Thereupon they got an army together, and so did Simon de Montfort and the barons; and they met at a place called Lewes, in Sussex.  Edward got the advantage at first, and galloped away, driving his enemies before him; but when he turned round and came back, he found that Simon de Montfort had beaten the rest of the army, and made his father and uncle Richard prisoners.  Indeed, the barons threatened to cut off Richard’s head if Edward went on fighting with them; and to save his uncle’s life, he too, gave himself up to them.

Simon de Montfort now governed all the kingdom.  He still called Henry king, but did not let him do anything, and watched him closely that he might not get away; and Edward was kept a prisoner—­first in one castle, then in another.  Simon was a good and high-minded man himself, who only wanted to do what was best for everyone; but he had a family of proud and overbearing sons, who treated all who came in their way so ill, that most of the barons quarreled with them.  One of these barons sent Edward a beautiful horse; and one day when he was riding out from Hereford Castle with his keepers, he proposed to them to ride races, while he was to look on and decide which was the swiftest.  Thus they all tired out their horses, and as soon as he saw that they could hardly get them along, Edward spurred his own fresh horse, and galloped off to meet the friends who were waiting for him.  All who were discontented with the Montforts joined him, and he soon had a large army.  He marched against Montfort, and met him at Evesham.  The poor old king was in Montfort’s army, and in the battle was thrown down, and would have been killed if he had not called out—­“Save me, save me, I am Henry of Winchester.”  His son heard the call, and, rushing to his side, carried him to a place of safety.  His army was much the strongest, and Montfort had known from the first that there was no hope for him.  “God have mercy on our souls, for our bodies are Sir Edward’s,” he had said; and he died bravely on the field of battle.

Edward brought his father back to reign in all honor, but he took the whole management of the kingdom, and soon set things in order again—­ taking care that Magna Carta should be properly observed.  When everything was peaceful at home, he set out upon a Crusade with the good King of France, and while he was gone his father died, after a reign of fifty-six years.  There only three English Kings who reigned more than fifty years, and these are easy to remember, as each was the third of his name—­Henry III., Edward III., and George III.  In the reign of Henry III. the custom of having Parliaments was established, and the king was prevented from getting money from the people unless the Parliament granted it.  The Parliament has, ever since, been made up of great lords, who are born to it:  and, besides them, of men chosen by the people in the counties and towns, to speak and decide for them.  The clergy have a meeting of their own called Convocation; and these three—­Clergy, Lords, and Commons—­are called the Three Estates of the Realm.