&ldquo;You little villain!&rdquo; cried his uncle. &ldquo;What have you been about? Down on your knees, this instant, and ask the prince&rsquo;s pardon. How dare you lay your hands on the king&rsquo;s majesty&rsquo;s royal son?&rdquo; </p> <p> &ldquo;He struck me first,&rdquo; grumbled the valiant little Noll; &ldquo;and I&rsquo;ve only given him his due.&rdquo; </p> <p> Sir Oliver and the guests lifted up their hands in astonishment and horror. No punishment seemed severe enough for this wicked little varlet, who had dared to resent a blow from the king&rsquo;s own son. Some of the courtiers were of opinion that Noll should be sent prisoner to the Tower of London and brought to trial for high treason. Others, in their great zeal for the king&rsquo;s service, were about to lay hands on the boy and chastise him in the royal presence. </p> <p> But King James, who sometimes showed a good deal of sagacity, ordered them to desist. </p> <p> &ldquo;Thou art a bold boy,&rdquo; said he, looking fixedly at little Noll; &ldquo;and, if thou live to be a man, my son Charlie would do wisely to be friends with thee.&rdquo; </p> <p> &ldquo;I never will!&rdquo; cried the little prince, stamping his foot. </p> <p> &ldquo;Peace, Charlie, peace!&rdquo; said the king; then addressing Sir Oliver and the attendants, &ldquo;Harm not the urchin; for he has taught my son a good lesson, if Heaven do but give him grace to profit by it. Hereafter, should he be tempted to tyrannize over the stubborn race of Englishmen, let him remember little Noll Cromwell and his own bloody nose.&rdquo; </p> <p> So the king finished his dinner and departed; and for many a long year the childish quarrel between Prince Charles and Noll Cromwell was forgotten. The prince, indeed, might have lived a happier life, and have met a more peaceful death, had he remembered that quarrel and the moral which his father drew from it. But when old King James was dead, and Charles sat upon his throne, he seemed to forget that he was but a man, and that his meanest subjects were men as well as he. He wished to have the property and lives of the people of England entirely at his own disposal. But the Puritans, and all who loved liberty, rose against him and beat him in many battles, and pulled him down from his throne. </p> <p> Throughout this war between the king and nobles on one side and the people of England on the other there was a famous leader, who did more towards the ruin of royal authority than all the rest. The contest seemed like a wrestling-match between King Charles and this strong man. And the king was overthrown. </p> <p>