ENGLISH HISTORY. HENRY VI. See page 202. WE are now about to enter upon a period of English history which is deeply interesting, not only from the events which occurred therein, but from its showing, in a most remarkable manner, the dealings of Providence with nations, causing the offences of public bodeis to be instrumental in bringing down judgments upon them. Both France and England had given themselves up to the papal power; and at its bidding their rulers had taken an active part in "wearing out" the saints of the Most High. It was not long before judgments, very similar in their leading features, were poured in succession upon each of these lands. France had first been guilty, and was the first to suffer. Internal dissensions prevailed; civil war followed, and the land was desolated; especially when an invading power took advantage of the intestine contests. England was the instrument used to correct France; but England had been guilty in a like manner, and it suffered in its turn. Civil discords arose; the land was desolated; and the rulers who had done much to bring down the Divine wrath, were themselves particularly the sufferers. JUNE, 1838. When Henry v. died on September 1, 1422, his infant son, then only nine months old, was proclaimed king, by the title of Henry vi. The government was vested in the late king's brothers. The eldest, the Duke of Bedford, was nominated protector, but as he was chiefly engaged in France, the younger brother, the Duke of Gloucester, became chief ruler in England. The King of France, Charles vi., did not long survive Henry v., who had been appointed his successor. He died in October, and the infant monarch, the son of Henry_v., was proclaimed at Paris, King of France as well as of England. The Dauphin, however, assumed the regal title, and under the title of Charles VII., was acknowledged by onethird of France, chiefly the south-eastern provinces. Had the French monarch expired while Henry v. was living and powerful, probably no effectual effort would have been made in support of the Dauphin; but under the rule of a protector, whose abilities and powers were somewhat inferior, the partisans of Charles VII., assisted by Scotland, ventured to make a struggle. Two battles ended unfavourably to Charles, and it seemed impossible for him to continue the contest with any hopes of success, although Bedford was not assisted with R men and supplies to the extent he desired. At this critical juncture, events occurred which changed the current of English victory. Jacqueline, of Hainault, left her second husband, the Duke of Brabant, and repaired to the court of England, where the Duke of Gloucester, in a hasty and ill-advised moment, became her third husband, and obtained from a competitor for the popedom, a sentence of divorce dissolving her late union. Brabant cared not for this ill-conducted woman; but he refused to surrender the territory which Gloucester claimed in her right, and applied to his cousin, the Duke of Burgundy, then the chief ally of England, who espoused his cause. The Duke of Bedford was much displeased at the misconduct of his brother Gloucester, and endeavoured to prevent the ill consequences likely to ensue. After various negotiations, and some hostilities, the Pope annulled the English marriage of Jacqueline, and the vicious Gloucester formed another hasty union with Eleanor Cobham, one of Jacqueline's attendants, who had already disgraced herself. Such proceedings weakened his influence as a ruler, while they strongly confirm the declaration of Holy Writ, that "an adulterer lacketh understanding;" and we are further told, that he "destroyeth his own soul." By this vice, Gloucester, though possessing many qualities which rendered him popular, gave advantages to his great opposer, Beaufort, the crafty and ambitious Bishop of Winchester. How careful should every one be to keep from "the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman!" This caution especially applies to rulers, whose rank and station expose them to many temptations. These differences interrupted Bedford in his progress, and gave the partisans of Charles time to regain some strength. Nor was Burgundy guiltless in these matters; his addresses to the Countess of Salisbury induced her husband to return to England for a time, and thus the English power in France was considerably weakened. The open licentiousness of all ranks at this period, strongly testifies against the principles inculcated by the Church of Rome, and shows how different were the actual practices of chivalry from its professed principles. The discord between Gloucester and his uncle, the Bishop of Winchester, proceeded to open hostility, and a skirmish between their followers, at London bridge, was with difficulty ended by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other nobles. The interference of Parliament was needful, and the contending rulers were constrained to an outward amity. The ambitious churchman obtained the⚫ dignity of cardinal, and he undertook a crusade against the followers of Christ in Bohemia, who were then persecuted by the popedom. He raised troops under this pretence, but led them to France to join the army of his brother Bedford. This brings us to 1428, when the protector again resumed active measures against Charles. The infant monarch of England had meanwhile continued under the care of his mother and the Bishop of Winchester. On more than one occasion, he had been produced in public, and made the unconscious instrument of giving charters and appointments. The engraving on page 201 is copied from an ancient drawing in the Life of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, under whose especial tutelage Henry was placed at the age of six years. It represents his coronation in France, which Southey has thus described: In Paris now The Earl of Warwick appears to have possessed some of the better qualities of chivalry. He applied for and obtained the entire direction of the education and rearing of the young prince; but, whatever might be the cause, Henry vi. manifested any thing but the knightly character of his preceptor. It is possible that Warwick may have endeavoured to enforce some of those rigorous proceedings which the laws of chivalry prescribed for the training up of the incipient knight, and thus may have broken a spirit naturally weak. Had Henry vi. been found only indisposed for war, there would have been no cause for regret; but, in the result, he proved a mere puppet in the hands of others, a slave of superstition, enfeebled in his reason and understanding. The English forces engaged in the siege of Orleans, a strong city, defended with great obstinacy. The besiegers suffered considerable loss, and the Earl of Salisbury was slain by a cannon shot, while viewing the town from an outwork which the English had carried. "Look from this place, my lord, on your city," was the premature invitation of Glasdale, one of his officers, when a stone ball struck the earl, and shot away part of his face, and he died in a few hours. The superstitions of the age increased the dread of the effects of gunpowder, and held those accursed "who died by great shot;" men forgot that the state of the soul, not the instrument of death, decides the question of happiness, both as to this world, and that to come. The siege proceeded, and the success of the English appeared certain. Charles VII. already considered his cause desperate, and prepared to seek a refuge in Scotland, or in Spain. But the history of nations has often shown that "the battle is not to the strong;" and that "the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." The ambition of Henry v. had been suffered to find full gratification, till disease and death stopped his career. His brothers had been permitted to advance in the same course, till their plans seemed about to be fully accomplished. It is true, that some indications of ebbing success had been shown; but again the flood had advanced, and appeared just about to overcome the only remaining obstacle, when the command went forth from the Almighty Ruler, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." Then success departed, and failure followed upon failure, till the ambitious rulers of England, the haughty sons of violence, who oppressed the weak and the poor of their own land, and destroyed the helpless among their opponents, were themselves visited in their turn. We know how the course of a mighty conqueror, in recent days, was stayed and turned by the war of elements, when the storm and tempest went forth at the bidding of the Creator; but the power of England at this period was checked by a still more feeble instrument: a shepherd girl was the means appointed to discomfit its princes, and to commence a new course of proceedings, which rolled back the tide of suffering on their own land. Joan of Arc was a native of Domremy, a small village in Champagne, near the borders of Burgundy, a situation which accounts for the deep interest felt by its inhabitants as to the question whether Henry or Charles should be king of France. The plundering habits of the military, as the property of her father consisted in the cattle and produce of a small farm, would make the proceedings of the parties then engaged in warfare the subject of frequent discussion and deep interest in her little circle. At one period the family had been forced to flee from their homes. Their wishes were strongly excited in favour of Charles. The human mind is impressed by surrounding circumstances in a deeper or slighter degree, according to the natural temperament of the individual. Joan was correct in her moral character, but had little inclination for the sports and amusements of her sex. She was deeply influenced by the religion, or rather superstition, which prevailed around her; and though she took her part in the duties of the family, she delighted in solitude, and used especially to frequent places in the neighbourhood, marked by fairy legends or supernatural relations. The feelings of Joan were those which arise from an impassioned combination of superstition and patriotism, with a romantic and excited imagination. Southey has well depicted her state of mind in the following lines, which she is supposed to utter : I sat in silence, musing on the days And the mind alone is wakeful. I have heard forms Dimly discover'd throng'd the twilight air. At length I heard of Orleans, by the foe All was the invaders'. Now my troubled soul Of shadowy vastness, such as made my heart The circumstances connected with the early life of Joan are clearly recorded, and when calmly considered, sufficiently explain, that, without any miraculous heavenly influence, and still more without any diabolical agency, a mind like hers, under similar circumstances, would be deeply affected by delusive fancies or hallucinations, which at that critical time were instrumental in turning the tide of events, but which, had her life been prolonged, would probably have left her bereft of reason, a raving or moping lunatic. The minute shades of transition from hallucination to lunacy are not to be easily marked or discriminated; but there is no cause to doubt that many of the most energetic and glorious deeds recorded in history, have been achieved by individuals who were under deceptive impressions as to the organs of sense, in whom, perhaps, the mental malady had begun. The statements of Joan herself sufficiently indicate to the able medical inquirer of the present day, a mind suffering under mental disease, not yet advanced to aberration of reason; and the state of France at that time, with the circumstances in which she was placed, would sufficiently account for the direction her mind admitted, and the impulse it received. This may have been stimulated from the recollection of an ancient prophecy, which declared that wonderful deeds for the deliverance of France should be accomplished by a maiden. Her visions, or hallucinations, indicated to her that she should be the means of repulsing the English, and placing Charles on the throne. St. Catherine, St. Margaret, and the Archangel Michael, seemed to flit before her eyes in her visions, and to utter voices which she thought directed the conduct she was to pursue. In May, 1428, she prevailed upon her uncle to take her to the lord of a neighbouring village, to whom she declared her mission. Baudicourt three times refused to attend to her. But during the rest of the year she continued to make declarations as to her Divine mission, especially referring to the prophecy that France should be delivered by a maiden. This report got noised abroad, and induced some of the neighbours to think it might refer to her. About Lent, 1429, she persuaded Baudicourt to send her to Charles. Her journey with an armed escort, the rumours which were spread abroad, and her own romantic and courageous demeanor, excited the public attention. She found the king at Chinon in a state of extremity. The lady of his receivergeneral declared afterwards, that in the districts obeying the king, the distress and want of money were lamentable, and that the king himself had but four crowns in his house. He and his friends having no longer any hope, were all meditating flight. Every thing was desperate, and no relief was expected. In such a state of affairs, suggestions will be listened to, which at other times would at once be rejected; and probably some effort was made to attract public attention, and to invest Joan with more than ordinary pretensions. She was able to recognise the king, though he was purposely crowded among his attendants; and there were other contrivances giving currency to her pretensions, in which she was probably the dupe, and not the agent. She declared that she was come to raise the siege ofOrleans; and after three weeks' delay, it was determined that she should be permitted to undertake the adventure. Having been accustomed to the care of horses, she possessed skill in riding, which was a very needful qualification for the part she had to sustain. A suit of armour was fitted for her to wear, she sent to a church for a sword, and one was found, or said to be found, in the place she had indicated. A banner was prepared by her orders, portraying the Saviour holding the world in his hands, while two angels adored before him; the white ground was covered with fleurs de lis. She commenced her march with an the most distinguished officers who yet adhered to Charles. army of seven thousand men, headed by | show that she was more conscientious, and desirous of acting according to the light she possessed, than the ecclesiastics Joan sent a dictatorial summons to the of her day. On one occasion she applied English leaders, commanding them to the term "Godon" to the English, a name return home; several bands of military derived from the profane oath, then, as preceded her, and, entering Orleans, an- in later days, common among the Engnounced the approach of a deliverer. | lish nation, and which even savages She entered unperceived, in the evening have often applied to their reproach. of April 30, 1429, with a few attendants, Truly it may be said, "Because of and was received with much joy by the swearing the land mourneth." garrison and inhabitants. The next day she uttered her defiance in the hearing of the besiegers, and on the approach of the main body of relieving forces, the English were so far paralysed by dread, as to allow the convoy to pass unmolested. A series of contests followed, in which Joan headed her troops with fearlessness and ability. She was wounded on one occasion, but the English were panicstruck, and impressed with a belief of infernal, supernatural agency being directed against them. Sometimes they fought with desperate courage, but their apprehensions returned again and again; and, after losing many of their soldiers, and some of their best officers, on May 8, the English generals, Suffolk and Talbot, raised the siege. Whatever their skill in the field of battle might be, they appear to have been ignorant of the general principles for the attack and defence of fortified towns. Thus was Orleans delivered in eleven days from the time Joan attempted its rescue; and it is not surprising that, in those times, such unexpected success should be attributed to supernatural means. The English army was seen marching from its lines, and Joan prepared for a battle, but ordered the French troops not to attack, saying, "It is the holy Sabbath; if they choose to depart, it is the Divine will they should be permitted to go away; but if they attack you, defend yourselves valiantly, and fear not, for you shall be their masters." She directed that mass should be performed, and prostrated herself upon the ground. Another mass was sung, and she inquired whether the English still looked towards them. Being told they were looking the other way, she said, "Let them go, and let us thank God; we will not pursue them, as it is Sunday." Undoubtedly, on all occasions Joan manifested a high degree of religious feeling, but it was only according to the sort of instruction she had received. The particulars recorded of her fully The English glory in France had now passed its meridian; and when we consider all the circumstances, we are surprised that the actions of Joan should have been imputed to the agency of Satan, and that she should have been falsely calumniated; but, at the time, all these imputations only rendered her the more an object of unfounded dread. Turner well says, "The deliverance of Orleans, however extraordinary, sudden, and unexpected, was but a splendid example of what enthusiasm can achieve." "If we pass beyond these considerations, to the providential dispositions of human events, we must be careful to make the distinction between an instrument used, and an agent commissioned." The enthusiasm of Joan insisted on an advance to Rheims, that Charles might be crowned. She headed the storming of Jargeau, and the English fled panicstricken from the field of Patay. Troyes, Chalons, and other places, submitted with little opposition. Charles approached Rheims with distrust, having no materials for a siege; but Joan boldly urged him onward, telling him to fear nothing. On July 16, he arrived before the town; the citizens invited him to enter: he was crowned on the following day, and supporters then hastened to him from every quarter. But, previous to his coronation, most of his nobles had stood aloof; few were present on that occasion; the most prominent character was Joan, who stood by the side of the monarch, holding her banner displayed. Thus Joan had accomplished what she represented to be her mission, and it appears she was desirous of retiring to private life; but Charles still wished to avail himself of the excitement she had caused. After various military movements, an unsuccessful attack was made upon Paris, in which she was wounded. In December she was declared a noble, and continued to act as a military leader, though she failed in some of her attempts. |