him out of
the way. He justified his claim to the crown by pretending that King
Richard, his brother, on his death-bed, bequeathed the kingdom to him,
but this nobody believes.

At any rate, John obtained possession of the crown, and he reigned
many years. His reign, however, was a very troubled one. His title,
indeed, after Arthur's death, was no longer disputed, but he was
greatly abhorred and hated for his cruelties and crimes, and at length
nearly all the barons of his realm banded themselves together against
him, with the view of reducing his power as king within more
reasonable bounds.

[Illustration: KING JOHN.]

The king fought these _rebels_, as he called them, for some time, but
he was continually beaten, and finally compelled to yield to them.
They wrote out their demands in a full and formal manner upon
parchment, and compelled the king to sign it. This document was called
the MAGNA CHARTA, which means the great charter. The signing and
delivering this deed is considered one of the most important events in
English history. It was the first great covenant that was made between
the kings and the people of England, and the stipulations of it have
been considered binding to this day, so that it is, in some sense, the
original basis and foundation of the civil rights which the British
people now enjoy.

The place of assembly where King John came out to sign this covenant
was a broad and beautiful meadow on the banks of the Thames, not far
from Windsor Castle. The name of the field is Runny Mead. The word
_mead_ is a contraction for meadow.

The act of once signing such a compact as this was, however, not
sufficient, it seems, to bind the English kings. There were a great
many disputes and contests about it afterward between the kings and
the barons, as the kings, one after another, refused to adhere to the
agreement made by John in their name, on the ground, perhaps, of the
deed not being a voluntary one on his part. He was forced to sign it,
they said, because the barons were stronger than he was. Of course,
when the kings thought that they, in their turn, were stronger than
the barons, they were very apt to violate the agreement. One of the
kings on one occasion obtained a dispensation from the Pope, absolving
him from all obligation to fulfill this compact.

In consequence of this want of good faith on the part of the kings,
there arose continually new quarrels, and sometimes new civil wars,
between t