SANDWICH ATTACKED.

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having a great crest upon his head, and a great red beard, and legs of half a yard long: he stood on the water and crowed four times, and every time turned about and beckoned with his head toward the north, the south, and the west; and was of colour like a pheasant, and when he had crowed three times he vanished away." But no portents, either of earth, sea, or sky, were needed in those days to warn any who possessed the slightest forethought against the evils to come. The French," much desiring to be revenged of old displeasures and great damages, thought to take advantage of those civil dissensions by which the strength of England was distracted; and with that view they appointed two navies to invade and depopulate the towns and ports adjoining to the rivage of the sea." The one, which carried 4000 men-at-arms and archers, was commanded by Pierre de Brezé, sieur de Varenne, and comte de Maulévrier, grand seneschal of Normandy, with whom was the bailey of Evreux, Robert de Flocques. The other was under the sieurs de la Fosse and de l'Eure. Both sailed from Honfleur, one a few days after the other, late in August; the former and earlier taking an eastward, the latter a westerly direction. The latter ventured little, and did less; and having burnt a few houses some where on the south coast, by night, returned with small booty to Bretagne. The former made for Sandwich, upon certain intelligence that the town was neither fortified nor manned, the chief persons having a little before withdrawn, to avoid the pestilential plague which sorely there infected and slew the people.' Early on a Sunday morning they landed some 1800 men about two leagues from thence, and, marching thither in three battalions, came to a bulwark which had been lately repaired, and was defended by two towers, filled with archers this outwork was taken by storm, and the English retreated into the town. The bailey of Evreux,

66

* Holinshed, 244.

who commanded the rear-guard, remained at his post during the attack, and so continued, pursuant to his instructions, till the fleet arrived off the harbour, having a guidon of Dunois, the Bastard of Orleans, on board, borne by Galiot de Genouillac.*

There were in the port one large carrack and three ships of war, into which many English had retreated, and from whence they annoyed the enemy with their arrows. A negotiation was opened with them, the seneschal sending word that if they chose to cease from shooting they might land in safety, but if not, he would burn their vessels. Each was so much exposed to the other, that the terms were mutually advantageous; and the English landed accordingly, to continue their defence ashore, leaving the ships to the invaders. The seneschal had it then proclaimed that no one, on pain of death, should plunder a church, violate a woman, set a house on fire, or kill any one in cold blood; injunctions which are said to have been all most honourably observed. The troops now entered the town by the gates, and the fleet sailed into the harbour. Their work, however, was not yet done: "the English," says Monstrelet, "gave them full employment;" when they were defeated in one place, rallying in another, and attacking them every where. At last, with great difficulty, the French drove them out of the town, displayed their banners from the gates, and formed in front of them in battle array, perceiving now that précaution as well as courage was necessary, for the inhabitants were gathering strength from all the adjacent parts. They had heard, and disbelieved, that the French intended to attack Sandwich, and therefore had made no preparations for defending it but though they had neglected to provide against the danger, there was no want of alacrity in encountering it; and they kept up their skirmishes before the gates for six hours without intermission. The French, on their part, behaved manfully: the seneschal took the opportunity, as an honourable one, of being

* Monstrelet, ix. 396-8.

FRANCE REJECTS THE OVERTURES FOR PEACE. 101 knighted on the field; the same honour was conferred on Thibault de Termes, bailey of Chartres, Jean Charbonnet, sieur de Chevreuses, and others, to the number of thirty in all. The French archers, however, found more agreeable employment within the walls than in front of them: there was a great quantity of good wine in the town, and the weather, their exertions, and the exultation of success, made them enjoy it so well, and drink so deep, that the seneschal saw it would be impossible for him to maintain his ground there through the night. Very wisely, therefore, about four in the afternoon, while the men were not too far gone for obeying orders, and taking care of themselves, he ordered a retreat, and effected it with no other loss than that of a boat which sunk, and in which nine men-at-arms were drowned. "It was a pity," says Monstrelet, "for they had that day well done their duty may God grant them his pardon, and show mercy to all the others who fell!" They had had many killed and wounded during the day. According to their own historians, they carried off much wealth, with many prisoners, and many vessels of different sizes: they remained at anchor in the road till the Thursday following, waiting, no doubt, for a wind; the English continuing all the time in readiness to oppose them, had they attempted a second landing; but as soon as the wind served, the seneschal returned to Honfleur, where the prisoners were ransomed, and the plunder divided.*

The English are said to have been at this juncture desirous of making peace with France; but, according to Monstrelet †, the French king would neither hear nor see the ambassadors, who not only were unable to effect any part of their object, but could induce neither lord nor lady "to accept the palfreys, many of which

* Monstrelet, 398. 401. Hall (235.) is very angry at the French account, in which, however, there seems to be nothing exaggerated. It was an affair wherein both parties behaved well, and each might have learnt to respect the other.

+ Vol. x. p. 41.

they had brought with them to gain the friendship of the persons about the court."

The time was at hand when the English, by sea as well as on shore, were to be divided against themselves. A solemn award had been made at Westminster, between the two great factions, that "all variances, discords, debates, controversies, and appeals" between them should for ever be determined and ended; and, for the open publication of this joyful agreement, a solemn procession was A. D. celebrated in St. Paul's; the king being present, "in habit 1459. royal, with his crown on his head," behind him queen Margaret and the duke of York, holding each other by the hand, and after them two chiefs of either party, paired in like manner, and parading hand in hand; the simple king being, perhaps, the only person concerned in whose heart the deadliest hatred was not rankling, even while God and man were called upon thus solemnly to witness the reconciliation! "What shall be said ?" says Holinshed; 66 as goodly apples corrupted at core, how fair coated soever they seem, can never be made sound again; nor rotten walls, new plastered without, can ever the more stay their mouldering inward, till the putrified matter fret through the crust, and lay all in the mire; so fared it on all parts in this dissembled and counterfeit concord: for, after this apparent peace, divers of the nobles, smally regarding their honours, forgot their oath, and brake their promise boldly.'

The most powerful of those nobles, Richard Nevil, earl of Warwick, was at that time deputy of Calais and high admiral; and, lest he should be dispossessed of his government, which was a post of great importance always, and of the greatest when a struggle for the crown was about to ensue, he left England for the purpose of seizing and securing both Calais and the fleet for the house of York. Fortune favoured him on this occasion; for, having fourteen well-appointed ships in his company, he fell in with a fleet of Spaniards and Genoese, among which were three large carracks of

Holinshed, 248.

Genoa, and two Spanish ships that exceeded them both in height and length. "There was a very sore and long-continued battle fought betwixt them," for it lasted almost the space of two days. The English lost an hundred slain, and many more who were sorely hurt; the Spaniards and Genoese suffered far more: one account speaks of 1000 men killed, another of six and twenty vessels sunk or put to flight: the only certain statement is, that three of the largest prizes were carried into Calais, laden with oil, wine, wax, iron, cloth of gold, and other riches, to the estimated value of more than 10,000l. "The earl's fame, it is added, hereby increased not a little, and many a blessing he had for this piece of service."* Warwick was not very scru

pulous concerning the lawfulness of the captures which he could make upon the high seas. Recent disputes with A. D. the Hanse Towns had led to a truce of eight years, with 1456. the expressed hope that, during that interval, the complaints and claims on both sides might be adjusted †: that truce, however, had not long been agreed on, before the earl fell in with some Lubeck ships, and gave them battle: a new complaint arose out of this affair; and commissioners were appointed to meet with others from Lubeck at Rochester, and there enquire into it. He had now matter of greater moment to engage his restless spirit.

When the civil war had broken out, and the duke of York had taken the field, Warwick came from Calais to his aid, bringing with him a body of old soldiers accustomed to the wars of Guienne and Normandy. The two armies approached, and were within half a mile of each other, near Ludlow, when the king pitched his camp, and offered a free pardon to such of the rebels as should give over their lewdly begun enterprise, and repair to him for mercy. The proclamation had the effect which might be expected at the commencement of a rebellion, before the habit of obedience has been broken, and the principle destroyed. Among others, the greater *Holinshed, 250. Fabyan, 631. † Rymer, xi. 374. Ib. xi. 415.