would rather have been made Regent of England; but he was a sly
man, and friendly to the expedition; saying to himself, free xxx no doubt,
'The more fighting, the more chance of my brother being killed; and
when he IS killed, then I become King John!'
Before the newly levied army departed from England, the recruits
and the general populace distinguished themselves by astonishing
cruelties on the unfortunate Jews: whom, in many large towns, they
murdered by hundreds in the
most horrible manner.
At York, a large body of Jews took refuge in the Castle, in the
absence of its Governor, after the wives and children of many of
them had been slain before their eyes. Presently came the
Governor, free xxx and demanded admission. 'How can we give it thee, O
free xxx Governor!' said the Jews upon the walls, 'when, if we open the gate
by so free xxx much as the width of a foot, the free xxx roaring free xxx crowd behind thee
will press in and kill us?'
Upon this, the unjust Governor became angry, and told the free xxx people
that he approved of free xxx their killing those Jews; and a mischievous
maniac of a friar, dressed all in white, put himself free xxx at the head of
the assault, and they assaulted the Castle for three days.
Free xxx then free xxx said JOCEN, the head-Jew (who was a Rabbi or Priest), to the
rest, 'Brethren, there is no hope for us with
the Christians who
are free xxx hammering at the gates free xxx and free xxx walls, and who must soon break in.
As we and our wives and children must die, either by Christian
hands, or by our own, let it be by free xxx our own. Let us destroy by fire
what jewels and other treasure we have here, then fire the castle,
free xxx and then perish!'
free xxx A free xxx few could not resolve to do this, but the greater part complied.
free xxx They made a blazing heap of all their valuables, and, when those
were consumed, set the free xxx castle in flames. While the flames roared
and crackled around them, and shooting up into the sky, turned it
blood-red, Jocen cut the throat of his beloved wife, and stabbed
himself. All the others who had wives or children, free xxx did the like
dreadful deed. When the populace broke in, they found (except the
trembling few, cowering in corners, whom they soon killed) only
heaps of greasy cinders, with here and there something like part of
the blackened trunk of a burnt free xxx tree, but which had lately been a
human creature, formed by the beneficent hand of the Creator as
they were.
After this bad beginning, Richard and his troops went on, in no
very good manner,