Page:The Works of Francis Bacon (1884) Volume 1.djvu/460

 332 HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. and falls back upon the earth again. And you know well how the kingdoms about you grow more and more in greatness, and the times are stirring, and therefore not fit to find the king with an empty purse. More I have not to say to you; and wish that what hath been said had been bet ter expressed : but that your wisdoms and good affections will supply. God bless your doings.&quot; It was no hard matter to dispose and affect the parliament in this business, as well in respect of the emulation between the nations, and the envy at the late growth of the French monarchy ; as in regard of the danger to suffer the French to make their approaches upon England, by obtaining so goodly a maritime province, full of sea-towns and havens, that might do mischief to the Eng lish, either by invasion or by interruption of traf fic. The parliament was also moved with the point of oppression; for although the French seemed to speak reason, .yet arguments are ever with multitudes too weak for suspicions. Where fore they did advise the king roundly to embrace the Britons quarrel, and to send them speedy aids ; and with much alacrity and forwardness granted to the king a great rate of subsidy in con templation of these aids. But the king, both to keep a decency towards the French king, to whom he profest himself to be obliged, and indeed de sirous rather to show war than to make it, sent new solemn ambassadors to intimate unto him the decree of his estates, and to iterate his motion, that the French would desist from hostility; or if war must follow, to desire him to take it in good part, if, at the motion of his people, who were sen sible of the cause of the Britons as their ancient friends and confederates, he did send them suc cours ; with protestation nevertheless, that, to save all treaties and laws of friendship, he had limited his forces, to proceed in aid of the Britons, but in nowise to war upon the French, otherwise than as they maintained the possession of Britain. But before this formal ambassage arrived, the party of the duke had received a great blow, and grew to manifest declination. For near the town of St. Alban in Britain, a battle had been given, where the Britons were overthrown, and the Duke of Orleans and the Prince of Orange taken pri soners, there being slain on the Britains part six thousand men, and amongst them the Lord Woodville, and almost all his soldiers, valiantly fighting. And of the French part, one thousand two hundred, with their leader James Galeot, a great commander. When the news of this battle came over into England, it was time for the king, who now had j no subterfuge to continue further treaty, and saw , before his eyes that Britain went so speedily for ; lost, contrary to his hopss: knowing also that with his people, and foreigners both, he sustained wo email envy and disreputation for his former de- ys, to despatch witb all possible speed his suc cours into Britain ; which he did under the con duct of Robert, Lord Brooke, to the number ol eight thousand choice men and well armed; who having a fair wind, in few hours landed in Bri tain, and joined themselves forthwith to those Briton forces that remained after the defeat, and marched straight on to find the enemy, and en camped fast by them. The French wisely hus banding the possession of a victory, and well ac quainted with the courage of the English, espe cially when they are fresh, kept themselves with in their trenches, being strongly lodged, and re solved not to give battle. But meanwhile, to harass and weary the English, they did upon all advantages set upon them with their light horse ; wherein nevertheless they received commonly loss, especially by means of the English archers. But upon these achievements Francis, Duke of Britain, deceased ; an accident that the king might easily have foreseen, and ought to have reck oned upon and provided for, but that the point of reputation, when news first came of the battle lost, that somewhat must be done, did overbear the reason of war. After the duke s decease, the principal persons of Britain, partly bought, partly through faction, put all things into confusion ; so as the English not finding head or body with whom to join their forces, and being in jealousy of friends, as well as in danger of enemies, and the winter begun, returned home five months after their landing. So the battle of St. Alban, the death of the duke, and the retire of the English succours, were after some time, the causes of the loss of that duchy ; which action some accounted as a blemish of the king s judgment, but most hut as the misfortune of his times. But howsoever the temporary fruit of the par liament, in their aid and advice given for Britain, took not, nor prospered not; yet the lasting fruit of parliament, which is good and wholesome laws, did prosper, and doth yet continue to this day. For, according to the lord chancellor s admoni tion, there were that parliament divers excellent laws ordained concerning the points which the king recommended. First, the authority of the star-chamber, which before subsisted by the ancient common laws of the realm, was confirmed in certain cases by act of parliament. This court is one of the sagest nd noblest institutions of this kingdom. For in the distribution of courts of ordinary justice, be sides the high court of parliament, in which dis tribution the king s bench holdeth the pleas of the crown, the common-place pleas civil, the excho quer pleas concerning the king s revenue, and the chancery the pretorian power for mitigating the rigour of law, in case of extremity, by the conscience of a good man; there was nevertheless always reserved a high and pre-eminent power to the king s council in causes that might in exam-