The Comic History of EnglandÀ Beckett, Gilbert Abbott
History
The Comic History of England
À Beckett, Gilbert Abbott
Great Britain -- History -- Humor
only nine adherents, when he was dodged by a couple of citizens, who had
been watching him for several days, and who pretended to be enjoying a
stroll, until they got near enough to enable them to seize the throat
of Longbeard. This movement instantly raised his choler, and drawing his
knife, he succeeded in cutting completely away. He sought refuge in the
church of St. Mary of Arches, which he barricaded for four days, but he
was at last taken, stabbed, dragged at a horse's tail to the Tower, and
forwarded by the same conveyance to Smithfield, where he was hanged on
a gibbet, with the nine unfortunates who had been the companions of
his promenade. The mob, who had stood by him while he was thus cruelly
treated, pretended to look upon him as a martyr directly he was dead.
This, however, seems to have been the result of interested motives, for
they stole the gibbet, and cut it up into relics, which were sold at
most exorbitant prices; so that, by making a saint of him, they gave a
value to the gallows which they purloined. It is possible that they were
not particular as to the genuineness of the article, so long as there
was any demand for little bits of Longbeard's gibbet.
Richard was now engaged in almost continual quarrels with Philip, which
were only suspended by occasional want of money to pay the respective
barons, who always struck, or rather, refused to strike at all, when
they could not get their wages. In the year 1198, hostilities were
renewed with great vigour, and a battle was fought near Gisors, where
Philip was nearly drowned by the breaking of a bridge, in consequence
of the enormous weight of the fugitives. In his bulletin, Richard
insultingly alluded to the quantity of the river the French king had
been compelled to drink, and hinted, that as he was full of water it was
quite fair to make a butt of him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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