58(5 
ENG 
long time, continued doubtful. But tlie prince’s fortune 
at length prevailed: Gordon’s foot happening to flip, 
he received k wound, which difabled him from continu¬ 
ing the aftion ; and he lay at the mercy of the conque¬ 
ror. Edward, merciful as brave, not only granted him 
his life, but introduced him that very night to his con- 
fort at Guildford; procured him a pardon, feettred to 
him his eflate, and received him into favour. Gordon 
was not ungrateful; he ever after followed the fortunes 
of his prince, and was often found combating by his fide 
in the hotteft of the battle. 
Edward having thus refiored peace to the kingdom, 
found his affairs fo firmly efhiblifhed, that it was not in 
the power of any flight in fur reft ion to (hake them. The 
earl of Glouceder, however, who had been thus inftru- 
mental in reftoring the king to the crown, thought no 
recompence couitl reward his merits, and became difguft- 
ed. He therefore engaged in a new rebellion ; but was 
foon brought to fubmiffion by Edward, who obliged him 
to enter into a bond of twenty thoufand marks, never to 
difturb the peace in future. The kingdom being thus 
compofed, that fpirit of ardour and military glory, which 
.flione forth in Edward’s aftions, impelled him to under¬ 
take an expedition againd the infidels in the Holy Land. 
His prowefs in that vain and romantic warfare may be 
feen under Egypt, p. 326, of this volume. 
Edward had fcarcely departed upon this holy expedi¬ 
tion, when the health of king Henry began to decline ; 
and lie found, not only his own conftitution, but alfo that 
of the ftate, in. fuch a dangerous fmiation, that he wrote a 
letter for his immediate recal, prefling him to return with 
all difpatch. The former calamities again threatened the 
kingdom ; and the barons, taking advantage of the king’s 
vveaknefs, opprefled the people with impunity. Robbers 
infefted various parts of the nation ; and the populace of 
London refumed their accudomed licentioufnefs. To add 
to the king’s didreffes, his brother Richard died, who had 
long aflifted him under all emergencies. At laft, over¬ 
come by the cares of government, and the infirmities of 
age, he ordered himfelf to be removed, by eafy journeys, 
from Bury St. Edmund’s to Weftminfler, where, lending 
for the earl of Gloucerter, he obliged him to fwear that 
be would preferve the peace of the kingdom, and, to the 
ntmod of his power, maintain the interefts of his (on. 
That fame night he expired, November 16, 1272, in the 
lixty-fifth year of his age, and the fifty-feventh of his 
reign, the longed: to be met with in the Englilh annals. 
Henry III. l'urnamed of Winchefter, was in his perfon 
of middle ftature, of a robuft conftitution, but unpleaf- 
ing countenance; bis left eye-brow hanging down, and 
almod covering his eye. This prince was certainly not 
poflefled of great intellectual abilities, much lefs of true 
wifdom, and the right art of governing ; yet his under- 
llanding does not feem to have been remarkably defec¬ 
tive, but had unhappily taken a turn towards low dif- 
honeft cunning. As the ends which he had in view were 
often bad, and fuch as could not be openly avowed, he 
endeavoured to attain them by the indirect ways of trea¬ 
chery and deceit. Some of Henry’s repartees are pre- 
ferved in hiftory, which do not befpeak him to have been 
that Ample fool he is often reprefented. When the arch- 
bilhop of Canterbury, with the bilhops of Winchefter, 
Salilbury, and Carlifle, were fent by parliament, in 1253, 
to prefent a very (trong remonftrance againft uncanonical 
and forced elections to vacant fees : “ It is true (replied 
be) I have been fomevvhat faulty in that particular: I 
obtruded you, my lord of Canterbury, upon your fee: 
I was obliged to employ both entreaties and menaces, 
my lord of Winchefter, to get you eleCted, when you 
fhould have been rather fent to fchool : my proceedings 
were, indeed, very irregular and violent, my lords of Sa- 
lilbury and Carlifle, when I railed you from the lowed 
llations to your prefent dignities. It will become you, 
therefore, my lords, to fet an example of reformation, 
by refigning your prefent benefices, and try to obtain pre- 
1 
j il N D. 
ferment in a more regular manner.” But this prince was 
much more defective in perfonal courage than in under- 
flanding ; and, as appears from the whole courfe of his 
hidory, as well as from many anecdotes, was of a very 
cowardly and timorous nature. In the year 123S, when 
the royal authority was much, eclipfed, and the earl of 
Leiceder was in his glory, the king, in going to the 
Tower by water, was overtaken in a dorm of thunder 
and lightning, with which he was greatly terrified, and 
ordered his barge to be put a-fhore at the fird landing- 
place. But being met by the earl of Leiceder at his 
1 ruling, his terrors redoubled, and he exhibited all the 
marks of the greated condernation in his countenance, 
which made tlie earl obferve, that the dorm was now 
over, and he had no further reafon to be afraid ; to which 
the king replied, “ I am indeed beyond meafure afraid of 
thunder and lightning; but, by God’s head, I fear thee more 
than alt the thunder in the univerfe.” Henry was dill 
more deditute of the noble virtues of fincerity in making,, 
and fidelity in obferving, his engagements, than he was 
of courage. Whenever he was hard pulhed by the dif- 
contented barons, he fubmitted to any terms they thought 
fit to preferibe, and confirmed them by all the mod aw¬ 
ful oaths and folemnities they could devife ; but the mo¬ 
ment he thought he could do it with fafety, he violated 
all his promifes and oaths without hefitation, fathfying 
himfelf with the abfolution of his good friend the pope, 
which he eafily obtained. This wicked prevarication 
was not more odious than it was pernicious to his affairs, 
and obliged the barons to proceed to much greater ex¬ 
tremities than otherwife they would have done, plainly 
perceiving that nothing could make him keep his pro¬ 
mifes, but putting it out of his power to break them. 
But the mod lingular feature in this prince’s character, 
was his incorrigible partiality and affection to foreigners, 
which attended him through his whole life, and occa- 
fioned infinite vexations to himfelf and his fubjeCts. No 
fooner was one fet of thefe foreign favourites driven from 
the royal prefence, by attacks which (hook the throne 
itfelf, than others took their place, and were cherifhed 
with equal fondnefs, and difplaced with equal difficulties 
and dangers. It is highly probable, that thefe foreigners, 
having their fortunes to make, were much more fupple 
and infinuating, and more ready to comply with all his 
humours, than the Englifh barons, who were confcious 
of their own power and importance. The piety of this 
prince is much extolled by the monkifh writers of thofe 
times. He was no doubt a very ufeful and liberal foil 
to his holy father the pope, whom he afiided with all 
his might in fleecing his fubjeCts. He was alfo a mod: de¬ 
vout worfliipperof rudy nails and rotten bones, particularly 
thofe of his favourite, Saint Edward the Confelfor, which 
he placed in a fiirine of gold, adorned with precious 
dones. One of the mod commendable parts of this 
prince’s character is hardly ever mentioned by our hido- 
rians, his love of the arts ; for the encouragement of 
which he expended great funis of money. It mud fur¬ 
ther be owned, that lie was a very warm and generous, 
though not a very condant, friend, a faithful httfband, 
and an affectionate parent. He left two foils; Edward 
his fuccedbr, and Edmund l'urnamed Crouch-back, titular 
king of Sicily, and earl of Lancuder, Leiceder, and Der¬ 
by, and high deward of England ; and two daughters, 
Margaret, married to AlexandeiTII. king of Scots, and 
Beatrix, married to John duke of Britanny. 
Though Edward I. was at a didance from England 
when his father died, the fplendour of his character fe- 
cured his peaceable fuccellion, and perfons of all ranks 
readily fwore fealty to him. In an aff'embly of the nobi¬ 
lity, held on the day after the funeral of his father, the 
archbifhop of York, the earls of Cornwall and Gloucef- 
ter, were chofen regents of the kingdom ; and this choice 
was confirmed by parliament, in January 1273. Edward 
was in Sicily, on his return from the Holy Land, when 
he received the news of his father’s death, and of his 
own 
