Stories from English History Part 9

'Put out his eyes,' mused the king; 'put out his eyes; those eyes which look with unseemly boldness at his uncle and true sovereign.'

The longer he dwelt upon the idea the more attractive did it become to him.

The boy who could not be made to fear him; who persisted in believing that he would one day force his uncle to yield up the crown--it would be gratifying to know that he had been deprived of his frank, fearless eyes.

John sent to the prison a man called Hubert de Burgh, whom he believed to be devoted to himself; and gave him charge of Prince Arthur.

Hubert had a stern face but a kind heart, and he soon grew so much attached to the bright boy who was his prisoner, that he felt towards him almost as a father. He took the prince out of the dungeon, and gave him bright sunny rooms in another part of the castle; and often he spent hours with his young charge, enjoying his cheerful boyish conversation.

What was Hubert's dismay when one day he received a letter from the king, commanding that his prisoner's eyes should be burned out with hot irons. Not only that, but he had sent two executioners to see that it was done.

Hubert was hardly able to bear the pain which such an order gave him; but he was unable to see any way of escape for the prince.

He entered Arthur's room that morning with so sad a face that the prince asked what ailed him.

'May one not be sad at times, prince?' said Hubert, whose sorrow made him gruff.

'Indeed there may be many things that make people sad,' replied Prince Arthur, 'although I was nearly forgetting that any one could be unhappy who is out of prison.--Indeed, Hubert, I am beginning to think that if only I were free and kept sheep I could be as merry as the day is long.

Perhaps I should not trouble any longer about being a king if only I had the blue sky above my head once more, and no prison bars.--I wish I were your son, Hubert; and then I should not have to spend my time in prison.'

Poor Hubert, it was necessary that he should tell the prince what was going to happen; and yet the longer he waited the more impossible it seemed for him to begin. He moved uneasily about the room, and looked so gloomy, that Arthur felt sure that something was the matter.

'Here, prince, read this letter,' said Hubert abruptly at last, feeling it impossible that he could utter the dreadful news.

Arthur took the letter; and then he became deadly pale.

'Hubert, is this true?' he said.

'Prince, these are your uncle's orders!' said Hubert with a shaking voice.

'Have you the heart to do it?' said Arthur piteously. 'Will you indeed burn out my eyes?'

'I must,' said Hubert; 'your uncle has sent two men to see that it is done.'

'O Hubert!' was all that Arthur could say.

'Better get it over quickly,' muttered Hubert to himself, and he called the executioners, who had been waiting outside the door.

'Send these men away, Hubert!' cried the boy. 'I will stay quite still, Hubert, I will not move if you will do it yourself; but I cannot bear the sight of these men.'

'You may go,' said Hubert to the executioners; 'I will call when I am ready for you.'

'Indeed,' said one of the men, who had pitied the boy, 'I am best pleased to be away from such a deed.'

But it was impossible for Hubert to burn out the eyes of his dear young prisoner; and it was impossible for Arthur not to beg for mercy.

'I cannot do it,' said Hubert more to himself than to the prince, 'and I will not; I shall have to take the consequences.' He opened the door, and called in the two men.

They came in unwilling, each hoping that he would not have to do the deed.

'I have not burned out the prince's eyes,' said Hubert abruptly. 'What is more, I am not going to allow you to do so. You can tell the king if you like.'

'Indeed, sir,' said one of the men, 'we won't tell his majesty anything at all. And by your leave, sir, we would both rather be excused from doing our duty if it's to be a young gentleman like this, who can't have done anything to deserve it. And so we will wish you good-day, sir.'

The men shuffled out of the room, but Arthur's troubles were not over yet. King John began to think that Arthur, even without his eyes, was too dangerous a prisoner to keep on his hands; and he suggested to a knight named William de Bray that he should stab the prince in prison.

'I am a gentleman and not an executioner,' replied William de Bray; and he turned from the king in disdain.

Then John hired an a.s.sa.s.sin for a large sum of money, and sent him to the castle to kill the prince.

'Upon what errand dost thou come?' asked Hubert de Burgh, as the fellow presented himself at the castle gates.

'To despatch Prince Arthur,' said the man.

'Go back to him that sent thee,' said Hubert, 'and say that I will do it.'

King John, knowing very well that Hubert was trying to save his prisoner, separated Arthur from his kind gaoler, and had him imprisoned in the strong castle of Rouen, which is washed on one side by the river Seine.

Then he came himself in a boat by night and waited outside the castle walls.

Arthur was awakened by his gaoler and made to follow him to a small door by the river-side. When the door was unfastened, the gaoler threw down his torch and trod upon it to put it out, and Arthur was only able to distinguish two dark forms in the boat. From the voice he could tell that one of them was his uncle.

Arthur was dragged on board the boat, imploring the king to have mercy upon him; and what happened after that has never been told. Some say that John stunned his nephew with a large stone, and flung his body into the Seine; at all events, neither the prince, nor his dead body, was ever seen again.

If John thought that his nephew's murder would make him undisputed King of England he was much mistaken. The cruel deed aroused the greatest indignation throughout England and France. Through it the dukedom of Normandy was lost to the English crown, and some years later John died a ruined man, with his subjects in open rebellion against him.

CHAPTER V

THE BLACK PRINCE

Edward III., King of England, was a very warlike prince. When the King of France died he was succeeded by his nephew Philip, but Edward declared that he, being a grandson of the late king, had a better right than a nephew; and he set off with a gallant army and many knights and n.o.bles to enforce his claim.

The war proved a much longer one than Edward had expected. Six years after the English king's first march into France the two nations were still fighting. By this time King Edward's eldest son was fifteen years of age, and he implored his father to let him accompany him to the French war.

This young prince was a fine spirited youth, and skilful at all manly exercises. In appearance he was very fair, with light hair and laughing blue eyes. Perhaps he was a little vain of his appearance, because in order to show off the fairness of his complexion he always wore dark-coloured armour, a habit which led to his being known in after life as Edward the Black Prince.

Seeing his boy's courage and warlike spirit, the king consented to his accompanying him upon his next expedition into France.

In the month of July, 1346, the king and the prince set sail with an army of thirty thousand men, ten thousand of whom were archers.

For seven weeks the English marched through the fair and smiling country of France, meeting with very little opposition, and plundering and burning wherever they went.

At last, by the little village of Crecy on the banks of the river Somme, the English came in view of the French army.

It was not difficult to tell that the army of the King of France numbered at least eight times as many men as were on the side of the English; but King Edward decided that it would never do to betray fear.