condition, "that be it at the battle or other deeds of arms, where the
prisoners are taken, he that may first have his _Faye_ shall have
him for a prisoner, and need not abide by him;" by Faye, probably the
promise given by the vanquished to his captor to remain his prisoner, is
understood; as the expression _donner sa foi_, occurs in various
French historians. The value of a ransom is sometimes estimated at one
year's income of a man's estate, and this opinion is supported by the
custom of allowing a year's liberty to captives to procure the sum
agreed upon. By the feudal law, every tenant or vassal was bound to
assist his lord in captivity, by a contribution proportionate to the land
he held. As, however, the amount received for prisoners is very various,
personal importance had no doubt great weight in the determination of a
captive's value. Bertrand du Guescelin who had no property, valued his
own ransom at 100,000 livres; and Froissart, at the same period mentions
the ransom of a King of Majorca, of the house of Arragon, as being
exactly that sum.

(_To be continued._)

* * * * *


THE FATHERLAND.[1]

(FROM THE GERMAN OF ARNDT.)

(_For the Mirror._)


What is the German's Fatherland?