twenty-seven years old.

Three years afterwards, Prince Geoffrey, being unhorsed at a tournament,
had his brains trampled out by a crowd of horses passing over him. So,
there only remained Prince Richard, and Prince John--who had grown to be
a young man now, and had solemnly sworn to be faithful to his father.
Richard soon rebelled again, encouraged by his friend the French King,
PHILIP THE SECOND (son of Louis, who was dead); and soon submitted and
was again forgiven, swearing on the New Testament never to rebel again;
and in another year or so, rebelled again; and, in the presence of his
father, knelt down on his knee before the King of France; and did the
French King homage: and declared that with his aid he would possess
himself, by force, of all his father's French dominions.

And yet this Richard called himself a soldier of Our Saviour! And yet
this Richard wore the Cross, which the Kings of France and England had
both taken, in the previous year, at a brotherly meeting underneath the
old wide-spreading elm-tree on the plain, when they had sworn (like him)
to devote themselves to a new Crusade, for the love and honour of the
Truth!

Sick at heart, wearied out by the falsehood of his sons, and almost ready
to lie down and die, the unhappy King who had so long stood firm, began
to fail. But the Pope, to his honour, supported him; and obliged the
French King and Richard, though successful in fight, to treat for peace.
Richard wanted to be Crowned King of England, and pretended that he
wanted to be married (which he really did not) to the French King's
sister, his promised wife, whom King Henry detained in England. King
Henry wanted, on the other hand, that the French King's sister should be
married to his favourite son, John: the only one of his sons (he said)
who had never rebelled against him. At last King Henry, deserted by his
nobles one by one, distressed, exhausted, broken-hearted, consented to
establish peace.

One final heavy sorrow was reserved for him, even yet. When they brought
him the proposed treaty of peace, in writing, as he lay very ill in bed,
they brought him also the list of the deserters from their allegiance,
whom he was required to pardon. The first name upon this list was John,
his favourite son, in whom he had trusted to the last.

'O John! child of my heart!' exclaimed the King, in a great agony of
mind. 'O John, whom I have loved the best! O John, for whom I have
contended thr