r bowels of
compassion, his remains were eagerly sought after and yearned for by
scientists long before he decided to abandon them.

Again, in 1258, he was required to submit to the requests of the barons;
but they required too much this time, and a civil war followed.

Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, at the head of the rebellious
barons, won a victory over the king in 1264, and took the monarch and
his son Edward prisoners.

Leicester now ruled the kingdom, and not only called an extra session of
Parliament, but in 1265 admitted representatives of the towns and
boroughs, thereby instituting the House of Commons, where self-made
men might sit on the small of the back with their hats on and cry "Hear!
Hear!"

The House of Commons is regarded as the bulwark of civil and political
liberty, and when under good police regulations is still a great boon.

Prince Edward escaped from jail and organized an army, which in 1265
defeated the rebels, and Leicester and his son were slain. The wicked
soldiery wreaked their vengeance upon the body of the fallen man, for
they took great pride in their prowess as wreakers; but in the hearts of
the people Leicester was regarded as a martyr to their cause.

Henry III. was now securely seated once more upon his rather restless
throne, and as Edward had been a good boy for some time, his father gave
him permission to visit the Holy Land, in 1270, with Louis of France,
who also wished to go to Jerusalem and take advantage of the low Jewish
clothing market. In 1272 Henry died, during the absence of his son,
after fifty-six years of vacillation and timidity. He was the kind of
king who would sit up half of the night trying to decide which boot to
pull off first, and then, with a deep-drawn sigh, go to bed with them
on.

Edward, surnamed "Longshanks," having collected many antiques, and cut
up a few also, returned and took charge of the throne. He found England
prosperous and the Normans and Saxons now thoroughly united and
homogeneous. Edward did not hurry home as some would have done, but sent
word to have his father's funeral made as cheery as possible, and
remained over a year in Italy and France. He was crowned in 1274. In a
short time, however, he had trouble with the Welsh, and in 1282, in
battle, the Welsh prince became somehow entangled with his own name so
that he tripped and fell, and before he could recover his feet was
slain.

[Illustration: LONGSHANKS RECEIVES TIDING