"Let Him who Loves Me Follow Me."

Edward III., of England, laid claim to the crown of France (through his mother) in 1340. On taking the title, "King of France," he assumed the motto, "Dieu et mon Droit (God and my right)," which has ever since been borne by the Kings of England. He made many unavailing attempts to conquer France, and at last success seemed to crown his efforts, He landed at La Hogue on the 12th of July, with an army of thirty-two thousand men, among whom was his eldest son, the Black Prince (so called, it is supposed, from the color of his armor).

Philip, King of France, hearing of this English invasion, assembled a large army, hurried forward to oppose them, breaking down all the bridges on the way, and came in sight of them on the banks of the Seine near Rouen.

The two armies marched for some time along the river, the English on the western, the French on the eastern side. Edward wished to cross over, but could not, on account of the broken bridges. At last he contrived to make the passage by means of strategy. He made preparations for repairing the bridge at Poissy, and then suddenly decamped as if to march further down the river.

The French also set off in the same direction, which movement Edward no sooner perceived than he hastily turned back to Poissy, and repairing the bridge with the utmost expedition, crossed it and turned off towards Flanders, while the French were still pushing down the river. But when he had reached the banks of the Sounne, he found himself in a still worse dilemma; here also the bridges had been destroyed. Gondemar de Faye was on the opposite side to prevent his crossing, and the King of France was behind him with 100,000 men. Edward offered one hundred marks to any one who would show him a ford of the river, and a peasant, tempted by the enormous reward, pointed out the wished for place at Blauchetague, between Abbeville and the sea, where it was possible to ford the stream at low water. Edward was the first to plunge into the water, calling out, "Let him who loves me follow me!" The whole army instantly followed, and before Philip could reach the spot, the rising of the tide made it impossible for him to pursue Edward, and he had to go around by way of Abbeville.

Before Philip and his army overtook the enemy, the next day, August 5th, Edward had time to put himself, in a good position on the plain of Cressy. But the complete victory of the English over the French, in the actual battle or Cressy, was due to the Black Prince. King Edward had taken his station on the top of a windmill, whence he could overlook the whole field. He saw his son, the Prince, hard pressed, and was importuned to go to his succor; but he refused, saying that "He would not deprive his son and those who were with him, of the honor of victory." The fewer men, the greater share of victory. This being repeated to the Black Prince and his army, they were inspired with extraordinary courage. After fighting until the close of the day, the King of France fled, accompanied by only five Knights and about sixty soldiers, and leaving on that bloody field about forty thousand dead and dying men. Among the killed was the King of Bohemia, whose crest, consisting of three ostrich feathers with the motto: "Ich Dien" (I serve), was adopted by Edward, the Black Prince, and has ever since been borne by the Prince of Wales.