"With form and aspect to command respect, His subjects' hearts before their sov'reign bend, The widow's guardian, and the orphan's sire; Foe to the vicious, to the good a friend."-DIBDIN. 3. Usurp'er, s. one who seizes that which | 4. Subterra'neous, s. under ground. is not his own. 1. (A.D. 1327.) THE parliament by which young Edward was raised to the throne, during the life of his father, appointed twelve persons as his privy council, to direct the operations of government. Mortimer, the queen's paramour, who might naturally be set down as one of the members, artfully excluded himself, under a pretended shew of moderation: but at the same time he secretly influenced all the measures that came under their deliberation. He caused the greatest part of the royal revenues to be settled on the queen dowager, and he seldom took the trouble to consult the ministers of government in any public undertaking. The king himself was even so besieged 2. by the favourite's creatures, that no access could be procured to him, and the whole sovereign authority was shared between Mortimer and the queen, who took no care to conceal her criminal attachment. 3. At length, however, Edward was resolved to shake off an authority that was odious to the nation, and particularly restrictive upon him. But such was the power of the favourite, that it required as much precaution to overturn the usurper as to establish the throne. The queen and Mortimer had for some time chosen the castle of Nottingham for the place of their residence; it was strictly guarded, the gates locked every evening, and the keys carried to the queen. 4. It was therefore agreed between the king and some of the barons, who secretly entered into his designs, to seize upon them in the fortress; and for that purpose Sir William Bland, the governor, was induced to admit them by a secret subterraneous passage, which had been formerly contrived for an outlet, but was now hidden with rubbish, and known only to one or two. It was by this, therefore, the noblemen in the king's interest entered in the night; and Mortimer, without having it in his power to make any resistance, was seized in apartments adjoining those of the queen. 5. It was in vain that she endeavoured to protect him; in vain she entreated them to spare her "gentle Mortimer;" the barons, deaf to her entreaties, denied her that pity which she had so often refused to others. Her paramour was condemned by the Parliament, which was then sitting, without being permitted to make his defence, or even examining a witness against him. He was hanged on a gibbet, at a place called Elms, about a mile from London, where his body was left hanging for two days after. 6. The queen, who certainly was the most culpable, was shielded by the dignity of her station; she was only disgraced from all share of power, and confined for life in the castle of Risings, with a pension of three thousand pounds a year. From this confinement she was never after set free; and though the king annually paid her a visit of decent ceremony, yet she found herself abandoned to universal contempt and detestation; and continued for about twenty-five years after, a miserable monument of blighted ambition. 7. In order still more to secure the people's affections, Edward made a successful irruption into Scotland, in which, in one battle, fought at Hallidown-hill, about thirty thousand of the Scots were slain. Soon after, he turned his arms against France, which was at that time particularly unfortunate. Three sons of Philip the Fair, in full parliament, accused their wives of adultery; and, in consequence of this accusation, they were condemned and imprisoned for life. 8. Lewis Hutin, successor to the crown of France, caused his wife to be strangled, and her lovers to be flayed alive. After his death, as he left only a daughter, his next brother, Philip the Tall, assumed the erown in prejudice of the daughter, and vindicated his title by the Salic law, which laid it down that no female should succeed to the crown. Edward, however, urged his pretensions, as being, by his mother Isabella, who was daughter to Philip the Fair, and sister to the three last kings of France, rightful heir to the crown. But first he, in a formal manner, consulted his Parliament on the propriety of the undertaking, obtained their approbation, received a proper supply of wool, which he intended to barter with the Flemings; and being attended with a body of English forces, and several of his nobility, he sailed into Flanders, big with his intended conquests. 9. The first great advantage gained by the English was in a naval engagement on the coast of Flanders, in which the French lost two hundred and thirty ships, and had thirty thousand of their seamen and two of their admirals slain. 10. The intelligence of Edward's landing, and the devastation caused by his troops, who dispersed themselves over the whole face of the country, soon spread universal consternation through the French court. Caen was taken and plundered by the English without mercy; the villages and towns, even up to Paris, shared the same fate; and the French had no other resource, but by breaking down their bridges, to attempt putting a stop to the invader's career. 11. Philip, then king of France, was not idle in making preparations to repress the enemy. He had stationed one of his generals, Godemar de Faye, with an army on the opposite side of the river Somme, over which Edward was to pass; while he himself, at the head of one hundred thousand fighting men, advanced to give the English battle. 12. As both armies had for some time been in sight of each other, nothing was so eagerly expected on each side as a battle; and although the forces were extremely disproportionate, the English amounting only to thirty thou sand, the French to a hundred and twenty thousand, yet Edward resolved to indulge the impetuosity of his troops, and put all to the hazard of a battle. He accordingly chose his ground with advantage, near the village of Crescy', and there determined to wait with tranquillity the shock of the enemy. He drew up his men on a gentle ascent, and divided them into three lines. The first was commanded by the young prince of Wales; the second was conducted by the earls of Northampton and Arundel; and the third, kept as a body of reserve, was headed by the king in person. 13. On the other side, Philip, impelled by resentment and confident of his numbers, was more solicitous in bringing the enemy to an engagement, than prudent in taking measures for its success. He led on his army in three bodies opposite to those of the English. The first line consisted of fifteen thousand Genoese cross-bow men, the second body was led by the king of France's brother, and he himself was at the head of a third. Questions for Examination. 2. By whom, and in what manner, were the operations of the govern→ ment conducted? 4. What was the conduct of the king at this time? 5. What was the fate of Mortimer ? What was the Queen's punishment? 7. In what undertaking did Edward succeed? 8. What is the Salic law? 9. What was the first advantage gained by the English? 10. What did the English in France? 11. What preparations did the king of France make to oppose Edward ? 12. Where did Edward choose his ground? How did he draw up his army? and who conducted it ? 13. How did Philip lead on his army? Here the king of Bohemia was slain, and the motto, "Ich dien,” I serve, was found under the ostrich feathers which he wore on his helmet. Edward, the Black Prince, adopted this motto, and it has ever since continued to be the motto of the princes of Wales. At this battle, cannon were first made use of. SECTION II. "Whose ripe manhood spread our fame so far, Who, stern in fight, made echoing Crescy ring, 3. Vet'erans, s. experienced soldiers. 8. Sa'tiate, v. to satisfy, to appease. 16. Rapa'cious, a. greedy. 1. (A.D. 1346.) ABOUT three in the afternoon, the famous battle of Crescy began, by the French king's ordering the Genoese archers to charge; but they were so fatigued with their march, that they cried out for a little rest before they should engage. The count Alençon, being informed of their petition, rode up, and reviled them as cowards, commanding them to begin their onset without delay. Their reluctance to begin was still more increased by a heavy shower, which fell at that instant, and relaxed their bowstrings; so that the discharge they made produced but very little effect. 2. On the other hand, the English archers, who had kept their bows in cases, and were favoured by a sudden gleam of sunshine, that rather dazzled the enemy, let fly their arrows so thick, and with such good aim, that nothing was to be seen among the Genoese but hurry, terror, and dismay. The young prince of Wales had presence of mind to take advantage of their confusion, and to lead on his line to the charge. The French cavalry, however, commanded by the count Alençon, wheeling round, sustained the combat, and began to hem the English in. 3. The earls of Arundel and Northampton now came to assist the prince, who appeared foremost in the very shock: and, wherever he appeared, turned the fortune of the day. The thickest of the battle was now gathered around him, and the valour of a boy filled even veterans with astonishment; but their surprise at his courage could not give way to their fears for his safety. Being apprehensive that some mischance might happen to him at the end, an officer was dispatched to the king, desiring that succours might be sent to the prince's relief. 4. Edward, who had all this time, with great tranquillity, viewed the engagement from a windmill, demanded, with seeming deliberation, if his son were dead; but being answered that he still lived, and was giving astonishing instances of his valour," Then tell my generals,” |