who was forthwith slain by some of the king's servants. In times of danger the boldest course is often the safest. Standing a little way off were thousands of Kentish men eager to avenge the death of their chief. Richard rode up to them and said, "I am your captain and your king; follow me.” He promised that their demands should be granted, and they too went home. The poor wretches who had trusted to the word of a king found themselves shamefully betrayed. Richard had given the villeins of Essex charters of freedom; there was no villenage in Kent and the men of that county were told that the wrongs they complained of should be set right; all the rebels had been assured of pardon. But the charters of freedom which the king had granted on the 15th of June were recalled on the 2nd of July, wrongs were not set right, and thousands of the rebels were put to death. Still the rising did in the end bring about the complete freedom of the serfs. 1 2 Popular, liked by the people. poll tax, a tax of so much on each poll (or head) that is, on each person. 8 ages. The tax had to be paid on each person above fifteen years old. 4 Dartford, in the north-west of Kent. 5 Tyler, so called from his trade. 6 insolent, impudent. 7 Wat Tyler, some old accounts say of Maidstone, and some " of Essex." 8 Maidstone, on the Medway, in Kent. ruffian, a blackguard. 10 insurgent, one who rises in rebellion. SCENE. Smithfield. o'-di-ous griev ́-ous ty'-rant pro'-jects pro-hib'-it-ing re-trib-u'-tion ab-ol'-ish venge'-ance Enter King Richard II., Sir William Walworth, and attendants, Wat Tyler, Piers, Hob, and other Kentishmen. King. Tyler, why have you Was this the way led my honest subjects from their homes, King of England, Tyler. I lead to rebel against the Lord's anointed, To force upon the French a king they hate, But to support your court's extravagance, The costly banquet courts your appetite, Sweet music soothes your slumbers; we, the while, 6 And sleep scarce sheltered from the cold night wind; Think you that we should quarrel with the French? 9 And tyrants tremble-mark me, King of England! Walworth (comes behind him and stabs him). Insolent rebel, threatening the King! Piers. Vengeance! Vengeance! Hob. Seize the King! King. I must be bold. (Advancing). My friends and loving subjects, I will grant you all you ask; you shall be free, 4 Your grievances shall all be done away, Allowed to all. So help me God, it shall be. 1 The Lord's anointed, the king. The kings of Israel had oil poured on them, when they were made kings. This was called anointing. odious, hateful. our neighbours, the French. extravagance, waste. project, plan. wrest, to take away 2 3 6 by force. 7 boot, to be of good to. 8 venison, flesh of deer. 9 prohibit, to hinder, to forbid. 10 retribution, payment, punishment. 11 repeal, to recall, do away with. 13 abolish, to do away with. 12 menace, to threaten. THE language which our forefathers spoke in their old home on the Continent and in their new home in Britain was English, but it differed 1considerably from the English which we speak. A living tongue, like a living plant, undergoes unceasing change. The chief changes which have taken place in English during the last fourteen hundred years have been three: The grammar has grown much simpler, a number of words which our 3ancestors employed have fallen out of use, and thousands of words from other languages have been introduced. When comparing an adjective you add -er and -est to the positive degree; as, great, great-er, great-est. When conjugating a verb you form the second person singular by adding -est to the first; as, I read, thou read-est. The additions thus made are called inflexions. English was originally rich in inflexions, but some of them had dropped off before the Norman Conquest, and by the time of Edward III. many more had disappeared; a few of those then remaining are lost now. 5 As well as being highly inflected the English which our forefathers brought into Britain was pure; that is, it contained no words borrowed from other tongues. It now contains many thousands of such words. If we learn when and whence they came we shall see that the history of the nation is reflected in the history of the language. The people with whom the English first had dealings after arriving in this island were of course the Britons, and hence the first foreign words added to our speech were British or Welsh. But these words were few because the peoples did not mix nor have dealings with each other, hardly meeting indeed except to fight. Some of the words which the English learned from the Britons were Latin words which the Britons had learned from the Romans, but many more Latin words were introduced by the Christian missionaries. The Normans brought in a flood of foreign words. They spoke French and thought it beneath them to learn English; it is probable that no king from William I. to Edward III. understood the speech of the people he governed. For hundreds of years French was the fashionable language; it was the language "of the court and of the nobility, of the clergy and of literature, of the universities and schools, of the courts of law and of parliament,” * but English remained the language of the people at large. BOOK II. *Dr. Morris. |