1 Peers, equals in rank. 2 Assize, a court in England held in every county by special commission to one of the judges, who is called a justice of the assize. 8 Haggard, thin; having the eyes deep sunk in their orbits. 4 Disallow, disapprove. 5 Exulting, triumphant. 6 Translucent, allowing light to pass; clear. 7 Whelm; that is, overwhelm. • Opiate, narcotic; causing sleep. 13. THE LAST DAYS OF JOHN. 1. The rest of John's reign was spent in constant fighting. The barons were in very high spirits at their victory over the King, and he was doing all he could to overthrow them. The Pope now took his side, and tried to abolish the Charter. He even punished Archbishop Langton for having helped the barons to obtain the Great Charter. At length war broke out again between the King and the barons. At first, John was very successful; so the barons in despair asked Louis, son of the King of France, to come over and help them. When Louis arrived, the war went against John; but the barons became alarmed when they saw Louis getting such a strong hold on England. One day, as John with his army was crossing the Wash, in Lincolnshire, the tide suddenly came in, and carried away all his baggage-train, which contained the crown jewels and money. John was already in bad health, and the vexation caused by this accident so preyed upon his mind that he died soon afterwards at Newark. 2. John was the very worst king who ever sat on the throne of England. He was wicked, cruel, cowardly, and tyrannical, and he died miserably, just when he was in danger of being expelled from D his own country or taken prisoner by his enemies. He was twice married. His second wife was Isabella JOHN ESCAPING FROM THE WASH. of Angoulême. He left two sons, Henry, and Richard, Earl of Cornwall. de-spair ar-riv-ed ac-cid-ent a-larm-ed 14.-HENRY III. 1216-1272. 1. Little Henry, the new King, was only nine years old at his father's death. He entered upon troublous times, for his country was, as we have seen, in the hands of a foreign foe. Matters might have gone badly with the child-king, had he not had a brave and wise friend in William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. The Earl had the young King crowned at Gloucester, and re-issued the Great Charter in his name. On the side of Louis were nearly all the barons, who had been driven to join him by the bad conduct of John. But as soon as John was dead, the barons began to fall away from Louis, for they feared he would try to subjugate England. 2. He already held a large portion of the east of England, and was besieging Lincoln when the loyal barons, under the Earl of Pembroke, marched to relieve the garrison. A battle was fought in the streets of Lincoln, and Louis's troops were beaten. This battle was called in jest "the fair of Lincoln." Shortly after, a French fleet, which was bringing reinforcements to Louis, was attacked and destroyed by the English fleet under Hubert de Burgh, and the struggle came to an end. Louis agreed to withdraw from England on payment of ten thousand marks. His adherents were restored to their possessions, the liberties of London and other towns were confirmed, and the prisoners on either side were set free. troub-lous re-lieve sub-jug-ate be-sieg-ing 15.-HENRY'S EARLY YEARS. 1. The country was now left under the rule of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. It was not at all easy at first to restore order in a country which had for four years been engaged in civil war, and the Earl of Pembroke had many difficulties. He was, however, able to maintain order, and HENRY III. there was no more fighting until after his death. The year after he died, the young King was crowned a second time with very great pomp at Winchester, and it was then thought quite time for him to take back into his keeping the royal castles, which, during the late war, had fallen into dangerous hands. It will be remembered that Henry II. had found it necessary to take a similar step, and it had cost him some trouble. His grandson, Henry III., now met with the same difficulty, and some of the castles were not given up till soldiers were brought against them. 2. There were now a number of foreigners in England, chiefly men who had been friends of John. Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, who was the young King's guardian, supported these foreigners; but Hubert de Burgh, who was the justiciar, and the greatest man in the country after the death of the Earl of Pembroke, resolved that they should quit England. At last he succeeded. The foreigners were expelled from their castles, and Peter des Roches himself was humbled. Hubert de Burgh had now restored England to complete peace, and by his advice Henry, for the third time, confirmed the Great Charter. Not long afterwards, Henry came of age. dif-fi-cul-ties ne-cess-ar-y guard-i-an sim-i-lar just-ic-i-ar 16.-HENRY'S PERSONAL RULE. 1. It was soon found that the young King was very unfit for the high position he had to fill. He seemed to have gained little from the careful training he had received from Hubert de Burgh. He was weak, and yet had a high opinion of his own powers. He thought he could rule well by himself, yet he was always taking the advice of men whose influence over him was very bad. One of his first acts, when he came of age, showed how eager he was to get money by any means, whether good or bad. He declared that all charters and grants made during his minority1 should not be considered binding, until they had been re-confirmed by the payment of sums of money. 2. Matters, however, went on smoothly for some few years, and Hubert de Burgh still held his office and guided the King. The Pope was now at war |