The unkindness with which he was treated at home, though produced by his faults, in its turn increased them, and by the time he was six years old he had become altogether unbearable. The servants of the castle, as well as strangers, made it their amusement to tease the passionate little boy, who always carried a great stick, and tried to defend himself by striking those who tormented him; and his behaviour was so rough and offensive, that, although the eldest of the family, he was not allowed to sit at table with his younger brothers and sisters, or to wear clothes suited to his father's rank. But notwithstanding all this he had a kind and grateful heart; and an incident is recorded of him while yet a child, which called forth his better feelings and produced a great change in his condition.

One day when the children were summoned to the dining-room, Bertrand said that nothing should hinder his going with the rest. He accordingly accompanied them, and without waiting to be asked, down he sat and began helping himself, eating very awkwardly, and throwing the meat about. His mother, a beautiful and elegant woman, was of course displeased.

he rose

She ordered him to leave the room; from the bench, and, in his hurry, pushing against the table, overturned it with all the dishes. This awkwardness increased his mother's anger; and poor Bertrand, vexed and ashamed, hid himself in a corner of the room, where he cried bitterly. Just at this moment came in a Jewess to speak to Madame du Guesclin. She was the daughter of a physician, and as was often the case in those times, probably understood something of medicine and surgery herself. Seeing his distress, she tried to comfort the sobbing child, looked kindly in his face, took hold of his hand, and said, “ She thought he would not always be so unhappy as he was then." Poor Bertrand, who was unused to be thus soothed, thought she was laughing at him, and told her to "Leave him alone, or he would beat her with his stick;" but the compassionate woman was not to be put out of humour by the ill-temper of a cross child. She turned to Madame du Guesclin saying, she was quite sure that Bertrand, if he were but kindly treated and well educated, would be a good boy, and grow up to be a brave and good man.

The mother feared that the Jewess either flattered her, or had formed too favourable an opinion of her rude and passionate son; but in a very few minutes she had reason to think better of her words, for she saw that Bertrand was sensible to kindness. The Jewess sat down to partake of their dinner, when Bertrand directly came out of his corner to wait upon her. He carefully helped her to part of a peacock which had just been brought in hot, and was a dish held in great esteem; he then poured out a glass of wine for her so full, that some of it ran over; but for this he apologised, saying it proceeded from his haste to give enough to her who had been so kind to him. From that day, Bertrand's mother altered her manner of treating him. She now tried to encourage him to behave well, gave him better clothes, hoping that this would induce him to keep them clean and not tear them, and ordered all the servants and the people who came about the castle to be kind and gentle to him.

Three years passed away under this milder system of education, and Bertrand so far improved as to become less disagreeable to his

family; but he continued to be a disobedient, violent, self-willed boy, who gave little promise of future excellence. At nine years old, he was strong and stout, and as he could not, or would not learn to read, his time, for want of occupation, hung heavily upon his hands. His brothers and sisters were too little for playfellows to his mind; and therefore, when thoroughly weary of having nothing to do, he would make his escape from the castle to amuse himself with the village-boys in the street. In his games with these boys we find the first glimpse of the character that he was afterwards to bear as the champion of his country, for his plays were all military. Sometimes he would by himself fight against a number of boys. In general, he divided his companions into two sets, putting himself at the head of one set, and leading them on against the other, when a grand battle would ensue. All this displeased his father and mother, and the more as he usually came home from such rude sports with his clothes torn to pieces and covered with blood and dirt. They therefore strictly forbade him to play with the village boys; but Bertrand

wholly disregarded the prohibition. Monsieur du Guesclin sent orders to all the labourers not to let their sons play with him: Bertrand then, and not till then, taught the boys to be as disobedient as himself, and took to single fight with individuals, hoping these private combats would not be heard of.

At last Bertrand was put in prison,-that is to say, he was locked up by himself for four months in a room in the castle, where his breakfast and dinner were brought to him by his mother's maid. One day, as she was setting down the tray, he slipped out of the room, locked the door on the outside, took away the key, and ran down stairs, and out of doors into a field, where he had seen a man at plough. Without stopping one minute, he unharnessed the mare that was drawing the plough, jumped upon her back, and, before the ploughman could imagine what he was going to do, rode away from him. Thus, without a saddle or bridle, he galloped off to his aunt's house at Rennes. His aunt was far from well pleased when she saw him; but his uncle, who perhaps thought that any change must be for the boy's good, said