fought first for John and then for Louis. He was good at changing
sides, having changed from monk to pirate because it paid him better,
and having since been always up for sale to whichever side would pay
him best. But he was bold and skilful; he had a strong fleet; and both
he and his followers were very keen to help Louis, who had promised
them the spoils of England if they won. Luckily for England this
danger brought forth her first great sea commander, Hubert de Burgh:
let his name be long remembered. Hubert had stood out against Louis as
firmly as he had against John, and as firmly as he was again to face
another bad king, when Henry III tried to follow John's example.
Hubert had refused to let Louis into Dover Castle. He had kept him out
during the siege that followed. And he was now holding this key to the
English Channel with the same skill and courage as was shown by the
famous Dover Patrol throughout the war against the Germans.

Hubert saw at once that the best way to defend England from invasion
was to defeat the enemy at sea by sailing out to meet him. This is as
true today as ever. The best possible way of defending yourself always
is to destroy the enemy's means of destroying you; and, with us of the
British Empire, the only sure way to begin is to smash the enemy's
fleet or, if it hides in port, blockade it. Hubert, of course, had
trouble to persuade even the patriotic nobles that his own way was the
right one; for, just as at the present day, most people knew nothing of
the sea. But the men of the Cinque Ports, the five great seaports on
the south-east coast of England, did know whereof they spoke when they
answered Hubert's call: "If this tyrant Eustace lands he will lay the
country waste. Let us therefore meet him while he is at sea."

Hubert's English fleet of forty ships sailed from Dover on the 24th of
August, 1217, and steered towards Calais; for the wind was
south-south-east and Hubert wished to keep the weather gage. For six
hundred years to come, (that is, till, after Trafalgar, sails gave way
to steam), the sea commanders who fought to win by bold attack always
tried to keep the weather gage. This means that they kept on the
windward side of the enemy, which gave them a great advantage, as they
could then choose their own time for attacking and the best weak spot
to attack, while the enemy, having the wind ahead, could not move half
so fast, except when running away. Hubert de B