till poor from the wars of succession with
Castile, which had seated her husband on the throne, and if the men were
taken away across the seas, who would till the fields and reap the
crops?

But, urged the king, he felt sure that the people would welcome the
crusade; he had bidden one of his trusted officers to go amongst them,
and had heard how their faces brightened at the bare idea that perhaps
_some_ day, no doubt in the future, the golden shores of Africa might be
snatched from the unbelievers' grasp. Oh, no, he had no fears about his
army, though of course he would take every care to make victory certain.

Queen Philippa listened, but only shook her head.

'At least you will not go yourself?' she answered after a pause; 'the
kingdom needs you'; then like a wise woman she held her peace and began
to talk of something else.

* * * * *

Although king John did not give up his cherished scheme, he hesitated
about carrying it out for three years longer, and then he succeeded in
blinding the eyes of Europe as to the real object of his preparations. A
large fleet was assembled in the mouth of the Tagus, 'to punish the
Dutch pirates,' it was said; but, just as it was ready to sail, the
queen caught the plague which was raging in Portugal. By this time she
had made up her mind to the war, though she was hardly convinced of its
wisdom, and as soon as she felt that she was nearing death she sent for
her sons, and giving them each a splendid sword which she had ordered to
be specially forged and beautifully inlaid, she added a few words of
counsel. Then she bade her husband farewell, and entreated him to leave
her, lest he also should catch the plague and be lost to his country.
Her sons she kept with her to the end.

A week later, on July 25, 1415, the fleet sailed for Ceuta.

* * * * *

Only two of the king's five sons remained in Portugal, and they were the
youngest, dom John and dom Fernando. Fernando was a delicate boy of
thirteen, versed in Latin, and, like his brother Duarte, a passionate
lover of books, only happy when alone with some old manuscript or roll
of illuminated prayers, yet thirsting to do his duty by ridding the
world of as many infidels as possible. It was a blow when he found that
he was not allowed to join the army of Africa, but, as was his way, he
made no complaint; only when the news came of the fall of Ceuta his
heart burned, half