The king, in a gentle manner, asked them what they wanted. They replied, "they wanted the freedom of themselves and children."

The king promised that their desire should be granted, and that, if they would return to their homes, he would give them charters for their freedom. Immediately thirty clerks were set to work to write these charters, which were given to all who demanded them, and immediately the mob dispersed, and every one returned peaceably and contentedly to his home.

The freedom for which they asked was, probably, exemption fron: certain services to the superior classes, and from the slavery from which the people of England were not then entirely exempted.

In the meantime Wat Tyler, with Jack Straw, and the most desperate of the party, instead of gcing with the

How did the insurgents proceed?

Did Richard manfully meet the insurgents?

Did the king satisfy the insurgents?

What was the freedom which the English people demanded?
Did all the insurgents meet Rickard II. ?

others to meet the king at Mile-End, had broken into the Tower of London, and murdered the archbishop of Can terbury, the lord chancellor, and many other persons whom they found there. Their design was to seize on the voung king, to murder all the nobility, and to plunder and then burn London.

On the following day, June 15, these desperate men were stopped in their mad career. The king was passing through Smithfield, attended by the lord mayor and abou! sixty horsemen. Wat Tyler met them with 20,000 of the insurgents, and, riding up to the king, behaved with so much audacity, that Walworth, the mayor, unable to endure the sight of this clown's insolence to his sovereign, drew his sword, and felled him to the ground with a blow

I

The rioters seemed for a moment stunned with surprise by the loss of their leader; and before they had time to recover themselves, the young king, with astonishing presence of mind, rode up to them, and said: "My friends, be not concerned for the loss of your unworthy leader will be your leader." And turning his horse, he rode into the open fields at the head of the multitude, who seemed to follow him unconciously, and without knowing why.

A cry, meanwhile, had arisen in the city, that the king had fallen into the hands of the rebels, and instantly some thousands of brave men flew to his rescue. When they appeared, the mob, seized with a panic, fell on their knees before him, imploring his pardon, which he granted them, on condition that they dispersed and returned to their homes. This they all did: and thus the insurrection melted away, like snow in a sudden thaw.

Richard's conduct during this disturbance naturally led his people to imagine that he had inherited the courage and vigor of mind of the Plantagenets: but the fair promis, which he had thus given was soon blighted. He betrayed, as he advanced in age, a weakness and frivolity which made him totally unfit for the government of a kingdom.

What happened at Smithfield, June 15th, 1381?

What admirable presence of mind was exhibited by Richard II. ?
What was the end of the insurrection?

Did Richard II. sustain the character he manifested in his youth?