THE WHITE SHIP
We are going to have a story to-day about something that happened nearly eight hundred years ago.
In that far-away time there lived a King of England whose name was Henry I. He was a great warrior, and his enemies generally had the worst of it in battle. But he was still greater as a ruler, and he made the people of England keep the laws. When they disobeyed, he punished them severely.
A certain scholar wrote down the story of his reign and we have it still. He said Henry "was a good man and great was the awe of him." That is, the people rather feared him because he was so strict. He said, too, that while Henry was king no one dared "ill-do to man or beast."
King Henry was sometimes called the Lion of Justice, because he was so great and powerful, and all wrong-doers were afraid of him.
He had another nickname, too. They called him Fine Scholar because he could read and write. Very few persons in those old days could do these things. The clergy were almost the only ones who went to school and learned how.
We who live now-a-days should be very glad and thankful that we have good schools and kind teachers, and lesson books that are full of interesting things.
King Henry had one son whom he loved very much, indeed. His name was William. He was a fine boy, and the people of England were very fond of him. They expected that some day, when his father died, William would be King in his turn. Indeed, they had already promised Henry that whenever that happened, they would be faithful and true to his son.
Not very far from England is the country called France. A narrow sea separates the two. The English call it the Channel and the French call it the Sleeve—perhaps because it is something like a sleeve in shape.
Henry was very often over in France because he had some possessions there. His father had come from France and conquered England, so he had land on both sides of this narrow sea. Though it is narrow, it is very rough, and sailors have to be very careful in crossing it.