river Tyne and demanded homage of the King
of Scotland. This being refused, he advanced
to Edinburgh, but did little there; for, his
army being in want of provisions, and the
Scotch being very careful to hold him in
check without giving battle, he was obliged
to retire. It is to his immortal honour that
in this sally he burnt no villages and
slaughtered no people, but was particularly
careful that his army should be merciful and
harmless. It was a great example in those
ruthless times.

A war among the border people of England
and Scotland went on for twelve months, and
then the Earl of Northumberland, the nobleman
who had helped Henry to the crown,
began to rebel against him—probably because
nothing that Henry could do for him would
satisfy his extravagant expectations. There
was a certain Welsh gentleman, named OWEN
GLENDOWER, who had been a student in
one of the Inns of Court, and had afterwards
been in the service of the late King, whose
Welsh property was taken from him by a
powerful lord related to the present King, who
was his neighbour. Appealing for redress,
and getting none, he took up arms, was made
an outlaw, and declared himself sovereign of
Wales. He pretended to be a magician; and
not only were the Welsh people stupid enough
to believe him, but, even Henry believed him
too; for, making three expeditions into Wales,
and being three times driven baok by the
wildness of the country, the bad weather,
and the skill of Glendower, he thought he was
defeated by the Welshman's magic arts.
However, he took Lord Grey and Sir Edmund
Mortimer, prisoners, and allowed the relatives
of Lord Grey to ransom him, but would not
extend such favour to Sir Edmund Mortimer.
Now, Henry Percy, called HOTSPUR, son of
the Earl of Northumberland, who was married
to Mortimer's sister, is supposed to have
taken offence at this; and, therefore, in
conjunction with his father and some others,
to have joined Owen Glendower, and risen
against Henry. It is by no means clear
that this was the real cause of the conspiracy;
but perhaps it was made the pretext.
It was formed, and was very powerful;
including SCROOP, Archbishop of York, and
the EARL OF DOUGLAS, a powerful and brave
Scottish nobleman. The King was prompt
and active, and the two armies met at
Shrewsbury.

There were about fourteen thousand men
in each. The old Earl of Northumberland
being sick, the rebel forces were led by his
son. The King wore plain armour to deceive
the enemy; and four noblemen, with the same
object, wore the royal arms. The rebel charge
was so furious, that every one of those
gentlemen was killed, the royal standard was
beaten down, and the young Prince of Wales
was severely wounded in the face. But, he
was one of the bravest and best soldiers that
ever lived, and he fought so well, and the
King's troops were so encouraged by his bold
example, that they rallied immediately, and cut
the enemy's forces all to pieces. Hotspur
was killed by an arrow in the brain, and the
rout was so complete that the whole rebellion
was struck down by this one blow. The Earl
of Northumberland surrendered himself soon
after hearing of the death of his son, and
received a pardon for all his offences.

There were some lingerings of rebellion
yet: Owen Glendower being retired to Wales,
and a preposterous story being spread among
the ignorant people that King Richard was
still alive. How they could have believed
such nonsense it is difficult to imagine; but
they certainly did suppose that the Court fool
of the late King, who was something like
him, was he, himself; so that it seemed as if,
after giving so much trouble to the country
in his life, he was doomed still to trouble it
after his death. This was not the worst.
The young Earl of March and his brother
were stolen out of Windsor castle. Being
retaken, and being found to have been spirited
away by one Lady Spencer, she accused
her own brother, that Earl of Rutland who
was in the former conspiracy and was now
Duke of York, of being in the plot. For this
he was ruined in fortune, though not put to
death; and then another plot arose among
the old Earl of Northumberland, some other
lords, and that same Scroop, Archbishop of
York, who was with the rebels before. These
conspirators caused a writing to be posted on
the church doors, accusing the King of a
variety of crimes; but, the King being eager
and vigilant to oppose them, they were all
taken, and the Archbishop was executed. This
was the very first time that a great churchman
had been slain by the law in England; but
the King was resolved that it should be done,
and done it was.

The next most remarkable event of this
time was the seizure, by Henry, of the heir to
the Scottish throne—James, a boy of nine
years old. He had been put aboard-ship by
his father, the Scottish King Robert, to save
him from the designs of his uncle, when,
on his way to France, he was accidentally
taken by some English cruisers. He remained
a prisoner in England for nineteen years,
and became in his prison a student and a
famous poet.

With the exception of occasional troubles
with the Welch and with the French, the
rest of King Henry's reign was quiet enough.
But, the King was far from happy, and
probably was troubled in his conscience by
knowing that he had usurped the crown,
and had occasioned the death of his miserable
cousin. The Prince of Wales, though brave
and generous, is said to have been wild and
dissipated, and even to have drawn his sword
on GASCOIGNE, the Chief Justice of the King's
Bench, because he was firm in dealing
impartially with one of his dissolute companions.
Upon this the Chief Justice is said to have