The Judge here represented is Sir William Gascoigne, who committed to prison Henry v., when Prince of Wales, for insulting him while sitting in his judicial capacity. The Prelate is Bishop Walden, who died in the preceding reign; one of the prelates at the time when the Lollards were first publicly burned. ENGLISH HISTORY. HENRY V. HENRY was created prince of Wales on his father's accession to the throne; he was then only ten years of age, but he showed great courage and spirit at an early age. He was personally engaged at the battle of Shrewsbury, and refused to leave the field, though wounded in the face. At the age of sixteen, he was appointed to command in the war against Owen Glendower, and he showed great ability in that tedious and difficult contest. Henry, in the latter part of his father's reign, was a dissolute character, and indulged in excesses highly unbecoming. This is testified by contemporary historians, though their statements have been exaggerated by dramatists and popular writers. It is also evident, that during the closing scenes of his father's life, he acted in an ambitious and undutiful manner. However, amidst his excesses, he showed himself sensible of what was right. He insulted a judge upon the bench, Sir William Gascoigne, when one of his riotous companions was brought to trial; upon which, the able administrator of justice, unawed by the rank of the offender, ordered the prince to be taken into custody. Henry acknowledged his MAY, 1838. error, sheathed the sword he had drawn, and submitted to be conducted to prison Still he continued guilty of acts of violence and excess, even encouraging and assisting his followers in highway robberies. Considerable apprehension was doubtless felt with regard to his future proceedings; but, from the moment of his accession to the throne, he became a decidedly altered character. He lamented his past conduct to his father, shook off his disgraceful companions, and acted with becoming firmness and self-control. So decided a change at the age of twentyfive, speaks much in his favour. He encouraged literature, and became as noted for correctness of conduct, as he had been for the reverse. This victory over himself was far more glorious than his subsequent conquest of France. "He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city," Prov. xvi. 32. Yet ambition may have been the ruling passion which induced Henry to contend with these grosser vices; and while it is necessary to show what appear the good as well as the evil traits of his character, let it ever be remembered, that Henry was the cause of many atrocious acts in others, when, as the poet describes, he "Cried havock, and let slip the dogs of war," to glut their evil passions, and ravage the neighbouring lands. Henry v. also sought for popularity by acts of mercy. He restored the Northumberland family, treated Mortimer, earl of March, with kindness, and honoured the memory of Richard 11. by a splendid funeral. Yet a false lustre has been cast over the character and reign of Henry v.; while every unprejudiced mind will find it stained with persecution and carnage. The Lollards still maintained considerable influence, and their tenets were more or less favoured by many of the nobles and rulers; by some doubtless on political or worldly grounds, but by others from better principles. Among the latter was Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, a distinguished general of that day. Arundel did not rest till he had brought him under the ecclesiastical power, on a charge of heresy, ímmediately after the accession of Henry. The particulars of the accusations against him, and of his examinations, are preserved, and they show his innocence, and the cruel bigotry of the ecclesiastics. The following extracts manifest his conduct under these charges. "The archbishop examined the prisoner as to his belief, to which he answered, I believe fully and faithfully in the laws of God: I believe that all is true which is contained in the sacred Scriptures of the Bible: finally, I believe all that my Lord God would that I should believe.' He was next required to answer the writing sent him by the bishops. With that writing, he said he had nothing to do. The primate then asked, 'Do you believe that there remains any material bread after the words of consecration spoken over it?' After some discussion,The Scriptures,' said Cobham, make no mention of material bread; in the sacrament there is both Christ's body and the bread; the bread is the thing that we see with our eyes, but the body of Christ is hid, and only to be seen by faith.' The examination extended to a considerable length, and throughout the whole he conducted himself with true courage and serenity. Friar Palmer, when questioning him concerning the worship of images, said, 'Sir, will you worship the cross of Christ, that he died upon?' This,' said Lord Cobham, and he spread his arms abroad, 'this is a cross, and better than your cross of wood, as it is created of God, not made by man; yet I will not seek to have it worshipped.' Sir,' said the bishop of London, 'you know that Christ died upon a material cross.' 'Yea,' replied Lord Cobham, and I know, also, that our salvation came not by the material cross, but by Him alone who died thereon.' He was condemned, but escaped from the Tower by night, and returned into Wales." Arundel and his party sought to retain their influence over the mind of the king, and they were not scrupulous as to the measures they adopted for this purpose. In January, 1414, Henry, then at Eltham, was alarmed by an account that many thousands of the Lollards were assembling in St. Giles's Fields, on the north of London, and that they were headed by Lord Cobham, who intended to dethrone him. The king, with his guards and attendants, hastened to the spot, where they found about a hundred persons assembled in a thicket, who were dispersed without difficulty; some were slain upon the spot, others were taken prisoners and executed. The object for which they had assembled does not clearly appear. Some had been led to expect that Lord Cobham would meet them; but he was a fugitive in Wales. It is possible that there may have been some design, to try whether the Lollards could be induced to aid a conspiracy against the king, for the purpose of resisting the persecutions from which they suffered; but it seems most probable, that the few who assembled, and who appear not to have been people of note, or to have had any regularly organized design, had been collected by the emissaries of the clergy, under false pretences, that they might thereby alarm the king, and excite him to more active measures against the poor Lollards. Perhaps they might have met for the purpose of public worship. Archbishop Arundel was called to his account a few weeks afterwards. He was succeeded by Chichely, a still more bigoted and violent character. One of the early measures of this prelate was, to involve the monarch in a war with France, in order to call his attention from the measures which were agitated in parliament against the luxury and possessions of the clergy. A favourable opportunity was presented by the distracted state of that country; and, with a cold-blooded desire for wrong, which, perhaps, is hardly paralleled in history, Chichely stimulated the king's ambition, and urged him to make war upon the neighbouring kingdom. The clergy had begun to tremble for their possessions; they had relinquished to the crown more than a hundred priories, which were under the rule of foreign monasteries, and they justly apprehended, that the interference with the property of the church, though began with their own concurrence, would be carried still farther. The state of affairs in France at that time was deplorable. In 1380, Charles v., who had withstood the ambition of Edward III., of England, died, and was succeeded by Charles vi., during whose minority, the princes of the blood harassed the kingdom by factious proceedings. After he had assumed the government, he sank into imbecility or insanity, and the nation was divided between the partisans of the duke of Orleans, the brother of Charles vi., and those of the duke of Burgundy his uncle. These party feelings were increased by the policy of Henry IV. Assassinations and civil war followed; the duke of Orleans perished by the instigation of his rival, though at the time when Henry v. began his reign there was an outward reconciliation between the parties. Henry, urged by archbishop Chichely, chose this opportunity to claim the crown of France. This was most unjust. He had no hereditary right to the crown of England, and, therefore, had not even succeeded to the claims of Edward 111., weak as they were. The unprincipled arrogance of his demand was glaring; but a prince who had been taught to consider battles and slaughter as the noblest employment in which rulers could engage, eagerly availed himself of any pretext, however unjust; and the clergy, anxious to keep the nobility from investigating their encroachments, pushed the monarch forward, and lent the sanction of their religion to this work of robbery and violence. Henry used every effort to collect a numerous and well equipped army and fleet. He obtained a parliamentary grant, borrowed money, and pawned his jewels, and a large force assembled at Southampton, in the summer of 1415. Here a plot against the king's life was discovered, in which the most active leaders were Scrope, Cambridge, and Grey, who had been favoured by him. They were executed. It is not easy to ascertain the precise causes of this conspiracy. It appears to have been connected with a design to place the earl of March upon the throne, and was, per haps, stimulated by the popular dislike to the persecutions for religion. The earl of Cambridge was brother to the duke of York, and had married the sister of earl Mortimer. His son succeeded to the rights of both houses, as we shall find in the following reign. After some negociations, in which the French made large concessions, and even agreed to cede some part of their territory, war was declared. Early in August, Henry sailed for Harfleur, where his army landed with little opposition. The town, however, resisted, and endured a siege of thirty-eight days, but surrendered on the 26th of September. Henry refused to allow his army to plunder the town, but the inhabitants were forced to leave their homes, with only a very small sum of money, and as much of their property as they could carry. During this short interval, the English soldiers were affected by disease, arising from the season of the year, the marshy situation of the place, the too free use of fruit, and the want of attention in removing nuisances, so that they were too weak for any farther effort. Henry resolved, however, to march overland to Calais, with the remnant of his troops who remained in health; a useless act of daring chivalry. Many advised against this measure, but others encouraged it, and on October 9, the king set out on this perilous march of more than one hundred miles, with only about six thousand men. The French princes had by this time laid aside their disputes, and collecting troops, laid waste the country, and intercepted the march of the English army. The events which followed, remind us of Crecy. A ford over the river Somme was discovered, and the English army passed; but on October 24, Henry found himself at Agincourt, surrounded by the French army, which is said by some to have exceeded the number of one hundred thousand. Instead of impeding the English monarch, and cutting off the invaders in detail, the French leaders determined to make an overwhelming attack upon the little band, and spent the night in revelry and anticipation of success, casting dice to determine who should have the ransom of Henry and his nobles. Henry possessed the abilities requisite for such an emergency, and another proof was to be given that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Both nations were guilty, both were to be punished, and the results of the English victory at Agincourt were disastrous to both. of temerity without necessity; of a chivalric defiance of danger, too much like ostentatious confidence to be safely commended; and was won, not only against all calculation, but against all reasonable hope. But what reasoning can justify wars and enterprizes that produce such a quantity of human slaughter and suffering, which even the soldiers who inflicted it could not look at without lamenting. Such sympathy and yet such actions, display the anomalous medley which so often deforms human nature. Compassionate, yet cruel; tender-hearted, yet pitiless; benevolent at one moment, unfeeling at another; kind even to animals, and yet ruthless against his fellowcreatures." The position of the English army was well-chosen and difficult of access; and though Henry was compelled to begin the battle, yet he contrived that the enemy should not oppose a larger front than his own. The English fought with courage, and even despair. The numbers of the French became a hinderance to them, and added to the confusion which ensued. The field of battle was trodden into mud, by their knights and cavalry, who were burdened by the weight of their armour, and pressed so closely together, that they could not advance or retreat, or use their weapons freely. Very soon the action became a mere scene of carnage, in which the French were often pressed and piled upon each other, in mingled masses of the living and the dead, till they actually became ramparts for the English archers. There was too great confidence on the part of the French at first, and afterwards a panic fear seized a large body who hadnated, and his religion had not sufficient not been engaged, and who were strong enough to have renewed the contest, had they remained firm, but they fled. Henry engaged personally in the battle, several times he was nearly slain, but was saved by his armour-bearer, and the desperate courage of those around him. After the action, it was found, that on the part of the English, only the duke of York and the earl of Suffolk, with probably about one hundred private soldiers, had fallen. The French lost about ten thousand, of whom the greater part were men of rank, or knights. A vast number were captured; though in one part of the battle, the French who had been taken prisoners by the English were massacred on account of an alarm excited by some plunderers in the rear. Why the French army did not surround and annihilate their enemies, can only be explained by undue confidence at first, and needless fear at last. Or rather we may consider it as illustrating the words of the prophet; "I will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them," Is. lxvi. 4. The recollection of Crecy and Poictiers also would increase the panic. Henry now retired unmolested to Calais; for his army was too weak for him to take immediate advantage of his success. Turner well remarks upon this battle, "The laurel of Agincourt was the prize On his entrance into London, Henry was received with much pomp and pageantry. He ascribed all his success to the Divine power. It would have been well had this feeling led him more correctly to consider his proceedings; but, though probably sincere, so far as his views went, his false ideas of glory predomi power over him, to induce him to give up the indulgence of his passions. Also he sought more and more to conciliate the clergy, and sent an ambassador to the council of Constance which was then sitting, and engaged in persecuting those servants of Christ, John Huss and Jerome of Prague. The fame of the victories of Henry, induced consideration for his country, and England was acknowledged as a nation devoted to support the Church of Rome! Henry remained in England during the following year. His eagerness for fame was satisfied for a time, and his resources were too much ex hausted to allow him easily to equip another army. The consequences of the war were shown by a proclamation in the latter part of this reign, giving leave for the same persons to serve as sheriffs during four successive years, on account of the deaths occasioned by pestilence and foreign contests. In 1417, Henry resolved to renew his efforts. The parliament granted him a supply, estimated at one-third of the value of the moveables of the laity; and the clergy gave one-fifth of theirs. He landed in Normandy, with twenty-five thousand men, and took possession of the principal towns. Rouen was besieged for six months before it surrendered; and several thousands of the aged and help less, who were forced to quit the place, were not allowed to pass the lines of the besiegers, but miserably perished under the walls of the city. Hollinshed thus describes the sufferings of the besieged, many thousands of whom died from want: "If I should rehearse, according to the report of divers writers, how dearly dogs, rats, mice, and cats, were sold within the town, and how greatly they were by the poor people eaten and devoured, and how the people daily died for fault of food; and young infants in the streets, on their mothers' breasts, lying dead, starved for hunger,-the reader might lament their extreme miseries. A great number of poor simple creatures were put out at the gates, which were, by the Englishmen that kept the trenches, beaten and driven back again to the same gates, which they found closed and shut against them. And so they lay between the walls of the city and the trenches of the enemies, still crying for help and relief, for lack whereof great numbers of them daily died." On Christmas-day, the English king allowed some food to be distributed among them, but this was the limit of his compassion; they were prevented from leaving the scene of suffering and blood. Henry did not show the forbearance of Edward III., who, in like circumstances, permitted the helpless inhabitants of Calais to depart; but after the city surrendered, he caused the mayor or commandant to be beheaded. At home, the Lollards were persecuted with little mercy. In 1417, Lord Cobham was again taken, when he was condemned to suffer as a heretic, and burned, or rather roasted to death, being hung alive in chains over a slow fire, in St. Giles's Fields. To a certain degree, Henry endeavoured to restrain his soldiers from the usual ravages of an invading force. Still great atrocities were committed, and the condition of France was truly wretched. Occleve, a contemporary priest, addressed the princes of France and England, in reference to the lamentable state of both nations; and his verses present also a specimen of the orthography of that period. They are as follows: Geve them ensample. Ye ben their myrrours, There wote no wight it is irreparable. O noble Cresten princes! Honorable! For Hym that suffered for your passion; Of Christes bloode have compassion! Alass! what people hath your werre slayn! What cornes wasted, and doun trode shent! How many a wyfe and maid hath he forlayn? Castels down beat, and tymbred houses brent, And drawen down and all to tore and rent! The harm ne may not rekened be, ne tolde, This warre wexeth all to hore and olde. The party disputes in France promoted Henry's views more than the valour of his own troops. After various negotiations, the Dauphin and the duke of Burgundy appeared to be reconciled, when the former caused the latter to be assassinated. Of all crimes, murder is the most atrocious, and the most sure to bring down speedy punishment on the guilty; and in the short space of a few weeks the Dauphin found that his crime had brought down loss and suffering upon himself. Burgundy perished in his iniquity; but his blood was required of the murderer. In 1420, the parliament presented two petitions against the wars in France. Well would it have been for both nations, if they had been fully actuated by the feeling expressed in the lines of Cowper : "War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, But, instead of protecting their country, sought to follow their own passions. The the leaders of the French factions only influence of the duke of Burgundy was the strongest; he agreed to acknowledge Henry as king of France. The young duke of Burgundy, with the king of France, now insane, the queen, and the princess Catharine, placed themselves under the protection of Henry; and it was agreed by a treaty signed at Troyes, in 1420, that Henry should marry the princess "at his own cost," be regent of France, and succeed to the throne on the death of Charles. Still a considerable part of the French nation refused to submit to a foreign prince, and supported the claims of the Dauphin, though he had been declared incapable of the succession, on account of his crime. He still continued to resist Henry, though the latter was in possession of Paris, and nearly the whole of the kingdom. The duke of Clarence, whom Henry had appointed regent of England, was |