ENGLAND. 
tice of their demands; and he was feen, foon after, weak 
enough to revoke what he had before allowed to be jitf- 
tice. It is probable, alfo, that his uncles were not back¬ 
ward in increafing the general murmurs againft him ; as 
by that means they were the more likely to continue in 
authority. His own capricious conduct, indeed, might 
very well countenance them in the reftriftions they placed 
upon him ; as lie very foon teftified an eager defire to 
govern, without any of the requiiites to fit him for fuch 
a difficult talk. He foon difcovered an attachment to fa¬ 
vourites, without any merit on their fide to entitle them 
to fuch'flattering diftindtions. Robert Vere earl of Ox¬ 
ford, a young man whofe perfon was faultlefs, but whofe 
morals w'ere debauched, had acquired an entire afcendant 
over him. This nobleman was firfl created marquis of 
Dublin, and then duke of Ireland, with the fovereignty, 
during life, of that jfland. He gave him his own coufin 
in marriage ; and foon after permitted him to repudiate 
her for another woman, of whom he was enamoured. 
Thus the favourite foon became the channel through 
which all royal favour paffed to the people ; and he pof- 
feffed the power, while the king himfelf had only the 
fiiadow, of royalty. Partiality in princes fails not to pro¬ 
duce animofity among their fubjedts. Thofe noblemen, 
who were either treated with difrefpedt by the favourite, 
or who thought themfelves better entitled to favour, 
took the alarm, and combined againft him. At the head 
of this afiocidtion were, Mowbray earl of Nottingham, 
Fitz-Alan earl of Arundel, Percy earl of Northumber¬ 
land, Montacute earl of Salifbury, and Beauchamp earl 
of Warwick. Thefe, uniting, refolved on the deftruc- 
tion of the favourite ; and they began by marking out 
Michael de la Pole earl of Suffolk, who was then chan¬ 
cellor, and the earl of Oxford’s chief friend, as the firft 
objedl of their vengeance. He was accordingly impeach¬ 
ed in parliament; and, although nothing material was al¬ 
leged againft him, fuch was the intereft of the confpirjng 
barons, that he was condemned, and deprived of his 
office. 
The French, encouraged by thefe dilfenfions, and by 
the abfence of the duke of Lancafter, with the flower of 
the Englifh military force, in profecution of his idle 
claim on Caftille, attempted the invafion of England. 
The vauntingly irrational character of the French in their 
invalions and wars, has been uniformly the fame. Even 
in this projected invafion againft Richard II. in 1385, 
their warriors on their march to the port of embarkation 
were far more terrible to their own peaceable country¬ 
men, than to the Englifh, who waited for them in arms. 
“ The whole country (fays Froiffart) was devoured. 
They took all, and paid for nothing. If the farmer com¬ 
plained of lofing his grain, he was beaten, if not murder¬ 
ed. The fifh-ponds were robbed, and the houfes on the 
road demoliflied to be converted into fuel. The Englifh 
(had they landed in France) could not have done more 
mifchief than thefe French foldiers. The poor opprelfed 
farmers muttered curfes againft thefe ruffians. ‘ Go ! 
(they whifpered) go to England ! and may Heaven grant 
that none of you may ever return !” ‘ Each French gen¬ 
tleman (fays Dulaure) had a domeftic with him (tiled tin 
pillard, a plunderer; and Pierre de Lautrec in particular 
had in his fuite nine men at arms, each of whom was at¬ 
tended by a pillard and a page.’ How completely has this 
national character of rapine and plunder been verified by 
the French under Bonaparte, even as high as the com¬ 
pletion of the eighteenth and commencement of the nine¬ 
teenth centuries! The preparations of the French, in 
that early time, were immenfe ; twenty thoufand horfe, 
twenty thoufand crofs-bow men, and twenty thoufand in¬ 
fantry, were but a part of the force ; 1287 fail (of which 
fixty were large (hips of war) were to waft over the 
troops. But the moft aftonifhing article of the equip¬ 
ment was a complete wooden fortrefs, formed circularly 
with towers and baftions, one thoufand paces in diame¬ 
ter. This vaft edifice was ranged on flat-bottomed boats 
603 
fattened together; and might be taken to pieces, landed, 
and ereffed, within twenty-four hours. But human pro¬ 
jects are vain. The duke of Berri was fomewhat later 
than he promifed in joining the expedition. The wind 
arofe ; the waves beat upon the fleet and disjointed the 
boats; and fragments of the ill-fated city of timber be¬ 
came the laughiog-ftock, fays Mercier, of thofe who dwelt 
on the banks of the Thames ! Such, perhaps, will ever 
be the fate of French invafions. 
In the mean time, Gloticefter and his afibciates fabri¬ 
cated their machinations againft the king’s perfon and 
dignity. Under a pretence that he was too young to go¬ 
vern, although he was at that time twenty-one, they ap¬ 
pointed a commiffion of fourteen perf’ons, A. D. 1386, 
upon whom the fovereign power was to be transferred 
for a year.. This, in faft, was depriving the king of his 
prerogative, and oppreffing the kingdom with a confirmed 
ariftocracy. The meafure being driven forward by the 
duke of Gloucefter, none but thofe of his own faction 
were admitted as members of the committee. It was not 
without a ftruggle that the king faw himlelf thus deprived 
of his authority ; and he endeavoured to gain over the 
parliament to his interefts, by influencing the fheritfs of 
each county, who were then the only returning officers. 
This meafure failing, he applied to the judges; who de— 
dared, that the commiffion which had deprived him of 
his authority was unlawful, and that thole who procured 
or advifed it were punifhable with death. This opinion 
of the judges was quickly oppofed by declarations from 
the lords: the duke of Gloucefter faw his danger, if the 
king fhould prevail ; and, fecretly affembling his party, 
appeared in arms at Haringay park near Highgate, at the 
head of a body of men, more titan fufficient to intimidate 
the king and all his adherents. Thefe infurgents, fen- 
fible of their own power, demanded of the king the 
names of all thofe who had advifed him to his late ntea- 
fures againft the eftabiifhed government ; they appeared - 
armed in his prefence, and accufed, by name, the arch- 
bifttop of York, the duke of Ireland, the earl of Suf¬ 
folk, fir Robert Trefilian, and fir Nicholas Bember, as 
dangerous enemies to the ftate. It was now too late 
for the oppofite party to attempt any other vindication 
of their conduct than by arms. The duke of Ireland 
fled into Chefhire, where he attempted to raife a body 
of forces ; but was eventually obliged to retire into 
Flanders, on the arrival of the duke of Gloucefter with 
a fuperior army. The king was foon after compelled to 
fummon a parliament, when an accufation was drawn up 
againft five of his counfellors; and fir Nicholas Bember 
was found guilty, condemned, and executed, together 
with fir Robert Trefilian, one of the judges. But the 
blood of one or two of the loyal and-dilinterefted barons 
was not fufficient to fatiate the vengeanceof the duke of 
Gloucefter; lord Beauchamp of Holt was fhortly after 
condemned and executed ; and fir Simon Burleigh, who 
had been appointed the king’s governor, fhared the fame 
fate, although the queen is laid to have continued for 
three hours - on her knees imploring his pardon of the in¬ 
exorable Gloucefter. It might be fuppofed.that," after 
fuch a total fubverfion of the royal authority, there would 
be no more druggies during this reign, between the prince 
and his nominal fubjefibs; but, whether from the flu fili¬ 
ation of opinions among the people - , or from the influ¬ 
ence of a military force which was levying againft France, 
vve find Richard once more refolved to (hake off that power 
which had ho long controuled him, and a finally bringing 
the parliament to fecond his endeavours. 
In a council of the nobility, affembled at Eafter, 1339, 
he, to the aftonilhment of all prefect, delired to know his 
age ; and being told that he was turned of two-and-twenty, 
he alleged, that it was high time for him to govern with¬ 
out help, and that he knew of no reafon why he fhould 
be deprived of thofe rights which the meaneft of his fub- 
jefts enjoyed. The lords anfwering, in fome confufion-,- 
that he hud certainly an indifputabie right to take upon 
himfelf 
