bishop of Winchester, a Poitevin by birth, a man remarkable for his arbitrary conduct, for his courage, and his abilities. Henry, in purfuance of this prelate's advice, invited over a great number of Poictevins, and other foreigners, who having neither principles nor fortunes at home, were willing to adopt whatever fchemes their employer thould propofe. Every office and command was bestowed on thefe unprincipled strangers, whofe avarice and rapacity were exceeded only by their pride and infolence. So unjuft a partiality to ftrangers very naturally excited the jealoufy of the barons; and they even ventured to affure the king, that if he did not difmifs all foreigners from court, they would drive both him and. them out of the kingdom; but their anger was scarce kept within bounds when they faw a new fwarm of thefe intruders come over from Gafcony with Ifabella, the king's mother, who had been fome time before married to the count de la Marche. To thefe just causes of complaint were added the king's unfuccefsful expeditions to the continent, his total want of economy, and his oppreffive exactions, which were but the refult of the former The kingdom therefore waited with gloomy refolution, refolving to take vengeance, when the general discontent was arrived at maturity.

This imprudent preference, joined to a thousand other illegal evafions of juftice, at last impelled Simon Montfort, earl of Leicester, to attempt an innovation in the government, and to wreft the fceptre from the feeble hand that held it. This nobleman was the son of the famous general who commanded againft the Albigenfes, a fect of enthusiasts that had been deftroyed fome time before in the kingdom of Savoy. He was married to the king's fifter; and, by his power and addrefs, was poffeffed of a ftrong interest in the nation, having gained equally the affections of the great and the little.

The

The first place where the formidable confederacy which he formed firft difcovered itfelf, was in the parliament-houfe, where the barons appeared in complete armour. The king, upon his entry, afked them what was their intention? to which they fubmiffively replied, to make him their fovereign, by confirming his power, and to have their grievances redreffed. Henry, who was ready enough to promife whatever was demanded, inftantly affured them of his intentions to give all poffible fatisfaction; and for that purpofe fummoned a parliament at Oxford, to digeft a new plan of government, and to elect proper perfons, who were to be entrusted with the chief autho rity. This parliament, afterwards called the mad parliament, went expeditiously to work upon the bufinefs of reformation. Twenty-four barons were appointed, with fupreme authority, to reform the abuses of the state, and Leicester was placed at their head. The whole ftate in their hands underwent a complete alteration; all its former officers were difplaced, and creatures of the twenty-four barons were put in their room. They not only abridged the authority of the king, but the efficacy of parliament, giving up to twelve perfons all parliamentary power between each feffion. Thus thefe infolent nobles, after having trampled upon the crown, threw proftrate all the rights of the people, and a vile oligarchy was on the point of being established for

ever.

The first oppofition that was made to thefe ufur. pations, was from a power, which but lately began. to take place in the conftitution. The knights of the fhire, who, for fome time, had begun to be regularly affembled in a feparate houfe, now firft perceived those grievances, and complained against them. They reprefented, that their own interefts and power feemed the only aim of all their decrees; and they even called upon the king's eldest fon, prince Ed

ward

ward, to interpose his authority, and fave the finking

nation.

Prince Edward was at this time about twenty-two years of age. The hopes which were conceived of his abilities and his integrity rendered him an important perfonage in the tranfactions of the times, and in fome measure atoned for his father's imbecility. He had at a very early age given the ftrongeft proofs of courage, of wisdom, and of conftancy. At first, indeed, when applied to, appearing fenfible of what his father had fuffered by levity and breach of pro. mife, he refused fome time to liften to the people's earneft application; but being at laft perfuaded to concur, a parliament was called, in which the king refumed his former authority.

This being confidered as a breach of the late convention, a civil war enfued, in which in a pitched battle the earl of Leicester became victorious, and the king was taken prifoner, but foon after exchanged for prince Edward, who was to remain as an hoflage to enfure the punctual obfervance of the former agreement.

With all these advantages however, Leicester was not fo entirely secure, but that he ftill feared the combinations of the foreign states against him, as well as the internal machinations of the royal party. In order therefore to fecure his ill-acquired power, he was obliged to have recourfe to an aid till now entirely unknown in England, namely, that of the body of the people. He called a parliament, where, befides the barons of his own party, and feveral ecclefiaftics, who were not immediate tenants of the crown, he ordered returns to be made of two knights from every thire, and alfo deputies from the boroughs, which had been hitherto confidered as too inconfiderable to have a voice in legiflation. This is the firft confirmed outline of an English house of commons. The people

had

had been gaining fome confideration fince the gradual diminution of the force of the feudal fyftem.

This parliament, however, was found not fo very complying as he expected. Many of the barons, who had hitherto ftedfaftly adhered to his party, appeared difgufted at his immoderate ambition; and many of the people, who found that a change of mafters was not a change for happiness, began to wifh for the reestablishment of the royal family. In this exigence, Leicefter finding himself unable to oppofe the concurring wishes of the nation, was refolved to make a merit of what he could not prevent; and he accordingly released prince Edward from confinement, and had him introduced at Westminster hall, where his freedom was confirmed by the unanimous voice of the barons. But though Leicefter had all the popularity of reftoring the prince, yet he was politic enough to keep him ftill guarded by his emiffaries, who watched all his motions, and frustrated all his aimis.

Wherefore the prince upon hearing that the duke of Gloucester was up in arms in his caufe, he took an opportunity to efcape from his guards, and put himself at the head of his party. A battle foon after enfued; but the earl's army having been exhausted by famine on the mountains of Wales, were but ill able to fuftain the impetuofity of young Edward's attack, who bore down upon them with incredible fury. During this terrible day, Leicester behaved with astonishing intrepidity; and kept up the fpirit of the action from two o'clock in the afternoon till nine at night. At laft, his horse being killed under him, he was compelled to fight on foot; and tho' he demanded quarter, the adverfe party refused it, with a barbarity common enough in the times we are defcribing. The old king, who was placed in the front of the battle, was foon wounded in the fhoul der; and not being known by his friends, he was on

the

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the point of being killed by a foldier; but crying out, I am Henry of Winchester the king, he was faved by a knight of the royal army. Prince Edward hearing the voice of his father, inftantly ran to the spot where he lay, and had him conducted to a place of fafety. The body of Leicester being found among the dead, was barbaroufly mangled by one Roger Mortimer; and then with an accumulation of inhumanity, sent to the wretched widow, as a teftimony of the royal party's fuccefs.

This victory proved decifive; and the prince having thus reftored peace to the kingdom, found his affairs fo firmly established, that he refolved upon taking the cross, which was at that time the highest object of human ambition.

In purfuance of his refolution, Edward failed from England with a large army, and arrived at the camp of Lewis, the king of France, which lay before Tunis; and where he had the misfortune to hear of that good monarch's death before his arrival. The prince however, no way difcouraged by this event, continued his voyage, and arrived at the Holy Land in fafety.

He was fcarce departed upon this pious expedition, when the health of the old king began to decline; and he found not only his own conftitution, but also that of the state, in fuch a dangerous fituation, that he wrote letters to his fon, preffing him to return with all dispatch. At laft being overcome by the cares of government, and the infirmities of age, he ordered himfelf to be removed, by eafy journies, from St. Edmund's to Westminster, and that fame night expired, in the fixty-fourth year of his age, and the fifty-fixth of his reign, the longeft to be met with in the annals of England.

CHAP