By a somewhat rare privilege, he was in reality, there is reason to suppose, superior to the name he has left behind him in history; and it is only justice to reproduce here the portrait given of him by one of his contemporaries who observed him closely and knew him well.

"Never a man of his time," says William Gruet, "loved justice more than he, or took more pains to do it according to his ability.

Never was prince more humble, more charitable, more compassionate, more liberal, less avaricious, or more open-handed in a good fashion and without prodigality.

He was a proper man, chaste and brave as prince can be; and there was none of his time of better conduct than lie in conducting a great battle, or a great siege, and all sorts of approaches in all sorts of ways.

Every day, once at least in the four and twenty hours, his conversation was of war, and he took more pleasure in it than in aught else.