The hour for leaving their favourite game had now arrived: and with repeated hopes of renewing it the next evening, they bade good-bye to their kind mother. 1. Coronation of William I. A.D. 1066. 2. Matilda of Flanders working her husband's conquests. 3. William II. besieging Prince Henry at St. Michel. A.D. 1088. 4. Henry I. sending his cloak to his brother Robert. A.D. 1125. 5. The loss of the "White Ship." A.D. 1120. 6. The escape of the Empress Maude from Oxford. A.D. 1141. CHAPTER IV. "The subject of my picture to-night," said Mrs. Macdonald, when the party was again assembled round a cheerful fire, "is that of a young man, apparently about twenty-one years of age; his features are handsome, particularly his eyes; his form is graceful, about the middle height; he has a manly, military bearing; in his helmet he wears a piece of a small-leaved plant, and with one hand he is encouraging some workmen, who are busily engaged in pulling down a castellated building. All seem to be working cheerfully under him; and he is so gentle in appearance, that the little children are not afraid to come near him, and look at the warlike ornaments of his dress. In the distance some soldiers, evidently of a different country to the rest of the people, are embarking in boats, with all their baggage." "Were those the Romans going away, mama?" demanded Annie. "No, my love; the building and the dress show a more advanced state of civilization than our country presented at the time of their invasion; besides, there is a trace of Saxon descent in my hero's countenance." "Did he derive his Saxon blood from his grandmother?" asked Edward. "I see you have guessed, my dear boy." "Edward is so clever, we have none of us any chance when he is here," exclaimed Mary. "Your cousin," replied Mrs. Macdonald, "has acquired so much information by constant, persevering study and attention to what he has been taught, and you will learn as much if you apply as steadily." "What was the flower the kind man wore in his helmet, mama?" enquired Alfred. "Broom, which you must have seen growing on commons, and in grandpapa's garden. Henry and his descendants took their surname from this circumstance, _planta_ being the Latin for plant, and _genista_ for broom; hence the name--" "Plantagenet," cried several voices at once. "Did not the Romans speak Latin, mama?" asked Mary. "Yes, my dear; and perhaps, Annie, you can tell me who wrote an account of the Roman invasion into Britain in the Latin language." "Julius Cæsar, mama; his Commentaries principally relate to his wars in Gaul; and once when he was obliged to swim from the ship to save his life, he carried his arms in one hand, and his writings in the other." "That would have made another good picture, mama," said Louisa to Mrs. Arabin; "but I think it is now your turn; you have not told us one to-night."