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Henry VI-Quarrels between his Councillors.-Marriage of the King with Margaret of Anjou.-Curious Charge of Sorcery.-Murder of the Duke of Gloucester.

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CROWNING OF HENRY VI. bes

1. KINGS, however insignificant in character, cannot be entirely passed over. We must, therefore, say something about Henry VI., who would himself have been glad to remain in the background during the whole of his life, for he was of a timid and quiet disposition, and entirely unfit for the cares of royalty.

2. He inherited neither the fine qualities nor the majestic figure of his father, nor any of his mother's delicate beauty. His personal appearance was inelegant, his countenance dull and unmeaning. His character is thus described by an old historian:

3. "There never was a more holy, nor a better creature, a man of a neek spirit and a simple wit, preferring peace to war, and rest to business, and honesty before profit. He was governed of those he should have ruled, and bridled of those he should have sharply spurred."

4. Some witty person has said, "Princes are flattered by all things

CIV-1, 2, 3. What of Henry VI.? 5 What of his friend, the Earl of Warwick

MARGARET OF ANJOU.-1444

185

but their horses, who will make no more ceremony about throwing a king than a groom," and few kings could have been earlier subjected to flattery than Henry VI.; for, when only eight months old, he was kept quiet in his mother's lap to listen, or rather to appear to listen, to a long address from parliament, in which he was called a "most toward prince and sovereign governor." When he was only eight years old he was solemnly crowned at Paris as King of France.

5. However, Henry was more fortunate than most princes in having one wise and sincere friend in the good old Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who, when the king was eleven years old, not only himself reprimanded him, but also desired the council would in a body admonish him of his faults.

6. After the death of Warwick, the care of the young king devolved principally upon Cardinal Beaufort, between whom and Gloucester, the Regent of England, quarrels were constantly taking place. When the king was twenty-four years old, the cardinal, in order to thwart the good duke, formed a plan for the marriage of Henry with Margaret of Anjou.

7. Gloucester, as if he had foreseen the miseries which this fatal union would bring upon the country, did all in his power to prevent it. But his efforts only made Beaufort and his party more eager to bring it about, and the marriage took place in 1445.

8. Margaret was a woman of great accomplishments, but with a most vindictive temper. She never forgave the Duke of Gloucester for the opposition he had made to her marriage, and came to England vowing vengeance against him in her heart; and she found willing associates in Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Suffolk.

9. These noblemen had already commenced their machinations by accusing Eleanor Cotham, Gloucester's wife, of witchcraft. She was charged with having caused an image of the king to be made in wax; this, the accusers said, was laid before a gentle fire, and as the wax dissolved, the king's strength was wasted; and upon its total dissolution, his life was to be at an end.

10. Upon this absurd charge she was found guilty, and condemned to do public penance, and then to be imprisoned for life on the Isle of Man. One of the evidences brought to prove that she was a witch was a paper of mathematical figures written by her priest, which the ignorance of the people who found it imagined to be some magical incantation.

11. Having the support of the queen, these wicked nobles determined now to attempt the destruction of the duke himself; he was accused of high treason, but the council, though composed entirely of his enemies, were compelled to pronounce him innocent of the charge. He was, notwithstanding, imprisoned, and soon afterwards found dead in his bed.

12. If Margaret was really accessory to his murder, she was fully punished. Gloucester's death was, in fact, her greatest misfortune;

6. Who instigated him to marry Margaret of Anjou? 7. Who opposed the marriage? 8. What of Margaret? 9. What charge was made against Eleanor Cotham? 10. What was offered as evidence against her? 11, 12. What more is said of Gloucester?

186

DESIGNS OF THE DUKE OF YORK. -1444.

for, had he lived, his ability, integrity, and great popularity, would probably have preserved the family from those calamities that afterwards befell them.

CHAPTER CV.

The Duke of York forms a Design to claim the Crown.-Insurrection

of Jack Cade.

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1. AFTER the death of the Duke of Bedford, a considerable time elapsed before the English council could decide upon his successor. While they were disputing who should be Regent of France, the French were fast deciding the question for themselves; for Charles made himself master of Paris, and of many other important places. 2. The Duke of York was at length appointed. When he arrived in France, he found the English cause in a very declining state, and supported only by the bravery and exertions of Lord Talbot, who was now the sole survivor of Henry V.'s brave band of warriors. The disputes and factions at home rendered all his efforts to preserve the possessions of the English in France of no avail; and in 1444, a truce for six years was agreed upon.

3. The Duke of York conducted affairs in France with great wisdom and prudence, but he would not consent to become the tool

CV.-1. What is said of the appointment of regent for France after Bedford's death? 2. Who was at length appointed? 3. What was the cause of the recall of York? 4. What

INSURRECTION OF JACK CADE.-1450

187

of the queen and Suffolk, who now managed everything their own way, and he was therefore recalled, and the Duke of Somerset appointed in his stead.

4. Suffolk and Margaret had soon reason to repent of this unwise measure; for York, who had hitherto been a loyal subject, feeling himself greatly injured, now meditated revenge, by asserting his own claim to the crown. By his father he was descended from Edward the Third's youngest son.

15. From his mother, who was the last of the Mortimers, he inherited the claim of that family from Lionel, second son of the same king. We must not forget that John of Gaunt, from whom Henry VI. was descended, was Edward's third son; therefore York, in right of his mother, had certainly a superior claim to the crown. He kept his designs secret for some time, waiting for an opportunity of forwarding them.

6. The bad management of affairs, both at home and abroad, by which the English possessions in France had been so much reduced that only Calais remained of them, excited the popular indignation so much, that, in 1450, the parliament was compelled to bring charges of high treason against Suffolk.

7. The queen contrived to get him off with five years' banishment, and he sailed for France. But his enemies, who feared that Margaret would recall him, employed a captain of a vessel to intercept him in his passage. Being brought to Dover, his head was struck off on the side of a boat, and his body thrown into the sea.

8. The popular discontent likewise displayed itself in tumults and insurrections. The most formidable was one that broke out in Kent, headed by a man named Jack Cade, who defeated an army of the king's troops at Sevenoaks. Elated by his victory, he advanced to London.

9. Entering the city, he put to death the sheriff and several nobles, and striking with a staff what is called London Stone, (a stone which is yet to be seen in London, and is supposed to have been placed in its present position by the Romans, to mark the spot from which they measured the distance from the city,) he said, "Now I am master of London."

10. But his triumph did not last long; for, on the appearance of a body of troops, his followers fled, and upon a pardon being offered to all who should return to their homes, they deserted their leader, and Cade soon found himself alone. For a short time he wandered about in disguise, but was at last found lurking in a garden in Sussex, and put to death on the spot.

claim had York to the crown?

6. What is said of the management of affairs by Margaret and Suffolk? 7. What was the fate of Suffolk? 8, 9, 10. Relate the particulars of Jack Cade's insurrection.

188

THE WAR OF THE TWO ROSES.-1455.

CHAPTER CVI.

Battle of St. Albans.-The Duke of York claims the Crown.-- Wurwick, the King-maker.

1. As the necessity for keeping an English regent in France had now ceased, Somerset returned to England, and succeeded to Suffolk's place in the confidence and favor of the queen. His misconduct in France had made him very unpopular, and his administration was very naturally compared with that of York, who had acquitted himself very well during his regency.

2. In 1454, the king sunk into a state of total bodily and mental weakness. The Duke of York was thereupon made protector of the kingdom; and the first use he made of his power was to put Somerset in prison. The king soon after recovered his reason, and then Somerset was set at liberty, and York removed from the protectorship.

3. The quarrel between these two nobles soon after threw the whole kingdom into a ferment. They both assembled their friends and vassals, and met at St. Albans, where a desperate battle was fought, May 3d, 1455, in which Somerset was killed and the Duke of York was completely victorious.

4. The king, whom Somerset had dragged, much against his will, into the battle, was wounded, and took refuge in the house of a tanner. Here the Duke of York found him, and falling upon his knees before him, declared himself his loyal subject, and ready to obey his commands. "If so," said the king, "stop the pursuit and slaughter."

5. This was the commencement of the wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster; a war which lasted thirty years, cost the lives of eighty royal princes, and almost entirely annihilated the ancient nobility of England. It is sometimes called the war between the two roses, because the badge worn by the adherents of the house of York was a white rose, whilst those of Lancaster wore a red

rose.

6. Henry was conducted to London by the Duke of York, who treated him with the greatest submission and respect. Notwithstanding his professions of loyalty, yet, under pretence of freeing the king from evil counsellors, he continued to carry on the war against the queen and her party.

7. At last the duke declared his secret views on the crown itself; and on this, many who had joined him because they supposed he was contending for the public good, deserted his standard. He, seeing himself thus suddenly abandoned, retired into Ireland.

CVI.-1. Who succeeded to Suffolk's place? 2. When, and for what reason, was York made protector? What followed the king's recovery? 3. When was the battle of St. Albans fought? Between what parties? What was the result? 4. What be came of the king? 5. What war was this the commencement of? Why was it called the war of the Two Roses? 6. How was Henry treated by the Duke of York? 7. What

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