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CHAP. friendship all was hollow and insincere. Leicester sought to circumvent his adversary: GloMay 12. cester waited the result of a plan for the liberation of Edward, which had been concerted through the means of Thomas de Clare, brother to the earl, and companion to the prince.103

Escape of One day after dinner Edward obtained perthe prince. mission to take the air without the walls of May 28. Hereford attended by his keepers. They rode to Widmarsh. A proposal was made to try the speed of their horses: several matches were made and run: and the afternoon was passed in a succession of amusements. A little before sunset there appeared on Tulington hill a person riding a grey charger, and waving his bonnet. The prince, who knew the signal, bidding adieu to the company, instantly galloped off with his friend, another knight, and four esquires. The keepers followed: but in a short time Mortimer with a band of armed men issued from a wood, received Edward with acclamations of joy, and conducted him. to his castle of Wigmore. The next day the prince met the earl of Glocester at Ludlow. They mutually pledged themselves to forget all former injuries, and to unite their efforts for the liberation of the king, on condition that he should govern according to the

103 Wikes, 66. West. 394. Of the solicitude with which Edward had been guarded, a curious instance is mentioned by the monk of Melrose, 240.

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laws, and should exclude foreigners from his CHAP. councils, 104

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Wales.

When Leicester received the news of Ed- Leicester driven into ward's escape, he conceived that the prince was gone to join the earl Warenne, and William de Valence, who a few days before had landed with one hundred and twenty knights on the coast of Pembrokeshire. Ignorant, however, of his real motions, he dared not pursue him; but issued writs in the king's name, ordering the military May 30. tenants of the crown to assemble at first in Worcester, and afterwards in Glocester. To these he added circular letters to the bishops, accus- June 7. ing Edward of rebellion, and requesting a sentence of excommunication against all disturbers of the peace" from the highest to the lowest." 105 The royalists had wisely determined to cut off his communication with the rest of the kingdom by securing to themselves the command of the Severn. Worcester readily opened its gates: Glocester was taken by storm and the castle after a siege of two weeks was surrendered on condition that the garrison should not serve again during the next forty days. Every bridge was now broken down: the small craft on the river was sunk or destroyed; and the fords were either deepened or watched by powerful detachinents. Leicester, caught as it were in the toils, remained inactive at Hereford: but he awaited

104 Rym. i. 311. Wikes, 67. West. 395. Mailros, 230. 105 Rym. i. 811-813,

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CHAP. the arrival of the troops he had summoned, and concluded with Llewellyn of Wales a treaty of June 22. alliance, by which, for the pretended payment

of thirty thousand marks, Henry was made to resign all the advantages which he and his predecessors had wrested from the princes of that country. At last, reinforced by a party of Welshmen, the earl marched to the south, took and June 28. destroyed the castle of Monmouth, and fixed his head quarters at Newport. Here he expected a fleet of transports to convey him to Bristol: but the galleys of the earl of Glocester blockaded the mouth of the Avon; and Edward with the bravest of his knights made an attempt on the town of Newport itself. The part which lay on the left bank of the Usk, was carried: but the destruction of the bridge arrested the progress of the victors, and Leicester with his dispirited followers escaped into Wales.106

His son defeated.

Misfortune now pressed on misfortune; and the last anchor of his hope was broken by the defeat of his son Simon of Montfort. That young nobleman was employed in the siege of Pevensey, on the coast of Sussex, when he received the king's writ to repair to Worcester. July 12. On his march he sacked the city of Winchester, the gates of which had been shut against him, passed peaceably through Oxford, and reached the castle of Kenilworth, the principal residence

106 Rym. i. 814. Wikes, 68. Waver. 218, 219.

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of his family. Here he remained for some days CHAP. in heedless security, awaiting the orders of his father. Margot, a woman who in male attire performed the office of a spy, informed the prince, that Simon lay in the priory, and his followers in the neighbouring farm houses. Edward immediately formed the design of surprising them in their beds; and marching from Worcester in the evening arrived at Kenilworth about sunrise the next morning. Twelve bannerets with all Aug. 1. their followers were made prisoners: and their horses and treasures repaid the industry of the captors. Simon alone with his pages escaped naked into the castle.107

He is kill

ed at the

Leicester on the same day had crossed the Severn by a ford, and halted at Kempsey, about battle of three miles from Worcester. Happy to find Evesham. himself at last on the left bank of the river, and ignorant of the fate of his son and the motions of the enemy, he proceeded to Evesham, with: the intention of continuing his march the next morning for Kenilworth. The prince had returned with his prisoners to Worcester: but. left the city in the evening; and, to mask his

107 Wikes, 69, 70. Waver. 219. The Scotch monk of Melrose gives a singular reason, why Simon and his knights slept out of the castle. It was for the sake of bathing as soon as they rose in the morning, which made them more alert in battle. Mail. 230. His description of their surprise and flight is amusing. Cerneres ibi quosdam omnino nudos fugere, nonnullos bracchas tantum habentes super se, quosdam vero camisias et femoralia tantum. Multi-tamen tulerunt pannos suos inter ulnas. 231.

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CHAP. real design, took the road which leads to Bridgenorth. He passed the river near Clains, and wheeling to the right, arrived before sunrise in the neighbourhood of Evesham. He took his station on the summit of a hill in the direction Aug 4. of Kenilworth: two other divisions under the earl of Glocester, and Roger de Mortimer, occupied the remaining roads. As the royalists bore the banners of their captives, they were taken by the enemy for the army of Simon de Montfort. But the mistake was soon discovered: Leicester from an eminence surveyed their numbers and disposition; and was heard to exclaim: "The Lord have mercy on our souls, for our "bodies are prince Edward's." According to his custom he spent some time in prayer, and received the sacrament. His first object was to force his way through the division on the hill. Foiled in this attempt, and in danger of being surrounded, he ordered his men to form in a circle, and oppose on all sides the pressure of the enemy. For a while the courage of despair proved a match for the superiority of numbers. The old king, who had been compelled to appear in the ranks, was slightly wounded: and, as he fell from his horse, would probably have been killed, had he not cried out to his antagonist," Hold, fellow, I am Harry of Winchester." The prince knew the voice of his father, sprung to his recue, and conducted him to a place of safety. During his absence Leicester's horse

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