ers of war. This Prince Edward would not
consent to. He was willing, he said, to give up all the French
prisoners that he had in custody, and also to restore all the castles
and towns which he had taken from the French. He was also willing to
bind himself for seven years not to take up arms against the King of
France. But all this did not satisfy John. He finally offered that, if
the prince would surrender himself and one hundred knights as
prisoners of war, he would let the rest of the army go free, and
declared that that was his ultimatum. Prince Edward positively refused
to accept any such conditions, and so the cardinal, greatly
disappointed at the failure of his efforts, gave up the case as
hopeless, and returned with a sad and sorrowful heart to Poictiers.

An anecdote is related in this connection by one of the ancient
chroniclers, which illustrates curiously some of the ideas and manners
of those times. During the course of the day, while the truce was in
force, and the cardinal was going back and forth between the two
armies, parties of knights belonging to the two encampments rode out
from time to time from their own quarters along the lines of the
enemy, to see what was to be seen. In these cases they sometimes met
each other, and held conversation together, both parties being bound
in honor by the truce not to commit any act of hostility. There was a
certain English knight, named Sir John Chandos, who in this way met a
French knight named Clermont. Both these knights were mounted and
fully armed. It was the custom in those days for each knight to have
something peculiar in the style of his armor to distinguish him from
the rest, and it was particularly the usage for each one to have a
certain device and motto on his shield, or on some other conspicuous
position of his clothing. These devices and mottoes are the origin of
the _coats of arms_ in use at the present day.

It happened that the device of these two knights was nearly the same.
It consisted of a representation of the Virgin Mary embroidered in
blue, and surrounded by a radiance of sunbeams. Clermont, on
perceiving that the device of Chandos was so similar to his own,
called out to him when he came near, demanding,

"How long is it, sir, since you have taken the liberty to wear my
arms?"

"It is you yourself who are wearing mine," said Chandos.

"It is false," replied Clermont; "and if it were not for the truce, I
would soon show you to whom th