OTHER FRENCH SOVEREIGNS CAPTURED ON THE BATTLE-FIELD.


Twice before have French sovereigns yielded on the battle-field,
and become prisoners of war; but never before was capitulation so
vast. Do their fates furnish any lesson? At the Battle of
Poitiers, memorable in English history, John, King of France,
became the prisoner of Edward the Black Prince. His nobles, one
after another, fell by his side, but he contended valiantly to the
last, until, spent with fatigue and over-come by numbers, he
surrendered. His son, of the same age as the son of the French
Emperor, was wounded while battling for his father. The courtesy
of the English Prince conquered more than his arms. I quote the
language of Hume:-

"More touched by Edward's generosity than by his own calamities,
he confessed, that, notwithstanding his defeat and captivity, his
honor was still unimpaired, and that, if he yielded the victory,
it was at least gained by a prince of such consummate valor and
humanity. "[Footnote: History of England, (Oxford, 1826,) Cli.
XVI., Vol. II. p. 407.]

The King was taken to England, where, after swelling the triumphal
pageant of his conqueror, he made a disgraceful treaty for the
dismemberment of France, which the indignant nation would not
ratify. A captivity of more than four years was terminated by a