the
conquerors of Normandy, and settled there. The Percy of the time came
over with William the Norman, and obtained from him the gift of large
possessions in the south of England, and in Yorkshire; and, marrying a
great Saxon heiress, added to his wide lands in the north.

One of the Percys, in the reign of Henry the Second, made a journey to
Jerusalem, and died in the Holy Land. None of his four sons survived
him. His eldest daughter Maud married the Earl of Warwick; but, dying
childless, her sister Agnes became sole heir to the broad lands of the
Percys. She married the son of the Duke of Brabant, the condition of
her marriage being that he should either take the arms of the Percys,
instead of his own; or continue to bear his own arms, and take the name
of Percy. He chose the latter alternative. Their son was one of the
barons who forced King John to grant the Magna Carta.

The Percys always distinguished themselves, in the wars against the
Scot; and received, at various times, grants of territory in that
country; one of them being made Earl of Carrick, when Robert the Bruce
raised the standard of revolt against England.

Upon the other hand, they not unfrequently took a share in risings
against the Kings of England; and their estates were confiscated, for a
time, by their taking a leading part in the action against Piers
Gaveston, the royal favourite.

It was in the reign of Henry the Second that the Percy of the time
obtained, by purchase, the Barony of Alnwick; which from that date
became the chief seat of the family. The present earl was the first of
the rank, having been created by Richard the Second. He was one of the
most powerful nobles in England, and it was at his invitation that
Henry of Lancaster had come over from France, and had been placed on
the throne by the Percys, and some other of the northern nobles; and,
as a reward for his service, the earl was created High Constable of
England.

Chapter 3: At Alnwick.

"You are rarely changed, Oswald," his uncle said, as the lad entered
his apartment. "'Tis three years since I last saw you, and you have
shot up nigh a head, since then. I should not have known you, had I met
you in the street; but as I was expecting you, it is easy to recall
your features. I made sure that you would come; for, although your
father was at first averse to my offer, I soon found that your mother
was on my side, and I know that, in the long run, my brother generally
g