body on this bench, and tell you the story of

SIR OLIVER DE INGHAM AT BORDEAUX.

"You must know that this Sir Oliver was a very great man in his day, and was entrusted with many important duties, both in the time of Edward the Second and of our present king. For some years he was Seneschal of Aquitaine, and so fiercely did he maintain the king's rights there that his name was a terror to the French. Cressy and Poitiers were grand victories, but who can say how much they were owing to that dread of English knocks and English fierceness which captains like Sir Oliver had long before been beating into them? At the same time, however, he treated the peaceable inhabitants so justly and well, protecting them from violence, and studying their welfare and happiness, that they began to like their English masters better than

C

their French ones. This was especially the case at Bordeaux, our capital. It was more like an English city. The people were perfectly friendly, and owned that they lived more securely, and that their trade prospered more under our rule than had ever been the case under their own kings. Well I remember grumbling at this, and thinking we should never again hear the war trumpet. But in the year 1340, only little more than two years before Sir Oliver died, and he was then breaking down, though he scorned to own it, the French made a desperate effort to get possession again of the country. It was the year our good king took the title of King of France, and I suppose they thought that the more we took of the title, the less we should have of the soil. A large army, we heard, was gathered together and marching down upon us into Aquitaine.

"We were very unsuccessful in opposing them

at first.

Town after town opened its gates to them, and though no great battle was fought, the English were always retreating before the enemy, and letting them get nearer to Bordeaux. It seemed as if the fear of the Frenchman had

fallen upon us. It was even whispered that our brave Seneschal had lost his old spirit, and was running away from them; only Sir Oliver soon put a stop to the whisperers, for he got hold of some score of them, including a knight or two, and hanged them all of a row on as many trees.

"Still, onward came the French, and we were at length fairly shut up in Bordeaux, baffled, puzzled, and sorely dispirited. They were a hospitable people those people of Bordeaux, and, as I said, looked upon us as more their friends than their enemies, and upon the French as more their enemies than their countrymen. Many of them told me at that time that they dreaded the coming

of their army, and would gladly help us, if they could, to drive them away. But great at first was the consternation in the city.

66

I noticed our Seneschal closely all the while, and could see nothing in him but his old look of calm determination: if anything, he seemed a little more inclined to joke than usual, and that was not much. Once I took the liberty of one who had served so long with him, and spoke to him about our strange situation.

"Sir Oliver,' I said, 'are these Frenchmen going to eat us, after all ? '

"Not without plenty of Bordeaux wine,' he grimly replied.

"Pardon my boldness, Sir Oliver, but why are we to let them get into the city?'

66 6

Why do you let a nut get between those great jaws of yours?'

666

'Dost thou not see, fool?

Trust me to crack

the Frenchman this time: I shall not have many

more chances.'

"And he rode away with a smile on his face, more sad than otherwise.

"Then my eyes began to open.

"The story got abroad that the English were going aboard the shipping in the river and quit the country; but I never believed it. However, many did, and some went off to tell the Frenchmen so, and I fancied Sir Oliver encouraged them to do it.

"After this, Sir Oliver met the chief burgesses in the Town-hall, but none were admitted besides, except the principal captains of the army; and when that meeting was over, it struck me that both captains and burgesses looked gayer than they had done since we came back to the city.

"At last the Frenchmen drew very near-within a day's march-and then every one knew what