Prince, who now, and afterwards in England, treated his royal captive with every mark of respect.

At night the prince gave a supper to the French king, and to most of the great lords that were prisoners. The prince caused the king and his son to sit at one table, the lords, knights, and squires at the

THE BLACK PRINCE WAITING ON KING JOHN.

others; and the prince always served the king very humbly, and would not sit at the king's table, although he requested him, for he said that he was not qualified to eat with so great a prince as the king was,

Meanwhile, France was a prey to utter misery. The kingdom had already been wasted by war, and now there were heavy ransoms to pay for the captive lords, and the wretched peasantry rose in mad and savage revolt, their war-cry being "Death to gentlemen."

2

No words can describe the horrors of the Jacquerie, as this insurrection was called. Soon after it was put down, the treaty of Bretigny for a while stopped the struggle between England and France, Edward renouncing all pretensions to the throne, but receiving his French territories in full sovereignty.

King John was set at liberty, and went home on promising to pay a large ransom, but finding it impossible to raise the money from his impoverished subjects, he returned to captivity.

Yet, before Edward died, he saw himself stripped of most of the places which he had added to his possessions in France, for the war was renewed in the latter part of his reign, when the health of the Black Prince was fast failing, and one by one the provinces were lost, until, in 1374, there remained to Edward only the towns of Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne.

1 At Poi-tiers, Clo'-vis, founder of the French monarchy, gained a victory over Alaric, king of the Goths, in 507. Charles Martel defeated the Saracens in 732.

Jacque'-rie, a rising of the peasantry against the oppression

they suffered by excessive taxation and cruel treatment. It was a general saying of the governing classes that "Jacques Bonhomme (the nickname for the peasant) has a broad back, let him bear all the burthens,"

EDWARD THE THIRD: DOMESTIC ANNALS.

THE reign of Edward the Third is one of the most striking in English history, owing to the successful wars which mark the first half of the period, and the pomp with which they were conducted.

The chronicles of the time describe the gorgeous pageant of chivalry, the tramp of war-horses with their stately trappings, and the gallantry of their mail-clad riders in the tournament and the battle.

But we must not forget the sad attendants on all this glitter and show and external parade-the desolated fields and homesteads, the slaughtered thousands, and the widows and orphans of the slain. And it is pleasant to turn from such scenes as these, and mark the steady progress that was being made in spite of the terrible drain on the national resources that Edward's wars demanded.

The early part of this long reign was a season of prosperity, and both trade and agriculture were in a flourishing condition, when, in the year 1349, a severe check was given to this onward march by a fearful plague, commonly known as the Black Death, which swept over Europe, and carried off, it is believed, more than half the inhabitants of England.

So terrible was the desolation caused by the ravages of this disease, that whole districts were thrown out of cultivation, and whole parishes depopulated. The rich, to avoid contagion, dismissed their servants, who became in many instances houseless wanderers, and the nobles shut themselves

up in their castles. Even the Law Courts of London were closed, and no Parliament sat for two years.

All this, however, was not without its compensating advantages, especially to the down-trodden serfs and labourers. For though their numbers were greatly reduced, there was just as much work to be done as before-just as much corn to be reaped, or sheep to be shorn-and only half as many reapers or shearers to do it. At the same time the price of food rose fourfold.

With the labour market in such a state, and provisions at famine prices, workmen naturally demanded higher wages; a demand, however, with which their employers were by no means willing to comply.

To meet this difficulty, Parliament passed the famous "Statutes of Labourers," by which they tried to force men to work for their former hire, and forbade them to move from one parish to another. But such an unnatural interference with the rights of labour could not last, and the result was that the seeds of discontent were sown broadcast among the lower classes, and finding a congenial soil, produced a plentiful harvest in the peasant risings of the succeeding reign.

3

No less than seventy Great Councils were held during the fifty years that Edward ruled the land. The sessions were generally very short, rarely extending to a month, and sometimes not to a week; but whether long or short, they resulted in the steady advance of Parliament in power and influence, and in the gradual moulding of the National

Assembly into a definite shape with fixed forms and usages.

It appears to have been about this time that members of Parliament were divided into two Houses, each occupying a separate chamber. Under this arrangement the prelates and greater barons formed the House of Lords, and the knights of the shire and the burgesses constituted the House of Commons. By this means the influence of the Commons was greatly increased, as hitherto they had been overawed by their superiors in rank and power.

Among the many privileges belonging to the Crown at this period was the right of "Purveyance," which was most vexatious in its operation, and for a long while had been greatly abused. By the exercise of this privilege the king's servants might seize horses, carriages, and food for their own or their master's use, paying just what they liked in return, and this in too many cases was nothing at all.

To the abuse of this privilege by his favourites may in great measure be attributed the hatred felt for Edward the Second. The failure of Edward the Third, and even of Edward the First, to win popularity, was partly owing to the same cause; for it was impossible that the common folk should have any liking for a king at the news of whose approach they made haste to hide whatever was likely to be of use to his servants. A law was now passed, however, forbidding purveyance except for the personal wants of the king and queen.