206 THE DOVER ROAD 



lord of all." The modern drawin<^r of the Prince of 

 ^Vales' feathers originated in Tudor times. 



Here, then, he hes, in full armour, as he had enjoined 

 in his will, the likeness of the spurs he won at Creyy on 

 his heels, his head resting on his helmet, and his hands 

 joined in prayer. The face and head are clearly an 

 excellent portraiture of him, so masterly is the work, 

 and so like the features to those of his father in 

 Westminster Abbey and his grandfather at Gloucester ! 

 Traces remain of the gilding with which the effigy was 

 covered ; the shields of arms and the curious Norman- 

 French inscription are iminjured, and every little detail 

 of his magnificent memorial is as perfect now as when 

 it was finished five hundred years ago. The wooden 

 canopy suspended over his tomb has survived the march 

 of time and the fury of revolution ; his wooden shield ; 

 his blazoned tabard, colourless now and in the semblance 

 of a dirty rag, but once a truly royal adornment of 

 velvet, glowing with the red and blue and golden 

 quarter] ngs of England and France, — all these things 

 are left to speak of the grief with which the nation saw 

 its most perfect gentle knight borne to his grave. His 

 gauntlets, too, and his tilting helmet are here, and 

 only one thing is missing from its place. The sword 

 wielded at Crecy and Poictiers, and at many another 

 fight, has vanished from its scabbard. If, as tradition 

 says, Cromwell stole that weapon, how much more 

 impressive it is to think of the hero-worship thus felt 

 by one great captain for another. 



The Black Prince was the darling of England. He 

 had won a glory for this country the like of which 

 had never before been known, and he was the flower 

 of chivalry. But do those who gather round his 

 tomb, and feel themselves the greater for being 

 countrymen of his, ever think how little his chivalry 

 would have spared them ? His huml)le and dutiful 

 bearing towards his father, and even to his captive, 

 the King of France, shows that his reverence Avas 

 for rank and titles ; the cruelty he exhibited when, 



