sort of thing which would rouse Edward's righteous indignation. Before he could reach Scotland, Bruce had been crowned at Scone, though the ancient stone was no longer there. Edward's troops, however, were masters of the country. By his orders, the countess of Buchan, who had placed the crown on Bruce's head, was seized and imprisoned in a cage, like a captive bird, high up on the walls of Berwick.

The Scottish troops were easily routed. The Scottish leaders were sent to the block or to the gallows. In 1307 Edward set forth in person to complete his work by the destruction of Bruce himself. For good or for evil the old man's work was done. The noblest of our English kings died in Burgh-upon-Sands, near Carlisle, In England he had been a wise and firm ruler, striving to give to every man his due. His hand had been heavy upon Scotland, and by all Scotsmen he was long regarded as a bloodthirsty tyrant. Yet even in his dealings with Scotland he had meant to do well.

CHAPTER XII.

(EDWARD II., 1307. EDWARD III., 1327.)

1. Edward II. and Robert Bruce.-There have been good kings and bad kings in English history, but Edward II. was the only English king who did not even try to do in some way the work of a king. ward II. cared for amusements and jests, and

pleasure of every kind, but he let public affairs alone. He was joking with an unworthy favourite named Piers Gaveston when he ought to have been governing England. For a time the English soldiers whom his great father had trained held

Scotland down. Bruce fled, through adventure after adventure, from one Highland hiding-place to another. Whenever he saw a chance, he dashed out upon the English. But for a long time he was always forced to fly after a moment's success.

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5. Growing Influence of Parliament. To levy these taxes he was obliged to ask the consent of a body which was now beginning to be called Parliament. It had existed under different names, and with some difference in its composition, ever since the English had come into the island. At the beginning of this reign it very much resembled the present House of Lords without any House of Commons. There were in it barons who were landowners with large estates, and also the bishops and the principal abbots or heads of the monasteries. But though parliament was continually asked for money, and though for some time it granted what was asked, the dissatisfaction with a king who squandered English money on foreigners grew deeper every year.

6. Simon de Montfort.-At last the barons and clergy of England found a leader in a man who was, strangely enough, a foreigner by birth. Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, had married the king's sister. He was the first warrior of the day, a man great in capacity as in moral worth. Sir Simon the Righteous was the name by which he was popularly known. Under his guidance a parliament was held at Oxford in 1258, where the barons appeared in arms. By a series of agreements, known as the Provisions of Oxford, the government was taken out of the hands of the king, and placed in the hands of various councils. The arrangement did not last long. The barons had it all their own way in the councils, and the lesser landowners began to fear that they would not get justice from the great ones. Earl Simon

would have done justice if he could, but the barons were too strong for him. Their folly made them as unpopular as the king had been unpopular before, and Henry almost regained his old authority.

7. The Battle of Lewes and the Government of Earl Simon. For some time there was agitation and confusion, with no certain superiority on either side. The barons were divided between their jealousy of the king and their jealousy of Earl Simon. For all that, Earl Simon was growing in strength. Some years before, the freeholders, or men holding land of their own, whether it was much or little, had been allowed to choose men to go to parliament to speak in their name and to ask for the things which they wanted. These men are called the representatives of those who send them, and the representatives of the freeholders were like the country members of the present day. The towns, too, were increasing in commercial prosperity, and in the habit of managing their own affairs. The towns, and especially London, the greatest of them all, threw themselves on the side of the earl. In 1264, he gathered his followers together, came down upon the king at Lewes, in Sussex, and utterly defeated him. At the end of the day Henry had been made prisoner, and his eldest son Edward surrendered himself soon after. For rather more than a year Earl Simon ruled England. He summoned the towns to send representatives for the first time to parliament. He wished that people of every kind, the great landowners, the clergy, the small landowners, and the townsmen, should all be able to say for themselves in parliament what they wanted. As a

political verse-writer of the day expressed it, the community of the realm was to be consulted, and it was to be known what was thought by the nation as a whole. This is exactly what England tries to do now. Whenever there is a general election, the nation chooses men who can go to parliament and say what the nation itself wishes to have done. Then, after that, it is the business of wise men who make up what is called the government to find out how it is to be done.

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8. The Battle of Evesham and the Death of Earl Simon.-Earl Simon meant to rule well; but once more the jealousy of the barons was too strong for him. Young Edward, the king's eldest son, was wise and able beyond his years, and he watched the spread of this jealousy. He resolved to make his escape. One day he suggested to his keepers to ride races for their amusement as well as his own. When their horses were thoroughly tired, he rode fresh one, and was soon out of sight. barons flocked to his standard. Earl Simon was at Evesham. From the top of the church tower he saw the prince approaching. Commend your souls to God,' he said to the faithful few who were around him, 'for our bodies are the prince's.' His little army was overpowered. The earl was slain and his body was shamefully mutilated. After a while all further resistance was overcome. The king's authority was restored, and up to his death in 1272 no man ventured to raise a hand against him.