plying as he expected. Many of the barons, who had hitherto steadfastly adhered to his party, appeared disgusted at his immoderate ambition; and many of the people, who found that a change of masters was not a change for happiness, began to wish for the re-establishment of the royal family. 6. In this exigence, Leicester, finding himself unable to oppose the concurring wishes of the nation, was resolved to make a merit of what he could not prevent; and he accordingly released prince Edward from confinement, and had him introduced at Westminster-hall, where his freedom was confirmed by the unanimous voice of the barons. But though Leicester had all the popularity of restoring the prince, yet he was politic enough to keep him still guarded by his emissaries, who watched all his motions, and frustrated all his aims. 7. The prince, therefore, upon hearing that the duke of Gloucester was up in arms in his cause, took an opportunity to escape from his guards, and put himself at the head of his party. A battle soon after ensued; but the earl's army having been exhausted by famine on the mountains of Wales, were but ill able to sustain the impetuosity of young Edward's attack, who bore down upon them with incredible fury. During this terrible day, Leicester behaved with astonishing intrepidity; and kept up the spirit of the action from two o'clock in the morning till nine at night. 8. At last, his horse being killed under him, he was compelled to fight on foot; and, though he demanded quarter, yet the adverse party refused it, with a barbarity common enough in the times we are describing. The old king, who was placed in the front of the battle, was soon wounded in the shoulder; and, not being known by his friends, he was on the point of being killed by a soldier; but crying out, "I am Henry of Winchester, the king!" he was saved by a knight of the royal army. 9. Prince Edward, hearing the voice of his father, instantly ran to the spot where he lay, and had him conducted to a place of safety. The body of Leicester being found among the dead, was barbarously mangled by one Roger Mortimer; and then, with an accumulation of inhumanity, sent to the wretched widow, as a testimony of the royal party's success. 10. This victory proved decisive; and the prince, having thus restored peace to the kingdom, found his affairs so firmly established, that he resolved upon taking the cross, which was at that time the highest object of human ambition In pursuance of this resolution, Edward sailed from England with a large army, and arrived at the camp of Lewis, king of France, which lay before Tunis, where he had the misfortune to hear of that good monarch's death before his arrival. The prince, however, no way discouraged by this event, continued his voyage, and arrived at the Holy Land n safety. 11. He was scarcely departed upon this pious expedition, when the health of the old king began to decline; and he found not only his own constitution, but also that of the state, in such a dangerous situation, that he wrote letters to his son, pressing him to return with all dispatch. 12. At last, being overcome with the cares of government, and the infirmities of age, he ordered himself to be removed, by easy journeys, from St. Edmunds to Westminster, and that same night expired in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and the fifty-seventh of his reign; the longest to be met with in the annals of England, until that of George the Third.* Questions for Examination. 1. What were the circumstances which warranted the hopes conceived by prince Henry? 2. What was the result of the battle between the king and Leicester ? 3, 4. By what means did Leicester endeavour to secure his power? 5. Did the Parliament comply with his wishes? 6. Why did Leicester resolve to release prince Edward? 8, 9. Can you relate the circumstance which took place in the action between prince Edward and Leicester ? 10. What were Edward's determination and conduct after this victory? 11. During Edward's absence, what was the situation of the king and the nation? 12. At what age did Henry die? and how long did he reign? *The interest paid in this reign, for money in the East Indies, amounted it is said, to twenty-five, and even sometimes to thirty-six per cent. But instances occurred in England of fifty per cent. being paid for money. No wonder, therefore, that the Jews, who were the only money-lenders, should be tempted to stay in the kingdom, notwithstanding the grievous extortions that were practised on them. Henry granted a charter to the town of Newcastle, in which he gave the inhabitants a license to dig coal. The houses of the city of London were till this period mostly thatched with straw, for it appears that an order was issued, that all houses therein should be covered with tiles or slate, instead of straw; more especially such as stood in the best streets, which were then but few in comparison with the present for where Cheapside now stands (which is the heart of the city), was at that time a field, the principal part of the city lying more eastward. From Tem ple Bar to the city (then the village) of Westminister, where the Strand now stands, was no more than a mere highway or country road, having, however, many noblemen's houses and gardens adjoining to it; which have since given names to streets there erected. This, indeed, was the case in several subse quent reigns. Popes. A.D. CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS A.D. A.D. Honorius III.. 1216 Michael VIII...... 1259 Alphonsus IV..... 1247 Gregory IX... 1227 Celestine IV.............. 1241 Emperor of the West. 1243 Frederick II...... 1211 Waldemar.. Alexander IV........... 1254 Urban IV.... Clement IV.... Gregory X... Christopher I 1252 Kings of Denmark. 1202 1261 Kings of France, Eric VI.... 1180 ........ 1223 Eric VIII....... 1259 1270 King of Sweden. Waldemar. 1250 1204 ...... 1271 Louis VIII.. Emperors of the East. Theodore I....... John III... ...... Kings of Portugal. Theodore II...... 1225 Alphonso III.... John IV...... 1202 Alexander II.. 1259 Sancho II... ...... 1233 Alexander III..... 1249 EMINENT PERSONS. Richard Magnus, Edmund of Abingdon, Boniface, and Robert Kilwarby archbishops of Canterbury. Des Roches, bishop of Winchester, and Lord Chancellor.* Earl of Pembroke, protector. Montford, earl of Leicester general of the barons. CHAPTER XII. EDWARD I. Born 1236. Died July 7th, 1307. Began to reign Nov. 16th, 1272. Reigned 34 years. The red cross flies in Holy Land, The Saracen his crescent waves, And English Edward's gallant band Seek proud renown or glorious graves.- Dibdin. 1. (A.D. 1274.) WHILE the unfortunate Henry was thus vainly struggling with the ungovernable spirit of his subjects, his son and successor, Edward*, was employed in the holy wars, where he revived the glory of the English name, and made the enemies of Christianity tremble. He was stabbed, however, by one of those Mahometan enthusiasts, called Assassins, as he was one day sitting in his tent, and was cured not without great difficulty. 2. Some say that he * In the reigns of the earlier Norman kings the Lord Chancellor was usually a clergyman, and was frequently styled the keeper of the king's conscience. The Court of Chancery did not exist under the Saxon Dynasty. +From the great length and slenderness of his legs, he was surnamed Longshanks. H owed his safety to the piety of Eleanora, his wife, who sucked the poison from the wound, to save his life at the hazard of her own. Though the death of the late king happened while the successor was so far from home, yet measures had been so well taken, that the crown was transferred with the greates tranquillity. 3. As Edward was now come to an undisputed throne, the opposite interests were proportionably feeble. The barons were exhausted by long and mutual dissensions; the clergy were divided in their interests, and agreed only in one point, to hate the pope, who had for some time drained them with impunity; the people, by some insurrections against the convents, appeared to hate the clergy with equal animosity. But these disagreeing orders concurred in one point, that of esteeming and reverencing the king, who therefore thought this the most favourable conjuncture for uniting England with Wales. 4. The Welsh had for many ages enjoyed their own laws, language, customs and opinions. They were the remains of the ancient Britons, who had escaped Roman and Saxon invasions, and still preserved their freedom and their country uncontaminated by the admission of foreign conquerors. 5. But as they were, from their number, incapable of withstanding their more powerful neighbours on the plain, their chief defence lay in the inaccessible mountains, those natural bulwarks of the country. Whenever England was distressed by factions at home, or its forces called off by wars abroad, the Welsh made it a constant practice to pour in their irregular troops, and lay the open country waste wherever they came. 6. Nothing could be more pernicious to a country than several neighbouring independent principalities, under different commanders, and pursuing different interests; the mutual jealousies of such were sure to harass the people; and, whenever victory was purchased, it was always at the expense of the general welfare. 7. Sensible of this, Edward had long wished to reduce that incursive people, and had ordered Llewelyn to do homage for his territories: which summons the Welsh prince refused to obey, unless the king's own son should be delivered as a hostage for his safe return. The king was not displeased at this refusal, as it served to give him a pretext for his intended invasion. He therefore levied an army against Llewelyn, and marched into his country with certain assurance of success. 8. Upon the approach of Edward, the Welsh prince took refuge among the inaccessible mountains of Snowdon,* and and there resolved to maintain his ground, without trusting to the chance of a battle. These were the steep retreats that had for many ages defended his ancestors against all the attempts of the Roman and Saxon conquerors. But Edward, equally vigorous and cautious, having explored every part of his way, pierced into the very centre of Llewelyn's territories, and approached the Welsh army in its vast retreats. 9. Here, after extorting submission from the Welsh prince, the king retired. But an idle prophecy, in which it was foretold by Merlin that Llewelyn was to be the restorer of Bruton's empire in Britain, was an inducement sufficiently strong to persuade this prince to revolt once more, and hazard a decisive battle against the English. 10. With this view he marched into Radnorshire, and, passing the river Wye, his troops were surprised and defeated by Edward Mortimer, while he himself was absent from his army, upon a conference with some of the barons of that country. Upon his return, seeing the dreadful situation of his affairs, he ran desperately into the midst of the enemy, and quickly found that death he so ardently sought for. David, the brother of this unfortunate prince, soon after fell in the same cause; and with him expired the independence of the Welsh nation, A. D. 1282. 11. It was soon after united to the kingdom of England, and made a principality, and given to the eldest son of the king. Foreign conquest might add to the glory, but this added to the felicity of the kingdom. The Welsh are now blended with the conquerors; and, in the revolution of a few ages, all national animosity was entirely forgotten. 12. Soon after, the death of Margaret, queen of Scotland, gave him hopes of adding Scotland also to his dominions. The death of this princess produced a most ardent dispute about the succession to the Scottish throne, it being claimed by no less than twelve competitors. The claims, however, of all the other candidates were reduced to three, who were the descendants of the earl of Huntingdon by three daugh ters: John Hastings, who claimed in right of his mother, as one of the co-heiresses of the crown; John Baliol, who alleged his right, as being descended from the eldest daughter, who was his grandmother; and Robert Bruce, who was *From the summit of which may be seen part of Ireland, Scotland, England, and all North Wales. |