respecting which same picture the King addressed other letters to you
Edward of Westminster. And the King commands Philip Lavel his
treasurer, and the aforesaid Edward of Westminster, to cause the same
Master William to have his costs and charges for painting the
aforesaid picture without delay; and when he shall know the cost, he
will give them a writ of liberate therefor." For the illustration of
the elder historians, and as a means of ascertaining how far
narrations of events which appear doubtful or improbable, are correct,
these and other buried documents possess great value. That blackest
charge against the memory of King John, by which he is implicated in
the murder of his nephew Prince Arthur, has been brought forward in
forms so various, that common charity has induced many men to withhold
their credence from an accusation which rests on vague and uncertain
traditions. It is said, however, that Arthur's death, by whatever
means it was brought about, took place at Rouen; it has been
ascertained very lately for the first time, by inspection of the
attestations of records, that John was at that place on that day; a
circumstance not in itself enough to lead men to a very violent
suspicion of his guilt, if the manner of the Prince's death had not
been sudden and mysterious; but which, bringing the charge at least
somewhat nearer, may probably lead to further discoveries. Of less
importance, but yet not without interest,--if it be interesting to
know accurately the early manners of a people, and to trace their
progress from periods when those lights of science which are now
beaming in full radiance over the land, had just begun to glimmer
above the horizon,--is the following instance. Matthew Paris relates,
that in 1255, an elephant was sent by the King of France to Henry
III., and that it being the first animal of that species that had been
seen in England, the people flocked in great numbers to behold it.
Upon the close rolls is entered a writ tested at Westminster the 3rd