Page:The Queens of England.djvu/236

 2oo THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. the season of retaliation was not long procrastinated, for upon her army's march from the north, the queen herself command- ing one division, and the Earl of Pembroke, the king's half- brother, the other, the latter was met at Mortimer's Cross by the Earl of March, now become Duke of York, and the defeat of the royalists presented an opportunity too readily for the exercise of sanguinary reprisals. Margaret appears to have been more successful, and St. Alban's was the second time the scene of a fierce engagement, which terminated in her favor, notwithstanding that Warwick, leader of the rebels, had been reinforced by his friends the Londoners. It may be supposed that the separation of the royal pair since the king's capture at Northampton rendered this victory doubly acceptable — its result was their reunion. Warwick had brought the king along with him in his escape ; but of this the queen was not aware till his faithful attendant ran to Lord Clifford's quarters to announce the fact. They met in the tent of Clifford, with the most lively demonstrations of affectionate joy, and the king, at his consort's desire, conferred the dignity of knighthood upon "their son, Prince Edward, and thirty more of them who had valiantly behaved them- selves in the battle ;" yet could neither the dictates of her gentler nature nor the promises of her lord avail to induce her to relinquish her unfeminine resolves, and on Ash-Wednesday, in defiance of Henry's personal protection, the execution of Lord Bouville and Sir Thomas Kyriel took place, as we read, even before her eyes, in the presence of the youthful prince ! Events had by this time assumed such an aspect that it was clearly impossible to insure peace by the temporary success of either party, and hence, in the very moment of its triumph, Edward of York was rapidly advancing towards the royal army, which, to the last degree licentious and undisciplined, was in no condition to oppose him. Urged by these circum- stances, and hopeless of enlisting the Londoners in her serv- ice, already so offended by the insulting tone with which she demanded provisions for her soldiery, and at the depredations of her northern cavalry, as to close their gates against her, the queen was once more compelled reluctantly to retreat, leaving the field open to the victorious Edward. This trial of hope deferred was shortly afterwards augmented by intelli- gence that the latter on entering the metropolis had been received with acclamation by the people, who, upon Warwick's