keep no watch, they took Charles of Blois in his tent and conducted him prisoner to Hennebon.

The triumph of the Montfort party seemed complete. But at this crisis the wife of Charles manifested a spirit which almost rivalled that of the widow of Montfort, and undertook most cheerfully to continue the war. Under her auspices the struggle was carried on with as much courage as it had been by her husband; and, in August 1350, just before the death of Philip of Valois, Sir Thomas Dagworth and all his men, having been betrayed by Raoul de Cahours, were slain before the castle of Aurai. But still the Countess of Montfort continued the contest; and in 1357, during King John's captivity, the Duke of Lancaster landed with an army in Brittany, to aid her efforts. Charles of Blois, who had recovered his liberty, thereupon in alarm applied to Charles, Regent of France, for support. But, occupied with multitudinous difficulties, Charles paid little attention to the entreaties of his kinsman.

At length, in 1364, when King John had died at the Savoy, and the regent had ascended the French throne as Charles V., the long struggle which had desolated Brittany was brought to a decisive issue. As early as the time of the Duke of Lancaster's expedition, the young Earl of Montfort had taken part in the enterprises of his adherents and allies. Having now arrived at manhood, and at an age to fight for his rights, he was besieging Aurai, when informed that Charles of Blois and Bertrand du Guesclin, the famous Breton knight, and many of the lords of France, were busily arraying men-at-arms to march and raise the siege, and bring the long war to a conclusion. Montfort was doubtless dismayed. However, he sent messages into Aquitaine, entreating the knights and squires of the Black Prince to come to his assistance. In that age such an invitation was well-nigh irresistible. Sir John Chandos, with four hundred warriors, marched into Brittany; many knights at the same time, leaving England, crossed the sea to take

part in the decisive encounter; and Montfort found himself at the head of a force little inferior in numbers to that with which his hereditary foe came to overwhelm him.

It would seem that Charles of Blois, at the last, was inclined to compromise matters; but he was scarcely his own master. When taking leave of his wife he received instructions which forced him to do or die. Laying her hand on his arm, in the presence of Guesclin and the Breton barons, she said: 'My lord, you are going to defend your inheritance and mine (for that which is mine is yours), which the Lord John de Montfort has seized, and kept for a very long time, most wrongfully as God knows. The barons of Brittany, who are here present, know very well that I am the rightful heiress. I therefore most earnestly beg and entreat of you, that you will not listen to any treaty or composition which may be offered, so that the whole body of the duchy may be ours.'

'Madam,' replied Charles, 'I promise faithfully to comply with your request.'

It was the morning of Sunday, October 9, 1364, when the hostile armies faced each other at Aurai, in order of battle; and many masses were said, and the sacrament administered to all who wished it. Various attempts were made to negotiate, but in vain; for Charles was hampered by the parting commands of his wife; and the English, after having come so far, were in no mood to be cheated out of a fray. 'Listen not to overtures of peace,' said they to Sir John Chandos ; 'for we have expended our whole fortune in coming here, and are so poor that we have no hope save in a battle, either to lose all or to set ourselves up again.' Accordingly, the embattled hosts came hand to hand, and fierce was the strife. Ere long, however, the English proved too much for their antagonists; and the French, falling into confusion, began to fly. Sir John Chandos then advanced on the battalion of Du Guesclin; and the Breton warrior was taken prisoner. All was now dismay and disorder; but Charles

of Blois, surrounded by some knights and squires who preferred death to reproach, fought to the last. At length, after his standard-bearer was slain and his standard thrown to the ground, he fell facing his foes, side by side with his bastard son, John of Blois, and several warriors of Brittany. When the field was won, the Earl of Montfort was informed that Charles of Blois was among the slain.

'My lord,' said some of the knights, 'be of good cheer, for we have seen your adversary, the Lord Charles among the slain.'

'I wish to see him myself,' said the earl, rising; 'for I should have as much pleasure in seeing him dead as alive;' and he walked with Sir John Chandos towards the spot where, covered with a shield, his foe lay dead.

'Ha! ha! my Lord Charles!' exclaimed Montfort, when the shield was raised, and he looked at the dead man very sorrowfully. 'Fair cousin, how much mischief has happened to Brittany from your having supported your pretensions by arms! God help me! I am truly unhappy at finding you in this situation; but now it cannot be amended.' Having thus expressed himself, Montfort burst into tears; and Sir John Chandos, perceiving his grief, pulled him by the skirt.

'My lord,' said the brave knight, 'let us go away and return thanks to God for the success of the day; for without the death of this person you never would have gained your inheritance of Brittany.'

The victory of Montfort and the death of Charles of Blois at Aurai, virtually closed the long war, in which Joan the Fleming had played the part of a heroine. Her son was, by the treaty of Gueraude, acknowledged as Duke of Brittany; and, long after she followed her husband to the tomb, chroniclers wrote and minstrels sang, how, in the struggle carried on for the rights of her captive husband and her infant son, she proved that she had the courage of a man and the heart of a lion.'

133

A

Agnes, Countess of Dunbar.

MONG the warriors who figured as the comrades of Robert Bruce, in his struggle for the Scottish crown, and who played a conspicuous part on the decisive day of Bannockburn, Thomas Randolph was of high account.

Randolph was heir of a family whose chiefs had been Lords of Nithsdale, and, during the reign of the early Plantagenets, set their faces against the English supremacy. His father, moreover, married Isabel, daughter of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick; and Randolph, being in this way nephew of the Norman hero who aspired to the Scottish throne, not unnaturally, after a little wavering, cast in his lot with his heroic kinsman. When the struggle was ended, and the triumph achieved, Randolph was rewarded with the earldom of Moray, the lordship of Annandale, the Isle of Man, and other lands and baronies taken from men who had fought on the losing side. He lived to the year 1332, and having married Isabel, daughter of Sir John Stewart of Bonkhill, he left by that lady, whose cousin afterwards became king, two sons, Thomas and John, who were successively Earls of Moray, and a daughter, Agnes, who was married to Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and March, and who was described in homely phrase as Black Agnes.

The House of Dunbar was founded in the eleventh century, by Cospatrick, the Saxon Earl of Northumberland; who, deprived and banished by the Norman conqueror, found refuge in the dominions of Malcolm Canmore. husband of Black Agnes was the ninth in descent from

The

Cospatrick; and his ancestors had constantly been in alliance with the Plantagenet kings, and strongly supported the English interests north of the Tweed. His grandfather had done good service to Henry III.; his father had fought well and faithfully for Edward I., and suffered much for his loyalty to that great sovereign; and he himself, when a boy, had first been in arms on that memorable expedition, when the chivalry of England, led by the conqueror of Evesham and Falkirk, made so mighty a display before the castle of Cerlaverock.

At that time everything seemed prosperous. But evil days were at hand. The misfortunes of the second Edward rendered the Earl's situation dangerous; the king's defeat at Bannockburn rendered it desperate. The position which he had hitherto occupied could no longer be maintained; and when Edward, flying from his pursuers, found shelter in the castle of Dunbar, he perceived the necessity of freeing the Earl from his allegiance. When, therefore, the unhappy king escaped safely to Berwick, Earl Patrick no longer hesitated to do homage to Bruce, who was his cousin. Perhaps, however, his faith to the throne that had been set up, was held in some doubt, and it was deemed politic to furnish him with a bride whose prejudices were all in favour of Scottish independence and the new order of things. In any case, Earl Patrick espoused the daughter of Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, and became a subject of Robert Bruce.

It was a great change; and doubtless the earl felt that it was not in every respect pleasant. However, he continued faithful to his new friends; and, when Edward III. advanced northward in 1333, he accepted the post of governor of the castle of Berwick. But the result of the battle on Halidon Hill forced him to come to terms with the conqueror; and, submitting with the best grace he could, he was received into the English king's protection.

The Earl of Dunbar, however, was not destined to emu