The last succeeded to the seigneuries of Halluin and Comines, and also to the title[41] which had been bestowed on his mother for her eminent services. George Halluin was born in 1470, his father died in 1473, so that, from his earliest infancy, his mother must have had the supreme direction of his education. Probably no woman was ever better fitted for the task. It is remarkable that Philippe de Comines, who was an excellent modern linguist, regretted deeply his ignorance of the ancient languages, when we couple this circumstance with the fact that his cousin and playmate, Jeanne, gave her son an education which made him one of the first Latin scholars of his age. With regard to his literary merits, we can produce two unimpeachable witnesses; the one is a man whose name was for centuries familiar to the schoolboy, Jean Despauteres, the writer of Latin grammars, the other is the great Erasmus. Long before his mother had resigned her influential position at the Court, George Halluin had grown to man’s estate. A brilliant career, accompanied with wealth and high honours, seemed the manifest destiny of the young Seigneur. He was a gallant knight, placed at the head, not only of numerous vassals, but also of an important clan. His advice was sought by his Sovereign, and his voice in the council chamber was listened to with respect.[42] As a loyal gentleman he was ever ready to give his country the benefit of his services, but of ambition he had none. The campaign over, the crisis past, George Halluin sought once more his books and his friends. He collected a magnificent library, he surrounded himself with students, young and old, and became the guide and oracle of the best scholars of his age. He took an interest not only in the pursuits of finished scholarship, but also in the best method of instructing beginners. He had a theory, which Erasmus thought he pushed too far, that grammars and rules were a hindrance rather than a help, and that the only road to a real knowledge of the Latin language lay through the best Latin authors. In order to establish his views, he wrote a treatise on modern and ancient writers, showing how many mistakes arose from the grammars used by the former. It is curious that such a man should have been brought into so close connection with Despauteres, the great writer of grammars. When the latter was schoolmaster at St. Winoc, he showed George Halluin his treatise on Versification, ‘Ars Versificatoria,’[43] which it had cost him three years to prepare, feeling confident of his approval. George Halluin examined it, and at once hit the blot.