Gallant, and light of heart, The rock-born eagle was less bold than he; Formed upon earth to play each graceful part Enchantingly. His joys were early crushed; His mind perverted by most ruthless men; Hope, like a short-lived rose, a moment blushed, And withered then. His virtues were his own; His vices forced upon him, against his will; His weaker faults were of his age alone-- That age of ill. In him thou seest the truth, How tyrannous and all-usurping night, Heedless of means, will, acting without ruth, Triumph o’er Right. Nor is this lesson sad Void of instruction to the wary sent. Learn from it with thy portion to be glad, Meek and content. And be, where’er thy path, Whate’er the trials life may to thee bring, Grateful that Heaven has not, in its wrath, Made thee a king! Of the chivalrous spirit of Henry IV. no one entertains a doubt, and yet he once refused to accept a challenge. The challenger was the Duke of Orleans, who had been Henry’s sworn friend, accomplice in some of his deeds, and who, failing to realize all the advantages he expected, urged Henry to meet him in the marches of Guienne, with a hundred knights on each side. Henry fenced with the challenge rather than with the challenger, but when the latter called him rebel, usurper, and murderer, he gave his former friend the lie, in no very gentle terms, as regarded the charge of being accessory to the death of Richard. The little flower, the Forget-me-not, owes some of its popularity to Henry, who, previous to his being king, and when in exile, chose it for his symbol, wore it in gold on his collar, and added to it by way of device, the words “Souvenez de moi.” It is worthy of observation that, after Henry’s death, his widow, Joanna of Navarre, continued to be recognised as a lady of the Garter, receiving presents from Henry V. as such, and being in attendance on high festivals, in robes of the order, the gift of the new king. That new king requires no advocacy as a knight. The simple word “Agincourt” is sufficient. His wooing of Katherine of Valois is also characteristic of the gallant, if not the amorous knight. At the betrothal of the illustrious couple, Henry presented to the lady his own favorite knight, Sir Louis de Robsart, as her personal attendant, to watch for ever over her safety; but this queen’s knight was simply the queen’s keeper, and his chief mission was to take care that the lady was not stolen from him, between the day of betrothal and that of the royal nuptials.