excitement and energy of the
battle, felt only the necessity of immense exertion, and had been
unmindful of all but the immediate efforts of the moment; but now, the
thought of his great victory--which his father's praise seemed first
to bring fully to his mind--overcame him, and he sank on his knees
before the king, and entreated his blessing, after a day of such glory
and peril. And thus ended the battle of Crecy.

The prince had now fully established his character as a warrior. Two
or three years afterward, he showed that he could display equal
courage at sea as on land; this was in an engagement with the
Spaniards.

Peter the Cruel--as he was termed--was at that time King of Castile,
and encouraged, to a great extent, the pirates who infested the
English seas. His own fleet even, in passing through the British
Channel, had captured a number of English merchantmen, returning from
Bordeaux, and after putting into Sluys, were preparing to sail back in
triumph with the prizes and merchandise.

King Edward determined to oppose their return, and collected his fleet
off the coast of Sussex, near Winchelsea. When he heard that the
Spaniards were about putting to sea, he immediately embarked to
command the expedition in person. The Black Prince, now in his
twentieth year, accompanied him, and commanded one of the largest
vessels. The day on which the Spanish fleet would make its appearance
had been nicely calculated. Edward waited impatiently for its
approach, and, to beguile the time, made the musicians play an air
which the famous Chandos, who was now with him, had brought from
Germany. During the concert, the king, from time to time, turned his
eye to the watcher at the masthead. In a short time the music was
interrupted by the cry of--"A sail!" Ordering wine to be brought,
Edward drank one cup with his knights, and, throwing off the cap he
had worn till now, put on his casque, and closed his visor for the
day.

The Spanish ships came on in gallant trim. The number of fighting men
which they contained was, compared with the English, as ten to one;
and their vessels were of a much greater size. They had also large
wooden towers on board, filled with cross-bowmen, and were further
provided with immense bars of iron, with which to sink the ships of
their opponents. They approached, with their tops filled with
cross-bowmen and engineers, the decks covered with men-at-arms, and
with the banners and pennons of different k