many had taken it all away, and given it to the Duke of Bavaria.

King Charles received his nephews very kindly, and kept them with him at court for a full year. But he soon began to feel puzzled to know what to do with them. Neither of them had any money, and the King knew that they must not be allowed to grow up and spend their time in idleness or mere amusement, but must be given something to do by which they could earn their bread.

Prince Charles Louis wanted very much to fight for his rights, and win back for himself the country near the Rhine which had belonged to his father. But this would require both money and soldiers, and Charles Louis had neither the one nor the other.

As for Rupert, he was ready to give the help of his strong arm and brave heart to any honourable warfare.

He

There were many schemes and plans set on foot by the King to provide for his nephews. proposed to send Charles Louis out to the West Indies, to try and win a kingdom for himself in that quarter, and promised to give him soldiers to help him, should he agree to go. He offered also to send Rupert as his ambassador to the island of Madagascar, on the east coast of Africa. But poor Elizabeth, at the Hague, was very much distressed, and rather angry too, when she heard of these plans for sending her children so far away; and she flatly refused to allow them to go, saying that "no sons of hers should go for knightserrant.' The poor Queen knew, from her own fallen fortunes, that the setting-up of new king

doms is an experiment that does not always succeed.

About this time Ferdinand III. succeeded his father. The young Emperor sent a message to Elizabeth, to say that he would undertake to provide for Rupert, on condition of his becoming a Roman Catholic. It was a tempting offer in many ways, and power and riches would have fallen into the hands of the Prince had he accepted of it. But Elizabeth knew-and she had taught her son to know-that it is better to hold fast by the truth than to have all the riches in the world. And so it happened that the generous offer of the Emperor was refused, and Rupert continued in his poverty.

For a long time King Charles had thought it would be of no use to give men and money to Prince Charles Louis to help him to recover his land. The Emperor of Germany was so powerful, and the Duke of Bavaria, to whom the land had been given, was so determined to keep it, that it seemed vain to expect they could be forced to give up their claims to the Prince. King Charles sent messengers more than once to Vienna to see the Emperor, and try to persuade him, by gentle words, to restore the Falatinate to its rightful owner. But a deaf ear was turned to all such messages, and Charles Louis still hung on at his uncle's Court in idleness and poverty.

At last the English people began to feel a little ashamed that the nephew of their King should be deprived of his rights for want of an arm to strike a blow in his cause, and accordingly they devised a curious means for raising money to help him. Everywhere through the country

the clergymen preached to their people charitysermons for the good of the Prince. The congregations were told that they ought to give what they could spare to help poor Charles Louis, who had lost his country by no fault of his own, and who could not recover it unless he had soldiers and money to pay them.

Many persons, in consequence of these appeals, contributed large sums to help the Prince. Lord Craven, who was an old and true friend to Rupert's mother, gave 10,0007.,* and the King himself gave another 10,000l. Charles might probably have given more, but that he feared very much the whole plan would fail, and that his nephew would never be able to conquer the huge armies of the Emperor.

Rupert very naturally on this occasion resolved to join his brother, and help him to fight his battles; and in the month of June, 1638, accompanied by many brave young English gentlemen, the two Princes left England together, to fight for the lost Palatinate.

Rupert had spent a pleasant time at his uncle s Court. Queen Henrietta Maria, who presided over it, was very handsome and very gay, and she took care always to have plenty of amusement going forward. All was merriment there in those days, at least outwardly; and King Charles little thought, as the young Princes embarked for the Continent, how soon his nephew Rupert would return to befriend him, when merrirent and gaiety should all be over, and dark troubles closing round him instead.

* Warburton: Memoirs of Prince Rupert, vol. i. p. 78.

Arrived at the Hague, the brothers, full of hope and faith in their cause, set busily about their preparations for the struggle. At length all was ready-men collected, plans laid, and Prince Charles's army set out towards the town of Lemgo to meet the Austrian forces. Four thousand men made up the Prince's force, and one regiment of cavalry was entrusted to the command of Rupert. It was a small force, compared with that of the Austrians; but if all who composed it had had hearts as brave and true as Rupert's, it might have sufficed. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Prince Charles and his generals lost the day by their cowardice and treachery, and though Rupert fought well, it was of little use when his brother did not second his efforts.

The events of the day are, however, worthy of record. Outside the town of Lemgo, in Westphalia, was the scene of action, but Prince Charles's men were placed in a bad position, owing to some dispute between his generals; and when the Austrian cavalry charged, they swept the unfortunate Palatines before them in confusion, till they reached the third line, where stood Prince Rupert's Horse. Here they met a check. The Prince and his followers, most of them English volunteers, charged furiously into the middle of the Austrian ranks, and for a moment bore down all before them; but the rest of the soldiers, who ought to have helped them, shamefully ran away, and left this brave little band surrounded by the masses of the enemy.

Rupert's life was, however, by the good provi-. dence of God, very curiously saved. He wore a

white ribbon hanging from his helmet. When going to the battle he had placed it there, as a mark by which his friends might know him. Now it happened, though Rupert was not aware of it at the time, that the Austrians also all wore white ribbons in their helmets; and so, in the confusion of the close fighting which followed, they mistook the Prince for one of their own party, and thus he escaped with his life. When his faithful comrades had all fallen around him, he tried to urge his wearied horse over a wall, and so get out of reach of his enemies; but the poor animal fell back, unequal to the effort; and the Austrian soldiers, at length discovering Rupert's true character, surrounded him and made him their prisoner.

It was a sad ending to the day, and the Prince could only console himself with the reflection that at least it had not been his fault. Two thousand men lay dead upon the field that evening, who had died for the cause of Charles Louis, while that unworthy Prince fled away without an effort to rescue either them or his brother Rupert. But they had not lost their honour as he had done, and Rupert believed that honour was even more precious than life.

One companion, who would not forsake him, was made prisoner along with the Prince. It was the good Lord Craven, Rupert's constant friend. He had given, first his ten thousand pounds, and then his services, and now he was content to surrender his liberty also for his sake.