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CASTLES AND ABBEYS OF ENGLAND.
[The Talac*
was called for, and the king made the Earl Marshal rise, for he addressed himon his knees. On the Earl Derby’s arrival, who thought no harm, the EarlMarshal spoke as follows :—‘ Earl of Derby, I charge you with having thoughtand spoken disrespectfully of your natural lord the king of England, when yousaid he was unworthy to hold the crown ; that without law or justice, or con-sulting his council, he disturbed the realm; and that without any shadow ofreason, he banished those valiant men from his kingdom who ought to be itsdefenders; for all of which I present my glove, and will prove, my body againstyours, that you are a false and wicked traitor.’
“The Earl of Derby was confounded at tbis address, and retired a fewpaces without demanding from the Duke his father, or any of his friends, howhe should act. Having mused awhile, he advanced with his hood in hishand towards the king, and said, ‘ Earl Marshal, I say that thou art a falseand wicked traitor, which I will boldly prove on thee, and here is my glove!’The Earl Marshal seeing his challenge was accepted, showed a good desirefor the combat by taking up tlie glove and saying, ‘ I refer your answer tothe good pleasure of the king and the lords now present. I will prove thatyour words are false, and that my words are true.’ Each of those lords thenwithdrew in company of his friends, and the time for serving wine and spiceswas passed by; for the king showed he was sore displeased, and retiring tohis chamber, shut himself in. When the day for the combat was at
hand, and the two lords waited only for the king’s commands, King Richard’ssecret advisers asked, ‘ Sire, what is your pleasure respecting this combat ? willyou permit your two cousins the Earl of Derby and Earl Marshal to proceed ?’
‘ Why not ?’ replied the king; ‘ I intend to be present myself and see theirprowess.’ The king’s advisers showed great firmness in resisting his deter-mination, and showed him some very cogent and unexpected reasons for hisadopting another course, at which,” as the chronicler relates, “ the kingchanged colour. Shortly after, a great council of the chief nobles andprelates was summoned at Eltham. The Earl of Derby and the Earl Marshalwere sent for and put into separate chambers, for they were not permitted tomeet, when after certain preliminaries the king’s pleasure was thus delivered inpresence of the assembly: ‘ I order that the Earl Marshal, for having causedtrouble in this kingdom, by uttering words which he could not prove other-wise than by common report, be banished the realm for life. I also orderthat the Earl of Derby our cousin, for having angered us, and because be hasbeen in some measure the cause of the Earl Marshal’s crime and punishment,prepare to leave the kingdom in fifteen days, and be banished lienee for theterm of ten years.’ ” Our readers will find other particulars in T roissart;but our chief inducement in selecting these passages is, their being scenes