of men in his mind. He sought the companionship of priests and the learned men who resorted to the court. He watched the effect of the measures which the King adopted. He made himself familiar with the system of the papal hierarchy, and understood the controversy which had sprung up with the heresies of Wickliffe, and which afterwards convulsed England under his own reign. His manners, when a young man, are described by contemporary writers as having been singularly attractive; his smile enticed the love of all who approached him; his voice was calm and melodious; his bearing full at once of dig nity and graciousness; yet he had a spirit by no means slow to insult. He resented affronts with a promptness which surprised those who had only seen the bland side of his character. No man was prouder than he of descent from heroes and kings; none were more punctilious in the preservation, by deference, of the princely dignity. He seems to have thought that probity and learning were the proper qualities which should illustrate the true rank of royalty, and to have felt that something further than hereditary prestige was necessary to engage the obeisance of the people.

His thirst after knowledge, especially that knowl edge of men in which he seems to have been unusually proficient, prompted him, while yet young, to make several tours in foreign lands. In 1390, when he was but twenty-four, he led "a noble band of soldiers" to Prussia, where he mingled in the war then proceeding between the German Christians and the infidels. Two years after, he again went to the same country with three hundred men, and after some time spent in martial activity, made a journey to Venice. From the island city he repaired on a solemn pilgrimage to

Jerusalem, and spent an entire year in religious contemplation in the Holy Land. Thence he went to Cyprus, Pavia, back to Milan.

The Duke of Milan was a warm friend of the royal family of England, and was so estimable a sovereign that his subjects named him the "Comes Virtutum.” He received Henry with regal ostentation, gave him a series of entertainments, and lodged him in the palace. In company with his host, Henry visited the church of St. Augustine, at Pavia, where reposed the remains of St. Augustine, of the philosopher Boëthius, and of that noble young Lionel of Clarence, who had died so far away from home, in the midst of the felicity of his honeymoon. Parting from the excellent Duke, Henry proceeded through Bohemia, Germany, and France, back to his own country. During this tour he doubtless had ample opportunity to indulge in his favorite studies. He is said to have been especially attentive to observe the different systems of govern ment, the manners of the people, and the foundations of papal power in the Christian temporalities. He must have devoted himself with zest to the study of theology while residing in the Holy Land; certain it is, that he became thoroughly confirmed as a champion of Catholicism, and deeply imbued with the neces sity of maintaining the supremacy of the Church. In this regard he differed with his father, John of Gaunt, whose distrust of Popery, and favorable inclinations toward Wickliffism, gave the heresy much encouragement. Henry was probably sagacious enough to see that, in the precarious times in which he lived, royalty could not resist both internal fac tion and the enmity of the Pope, and that a necessary method by which to overcome the former was by a

close alliance with the latter. The double motive of sincere conviction and the preservation of the integ rity of the crown, seems to have actuated him to espouse the cause of the priesthood in England.

Having gone to the Continent as a soldier, he had remained there as a student. He returned home to commence his career as a statesman. While John of Gaunt was absent on his expedition against Castile, Henry took his place at Richard's council, had charge of the estates of Lancaster and Hereford, and was one of the King's most prudent and able advisers. This variety of his occupations gave him a great advantage over his colleagues at court. It is probable that he was implicated in some of those unsuc cessful plots, which at different times threatened Richard's throne. There was but little cordial feeling between the cousins. Henry regarded with contempt the effeminacy and extravagance of the King, and Richard was both fearful and jealous of the vigorous character of Henry. "We are governed by gour mands," said Henry. "I must prune this overgrown limb of royalty," said the King. The courteous and graceful manners of Henry compelled the good-will of the nobility; they could not be jealous of one who was always a gentleman. By the populace, as we have seen, he was devotedly admired. As a soldier, although he executed no deed of brilliant renown, he was brave, persevering, and moderate. He was wanting in the marked genius which had distinguished the conduct of the two Edwards at Poictiers and Crecy, and which afterwards, in a yet higher degree, shed lustre on the royal line at Agincourt. Henry's characteristic was to be excellent in most things, but conspicuously great in none. He had a kingly na

ture, a loftiness of soul, which was and is yet rare among crowned heads. His greatest fault was his bigoted and extreme devotion to the hierarchy; what tyranny he exercised was religious.

His portrait, as it has been preserved to us from old prints, which the coins of his time furnished with the features, represents a sober, contemplative face, with melancholy eyes, a broad forehead, and square head; yet having an expression of latent fire and courage, and full of lofty dignity. It bears out the character which we would deduce from the descriptions which the old writers have left. The countenance is a positive one; there is no doubt left on the mind, that such a face was the index of rare ability and power. The character we have presented does not justify the conclusion, that Bolingbroke was a restless and over-ambitious conspirator, or that he sought for merely personal ends to overthrow the King. He doubtless had the ambition to govern, but not to that immoderate degree to which, did we not know more of him both from his previous and subsequent actions, he might be supposed to be subject. It takes away very much from the stigma of usurpation, that in depriving the legitimate possessor of his crown he rendered a service to his countrymen, that he replaced an impotent reign by a vigorous reign, and that in his favor was elicited for the first time in English history that remarkable act, a popular appointment to an hereditary office. A quaint old writer, who himself saw Henry both as subject and as sovereign, says of him, in estimating his character: "He observed the ways of justice; he honored the servants of God; he studied the Bible; he had a very tenacious memory; he was a studious investigator of

morals; he was an eager student of government." Having thus introduced the new King to the knowledge of the reader, we proceed to recount what occurred during his brief reign.

Henry of Lancaster, at thirty-three, found himself a successful usurper to the throne. His predecessor was a despised prisoner in the Tower; the kingdom was in peace; opposition was totally crushed; the Parliament was not only acquiescent, but enthusiastic in support of the new dynasty; the great barons cheerfully swore allegiance, and took their places at the head of the armies, and around the council board; and the prelates hastened to prop up a prince, who had evinced a bigoted devotion to the splendid and corrupt hierarchy of Rome. The first step taken was to dissolve the Parliament, and to summon a new legislature. The next was to prepare for the coronation, at that day an impressive and important ceremony, by the superior magnificence of which Henry thought to elicit the admiration and reverence of his people.

The day designated was Monday the thirteenth of October, celebrated as the festival of St. Edward the Confessor and King. On the Saturday previous, Henry, having now assumed all the state of majesty, proceeded to the Tower, which was then used for the double purpose of a palace and a prison. He was attended by those of his late confederates for whom he designed the honor of knighthood, in recognition of their part in the revolution. On his arrival at the Tower, as was the custom, the King and his attendants retired to their chambers and bathed. The next morning, which was Sunday, the ceremony of confer ring the order of knighthood took place in the hall, the candidates being habited in long green coats