On these grounds, and with such an opening offered to his ardent mind by the distracted state of the realm of France, Henry resolved to prefer his claim; negociating first for its amicable concession, and, if unsuccessful in negociation, then pursuing it in the field of battle. This appears to have been his determination from the (p. 078) first; but from the first he seems also to have contemplated the probability of failure by treaty; for, from the first intimation of his designs, he and his subjects were steadily engaged in making every preparation[68] for a vigorous invasion of France.
In this part of our treatise a brief outline is required of the proceedings between the resolution first taken by Henry, and his appearance in arms on French land; nor can we satisfactorily pa.s.s on without taking a succinct view of the internal state of that kingdom at the time of Henry"s original claim and subsequent invasion.
[Footnote 68: The only measures mentioned in the "Foedera," before April 1415, indicative of Henry"s expectation that the negociations with France would not terminate pacifically, are, that on September 26, 1414, the exportation of gunpowder was prohibited; whilst, on the 22nd, Nicholas Merbury, the master, and John Louth, the clerk of the King"s works, guns, and other ordnance, had been commanded to provide smiths and workmen, with conveyance for them; that, on the 18th of the following March, Richard Clyderowe and Simon Flete were directed to treat with Holland for ships; and, on the 22nd, the Sheriff of London was ordered to summon knights, esquires, and valets, who held fees, wages, or annuities by grant from the King or his ancestors, to repair forthwith to London, and, on pain of forfeiture, to be there by the 24th of April at the latest.--Sir H. Nicolas.
The Pell Rolls record the payment of "2,000_l._ to Richard c.l.i.therow and Reginald Curtys, (27th February 1415; ordered by the King himself to go to Zealand and Holland, for the purpose of treating with the Duke of Holland and others to supply ships for the King"s present voyage,) therewith to pay divers masters and mariners, who were to accompany him abroad, whither he was going in his own person."]
SUMMARY OF THE AFFAIRS OF FRANCE. (p. 079)
Charles V, surnamed the Wise, died in 1380.[69] He left to succeed him his son Charles VI, twelve years of age; and he appointed his three brothers to govern the kingdom during the minority,--Lewis, Duke of Anjou, John, Duke of Berry, and Philip, Duke of Burgundy, who by their ambition and rivalry threw the whole realm into confusion. Charles V.
left also another son, called the Duke of Orleans, who in his time contributed to the general confusion no less than his uncles. Through the first days of Charles"s (VI.) reign, the three regents, differing in every other point, agreed only in burdening the nation with taxes; a circ.u.mstance which bred great discontent, and prepared the people for separating into different factions whenever an opportunity might occur.
[Footnote 69: The Author has been, in this portion of his work, chiefly a.s.sisted by the authors of the "Abrege Historique," above referred to.]
The Duke of Anjou quitted France in 1381, to take possession of his kingdom of Sicily. The King was of age to be his own master, according to the will of his father, at fourteen; yet his uncles governed both his estate and his person till he was twenty. In 1385, he was married to Isabella, daughter of Stephen, Duke of Bavaria.
In 1388, Charles a.s.sumed the reins of government, discharging his uncles, and keeping about his person his brother, the Duke of Orleans, then seventeen, and his maternal uncle the Duke of Bourbon.
The Duke of Burgundy could not endure to see the Dukes of (p. 080) Orleans and Bourbon govern the kingdom in the name of the King; and in 1391 he succeeded in causing the Estates-General to transfer the government to him under the pretext of aiding his nephew to bear the burden of the state. Probably the King had already shown symptoms of that imbecility which afterwards incapacitated him altogether for managing the affairs of his kingdom. In 1395 his malady increased in violence; and for some time the Queen his wife, the Dukes of Orleans, Berry, Burgundy, and Bourbon, each struggled hard to retain the reins of government in their own hands. At length the Dukes of Orleans and Burgundy formed two opposite parties; under the banners of which, as well the members of the court, as the subjects of the kingdom at large, arranged themselves in hostile ranks. Queen Isabella joined the Duke of Orleans. The Duke of Berry fluctuated between the two factions, and had great difficulty in preventing them from coming to extremities. In these struggles the two chiefs were so equal, and so determined not to yield either to the other, that they left the government to the council of the King. The Duke of Burgundy withdrew to the Netherlands, where he was master of the earldoms of Flanders and Artois, and the duchy of Brabant: there he died in 1403, leaving his son John to succeed him, who became Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders and Artois. His brothers shared the residue of their father"s inheritance.
Whilst the new Duke of Burgundy was employed in arranging his (p. 081) own affairs, the Queen and the Duke of Orleans conducted the government; but with little satisfaction to the people, who found themselves grievously oppressed by taxation. Meanwhile, the Duke of Burgundy married his son Philip, Earl of Charolois, to Mich.e.l.le, the King"s daughter; and one of his daughters was also espoused to the Dauphin, Louis, then only nine years of age.
Some time afterwards, Charles VI. finding himself in one of his intervals of mental health, and hearing complaints from all sides against his Queen and the Duke of Orleans, convened an a.s.sembly of n.o.bles to deliberate on a remedy; and commanded the presence of the Duke of Burgundy. On his approach, the Queen and the Duke of Orleans withdrew, taking with them the young Dauphin. The Duke of Burgundy followed, and overtook them; and rescued the Dauphin from their custody. This was a source of open rupture between those princes.
There followed, indeed, an outward show of reconciliation; but their mutual hatred was deadly still. In 1407 the Duke of Burgundy caused the Duke of Orleans to be a.s.sa.s.sinated. He was bold enough to profess himself the author of the murder, and powerful enough to shield himself from any punishment, and to procure letters of free pardon.
Next year he was obliged to visit his own territory, and in his absence his enemies caused the bill of amnesty to be reversed.
Meantime, the Duke gained a victory over the troops of Liege, (p. 082) and marched at the head of four thousand hors.e.m.e.n direct upon Paris.
The Queen withdrew at his approach, taking the King with her to Tours; and, finding herself unable to cope with her antagonist, she consented to an accommodation. The King received Burgundy, and reconciled him in appearance to the Duke of Orleans, son of the murdered Duke. After this, the Duke of Burgundy remained master of the government, and of the person of the King.
It will be remembered that, in 1411, a powerful league was formed in Guienne against the Duke of Burgundy, by the Dukes of Berry, Orleans, Alencon, and the Count of Armagnac, who was governor of Languedoc and father-in-law to the Duke of Berry; and who, being the chief conductor of the whole affair, gave the name of Armagnacs to the party in general opposed to Burgundy.[70] At the beginning, the Duke of Burgundy, having received succours from Henry IV. of England, gained a great advantage over his opponents. Subsequently, the Armagnacs, obtaining considerable a.s.sistance from the same King, forced the Duke of Burgundy, who was besieging them in Bourges, to make peace; one condition of which, however, being that no one of those chiefs should return to the court, the Duke of Burgundy still remained master of the King"s person. In this state of triumph on the part of the (p. 083) Duke of Burgundy, and of depression of the Armagnacs, another opponent arose against the Duke, of whom he seems to have been previously under no apprehension,--the Dauphin himself, his son-in-law, then only sixteen years of age. This prince, persuaded that during his father"s illness the government could of right belong to no one but himself, resolved to secure his own. He gained over the governor of the Bastille, and seized that fortress. The Parisians flew to arms at the secret instigation of the Duke of Burgundy. A surgeon, named John of Troyes, at the head of ten or twelve thousand men, forced the gates of the Dauphin"s palace; and, carrying off the chief friends of that prince, lodged them in prison.
[Footnote 70: See vol. i. p. 268.]
These events took place at the opening of the year 1413, whilst Henry IV. was labouring under the malady of which he died. Henry V.
succeeded to the throne, March 20th of that year. At the end of April, the malcontents of Paris, all of the Burgundian faction, committed various excesses, and compelled both the King and the Dauphin to wear the white cap, the badge of their party. The Dauphin[71] betook himself at last to the Armagnacs, of whom many lived in Paris, grievously oppressed by the government of the Duke of Burgundy; and he planned his scheme so well, and so secretly, that at the (p. 084) beginning of September he found thirty thousand men in Paris ready to support him. By his sudden and vigorous efforts he struck terror into the opposite faction, who abandoned the Bastille and other places in their possession, and thought of nothing but their own personal safety. The Duke of Burgundy himself withdrew to Flanders. The Dauphin, however, gained no permanent advantage from this success; for the King, in one of his favourable intervals, immediately seized the reins of government, and called his nephew the young Duke of Orleans to his counsels. This youth induced the King to issue very violent decrees against the Duke of Burgundy, and to execute a great number of his partisans.
[Footnote 71: The Dauphin, eldest son of Charles VI, was born 22nd January 1396, and died before his father, without issue, on the 18th December 1415, in his twentieth year.]
Such was the state of affairs in France when Henry of Monmouth first resolved to prosecute his claims in that kingdom. The Duke of Burgundy lost no time in endeavouring to secure the a.s.sistance of so powerful an ally; as we find by the many safe-conducts dated before the Duke"s expulsion from Paris, which did not take place till September. Whether Henry had, before these emba.s.sies from the Duke of Burgundy, formed any design of claiming his supposed rights in France, or not, the Duke"s negociations must have strongly impressed him with the distracted state of that country, and with an opening offered to the enterprising spirit of any powerful neighbour who would promptly and vigorously seize upon that opportunity of invading France.
"Although[72] several negociations had taken place between (p. 085) September 1413, and the January following, for the purpose of prolonging the subsisting truce between England and France, it was not until January 28, 1414, that amba.s.sadors were appointed to treat of peace. From the engagement then made, that Henry would not propose marriage to any other woman than Katharine, daughter of the King of France, until after the 1st of the ensuing May, (which term was extended from the 18th of June to the 1st of August, and afterwards to the 2nd of February 1415,) it is evident that a marriage with that princess was to form one of the conditions of the treaty. But the first intimation of a claim to the crown of France is in a commission, dated May 1, 1414, by which the Bishop of Durham, Richard Lord Grey, and others, were instructed to negociate that alliance, and the rest.i.tution of such of their sovereign"s rights as were withheld by Charles. The princ.i.p.al claim was no less than the crown and kingdom of France. Concession to this demand, however, being at once declared impossible, the English amba.s.sadors waived it, without prejudice nevertheless to Henry"s rights. They then demanded the sovereignty of the duchies of Normandy and Touraine, the earldom of Anjou, the duchy of Brittany, the earldom of Flanders, with all other parts of the duchy of Aquitain, the territories which had been ceded to (p. 086) Edward III. by the treaty of Bretigny, and the lands between the Somme and Graveline; to be held by Henry and his heirs, without any claim of superiority on the part of Charles or his successors. To these demands were added the cession of the county of Provence, and payment of the arrears of the ransom of King John, amounting to one million six hundred thousand crowns. It was also intimated that the marriage with Katharine could not take place, unless a firm peace were also established with France, and that two millions of crowns would be expected as her dower.
[Footnote 72: The following paragraphs are almost literally extracted from Sir Harris Nicolas"s "Battle of Agincourt."]
On March 14, 1415, the French ministers denied Henry"s right to any part of the dominion of their master; but, to avoid extremities, they offered to cede the counties of Angouleme and Bayonne, with various other territories. They said that Provence, not being among Charles"s lordships, was not withheld by him. With respect to the arrears of ransom, they thought that, having offered so much to extend the possessions of England, with a view of securing peace, the claim ought to be withdrawn. Touching the marriage, which had been so frequently discussed, though the Kings of France had been accustomed to give much less with their daughters than six hundred thousand crowns, which sum the Duke of Berry had offered with her in the preceding August, yet that it should be enlarged to eight hundred thousand crowns, besides her jewels and apparel, and the expense of sending the princess (p. 087) in a suitable manner to the place where she might be delivered to Henry. But as the English amba.s.sadors said they were not permitted to prolong their stay in France, and had no authority to vary their demands, Charles engaged to send an emba.s.sy to England to conclude the treaty.
During the progress of these protracted negociations Henry grew dissatisfied; and either from impatience, or with a view of awing France into submission, issued writs of 26th September 1414, for a parliament to be held at Westminster after the Octaves of St. Martin, 18th November following. On that day parliament met; and the session was opened at the command of the King by Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, then Chancellor. In a long harangue he informed the a.s.sembly, that their King (who was present in person) had resolved to recover his inheritance, which had been so long and unjustly kept from him and his progenitors, Kings of England; and that, for this purpose, many things were necessary. Taking for his theme the text, "Whilst we have time, let us do good," he pointed out, with more pedantry than eloquence, that for every natural thing there were two seasons; and that just as for the tree there was one time to bud, to flower, and to bring forth fruit, and another time through which it was left to repose, so was there given to man a time for peace, and a time for war and labour: that the King, considering the value of peace and (p. 088) tranquillity which this kingdom then enjoyed, and also the justice of his present quarrel, (considerations most necessary for every prince who had to encounter enemies abroad,) deemed that the proper time had arrived for the accomplishment of his purpose. But, to attain this great and honourable object, three things, he said, were wanted; namely, wise and faithful counsel from his va.s.sals, strong and true support from his people, and a copious subsidy from his subjects; which each of them would readily grant, because the more their prince"s dominions were extended, the less would their burdens become; and, these things being performed, great honour and glory would necessarily ensue.
This address was not without effect, for the Commons, after electing Thomas Chaucer (son, as it is said, of the poet) for their Speaker, "granted the King, for the honour of G.o.d, and from the great love and affection which they bore towards their sovereign, two entire fifteenths and two entire tenths, _for the defence of the kingdom of England and the safeguard of the seas_."
CHAPTER XX. (p. 089)
MODERN TRIPLE CHARGE AGAINST HENRY OF FALSEHOOD, HYPOCRISY, AND IMPIETY. -- FUTILITY OF THE CHARGE, AND UTTER FAILURE OF THE EVIDENCE ON WHICH ALONE IT IS GROUNDED. -- HE IS URGED BY HIS PEOPLE TO VINDICATE THE RIGHTS OF HIS CROWN, HIMSELF HAVING A CONSCIENTIOUS CONVICTION OF THE JUSTICE OF HIS CLAIM. -- STORY OF THE TENNIS-b.a.l.l.s.
-- PREPARATIONS FOR INVADING FRANCE. -- HENRY"S WILL MADE AT SOUTHAMPTON. -- CHARGE OF HYPOCRISY AGAIN GROUNDED ON THE CLOSE OF THAT TESTAMENT. -- ITS FUTILITY. -- HE DESPATCHES TO THE VARIOUS POWERS OF EUROPE THE GROUNDS OF HIS CLAIM ON FRANCE.
At this point of his work, the Author finds the painful duty devolved upon him of investigating a triple charge, now for the first time brought against Henry by a living writer. He must not shrink from the task, though he enter upon it with a consciousness that, if established, the charge must brand Henry"s memory with indelible disgrace, whilst his acquittal may imply censure on his accuser.[73]
He feels, nevertheless, that only one course is open for him to (p. 090) pursue; he must follow up the inquiry fully, fearlessly, and impartially, whatever may be the result; and, whether he looks to Henry or his accuser, he must adhere rigidly to the golden maxim, "Friends are dear, but truth is dearer!"
[Footnote 73: Here, however, the Author begs to state his most unfeigned conviction that, had the Editor of the "Battle of Agincourt" allowed himself more time for reflection and reconsideration of his subject, his love of truth and justice (which evidences itself in various parts of his works) would have induced him to withdraw this triple accusation. The Author sincerely gives that valuable writer full credit for his generous indignation at the idea of any thing savouring of falsehood, as well as for his anxious desire to enlist all our ancient doc.u.ments, whether published or yet in ma.n.u.script, in the cause of historical truth; and he sincerely trusts that not one expression may escape his pen which may give, unnecessarily, the slightest pain to an Editor for the a.s.sistance derived from whose labours he will not allow this note to escape him (even at the risk of tautology) without again expressing his obligations.]
An Author,[74] then, to whom (as we gladly and gratefully acknowledge) we are largely indebted for many helps supplied to the biographer and historian, and from whom we have borrowed copiously in this part of our work, brings a wide and violent charge against Henry"s character in those very points on which the general tenour and complexion of his whole life would lead us to regard him as of all least a.s.sailable. He charges him with _falsehood_, _hypocrisy_, and _impiety_. The groundwork on which he founds these accusations is a series of letters recorded in M. Le Laboureur"s History of Charles VI. of France.
[Footnote 74: Sir Harris Nicolas.]
To ascertain more satisfactorily whether the charge is really (p. 091) substantiated, or whether it has been built upon an unsound foundation, we will first extract the whole pa.s.sage as it stands in his work, "The Battle of Agincourt," and then sift the evidence which the writer alleges in support of so grave an imputation.
"On the 7th April, Henry is said to have addressed the King of France on the subject of his claims, and in reference to the emba.s.sy which Charles had signified his intention of sending to discuss them. No part[75] of the correspondence on this occasion occurs in the Foedera, and it is very slightly alluded to by our historians. "To the first of those letters Charles replied on the 16th of April, and to the last on the 26th of that month; it is therefore evident (p. 092) that Henry did not wait for the answer to the first before the second was written. These doc.u.ments occur in contemporary writers; and, as the internal evidence which they contain of being genuine is very strong, there is no cause to doubt their authenticity. Their most striking features are falsehood, hypocrisy, and impiety; for Henry"s solemn a.s.surance that he was not actuated by his own ambition, but by the wishes of his subjects, is rendered very doubtful by the fact that, on the day after the Chancellor had solicited supplies for the invasion of France, the Commons _merely stated_ that they granted _them for the defence of the realm, and the safety of the seas_. The justice claimed was, that France should be dismembered of many important territories; and that, with the hand of Katharine, Henry should receive a sum as unprecedented as it was exorbitant. But this was not all, for his first demand was the crown of France itself; and it was not until he was convinced of the impossibility of such a concession, that he required those points to which his letters refer.
If then there was FALSEHOOD in his a.s.sertion that his demands were dictated by the wishes of his people rather than by his own, there was HYPOCRISY in the a.s.surances of his moderation and love of peace, and IMPIETY in calling the Almighty to witness the sincerity of his protestation, and in profaning the holy writings by citing them on such an occasion. These letters, which were probably dictated by Cardinal Beaufort, are remarkable for the style in which they (p. 093) are written; in some places they approach nearly to eloquence, and they are throughout clear, nervous, and impressive."
[Footnote 75: That a correspondence took place, there can be no doubt; but very much doubt is thrown upon the accuracy of these doc.u.ments; they do not appear in such a shape that we can rely upon them as evidence. The Author who gives them says, that he considers them capable of embellishing and adorning his history. The reader is invited to sift this matter thoroughly, if he thinks that the writer of these Memoirs has taken a partial view of the merits of the question; and he is, at the same time, cautioned against regarding the princ.i.p.al work in which these letters are found as the production of M. Laboureur. Into this error he might easily be led by the manner in which the book has been quoted. Laboureur translated the work of an anonymous writer of St. Denis, of whose character nothing is known. The ma.n.u.script, in Latin, is said to have been found in the library of M. Le President De Thou. The original author brought the history down to the year 1415, and St.
Jean Le Fevre continued it to 1422.]
In this threefold indictment, the first charge is "falsehood." The falsehood is made to consist in Henry"s a.s.sertion, that he was stimulated to prosecute his claim by the wishes of his people; and the only evidence alleged to sustain this charge of falsehood, is the fact that parliament, in granting the supplies, so far from specifying that the grant was made for the purpose of recovering the King"s rights in France, merely stated that it was "_for the defence of the realm, and the safety of the seas_."
Before a charge, fixing an indelible stain on the character of a fellow-creature, whether the individual were a king leading his armies to victory, or the humblest subject in his realm, were made on such grounds as these, it had been well,--well for the cause of truth, and well for the satisfaction of the accuser,--had the nature and force of the evidence adduced been first more carefully examined. The slightest acquaintance with the language of parliament at that time, and the most cursory comparison of the words of its members with their conduct, must satisfy every one that not a shadow of suspicion is suggested of any unwillingness on the part of the Commons to support the King in demanding his supposed rights, and vindicating them by arms. On the contrary, the very records of parliament themselves, (p. 094) which are cited to maintain against Henry the charge of falsehood, carry with them a full and perfect refutation of the accusation, complete in all its parts; and compel us to lament that it has been brought so hastily, unadvisedly, and inconsiderately. Our first point is to ascertain the force of those words in the grant alone cited to substantiate the charge of falsehood against Henry,--what meaning was attached to them by the Commons themselves. We shall find that the subsidy was granted in the usual formal words, "for the defence of the realm of England and so forth." In the first parliament of Henry for example, the subsidy is granted in these words: "To the honour of G.o.d, and for the great love and affection which your poor Commons of your realm of England have to you our dread sovereign Lord, for the good of the realm and its good governance in time to come, we have, with the consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, granted to you _for defence of your realm of England_," and so forth,--specifying a subsidy from wools and other merchandise; and then, in voting an entire fifteenth and a tenth, they add, "for _the defence of the realm, and the safeguard of the seas_." With precisely the same justice might it be argued in this case that the Commons would not vote the subsidy for "the support of the King"s dignity and high estate," (though that was one of the especial grounds on which he appealed himself to the liberality of his parliament,) as it can (p. 095) be inferred, from the same words used in the parliament of 1415, that the Commons of England were not forward to promote the expedition to France. In that parallel case, however, we are quite sure the argument would be fallacious; because in the very same session they voted that the King"s own allowance should take precedence of all other payments of annuities and other demands, to the amount of 10,000_l._ annually.
Another instance occurs in the parliament which met October 19, 1416, the King himself presiding: though the Chancellor, after referring with exultation to the victories of Harfleur, "the key of France," and of Agincourt, "where greatest part of the chivalry of France had fallen in battle," asks for new supplies _for the express purpose_ of carrying on the wars in France; the Commons, in voting those supplies, as expressly state that they grant them "_for the defence of your realm of England_."
The same conclusion is warranted by the grants of 1417 and 1419; excepting that in these the Commons make the argument intended to support the charge against Henry"s veracity still less tenable, by inserting a phrase which might seem to exclude the very object for which application for the subsidy was made. The application was made especially for the supplies necessary to carry on the war abroad; the Commons vote the subsidy "for the defence of the realm of England _in especial_."
But, to remove all possible doubt as to the true intent and (p. 096) meaning of the people of England in the grant in 1414 of two entire tenths and two entire fifteenths, we need only refer to the first act of the next parliament, which, after rehearsing the impossibility of the King effectually carrying on his wars abroad unless one tenth and one fifteenth made by the former parliament, payable on the 2nd of February, should be collected before that time, decrees that subsidy to be due and payable on the feast of St. Lucie in the next coming December. Nor is this all. The next act of this same parliament would of itself prove the utter futility of the charge against Henry, as far as that charge rests upon the evidence adduced. The parliament first state the necessity of supplying the King with more efficient means _for pursuing his campaign in France_, and then vote one entire tenth and one entire fifteenth,--for what? not for the purpose which they have expressly specified, but "_for the defence of his said realm of England_." The preamble, however, of this act shows so clearly what were the views and feelings of his subjects on this very point, as well as on the justice of his claim, that a transcript of it seems indispensable in this place.
"The Commons of the realm, in this present parliament a.s.sembled, considering that the King our sovereign lord, for the honour of G.o.d, and to avoid the shedding of human blood, hath caused various requests to be made to his adversary of France to have rest.i.tution of his _inheritance_ according to _right and justice_;[76] and for that (p. 097) end there have been diverse treaties, as well here as beyond the sea, to his great costs; nevertheless he hath not, by such requests and treaties, obtained his said inheritance, nor any important part thereof: and since the King, neither by the revenues of his realm, nor by any previous grant of subsidy, hath had enough wherewith to pursue _his right_; yet, always _trusting in G.o.d_ that in his JUST _quarrel_ he shall be upheld and supported, of his own good courage hath undertaken an expedition into those parts, p.a.w.ning his jewels to procure a supply of money, and in his own person hath pa.s.sed over, and arrived at Harfleur, and laid siege to it and taken it, and holds it at present, having placed lords and many others there for its defence; and then of his excellent courage, with few people in regard to the power of France, he marched by land towards Calais, where, on his route, many dukes, earls, and other lords, with the power of the realm of France, to an exceeding great number, opposed him, and gave him battle; and G.o.d, of his grace, hath given victory to our King, to the honour and exaltation of his crown, of his own fair fame, the (p. 098) singular comfort of his faithful lieges, to the terror of all his enemies, and probably to the lasting profit of all his realm."
[Footnote 76: This seems to have been the language of judges, councillors, parliament, poets, and the people at large. The voice of all England seemed to be echoed by Lydgate.
"In honour great; for, by his puissant might, He conquered all Normandy again And valiantly, for all the power of France, And won from them HIS OWN INHERITANCE."]
We may safely leave the issue to the verdict of any impartial mind.
The argument drawn from the language of parliament to convict Henry of falsehood falls to the ground; it has no colour of reason in it; and no other argument is even alluded to by the accuser. It is, moreover, much to be regretted that the Editor of "The Battle of Agincourt,"
when he was translating so large a portion of the Chaplain"s memoir, which with great reason he implicitly follows, had not begun the work of translation a few sentences only before its present commencement.
Our countrymen would then have seen that, from whatever sources that Editor drew the evidence on which to build his triple charge of hypocrisy, falsehood, and impiety against Henry V, those who knew him best, and had the most ample opportunities of witnessing his character and conduct, expressed at least a very opposite opinion on the point at issue. The following are the genuine words of one who accompanied Henry from his native sh.o.r.es to France, was with him at the battle of Agincourt, and returned with him in safety to England. "Meanwhile, after the interchange of many solemn emba.s.sies between England and France, with a view to permanent peace, when the King found that very many negociations and most exact treaties had been carried on in (p. 099) vain, by reason that the council of France, _clinging to their own will, which they adopted as their law_, could be induced to peace by no just mean of equity, without immense injury to the crown of England, and perpetual disinheritance of some of the n.o.blest portions of his right in that realm, though for the sake of peace he was ready to make great concessions, seeing no other remedy or means by which he could come to his right, had recourse to the sentence of the supreme judicature, and without blame sought to recover by the sword what the blameworthy and unjust violence of the French had struggled so long to usurp and keep.... He determined to regain the duchy of Normandy, which had for a long time been _kept, against G.o.d and all justice, by the violence of the French_."
There is, however, one declaration contained in the very volume from which these alleged letters of Henry are extracted, which makes the charge brought by the commentator on those letters still more surprising.[77] It is in that very volume positively a.s.serted, with regard to the first rumour through France of Henry"s intended invasion, that "his subjects _had strongly_ remonstrated with (p. 100) him for his love of peace and rest, and his dislike of active measures, and had _now_ INSISTED upon his undertaking the expedition."[78]