“The invention of cross-bows is said by ancient writers to have come from the Sicilians. They were first used in England by the Normans at the battle of Hastings; and a _quarrel_ or _bar-bolt_ (which is synonymous with the arrow of the long-bow) was the immediate cause of Harold’s death. In the reign of Stephen, in 1139, the second council of Lateran prohibited their use; and some historians assert, that they were not again used in this country till the reign of Richard I., whose death, occasioned by one at Chaluz, was considered as a judgment on his impiety. From the death of Richard till the splendid victories of Edward III., we hear little of the cross-bow as a military weapon. Its use appears to have been principally confined to the sieges of fortified places, and to sea-fights. In 1346, at the battle of Cressy, a large body of Genoese soldiers, who were particularly expert in its management, were in the service of the French; but at the commencement of the action, a sudden shower wetted the strings, and prevented the archers from doing their usual execution, while the English were still capable of annoying their enemies by the long-bow with complete success: both this victory and that of Poictiers, ten years afterwards, were chiefly ascribed by the English to their archers. In 1403, at the battle of Shrewsbury, where Hotspur was slain, the archers on both sides did terrible execution; and the victory of Agincourt, in 1417, was entirely owing to their skill. Under Edward IV. an ordinance was made, that every Englishman and Irishman, dwelling in England, should have a bow of his own height, to be made of yew, wych, hazel, ash, or any other seasonable tree, according to their power. By Henry VII. and his son Henry VIII. the use of the cross-bow was entirely forbidden; and a penalty of ten pounds was to be inflicted on every man in whose house one might be found. From this time they seem to have been chiefly used for killing deer.[50] Henry VIII. compelled every father to provide a long-bow and two arrows for his son at seven years old. Edward VI., Elizabeth, and James, all encouraged archery: John Lyon, who founded Harrow school in 1590, two years before his death, drew up rules for its direction, whereby the amusements of the scholars were confined to ‘driving a top, tossing a hand-ball, running, and shooting.’ The last mentioned diversion is in a manner insisted on by the founder, who requires all parents to furnish their children with bow-strings, shafts, and tresters, to exercise shooting. A silver arrow used some years ago to be shot for by the young gentlemen of that school.” The vicar concluded, and received the thanks of the party for the interesting information he had afforded them. “There is one circumstance connected with the military history of the long-bow,” said Mrs. Seymour, “which has somewhat surprised me; and that is, why it should so long have continued in estimation after the use of gunpowder.”