History of the British Empire

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T. Nelson and Sons, 1859 - Great Britain - 344 pages
 

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Page 160 - Kingston, had I but served God as diligently as I have served the King, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs.
Page 193 - That Day she was dressed in white Silk, bordered with Pearls of the Size of Beans, and over it a Mantle of black Silk, shot with Silver Threads; her Train was very long, the End of it borne by a Marchioness; instead of a Chain, she had an oblong Collar of Gold and Jewels.
Page 191 - are commonly of clay, strewed with rushes, under which lies unmolested an ancient collection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrements of dogs and cats, and every thing that is nasty.
Page 173 - Be of good cheer, brother," cried he, " we shall this day kindle such a torch in England, as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished.
Page 67 - Knight, when fully equipped, was clad from head to heel in armour formed of plates riveted firmly together: below this he wore a dress of soft leather. On his helmet was a crest ; on his three-pointed shield a device, — his coat-of-arms. His chief weapon was the lance ; but, besides, he wore a two-handed sword, and a poniard called " the dagger of mercy," used to kill a fallen foe ; and he not unfrequently carried a battleaxe or mace.
Page 69 - In their manner of life the Normans were more temperate and refined than the English. They had only two regular meals : dinner, taken by the higher classes at nine in the morning ; and supper, about four or five in the afternoon.
Page 145 - King was not without rivals. There was living at Sheriff-Hutton, in Yorkshire, a boy of fifteen — Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence. John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln — the son of Elizabeth, eldest sister of Edward IV. — had been appointed heir by Richard III. Warwick was at once, by Henry's order, transferred to the Tower of London. Lincoln, having paid homage to the new King, remained at liberty.
Page 69 - ... four or five in the afternoon. The Normans introduced the general use of the chief flesh meats found on our tables ; — a change which is curiously illustrated in our language, where we find the words denoting the living animal, ox, sheep, calf, pig, to be English ; while the words applied to the flesh used as food, beef, mutton, veal, pork, are Norman or French in their origin.
Page 259 - Wonderful when the practice of every-day life is considered. Masters beat their servants ; husbands beat their wives daily. Teachers used the lash as the principal means of imparting knowledge. The mob rejoiced in fights of all kinds, and shouted with glee when an eye was torn out, or a finger chopped off, in these savage encounters. Executions were favorite public amusements. The prisons were constantly full, and proved to be fruitful...
Page 246 - Out of these expensive wars sprang the National Debt, which has since swelled to a sum so enormous. The Parliament, knowing that the chief value of the English crown in William's eyes was the increased weight it gave him in Continental politics, agreed to furnish large supplies of money for his wars with Louis, on condition that he should give up to the Commons the chief share in the domestic government. Though at first reluctant, he soon yielded to the arrangement with a grace and temper which proved...

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