Once roused, he had the good sense to see that it was not in such a life
that Edgar was likely to find success, and he wisely abandoned the idea of
pressing a task upon him that he saw was unfitted to the boy's nature. The
energy with which Edgar worked with his instructors in arms--who had been
already twice changed, so as to give him a greater opportunity of
attaining skill with his weapons--and the interest with which the lad
listened to tales of adventure, showed the direction in which his bent
lay. For the last two years his father had frequently read to him the
records of Sir Walter Manny and other chroniclers of war and warlike
adventure, and impressed upon him the virtues necessary to render a man at
once a great soldier and a great man.

"If, my boy," he said, "you should some day go to Court and mingle in
public affairs, above all things keep yourself clear of any party. Those
who cling to a party may rise with its success, but such rises are ever
followed by reverses; then comes great suffering to those upon the fallen
side. The duty of an English gentleman is simple: he must work for his
country, regardless altogether of personal interest. Such a man may never
rise to high rank, but he will be respected. Personal honours are little
to be desired; it is upon those who stand higher than their neighbours
that the blow falls the heaviest; while the rank and file may escape
unscathed, it is the nobles and the leaders whose heads fall upon the
block. I think that there are troubles in store for England. The Duke of
Gloucester overshadows the boy king, but as the latter grows older he will
probably shake off his tutelage, though it may be at the cost of a civil
war.

"Then, too, there are the exactions of the tax-gatherers. Some day the
people will rise against them as they did in France at the time of the
Jacquerie, and as they have done again and again in Flanders. At present