By telling the story and giving some explanation of difficult terms, we are often able to create an interest in poems that would otherwise remain unread. The best of old English ballads are so full of martial spirit that they may well prove an inspiration to many a boy in these days when war has so recently rent the whole world and proved the courage of our own young men. Back of the action that brought bloodshed and suffering is a spirit of loyalty, a genuine patriotism that is as much needed now as when it animated the souls of the British soldiery in those days of long ago. It is part of our inheritance, and may not be forgotten. It is to be hoped that we may never need it again amid the smoke and carnage of the battlefield, or in the silent horror of the trenches, but we have each for himself conflicts to wage with foes more insidious than the armed forces of rival nations, and we can win them only by the same spirit of devotion that brought victory at Agincourt. _The Ballad of Agincourt_ (Volume V, page 95), is followed by notes that make clear its historical setting, but a few comments may help to a better appreciation of the inspirational value of the selection. It is natural that in verses written about three hundred years ago there should be found some crudities in style, some lapses in syntax, and not a few words strange to us or having a meaning somewhat different from their present significance. Among such lapses in syntax we find the slight confusion of tenses in the first stanza, caused in the poet's mind by the necessity of making a rhyme for France, though this might have been obviated by writing "stands" for "stood" and using the present tense throughout. The necessities of rhyme troubled Drayton not a little: he must pronounce "Agincourt" as it is written to rhyme with "sort," which, by the way, is not a perfect rhyme for "fort" in the sixth stanza, and "great" does not rhyme with "seat" nor "feat"; in the seventh, "rear," "there" and "were" do not rhyme; other instances are easily found. Of words not now familiar, or used in an unfamiliar sense, the following are examples: We do not frequently speak of the wind "standing" in a certain direction; we do not often "advance" our sails nor "prove" our chance; "vaward" and "bilboes" are old words; "ding" in the sense used here has long been forgotten; of "archery" except as a sport we know nothing; "Spanish yew" is no longer valuable for bows, and few can tell how long a "clothyard" (the English ell, 45 inches long) is, or whether it differs from any other "yard" as a measure of length.