40. There were a great number of persons who were employed in various ways about the court, and who followed the king wherever he went; for great men, when they travelled, were obliged to take every thing they wanted with them, there being no public accommodation to be had any where; so they carried with them waggon loads of furniture, plate, wine, cooking utensils, and I do not know what besides; with their domestics and retainers of all descriptions, who formed a numerous retinue. 41. Now, the inhabitants of any city, where the king happened to be holding his court, were obliged to give board and lodging, at free cost, to all these people, who generally behaved very ill; for they would insist upon having the best rooms, order whatever they chose, and treat the family just as if they were their servants. 42. It was, therefore, a very good thing for the Londoners when king Henry released them from this heavy burthen, but all other towns had to bear it for a very long period. 43. In this reign the first manufactory for woollen cloth was established in this country, by some weavers from Flanders, where the best cloth was made from English wool, which was the staple commodity of England at that period; I mean, the thing of which they had most to sell; for quantities of sheep were reared on every estate. 44. England had no manufactures then, so there were no employments for the lower classes but agriculture, and the few useful arts, that were but very imperfectly understood. 45. Henry the First died in the year 1135. He left the crown to his daughter Matilda, who had been twice married; first, to the Emperor of Germany, and again to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, who was dead also, therefore she was again a widow. 46. But there was a nephew of the late king, named Stephen, who was rather a favorite among the Barons, and was quite willing to take advantage of their good will; so, before Matilda could reach England, her cousin Stephen had mounted the throne. 47. Then there was a civil war in this country, which was carried on, at times, for fifteen years, for a great many French noblemen came here with Matilda to fight for her; and some of the English Barons, who had become dissatisfied with Stephen, because he had not done all they expected he would do, joined the other party, and there was fighting all over the country. 48. Wherever there is civil war, there is sure to be famine and misery of all kinds, and there never was more misery in England than during the reign of king Stephen; for, in order to keep as many of the Barons on his side as he could, he let them do just as they pleased; and he gave titles and estates to a great many bold and bad men, who built castles and kept bands of ruffians, who went at night to rob and plunder the towns and villages; so that the people, when they shut up their houses at night, used to kneel down and pray that God would protect them from robbers and murderers.