Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 5.djvu/134

194 in the civil and canon laws, he was instructed by the best masters; and an acquaintance with Norman-French was necessarily acquired at a court where it was still currently spoken and highly cultivated. Devoted, however, as he was to these pursuits, James appears to have given his mind with a still stronger bias to the study of English poetry, choosing Chaucer and Gower for his masters in the art, and entering with the utmost ardour into the great object of the first of these illustrious men—the improvement of the English language, the production of easy and natural rhymes, and the refinement of poetical numbers from the rude compositions which had preceded him."

Thus passed years of restraint, unmarked by any other incident than removal from one place of captivity to another, till the death of Henry IV. in 1414. On the very day after this event, the "gallant" Henry V. ordered his royal prisoner to be removed to close confinement in the Tower. In general, however, the restraint imposed upon the young king was not inconsistent with his enjoyment of the pleasures of life, among which one of the most agreeable must have been the intercourse which he was allowed to hold with his Scottish friends. It is the opinion of Mr Tytler, that the policy of the English kings in this matter was much regulated by the terror in which they held a mysterious person residing at the Scottish court, under the designation of king Richard, and who was the object of perpetual conspiracies among the enemies of the house of Lancaster. It is at least highly probable that Albany kept up that personage as a kind of bug-bear, to induce the English monarch to keep a close guard over his nephew.

The duke of Albany died in 1419, and was succeeded as governor by his eldest son Murdoch, who was as weak as his father had been energetic and ambitious. About the same time, a large party of Scottish knights and their retainers proceeded, under the command of the earl of Buchan, second son of Albany, to assist the French king in repelling the efforts which Henry V. of England was making to gain the sovereignty of France. In the hope, perhaps, of gaining his deliverance, James was persuaded by king Henry to accompany him to France, and to join with him in taking the opposite side to that which was assumed by this party of his subjects. But of this part of his life no clear account is preserved ; only the consideration which he attained with the English king is amply proved by his acting (1422) as chief mourner at his funeral. This, however, was an event which he had little reason to regret, as it opened a prospect of his obtaining his liberty, a circumstance which would scarcely have taken place during the life of Henry ; or, at least, while that prince lived, James could not look forward to any definite period for the termination of his captivity.

The duke of Bedford, who was appointed protector of England on the death of Henry, adopting a wiser policy with regard to Scotland than that monarch had pursued, offered to deliver up the Scottish king on payment of a ransom of forty thousand pounds, to be paid within six years by half yearly payments, and that hostages should be given for the faithful liquidation of the debt. The English, disavowing the term ransom as derogatory, in this instance, to the national character and dignity, alleged that the pecuniary consideration was demanded as payment of the king's maintenance while in England; but as Henry V. allowed only £700 a-year for this purpose, and the term of James's captivity was about nineteen years, giving thus an amount of something more than £13,000 altogether, it is pretty evident that they did not intend to be losers by the transaction—though, as the money was never paid, they certainly were not gainers. After a good deal of delay, and much discussion on both sides, the arrangement for the liberation of the king was finally adjusted by the Scottish commissioners, who proceeded to London for that purpose, on the 9th of March,