service. We read also that Henry IV.
intrusted the education of his son Henry, afterwards the great Henry
V., to Sir Thomas Percy, a brave and veteran warrior, afterwards Earl
of Worcester; and on the same principle the English king, although,
for reasons of state, he determined to retain the King of Scotland in
his own hands, generously selected for him a military governor, whose
character was a guarantee for his being brought up in a manner
suitable to his royal rank.

It was soon seen that the pupil was not unworthy of the master. In all
athletic and manly exercises, in the use of his weapons, in his skill
in horsemanship, his speed in running, his strength and dexterity as a
wrestler, his firm and fair aim as a jouster and tourneyer, the young
king is allowed by all contemporary writers to have arrived at a pitch
of excellence which left most of the competitors of his own age behind
him; and, as he advanced to maturity, his figure, although not so tall
as to be majestic or imposing, was, from its make, peculiarly adapted
for excellence in such accomplishments. His chest was broad and full,
his arms somewhat long and muscular, his flanks thin and spare, and
his limbs beautifully formed; so as to combine elegance and lightness
with strength. In throwing the hammer, and propelling, or, to use the
Scottish phrase, "putting" the stone, and in skill in archery, we have
the testimony of an ancient chronicler, that none in his own dominions
could surpass him; so that the constable of Pevensey appears to have
done ample justice to his youthful charge.

But this formed only one division of his education. To skill in these
warlike exercises, every youthful candidate for honour and for
knighthood was expected to unite a variety of more pacific and elegant
accomplishments, which were intended to render him a delightful
companion in the hall, as the others were calculated to make him a
formidable enemy in the field. The science of music, both instrumental
and vocal; the composition and recitation of ballads, roundelays, and
other minor pieces of poetry; an acquaintance with the romances and
the writings of the popular poets of the times; were all essential
branches in the system of education which was then adopted in the
castle of every feudal chief; and from Pelham, who had himself been
brought up as the squire of the Duke of Lancaster, we may be confident
that the Scottish king received every advantage which could be
conferr