a king at all times chapter xvi england under the first called it was now the year of our lord one thousand two hundred and seventy two and prince edward the heir to the throne away in the holy land knew nothing of his father s death the however proclaimed him king immediately after the royal funeral and the people very willingly consented since most men knew too well hy this time what the horrors of a contest for the crown were so king edward the first called in a not very complimentary manner because of the of his legs was peacefully accepted by the english nation his legs had need to be strong however long and thin they were for they had to support him through many difficulties on the fiery sands of asia where his small force of soldiers fainted died deserted and seemed to melt away but his made light of it and he said i will go on if i go on with no other than my groom i a prince of this spirit gave the a deal of trouble he at which place of all places on earth i am sorry to relate he made a frightful slaughter of innocent people and then he a child s of england went to acre where he got a of ten years from the he had very nearly lost his life in acre through the treachery of a noble called the of j who making the that he had some idea of turning christian and wanted to know all about that religion sent a messenger to edward very � with a dagger in his sleeve at last one friday in week when it was very hot and all the sandy prospect lay beneath the blazing sun burnt up like a great and edward was lying on a couch dressed for coolness in only a loose robe the messenger with his face and his bright dark eyes and white teeth came creeping in with a letter and down like a tame tiger but the moment edward stretched out his hand to take the letter the tiger made a spring at his heart he was quick but edward was quick too he seized the traitor by his throat threw him to the ground and him with the very dagger he had drawn the weapon had struck edward in the arm and although the wound itself was slight it threatened to be mortal for the blade of the dagger had been with poison thanks however to a better surgeon than was often to be found in those times and to some wholesome and above all to his faithful wife who nursed him and is said by some to have sucked the poison from the wound with her own red lips which i am very willing to believe edward soon recovered and was sound again as the ring his father had sent entreaties to him to return home he now began the journey he had got as far as italy when he met the messengers who � i ward thb brought him intelligence of the king s death hearing that all was so quiet at home he made no haste to return to his own but paid a visit to the pope and went in state through various italian towns where he was welcomed with as a mighty champion of the cross from the holy land and where he received presents of purple and horses and went along in great triumph the shouting people little knew that he was the last english monarch who would ever in a or that within twenty years every conquest which the christians had made in the holy land at the cost of so much blood would be won back by the but all this came to pass there was and there is an old town standing in a plain in france called when the king was coming toward this place on his way to england a french lord called the count of sent him a polite challenge to come with his knights and hold a fair with the count and his knights and make a day of it with sword and lance it was represented to the king that the count of was not to be trusted and that instead of a holiday fight for mere show and in good humor he secretly meant a real battle in which the english should be defeated by superior force the king however nothing afraid went to the appointed place on the appointed day with a thousand followers when the count came with two thousand and attacked the english in earnest the english rushed at them with such that the count s men and the count s horses soon began to be tumbled down all over the field the count himself seized a child s history of england the king round the neck but the king tumbled him out of his saddle in return for the compliment and jumping from his own horse and standing over him beat away at his iron like a blacksmith on his even when the count owned himself defeated and offered his sword the king would not do him the honor to take it but made him yield it up to a common soldier there had been such fury shown in this fight that it was afterward called the little battle of the english were very well disposed to be proud of their king after these adventures so when he landed at in the year one thousand two hundred and seventy four being then thirty six years old and went on to westminster where he and his good queen were crowned with great magnificence splendid took place for the feast there were provided among other four hundred oxen four hundred sheep four hundred and fifty pigs eighteen wild three hundred of bacon and twenty thousand fowls the fountains and in the streets flowed with 