Northumberland now made his people hasten straight from that place to Rhuddlan [Map], where he found a toilsome and heavy road: many a mountain and great rock are between them. He got over it as fairly and as well as he could, and mightily rejoiced he was. He sent to the castellan,ⁱ who was an old knight, commanding him instantly to surrender the fortress in the name of the duke, or he and all who might be taken therein should be hanged without mercy: not for all the wealth of the realm should they escape: doubtless he would make them taste of death, if they gave not up to him the castle and place. At this menace of the earl, the castellan turned pale with fear; for he had long kept the castle and approach in the name of the king. It is very strong, because the sea comes into the fosses, and on the other side it is posted very loftily upon a rock; it's walls are strong and thick, well provided with large towers.^k But such was the fear of the old man from morn till night, that, coward like, he gave up the keys to him: although King Richard had gently besought him to keep it, seeing it was well stored with wine and corn; for he had very lately been there, and myself with him. The castellan bargained with the earl to surrender it in the name of Duke Henry, upon condition that he should continue castellan of that place all his life, to which the duke agreed.^l

Note i. Whoever the governor of this fortress might be, he does not appear to have been at his post. His office had a peculiar authority attached to it, as by an express provision 10 Rich. II. he was constituted for the time being sheriff of the county. "Constabularius castri de Flint pro tempore existenti debet esse vicecomes comitatus de Flint."¹

Note 1. Calend. Rot. Pat. p. 214. I Pat. 10 Ric. II: "The constable of Flint Castle for the time being must be the sheriff of the county of Flint."

Note k. The vestiges of this castle prove it's original strength. The walls are flanked by six round towers, three of which remain tolerably entire. The ditch is wide and deep, and on both sides faced with stone. The steep escarpment towards the river was defended with walls, in which were square bastions; one of them is still standing.¹ The Welsh antiquaries state that it was erected before the Norman Conquest by Llewellyn ap Sitsylt, who reigned over North Wales from 1015 to 1020: " Ruthlanae castrum primo conditum est a Leolino, Sisilii filio, Cambriae principe; fuitque non solum ipsius Leolini verumetiam Gruffini filii sui praecipuum palatium."² Harold burnt it in 1063,³ and it was restored by William the Conqueror or Henry II.⁴

Note 1. Evans, Topographical and Historical Description of N. Wales, p. 756.

Note 2. Powel, Annot. in Silv. Giraldi Itin. Cambr. c. 10. n. 2.

Note 3. Orderic. Vital, in Dugdale, Baronage, I. p. 36.

Note 4. Powel, ut su

Note l. That the agreement was kept seems confirmed by the grant of the constableship of the several castles of Chester, Flint, Conway, and Caernarvon, all upon the same line, to the Earl of Northumberland, in 1 Henry IV.⁵ Rhuddlan, which forms a link in the chain, is omitted in the list; and I therefore conclude that the old castellan retained it.

Note 5. Dugdale, Baronage, I. p. 278.

So they put themselves in good array; and the earl, without making any stir, went on to Conway to fulfil his word. There is an arm of the sea before the town; but when the earl came in front of it, he sent a heraldⁿ to King Richard, to ask if he would be pleased to grant him safe conduct that he might pass over to tell him how the duke was desirous of coming to an agreement with him. Then the herald crossed the water, and found the king aloft in the castle hardly assailed by sorrow. He said cheerfully to him, "Sire, the honourable Earl of Northumberland hath sent me hither to relate to you how desirous Duke Henry is to be immediately at peace with you. May it please you, for the better knowledge of the truth, to grant him safe conduct and leave to come here, for otherwise he will not presume to stir." Salisbury, who was there, then said to king Richard that it would be a good thing to make him come thither alone:^o then the king said aloud to the messenger in his own language, " I heartily give the Earl of Northumberland permission to pass." He thanked him a hundred times, descended from the lofty castle, and passed the water, where the earl had been long expecting him. There he related to him how King Richard had freely granted him safe conduct, and besought him to make haste

Note n. The Percys had upon their establishment, Northumberland Herald and Esperance Pursuivant.²

Note 2. Dallaway, Inquiries, Sect. II. p. 85, note.

Note o. His little retinue perhaps remained on the other side of the water, because Northumberland is admitted into the castle alone. And this should be particularly noted, since we shall endeavour to shew that a studied misrepresentation of the whole affair was made by the Lancastrians for an obvious end. Walsingham¹ tells us, that the first proposition towards a treaty came from Richard, and that he desired to confer with the Earl of Northumberland and Archbishop Arundel at Conway. So much were the true circumstances of the case kept out of sight.

Note 1. Hist. Angl. p. 358.

12 Aug 1399. Then the earl went on board a vessel and crossed the water. He found King Richard, and the Earl of Salisbury (age 49) with him, as well as the Bishop of Carlisle. He said to the king,^p "Sire, Duke Henry hath sent me hither to the end that an agreement should be made between you, and that you should be good friends for the time to come, — If it be your pleasure, Sire, and I may be heard, I will deliver to you his message, and conceal nothing of the truth; — If you will be a good judge and true, and will bring up all those whom I shall here name to you, by a certain day, for the ends of justice; listen to the parliament which you shall lawfully cause to be held between you at Westminster, and restore him to be chief judge of England, as the duke his father^q and all his ancestors had been for more than an hundred years. I will tell you the names of those who shall await the trial. May it please you, Sire, it is time they should."

Note p. We are here supplied with some additional matter from the MS. Ambassades. Huntingdon, by command of the duke, sent one of his retinue after Northumberland with two letters, one for Northumberland, the other for the king. When he appeared before the king with seven attendants, he was asked by him, if he had not met his brother on the road? "Yes, Sire," he answered," and here is a letter he gave me for you." The king looked at the letter and the seal, and saw that it was the seal of his brother; then he opened the letter and read it. All that it contained was this, "My very dear Lord, I commend me to you: and you will believe the earl in every thing that he shall say to you. For I found the duke at my city of Chester, who has a great desire to have a good peace and agreement with you, and has kept me to attend upon him till he shall know your pleasure."² When the king had read this letter, he turned to Northumberland, and said, "Now tell me what message you bring." To which the earl replied, "My very dear Lord, the Duke of Lancaster hath sent me to you, to tell you that what he most wishes for in this world is to have peace and agreement with you; and he greatly repents with all his heart of the displeasure that he hath caused you now and at other times; and asks nothing of you in this living world, save that it may please you to account him your cousin and friend; and that it may please you only to let him have his land; and that he may be chief judge of England, as his father and his predecessors have been, and that all other things of time past may be put in oblivion between you two; for which purpose he hath chosen umpires (juges) for yourself and for him, that is to say, the Bishop of Carlisle, the Earl of Salisbury (age 49), Maudelain, and the Earl of Westmorland; and charges them with the agreement that is between you and him. Give me an answer, if you please; for all the greatest lords of England and the commons are of this opinion." On which the king desired him to withdraw a little, and he should have an answer soon.¹

The latter part of this speech contains an important variation from the metrical history, worthy of the artifice of the earl; but the opposite account of our eye-witness, confirmed in Richard's subsequent address to his friends, is doubtless the true representation. The writer of MS. Ambassades might be at this time at Chester; but admitting that he had been in the train of Northumberland on the journey, he could not have been present at the conference.

Note 2. Accounts and Extracts, II. p. 219.

Note 1. MS. Ambassades, pp. 134, 135. Mr. Allen's Extracts.

Note q. The style of the duke his father was, John, the son of the King of England, Duke of Guienne and Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Lincoln, and Leicester, Steward of England.² " The word seneshal," says Rastall, "was borrowed by the French of the Germans; and signifies one that hath the dispensing of justice in some particular cases, as the High Steward of England;"^1a the jurisdiction of his court, by the statute,^2a" shall not pass the space of twelve miles to be counted from the lodgings of our Lord the King."

These "particular cases" would, however, have secured to him a power of exercising his vengeance upon the parties who are immediately afterwards named. But the request urged with such apparent humility was only a part of the varnish of the plot. He had not waited for Richard's consent, having already, within two days after his arrival at Chester, assumed the title upon his own authority. In Madox, Formulare Anglicanum, p. 327, is a letter of safe conduct from Henry to the prior of Beauval, dated from that place, August 10, 23 Richard II. in which he styles himself" Henry, Due de Lancastre,Conte de Derby, de Leycestre, de Herford, et de Northampton, Seneschal d'Angleterre."

He conferred the office upon Thomas, his second son, by patent dated October 8, 1399; constituting at the same time Thomas Percy Deputy High Steward during the minority of the prince.^3a

Note 2. Cotton's Abridgement, p. 343.

Note 1a. Termes de la Ley. v. Sene

Note 2a. 13 Ric. II. St. 1. c. 3.

Note 3a. Rymer, Fœdera, VIII. p. 90.

"Yes, (tell me them,) I desire to know who they are." "Know, Sire, that the first is your brother; the second who hath behaved amiss is the Duke of Surrey, who is, indeed, put in prison in the castle of Chester, for some offence committed against Duke Henry. Another is the Earl of Salisbury, together with the Bishop of Carlisle; the fifth, as I have heard my lord say, is Maudelain.^r These are they who agreed and counselled you to put your uncle most wrongfully to death; and if they deny it, they await the judgment of your parliament, wherein you shall be highly crowned a sovereign king. There also shall Duke Henry be chief judge. Those who have been guilty of crime or treason shall be punished without partiality. Such is the determination of my lord. Certes, dear Sire, he would do nothing that is foolish or unreasonable. I would moreover speak to you of another thing; that you will speedily appoint the day; for there is nothing in the world that he more desireth; I know it well; and he wisheth for nothing but his land, and that which appertaineth to him; neither would have any thing that is yours,^s for you are his immediate, rightful king; and he regretteth in his conscience the great mischief and wrong that he hath done unto you, through the evil persuasion of the enemy, who never slumbereth nor sleepeth, but is ever watchful to tempt mankind. It is he who hath whispered to him all that he hath done. Wherefore, for the sake of him who suffered unparalleled death for us upon the cross, may it please you, be gentle unto my lord, who is sorrowful and afflicted, and for once lay aside your wrath; and he will most humbly come on his knees before you, and sue for mercy. This done, together shall ye go to London, like devout and peaceful men; or, if you choose to go a different road you shall take it; and then shall the parliament be proclaimed throughout the land. Be sure of all this: I will swear to it upon the body of our Lord, consecrated by the priest's hand, that Duke Henry shall most faithfully observe all that I have said, and every thing as I have told you; for he solemnly pledged it to me upon the sacrament when last we parted. Now consider, Sire, how you will act, for I have tarried long."

Note r. Richard Maudelain, a priest of the chapel royal, who resembled the king so much in size, feature, and speech, that he was employed by the insurgents at Christmas to personate him in the army.

Un chapellain, [A chaplain,]

Qui resembloit si de certain [Who resembled so certainly]

Au bon roy Richart de visage, [The good King Richard in face,]

De corps, de fait, et de langage, [In body, in deed, and in speech,]

Qu'il n'est homme qui le vist [That there was no man who saw him]

Qui ne ccrtifiast et dist [Who did not affirm and say]

Que ce fust le roy ancien. [That it was the former king.]

This man appears to have been one of the most obsequious and daring of Richard's creatures; and served him in several confidential and difficult undertakings.¹ Thus he was sent to bring over money from Ireland; and to attend the corpse of the Duke of Gloucester from Calais to London.² The king gave him some property in Fleet-street, and the suburbs of London, which had belonged to Henry Bowet, clerk,³ a particular friend of the Duke of Lancaster, who had upon his account been attainted of treason, 22 Rich. II.⁴ So that for many reasons Henry had an especial dislike to Maudelain. He was a witness to Richard's will,⁵ and went with him upon the Irish expedition. On their return to Milford he was among those of his council who had advised him to withdraw from his army into France, see p. 77. I have already said p. 92, that he probably absconded; for, as he is a remarkable personage, it would have been mentioned had he been in the suite at Conway. When the rebels were dispersed at Cirencester he was taken in attempting to escape with Ferriby, and conducted to London for execution. He asked the mayor if he should be quartered. " No," said the mayor, "but your head will be cut off." Then Maudelain thanked God that he should die in the service of his sovereign lord, the noble king Richard.⁶ Walsingham oddly styles him, I. Mawdlyn Mawde.⁷

Note s. Henry's appearance in arms was but too symptomatic of a treasonable design against Richard not to excite strong suspicions in those who were unacquainted with his real intentions, and might not wish that the matter should be pushed to extremities. By the statute of Northampton, promulgated in the time of Edward III.^1a and glossed upon and confirmed by many subsequent enactments in Richard's reign it was actual treason.^2a No man could "ride armed in harness with launcegays, nor go armed by night nor by day, nor bear sallet, nor skull of iron, nor raise people and ride against the king, upon pain of treason." So that to meet all imputations arising from his display of warlike preparation, his vengeance was at first professed only against the favourites of the court, who had abused the confidence of their sovereign, and had been the instigators of tyrannical measures. Besides this, to quiet the scruples of many of his well-wishers, who might look to reform rather than revolution; and to persuade others, probably the Archbishop of York in particular, of the purity of his intentions, and that he had no ulterior view than that of private justice, and an arrangement for the general good of the realm, he made oath upon the sacrament at Doncaster,^3a immediately upon his landing, and afterwards at Chester,^4a that he came to claim no more than his inheritance, which the ill-advised Richard had, contrary to promise, seized into his hands. "For this," says Baker^5a shrewdly, " was a reason had no objection; the other he reserved till his power should not need to regard objections." And here, in professing to the king that he wished to touch none of his rights, he gave the Percys a lesson which they afterwards retorted upon him. In the beginning of their opposition to him, before the battle of Shrewsbury, "scripserunt provincialibus ubilibet constitutis, propositum quod assumpserant, non esse contra suam ligantiam, et fidelitatem quam regi fecerant nee; ab aliunde exercitum congregasse, nisi pro salvatione personarum suarum, et reipublicae meliori gubernatione, &c. Plures igitur, visis his literis, collaudabant tantorum virorum solertiam, et extollebant fidem quam erga rempublicam praetendebant."^6a

Note 1. APPENDIX, No. I

Note 2. Rymer, Fœdera, VIII. pp. 20, 21, 31.

Note 3. Calend. Rot. pat. p. 236. a. 3. p. 22 Ric. No. 24.

Note 4. Cotton, p. 381.

Note 5. Rymer, ut supra, p. 77.

Note 6. Accounts and Extracts, II. p. 235.

Note 7. Hist. Angl. p. 363.

Note 1a. Stat. 2 Edw. III. c.3

Note 2a. Stat. 2 Ric. II. c. 6. 7 Ric. II. c. 13. 20 Ric.II. c. 1. 21 Ric. II. e. 3

Note 3a. Ther sware the duke upon the sacrament

To claim no more but hii mother's heritage. Hardyng, by Ellis, p. 350.

Note 4a. Maydestone, Hist, de Martyr. Ric. Scrope, Anglia Sacra, pars secunda, p. 369.

Note 5a. Chronicle, p. 154.

Note 6a. Walsing. Hist. Angl. p. 367. "They wrote to the provincials established wherever they were, stating that the purpose they had undertaken was not against their loyalty and the faith they had pledged to the king; nor had they gathered an army from elsewhere, except for the preservation of their own persons and for the better governance of the commonwealth, etc. Therefore, many, upon seeing these letters, praised the prudence of such great men and extolled the faith they professed toward the commonwealth."

12 Aug 1299. Then King Richard wisely replied: "Northumberland, withdraw: ere it be long you shall have our answer, that you may speedily depart."Then might you see them separate. They discoursed long upon the matter of which they had heard the earl speak; till at last the king said,^t "Fair sirs, we will grant it to him, for I see no other way. You perceive, as well as myself, that all is lost. But I swear to you, that whatever assurance I may give him, he shall for this be surely put to a bitter death for the outrage and injury that he hath done unto us. And doubt it not, no parliament shall be held at Westminster upon this business; for I love you so entirely, that I would not suffer you to come to parliament to die, for the fulfilment of his pleasure; for I know full well that he would make you suffer most heavy penalty, and that you would be in very great danger of being put to bitter and certain death, seeing many murmur against you. Yet fear not, my good friends, but that in spite of them, you shall ever be my nearest friends, for I have always found you, without evil intention, good and loyal. Moreover, I tell you, that I will summon and secretly bring together men throughout Wales that may be ready for us on a certain day. When we have spoken with Duke Henry, we will then take our way through Wales; and if he should ask us wherefore we do so, we will tell him that there is no victuals (not a penny-worth) the other way, since his people and his army have wasted every thing, and that we are going that way, lest provisions fail us. Thus will we say to him, if it seem good unto you, and I believe that he will readily agree to it. The earl hath told us so. And when we shall have found our people assembled, we will display our banners to the wind, and suddenly march with vigour against him. For I am sure of it, as of my death, that when they shall behold my arms, they will be so sorry at heart for the wrong that they have done unto me, that the half of those who have gone along with him, will desert him, and indeed come over to us. For good and faithful heart can never prove false; and nature will bring to their remembrance, that during my life, they ought to hold me as their rightful lord. You will then see them come to us straightways, and you will know that we have right (on our side). God, if we trust in him, will aid us. If we are not so much in our place as they shall be, yet, please God, they shall not chuse but fight us; and if they be in any wise discomfited they shall be put to death. There are some of them whom I will flay alive. I would not take all the gold in the land for them; please God, I continue alive and well."

Note t. "He then consulted with his friends, Carlisle, Salisbury, Scroope, Ferriby, and Jenico in the chapel of the castle, and said to them, ' Gentlemen, you have heard what the earl says: what think you of it?' To which they replied, 'Sir, do you speak first.' The king answered, 'It seems to me that a good peace may be made between us two, if it be as the earl says. But, in truth, whatever agreement or peace he may make with me, if I can ever get him to my advantage, I will cause him to be foully put to death, just as he hath earned."¹

Note 1. MS. Ambassades, p. 135. Mr. Allen's Extracts. Galliard interprets it, "I shall no more scruple to put him to death, than he did to gain the upper hand of me." Accounts and Extracts, II. p. 219. This is, however, too periphrastic. The original words are simply, "Je leferay mourir mauvaisement, ainsi comme il ti gaognie."²

The commonly received opinion, which has been echoed by many writers, was, that Richard, desiring a conference at Conway with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Earl of Northumberland, and of his own accord declaring himself ready to resign, first stipulated for his own maintainance, and for the security of eight persons whom he should name. "Indicavit se velle regno cedere, si sibi victus honorificus vitaeque securitas octo personis, quos nominari vellet, fide interposita, donaretur."^1a Whether Henry was willing to grace his new authority by forbearance towards the king's adherents, or whether Richard was afterwards able to negociate for those whom the duke had threatened to bring before the parliament is immaterial: it is, however, plain, that excepting Jenico, whose resistance procured him a temporary confinement, they all remained unprosecuted and at large. But, as to Richard's spontaneous offer of resignation at this time, it may easily be understood that reports like these were propagated to encourage a persuasion that it was an act proceeding entirely from his consciousness of the difficulties to which he had been reduced by his inability to govern, and that it was not forced upon him by his adversaries. Richard himself in this genuine narrative holds no language which can induce a belief of this nature; he never hints at a wish to lay aside the burden of power in his message to Chester, his conference with Northumberland, or consultation with his little band of friends. On the contrary, he contemplates the future exercise of it in retaliation upon his aggressors, and merely in a general way accedes to the propositions of the earl, that he may escape from a part of his difficulties, with the confident expectation of his entire ability to screen his faithful servants. Salisbury, Scroope, and Merks, the only three present of those who were threatened with prosecution, are satisfied with his assurance of protection, and agree that at all hazards it would be well to close with the duke's conditions of peace.

But the king's pretended readiness to abandon his high estate was more industriously endeavoured to be established by an artifice that reflects little credit upon his successor. The story of what passed at Conway relative to the negociation is given in the text with such an appearance of truth, and is so coherent in all it's parts, that it may very properly be taken to correct the variety of suspicious statements with which ignorance or wilfulness have clouded the affair. One of these is of too grave a kind to be passed over. Comparing it with the statements of our author, I am reluctantly compelled to look upon the ground of Richard's retirement from the throne, given in the Roll of Resignation deposited in the Archives of England, to be a gross fabrication published by Henry IV. for purposes of state. In order to colour the transaction and make the renunciation appear more voluntary than it really was, it is entered upon the roll that the Earl of Northumberland in the presence of the Archbishop ofCanterburyandtherestofthecommissionersin the Tower, "remembered King Richard of hispromise made to the said Archbishop, and to him the said earl at Conway in Wales, at what time the same King Richard was at liberty, how that he, for certain defaults and inabilities in himself to rule, would renounce and give up the crowns of England and France, with the whole rule of the same, and that by the best advice that could be devised; King Richard thereto mildly answered, that he would willingly accomplish the same."^1b

Note 2. "I will make him die miserably, just as he has earned it."

Note 1. Walsing. Hist. Angl. p. 358. "He informed them that he was willing to abdicate the throne if he were granted an honorable livelihood and security for the lives of eight persons whom he would name, under a pledge of good faith."

Note 1b. Cotton's Abridgement, p. 385. There is an overstrained affectation of cheerful acquiescence in the report of his renunciation, which defeats itself. The parties are all very courteous, and happy in each other's society while it lasts. "After familiar talk had between the king, the duke, and archbishop, the instrument was ordered to be read; but the king willingly and cheerfully took and read it throughout." The whole is curious; and, I fear, in many particulars, a piece of deliberately recorded falsehood. Ut supra, p. 386.

Thus the king spake unto them, and they all agreed thereto, saying, "Sire, let the Earl of Northumberland be sent for, and let him forthwith be made to take the oath,^v as he hath declared he will, if we will consent to all that he hath said." Then was the earl without farther parley called, and the king said to him, "Northumberland, the duke hath sent you hither to reconcile us two; if you will swear upon the body of our Lord, which we will cause to be consecrated, that the whole of the matter related by you is true, that you have no hidden design therein of any kind whatsoever; but that like a notable lord you will surely keep the agreement, — we will perform it. For well I know that you are honourable (preudons), and would not perjure yourself for any bride. For the man who perjureth himself knoweth that he must live in disgrace, and die of it at last in great sorrow." Then replied the earl, "Sire, let the body of our Lord be consecrated. I will swear that there is no deceit in this affair; and that the duke will observe the whole as you have heard me relate it here." Each of them devoutly heard mass:^u then the earl without farther hesitation made oath upon the body of our Lord. Alas! his blood must have turned (at it), for he well knew to the contrary; yet would he take the oath,^w as you have heard, for the accomplishment of his desire, and the performance of that which he had promised to the duke, who had sent him to the king.

Note v. In the MS. Ambassades the ceremony of taking the oath is adopted upon the advice of Merks. " The Bishop of Carlisle approved of the peace, but suggested that Northumberland should be made to swear upon the gospel and on the body of our Lord, that what he said was true. The others approving of this advice, Northumberland was called in, and the proposition made to him, which he readily acceded to. Mass was then said; the oath administered to Northumberland, and after dinner he set off to Flint before the king, on pretence of making preparations for the king's supper, and apprising the duke of what had happened; but stopping at his ambush desired his men to be in readiness.¹"

Note 1. MS. Ambassades, p. 135. Mr. Allen's Extracts.

Note u. The translator, in the course of his enquiries, not long since took this metrical history and compared it upon the spot with the castle of Conway. There he recognised the venerable arch of the eastern window of the chapel still entire, where must have stood the altar at which this mass was performed, when the fatal oath was taken. The chapel, in which Richard conferred with his friends, is at the eastern extremity of the hall.

Note w. Unfortunately this is not a solitary instance of such abominable depravity. Sir Emeric of Pavia, Captain of the castle of Calais, in 22 Edw. III. swore upon the sacrament to Lord Geoffry Charney that he would deliver up that castle to him for 20,000 crowns of gold: but he communicated the secret to the King of England, and the French were foiled in their attempt. "A thing," says Barnes, "scarce credible among Christians;"^1a though he obscurely adduces another case of the same nature in his own time. Too many more might be found to add to the melancholy list. It must be admitted that the abuse of absolution by the church perniciously weakened the effect of such bonds of conscience, and encouraged the crime; but some periods seem more particularly infected with these blots upon the page of history; and certainly the age in which the metrical history was written had been profligate in the highest degree, with regard to what Lydgate calls, "assured othes at fine untrewe."

Richard and Bolingbroke appear to have been both guilty of this species of perjury. The first is accused^1b with having broken a corporeal oath, in the instance of his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, and one of another description sworn to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Carte, ever ready to vindicate the king at all hazards, treats these accusations with contempt. "The substance of the charge," he says, " is either false, trifling, or impertinent."^2b But it is easier to deny than to disprove: he has not attempted to make it clear that the allegations are untrue; and unless he could have done it, they can never be looked upon as "trifling or impertinent." They came indeed from Richard's enemies, who stuck at nothing which could blacken his character, or make him appear unworthy of his exalted station; but there is much in his own conduct which might dispose an impartial person to suspect, that these are not aspersions that could easily have been refuted, even at the time in which they were advanced. It may be inferred that he had imbibed no serious impressions of the solemnity of oaths from the levity of an observation made by him at the installation of Scroope, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, August 9, 1386. After that prelate had sworn to be faithful to the church according to the prescribed form, the king, in the hearing of all present, and apparently, as the Lichfieid historian^3b represents it, in the most idle manner observed to him, Certe, domini, magnum præstitisti juramentum [Certainly, my lords, you have made a great oath]. Without the slightest wish to overstrain the bearing of these words for the establishment of a point, I cannot but consider that they clearly admit of the interpretation which has been assigned to them.

Henry of Lancaster was also manifestly perjured as to the oaths upon the sacrament which he took at Doncaster and Chester, to assure the public of the unambitious views with which he designed to carry on his proceedings. If charity might incline us at first to believe, with Daniel,⁴

"That then his oath with his intent agreed;"

a closer investigation of his temper and behaviour from his first setting foot on shore to his calling together the parliament, shews that his mind was bent upon a higher aim. The challenge of the Percys sent to him before the battle of Shrewsbury,^1c and Scroope's manifesto^2c tax him with perjury in the most unqualified manner.

The grossest perjury was lightly thought of, and unblushingly committed in England.^3c The citizens of Lincoln were notorious for it;^4c and the biographer^5c of Spencer, Bishop of Norwich, commends him for the steps that he took to expel it from the courts of inquest and assize in his diocese. Sir Roger Fulthorpe, one of the judges, was guilty of this offence;^6c and all the members, peers, clergy, and commons, of the vindictive parliament of 1397, swore to observe every judgment, ordinance, and declaration made therein; and were afterwards as little mindful of their obligation as if it had never been entered into. " What reliance could be placed on such oaths," says Lingard, " it is difficult to conceive. Of the very men who now swore, the greater part had sworn the contrary ten years before; and as they violated that oath now, so did they violate the present before two years more had elapsed."^7c

Not a little of this general depravity may be attributable, I fear, to the evil example and arbitrary authority of the king; who, when he found his power declining, more than ever adopted this injurious mode of securing the obedience of his subjects. At that time, as it is found at all other times, the frequent requirement of these sacred pledges lessened the respect due to them; and whether they were by the cross of Canterbury, or the shrine of Saint Edward, the Holy Evangelists, or the body of our Lord, they produced little or no impression; or they were deliberately undertaken with mental reservation, and rendered subservient to the purpose of the day.

Whose surly brow imperiously commands

The sea his bounds, that at his proud foot lies;

And spurns the waves, that in rebellious bands

Assault his empire, and against him rise.

Under whose craggy government there was

A niggard narrow way, for men to pass.

And here, in hidden cliffs, concealed lay

A troop of armed men, to intercept

The unsuspecting king; that had no way

To free his foot, that into danger stept:

The dreadful ocean on the one side lay;

The hard encroaching mountain th'other kept.^1d

It may seem strange that, before he descended, when he had a view of them from the vantage-ground, he did not turn about and make an attempt to fly. But he probably caught sight of them at some turn in the road: certainly it was so managed that he should be very near them before he made the discovery; and it would have been almost impossible to have escaped, as he had so far to go back, and moreover was on the wrong side of the water from Conway. The writer asserts that they were obliged to continue their course down the mountain road. This is farther elucidated in MS. Ambassades,^2d which informs us that the king alighted to walk down the hill on account of it's steepness.

Note 1a. Barnes, Life of King Edward III. p. 429.

Note 1b. See Article of Accusation, XXXII. et alibi.

Note 2b. Hist, of England, II. p. 636. In another place be roundly asserts, that Richard " had a strict regard to truth." Ib. p. 340. So far as common promises went, as he often capriciously changed his mind under the influence of those around him, it does not seem that he had a great respect fur his word. We have seen that his breaking the solemn assurance given to Salisbury, to come over from Ireland within lix days, deprived him of the aid of an army, and probably as much as any thing, lost him a crown.

Note 3b. Gul. Whitlocke, contin. Hist. Lichfield, in Anglia Sacra, pars prima, p. 450.

Note 4b. Daniel's Poems, Civil War, b. 1.

Note 1c. Hardyng, p. 352.

Note 2c. Articuli advers. Hen. IV. Ans:l. re»em. An«lia Sacra, pars secunda, p. 360, et seq.

Note 3c. Truth, according to Christina of Pisa, was as little regarded in France:

Verité, depuis le greigneur maistre

Jusqu' au petit, si a peine trouvee

Fust comme elle est; c'est h'n chose senestre

Qu'en France soit si merisonge eslevee.

MSS. Harl. 4473. Rondel, f.45, b.

Note 4c. Stat. 13 Ric. II. stat. 1. c. 1

Note 5c. Capgrave in Anglia Sacra, pt. ii. p. 360.

Note 6c. Knighton, col. 2692, 2696.

Note 7c. Hist, of Engl. III. p. 250.

Note 1d. Civil War, b. 1

Note 2d. MS. Ambassades, p. 136. Mr. Allen's Extracts.

Thus was the agreement made between them; the one had bad intentions, and the other still worse; but as for the king, his offence was not so great; for it is often said, "necessity hath no law;" neither did he make oath or agreement, like the earl; hereafter he will come to a shameful death " I am betrayed! what can this be? Lord of heaven help me!" Then were they known by their banners, that might be seen floating. " I think," said he, " it is the earl who hath drawn us forth upon his oath." Then were all in bitter dread. I could have wished myself at that time in France; for I saw them almost in despair; and by good right one ought not to be surprised that they were all in distress, for not a man of them could get away from that place to flee, without being stopped or taken. But, that I may be understood, I must tell you how that the king had come so near to them that it was much farther to return to the town than to descend the rock, which was washed by the main sea. We could not get away on the other side owing to the rock. So that, cost what it might, we were forced either to die or pass on into the midst of the body of the earl's people. He appeared armed in mail. There did the king demean him so very sorrowfully, that it was pity to behold; oftentimes did he say, "O true God, what mischief and trouble do I undergo! Now do I plainly see that this man is taking me to the duke who loves us not. O Virgin Mary! sovereign queen! have mercy upon me; for if thou deignest not to look upon me, I know of a truth that I am lost." Thus spake the king, who on that spot had no power, for we were but twenty, it appeared to me, or two and twenty.^a So every one descended the lofty rock to the great grief of the king. And Salisbury said to him frequently, as one utterly astounded, " Now see I well, that I am certain to be a dead man, for Duke Henry surely beareth a great hatred towards me. Alas! wherefore have we trusted the earl upon his faith? certes, it hath been our utter ruin. But it is too late. May Jesus, in whom I believe, vouchsafe to help us!" While thus they discoursed, it came to pass that we drew near to them, as it might be, the distance of a good bow-shot; when the earl came and kneeled quite to the ground, saying to the king, "Be not displeased, my rightful lord, that I should come to seek you for your better security; for the country, as you know, is disturbed by war."

Note a. All things conspire to shew the deserted condition in which the king was now placed. Some of the MSS. mention, see p. 77, note", that when Richard rode away from the army at Milford-haven, he was accompanied by a body of horse; but, if this were true, they soon deserted him. Secrecy being a great object in his flight, the account of our narrative is more worthy of credit, which limits the number of attendants on that journey to thirteen, see p. 91. Of these we afterwards hear nothing concerning the Duke of Gloucester, or the Bishops of Lincoln and Saint David's; and as little is said of the hundred men, seep. 71, who came over with the Earl of Salisbury from Ireland. After the departure of the Dukes of Exeter and Surrey, the whole party, nobles and others, then atConway, are estimated at only sixteen; and all that could be mustered as an escort in this perilous undertaking amounted to no more than twenty-one. The principal persons composing this troop, as they are distinctly enumerated shortly after their capture, were, exclusive of the king, the Earl of Salisbury, the Bishop of Carlisle, Sir Stephen Scroope, Jenico, Ferriby, the author and his companion; the rest might be inferior servants of the court, or mere domestics. Among these unquestionably was the famous Owen Glyndwr, ' at that time a squire in Richard's service; a and probably Gwillim ap Tudor, another Welsh squire about his person, whom he had retained with a pension of ten pounds in the preceding year;3 and who afterwards, together with his brother Rhys, as generals under Glyndwr, struggled against Henry IV. in the Welsh war: perhaps also may be added to the list John Pallet and Richard Seimer; should these personages not be fictitious whom Hall4 introduces as assured servants of the king, endeavouring at Flint to favour his escape. Pennant places Perkin a Legh among them; but the head of the unfortunate Perkin, see p. 65, was already set upon one of the gates of Chester; and if he had been with them, considering the nature of his case, and what is said in commendation of Jenico's loyalty, it is not likely that the writer would have omitted to note him or his suffering for the sake of Richard.

Then said the king, "I could very well go without so many people as you have brought here. I think this is not what you promised me. You told me that you had been sent with only five others. This is very ill done, considering the oath that you made. You do not seem to me to be sound in your loyalty, having thus taken post around this place. Depend upon it, I shall return to Conway that I left this day." Then said the earl, "My lord, you accuse me of dishonour, but I solemnly declare,* that since I have you here, I will bring you to Duke Henry as directly as I may; for you must know that I made him such a promise these ten days past."^b

Note *. He repeats his oath, taken in the chapel, in a most revolting manner; in the omission of which the principle of giving the text unmutilated may for once be set aside.

Note b. "Richard mounted on horseback, with twenty-one attendants; and going down a mountain on the road on foot, and looking into the valley, he said to the Earl of Salisbury, 'Do you not see below banners and streamers?' the Earl of Salisbury answered, 'Certainly, Sire, I do; and my heart forebodes ill:' and the Bishop of Carlisle said, 'I suspect that man has betrayed you.' At the same time they saw the Earl of Northumberland coming to them with eleven others. 'Sire,' said he, 'I am come to meet you.' The king asked who the people were he saw below in the valley. 'I have seen none,' said Northumberland. 'Look before you then,' said the Earl of Salisbury; 'there they are.' 'They are your men,' said the bishop, 'I know your banner.' — 'Northumberland,' said the king, 'if I thought you capable of betraying me, it is not yet, perhaps, too late for me to return to Conway.' — 'You shall not return thither,' replied the traitor, throwing off the mask, and seizing the bridle of the king's horse: 'I shall conduct you to the Duke of Lancaster, as I have promised him; for I do not break all my promises.' " Accounts and Extracts, II. p. 220. Bishop Percy's MS note upon the accompanying illumination gives a very different colouring to the transaction, and indicates great inattention to the contents of the original, or peculiar tenderness to the memory of the earl. "As the king goes towards Chester, he finds a party of soldiers belonging to the Earl of Northumberland placed in a valley; the earl, who had gone before, being at their head; who tells the king he had placed these men to guard him to Chester, as the country was all in arms, &c. The king, alarmed, offers to turn back; but the earl dissuades him; and prevails on him to take some refreshment of bread and wine." (This is much misrepresented by Carte.)

Then he caused bread and wine to be brought; himself would present it to the king, who considering his power durst not refuse what the earl chose to command. When this was over they re-mounted, went on straight to Rhuddlan, and dined sumptuously in the strong castle there.

Dinner being ended, Northumberland drew out his people, being very diligent to ride on directly to Chester, where Duke Henry was awaiting the earl with a great number of men. He was much surprised at his delay; for he knew nothing of the business that the earl had achieved, how he was bringing the king in his host. From Rhuddlan, immediately after dinner, without further delay, we went on straight to Flint, where we alighted. It had been yielded to the duke without any resistance; and into this castle on the morrow did he come to take King Richard, and the whole of his party, as you shall presently hear. Alas! the mourning that he made that night in private you may well imagine.¹ He had reason enough for it; seeing that on every side he beheld his enemies, like tyrants, all ready and desirous to put him to death. On that night greatly did he call upon his consort, the daughter of the king of France, saying thus, " My dearest heart, my sister, I bid you farewell. For love of you am I thus detained ; for never have I deserved of my people to be so basely ruined. But if it be thy pleasure that I should die, Ah Jesu Christ ! vouchsafe to guide my soul to heaven, for escape or fly I cannot. Alas ! father-in-law of France ! never shall I see you more. Your daughter I leave unto you, among these false and wicked and faithless people. Wherefore I am almost in despair. For she was my joyous delight. Heaven grant that as soon as you shall know this affair, you may one day speedily avenge it ; that no one may blame you for it. The matter concerneth you ; soon may you hear of it. Alas ! I have neither vessels, men, nor money, at present to send to you ; but I leave it to you. It is now too late. Alas ! wherefore did we trust Northumberland, who hath delivered us into the hand of wolves ? I fear that we are all dead men, for these people here have no pity. May they be utterly confounded!"²

Note 1. The lamentations of Richard given in the MS. Ambassades agree in the main with those in the text; but are rather longer, and involve some curious particulars, intermixed with invocations to the Deity, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist, and many appeals to his friends in France. Among other things he exclaims, "Ah! dear cousin of Britanny! — Alas! you said truly, at your departure, that I should never be safe while Henry of Lancaster was alive. Alas! thrice have I saved his life! for once my dear uncle of Lancaster, on whom God have mercy! would have put him to death, for the treason and villainy he had been guilty of. All night did I ride to preserve him from death, and his father yielded him to my request, telling me to do with him as I pleased. How true is the saying, that we have no greater enemy than the man we save from the gallows! — Once he drew his sword on me in the chamber of the queen, on whom God have mercy! He was of the council of the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Arundel; he consented to my death, that of his father, and all my council. All his offences towards me have I pardoned; nor would I believe my uncle, his father, who two or three times condemned him to death." ' Some of these are allusions to facts, no other traces of which, I believe, are to be found in history. One cannot be surprised if, with this impression and knowledge of the character and disposition of Henry towards him, he should have yielded to gloomy anticipations.

Note 2. The strength of this execration, far less qualified in the original, and quite at variance with the pious resignation of many of his former expressions, the translator felt himself called upon to modify.