15. I must also tell you that this wise monarch did not alter what the Earl of Leicester had done about the parliament; but he made it a rule that the people should continue to send their members, and every freeholder of land in the counties, and, in general, all men, in the cities and burghs, who paid taxes, had a right to vote at the election of members of parliament. 16. I should be glad to have nothing to say about warfare in this reign; but the Scottish wars form so large a portion of the history of the times, that you ought to know something about them. 17. First, however, the king invaded the northern part of Wales, which had never been conquered by the English, and was then governed by a prince, named Llewellyn. 18. This chief made a gallant resistance, but he was killed, and the whole country was then united to England, and afterwards, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, divided into shires. 19. The queen, Eleanor, of Castile, Edward’s first wife, went to visit Wales soon afterwards, and her son Edward was born there, so the king said he should be called prince of Wales, and that is the reason why the eldest son of the English sovereign has since had that title. 20. After this, there were a few years of peace, before the wars with Scotland were begun; so I will fill up the time by saying a little about the manners and customs of the English at this period. 21. The nobles lived in, what we should think, a very rough way indeed. Their large comfortless rooms, and floors without carpets, unglazed windows, and clumsy furniture, would not suit our modern notions, either of comfort or convenience. 22. They had their dinner at ten o’clock in the morning, in the great hall of the castle; lords, ladies, knights, esquires, priests, dependents, and strangers, all together; for, when there were no inns, it was usual for travellers to stop at any castle, or monastery, on the road, where they were never refused lodging and entertainment. 23. There were no table cloths, and the dishes and cups were mostly of wood, but they were well filled with meat, game, fish, or poultry, which, with bread and ale, constituted the rude, but substantial fare. 24. The Baron, with his friends, sat at an upper table, which was served with wine; and, sometimes he would have his hounds lying at his feet, and his favorite hawk, upon a perch, beside him. 25. The supper, at five o’clock, was just like the dinner, and these were the only regular meals at that period. 26. I said there were no inns in those days, which reminds me to speak of the difficulty and danger of travelling. The roads were very bad and lonely, often running through forests and across wide heaths, infested with robbers.