given to the Normans. The king built castles, with immensely thick,
strong walls, and loop-hole windows, whence to shoot arrows; and here
he placed his Normans to keep the English down. But the Normans were
even more unruly than the English, and only his strong hand kept them
in order. They rode about in armor--helmets on their heads, a shirt
of mail, made of iron linked together, over their bodies, gloves and
boots of iron, swords by their sides, and lances in their hands--and
thus they could bear down all before them. They called themselves
knights, and were always made to take an oath to befriend the weak,
and poor, and helpless; but they did not often keep it towards the
poor English.

William had four sons--Robert, who was called Court-hose or Short-legs;
William, called Rufus, because he had red hair; Henry, called Beau-
clerc or the fine scholar; and Richard, who was still a lad when he
was killed by a stag in the New Forest.

Robert, the eldest, was a wild, rude, thoughtless youth; but he fancied
himself fit to govern Normandy, and asked his father to give it up to
him. King William answered, "I never take my clothes off before I go
to bed," meaning that Robert must wait for his death. Robert could
not bear to be laughed at, and was very angry. Soon after, when he
was in the castle court, his two brothers, William and Henry, grew
riotous, and poured water down from the upper windows on him and his
friends. He flew into a passion, dashed up-stairs with his sword in
his hand, and might have killed his brothers if their father had not
come in to protect them. Then he threw himself on his horse and
galloped away, persuaded some friends to join him, and actually fought
a battle with his own father, in which the old king was thrown off his
horse, and hurt in the hand; but we must do the prince the justice to