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10 The favorite game of the younger boys was the quintain. The quintain itself was somewhat like a turnstile, with two arms instead of four. On one arm was painted a board or shield, and to the other hung a bag of sand, or a piece of wood. The play was for the boy to run at the shield, and push it with a long stick.

11. When the shield was struck, of course the arms of the quin tain to which it was fastened turned round instantly; and, if the boy was not very quick in his movements, the bag of sand would give him a heavy knock on the back before he could get out of the way.

CHAPTER XLIII.

Pages, Esquires, and Knights.

1. THE young nobles commenced their career as pages or valets. It was the duty of the page to assist his lord in dressing, to wait upon him and his lady and noble guests at table, and to attend him when he rode abroad. After serving the requisite time as page, he was advanced to the rank of esquire. He now practised and perfected himself in all knightly accomplishments. His present age would make him a more agreeable companion for the ladies. He joined in their dances, and cheered them with his music. In their society he acquired the courtesy and politeness of manners, which were indispensable to a good knight.

2. He was relieved from the services required of the page, but was called upon for more dangerous and responsible ones. He attended his lord to battle. He was not expected to take part in the fight, and was in little danger, for, as he wore no armor, it was considered dishonorable for a knight to attack him.

3. He stood ready to render any assistance which his lord might require. If he were overthrown, he helped him to rise; if he were wounded, he carried him from the field; if the wound were mortal, he received his lord's dying commands, and after his death, bestowed upon his body an honorable burial.

4. A writer of the reign of Henry II., thus describes the exercises of the youth: "Crowds of noble and sprightly youths, mounted on war horses, admirably trained to perform all their turnings and evolutions, ride into the fields in distinct bands, armed with lances and shields, and exhibit representations of battles.

5. "The hope of victory rouses the spirits of these noble youths; their fiery horses neigh and prance, and champ their foaming bits. At length the signal is given, and the sports begin. The youths, divided into opposite bands, encounter one another. In one place,

the tilt-yard? What was one of the favorite games? 10, 11. What was a favorite game with the boys? Describe the game of the quintain.

XLIII.-1. What were the duties of a page? What is said of esquires? 2, 3. What were their duties? 4, 5. What does an author of the age of Henry II. say of the exercises

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some flee, and others pursue, without overtaking them. In another place, one of the bands overtakes and overturns the other.”

6. At length the young noble arrived at a proper age to receive that honor, for which he had gone through a course of long and laborious preparation. If he was perfect in his martial exercises, courteous in his demeanor, polite and attentive to the ladies, obedient to his superiors, respectful to his elders, was skilled in music and dancing, possessed in short of all knightly accomplishr ents, he was admitted to the order of knights.

7. Every knight had the power of conferring this dignity. Sometimes an esquire had an opportunity of performing some gallant action in battle, and was knighted upon the field. This was es teemed the most honorable mode of obtaining it. Such a one was called a knight-banneret.

8. Kneeling down before the knight who was to bestow the honor, he received a blow on the left shoulder with a sword, from the knight, who said, "In the name of God, of St. George, and of St. Michael the Archangel, rise up, Sir John!" or "Sir Thomas,” or whatever else the name might be.

9. But the process was usually longer, and accompanied with much ceremony, and many solemnities. The candidate for knighthood prepared himself by fasting and prayer. Having bathed and clothed himself in a white garment, as a symbol of the purity and truth that must distinguish his future life, he entered the church, and, advancing to the altar, presented his sword to the priest, who blessed it, and then returned it to him.

10. The novice then, with clasped hands, went and fell upon his knees before the elder knight, who took from him the sword, and administered the oath. He swore to speak the truth; to maintain the right; to protect the distressed; to practise courtesy; to defend his religion; to despise the allurements of ease, and to vindicate in every perilous adventure the honor of his name.

11. He was then invested by the knights, or ladies, or damsels present, with the exterior marks of chivalry,—his spurs, his coat of mail, his brassards, (the covering for the arms,) his gauntlets or iron gloves; and lastly his sword was buckled on. Then the elder knight, rising from his seat, gave him the blow on his shoulder, or accolade, and this was intended as a warning of the sufferings he would be called upon to bear.

12. While giving the accolade, the elder knight repeated the same words as in the former case. The helmet, buckler, and lance, were now given, after which, mounting and curvetting his steed, brandishing his lance, and glittering his sword, the new knight paraded about amidst the acclamations of the people.

13. There were some knights who devoted their lives to the protection of the injured and helpless. They were not formed into any regular body, but were quite independent of one another, and trav

of the youth? 6. What were the requisites of a knight? 7. Who had the power of knighting? What was a knight-banneret? 8. With what ceremony were such made knights? 9, 10, 11, 12. Relate the usual process of making a knight. 13. What is said of knights-errant? 14. What of chivalry?

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elled about from place to place for the purpose of redressing grievances. These were called knights-errant.

14. This class of knights might well do a great deal of good in those lawless times, when might made right. The whole institution of chivalry, as the system was called, of which knighthood was one of the chief characteristics, did infinite service in softening the ferocious manners of the times. It had its origin in France, and no traces of it have been found among the plain and rustic Saxons.

Matilda, wife of the Emperor of Germany, and afterwards of Geoffrey Plan tagenet, Earl of Anjou. She is commonly called the Empress Maude.

CHAPTER XLIV.

Surnames. Of the Education of Henry II.—Learnea Men of that Age.-About the only Englishman that ever was made Pope.

1. WHEN the Normans went over to England, many of their leaders would naturally have the same Christian name. To distinguish one from the other, they were called by the name of the place from which they came; as, for example, Robert d'Evreux, Henry d'Arcy, Walter de Courtenay, &c., which mean Robert of Evreux, Henry of Arcy, &c.

2. Their children wishing to preserve the remembrance of their origin, also called themselves by the same names; but in the course of time the French word de, meaning of, was either dropped en tirely, or made part of the last name, as Devreux, Darcy, &c.

3. It was soon found that family names were not only honorable, but convenient; accordingly they became universal; but at the time of which we are now speaking, they were assumed only by noble families; and it was a long time before they were adopted by the lower orders of people.

4. When they began to use them, sometimes they added their father's name with son at the end of it, as, Thomas Johnson; and sometimes their mother's name, as, Horatio Nelson; or, perhaps

XLIV.-1, 2. What is said of the use of surnames by the Norman nobles? 3, +. Whence were they generally formed for the other classes? 5. What of the name Plan

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they took their father's nickname, as, Hobbs from Robert, Bates from Bartholomew, Hodges from Roger, &c., and hence also Gibson, Sampson, &c. Some took their name from their trade, or office; as Smith, Weaver, Walker, (which is Fuller in old English,) Porter, Shepherd, Spencer, (that is, steward.)

5. I have already told you that Geoffrey of Anjou was called Plantagenet, and mentioned a derivation which an old legend gives of that name. The more probable story is, that one of the family wore a sprig of the plant genista, or broom, in his helmet, that his son retained it, and by this means it became the surname of the family.

6. Henry Plantagenct was at this time twenty-one years of age; of the middle size, and remarkably strong and active. He was very lively, and interesting in conversation. He was rather inclined to grow fat, but he guarded against it by abstemiousness and exercise.

7. He was a very graceful rider, even to the last years of his life. He was educated in the castle of the Duke of Gloucester, one of the most learned as well as virtuous noblemen of the age. Under his care, Henry acquired not only all the common military accomplishments of the times, but the uncommon one of a taste for study.

8. He delighted in the conversation of learned men, and had so good a memory that he remembered every book he had read, and every face he had seen. The invention of paper had made it less expensive to multiply books, though, as the art of printing was not yet known, it was only to be done by transcribing.

9. Every monastery had its writing-room, where the younger monks were employed in copying books. Few among the laity could write, and all the authors of this time were monks and priests. There were many learned men, both historians and poets. Of these, the most eminent are William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Giraldus Cambrensis.

10. In this age lived Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman who was ever made pope. When a lad he was a servant in the Abbey of St. Albans. Being reproached for idleness, he left the abbey and went to Paris, where it was the custom for English students to resort, as the University of Paris was then the best in Europe.

11. At Paris he applied himself so earnestly to study, that he obtained the notice of Pope Eugenius III., who, after a time, made him a cardinal, as the highest dignitaries in the Roman Catholic church, under the rank of pope, are called. In 1164 he was chosen pope, and took the name of Adrian IV.

tagenet? 6. What of the personal appearance of Henry II.? 7. By whom was he educated? What taste did he acquire? 8. What had made books cheaper? 9. Of what class were the authors of this age? Who were the most eminent? 10, 11. What e

aid of Nicholas Breakspear?

More about Henry II.-Conduct and Character of Queen Eleanor.

1. HENRY II. inherited all that was good and admirable in his grandfather's character, without his bad qualities. He was the first king since Edward the Confessor who had come fairly by the crown; so that the people of England were prepared to receive him with great joyfulness.

2. The Saxon blood which he inherited from his grandmother made him highly acceptable to the English, who were pleased to think that in him the old Saxon line was restored. Henry was very powerful, from his territories on the continent of Europe, before he succeeded to the crown of England.

3. He received possession of Normandy when he was sixteen years old. By his father's death, in 1151, he became possessed of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine. The year after, he married Eleanor, beiress of Guienne and Poitou. She was many years older than himself, and had before been married to the King of France.

4. That monarch had been separated from her for the alleged

XLV.-1. How was Henry received by the English people? 3. What were his posses sions on the continent of Europe? Whom did he marry? 4. What is said of his wife