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ABOUT RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED.-1189.

10. Richard Plantagenet, and Philip, King of France, were among the first to assume the cross. Richard, jealous of the affection of his father for his youngest brother, John, wished to take him with him to the Holy Land; but Henry would not consent to this, and Richard, whose fiery temper could not bear contradiction, joined Philip in making war upon Henry, instead of leading their troops against the infidels.

11. Henry, being totally unprepared for such an attack, was obliged to make a disadvantageous treaty. But what afflicted him most, was, that John, his favorite son, had joined in the rebellion. This seemed to weigh down the poor king's heart more than any other affliction of his life, and he fell ill of a fever occasioned by anxiety.

12. Feeling himself to be dying, he desired to be carried into a church, and laid before the altar, where he expired, on the 9th of July, 1189, in the fifty-seventh year of his age, and thirty-fifth of his reign. He was the wisest and ablest prince of his time, and the most powerful in the extent of his dominion of any that had filled the English throne.

13. The dress of the nobility was at this period very splendid. Some persons wore their cloaks so long that they swept upon the ground; and the sleeves of the gowns came down over the fingers, to the great inconvenience of the wearers, who could scarcely either walk or use their hands. But Henry introduced the Anjou fashion of wearing short cloaks, which gained him the surname of Curt Mantle.

CHAPTER LII.

Of Richard the Lion-hearted.

1. WE are now about to present to the reader one of the favorite heroes of romance; Richard, surnamed Cœur de Lion, or the Lionhearted, on account of his undaunted courage. He was very prepossessing in his appearance. His eyes were blue, and his hair, what was then much admired, of a yellow hue.

2. He was tall, and his figure extremely fine; he had à majestic and stately mien; and this, joined to his great courage and quickness of intellect, gave him on all occasions an ascendency over men's minds. He is said by historians to have been a good politician, orator, and poet; but though he possessed a great deal of talent, he was hot-headed and without judgment.

3. His faults were, perhaps, too suitable to the unruly temper of

of Prince Henry? Who became the heir to the throne? 9. What happened in 1188? 10. What was the cause of Richard's rebellion? 11. What success had the rebels? What chiefly distressed the king? 12. When did Henry II. die? What was his age? How long had he reigned? 13. What is said of the dress of the nobility? Why was Henry called Curt Mantle?

LII.-1, 2. What of Richard the Lion-hearted? 4. How did he treat his mother and

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the time he lived in, to be then considered dangerous or reprehensible. For his father's death he felt an extreme sorrow, and on seeing his dead body, he expressed an agony of remorse for his undutiful conduct.

4. One of the first acts of his reign was to release his mother from her long confinement. He was very generous to his brother John; but this, instead of inspiring any feelings of gratitude, only enabled him the more to injure his benefactor.

5. Being desirous of acquiring glory, Richard resolved to go on a crusade. His father had left him a large sum of money, but not enough for his purpose; so, in order to increase it, he sold the royal castles and estates; and also put to sale the offices of the greatest trust and power.

6. When some of his ministers remonstrated with him on these proceedings, he said, “He would sell London itself if he could find a purchaser." For a large sum of money he absolved the King of Scotland from his vassalage to the King of England, which, as we have stated, was the condition of King William's release.

7. He also compelled his subjects to lend him money, and, in short, resorted to every means of raising funds, no matter how unjust or impolitic they might be. At length his armament was ready, and Richard arrived at Messina, in Sicily, on the 14th of September, 1190. Here he was joined by Philip, King of France, and it being too late in the season to proceed to Palestine immediately, it was agreed to pass the winter in Sicily.

8. There could scarcely be found two persons less alike in character than these two kings. Richard, though proud and domineering, was brave and generous. Philip was equally proud, but shy and deceitful. It is not surprising that two such opposite characters should quarrel before their six months' residence in Sicily was over.

9. Richard had, in his infancy, been contracted in marriage to Adelais, sister of Philip; but his father had repented of the engagement, and would not permit it to be fulfilled while he lived; and now Richard, having fallen in love with Berengaria, daughter of the King of Navarre, broke off his engagement with Adelais.

10. Early in 1191, he prevailed with his mother to bring the Princess Berengaria to Messina. They arrived the day before he was obliged to sail; but, it being Lent, during which season marriages cannot be solemnized in the Catholic Church, the union could not then take place.

11. Eleanor returned to England, and the princess, accompanied by the Queen of Sicily, who was Richard's sister, embarked for the Holy Land. A violent storm arose, and the ship the two princesses were in, was in great danger. The King of Cyprus, however, refused to admit the vessel into his harbors, upon which Richard laid siege to the island, and in a short time got possession of it.

12. Here he and Berengaria were married; and leaving a governor

his brother? Was his brother grateful to him? 5. What did Richard resolve to do? How did he raise money? 7. When did he arrive at Messina? Who joined him there? 8. How did Richard and Philip differ in character? 9, 10, 11, 12. Relate the circum stances of the king's marriage. Relate the particulars of his voyage from Sicily.

96 EXPLOITS OF RICHARD IN PALESTINE.-1191--1192.

in the island, he sailed for Acre, where the King of France, who had left Sicily some time before, in high displeasure with Richard, had already arrived.

CHAPTER LIII.

Exploits of Richard in Palestine. His violent Temper brings him into Trouble.-About the Old Man of the Mountain, and the Assassins.

1. ACRE was a large town on the coast of Palestine, in the possession of the Saracens, and had been besieged for two years by an army of Christians collected from all parts of Europe. The Christians were now in their turn surrounded and besieged by a large army of Saracens, under the famous Saladin.

2. The arrival of Richard revived the courage of the Christians. He led his troops to the assault in person, and broke down a postern door with his strong hand and weighty battle-axe. Saladin, who saw that Acre must soon fall before such vigorous assaults, gave the citizens permission to make the best terms they could for themselves.

3. On his own part, he agreed to release all his Christian prisoners, and to restore to the crusaders the cross on which our Saviour suffered—or, rather, a relic which bore that reputation, and which had been taken by him at a former battle. But Saladin did not, or could not, at once comply with these conditions.

4. The impetuous Richard would hear of no delay, and put to death all his Mohammedan prisoners, to the number of several thousand men. On account of this rashness and cruelty, Richard was justly charged with the death of as many Christian captives, whom Saladin slaughtered by way of reprisal.

5. Richard exhibited his violent temper upon another occasion, of which he had much personal cause to rue the consequence. When the city of Acre surrendered, Leopold, Duke of Austria, caused his own banner to be displayed from the highest tower. Richard, highly exasperated at what he considered an insult, ordered the standard to be taken down, and being torn in pieces and trampled under foot, it was thrown into the ditch.

6. Leopold felt the indignity, but dissembled his anger, and circumstances gave him an opportunity, as we shall soon relate, of taking an ample revenge, though at the expense of his faith and honor.

7. The knightly qualities of Richard were more agreeable to the spirit of the age than the more statesman-like ones of Philip. The rash valor and brilliant exploits in battle of the former gained him the applause of the multitude. Philip, who was of a jealous temper,

LIII-1. What of Acre? 2. What did Richard do? 3, 4, 5, 6. What instances of

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took offence at this; and his hatred for Richard was continually displaying itself.

8. A contest had arisen between Conrad, Marquis of Montserrat, and Guy of Lusignan, for the empty title of King of Jerusalem, the substantial part, the kingdom itself, being in the possession of the Saracens. Philip espoused the cause of Conrad, whilst Richard maintained the right of Guy.

9. Now there was an Arab prince, called The Old Man of the Mountain, who ruled over a small tribe called Assassins, who dwelt on Mount Lebanon. He had acquired such power over his fanatical subjects, that they paid the most implicit obedience to his commands; and fancied, when they sacrificed their lives for his sake, the highest joys of paradise would be their certain reward.

10. It was the custom of this prince, when he imagined himself injured, to send some of his subjects secretly against the aggressor, and no precaution was sufficient to guard any man, however powerful, against the attempts of the subtle and determined ruffians. From these is derived the name of assassin, or secret murderer, which is in common use.

11. Conrad had given offence to this prince, who caused him to be murdered. Everybody in Palestine knew this to be the fact. But Philip affected to believe that Richard was the instigator of this crime, so entirely at variance with his open and manly, though violent character. He therefore selected a new body-guard, and took other precautions, implying dishonorable suspicions of his rival.

CHAPTER LIV.

Philip returns to Europe.-The wicked Orders he leaves with his General.—More of Richard's Exploits.-Termination of his Career of Victory. He receives news from England which determines him to

return.

1. It was not long before Philip found out that nothing but barren laurels were to be gained in this war with the Saracens, and that but a small share of these would fall to his lot. He suddenly discovered that the air of Palestine was not favorable to his health, and resolved to return home.

2. But before he went, he made a solemn promise not to make any attempts on the territories of Richard, though at this very time he entertained the full intention of attacking them as soon as he got back. Leaving his troops in Palestine, under the command of the Duke of Burgundy, with secret orders to omit no opportunity of mortifying the English king, he proceeded directly to Rome.

3. Here all his influence was exerted to procure from the pope

Richard's violence of temper? 7. What excited Philip's jealousy of Richard? 9. What of the Old Man of the Mountain? 10. Whence the name of assassin?

LIV.-1. What disco ry did Philip make? 2. What promise did he make to Richard?

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MORE OF RICHARD'S EXPLOITS.- -1191-1192.

an absolution from his promise to Richard. But his Holiness, if he had not sufficient regard for justice, at least had sufficient regard for appearances, and was politic enough not to sanction such a gross outrage on the rights of one who at that very moment was risking his life in the cause of the church; he therefore positively refused to comply.

4. In the mean time, Richard, unsuspicious of these designs, thought only of his open enemies, and was rivalling in the Holy Land the imaginary actions of the heroes of romance. He defied armies with a handful of men, and challenged to combat, on his own person, an extended line of thousands, not one of whom dared to quit the ranks to encounter him.

5. Notwithstanding the obstacles constantly thrown in his way by the adherents of the King of France, Richard at length arrived, after gaining a victory over Saladin, in one of the greatest battles of the age, within sight of Jerusalem, the object of his enterprise. But the French troops positively refused to advance to the siege, and Richard, to his great mortification, was compelled to stop short in his career of victory, and return to Ascalon.

6. This march is described as the most painful of all that the army made; and when at last, worn out by fatigue and famine, it arrived at Ascalon, the place was found to be in so ruinous a condition, that it became necessary immediately to repair it. Richard set the example, by working with more ardor than any common laborer.

7. In the mean time, affairs in England had gone on very badly. Those to whom the government had been intrusted, quarrelled among themselves, and the whole kingdom was in a state of disturbance. When the King of France reached home, he lost no time in inviting Prince John to unite with him in seizing on Richard's territories.

8. John was only prevented from doing so by Queen Eleanor, who appears at this time to have acted like a wise and good woman. Philip would then have invaded Normandy with his own forces; but his barons refused to accompany him in so unjust and ungenerous an attempt. The news of these events reached Ascalon about the middle of April, 1192, and Richard resolved to return home.

9. But while he was making his preparations, he heard that Saladin was besieging Joppa, and that the Christians there were reduced to the last extremity. Giving up, therefore, his design of immediately embarking, he went directly to Joppa, and defeated pagans in a furious battle.

the

10. Soon after this, he fell ill, and being unable to take advantage of his success, he concluded a truce with Saladin for three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours.

3. What did he do when he arrived at Rome? 4, 5. What of Richard's exploits? What compelled him to retreat? 7, 8. What was the state of affairs in England? 9. What prevented Richard's retur ?