exclamation, said that Isaac talked like a fool of a Briton.

It is mentioned as a remarkable circumstance by the historians that
Richard spoke these words in English, and it is said that this was the
only time in the course of his life that he ever used that language.
It may seem very strange to the reader that an English king should not
ordinarily use the English language. But, strictly speaking, Richard
was not an English king. He was a Norman king. The whole dynasty to
which he belonged were Norman French in all their relations. Normandy
they regarded as the chief seat of their empire. There were their
principal cities--there their most splendid palaces. There they lived
and reigned, with occasional excursions for comparatively brief
periods across the Channel. They considered England much as the
present English sovereigns do Ireland, namely, as a conquered country,
which had become a possession and a dependency upon the crown, but not
in any sense the seat of empire, and they utterly despised the native
inhabitants. In view of these facts, the wonder that Richard, the King
of England, never spoke the English tongue at once disappears.

The conference broke up, and both sides prepared for war. Isaac,
finding that he was not strong enough to resist such a horde of
invaders as Richard brought with him, withdrew from his capital and
retired to a fortress among the mountains. Richard then easily took
possession of the town. A moderate force had been left to protect it;
but Richard, promising his troops plenty of booty when they should get
into it, led the way, waving his battle-axe in the air.

This battle-axe was a very famous weapon. It was one which Richard had
caused to be made for himself before leaving England, and it was the
wonder of the army on account of its size and weight. The object of a
battle-axe was to break through the steel armor with which the knights
and warriors of those days were accustomed to cover themselves, and
which was proof against all ordinary blows. Now Richard was a man of
prodigious personal strength, and, when fitting out his expedition in
England, he caused an unusually large and heavy battle-axe to be made
for himself, by way of showing his men what he could do in swinging a
heavy weapon. The head of this axe, or hammer, as perhaps it might
more properly have been called, weighed twenty pounds, and most
marvelous stories were told of the prodigious force of the blow that
Richard cou