manded in person. The French fleet is said to have consisted of four hundred sail; and that of the English is numbered at three hundred. In this action, which lasted from morning till night, Edward displayed astonishing skill, and performed prodigies of valour; the French, on their part, shewed great courage, but at last were totally defeated; and, of their whole fleet, only thirty vessels escaped. As frequent mention of Edward's fleets is made by historians, it is necessary to remark the small size of the vessels, in order to form an idea of the naval engagements of that age. The mayor and sheriffs of London had been required to take up all vessels of forty tons and upwards, and to furnish them with armed men, and other necessaries for war.* Notwithstanding therefore the number of ships, it is evident that two or three frigates of modern times would, in that age, have been sufficient to annihilate the whole marine, both of England and France.

Edward's success in this naval engagement, enabled him to land his troops in Flanders without opposition; and his army, when mustered, was the finest that was ever commanded by an English king; it consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand men, of different nations. He immediately commenced the siege of Tournay, but was unable to take the town. A truce was soon after concluded, and Edward returned to England: many reasons engaged Edward to consent to this suspension of hostilities; but the most urgent of all was the want of money, which he found impossible to obtain, although he had made use of every means for that purpose. His presence, however, was of importance at home; for while he was carrying on the war against France, the Scots had so well improved the opportunity, that Bruce's adherents had nearly expelled Baliol from the kingdom. This unexpected revolution, convincing Edward of his mistake, in supposing Scotland incapable of giving him any further disquiet, he resolved to attack it once more, by land and by sea; but a violent storm prevented the execution of his design. On the termination of a short truce, the French king, having furnished

Bruce with men and money, sent him into Scotland, where he levied a formidable army; and, invading England, penetrated as far as Durham, which he took in a few days, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. Shortly after, the king of England, desirous of putting an end to the war, which impeded his measures for the attainment of his grand object, proposed a truce for two years, which Bruce gladly accepted.

This interval of tranquillity left Edward at liberty to redress several grievances complained of by his people. He called a parliament, in which he solemnly confirmed the great charter of liberties; and instituted many other regulations for the benefit of his subjects. Amidst the occupations of peace, Edwar was intent on preparations for war. He had found his alliances with foreign princes attended with so enormous an expense, and productive of so trifling advantages, that he resolved on a different mode of proceeding. He dispatched into Germany, and the Low Countries, agents, with full powers to treat with all sorts of persons, who were willing to assist him, either with money or men. For the more effectual accomplishment of this design, and to attract to his court numbers of foreign lords, with whom he might personally treat, he bethought himself of an expedient, which eminently displays the character of that age. He instituted tournaments, and gave an honourable reception to all persons of distinction, who chose to be present, treating them in such a manner, as obliged them to admire his politeness, magnificence, and liberality. This gave him an opportunity of attaching them to his interests, and of contracting with them for the supplies which they could furnish. Philip of Valois, ever watchful of Edward's proceedings, was exceeding jealous, on seeing Spaniards, Italians, Germans, and Flemings, and even Frenchmen, his own subjects, flocking to London to assist at the tournaments. Immediately suspecting some hidden designs in these exhibitions, he imagined, that the measures of the king of England would be best counteracted by similar means,, and therefore caused the same entertainments to be established in his capital, and made public throughout Europe. Thus the nobility of almost all Christendom were attracted to Lon

don and Paris, and numbers of them engaged in the contest between England and France.

The truce being broken before the stipulated time of its expiration, each of the parties accused the other of being the first violater, and hostilities were immediately recommenced. Edward having lost his valuable ally, James Arteville, the brewer of Ghent, who was killed in a popular tumult, found that he had no more advantages to expect from the Flemings, and therefore changed his point of attack. He embarked at Southampton, where having assembled his principal officers, and animated them by his exhortations, he gave free liberty of departure to any one who did not feel himself possessed of courage to proceed; he then sailed to the coast of France, and landed at la Hogue, in Normandy.

It would be to no purpose here, to repeat the particulars of a war related by all historians. In the battle of Cressy, France lost the king of Bohemia, the count d'Alençon, king Philip's brother, the duke of Lorraine, the counts of Flanders and Blois, fifteen other barons, twelve hundred knights, and above thirty thousand men. Historians in general agree that cannon were first used by Edward in this battle, being then unknown to the French; and that to this circumstance the victory was in a great measure to be attributed. Edward used his victory with moderation, and treated the wounded prisoners with great humanity. The memorable siege of Calais is also among the events of this war, as well as the cap ture of David, king of Scotland, who, taking advantage of Edward's absence, had made an inroad as far as Durham, but was defeated and made prisoner by the queen Philippa of Hainault, who, with dauntless courage and astonishing expedition, collected an army; gave battle to the Scotch; and gained a memorable victory, A. D. 1347, when the king her husband was occupied at the siege of Calais. After the surrender of that city, a truce was concluded with Philip; and Edward returned to England. The English name had never been so glorious as at that period. The glory of Edward was still heightened by the arrival of ambassadors from Germany with an offer of the imperial dignity, which he thought fit to

decline, as the acceptance thereof might divert him from his principal pursuit, the acquisition of the crown of France, which he considered as a more substantial good. This indeed was the object in which all his views concentered.

In this period of national prosperity and greatness, it pleased Divine Providence to inflict upon England a dreadful calamity. An almost universal pestilence, having first made its appearance in Asia, spread itself westward until it reached Europe and Africa. In France and England its effects were dreadful. In the latter, its rage was so destructive that, according to some authors, in less than two years many towns lost nine-tenths of their inhabitants, and it is generally computed that one half of the nation perished by this terrible disLondon particularly experienced its effects in so great a degree that, in one year, 50,000 persons were buried in the common burial ground, where a chapel and monastery, now called the Charter House, were afterwards built, in commemoration of this dreadful calamity.*

ease.

At the expiration of the truce with France, the king of England invested his son, the prince of Wales, with the duchy of Guienne, and dispatched him thither to recommence the war. From this province he made inroads into France, and ravaged the southern parts of that kingdom; but receiving -intelligence of the approach of John, king of France, with an army of 60,000 men, he attempted to retreat to Bourdeaux. John, by forced marches, overtook him near Poitiers; and the prince, finding his retreat impossible, intrenched his army at Maupertuis, in a post of difficult access. Here the prince made proposals of peace highly advantageous to France; but John rejected all offers of accommodation, assuring himself that the English army would be obliged to surrender at discretion. The event, however, convinced him of the shortness of human foresight. The army of the prince consisted of about 12,000 men. John might have compelled this small army to surrender, by cutting off its supplies; but his rash courage, and sanguine expectations, induced him to bring the

* Pennant's London, p. 175.

English to action in a place where the French cavalry was useless. After a hard fought battle, in which both the prince and the king of France performed prodigies of valour, victory declared for the former, and the latter was taken prisoner. On that day, so glorious to England, and so fatal to France, not more than 6,000 French were slain; but in this number were 800 nobles.

Amidst these scenes of war, it is pleasing to contemplate the humanity and politeness exercised towards prisoners, so very different from the maxims of early antiquity. The captive king of France was treated, both in the Prince of Wales's camp, and afterwards in king Edward's court, with all the respect and attention that he could have received at Paris, and the same kind treatment was extended to all the prisoners, according to the distinction of rank. Indeed, all the victories of Edward and his son were rendered more glorious by acts of humanity, and manifestations of piety. The reign of Edward III. seems to have been the age of politeness as well as of magnificence. His glory was not only great, but uncommon, in having prisoners, at one time, his two most potent enemies, the kings of France and Scotland.

A new treaty being made with the Scots, Bruce, their king, was ransomed for 100,000 marks; and a ten years truce was concluded between England and Scotland. John, king of France, also concluded a treaty with Edward concerning his liberation; but the states general of France, disapproving of the conditions, refused its ratification. John therefore remained a prisoner, and Edward transported an army of 100,000 men to Calais. This vast assemblage of troops was divided into three bodies; the first commanded by the king in person, the second by the Prince of Wales, and the third by the Duke of Lancaster. This numerous army, commanded by the three most famous generals at that time in Europe, advanced into France, without opposition; while the Dauphin, finding himself too weak to keep the field, contented himself with placing garrisons in the principal towns, without venturing to hazard a battle. The English army ravaged Artois, and part of Champagne; but the Duke of Burgundy,