Mortimer was taken at Nottingham Castle, where the subterranean passage is still shown by which his captors obtained admission. The governor secretly conducted some soldiers through this passage into the castle, where they were joined by Edward. They then advanced to Mortimer's room, and, after killing two knights who guarded the entrance, seized upon the favourite. Isabella, on hearing the disturbance, rushed to implore her son to spare her " gentle Mortimer," but in vain. She survived this event about twenty-seven years, but was never allowed to leave her manor-house.

3. During the first six years of this reign numerous attempts were made to place Edward, son of John Baliol, on the Scotch throne. These, though favoured by the infancy of David Bruce, were generally unsuccessful. At length Edward espoused the cause of Baliol, and defeated the Scotch at Halidon Hill (1333). He then set him on the throne, exacted the oath of homage, and received from him, in return, a large portion of the Lowlands.

David, who was at the time in France, returned in 1341, and drove Baliol from the throne, which he never again obtained possession of.

4. Edward now engaged in a war with France, partly from feelings of jealousy, partly on account of the assistance which the French had lent to the Scotch in the late war, and partly on account of claims which he put forward to the French throne.

From the earliest times, no French sovereign had ever sat on the throne, whose claims were derived from a female branch of the royal family. It will be seen from the annexed table that Edward's claim was opposed to this custom.

Edward was the grandson of Philip IV.; his rival was nephew. A still stronger objection to Edward's claim was the decision of the French States General, that no foreigner could reign in France.

In 1337 Edward demanded the French crown, and, on being refused, declared war. In the following year he invaded France; but the enterprise proved utterly unsuccessful, and in 1340 he returned to England. The same year he defeated the French fleet at Šluys, in an action which cost the French 30,000 men. The most disastrous defeat which the French suffered in this war was that of Cressy (1346), where 1200 of their knights, 1500 gentlemen, 4000 men-at-arms, and 30,000 common soldiers perished.

In this battle the Black Prince greatly distinguished himself. On one occasion he was furiously beset by the enemy; but Edward refused to send him assistance, saying, "Let the boy win his spurs ; for I am determined, if it please God, that all the glory of the day shall be given to him and to those under him."

The blind king of Bohemia was found amongst the slain. He had ridden into the battle, conducted by two of his knights, and had fallen in the act of fighting. "Gentlemen," he had said to his attendants, 66 you are all my people, my friends, and brethren in arms this day; as I am blind, I request you to lead me so far into the engagement that I may strike one stroke with my sword." His crest, three ostrich feathers, and motto, "Ich Dien" (I serve), were afterwards adopted by the prince of Wales.

Calais was taken after a siege of nearly twelve months (1347), and was retained by the English for more than two centuries.

The inhabitants held out until forced to surrender by famine. Edward then demanded that six of the chief citizens should come to him with halters round their necks, to deliver up the keys of the town, and to undergo what penalties he might think fit to determine on. Eustace de St. Pierre, the richest merchant in the town, and five others consented to go; but through the intercession of Queen Philippa, it is said, their lives were spared.

A truce was now concluded between England and France, which lasted eight years.

5. In the same year that Cressy was fought, England was invaded by David Bruce. He was defeated by Philippa at Nevill's Cross, near Durham, and taken prisoner.

He was then sent to the Tower, where he remained in mprisonment for eleven years.

6. In 1348 England was visited by a terrible plague, called "The Black Death." In London alone 100,000 fell victims to it; and, on an average, 200 were buried daily. The courts of justice were closed, agriculture was neglected, and famine, as a consequence, soon followed.

It is computed that 25,000,000 Europeans were swept away by this awful visitation.

7. At the expiration of the truce (1355) the war with France was resumed. The Black Prince ravaged the whole of the south of France; and in 1356 gave the French, who were vastly superior in numbers, another severe defeat at Poictiers. John, the French king, was taken prisoner and brought to London.

His victor treated him with great civility, and waited upon him at table as his esquire. In 1360 "The Great Peace" was concluded with France; and John was released, on condition that he should pay a ransom of 3,000,000 gold crowns, and that some of the southern provinces should be ceded to Edward. He found it impossible to obtain the money, and returned to London, where he died (1364).

8. The Black Prince soon after engaged in a war for the support of Pedro the Cruel, who had been expelled by his half-brother from the throne of Castile. In the campaign which followed, his health was completely shattered, and he was obliged to return to Gascony. In 1361 he was summoned by the French king to Paris, to answer the charges of oppression brought against him by the nobles of Aquitaine. He replied that he would appear, but with 60,000 warriors at his back. War was again resumed, and did not terminate until 1374.

This war was marked by no great battles, and was on the whole favourable to the French. When it was concluded, all the possessions which had been ceded at the Great Peace, except Bordeaux, Bayonne, and Calais, were lost; and England possessed less power in France than she had before the war began. The cruelties which were perpetrated in this war, at the orders of the Black Prince, are a great stain on his character. On the capture of Limoges he caused 3000 of the poor inhabitants of the city, men, women, and children, to be massacred. He died A.D. 1376.

9. Edward only outlived his son one year. He was courageous, wise, affable, and merciful. In person he was tall, majestic, and of noble aspect.

In this reign Windsor Castle was built; the title of duke was introduced; the Order of the Garter founded; and tolls for the repairs of roads were levied. Cannon were first used at Cressy, and contributed very much to the defeat of the French.

The use of the French language* in the law courts and in public schools was now discontinued; and the English tongue gradually took its place.

Contemporaries.-10. Scotland, David I., David II., Robert II.; France, Charles IV., Philip VI., John, Charles V.; Sir John Mandeville, a famous oriental traveller.

His book of travels is one of the earliest specimens of good English prose. It is full of the most absurd stories. He speaks of men with tails, of birds capable of carrying elephants through the air, and of certain fruits which contained within them live lambs.

John Wiclif (1324-1385), rector of Lutterworth, the first great English reformer, and the translator of the Bible into English; Chaucer (1328-1402), the father of English poetry; Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, celebrated Italian writers; Schwarz, a monk of Co

*French was the language spoken by our English sovereigns down to the time of Richard II. William the Conqueror tried to learn English, but gave it up in despair. Henry II., when once addressed in English by a Welsh peasant thus,-"God hold ye, king," was unable to understand him, and observed to his squire in French, "Ask this peasant if he is telling us his dreams."

logne, said to be the inventor of gunpowder; Thomas Blanket, a native of Bristol, who first introduced into England the art of weaving the article which bears his name.

RICHARD II., OF BORDEAUX.

Born A.D. 1366; Reigned 22 Years (1377-1399).

Family.-1. Richard was the eldest surviving son of Edward, the Black Prince. He was twice married: first to Anne of Bohemia, and afterwards to Isabella of France. He had no issue by either marriage.

Chronicle.-2. The young king ascended the throne in his eleventh year, but did not actually assume the reins of government until his twenty-second. In the mean time all state affairs were managed by twelve councillors, selected by the Parliament.

3. In 1381 a poll-tax of one shilling was levied on every person above fifteen years of age. This impost was violently resisted in the Eastern Counties, and led to a serious insurrection of the lower orders. They were headed by a mechanic named Wat the Tyler, and by two profligate priests, John Ball and Jack Straw. A force of nearly 100,000 of them marched on London, where they committed the most frightful excesses, setting open the prisons, burning the mansions of the nobles, pillaging and murdering in all directions. Richard met a portion of the insurgents at Mile-end, and having granted them the charters they required, they returned peaceably home.

These charters proclaimed that slavery should be abolished, that the rent of land should be reduced to an equal rate, that the fairs and markets should be thrown open to all, and that the insurgents should receive full pardon.

On the following day Richard had a conference with Wat the Tyler at Smithfield, during which the latter was stabbed by Walworth the lord-mayor, who, seeing him play with the handle of his dagger, suspected that