n, but he spared
no pains to improve himself with his weapons. The court was a gay one,
and Walter, as a favoured esquire of one of the foremost knights there,
was admitted to all that took place. His courtly education, of course,
included dancing, and when he went down, as he often did, for a long
chat with his old friends, Geoffrey often said, laughing, that he
was growing such a fine gentleman that he hardly liked to sit in his
presence; but although changed in manner, Walter continued to be, as
before, a frank, manly young fellow, and free from the affectations
which were so general among the young men of the court.

CHAPTER XI: A STORMY INTERVIEW

Soon after Walter's return from France Dame Vernon returned to her
country estate, and a year passed before he again saw her. During this
time the truce which had been established between England and France had
remained unbroken. It was certain, however, that ere long the two powers
would again come to blows. The King of England had honourably observed
the terms of the treaty. Upon his return home he had entirely disbanded
his army and had devoted his whole attention to increasing the trade and
prosperity of the country. The measures which he took to do this were
not always popular with the people of England, for seeing how greatly
they excelled the English manufacturers Edward encouraged large numbers
of Flemings and other foreign workmen to settle in London, and gave
them many privileges to induce them to do so; this the populace strongly
resented. There was a strong ill feeling against the Flemings and
serious popular riots took place, for the English traders and workmen
considered that these foreigners were taking the bread from their
mouths. The king, however, was wiser than his people, he saw that
although the English weavers were able to produce coarse cloths, yet
that all of the finer sort had to be imported from the Continent. He
deemed that in time the Flemings would teach their art to his subjects,
and that England would come to vie with the Low Countries in the quality
of her produce. Such was indeed afterwards the case, and England gained
greatly by the importation of the industrious Flemings, just as she
afterwards profited from the expulsion from France of tens of thousands
of Protestant workmen who brought here many of the manufactures of which
France had before the monopoly. The relations between England and the
Flemings were at this time very clos