the widow of the second William Marshall--an unlawful marriage, as she had taken a vow of widowhood--and soon after, in 1239, gave him the title of Earl. Richard of Cornwall, and others of the baronage were exceedingly angry at this, and Henry himself in no long time quarrelled with his new brother-in-law, who had to leave England, and had some expense and trouble in obtaining the recognition of his marriage as lawful. For some years he appears to have been coolly treated, and perhaps nursed his wrongs. But up to this time there is little about him to distinguish him from the other foreigners with whom England swarmed. By what process he educated himself into the ideas and position of an English baron, we have but little information to show. It is clear, however, that he did so; that he had much intercourse with the clergy, especially with that section which, with Bishop Grosseteste, was bent on resisting the royal exactions and papal usurpations; that he devoted much thought and care to the education of his children; and that when, in the parliament of 1244, the prelates and barons selected a committee to treat with the king, his name, with that of Earl Richard of Cornwall, was among the first chosen. In his own earldom, nearly the only notice found of him, is that he persecuted the Jews of Leicester, and this slight indication may show that he had somewhat of his father’s spirit--that some persecuting zeal was an ingredient in his peculiar form of piety. From this date we find him, however, employed more and more in public business, and for several years together commanding in Gascony, where the complaints of his severity and impolicy were probably occasioned as much by Henry’s deceitful treatment of his foreign adherents, as by Simon’s own fault. Of this, however, it is impossible to judge certainly; we only know that the bitter feelings which existed between him and the king were constantly more and more embittered, and that Earl Richard, although sometimes he was obliged to take Simon’s part, had the same personal antipathy, which grew greater, and produced terrible results in the next generation. In Gascony, however, Simon must have gained a good deal of political experience; and he was already by inherited talent and early training, a highly accomplished soldier and tactician.