ENGLAND. 
014 
nity could ever forgive. His duchefs, the daughter of 
Reginald lord Cobliam, had been accufed of the crime 
of witchcraft, under the pretence, that there was found 
in her poft'efiion a waxen figure of the king, which (he 
and her affociates, fir Roger Bolingbroke, a pried, and 
one Margery Jordan, of Eye, melted in a magical man¬ 
ner before a (low fire, with an intention of making Hen¬ 
ry’s force and vigour wafte' away, by like infenfible de¬ 
grees. The accufation was well calculated to affedf the 
weak and credulous mind of the king, ar.d to gain belief 
in a fupet ftitious age ; and the duchefs was brought to 
trial with her confederates. A charge of this ridiculous 
nature feemed always to exempt the accufers from ob- 
(erving the rules of common fenfe in their evidence : the 
prifoners were pronounced guilty ; the duchefs was con¬ 
demned to do public penance, and to fuffer perpetual 
imprifonment; while her reputed affociates in the ideal 
crime, were put to death. 
Having proceeded to fuch unpardonable lengths, the car¬ 
dinal and his party were fenfible it was necefiary to deflroy 
a man whom they had already fo deeply injured. In or¬ 
der to effedt this purpofe, a parliament was fummoned at 
St. Edmundibury. As foon as the duke of Gloucefter 
appeared, he was accufed of treafon, and thrown into 
prifon : he was foon after found dead in his bed ; and, 
though it was pretended that his death was natural, and 
his body bore no marks of outward violence, no one 
doubted but that he had fallen a victim to the vengeance 
of his enemies. The cardinal of Winchefter died fix 
weeks after his nephew, vvhofe murder was univerfally 
aferibed to him as well as to the duke of Suffolk, and which, 
it is faid, gave him more remorfe in his laft moments, 
than could naturally be expected from a man hardened, 
during the courfe of a long life, in falfehood and in poli¬ 
tics. What fhare the queen had in this guilt, is uncer¬ 
tain ; her ufual activity and fpirit made the public con¬ 
clude, with fome reafon, that the duke’s enemies diirfl 
not have ventured on fuch a deed without her privity. 
But there happened, foon after, an event, of which the 
and her favourite, the duke of Suffolk, bore inconteftibly 
the whole odium. 
The article of the marriage treaty, by which Maine 
was to be ceded to Charles of Anjou, had hitherto been 
keptfecret; but, as the court of France infifted on the 
performance of it, orders were difpatched to Surienne, 
governor of Mans, to furrender that place. The gover¬ 
nor, queftioning probably the legality of the order, re¬ 
futed to comply, until he had fuftained a fiege from the 
count of Dunois. When reduced to capitulate, he re¬ 
tired with his garrifon towards Normandy ; but the duke 
of Somerfet, to whom the provinces of France, fiill oc¬ 
cupied by the Eriglilh, were entrufted, refufed to admit 
him. This military adventurer immediately direfting 
his march towards Brittany, exacted contributions from 
that province : the duke of Brittany complained of this 
violence to the king of France, his liege lord ; and Charles 
remonftrated with the duke of Somerfet, who replied, 
that the injury was done without his privity, and that 
he had no authority over Surienne and his companions. 
Though this anfwer was plaufible, Charles never would 
admit of the apology. He (till infifted that thefe plun¬ 
derers fiiould be recalled, and that reparation (hould be 
made to the duke of Brittany for all the damages which 
he had fuftained ; and, in order to render an accommo¬ 
dation abfolutely impracticable, he eftimated the lofs at 
no lefs a fum than 1,600,000 crowns. 
Senlible of the fuperiority which the prefent (late of 
his affairs gave him over England, he was determined to 
take advantage of it; and, accordingly, A. D. 1448, four 
formidable armies entered Normandy at once ; the firft, 
commanded by the king of France himfelf; the fecond, 
by the duke of Brittany ; the third, by the duke of Alen- 
50n ; and the fourth, by the count of Dunois. The 
inhabitants of Normandy opened their gates as foon as 
the French appeared before them. The duke of Somer- 
fet, fo far from having - an army which could take the 
field and relieve thefe places, was not able to (hpply 
them with the necefiary garrifons and provifions. lie re¬ 
tired, therefore, with the few troops of which lie was 
mafter, into Rouen ; and thought it fufficient, for the 
prefent, if he could fave that capital from the general 
fate of the province. The king of France, at the head 
of a formidable army, fifty thoufand ftrong, prefented 
himfelf before the gates : the dangerous example of re¬ 
volt had affefted the inhabitants.; and they called aloud 
for a capitulation. Somerfet, unable to refift, at once, 
both the enemies within and from without, purchafed a 
retreat to Harfleur by the payment of fifty-fix thoufand 
crowns, by engaging to furrender Arques, Tancarville, 
Caudebec, Honfieur, and other places in the higher Nor¬ 
mandy, and by delivering hoftages for the performance of 
articles. The governor of Honfleur refuted to" obey his 
orders ; upon whicli the earl of Shrewfbury, who was one 
of the hoftages, was detained prifoner; and the Englifti 
were thus deprived of the only general capable of re¬ 
covering them from their prefent diftrefted fituation. Har¬ 
fleur made a refolute defence under fir Thomas Curfon 
the governor; but was finally obliged to open its gates 
to Dunois. 
A fuccour of four thoufand men at laft arrived from 
England, and landed at Cherbourg; but thefe were foon 
after routed at Fourmigni, by the count of Clermont. 
This battle, or rather (kirmifti, was the only aCtion fought 
by the Englifti for the defence of theirdominions in France, 
which they had purchafed at fuch an expence of blood 
and treafure. Somerfet, (hut up in Caen, without any 
profpeft of relief, found it necefiary to capitulate ; Fa- 
laife opened its gates, on condition that the earl of Shrewf¬ 
bury (hould be reftored to liberty : and Cherbourg, the 
laft place in Normandy which remained in the hands of 
the Englifti, being delivered up, the conqueft of that im¬ 
portant province was fpeedily finiflied by the vigilant 
Charles. A like rapid luccefs attended the French arms 
iii Guienne; no refiftance was made in the field ; and the - 
Englifti were expelled, in a few months, from a province 
which they had held for near three centuries. One fee¬ 
ble effort alone was made to recover it; and, though no 
peace was concluded, the war feemed to be at an end; 
and from the continent the attention of the Englilh was 
wholly recalled to their own domeftic concerns. 
The palpable weaknefs of Henry VI. had encouraged 
a pretender to the crown, A. D..1450, and the Englifti 
were doomed to pay, though late, the penalty of their 
turbulence under Richard II. and of their levity in vio¬ 
lating, without any neceftity, the lineal fucceflion of their 
monarchs. The male line of the houfe of Mortimer was 
extinCt; but Anne, the fifter of the laft earl of Marche, 
having efpoufed the earl of Cambridge, beheaded in the 
reign of Henry V. had tranfmitted her latent, but not yet 
forgotten, claim to her (on Richard duke of York. This 
prince, defeended by his mother from Philippa, only 
daughter of the duke of Clarence, fecond fon of Ed¬ 
ward III. evidently ftood in the order of fucceliion be¬ 
fore the king, who derived his defeent from the duke of 
Lancafter, third foil of that monarch ; and that claim 
could not, in many refpedts, have fallen into more danger¬ 
ous hands than tliofe of the duke of York. Richard was 
a man of valour and abilities, of prudence and mildnefs : 
lie had enjoyed an opportunity of dilplaying thefe virtues 
in his government of France; and, though recalled from 
that command by the intrigues and fuperior intereft of 
the duke of Somerfet, lie had been very (uccefsful in Ire¬ 
land ; and had even been able to attach to his perfon and 
family the whole nation, whom he was fent to fubdue. 
In the right of his father, he bore the rank of firft prince 
of the blood ; and by this ftation he gave a luftre to his 
title derived from the family of Mortimer, which, how¬ 
ever, had been eclipfed by the royal defeent of the houfe 
of Lancafter. He poffeffed an inunenfe fortune from the 
union of fo many fuccellions; tliofe of Cambridge and 
2 York 
