country in foreign expeditions. His own heroic temper was a powerful excitement to this course; and the civil dissentions of France furnished him an opportunity upon which he promptly seized. He sent an embassy to Paris with proposals of alliance, on the condition that the provinces which had been gradually ravished from the British Crown, since the time of Edward the Third, should be restored to him, and that he should wed a French Princess with an immense dowry. These demands were peremptorily rejected; and Henry as quickly resolved to enforce his claims by arms. He embarked with a fine at Southampton, and landed at Harfleur.

army

Our great Shakspeare, who, in his historical dramas, retained the fidelity of our ancient chronicles, whilst he infused into them the noblest spirit of poetry, has made the battle of Agincourt the principal subject of one of his plays. Whilst our attention is directed to this remarkable event, we cannot avoid taking up the works of the immortal dramatist. Henry the Fifth laid siege to Harfleur, which was for a long time obstinately defended. The King conducted the siege with invincible courage and perseverance; but how faint is any description we can give of these qualities, compared with the following language which he is supposed to have addressed to his soldiers :

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead!

In

peace there's nothing so becomes a man,

As modest stillness, and humility:

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage:
Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit
To his full height!-On, on, you noblest English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers, that, like so many Alexanders,

Have, in these parts, from morn till even fought,
And sheath'd their swords for lack of argument;

Dishonour not your mothers; now attest,

That those, whom you call'd fathers, did beget you!
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,

And teach them how to war!-And you, good yeomen,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture: let us swear

That you are worth your breeding: which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot;
Follow your spirit; and upon this charge,

Cry-God for Harry! England! and Saint George!"

The town was at length taken by storm, but the expedition of Henry had nearly terminated with his first success. The English army was suffering with a most dreadful disease, in consequence of the fatigues of the siege, and the unusual heat of the season. This unforeseen event determined the King to retreat, and to march towards Calais. A powerful French army intercepted him. Henry offered to sacrifice his conquest of Harfleur for a safe passage to Calais; his proposal was rejected. He however effected a passage over the river Somme, but was encountered upon the plains of Agincourt by the whole French army. It is impossible to imagine a situation in which a General might with less disgrace have at once submitted himself to the enemy. The army of England was reduced by disease to half its original number, whilst its poor remnant of enfeebled men had nothing but their native courage, and the genius of their commander, to support them in the conflict. The French forces on the contrary were strong in their numbers, in vigorous health, fully equipped, and flushed with the anticipation of an easy victory. Each army conducted itself as might be expected from men under such opposite circumstances. French, with a blind confidence, passed the night before the battle in heedless revelry; and as the chroniclers relate, played at games of chance, making their expected prisoners the stakes. The English passed the night in patient watching, ruminating upon their danger,

The

and receiving that encouragement from their highminded King, which would teach them the only way to escape from it by their own courage. The army of Henry was drawn up with great skill, on a narrow ground, between two woods protecting each flank. In this situation he patiently awaited the approach of the enemy; but the French, deterred by the position of which Henry had possessed himself, hesitated to advance. "My friends," cried the English King, "since they will not begin, let us set them the example." His army instantly advanced with a shout. The French cavalry were unable to withstand the attack of the English bowmen, and as they gave way, a body of English horse came upon them and scattered them in every direction. When the second line of the enemy advanced, Henry leapt from his horse, and fought on foot at the head of his men. The nar

rative of his personal prowess partakes perhaps a little of the marvellous taste of the age. He was recorded to have singly withstood eighteen of the most chosen knights of France. However exaggerated may be the details of the battle, it is unquestionable that the prowess of the King was of the highest importance in those days, when the skill of the tactician was less required than the courage of the hero. War was then, much more than now, a contest of individual bravery; and battles were decided more by the gallantry of the troops, than the science of the general. The English army well imitated the example of their leader. They fought with the desperate strength of men surrounded on all sides by the heaviest dangers; they forgot their sickness and the smallness of their numbers. The proud and gorgeous army of France was routed in every direction.

Such was the battle of Agincourt, an event which Englishmen will ever hold memorable. Its results were highly honourable to Henry. He married the Princess Catherine; and though the King of France retained the crown, Henry was declared heir to the throne. These advantages were again lost to the next generation; for, during the reign of Henry VI.

the English were ejected from France. We cannot regret that prudence did not hold what valour had won; for we now feel that such a sovereignty as the King of England would have assumed over the French, could not have finally tended to the glory or prosperity of either country. But England had a great and permanent gain in the example of bravery which her people derived from these conquests; and in the impulse which they gave to that energy of character which has never yet deserted us. The triumphs of an heroic ancestry are among the most enduring legacies to a great people. Though the philosopher may perceive in such victories only the poor and passing vanities of ambition, the patriot will find in them materials which may sway a people when their country has to fight for its freedom and independence. How much of the spirit that triumphed at Blenheim and Waterloo may have been preserved to us by the national recollections of Cressy and Agincourt!

C. K.

MEMOIR OF LORD BURLEIGH.

THE reign of Queen Elizabeth is a period of English History to which all classes of our readers are disposed to look back with singular pleasure. There is so much to delight the fancy in the remains of Chivalry and Romance exhibited in a female court; so much to admire in the extraordinary talents and accomplishments of the Queen and her Ministers; and so much to flatter the pride of an Englishman in the splendid success of her arms against the foreign enemy;-that there is perhaps no period in the annals of this country (if indeed we except our own), which fills the mind with so many objects of interest and curiosity. The character of the illustrious Minister, whose learning, sagacity, and energy, so greatly contributed to the national prosperity of her reign, is an object well worthy of our contemplation; and when we reflect that his extraordinary mind was directed

with unremitting attention to the management of her councils, during a period of forty years, many of our readers will be desirous to learn some particulars of his history, in order to form a better judgment of his character and services.

This great man was William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, son of Richard Cecil, Master of the Robes to King Henry VIII. He was born at Bourne, in Lincolnshire, Sept. 13, 1520. Having been educated at the Grammar School of Grantham, and afterwards at Stamford, he was thence removed in 1535 to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was as much distinguished for the regularity of his conduct, as by the extraordinary diligence with which he prosecuted his studies. It is recorded of him that he made an agreement with the bell-ringer to awaken him every morning at four o'clock, and continued the practice of severe study so earnestly as to bring on a complaint in his legs, which troubled him in advanced life. He became a complete master of classical learning, to which he added extensive knowledge in every department of science within his reach. He chose the profession of the law, and in 1541 was entered a student of Gray's Inn; where, falling in with two Romish priests, he so ably confuted them in argument that his reputation reached the ears of King Henry VIII., who desired to see him, and, in token of his favour, gave him the reversion of the office of Keeper of the Writs, of which he obtained possession in the subsequent reign of Edward VI. Having first married the sister of the celebrated Sir John Cheke, who was tutor to that excellent young prince, he was introduced to the protector Duke of Somerset, and this connexion led him to abandon the profession of the law for a political life. Having afterwards married for his second wife, Mildred, one of the accomplished daughters of Sir Anthony Cook, another of the King's preceptors, this union tended greatly to increase his interest at Court. This lady was one of the most extraordinary scholars in that learned age, when the example of the Queen led most women of rank to the study of the Greek and Latin