to go to England with her, and fight for her. The Count was very willing, and Isabella and Mortimer were able to go back to England, taking with them a number of soldiers.

As soon as Isabella landed in England, she was joined by all the discontented barons. The King and the Despensers fled before her. They shut themselves up in the town of Bristol, which had a strong castle surrounded by the sea. In this castle the King lodged with the younger Despenser, whilst the father remained in the town.

The citizens of Bristol, when they saw that the whole land had turned against the King, did not wish their city to be ruined by a siege, and opened their gates to the Queen. So the old Despenser fell into the hands of his enemies. He was ninety years old, but she felt no pity for his great age. He was dragged on a hurdle to the spot where he was beheaded.

The King and the younger Despenser were still safe in the castle. But as they saw no chance of escape, they embarked in a small boat, hoping to reach Lundy Isle in the Bristol Channel, and so be safe from their enemies. For eleven or twelve days they were blown to and fro in this small boat, but the winds were contrary, and they could not get forward. At last some of their enemies spied the little vessel as it tossed about helplessly. They pursued it in a barge, and rowed with such vigour that the King's boatmen could not escape. The King and Despenser were taken to the Queen as prisoners. The unhappy Edward II. was sent with a strong guard to be imprisoned in Berkeley Castle.

Then the Queen set out to return to London in triumph.

She took Sir Hugh Despenser with her. He was mounted on the poorest and smallest horse that his enemies could find, and led through the towns they passed with scoffs and jeers, whilst trumpets and cymbals played to tell the people that he was coming.

At Hereford the Queen and her party stopped to keep the feast of All Saints, and there they decided that Sir Hugh should be punished. He was put to death with horrible cruelties in the sight of a vast crowd of people, and his head was cut off and sent to London.

After this Isabella and Mortimer governed England as they liked. As they were afraid lest any one should try and put Edward II. on the throne again, they had him secretly murdered in Berkeley Castle, and his son Edward became king as Edward III. But he was still too young to govern himself. The barons soon found out that they had not changed for the better, seeing that now they were only ruled by the Queen and her favourite instead of by the King and his favourite. As young Edward III. grew older, he became daily more impatient at being able to do nothing himself, and seeing all the power in the hands of his mother and Mortimer. He was quite willing to listen to those who told him that it was time he became king in deed as well as in name. One of the nobles, Lord Montacute, proposed to him that they should make Mortimer prisoner during a Parliament which was to be held at Nottingham, and Edward III. agreed.

Isabella and Mortimer came with Edward III. to the castle at Nottingham. Mortimer knew that he had many enemies,

and he took care to have a strong guard within the castle walls. New locks were put on the gates, and every night after all the gates were locked, the keys were laid on the Queen's pillow. But Montacute made friends with the governor of the castle, who was willing to help him when he heard that Edward III. wished it. There was a secret passage through the castle rock of which Mortimer knew nothing, and the governor promised to let Montacute into the castle by it at midnight. He came in secretly with a number of his followers, and was met by Edward III. who led them silently through the passages to the rooms where his mother lodged. There they heard the voice of Mortimer talking with some others. Queen Isabella had gone to rest in the next room.

Edward III. with Montacute and his followers forced the door in a moment, and two knights who tried to guard it were killed. Isabella rushed into the room when she heard the noise, and cried with tears, "Sweet son, fair son, spare my gentle Mortimer." But they paid no heed to her tears, and bore away Mortimer as a prisoner. A few weeks later he was brought to trial before the Parliament at Westminster, and condemned to death as a traitor. Queen Isabella was not allowed to have anything more to do with the government. She was made to live quietly away from the court, but was treated with kindness and consideration by her son.

XXI.

JEAN FROISSART.

1337-1400.

PERHAPS you have sometimes wondered how it is that we know so much about what our forefathers did in England in times long gone by. It is by carefully putting together a great many things that we at last get at the truth. We learn much about the government of the land from studying the laws passed by Parliament at different times; and a great many papers have been stored up for hundreds of years in the public offices in London which tell us of the rules made for commerce, of the money spent in the royal household, of the treaties made with foreign rulers. All these help us to know what was done in England in bygone days. But besides these we have chronicles or histories which were written in olden times chiefly by monks, and in which they tell us the things which were done before they lived as well as during their lifetime. You remember how Bede wrote a history of the Church in England; and after him other men wrote histories of their times. But as they were, for the most part, monks who stayed quietly in the monasteries, they wrote more what they heard from others than what they saw themselves. So it is particu

larly interesting when in the time of Edward III. we come to a writer, who not only tells us what he heard from others, but