ke, was seated beside him for the ceremony, with her
two elder daughters beside her. The young Alphonso stood at the right
hand of the king, his face bright with interest and sympathy; and if
ever the act of homage seemed to be paid with effort by some rugged
chieftain, or he saw a look of gloom or pain upon the face of such a
one, he was ever ready with some graceful speech or small act of
courtesy, which generally acted like a charm. And the father regarded
his son with a fond pride, and let him take his own way with these
haughty, untamable spirits, feeling perhaps that the tact of the royal
boy would do more to conciliate and win hearts than any word or deed of
his own.

Edward has been often harshly condemned for his cruelty and treachery
towards the vanquished Welsh; but it must be remembered with regard to
the first charge that the days were rude and cruel, that the spirit of
the age was fierce and headstrong, and that the barons and nobles who
were scheming for the fair lands of Wales were guilty of many of the
unjust and oppressive acts for which Edward has since been held
responsible. The Welsh were themselves a very wild race, in some parts
of the country barely civilized; and there can be no denying that a vein
of fierce treachery ran through their composition, and that they often
provoked their adversaries to cruel retaliation. As for the king
himself, his policy was on the whole a merciful and just one, if the one
point of his feudal supremacy were conceded. To those who came to him
with their act of homage he confirmed their possession of ancestral
estates, and treated them with kindness and consideration. He was too
keen a statesman and too just a man to desire anything but a
conciliatory policy so far as it was possible. Only when really roused
to anger and resolved upon war did the fiercer side of his nature show
itself, and then, indeed, he could show himself terrible and lion-like
in his wrath.

The brothers of Dynevor were the last of those who came to pay their act
of homage. The day had waned, and the last light of sunset was streaming
into that long room as the fair-haired Wendot bent his knee in response
to the summons of the herald. The king's eyes seemed to rest upon him
with interest, and he spoke kindly to the youth; but it was noted by
some in the company that his brow darkened when Llewelyn followed his
brother's example, Howel attending him as Griffeth had supported Wendot;
and there wa