The Hôtel de Winchester night after night resounded with feasting, revelry, music, and dancing, and receiv ed within its portals the royalty and chivalry of the most gallant and vivacious of nations. The farewell supper given by Lancaster is described to have been regal in its profusion and magnificence. The uncles and brothers of Charles the Sixth were present, and added dignity to the scene-the haughty Burgundy, the avaricious Berri, the gentle Bourbon, and the handsome and elegant Orleans. A French escort was ordered to conduct Lancaster and his suite into Brittany.

On the morning designated for his departure, the scene before his hotel was full of life and confusion. The gay cavaliers, full panoplied in their richest mantles, their crimson and white plumes rising gracefully from new-burnished helmets, bearing upon their breasts the antelope of the Lancasters, the swan of the Herefords, and above both the ominous red rose of Harry Bolingbroke, and doubly armed, as if for a warlike purpose, gathered in the street, chatted, laughed, bade farewell to French intimates, and awaited the coming of their lord. Squires and lackeys hastened about with anxious faces, bustling hither and thither to give final orders, and scrutinizing the elaborate outfits which had been prepared for the journey. Here and there might be discovered the melancholy visage of a Parisian beauty, who had come to catch a last glimpse, and to receive a parting tender word, from her English lover, whom she would caress no more. Royal servants were going to and from the Louvre, conveying souvenirs of kingly favor, and aiding to give éclat to the departure of so esteemed a guest. The French escort, led by a knight of fair renown, generously mounted and equipped, mingled freely with the English train.

Finally, Henry, with the Archbishop, in disguise as a gentleman attendant, by his side, came forth from the hotel, clad in armor, and prepared in all respects for a long journey. The cavalcade at once formed, and took its course out of Paris by the gate of St. Jacques, followed by a large concourse of people, who bade adieu with much regret to the gracious Duke of Lancaster. When they ched Blois, a halt was ordered, and a knight and h rald were despached to the Duke of Brittany, to make known to him the approach of his cousin. When the Duke heard the message, he exclaimed to Sir William Perriere, the envoy: "Why, my lord, has our nephew stopped on the road, since he intends to visit us, and has not come directly hither?" Sir William replied that courtesy toward his Grace made it just to request permission to enter Brittany. "It is foolish," returned John; "for there is no knight whom for these last seven years I should more gladly see in Brittany, than my fair nephew Lancaster." So kind a response moved Henry to set out at once from Blois, and hasten to Nantes, where his uncle the Duke awaited him. The meeting of the princes was most affectionate. The Duke John had long preferred the children of John of Gaunt to the rest of his royal relatives, and his especial favorite among them all was Bolingbroke, whose early exhi bitions of spirit and gallantry had charmed him when from time to time he visited England. Every species of entertainment customary in that age was provided for the amusement of the guest, and every day added evidence of the sincere good-will of the Duke of Brittany.

When Lancaster observed his uncle so kindly disposed, he resolved to make known to him the real object of his departure from Paris, and to seek his ad

vice in the present dilemma. After he had related to him the circumstances of his banishment, the seizure of his estates, the jealousy of Richard, the prevention of his marriage with Marie de Berri, and the humiliating insults to which he had been subjected by the King of England, and when he added his determination to seek redress by boldly entering England, as he had been urged by the p. ple, the Duke John fully approved of the design, ar declared it to be practicable. "Fair nephew," said he, "the straightest road is always the best and surest. You are in a distressing situation, and ask advice. I therefore recommend you to trust to the Londoners. They are powerful, and can compel Richard to come to terms. I will assist you with vessels, men-at-arms, and cross-bows, to convey you over the sea, and to defend you against the dangers you may meet with.”

This distinct approval of his determination spurred Henry to accelerate his plans and to complete his preparations for crossing the channel. He hired three vessels to convey his attendants and soldiers; and, the wind becoming favorable, he embarked for his native country, carrying with him the best wishes of Duke John of Brittany. The voyage was rapid and successful; and on the fourth day of July, 1399, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster and Hereford, and Earl of Derby, once more planted his foot upon English soil at Ravenspur, near Hull, in Yorkshire.* His force and attend. ance was so small that little suspicion was created by his arrival; the Archbishop Arundel allayed what there was, by declaring them to be a troop sent by the Duke of Brittany to reënforce King Richard. Before leaving his vessel, Lancaster had so disguised

Froissart says Plymouth; all others Ravenspur.

himself, that even those who knew his person would fail to recognize him. Messengers were immediately despatched to London and to the Percys, announcing the presence of Henry in England, and calling on his adherents to rise and maintain his cause throughout the realm. The little band of twenty started toward the metropolis, with Henry at their head. Ere long the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, with numerous and completely armed retinues, joined them from the north; and as they progressed, the little nucleus swelled and swelled, till the body began to assume the proportions of an army, and Henry, at first a lord surrounded by a body-guard, soon found himself a general at the head of thousands.

Edmund Duke of York, uncle to the King and Lancaster, was acting as Regent in the absence of Richard in Ireland. When he heard that a formidable host was accumulating, and with a rebellious design was advancing on London, he issued a proclamation, calling on all true subjects to assemble at St. Albans, and to defend the throne. Forty thousand men answered the summons. York put himself at the head of this hastily-gathered army, and prepared to intercept the insurgent forces. He found, however, to his chagrin, that his forces were not animated by a spirit which presaged success. Indeed, a disinclination to march against Henry soon manifested itself; and when the royal troops learned how, flushed with success and hope, the insurgent host was advancing, they became quite disheartened, so that the Regent was fain to abandon the intention to assume an offensive front.

As Henry progressed, the royal troops became less and less inclined to put themselves in his way. The Earl of Wiltshire, who had been posted with a corps of

knights to oppose him, retired from his path, shut himself up in Bristol, and awaited the issue. The nobility, as well as the common people, began to flock to the Lancastrian standard. Lancaster, when he approached the main army under York, sent to his uncle and besought him not to obstruct his passage to London, declaring his intention to be only to recover his just rank and estates. York, always preferring peaceful measures, incompetent to command, fearful of his soldiers, and persuaded by his officers, returned an amicable reply, and forthwith Henry's army was swelled by the concourse of those who had convened to oppose him. He marched at once to Bristol, laid rapid siege to that town, and reduced it with little difficulty. Lord Wiltshire and his lieutenants were executed, and most of his soldiers joined the rebellious, now become a revolutionary, column.

Henry found himself in command of full sixty thousand men. The lieutenants who led the divisions of his army were from the oldest and most chivalrous houses of England. By his side rode the chief priest of the State Church, Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, no longer constrained to disguise his sacred dignity, but attired in the flowing surplice and coroneted mitre of his exalted office. Harry Percy, hardly more than a boy, yet already a warrior of high renown, was the centre of as brilliant a group of noble youths as could have been collected from any court in Europe. A large proportion of the landed property of England was represented in that army. In military, civil, and religious talent, the assemblage was much more conspicuous than was the camp of their sovereign and adversary. The enthusiasm and confidence was all on one side. The King's friends de